Malayalam grammar
Malayalam present tense verbs
Malayalam is unusual among Dravidian languages: verbs do NOT change for person, number or gender. The present tense adds -ഉന്നു (-unnu) to the stem, and the same form works for every subject. Shown here for ചെയ്യുക (cheyyuka, "to do").
I do / am doing
ഞാൻ ചെയ്യുന്നു
ñān cheyyunnu
First person singular.
You (informal) do
നീ ചെയ്യുന്നു
nī cheyyunnu
Same verb form — only the pronoun changes.
You (polite) do
നിങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യുന്നു
niṅṅaḷ cheyyunnu
Same verb form.
He does
അവൻ ചെയ്യുന്നു
avan cheyyunnu
Same verb form.
She does
അവൾ ചെയ്യുന്നു
avaḷ cheyyunnu
Same verb form.
We do
ഞങ്ങൾ ചെയ്യുന്നു
ñaṅṅaḷ cheyyunnu
Same verb form.
They do
അവർ ചെയ്യുന്നു
avar cheyyunnu
Same verb form — contrast Tamil, which changes the ending for every person.
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