Tamil grammar
Tamil case suffixes
Tamil is agglutinative — case suffixes attach directly to the end of a noun instead of using separate preposition words.
in/at (locative)
-இல்
-il
e.g. வீட்டில் (vīṭṭil) — "in the house."
to/for (dative)
-க்கு
-kku
e.g. எனக்கு (eṉakku) — "to me / for me."
from
-இருந்து
-iruntu
e.g. வீட்டிலிருந்து (vīṭṭiliruntu) — "from the house."
with
-உடன்
-uṭaṉ
e.g. என்னுடன் (eṉṉuṭaṉ) — "with me."
on/above
மேல் / மீது
mēl / mītu
e.g. மேசை மேல் (mēcai mēl) — "on the table."
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More Tamil grammar lessons
Tamil personal pronouns
Tamil pronouns vary by formality and inclusivity. Master these and you can structure most basic sentences.
Tamil present tense verbs
Tamil present tense inserts the marker -கிற- (-kiṟ-) between the verb stem and the person-and-number ending. Here it is conjugated for "செய்" (sey, "to do").
Tamil negation with இல்லை
இல்லை (illai) is Tamil's all-purpose negator — it denies existence, possession, and identity, and is also the everyday word for "no."
Tamil question words & yes/no questions
Tamil wh-questions use a fixed set of question words; yes/no questions are formed by adding -ஆ (-ā) to the end of the verb or word being questioned.
Tamil sentence structure — building a basic sentence
Tamil follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. Descriptive words come before the noun, and case suffixes attach after it.
Tamil numbers 1–10
The Tamil numerals 1 through 10.