தமிழ் வினைச்சொற்கள் — Tamil Verbs and Tenses

தமிழில் வினைச்சொற்களைக் கற்போம்.

நான் படிக்கிறேன். / I read.

நான் படித்தேன். / I read, in the past.

நான் படிப்பேன். / I will read.

The person has not changed. The action has not changed. The verb tells us when it happens. Tamil packs a lot of information into its endings, but you can begin with a few complete forms rather than memorising every verb class at once.

This chapter uses standard written Tamil. It is a first guide to common positive forms, a few negatives and useful requests, not a promise that all Tamil verbs follow one rule. Spoken varieties often shorten the written forms.

1. Start with six useful actions

These basic forms can also be direct commands to someone familiar. A dictionary form is not automatically a polite request. We will come back to polite forms below.

வா deserves attention: its other forms commonly begin வர-, as in வருகிறேன், “I come.” Do not try to build every form by adding letters to வா.

2. Present, past and future side by side

Learn a small set as whole words. Every form in this table belongs with நான், “I.”

Read the first row: padikkirayn / padiththayn / padippayn.

The other rows: kudikkirayn / kudiththayn / kudippayn; paarkkirayn / paarththayn / paarppayn; ezhudhugirayn / ezhudhinayn / ezhudhuvayn; varugirayn / vandhayn / varuvayn; pohgirayn / pohnayn / pohvayn.

The present can describe a regular action or something happening now. English might translate படிக்கிறேன் as “I read,” “I study,” or “I am reading,” depending on context. Tamil also has fuller constructions that explicitly mark an ongoing action; you do not need them to begin reading simple sentences.

3. Give the sentence a time clue

நான் தினமும் தமிழ் படிக்கிறேன்.

Naan dhinamum thamizh padikkirayn. / I study Tamil every day.

நான் நேற்று தமிழ் படித்தேன்.

Naan naytru thamizh padiththayn. / I studied Tamil yesterday.

நான் நாளை தமிழ் படிப்பேன்.

Naan naalai thamizh padippayn. / I will study Tamil tomorrow.

Yesterday and tomorrow make the contrast easy to hear. Later, you will meet future forms used for habits and other meanings. In these beginner examples, நாளை clearly places the action in the future.

4. Change the person, then the ending

The form for “I read” cannot serve unchanged for “she reads.” Here is படி in the present:

Look at the last part: -ஏன் for நான், -ஆள் for அவள், -ஓம் for “we.” These endings are a useful clue even when the subject is not written out. Tamil can omit a pronoun when the context and verb ending already make it clear.

The same person distinction appears in the past and future:

• அவள் படித்தாள். / Aval padiththaal. / She studied.
• அவள் படிப்பாள். / Aval padippaal. / She will study.
• நாங்கள் படித்தோம். / Naangal padiththohm. / We studied.
• நாங்கள் படிப்போம். / Naangal padippohm. / We will study.

Do not transfer these human endings to every animal or object. Ordinary non-human agreement is different: பூனை வருகிறது. / Poonai varugiradhu. / The cat is coming. In children's stories, a personified animal may be treated differently.

5. Why one formula is not enough

For many affirmative forms, you can recognise a verb stem, a tense element and a person ending. But the stem and tense element do not look identical in every verb.

Compare:

• படி → படித்தேன் / I studied.
• எழுது → எழுதினேன் / I wrote.
• வா → வந்தேன் / I came.
• போ → போனேன் / I went.

Attaching the same past ending to all four would give wrong forms. A practical habit is to learn each new verb with its “I” present, past and future forms. Then practise changing the person using a known pattern.

For future forms, compare படிப்பேன் and எழுதுவேன். The first has -ப்ப-, the second -வ-. These are useful recurring patterns, but they are not instructions to guess an unfamiliar verb from its meaning.

6. Say “did not” and “will not”

Start with a clear past-time example:

நான் நேற்று படிக்கவில்லை.

Naan naytru padikkavillai. / I did not study yesterday.

அவள் நேற்று படிக்கவில்லை.

Aval naytru padikkavillai. / She did not study yesterday.

படிக்கவில்லை stays the same in these two sentences. It does not take the positive endings -ஏன் and -ஆள். The time word and context help identify the time; this construction can also be used in present contexts.

For a clear future negative:

நான் நாளை வர மாட்டேன்.

Naan naalai vara maattayn. / I will not come tomorrow.

அவள் நாளை வர மாட்டாள்.

Aval naalai vara maattaal. / She will not come tomorrow.

Now the final word changes to match the person. மாட்டேன் and மாட்டாள் can express refusal or unwillingness as well as a negative future, depending on context. They are not universal equivalents of every English “not.”

7. Ask about an action

Add a yes/no question ending to the complete form:

Read the questions: neengal padikkireergalaa / padiththeergalaa / padippeergalaa.

There is no separate Tamil word corresponding to English “do” in these questions. The verb and its ending do the work.

8. Make a polite request

தயவுசெய்து இங்கே வாருங்கள்.

Thayavuseydhu ingay vaarungal. / Please come here.

தயவுசெய்து உங்கள் பெயரை எழுதுங்கள்.

Thayavuseydhu ungal peyarai ezhudhungal. / Please write your name.

தயவுசெய்து means “please.” The respectful verb form matters too; adding a polite word does not make every blunt command suitable in every situation.

9. Read three days of practice

These are learning examples, not an excerpt from a story.

The words change, but the pattern stays manageable: who, when, what, action. Find the verb at the end of each line before looking at the English.

10. Practise, then check

1. Choose the past form: நான் நேற்று தமிழ் ___ . (படிக்கிறேன் / படித்தேன்)
2. Complete: அவள் நாளை ___ . (வருவேன் / வருவாள்)
3. Change நான் படிக்கிறேன் to “We study,” including your listener.
4. Translate நான் நேற்று எழுதினேன்.
5. Turn நீங்கள் படித்தீர்கள் into a question.
6. Give the polite form of வா.
7. Change “I did not study yesterday” to “She did not study yesterday.”
8. Translate “I will not come tomorrow” using the pattern above.
9. Which is correct for “I came”: வந்தேன் or வாத்தேன்?
10. What changes between நான் படிப்பேன் and அவள் படிப்பாள்?

Answers

1. நான் நேற்று தமிழ் படித்தேன். / I studied Tamil yesterday.
2. அவள் நாளை வருவாள். / She will come tomorrow.
3. நாம் படிக்கிறோம்.
4. I wrote yesterday.
5. நீங்கள் படித்தீர்களா?
6. வாருங்கள்.
7. அவள் நேற்று படிக்கவில்லை. The negative verb stays the same here.
8. நான் நாளை வர மாட்டேன்.
9. வந்தேன். Learn it as the past form of வா.
10. The subject and the matching person ending change. Both verbs remain future forms.

A five-minute practice habit

Choose one action each day. Say its “I” form for yesterday, today and tomorrow. Then change “I” to “she.” Write one full sentence for each form, using the table to check yourself.

For படி, your starting set is படித்தேன், படிக்கிறேன், படிப்பேன். Learn that small set well before adding another verb.

Reading aids: aa, ee and oo are long vowels; ay represents ஏ and oh represents ஓ. Keep ay and oh steady rather than using an English glide. th is dental, not English “thin”; dh is a convenient spelling for its softer voiced value. Simple Roman letters cannot show every Tamil sound distinction.

Explore another language with this related lesson:

Grammar references: Chicago Tamil Course: past forms and negative forms, Learn Tamil: present and future, and MSU Basic Tamil: verb endings. Explanations, examples and practice activities by LangFastPro.