Introduction to Verbs
Introduction to Verbs
Welcome to your first lesson on verbs in Bengali! Verbs are essential in any language as they express actions, states, or occurrences. Bengali verbs are fascinating and straightforward once you understand their structure. This lesson will help you get started with the basics of Bengali verbs, focusing on the verb “to be” and the present tense conjugation.
The Verb "to be" in Bengali
In Bengali, the verb “to be” functions differently compared to English. Bengali uses:
-
Zero copula (no explicit verb) is used for defining or equating (“X is Y”).
-
The verb ‘আছ-’ (ach-…) is used for locating or establishing the presence of something (“X is located/existing somewhere”).
Zero Copula
In many cases, Bengali sentences don’t explicitly use the verb “to be.” The verb “to be” in this case is called a zero copula. For example:
-
আমি একটা ছাত্রী – Ami ekta chhatra
(I am a student.) -
এটা মোসম – Eta mosom
(This is a season.)
Notice that there is no direct verb equivalent to “am” or “is” in these sentences.
‘আছ-’ (“Ach-”)
The verb ‘আছ-’ (ach-) is used to express the existence of someone or something. In English, it also translates to “to be” or can be expressed as “to be present”.
Examples:
-
आমার বাড়িটা সেকেওনে আছে— Amar barita sekhane ache.
(My house is there.) -
উনির কোনো আছে না? Uni kono ache na?
(Is he/she there?)
The conjugation of আছ- varies based on the subject. The table below depicts its conjugation:
| Person (Singular) | Person (Plural) | Ach- |
|---|---|---|
| আমি | আমরা | আছি (achi) |
| তুই | তোরা | আছিস (achish) |
| তুমি | তোমরা | আছো (or আছ) (acho) |
| এ, ও, সে | এরা, ওরা, তারা | আছে (ache) |
| আপনি, ইনি, উনি, তিনি | আপনারা, এঁরা, ওঁরা, তাঁরা | আছেন (achen) |
There are some basic concepts about Bengali verbs we can deduce from this example conjugation:
- When conjugating Bengali verbs person matters, but not the number of that person.
For instance, a verb for 1st person singular (আমি) has the same conjugation as a verb in 1st person plural (আমরা). - Secondly, verbs are conjugated by formality/politeness.
Notice how এ, ও, সে all have the same conjugation form (আছে). Moreover, the formal “you” (আপনি / আপনারা) is conjugated the same way as the formal pronouns in the 3rd person.
Distinguishing the Zero Copula and ‘আছ-’
To make the difference easier understandable, read the examples below:
Zero Copula (equational)
-
আমি ডাক্তার – Ami daktar
(I am a doctor.) -
তুমি ছাত্র – Tumi chhatro
(You are a student.)
‘আছ-’ (locative)
-
তুমি বাড়িতে আছো – Tumi barite acho.
(You are at home.) -
গাছটি বাগানে আছে – Gachti bagane ache.
(The tree is in the garden.)
‘আছ-’ (existential)
- সময় আছে – Somoy ache.
(There is time.)
The Verb Infinite Form
Before we start to conjugate verbs, let’s find out how the verb infinite form looks like.
Bengali verb infinites end in -আ if the verb stem ends in a consonant, or they end in -য়া when the verb stem ends in a vowel.
Here are some examples:
- Verbs ending in a consonant: করা (kora – to do), দেখা (dekha – to see/watch), লেখা (lekha – to write)
- Verbs ending in a vowel: খাওয়া (khaowa – to eat), দেওয়া (deowa – to give), নেওয়া (neowa – to take)
With this in mind, we can move on to the present tense conjugation.
Present Tense Conjugation
As we already learned above, Bengali verbs are conjugated based on the subject’s person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) and formality level (formal, familiar, or informal).
Let’s take the verb করা (kora – to do) and খাওয়া (khaowa – to eat) as an example.
| Person (Singular) | Person (Plural) | করা (kora) | খাওয়া (kaowa) |
|---|---|---|---|
| আমি | আমরা | করি (kori) | খাই (khai) |
| তুই | তোরা | করিস (korish) | খাস (khash) |
| তুমি | তোমরা | কর (koro) | খাও (khao) |
| এ, ও, সে | এরা, ওরা, তারা | করে (kore) | খায় (khay) |
| আপনি, ইনি, উনি, তিনি | আপনারা, এঁরা, ওঁরা, তাঁরা | করেন (koren) | খান (khan) |
Taking these two verbs as an example, we can observe that the conjugation endings vary depending on whether the verb stem ends with a consonant or a vowel.
We can establish the following conjugation endings for the different persons:
- Verb stem ending in a consonant: -i, -ish, -o, -e, -en.
- Verb stem ending in a vowel: -i, -sh, -o, -y, -n.
Example Sentences
-
-
আমি কাজ করি – Ami kaj kori.
(I do work.) -
তুমি কী করছো? – Tumi ki korcho?
(What are you doing?) -
সে প্রতিদিন ব্যায়াম করে – Se protidin byayam kore.
(He/She exercises every day.)
-
-
আমি আম খাই – Ami aam khai.
(I eat mangoes.) -
উনি ভাত খান – Uni bhat khan.
(He/She eats rice.) -
তুমি পানি খাস? – Tumi pani khas?
(Do you drink water?)
Are there irregular Verbs?
Yes. We can differentiate two sorts of irregular verbs: 1) one group of irregular verbs where the verb stem changes in a similar fashion, 2) one group of irregular verbs that kind of do their own thing. Let’s have a look at these two groups!
Group 1
In this group of irregular verbs, the verb stem vowel changes due to a process called “vowel harmony.” For instance, the verb লেখা (lekha, to write) maintains its regular form in the second person, as seen in লেখো (lekho, you write), but changes in the first person to লিখি (likhi, we write).
Typically, there are two stem vowel changes that can take place and that should be remembered:
e → i
o → u
Let’s have a look at some examples:
| Person (Singular) | Person (Plural) | লেখা (lekha) | ধোয়া (dhoya) |
|---|---|---|---|
| আমি | আমরা | লিখি (likhi) | ধুই (dhui) |
| তুই | তোরা | লিখিস (likhish) | ধুস (dhush) |
| তুমি | তোমরা | লেখ (lekho) | ধোও (dho) |
| এ, ও, সে | এরা, ওরা, তারা | লেখে (lekhe) | ধোয় (dhoy) |
| আপনি, ইনি, উনি, তিনি | আপনারা, এঁরা, ওঁরা, তাঁরা | লেখেন (lekhen) | ধোন (dhon) |
Group 2
In this group of irregular verbs, the verb stem vowel changes in a seemingly arbitrary way. These verbs’ conjugation forms have to be memorized by heart.
Here are two group 2 irregular verbs:
| Person (Singular) | Person (Plural) | দেওয়া (deowa) | নেওয়া (neowa) |
|---|---|---|---|
| আমি | আমরা | দিই (di) | নিই (ni) |
| তুই | তোরা | দিস (dish) | নিস (nish) |
| তুমি | তোমরা | দাও (dao) | নাও (nao) |
| এ, ও, সে | এরা, ওরা, তারা | দেয় (dey) | নেয় (ney) |
| আপনি, ইনি, উনি, তিনি | আপনারা, এঁরা, ওঁরা, তাঁরা | দেন (den) | নেন (nen) |