Kannada grammar

Kannada grammar () is the set of structural rules of the Kannada language, which has a long native tradition dating back to Kēśirāja's treatise, the Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa ("The Jewel Mirror of Language") c. 1260 CE). The Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa continues to be cited by modern writers of literary Kannada. Kannada prior to the 13th century is generally known as ಹಳೆಗನ್ನಡ (haḷegannaḍa), "Old Kannada", in modern scholarship, while the medieval language before the 18th century CE is known as ನಡುಗನ್ನಡ (naḍugannaḍa),"Middle Kannada" or ಮಧ್ಯಕಾಲೀನ ಕನ್ನಡ (madhyakālīna kannaḍa) "Medieval Kannada". In the premodern tradition, Kēśirāja's work remained the literary standard for the Kannada language for centuries until the colonial era when Modern Kannada (ಹೊಸಗನ್ನಡ hosagannaḍa) became systematized for the first time.

Evidence of earlier authorities include portions of the Kavirājamārga (a treatise on Kannada literary aesthetics) of the 9th century CE. Sanskrit grammars of Kannada also exist, drawing on the Sanskrit tradition of Pāṇinī. These include the Karṇāṭakabhāṣābhūṣaṇa of Nagavarma II, composed prior to Kēśirāja (12th century CE), and the Karṇāṭaka Śabdānuśāsana of Bhaṭṭākalaṅka Dēva was composed in the 16th century CE. Later commentaries on Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa include the 16th century Sūtrānvayaratnamāle of Liṅgaṇārādhya and the 18th century commentary by Niṣṭhūra (or Niṭṭūru) Nañjayya.

The first treatise on Kannada grammar in English was written in 1864 by Rev. Thomas Hodson, a Wesleyan missionary, as An Elementary Grammar of the Kannada, or Canarese Language. Rev. Ferdinand Kittel's A Grammar of the Kannada Language in English remains an authority on the history of the Kannada language, documenting and comparing the ancient, middle and modern stages of Kannada. Modern authorities of Kannada include T.V. Venkatachalashastry, who has written a commentary on the Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa, called the Darpaṇavivaraṇa, and T.N. Srikantaiah, a Kannada educator and scholar who wrote An Intermediate Grammar of Kannada. While many dialects with variant usages exist, the standard form of literary Kannada derived from the grammatical tradition is described here.

Nouns

Gender, number, and animacy

Modern literary Kannada nouns are distinguished as human and non-human. This is a feature known as animacy or rationality in Tamil, and is found across other Dravidian languages. Animate nouns can be marked with the masculine or feminine gender, though only certain, native Kannada roots and pronouns require an explicit gender marker. Human beings, deities, and personified animals are treated as animate, while all other nouns are considered inanimate and grammatically neuter (including animals that have biological sex and mass nouns including people). Infants and young children are also typically referred to in the neuter before they can express themselves.

While there are several derivational suffixes that can mark gender, such as -iga/-iti (m./f.), the most common suffixes are the gender-number markers -n, -ḷ, -(a)r, and -gaḷ. The suffixes -n and -ḷ mark the masculine and feminine singular, though this depends on the root. For nouns of Sanskrit origin, the -ḷ ending can be used to derive a feminine noun, but this is often considered archaic in modern Kannada, especially for nouns that are already semantically feminine (ex. strī "woman"). Native Kannada nouns too will opt to use the -n as an epicene (not marking gender) singular, even though verbs and other elements of a sentence may convey a semantically feminine subject.

The suffixes -(a)r and -gaḷ are both epicene but are partially distinguished by animacy. Only human nouns can take -(a)r, but -gaḷ can be taken by all nouns. Nouns ending in -a tend to take the -(a)r plural, while all others take -gaḷ. Both endings can also be used to convey an honorific plural, where the marked noun may be singular, but is treated as grammatically plural to convey respect. A doubled plural combining -(a)r and -gaḷ is not uncommon for titles and nouns referring to respected persons (ex. rājarugaḷu). Furthermore, some nouns can appear with either plural: strīyaru and strīgaḷu both occur. (The a in -(a)r is added in the case of noun roots that don't already end in -(a).)

There is also the kinship plural -andir, which is used exclusively with nouns of Kannada origin that mark family relations (one exception is bhāvandiru "brothers-in-law".) Adjectives marked in the plural can also take the neuter plural ending -(a)vu when qualifying a head noun that is plural or when marking an otherwise unspecified plural subject (ex. "the big ones"). Mass nouns and other phrases which denote plurals semantically are often treated as grammatically singular, a principle known as jātyēkavacana (the "categorical singular").

Noun declension

Kannada has six morphologically distinct cases: nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, genitive, and locative. Traditional grammarians have listed the ablative as a separate case function, having modeled Kannada grammar on the Sanskrit tradition, though the instrumental encompasses this meaning. Ashwathanarayana et al recommend the use of the postposition dese ("origin", "cause") in the instrumental to distinguish the ablative in Kannada, but add that it is not a case ending. Sreekantaiya points out that the ablative is not regularly used in this way either. The vocative is also sometimes considered an eighth case, but is usually treated as an application of the -e/ē of emphasis (avadhāraṇa) to the nominative case. The vocative can be expressed by lengthening the final vowel of a noun as well, or in the plural, with the specifically vocative endings -a/ā and -ir/irā, which are usually appended to the nominative.

Declensional classes and augments

Kannada has six declensional classes, some of which are historically described in the Śabdamaṇidarpaṇa and the grammatical tradition. They are broadly defined by the augments (āgama ) taken to form the oblique, which are stem forms that receive case endings (pratyaya). There are five augments: "zero" (marked Ø), d, in, aṇ, and ar. The "zero" class is called as such because traditional grammars describe the roots' declensions as resulting from sandhi, and thus don't require an augment. Some Old Kannada roots referring to persons had obligatory gender-number markers, which are not usually indicated in the modern language outside of written contexts. The "zero" class assumes the presence of -n, -ḷ, -(a)r, -gaḷ, or -andir in the root to be declined.

The declensional classes derive from their Old Kannada syllable structure, which has changed over time. Many words in Modern Kannada, through its medieval stage, underwent epenthesis by inserting i and u at the ends of certain consonant-final syllables. In Old Kannada, sonorant consonants were permitted at the ends of word roots, and along with short and long root vowels, defined the declensional classes. These sonorants have -u appended at the end in the modern language. The following table explains these classes and their obliques, summarizing B. Ramachandra Rao's description. The augments have been bolded below, and implied augments in the "zero" class have been put in parentheses.

	Subtype	Characteristics	Oblique augment	Example
Class I	1a	Roots that take gender-number markers, including third person pronoun roots ava- and āta-	Ø	tamma(n) ("younger brother") ava(ḷ) ("she") arasa(r) ("king(s)") bandhu(gaḷ) ("relatives")
	1b	Roots with final -ṇ, -n, y, l, and ḷ		kāl ("leg") kaṇ ("eye")
	1c	Inanimate nouns with disyllabic roots with final -i and -e		giḷi(y) ("parrot") tale(y) ("head")
Class II		Roots ending in -u or -ū	-in	kāḍu ("forest") -> kāḍin hū ("flower") -> hūvin
Class III		Sanskrit nouns and inanimate, native Kannada nouns with final -a	-v/d	mēgha(v)/mēghad ("cloud") mara(v)/marad ("tree")
Class IV		Native Kannada nouns indicating directions and location	-aṇ	keḷage ("down/below") -> kelagaṇ mūḍu ("east") -> mūḍaṇ
Class V		Roots denoting number	-ar	ondu -> ondaṟ
Class VI		Pronominal roots in the first and second person	short and long roots in different cases	nān ("I") ~ nan nāv ("we") ~ nam

In Modern Kannada, some of these classes are obsolete, particularly in everyday speech. Class Ib and IV tend to be declined as members of Class II, though erudite speakers may continue to use the older augments to emulate the classical language (particularly in writing). Kittel notes that in some places, the genitive form of Class IV nouns (i.e. the stem + -aṇa) has fossilized as a noun unto itself, which is then declined in Class III due to the -a final. The currency of Class V varies from place to place, also sometimes merged in Class II. Nouns of Class 1a tend to be given in dictionaries without their gender-number marker, requiring the speaker to know which marker to apply.

Case Endings and Sandhi

Case endings in Kannada are appended to the oblique stem described above. Different classes' oblique stem are used for different cases. The oblique is obligatory in all cases for Class I nouns, whereas the other classes only require the oblique in the instrumental-ablative, dative, genitive, and locative.

Each ending comes in an abstract form that may undergo sandhi in contact with the oblique stem. The dative case mark -i(ge) sometimes undergoes sandhi due to the contact of -ge with the stem (becoming -kke), and elsewhere does not due to the interceding -i. Similar to the implied sandhi of Class I, Class III nouns take -v before case endings, which is not considered an augment, but a natural product of sandhi between the final a and vowel-initial case endings. Notice also that oblique of any class with a short root vowel and final sonorant doubles its final consonant before a vowel-initial case ending. This made a rule from Old Kannada (where the final sonorants of short vowels double before vowel-initial endings) a permanent change in Modern Kannada. It is for this reason that such nouns are often declined as Class II nouns in the modern language, as the root form is no longer visible.

The various declensions are described below, with the case ending bolded, and hyphenated where sandhi occurs.

	Class
Case	Ending	Ia	Ib	Ic	II	III	IV	V	VI
nominative	-u	tammanu	kaṇṇ-u	giḷiy-a	kāḍ-u	marav-u	mūḍ-u	ond-u	nānu
accusative	-annu/anna	tammanannu	kaṇṇ-annu	giḷiy-a	kāḍ-annu	marav-annu	mūḍ-annu	ond-annu	nann-annu
instrumental-ablative	-inda	tammaninda	kaṇṇ-inda	giḷiy-inda	kāḍininda	marad-inda	mūḍaṇinda	ondar-inda	nann-inda
dative	-(i)ge	tammanige	kaṇṇ-ige	giḷige	kāḍ-ige	mara-kke	mūḍaṇige	ondarige/ ond-akke	nanage*
genitive	-a	tammana	kaṇṇ-a	giḷiy-a	kāḍina	marada	mūḍaṇa	ondara	nann-a
locative	-alli	tammanalli	kaṇṇ-alli	giḷiy-alli	kāḍinalli	maradalli	mūḍaṇalli	ondaralli	nann-alli
vocative	-ē	tammanē	kaṇṇ-ē	giḷiy-ē	kāḍē	mara-vē	mūḍē	ond-ē	nān-ē

*Exceptional case where sandhi does not double the final sonorant and changes the -i to -a. This occurs in all nouns of this class (ex. nīnu -> ninage, nāvu -> namage). Note in the case of nāvu ("we") and nīvu ("you" pl.), the final v becomes m in its short oblique, a remnant of Old Kannada, where m and v often alternate.

Case variation and compound cases

In addition to the cases listed above, Kannada exhibits what grammarians call "case variation" (vibhakti-pallaṭa). Recognized as early as Kēśirāja, this phenomenon refers to the use of one case for the meaning of another. This was much more common in Middle Kannada, especially in vernacular poetry. For example, the accusative may be used in the sense of the locative (particularly as a destination), and the locative in the sense of the instrumental. This tends to vary dialectically and it is difficult to establish strict patterns for its occurrence.

Relatedly, Kannada also has a number of postpositions that compound or extend the basic case forms, such as kaiyalli (lit. "in the hand", idiomatically "by means of"), the dative followed by ōskara, expressing "for the sake of", or the dative with -inta ("in this way", "therefrom") forming the comparative. These also tend to vary dialectically, and are not typically acknowledged in the grammatical tradition.

Adjectives

Kannada adjectives (guṇavācaka) are unique in that only around fifty native roots function as true adjectives, not including Sanskrit loans. Numbers and demonstrative adjectives (ī "this" and ā "that") can be used to indicate definiteness, though attributive use of nouns and adjectives is more common. Native roots can be used to modify nouns by appending -u and -(a)vu to -i/e final roots and (a)du and -(a)duvu to -a/u final and sonorant-final roots respectively as number-agreeing markers, though this is not obligatory in speech. It is required, however, when used as standalone nouns, especially if they refer to persons marked with a pronoun: cikkavaḷu ("she who is younger") or eḷeyavaru ("they who are short").

In the modern colloquial language, there exists a holdover from Middle Kannada, where the final vowel of disyllabic adjectives can be lengthened when they agree with a stated noun (ex. biḷī kūdalu "white hair") for biḷiya kūdalu). Similarly, some sonorant-final adjectives (vis à vis Old Kannada) and -a/u final adjectives take a long ē (ex. oḷḷē mātu "kind words" for oḷḷu matu).

Kittel points out that many Kannada adjectives, whether Sanskrit or native in origin, behave partly like nouns. Sanskrit nouns in particular tend to use the past participle ಆದ -āda ("which became/is") to modify a noun, or else use an adjective directly borrowed from Sanskrit.

Verbs (ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳು)

Like nouns, Kannada verbal roots (dhātu) or "themes" (in Kittel's description) are distributed across different classes or groups (gaṇa), based primarily on their syllabic structure, as is the case in other Dravidian languages. Kannada verbs are conjugated for tense, aspect, person, number, and gender (in the third person), taking various personal endings. Like other Dravidian languages, Kannada's tense is distinguished primarily as past and non-past, though there are finer distinctions made in the literary language compared with the spoken language. Aspect is often conveyed by periphrastic forms that combine a basic tense with participles to form more complex meanings. Certain dialects of Northern Kannada, such as Dharwar Kannada, preserve certain forms of Middle Kannada that are not found in Southern Kannada.

Verbal roots and conjugational classes

Kannada verbs fall into one of six classes, based on the way they form their past participle. The specific patterns of each class result from sandhi that occurred in Old and Middle Kannada, where the boundary between the past sign and the root was more evident. The basic past sign is -(i)du, which is suffixed to any verb root, and may undergo sandhi.

The table below describes verb classes, principally drawing on B. Ramachandra Rao's description of Old Kannada, and making adjustments for Modern Kannada. The main difference between Old Kannada and Modern Kannada roots is the addition of an -u at the end of roots, the removal of which usually reveals the root form (bolded) that causes sandhi in the past sign.

	Subtype	Characteristics of Stem and Past Participle	Examples with past participle
Class I	1a	Monosyllabic, short root vowels ending in -l, -r, and -ḷ; past participle has a geminate dental stop	iru "to be/exist" -> iddu, aḷu "to cry" -> attu
	1b	Monosyllabic, long root vowel with sonorant finals; past participle simply takes -idu without sandhi	kēḷu "to listen/hear" -> kēḷidu
	1c	Disyllabic, short i or e as the root vowel, with sonorant final; past participle simply takes -idu without sandhi	usiru "to breathe" -> usiridu
	1d	Disyllabic, short a or u as the root vowel, with sonorant final or sonorant in the final syllable; past participle takes -itu without	kavaru "to seize" -> kavaritu kuri "to aim/intend" -> kuritu
Class II	IIa	Long root vowel with no final consonant; past participle takes -du without the -i augment (in literary Kannada)	kāyu "to wait/become hot" -> kādu (literary)/kāyidu (spoken)
	IIb	Final -i/e and takes -du without the -i augment; in the 3rd person neuter, the past sign is dropped (kuri does this exceptionally, despite being in Class 1d)	ari "to know/understand" -> aridu tiḷi "to be clear/know" -> tiḷidu
Class III	IIIa	Disyllabic with long root vowel, geminate, or cluster before final -u; past participle takes -idu	kūḍu "to meet" -> kūḍidu
	IIIb	Disyllabic with a short root vowel and voiced consonant in final syllable; past participle devoices and geminates the stop without taking -idu (in literary Kannada)	nagu "to laugh" -> nakku (literary)/nakkidu (spoken)
	IIIc	Trisyllabic with final -u; past participle takes -idu	maḍasu "to fold" -> maḍasidu
	IIId	Monosyllabic, short root vowel with final -y, -n, -ṇ, -r, -l, and -ḷ (aḷu is exceptional), past participle forms with nasal and -du, retroflexing if the final is -ḷ	tinnu "to eat" -> tindu
Class IV	IVa	Short e/o in the root with -ḍu, -ru, or -su as the final syllable; past participle ending becomes -ṭṭu, -ttu, and -ccu respectively	koḍu "to give" -> koṭṭu teru "to pay" -> tettu bisu "to solder" -> beccu
	IVb	Short root vowels (other than e or o) with -ḍu as the final syllable; past participle is -ṭṭu	iḍu "to place" - iṭṭu suḍu "to burn" -> suṭṭu
Class V	Va	Long root vowel with final ḷ and ṇ; past participle shortens root vowel and takes a geminate dental stop or nasalized retroflex stop	ēḷu "to rise/get up" -> eddu kāṇu "to see/be seen" -> kaṇḍu
	Vb	Long root vowel with final l and r; past participle drops the final and takes -tu	sōlu "to lose" -> sōtu kūru "to sit" -> kūtu
	Vc	Long root vowel without a final consonant; past participle takes -tu	hūvu "to bloom" -> hūtu
	Vd	Long vowel with irregular y glide; past participle shortens the final vowel and glide becomes t before du, forming a voiceless geminate dental stop	sāyu "to die" -> sattu īyu "to give/grant" -> ittu
Class VI	a	Irregular roots taru, baru, and mīyu ; past participle takes a nasal with -du	baru -> bandu taru -> tandu mīyu -> mindu
	b	Irregular roots hōgu and āgu; past participle forms with -du but replaces -gu with -yi in the 3rd person neuter, and the converb forms with -gi	hōgu -> hōgi/hōyi/hōdu āgu -> āgi/āyi/ādu

Finite verb forms (ಆಖ್ಯಾತರೂಪಗಳು)

Kannada verbs have several forms: an affirmative form (ನಿಶ್ಚಯರೂಪ), a contingent-future, or potential, form (ಸಂಭಾವರೂಪ), an imperative form (ವಿಧಿರೂಪ), and a negative form (ನಿಷೇಧರೂಪ). The contingent-future form expresses the idea of the possibility of an action's occurrence at the present or in the future; the imperative form commands, exhorts, or optates.

As in English, the three tenses (ಕಾಲಗಳು) include the present tense (ವರ್ತಮಾನಕಾಲ), the past tense (ಭೂತಕಾಲ), and the future tense (ಭವಿಷ್ಯತ್ತುಕಾಲ). However, distinct forms for each of these tenses exist only in the affirmative form. The imperative form, as in English, lacks tense, and because of the meaning of the contingent-future form, it also lacks tense distinctions. The negative form is peculiar, for its forms can possess a present-tense, past-tense, or future-tense meaning, to be inferred from context; in the modern dialect, other modes of negation are employed.

There are two grammatical aspects (ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಳು) of verbs—the perfect aspect (ಪೂರ್ಣವಾಚಕ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ), in which the action has already occurred at the time expressed by the tense of the verb, and the progressive aspect (ಗತಿಸೂಚಕ ಸ್ಥಿತಿ), in which the action is ongoing at the time expressed by the tense of the verb.

The expression of voice (ಪ್ರಯೋಗ) in Kannada is quite different than in English, but the same two voices exist in both languages—the active voice (ಕರ್ತರೀ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ) and the passive voice (ಕರ್ಮಣಿ ಪ್ರಯೋಗ).

Finite Kannada verbs are conjugated for all these properties as well as three properties of the subject: person (ಪುರುಷ), number (ವಚನ), and gender (ಲಿಂಗ). There are three persons in Kannada as in English: thefirst person (ಉತ್ತಮ ಪುರುಷ), the second person (ಮಧ್ಯಮ ಪುರುಷ), and the third person (ಪ್ರಥಮ ಪುರುಷ)—as well as a singular number (ಏಕವಚನ) and a plural number (ಬಹುವಚನ). Whether a noun is of the masculine gender (ಪುಲ್ಲಿಂಗ), of the feminine gender (ಸ್ತ್ರೀಲಿಂಗ), or of the neuter gender (ನಪುಂಸಕಲಿಂಗ) is decided semantically. All nouns denoting male entities, including entities personified—for example, religiously—as male entities, are masculine, and all feminine nouns denote female entities or femalely personified entities; the remaining nouns fall into the neuter gender.

Non-finite verb forms (ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳ ಅವ್ಯಯರೂಪಗಳು)

The first non-finite verb form is the infinitive form (ಭಾವರೂಪ). There are three infinitives, which vary in their uses and their endings. Other than the infinitive, Kannada has two types of participle—an adjectival participle (ಕೃದ್ವಾಚಿ) and an adverbial participle (ಕ್ರಿಯಾನ್ಯೂನ). While the present participle of English can function both adjectivally and adverbially, and the past participle can function only adjectivally, Kannada participles’ functions are quite consistent. The Kannada adjectival participle is peculiar, for it takes the place of the relative pronoun that introduces a restrictive relative clause, the verb of the relative clause, and if the relative pronoun is a prepositional complement, of the governing preposition. There is a present-future adjectival participle, as well as a past adjectival participle. The adverbial participle has a present-tense form and a past-tense form, and modifies the verb of the sentence. The adverbial participle may accept its own nominative, as may the adjectival participle in its clause. Kannada does not have a gerund, but nouns that express the same idea can be formed by suffixing the third-person neuter pronoun to the present adjectival participle.

Inflecting verbs for non-finite forms (ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳ ಅವ್ಯಯರೂಪಗಳಿಗೆ ರೂಪನಿಷ್ಪತ್ತಿ)

Present adverbial participle (ವರ್ತಮಾನಕಾಲದ ಕ್ರಿಯಾನ್ಯೂನ)

To form the present adverbial participle of a verb, add the suffix 'ಉತ್ತ' to the crude form of the verb. There are no exceptions in the modern dialect, but occasionally the forms 'ಉತ' or 'ಉತ್ತಾ' may appear.

Past adverbial participle (ಭೂತಕಾಲದ ಕ್ರಿಯಾನ್ಯೂನ)

To form the past adverbial participle of a verb that ends in “ಉ,” (-u) add the suffix “ಇ” (-i) to the crude form of the verb. To form the past adverbial participle of a verb that ends in any vowel but “ಉ,” (-u) add the suffix “ದು” (-du) to the crude form of the verb.

There are many oddly formed past adverbial participles, some of them irregular, and some of them following old formations, and others changed for euphony. They are listed below:

For these verbs, or any modern forms of them:

• ಕವಲು
• ಮಡಲು
• ಬಲಿ
• ಕಲಿ
• ಹೋಲು
• ಸಾಲು
• ಸೋಲು
• ಹೇಲು
• ನೂಲು
• ಕೂರಿ
• ಕೊನರು
• ತಳಿರು
• ಚಿಗುರು
• ಬೆವರು
• ಅಳು
• ಉಳು
• ಕೀಳು
• ಚಳಿ
• ಮೊಳೆ
• ಅರಿ
• ಕುರಿ
• ಬಾ
• ಕೀ

suffix “ತು.”

Certain final consonants are replaced with other consonants before the “ದು” or the “ತು” of the past participle. Before 'ದು': ಲ್ → ದ್; ಳ್ → ದ್. Before “ತು”: ಱ್ → ತ್; ಱು (in which the final “ಉ” was originally euphonic, as with the euphonic “ಉ” for nouns) → ತ್

The following verbs’ past participles can be formed regularly, but there is also another, irregular form of those verbs: ಆಗು → ಆಯ್; ಪೋಗು → ಪೋಯ್; ಹೋಗು → ಹೋಯ್

Present-future adjectival participle (ವರ್ತಮಾನಕಾಲದ ಮತ್ತು ಭವಿಷ್ಯತ್ತುಕಾಲದ ಕೃದ್ವಾಚಿ)

To form the present-future adjectival participle, add the suffix “ಉವ” (-uva) to the crude form of the verb. There are not irregulars for this form in the modern dialect.

Past adjectival participle (ಭೂತಕಾಲದ ಕೃದ್ವಾಚಿ)

The past adjectival participle of the verb is formed from the past adverbial participle. If the past adverbial participle of a verb ends in 'ಉ' (-u), add 'ಅ' (-a) to the end of the past adverbial participle to form the past adjectival participle. If the past adverbial participle of a verb ends in 'ಇ' (-i), add 'ದ' (-da) to the end of the past adverbial participle.

Irregular past adjectival participles include: 'ಆದ' (āda), from crude verb root 'ಆಗು' (āgu, to be/become); 'ಪೋದ' (pōda), from crude verb root 'ಪೋಗು' (pōgu, to go); and 'ಹೋದ' (hōda), from crude verb root 'ಹೋಗು' (hōgu, to go).

Inflecting verbs for finite forms / Conjugation (ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದಗಳ ಆಖ್ಯಾತರೂಪಗಳಿಗೆ ರೂಪನಿಷ್ಪತ್ತಿ / ಆಖ್ಯಾತಮಾರ್ಗ)

Affirmative form (ನಿಶ್ಚಯರೂಪ)

To conjugate verbs in their present-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the present adverbial participle.

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಏನೆ (-ēne)	ಏವೆ (-ēve)
2nd person		ಈ/ಈಯೆ (-ī / -īye)	ಈರಿ (-īri)
3rd person	masculine	ಆನೆ (-āne)	ಆರೆ (-āre)
	feminine	ಆಳೆ (-āḷe)	ಆರೆ (-āre)
	neuter	ಅದೆ (-āde)	ಅವೆ (-āve)

To conjugate verbs in their past-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the past adjectival participle, except for the third person neuter singular suffix, which is attached to the past adverbial participle.

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಎನು (-enu)	ಎವು (-evu)
2nd person		ಇ/ಎ (-i / -e)	ಇರಿ (-iri)
3rd person	masculine	ಅನು (-anu)	ಅರು (-aru)
	feminine	ಅಳು (-aḷu)	ಅರು (-aru)
	neuter	ಇತು (-itu)	ಉವು/ಅವು (-uvu / -avu)

To conjugate verbs in their future-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the present-future adjectival participle.

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಎನು	ಎವು
2nd person		ಇ/ಎ	ಇರಿ
3rd person	masculine	ಅನು	ಅರು
	feminine	ಅಳು	ಅರು
	neuter	ಉದು/ಅದು	ಉವು/ಅವು

Negative form (ನಿಷೇಧರೂಪ)

The negative form of the verb does not have any tense. Tense must be told from context. However, more commonly used to negate a verb is the negative word 'ಇಲ್ಲ'.

Suffix these terminations (which are the same as the future tense's suffixes) to the verbal infinitive that ends in "ಅ" for the tenseless negative form:

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಎನು (-enu)	ಎವು (-evu)
2nd person		ಎ (-e)	ಅರಿ (-ari)
3rd person	masculine	ಅನು (-anu)	ಅರು (-aru)
	feminine	ಅಳು (-aḷu)	ಅರು (-aru)
	neuter	ಅದು (-adu)	ಅವು (-avu)

The negative form has only the irregular formation that 'ಇಲ್ಲ' may be alternatively used in place of the regular negative forms of 'ಇರು'.

Contingent-future form (ಸಂಭಾವರೂಪ/ಸಂಭಾವನಾರೂಪ)

The contingent-future form expresses the idea that the action of a verb may perhaps occur in the future. For example, 'ಮಾಡಿಯೇನು', which is conjugated in the contingent-future form, may be translated as 'I might do (it)'.

These are the suffixes for the contingent-future form, suffixed to the past adverbial participle for verbs ending in 'ಉ' or the past adjectival participle for verbs ending in 'ಎ' or 'ಇ':

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಏನು (-ēnu)	ಏವು (-ēvu)
2nd person		ಈಯೆ (-īye)	ಈರಿ (-īri)
3rd person	masculine	ಆನು (-ānu)	ಆರು (-āru)
	feminine	ಆಳು (-āḷu)	ಆರು (-āru)
	neuter	ಈತು (-ītu)	ಆವು (-āvu)

The contingent-future form does not have irregular formations.

Imperative form (ವಿಧಿರೂಪ)

The imperative form of the verb optates, exhorts, or commands. For example, the first-person and the third-person imperative expresses the idea of 'may/let {I/we/he/she/it/they} ___'. However, the second-person imperative is used either to command ('Do something!') or with an optative or jussive sense ('may you ___'), depending on the verb's meaning and the context.

These suffixes are attached to the root of the verb:

		singular number	plural number
1st person		ಅಲಿ/ಉವೆ	ಓಣ/ಅಲಿ/ಉವಾ
2nd person		Ø	ಇರಿ
3rd person	masculine	ಅಲಿ	ಅಲಿ
	feminine	ಅಲಿ	ಅಲಿ
	neuter	ಅಲಿ	ಅಲಿ

Below are the irregular imperative forms:

• second-person plural imperative 'ಇರಿ', from crude verb root 'ಇರು'
• second-person singular imperative 'ಕೋ', from crude verb root 'ಕೊಳ್ಳು'
• second-person singular imperative 'ಬೋ', from crude verb root 'ಬೋಲು'
• second-person plural imperative 'ತರಿ', from crude verb root 'ತರು'
• second-person singular imperative 'ತಾ', from crude verb root 'ತರು'
• second-person plural imperative 'ಬನ್ನಿ' or 'ಬನ್ನಿರಿ', from crude verb root 'ಬರು'
• second-person singular imperative 'ಬಾ', from crude verb root 'ಬರು'

A Summary of All Verb Forms (ಎಲ್ಲ ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದ ರೂಪಗಳ ಸಾರಾಂಶ)

Below is a table that shows how a verb ending in 'ಉ' conjugates and how a verb ending in 'ಎ' or 'ಇ' conjugates with the verbs 'ಮಾಡು' (to do) and 'ಕರೆ' (to call) respectively. It also shows the conjugation of the irregular verb 'ಇರು' (to be/exist) which is also used as an auxiliary verb.

	Present			Past			Future			Negative			Contingent-Future			Imperative
	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು
ನಾನು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೇನೆ	ಇದ್ಧೇನೆ	ಮಾಡಿದೆನು	ಕರೆದೆನು	ಇದ್ದೆನು	ಮಾಡುವೆನು	ಕರೆಯುವೆನು	ಇರುವೆನು	ಮಾಡೆನು	ಕರೆಯೆನು	ಇರೆನು	ಮಾಡಿಯೇನು	ಕರೆದೇನು	ಇದ್ದೇನು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ
ನೀನು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀ	ಇದ್ಧೀ	ಮಾಡಿದಿ	ಕರೆದಿ	ಇದ್ದಿ	ಮಾಡುವಿ	ಕರೆಯುವಿ	ಇರುವಿ	ಮಾಡೆ	ಕರೆಯೆ	ಇರೆ	ಮಾಡೀಯೆ	ಕರೆದೀಯೆ	ಇದ್ದೀಯೆ	ಮಾಡು	ಕರೆ	ಇರು
ಅವನು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ	ಇದ್ಧಾನೆ	ಮಾಡಿದನು	ಕರೆದನು	ಇದ್ದನು	ಮಾಡುವನು	ಕರೆಯುವನು	ಇರುವನು	ಮಾಡನು	ಕರೆಯನು	ಇರನು	ಮಾಡಿಯಾನು	ಕರೆದಾನು	ಇದ್ದಾನು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ
ಅವಳು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾಳೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾಳೆ	ಇದ್ಧಾಳೆ	ಮಾಡಿದಳು	ಕರೆದಳು	ಇದ್ದಳು	ಮಾಡುವಳು	ಕರೆಯುವಳು	ಇರುವಳು	ಮಾಡಳು	ಕರೆಯಳು	ಇರಳು	ಮಾಡಿಯಾಳು	ಕರೆದಾಳು	ಇದ್ದಾಳು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ
ಅದು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತದೆ	ಇದೆ	ಮಾಡಿತು	ಕರೆಯಿತು	ಇತ್ತು	ಮಾಡುವುದು	ಕರೆಯುವುದು	ಇರುವುದು	ಮಾಡದು	ಕರೆಯದು	ಇರದು	ಮಾಡೀತು	ಕರೆದೀತು	ಇದ್ದೀತು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ
ನಾವು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇವೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೇವೆ	ಇದ್ಧೇವೆ	ಮಾಡಿದೆವು	ಕರೆದೆವು	ಇದ್ದೆವು	ಮಾಡುವೆವು	ಕರೆಯುವೆವು	ಇರುವೆವು	ಮಾಡೆವು	ಕರೆಯೆವು	ಇರೆವು	ಮಾಡಿಯೇವು	ಕರೆದೇವು	ಇದ್ದೇವು	ಮಾಡೋಣ	ಕರೆಯೋಣ	ಇರೋಣ
ನೀವು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತೀರಿ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತೀರಿ	ಇದ್ಧೀರಿ	ಮಾಡಿದಿರಿ	ಕರೆದಿರಿ	ಇದ್ದಿರಿ	ಮಾಡುವಿರಿ	ಕರೆಯುವಿರಿ	ಇರುವಿರಿ	ಮಾಡರಿ	ಕರೆಯರಿ	ಇರರಿ	ಮಾಡೀರಿ	ಕರೆದೀರಿ	ಇದ್ದೀರಿ	ಮಾಡಿರಿ	ಕರೆಯಿರಿ	ಇರಿ
ಅವರು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ	ಇದ್ಧಾರೆ	ಮಾಡಿದರು	ಕರೆದರು	ಇದ್ದರು	ಮಾಡುವರು	ಕರೆಯುವರು	ಇರುವರು	ಮಾಡರು	ಕರೆಯರು	ಇರರು	ಮಾಡಿಯಾರು	ಕರೆದಾರು	ಇದ್ದಾರು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ
ಅವು	ಮಾಡುತ್ತವೆ	ಕರೆಯುತ್ತವೆ	ಇವೆ	ಮಾಡಿದುವು	ಕರೆದುವು	ಇದ್ದುವು	ಮಾಡುವುವು	ಕರೆಯುವುವು	ಇರುವುವು	ಮಾಡವು	ಕರೆಯವು	ಇರವು	ಮಾಡಿಯಾವು	ಕರೆದಾವು	ಇದ್ದಾವು	ಮಾಡಲಿ	ಕರೆಯಲಿ	ಇರಲಿ

Word order (ಪದವಿನ್ಯಾಸ)

Kannada word order is 'S-O-V', or 'subject-object-verb', as opposed to English, which is a 'S-V-O', or 'subject-verb-object' language. However, in Kannada, due to its highly inflected nature, a sentence's word order may be freely changed for style or emphasis.

Sentence constituents (ವಾಕ್ಯದ ಭಾಗಗಳು)

Kannada sentences have two basic parts: the subject and the predicate. The subject consists of the central topic of the sentence, declined to the nominative case, while the predicate consists of a verb, often with an object (which formally should be in the accusative case), or may have no verb and object at all but rather simply have another noun declined in the nominative case, known as the predicate nominative, where an equivalency statement is intended.

Example: ನಾನು (subject) ಮೇಜನ್ನು (object) ಕಟ್ಟಿದೆನು (verb). ('I built the table.' Here, the subject is 'I' and 'built the table' is the predicate, with 'built' as the verb and 'the table' as the object.

Example: ನಾನು (subject) ಕನ್ನಡದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಯು (predicate nominative). ('I (am) a student of Kannada.' Note that there is no direct Kannada equivalent for the verb 'to be' as a copula [linking verb], because Kannada is a zero-copula language, although the sentence may be alternatively written 'ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ(ಯನ್ನು) ಆಗಿದ್ಧೇನೆ.' literally meaning 'I am/exist having become a student of Kannada.'

Subject (ಕರ್ತೃ)

In Kannada, the subject is declined to the nominative case. While the subject almost always performs the action in Kannada (use of the passive voice is highly rare), the subject may actually be the patient.

In a sentence with a subject, verb, and object, if the subject has already been made clear or is known from context, the subject may be omitted, with the predicate standing alone to make the sentence.

Example: ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋಗುವೆನು. ('I will go home.' Here, we can omit the subject 'ನಾನು', meaning 'I' because it is clear by the termination of the verb (a first-person singular termination, the same person and number of 'I') that the subject is 'I'.

Example: ವಿನಯನು ಇವತ್ತು ವಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದನು. ('Vinay did not go to school today. {Vinay/he} came home.' In the second sentence, the subject 'Vinay' is omitted because it is clear from the previous sentence that the subject is 'Vinay'.)

Verb (ಕ್ರಿಯಾಪದ)

In Kannada, there cannot be more than one finite, or conjugated, verb in the sentence. For example, the sentence 'I went to school and came home.' cannot be literally translated into Kannada. The Kannada equivalent of that sentence would be 'Having gone to school, I came home.' In Kannada, adverbial participles must be used.

Example: ನಾನು ವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದೆನು. ('I, having gone to school, came home.' / 'I went to school and came home.')

Example: ನಾನು ಓಡಿ ಆಡುವೆನು. ('I, having run, will play.' / 'I will run and play.' Note that if the intention is to say that the two actions will happen simultaneously ('I will play as I run.') then the sentence would be written 'ನಾನು ಓಡುತ್ತ ಆಡುವೆನು.')

Dative construction (ಸಂಪ್ರದಾನಪದ ಕಾರ್ತೃವಾಗಿರುವ ವಾಕ್ಯ)

In Kannada, the dative construction is used often. The dative construction occurs when the semantic subject is in the dative case and semantic direct object is in the nominative case. For example, in Kannada, one does not say 'I feel cold'; rather, one says the equivalent of 'cold is happening to me' ('ನನಗೆ ಚಳಿಯು ಆಗುತ್ತ ಇದೆ'). Similarly, one says 'dinner is wanted to me' ('ನನಗೆ ಉಟವು ಬೇಕು' or 'ನನಗೆ ಊಟವು ಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ'; the latter literally is broken apart 'ನನಗೆ ಊಟವು ಬೇಕಾಗಿ ಇದೆ', literally meaning 'to me, dinner has become wanted/needed').

Yet another example is the use with 'ಇಷ್ಟ'. For example, one says 'ನನಗೆ ಸೇಬುಗಳು ಇಷ್ಟ ಆಗುತ್ತವೆ' (idiomatically--'I like apples'; literally--'to me, apples become pleasure').

Dative constructions are used to make the equivalent of English sensory linking verbs and with many modal auxiliary verbs. For example, 'I see him' is translated as 'he causes me to see (him)', with 'me' in the dative case.

Negation (ನಿಷೇಧ)

Negative words (ನಿಷೇಧಾರ್ಥಕ ಪದಗಳು)

Kannada does not have any semantically negative words such as 'never', 'no one', and 'nothing'. These words are expressed by negating the verb with the positive equivalent of the negative word. For example, in Kannada, one cannot say 'students never go to school on Sundays'; one must say the equivalent of 'students do not go to school on Sundays ever' ('ಭಾನುವಾರ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಯಾವತ್ತು ಶಾಲೆಗೆ ಹೋಗರು'). Similarly, for 'no one goes to school on Sundays', one says 'anyone does not go to school on Sundays' ('ಯರೂ ವಿದ್ಯಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಭಾನವಾರಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೋಗುವದಿಲ್ಲ').

Example: 'ಎಲ್ಲೂ ಆ ಘೋಷಣೆಯನ್ನು ಜನರು ಅಂಗೀಕರಿಸಲಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ.' ('Nowhere will the people accept that declaration.')

Negative finite verbs (ನಿಷೇಧಾರ್ಥಕ ಆಖ್ಯಾತಗಳು)

Although there is a negative 'mood' or form of the verb in Kannada, it is not used commonly anymore. In addition, the negative form does not express time distinctions, so analytic negative forms are employed.

There is no negative adverb like 'not' in Kannada. Analytic verb negation is very peculiar, and it employs a form of 'ಇರು' ('to be, exist'), which is 'ಇಲ್ಲ'. However, negative Kannada verbs with 'ಇಲ್ಲ' do not have personal terminations—they do not indicate the person, gender, or number of the subject.

To form a past negative verb with 'ಇಲ್ಲ', suffix 'ಇಲ್ಲ' to the infinitive form of the verb ending in 'ಅಲ್'. To form a present negative verb with 'ಇಲ್ಲ', suffix 'ಇಲ್ಲ' to the verbal noun of the verb. To form a future negative verb, either use the present-tense negative form of the verb with 'ಇಲ್ಲ' or suffix 'ಇಲ್ಲ' to the infinitive form of the verb ending in 'ಅಲಿಕ್ಕೆ'.

Aspect is expressed by 'ಇಲ್ಲ' in the normal way—by using a negative form of 'ಇರು' with an adverbial participle. For example, 'I will not have been being hit' is 'ಹೊಡಿಯಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತ ಇದ್ದು ಇರಲಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ'.

Example: 'ಹೋಗುತ್ತ ಇರುವದಿಲ್ಲ.' ('I am not going.')

Example: 'ಹೋಗಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.' ('I had not gone.')

However, in the present tense, one can directly use 'ಇಲ್ಲ' after the participle to express aspect.

Example: 'ಹೋಗುತ್ತ ಇಲ್ಲ.' ('I am not going.')

Example: 'ಹೋಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲ.' ('I have not gone.')

Negation of adverbial participles (ಕ್ರಿಯಾನ್ಯೂನಗಳ ನಿಷೇಧ)

Adverbial participles have a negative form, created by suffix 'ಅದೆ' to the crude form of the verb. This form is tenseless, and is best translated as 'without ___ing'. For example 'ನೋಡಿ ಹೋದೆನು' means 'I went having seen (it)', 'ನೋಡುತ್ತ ಹೋದೆನು' means 'seeing (it), I went' or 'I went seeing (it)', and 'ನೋಡದೆ ಹೋದೆನು' means 'I went not seeing (it)', "I went not having seen (it)', or 'I went without seeing (it)'.

However, 'ಇಲ್ಲ', derived from 'ಇರು' has an adverbial participle form – 'ಇಲ್ಲದೆ' – and this can be used to keep tense when the adverbial participle must be negated. For example, one can say 'ನೋಡಿ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ' to definitively mean 'not having seen, and 'ನೋಡುತ್ತ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ' to definitively mean 'not seeing'.