verbs of the dative case

Some thoughts, such as "want"/"need", "know", "understand", etc. can be expressed in Thamil only using the dative case and a certain set of verbs. Sentences that use these verbs will be a little different from the sentences we have seen so far. The way the verbs are used will be different, and some verbs have certain peculiarities.

Understanding this type of sentence entails understanding the particulars of each verb. To say the least, this lesson may be challenging and a bit tricky, but hopefully it will seem easier over time.

the verbs

positive verbs
past tensepresent/ future tense
~ NghJk; enough
~ Ntz;Lk; want / need
past tense present tense future tense
gpbj;jJliked gpbf;fpwJlike gpbf;Fk;will like
Kbe;jJwas able KbfpwJis/ am/ are able KbAk;will be able
njupe;jJ knewnjupfpwJ knownjupAk; will know
Gupe;jJ understoodGupfpwJ understandGupAk; will understand
fpilj;J/
fpilj;jd		 received fpilf;fpwJ/
fpilf;fpd;wd		 receive fpilf;Fk; will receive
,Ue;jJ/
,Ue;jd		 existed ,Uf;fpwJ/
,Uf;fpd;wd		 exist(s),Uf;Fk; will exist


negative verbs
past tensepresent/ future tense
Nghjtpy;iy was not enough NghjhJ is not/ will not be enough
~ did not want / need Ntz;lhk; do not/ will not want / need
past/ present tense future tense
gpbf;ftpy;iy did/ do not like gpbf;fhJ will not like
Kbatpy;iy was/ is not able KbahJ will not be able
njupatpy;iy did not/ do not know njupahJ will not know
Gupatpy;iy did not/ do not understand GupahJ will not understand
fpilf;ftpy;iy did not/ do not receive fpilf;fhJ will not receive
,y;iy did/ do not exist ,Uf;fhJ will not exist

From the chart of the positive verbs, we can see that the verbs can be put into groups:

This might help in understanding the verbs.

verb usage and notes

verbs with dative case
In dative-case sentences, the subject is put into the dative case and comes at the beginning, while the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

For the positive forms of some verbs, there is a past, present, and future tense. However, the group of verbs gpb, Kb, njup, Gup express ideas that don't change from one moment to the next. For example, we reasonably assume that knowledge or understanding of something is retained indefinitely. The same idea applies to gpb and Kb. The constant action of these verbs is a common usage of the habitual tense. Remember that the habitual tense is expressed in Thamil by whatever the future tense is. This also applies to the other verbs, but especially NghJk; and Ntz;Lk; and their negatives.

,U7, has appeared before in creating a particular simple sentence. There, it means something like the verb "be". Here, when used with the dative case, ,U means something like "be" or "exist" in a literal translation. However, in a practical translation of the entire sentence, ,U might be translated as the verb "have".

,U with the -,lk; case suffix
For sentences where ,U is the verb (and the objects are tangible), the case suffix -,lk; should be used instead of the dative case suffix -cf;F for the subject

For example, "I have a plate" would be vd;dplk; jl;L ,Uf;fpwJ. But emotions and ideas are expressed using the usual -cf;F for the dative case.

Kb with the -My; case suffix
For sentences where Kb is the verb, the case suffix -My; should be used instead of the dative case suffix -cf;F for the subject

We can't say "was enough", "wanted", or "did not want" with types of sentences found in this lesson yet. If we use the verb Ntz;L3 in our standard type of sentences, then we can express "wanted". We will soon get to Negative Verbs which will allow us to say "did not want". There is no simple verb to say "enough", however.

examples