Malayalam grammar

Grammar of the Indian Malayalam language

Malayalam is one of the Dravidian languages and has an agglutinative grammar. The word order is generally subject–object–verb, although other orders are often employed for reasons such as emphasis. Nouns are inflected for case and number, whilst verbs are conjugated for tense, mood, and causativity (and also in archaic language for person, gender, number, and polarity). Malayalam adjectives, adverbs, postpositions, and conjunctions do not undergo any inflection; they are invariant.

## Nouns

[edit]

The declensional paradigms for some common nouns and pronouns are given below. As Malayalam is an agglutinative language, it is difficult to delineate the cases strictly and determine how many there are, although seven or eight is the generally accepted number. Alveolar plosives and nasals (although the modern Malayalam script does not distinguish the latter from the dental nasal) are marked with a macron below, following the convention of the National Library at Kolkata romanization.

### Pronouns

[edit]

There are three persons – first, second, and third. The first person has three forms – singular, inclusive plural (i.e. speaker, listener, and possibly others), and exclusive plural (i.e. speaker and others, but not the listener). The second person has three forms – singular informal, singular formal and plural. Of these, the singular formal and, plural forms are similar. A fourth form ('respectful' or 'official') is sometimes used in certain official documents and announcements.

The third person has eight forms – proximal and distal forms of singular masculine, singular feminine, singular neutral and plural. The masculine and feminine genders are used for humans and anthropomorphised non-humans. Non-living objects, plants and most animals take the neutral gender. The plural form is used for multiple objects of any gender. The plural form can also be used for a single person to show respect or because the gender is unknown or irrelevant.

Personal Pronoun  | singular  | plural

|
|

1st person  | Exclusive  |

ഞാൻ

ñān̠

ഞാൻ

ñān̠

ഞങ്ങൾ

ñaṅṅaḷ

ഞങ്ങൾ

ñaṅṅaḷ

Inclusive  |

നാം

nām

നമ്മൾ

nammaḷ

നാം / നമ്മൾ

nām / nammaḷ

2nd person  | Informal  |

you

നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

you (all)

Formal  |

നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

you

'Respectful' / 'Official'  |

താങ്കൾ

tāṅkaḷ

താങ്കൾ

tāṅkaḷ

you

3rd person  | Proximal  | Masculine  |

ഇവൻ

ivan̠

ഇവൻ

ivan̠

(this) he

ഇവർ

ivar̠

ഇവർ

ivar̠

(this) they

Feminine  |

ഇവൾ

ivaḷ

ഇവൾ

ivaḷ

(this) she

Neutral  |

ഇത്

itŭ

ഇത്

itŭ

(this) it

iva

iva

(this) these

Distal  | Masculine  |

അവൻ

avan̠

അവൻ

avan̠

(that) he

അവർ

avar̠

അവർ

avar̠

(that) they

Feminine  |

അവൾ

avaḷ

അവൾ

avaḷ

(that) she

Neutral  |

അത്

atŭ

അത്

atŭ

(that) it

ava

ava

(that) those

### Cases

[edit]

Vocative forms are given in parentheses after the nominative, as the only pronominal vocatives that are used are the third person ones, which only occur in compounds.

Singular  Case

വിഭക്തി

| 1st person  | 2nd person  | 3rd person (distal)[note 1]

|
|
|

informal | formal  | masculine | feminine | neutral
Nominative

നിർദ്ദേശിക

| ഞാൻ

ñāṉ

| നീ

| നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

| അവൻ

avaṉ (voc. avaṉē)

| അവൾ

avaḷ (voc. avaḷē)

| അത്

atŭ (voc. atiṉē)

Accusative

പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക

| എന്നെ

eṉṉe

| നിന്നെ

niṉṉe

| നിങ്ങളെ

niṅṅaḷe

| അവനെ

avaṉe

| അവളെ

avaḷe

| അതിനെ

atiṉe

Genitive

സംബന്ധിക

| എന്റെ/എൻ/എന്നുടെ

eṉṯe/eṉ/eṉṉuṭe

| നിന്റെ/നിൻ/നിന്നുടെ

niṉṯe/niṉ/niṉṉuṭe

| നിങ്ങളുടെ

niṅṅaḷuṭe

| അവന്റെ/അവനുടെ

avaṉṯe/avaṉuṭe

| അവളുടെ

avaḷuṭe

| അതിന്റെ

atiṉṯe

Dative

ഉദ്ദേശിക

| എനിക്ക്

eṉikkŭ

| നിനക്ക്

niṉakkŭ

| നിങ്ങൾക്ക്

niṅṅaḷkkŭ

| അവന്

avaṉŭ

| അവൾക്ക്

avaḷkkŭ

| അതിന്

atiṉŭ

Instrumental

പ്രായോജിക

| എന്നാൽ

eṉṉāl

| നിന്നാൽ

niṉṉāl

| നിങ്ങളാൽ

niṅṅaḷāl

| അവനാൽ

avaṉāl

| അവളാൽ

avaḷāl

| അതിനാൽ

atiṉāl

Locative

ആധാരിക

| എന്നിൽ

eṉṉil

| നിന്നിൽ

niṉṉil

| നിങ്ങളിൽ

niṅṅaḷil

| അവനിൽ

avaṉil

| അവളിൽ

avaḷil

| അതിൽ

atil

Sociative

സംയോജിക

| എന്നോട്

eṉṉōṭŭ

| നിന്നോട്

niṉṉōṭŭ

| നിങ്ങളോട്

niṅṅaḷōṭŭ

| അവനോട്

avaṉōṭŭ

| അവളോട്‌

avaḷōṭŭ

| അതിനോട്

atiṉōtŭ

Notes:

1. ^ For proximal form, replace the initial 'a' with an 'i'.

Plural  Case

വിഭക്തി

| 1st person  | 2nd person  | 3rd person

|
|
|

exclusive | inclusive
Nominative

നിർദ്ദേശിക

| ഞങ്ങൾ

ñaṅṅaḷ

| നാം/നമ്മൾ

nām/nammaḷ

| നിങ്ങൾ

niṅṅaḷ

| അവർ

avaṟ (voc. avarē)

Accusative

പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക

| ഞങ്ങളെ

ñaṅṅaḷe

| നമ്മളെ

nammaḷe

| നിങ്ങളെ

niṅṅaḷe

| അവരെ

avare

Genitive

സംബന്ധിക

| ഞങ്ങളുടെ/ഞങ്ങുടെ

ñaṅṅaḷuṭe/ñaṅṅuṭe

| നമ്മളുടെ/നമ്മുടെ

nammaḷuṭe/nammuṭe

| നിങ്ങളുടെ

niṅṅaḷuṭe

| അവരുടെ

avaruṭe

Dative

ഉദ്ദേശിക

| ഞങ്ങൾക്ക്

ñaṅṅaḷkkŭ

| നമ്മൾക്ക്/നമുക്ക്

nammaḷkkŭ/namukkŭ

| നിങ്ങൾക്ക്

niṅṅaḷkkŭ

| അവർക്ക്

avaṟkkŭ

Instrumental

പ്രായോജിക

| ഞങ്ങളാൽ

ñaṅṅaḷāl

| നമ്മളാൽ

nammaḷāl

| നിങ്ങളാൽ

niṅṅaḷāl

| അവരാൽ

avarāl

Locative

ആധാരിക

| ഞങ്ങളിൽ

ñaṅṅaḷil

| നമ്മളിൽ

nammaḷil

| നിങ്ങളിൽ

niṅṅaḷil

| അവരിൽ

avaril

Sociative

സംയോജിക

| ഞങ്ങളോട്

ñaṅṅaḷōṭŭ

| നമ്മളോട്

nammaḷōṭŭ

| നിങ്ങളോട്

niṅṅaḷōṭŭ

| അവരോട്

avarōṭŭ

The mnemonic 'നിപ്രസം ഉപ്രസം ആ' created by combining the first sounds of the case names is used.

### Number

[edit]

The suffix -കൾ (-kaḷ), which changes to -ങ്ങൾ (-ṅṅaḷ) when the nouns ends in -അം (-aṁ), is the most common suffix for denoting plural nouns. It is used by all inanimate nouns, concrete or abstract, and most animate, non-gendered nouns. Two other suffixes, -മാർ (-māṟ) and അർ (-aṟ), are used exclusively by a few animate nouns. All suffixes follow the sandhi (സന്ധി) rules where applicable, and are not used when preceded by numeral adjectives. The following are a few examples.

Word  | Singular  | Plural

|
|

book | പുസ്തകം (pustakaṁ)  | പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ (pustakaṅṅaḷ)
umbrella | കുട (kuṭa)  | കുടകൾ (kuṭakaḷ)
child | കുട്ടി (kuṭṭi)  | കുട്ടികൾ (kuṭṭikaḷ)
dog | നായ (nāya)  | നായ്ക്കൾ/നായകൾ

(nāykkaḷ/nāyakaḷ)

mother | അമ്മ (amma)  | അമ്മമാർ (ammamāṟ)
human | മനുഷ്യൻ (manuṣyaṉ)  | മനുഷ്യർ (manuṣyaṟ)
fish | മീൻ (mīṉ)  | മീനുകൾ (mīṉukaḷ)

### Other nouns

[edit]

The following are examples of some of the most common declensional patterns.

Word  | tree | elephant | human | dog

|
|
|
|

Case | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural
Nominative | maram | maraṅṅaḷ | āṉa | āṉakaḷ | maṉuṣyaṉ | maṉuṣyaṟ | paṭṭi | paṭṭikaḷ
Vocative | maramē | maraṅṅaḷē | āṉē | āṉakaḷē | maṉuṣyā | maṉuṣyarē | paṭṭī | paṭṭikaḷē
Accusative | marattiṉe | maraṅṅaḷe | āṉaye | āṉakaḷe | maṉuṣyaṉe | maṉuṣyare | paṭṭiye | paṭṭikaḷe
Genitive | marattiṉṯe | maraṅṅaḷuṭe | āṉayuṭe | āṉakaḷuṭe | maṉuṣyaṉṯe | maṉuṣyaruṭe | paṭṭiyuṭe | paṭṭikaḷuṭe
Dative | marattiṉŭ | maraṅṅaḷkkŭ | āṉaykkŭ | āṉakaḷkku | maṉuṣyaṉŭ | maṉuṣyaṟkkŭ | paṭṭikkŭ | paṭṭikaḷkku
Instrumental | marattāl | maraṅṅaḷāl | āṉayāl | āṉakaḷāl | maṉuṣyaṉāl | maṉuṣyarāl | paṭṭiyāl | paṭṭikaḷāl
Locative | marattil | maraṅṅaḷil | āṉayil | āṉakaḷil | maṉuṣyaṉil | maṉuṣyaril | paṭṭiyil | paṭṭikaḷil
Sociative | marattōṭŭ | maraṅṅaḷōṭŭ | āṉayōṭŭ | āṉakaḷōṭŭ | maṉuṣyaṉōṭŭ | maṉuṣyarōṭŭ | paṭṭiyōṭŭ | paṭṭikaḷōṭŭ

## Adjectives

[edit]

Malayalam is thought to have no semantic category for adjectives, and instead relies heavily on using participial relative clauses for modifying nouns.[1] There are two classes of words that typically act as adjectives.[2]

1. Native roots + a: This includes words such as നല്ല (nalla, good), വലിയ (valiya, big), and ചെറിയ (ceṟiya, short). All such words can be directly used as adjectives, without further modification. The conventional view regarding this category of words is that they typically encode the possession of the property they signify in the participial marker (-a) attached to them, meaning a word such as നല്ല (nalla) would actually mean "having goodness". For instance: ഇതൊരു നല്ല പുസ്തകമാണ് (itoru nalla pustakamāṇŭ), translating to "this is a good book", could be thought to mean "this is a goodness-having book". Note that when used in typical relative clauses, the marker -a can be inflected for tense, but not when used here in an adjectival sense.
2. Borrowed roots + am: This includes words such as സങ്കടം (saṅkaṭaṁ, sadness), സന്തോഷം (santōṣaṁ, happiness), and ഉയരം (uyaraṁ, height/tallness). The -am at the end signifies the word's quality as a noun, which means that to use it as an adjective it has to be modified. This is in the form of -ഉള്ള (uḷḷa), the suffix for the non-finite existential copula. For instance: അവൻ ഉയരമുള്ള കുട്ടിയാണ് (avaṉ uyaramuḷḷa kuṭṭiyāṇŭ, translating to "he is a tall child") could be thought to mean "he is a tallness-having child". Since the suffix is non-finite it does not vary with tense or person.

## Verbs

[edit]

Inflection of Malayalam verbs occurs for tense, aspect, and mode (TAM), and not for number (plurality) or gender. The dictionary form of verbs typically have the ending -ഉക (-uka), although some verbs have the ending ഇക (-ika) too.[3]

### Tenses

[edit]

Broadly, there are three tenses in Malayalam language: present, past and future. Verb forms in different tenses are created by either simply replacing the citation form ending (for present and future tense), or by suffixing the verb stem (obtained by removing the citation form ending and the preceding consonant) with a special marker depending on the class of the verb (for past tense).

#### Present tense

[edit]

The present tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉന്നു (-unnu). For example, the present tense form of പറയുക (paṟayuka, 'to say') is പറയുന്നു (paṟayunnu).

#### Future tense

[edit]

The future tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉം (-um). For example, the future tense form of നടക്കുക (naṭakkuka, 'to walk') is നടക്കും (naṭakkum).

#### Past tense

[edit]

For most verbs the marker -ഇ (-i) (or യി, (-yi) if the verb stem ends in a vowel) is added to the verb stem to create the past tense form, but other verb classes have different rules. A non-exhaustive list of the rules for different classes, as well as some exceptions, is given below.

* If the citation form of the verb ends in a short vowel followed by -ടുക (-ṭuka) – that is, if it ends in -അടുക (-aṭuka), -ഇടുക (-iṭuka), -ഉടുക (-uṭuka), -എടുക (-eṭuka), or -ഒടുക (-oṭuka) – then replace the -ടുക at the end with -ട്ടു (-ṭṭu). For example, the past form of ഇടുക (iṭuka, 'to put'), is ഇട്ടു (iṭṭu).
* If the citation form ends in -യ്യുക (-yyuka), then replace that ending with -യ്തു (-ytu). For example, the past form of ചെയ്യുക (ceyyuka, 'to do') is ചെയ്തു (ceytu).
* If the citation form ends in -അക്കുക (-akkuka), then replace that ending with -അന്നു (-annu). For example, the past form of നടക്കുക (naṭakkuka, 'to walk') is നടന്നു (naṭannu). An exception to this rule is നക്കുക (nakkuka, to lick), whose past tense is നക്കി (nakki).
* The past tense of ഇരിക്കുക (irikkuka, 'to sit, reside') is ഇരുന്നു (irunnu). But apart from this exception if the citation form ends in -ഇക്കുക (-ikkuka), then replace that ending with -ഇച്ചു (-iccu). For example, the past form of അടിക്കുക (aṭikkuka, 'to beat') is അടിച്ചു (aṭiccu).
* If the citation form ends in -ഉക്കുക (-ukkuka) or -ര്‍ക്കുക (-ṟkkuka), then replace that ending with -ഉത്തു (-uttu) or -ര്‍ത്തു (-ṟttu) respectively. For example, the past form of തണുക്കുക (taṇukkuka, 'to get cold') is തണുത്തു (taṇuttu), and the past form of ഓര്‍ക്കുക (ōṟkkuka, 'to remember') is ഓര്‍ത്തു (ōṟttu). The past tense form of ഒക്കുക (okkuka, 'to manage/be able to') is ഒത്തു (ottu).
* The past tense of നില്‍ക്കുക (nilkkuka, 'to stand/wait') is നിന്നു (ninnu). But apart from this exception if the citation form ends in -ല്‍ക്കുക (-lkkuka), then replace that ending with -റ്റു (-ṯṯu). For example, the past form of തോല്‍ക്കുക (tōlkkuka, 'to lose') is തോറ്റു (tōṯṯu).
* If the citation form ends in -ള്‍ക്കുക (-ḷkkuka), then replace that ending with -ട്ടു (-ṭṭu). For example, the past form of കേള്‍ക്കുക (kēḷkkuka, 'to hear') is കേട്ടു (kēṭṭu).
* If the citation form ends in -യുക (-yuka), then replace that ending with -ഞ്ഞു (-ññu). For example, the past form of പറയുക (paṟayuka, 'to say') is പറഞ്ഞു (paṟaññu).
* If the citation form ends in -രുക (-ruka), then replace that ending with -ര്‍ന്നു (-ṟnnu). For example, the past form of തീരുക (tīruka, 'to end') is തീര്‍ന്നു (tīṟnnu). However, the past tense of പോരുക (pōruka, 'to come') is പോന്നു (pōnnu).
* If the citation form ends in -ലുക (-luka) or -ല്ലുക (-lluka), then replace that ending (whichever of the two it is) with -ന്നു (-nnu). For example, the past form of അകലുക (akaluka, 'to move away') is അകന്നു (akannu). However, the past tense of ചൊല്ലുക (colluka, 'to narrate') may be either ചൊന്നു (connu) or ചൊല്ലി (cholli); for തല്ലുക (talluka, 'to beat') it is തല്ലി (talli) and in the northern dialects തച്ചു (taccu).
* If the citation form ends in -ളുക (-ḷuka) or -ള്ളുക (-ḷḷuka), then replace that ending (whichever of the two it is) with -ണ്ടു (-ṇṭu). For example, the past form of ഉരുളുക (uruḷuka, 'to roll') is ഉരുണ്ടു (uruṇṭu). However, the past tense of പൊള്ളുക (poḷḷuka, 'to burn') is പൊള്ളി (poḷḷi).
* If the citation form ends in -രിക (-rika), then replace that ending with -ന്നു (-nnu). For example, the past form of വരിക (varika, 'to come') is വന്നു (vannu).
* If the citation form ends in -ണുക (-ṇuka), then replace that ending with -ണ്ടു (-ṇṭu). For example, the past form of കാണുക (kāṇuka, 'to see') is കണ്ടു (kaṇṭu), for ഉണ്ണുക (uṇṇuka, 'to eat') it's ഉണ്ടു (uṇṭu).
* The past form of തിന്നുക (tiṉṉuka, 'to eat') is തിന്നു (tinnu).
* The past form of വേകുക/വേവുക (vēkuka/vēvuka, 'to get cooked') is വെന്തു (ventu).

Verb conjugations for the verb "പോകുക" (pōkuka, to go) based on the commonly recognized aspects in Malayalam are given below.[4] The past tense marker in this case is -ഇ (-i).

Tenses  | Past  | Present  | Future

|
|
|

Simple  |

പോയി

pōyi

പോയി

pōyi

പോകുന്നു

pōkunnu

പോകുന്നു

pōkunnu

പോകും

pōkum

പോകും

pōkum

Continuous  |

പോവുകയായിരുന്നു

pōvukayāyirunnu

പോവുകയായിരുന്നു

pōvukayāyirunnu

പോവുകയാണ്

pōvukayāṇŭ

പോവുകയാണ്

pōvukayāṇŭ

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കും

pōyikkoṇṭirikkum

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കും

pōyikkoṇṭirikkum

Perfect  |

പോയിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōyiṭṭuṇṭāyirunnu

പോയിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōyiṭṭuṇṭāyirunnu

പോയിട്ടുണ്ട്

pōyiṭṭuṇṭŭ

പോയിട്ടുണ്ട്

pōyiṭṭuṇṭŭ

പോയിട്ടുണ്ടാകും

pōyiṭṭuṇṭākum

പോയിട്ടുണ്ടാകും

pōyiṭṭuṇṭākum

Perfect continuous  |

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭāyirunnu

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭāyirunnu

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭŭ

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭŭ

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടാകും

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭākum

പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടാകും

pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭākum

Habitual  |

പോകാറുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōkāṟuṇṭāyirunnu

പോകാറുണ്ടായിരുന്നു

pōkāṟuṇṭāyirunnu

പോകാറുണ്ട്

pōkāṟuṇṭŭ

പോകാറുണ്ട്

pōkāṟuṇṭŭ

| –

### Copula

[edit]

Malayalam employs two defective verbs as its copulas. The first, -ആക് (ākŭ), is the plain equative copula. The second, -ഉണ്ട് (uṇṭŭ), is the locative copula and also used to indicate possession (with the subject/possessor in the dative case). These verbs change forms in different tenses and are usually suffixed to the noun phrases that are specified by the copula. The table below lists some examples.

Example  | Notes

|

Equative

അവൻ

avaṉ

സന്തുഷ്ടനാണ്

santuṣṭaṉāṇŭ

അവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനാണ്

avaṉ santuṣṭaṉāṇŭ

He is happy

| Present tense form of ആക് is ആണ് (āṇŭ)

അവൻ

avaṉ

സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നു

santuṣṭaṉāyirunnu

അവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നു

avaṉ santuṣṭaṉāyirunnu

He was happy

| Past tense form of ആക് is ആയിരുന്നു (āyirunnu)

അവൻ

avaṉ

സന്തുഷ്ടനാകും

santuṣṭaṉākuṁ

അവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനാകും

avaṉ santuṣṭaṉākuṁ

He will be happy

| Future tense form of ആക് is അകും (ākuṁ)
Locative

അവൻ

avaṉ

വീട്ടിലുണ്ട്

vīṭṭiluṇṭŭ

അവൻ വീട്ടിലുണ്ട്

avaṉ vīṭṭiluṇṭŭ

He is in the house

| ഉണ്ട് stays the same in the present tense

അവൻ

avaṉ

വീട്ടിൽ

vīṭṭil

ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു

uṇṭāyirunnu

അവൻ വീട്ടിൽ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു

avaṉ vīṭṭil uṇṭāyirunnu

He was in the house

| Past tense form of ഉണ്ട് is ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു (uṇṭāyirunnu)

അവൻ

avaṉ

വീട്ടിൽ

vīṭṭil

ഉണ്ടാകും

uṇṭākuṁ

അവൻ വീട്ടിൽ ഉണ്ടാകും

avaṉ vīṭṭil uṇṭākuṁ

He will be in the house

| Future tense form of ഉണ്ട് is ഉണ്ടാകും (uṇṭākuṁ)
Possessive

അവൾക്ക്

avaḷkkŭ

ഒരു

oru

പുസ്തകമുണ്ട്

pustakamuṇṭŭ

അവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകമുണ്ട്

avaḷkkŭ oru pustakamuṇṭŭ

She has a book

അവൾക്ക്

avaḷkkŭ

ഒരു

oru

പുസ്തകം

pustakaṁ

ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു

uṇṭāyirunnu

അവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു

avaḷkkŭ oru pustakaṁ uṇṭāyirunnu

She had a book

അവൾക്ക്

avaḷkkŭ

ഒരു

oru

പുസ്തകം

pustakaṁ

ഉണ്ടാകും

uṇṭākuṁ

അവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകം ഉണ്ടാകും

avaḷkkŭ oru pustakaṁ uṇṭākuṁ

She will have a book

### Negation

[edit]

Standard negation is expressed through the use of the negative particle/suffix -ഇല്ല (-illa, literally "no"), regardless of tense.[5] The equative copula -ആക്, however, is negated by the negative suffix -അല്ല (-alla) in the present tense; in all other tenses -ഇല്ല is used. When these particles are suffixed to their corresponding noun phrases, sandhi (സന്ധി) rules must be obeyed.

Example  | Notes

|

അവൻ

avaṉ

സന്തുഷ്ടനല്ല

santuṣṭaṉalla

അവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനല്ല

avaṉ santuṣṭaṉalla

He is not happy

| Equative copula negated by -അല്ല (-alla) in the present tense

അവൻ

avaṉ

സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നില്ല

santuṣṭaṉāyirunnilla

അവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നില്ല

avaṉ santuṣṭaṉāyirunnilla

He was not happy

| Equative copula negated by -ഇല്ല (-illa) in any tense other than the present tense

അവൾക്ക്

avaḷkkŭ

ഒരു

oru

പുസ്തകമില്ല

pustakamilla

അവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകമില്ല

avaḷkkŭ oru pustakamilla

She does not have a book

| All other negations use -ഇല്ല (-illa)

അവൾ

avaḷ

പോകുന്നില്ല

pōkunnilla

അവൾ പോകുന്നില്ല

avaḷ pōkunnilla

She is not going

അവർ

avaṟ

ഇവിടെയില്ല

iviṭeyilla

അവർ ഇവിടെയില്ല

avaṟ iviṭeyilla

They are not here

## Sandhi (സന്ധി)

[edit]

Malayalam is an agglutinative language, and words can be joined in many ways. These ways are called sandhi (literally 'junction'). There are basically two genres of Sandhi used in Malayalam – one group unique to Malayalam (based originally on Old Tamil phonological rules, and in essence common with Tamil), and the other one common with Sanskrit. Thus, we have the "Malayāḷa Sandhi" and "Saṁskr̥ta Sandhi".

### Sandhi unique to Malayalam

[edit]

There are basically four Sandhi types unique to Malayalam – the "lōpa sandhi", "dvitva sandhi", "āgama sandhi" and "ādēśa sandhi".

#### Lōpa sandhi or "Elision"(ലോപ സന്ധി)

[edit]

The Lopa sandhi occurs when the varna (vowel) at the end of a word is lost when it merges with another word. In most cases, the varna is the "samvr̥tōkāram". (the "closed u sound").

ex:

കണ്ട്

kaṇṭŭ

ഇല്ല

illa

കണ്ടില്ല

kaṇṭilla

കണ്ട് + ഇല്ല = കണ്ടില്ല

kaṇṭŭ + illa = kaṇṭilla

ex:

അത്‌

atŭ

ആയത്‌

āyatŭ

അതായത്

atāyatŭ

അത്‌ + ആയത്‌ = അതായത്

atŭ + āyatŭ = atāyatŭ

#### Dvitva Sandhi or "Rule of doubling"

[edit]

In Malayalam, gemination is more in tense consonants and less in lax consonants. When two words combine in which the first is the qualifier and the qualified, the tense consonant initial to the second word geminates.

ex:

പോയി

pōyi

പറഞ്ഞു

paṟaññu

പോയിപ്പറഞ്ഞു

pōyippaṟaññu

പോയി + പറഞ്ഞു = പോയിപ്പറഞ്ഞു

pōyi + paṟaññu = pōyippaṟaññu

ex:

mara

കൊമ്പ്

kombŭ

മരക്കൊമ്പ്

marakkombŭ

മര + കൊമ്പ് = മരക്കൊമ്പ്

mara + kombŭ = marakkombŭ

ex:

എന്നെ

eṉṉe

കുറിച്ച്

kuṟiccŭ

എന്നെക്കുറിച്ച്

eṉṉekkuṟiccŭ

എന്നെ + കുറിച്ച് = എന്നെക്കുറിച്ച്

eṉṉe + kuṟiccŭ = eṉṉekkuṟiccŭ

#### Āgama sandhi or "Rule of arrival" (ആഗമ സന്ധി)

[edit]

When two vowels undergo Sandhi, a consonant ("y" or "v") is added to avoid the pronunciation difficulty.

ex:

വഴി

vaḻi

അമ്പലം

ampalam

വഴിയമ്പലം

vaḻiyampalam.

വഴി + അമ്പലം = വഴിയമ്പലം

vaḻi + ampalam = vaḻiyampalam.

ex:

പൊതു

potu

ആയി

āyi

പൊതുവായി

potuvāyi

പൊതു + ആയി = പൊതുവായി

potu + āyi = potuvāyi

#### Ādēśa Sandhi or "Rule of substitution"

[edit]

In this Sandhi, one letter is substituted by another during concatenation.

ex:

വിൺ

viṇ

തലം

talam

വിണ്ടലം

viṇṭalam

(t replaced by ṭ)

വിൺ + തലം = വിണ്ടലം

viṇ + talam = viṇṭalam

ex:

kaṇ

നീര്

nīrŭ

കണ്ണീര്

kaṇṇīrŭ

(n replaced by ṇ)

കൺ + നീര് = കണ്ണീര്

kaṇ + nīrŭ = kaṇṇīrŭ

This sandhi also includes Sanskrit Sandhi forms like vi + samam = viṣamam.

### Sandhi common with Sanskrit

[edit]

These Sandhi rules are basically inherited from Sanskrit, and are used in conjunction with Sanskrit vocabulary which forms approximately 60% of Modern Standard Malayalam (the entire Sanskrit vocabulary is also usable with appropriate changes).[6][7] The rules like savarṇadīrgha sandhi, yaṇ sandhi, guṇa sandhi, vr̥ddhi sandhi and visarga sandhis are used without changes.

#### Samāsam (സമാസം)

[edit]

All the Sanskrit samāsa rules are adapted to Malayalam compounds. In Malayalam, the tatpuruṣa compounds are classified according to the vibhakti they are based on, during compounding. The "alaṅkāraṁ" is also used to classify tatpuruṣa compounds. There are 4 types of samasam: 1) āvyayi bhavaṉ, 2) tatpuruṣa, 3) dvandaṉ, and 4) bahuvr̥hi.

#### Vr̥ttaṁ (വൃത്തം)

[edit]

The vr̥ttaṁ consists of metres of Malayalam prosody. Like Sandhi, there are specific vr̥ttaṁs unique to Malayalam apart from the metres common with Sanskrit. As in case of Sandhi, the Malayalam vrittams are also named in Sanskrit.

#### Alaṅkāram (അലങ്കാരം)

[edit]

Alaṅkāraṁ or "ornamentation" is also based on Sanskritic grammarian classification. It consists of the different figures of speech used in Malayalam poetry. Being successor to Sanskrit and Maṇipravāḷam, most of Sanskrit alankaras are used in Malayalam. Thus, the common figures of speech in poems are rūpakaṁ, utprēkṣā, upamā etc.

## Words adopted from Sanskrit

[edit]

When words are adopted from Sanskrit, their endings are usually changed to conform to Malayalam norms:

### Nouns

[edit]

1. Masculine Sanskrit nouns with a word stem ending in a short "a" take the ending "an" in the nominative singular. For example, Kr̥ṣṇa -> Kr̥ṣṇaṉ. The final "n" is dropped before masculine surnames, honorifics, or titles ending in "an" and beginning with a consonant other than "n" – e.g. Krishna Menon, Kr̥ṣṇa Kaṇiyāṉ etc., but Kr̥ṣṇan Eḻuttaccaṉ. Surnames ending with "aṟ" or "aḷ" (where these are plural forms of "aṉ" denoting respect) are treated similarly – Kr̥ṣṇa Potuval, Kr̥ṣṇa Cakyaṟ, but Kr̥ṣṇaṉ Nāyaṟ, Kr̥ṣṇaṉ Nambyāṟ, as are Sanskrit surnames such "Vaṟma(ṉ)", "Śaṟma(ṉ)", or "Gupta(ṉ)" (rare) – e.g. Kr̥ṣṇa Vaṟma, Kr̥ṣṇa Śaṟmaṉ.[citation needed] If a name is a compound, only the last element undergoes this transformation – e.g. Kr̥ṣṇa + dēva = Kr̥ṣṇadēvaṉ, not Kr̥ṣṇandēvaṉ.
2. Feminine words ending in a long "ā" or "ī" are changed so that they now end in a short "a" or "i", for example Sītā -> Sīta and Lakṣmī -> Lakṣmi. However, the long vowel still appears in compound words, such as Sītādēvi or Lakṣmīdēvi. The long ī is generally reserved for the vocative forms of these names, although in Sanskrit the vocative actually takes a short "i". There are also a small number of nominative "ī" endings that have not been shortened – a prominent example being the word "strī" "woman".
3. Nouns that have a stem in -an and which end with a long "ā" in the masculine nominative singular have a "vŭ" added to them, for example Brahmā (stem Brahman) -> Brahmāvŭ. When the same nouns are declined in the neuter and take a short "a" ending in Sanskrit, Malayalam adds an additional "m", e.g. Brahma (neuter nominative singular of Brahman) becomes Brahmam. This is again omitted when forming compounds.[citation needed]
4. Words whose roots end in -an but whose nominative singular ending is -a – for example, the Sanskrit root of "Karma" is actually "Karman" –are also changed. The original root is ignored and "Karma" (the form in Malayalam being "Karmam" because it ends in a short "a") is taken as the basic form of the noun when declining.[8] However, this does not apply to all consonant stems, as "unchangeable" stems such as "manasa" ("mind") and "suhr̥ta (friend)" are identical to the Malayalam nominative singular forms (although the regularly derived "manam" sometimes occurs as an alternative to "manasa").
5. Sanskrit words describing things or animals rather than people with a stem in short "a" end with an "m" Malayalam. For example, Rāmāyaṇa -> Rāmāyaṇam. In most cases, this is actually the as the Sanskrit ending, which is also "m" (or allophonically anusvara due to Sandhi) in the neuter nominative. However, "things and animals" and "people" are not always differentiated based on whether or not they are sentient beings – for example Narasimha becomes Narasiṃham and not Narasiṃhan, whereas Ananta becomes Anantan even though both are sentient.
6. Nouns with short vowel stems other than "a", such as "Viṣṇu", "Prajāpati" etc. are declined with the Sanskrit stem acting as the Malayalam nominative singular (the Sanskrit nominative singular is formed by adding a visarga, e.g. Viṣṇuḥ) [citation needed]
7. The original Sanskrit vocative is often used in formal or poetic Malayalam, e.g. "Harē" (for Hari) or "Prabhō" (for "Prabhu" – "lord"). This is restricted to certain contexts – mainly when addressing deities or other exalted individuals, so a normal man named Hari would usually be addressed using a Malayalam vocative such as "Harī". The Sanskrit genitive is also occasionally found in Malayalam poetry, especially the personal pronouns "mama" (my/ mine) and "tava" (thy/ thine). Other cases are less common and generally restricted to the realm of Maṇipravāḷam.
8. Along with these tatsama borrowings, there are also many tadbhava words in common use. These were borrowed into Malayalam before it became distinct from Tamil. As the language did not then accommodate Sanskrit phonology as it now does, words were changed to conform to the Old Tamil phonological system. For example: Kr̥ṣṇa -> Kaṇṇan.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mathew, Rosmin. "SIMPLy Malayalam Participials" (PDF).
2. ^ Menon, Mythili (2014). "The grammatical life of property concept roots in Malayalam". Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung. 18: 289–302.
3. ^ Jiang, Haowen. "Malayalam: a Grammatical Sketch and a Text" (PDF).
4. ^ V, Jayan; v k, Bhadran (2015). "Difficulties in Processing Malayalam Verbs for Statistical Machine Translation". International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications. 6 (3): 13–24. doi:10.5121/ijaia.2015.6302. S2CID 49981659.
5. ^ Lindblom, Camilla. "Negation in Dravidian languages" (PDF).
6. ^ https://aircconline.com/ijaia/V6N3/6315ijaia02.pdf [bare URL PDF]
7. ^ Malayalam Literary Survey, Volume 27, Kerala Sahitya Akademi, 2005
8. ^ Varma, A.R. Rajaraja (2005). Keralapanineeyam. Kottayam: D C Books. p. 303\. ISBN 81-7130-672-1.
9. ^ Varma, A.R. Rajaraja (2005). Keralapanineeyam. Kottayam: D C Books. pp. 301–302. ISBN 81-7130-672-1.

* Ravi Sankar S Nair 2012 A Grammar of Malayalam http://www.languageinindia.com/nov2012/ravisankarmalayalamgrammar.pdf

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Malayalam grammar at Wikimedia Commons

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* M. Sukumaran
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair
* Madampu Kunjukuttan
* Madhupal
* Malayath Appunni
* Malayattoor Ramakrishnan
* Mallika Yunis
* Muttathu Varkey
* N. Mohanan
* N. N. Pisharody
* N. P. Chellappan Nair
* N. P. Mohammed
* N. S. Madhavan
* Nandanar
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* O. V. Vijayan
* Omchery N. N. Pillai
* Oyyarathu Chandu Menon
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* Sethu
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* Subhash Chandran
* T. P. Rajeevan
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* Thikkodiyan
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* U. A. Khader
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* Uroob
* V. K. N.
* V. P. Sivakumar
* Vaikom Muhammad Basheer
* Vallachira Madhavan
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* Vilasini
* Vinoy Thomas

Poets|

* A. Ayyappan
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* A. R. Raja Raja Varma
* Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri
* Arnos Pathiri
* Attoor Ravi Varma
* Balachandran Chullikkadu
* Balamani Amma
* Bodheswaran
* Chandiroor Divakaran
* Changampuzha Krishna Pillai
* Cherukad
* Cherusseri Namboothiri
* D. Vinayachandran
* Edappalli Raghavan Pillai
* Edasseri Govindan Nair
* G. Shankara Kurup
* Irayimman Thampi
* K. Ayyappa Paniker
* K. C. Kesava Pillai
* K. V. Ramakrishnan
* Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan
* Kadathanat Madhavi Amma
* Kadavanad Kuttikrishnan
* Kamala Surayya
* Kattakayam Cherian Mappillai
* Kavitha Balakrishnan
* Kumaran Asan
* Kunchan Nambiar
* Kureepuzha Sreekumar
* Lalitha Lenin
* M. Govindan
* M. P. Appan
* M. S. Banesh
* Manoj Kuroor
* Mary John Thottam
* Mohanakrishnan Kaladi
* Moyinkutty Vaidyar
* N. N. Kakkad
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* Nalapat Narayana Menon
* Nellikkal Muraleedharan
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* O. N. V. Kurup
* Olappamanna Subramanian Namboothirippad
* P. Kunhiraman Nair
* P. P. Ramachandran
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* Poonthanam Namboothiri
* Pulikkottil Hyder
* Punaloor Balan
* Puthussery Ramachandran
* S. Joseph
* Satchidanandan
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* Sugathakumari
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* Tholan
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* Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer
* Unnayi Variyar
* V. Madhusoodanan Nair
* V. C. Balakrishna Panicker
* V. M. Girija
* Vadakkumkur Rajarajavarmaraja
* Vallathol Narayana Menon
* Vayalar Ramavarma
* Veerankutty
* Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup
* Vijayalakshmi
* Vishnunarayanan Namboothiri
* V Madhusoodanan Nair
* Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon
* Sreedevi Kakkad

Playwrights|

* C. J. Thomas
* C. L. Jose
* C. N. Sreekantan Nair
* Cherukad
* G. Sankara Pillai
* K. T. Muhammed
* M. Govindan
* Nalapat Narayana Menon
* S. L. Puram Sadanandan
* Thoppil Bhasi
* T. N. Gopinathan Nair
* V. T. Bhattathiripad

Children's literature|

* Malayath Appunni
* P. Narendranath
* Sumangala
* Shebaly
* Sippy Pallippuram
* Kiliroor Radhakrishnan

Essayists/Critics|

* Annie Thayyil
* C. N. Ahmad Moulavi
* C. S. Venkiteswaran
* Joseph Mundassery
* K. M. Daniel
* K. P. Appan
* K. P. Sankaran
* K. Damodaran
* K. M. George
* Kesari Balakrishna Pillai
* Kozhikodan
* Kuttikrishna Marar
* Kuttipuzha Krishna Pillai
* M. K. Sanu
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* M. Leelavathy
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* V. V. K. Valath

Scholars and
Grammarians|

* A. R. Raja Raja Varma
* Arnos Paathiri
* George Mathan
* Hermann Gundert
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* Kottarathil Sankunni
* Krishna Chaithanya
* R. Narayana Panickar
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* Leela Devi
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