Nepali-+Grammar

=__**Basic Information**__=
 * One feature of Nepali is that it is often used in a kind of shorthand way, when compared with written usage. Information that is clear from the context, or not relevant in a particular situation, will often be left out. This often includes subject pronouns, particularly the first person singular (‘I’).
 * Spoken Nepali is also sometimes grammatically simplified. For example, singular forms are often used with a plural meaning.

//**Example:**//
 * **English** || This is my friend. ||
 * **Nepali** || //yo mero sāthi ho// ||
 * **Literally means** || this my friend is ||
 * Nepali sentence structure follows subject-object-verb format. For example: The English phrase "She took the book" would be stated "She the book took" in Nepali. शे द बुक तुक.
 * Nepali grammar consists of open and closed classes.
 * Open classes: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs
 * Closed classes: pronouns, conjunctions, interjections

**__Nouns__**
Nepali has 7 main functions that are equivalent to what other languages describe as cases.
 * Nouns function as the head of phrases.
 * Nouns in Nepali are single words, and there are no articles like the English ‘the’ or ‘a’.
 * To make a noun plural, add the ending //– haru//, although this is often left out in speech when plurality is clear from the context, or not important.
 * Nouns (and pronouns) can have different endings depending on how they are used in the sentence.
 * **English** || **Nepali** ||
 * a friend || //sāthi// ||
 * friends || //sāthi –haru// ||
 * __Seven cases__**

1) Nominative Singular:
 * subject function - no suffix affixed Ø

2) Accusative Singular: लाई
 * direct object function (answering the question "who", "what") - adding the suffix -lai

3) Instrumental Singular: ले > 4) Dative Singular: लाई
 * function showing "by the mean of..." - adding the suffix -le
 * indirect object (answering the question to who, to what) - adding the suffix -lai

5) Ablative Singular: बाट
 * function showing the origin - adding the suffix -bata

6) Genitive Singular: को
 * function of noun complement "of" - add the suffix - ko

7) Locative Singular: मा
 * function of adverb of place - adding the suffix -maa

__**Pronouns**__

 * Pronouns have both formal and informal variations
 * Formal Variations- Polite version that is commonly used;
 * Informal- Use with close friends, children, and animals
 * They have different endings according to their use in a sentence.
 * Like nouns, pronouns have no gender.
 * There are three third person singular pronouns and each of them can mean ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’, except //u// which can only mean ‘he’ or ‘she’.
 * Oftentimes, pronouns are not used in speech when they can be understood from the context, for example, when they are the subject of the sentence.

__//Subject Pronouns //__ //**Example:** //
 * Subject pronouns are used without any additional endings in simple sentences that contain no objects.
 * **English** || I go || He/she (informal) does ||
 * **Nepali** || //ma jānchu // || //u garcha // ||
 * Subject pronouns of sentences with objects take the ending //-le ////<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">. //
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">The ending //-le// can also be attached to nouns, and translates as ‘by, with, from, of, in’, according to the context.

__//<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Object Pronouns //__ //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">**Example:** // //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">**Example:** //
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">In Nepali object nouns and pronouns (both direct and indirect) normally take the ending //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">-lāi ////<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">, //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">particularly if the object is a name or refers to a person. The ending //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">-lāi //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;"> often translates as //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;"> ‘to’ //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">or //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;"> ‘for' //
 * **English** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I give it to you. // ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">ma tapāĩ-lāi dinchu // ||
 * **Literally means** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">I you-to give // ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">If the object is not human, //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">-lāi //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;"> is usually left out.
 * **English** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">He/She is feeding the dog. // ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">u kukur khuwāũ-dai-cha // ||
 * **Literally means** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">he/she dog is-feeding // ||

__//<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Possessive Pronouns //__ //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">**Example:** // //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">**Example:** // //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">**Example:** //
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">The possessive ending for both nouns and pronouns is //-ko//, but some possessive pronouns are irregular.
 * **English** || This is our dog. ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">yo hamro kukur ho // ||
 * **Literally means** || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">this our dog is ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">The possessive pronouns may also stand alone, in which they translate as ‘mine, ours, yours, his hers, its, theirs’.
 * **English** || Is this yours? ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">yo tapāĩ-ko ho? // ||
 * **Literally means** || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">this yours is? ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Possessives come before the nouns that they refer to.
 * **English** || my cat ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">mero birālo // ||

**__Adjectives__**

 * As in English, Nepali adjectives precede the nouns they refer to:
 * **English** || **Nepali** ||
 * An expensive shop || //mahango pasal// ||
 * To compare anything, use //-bhandā// (‘than’) or //sab-bhandā// (‘than all’)

//**Example:**// रा`ो रा`ी रा`ा बाठो बाठa बाठा
 * **English** || Kathmandu is Nepal’s largest city. ||
 * **Nepali** || kā**t**hmā**d**aũ nepāl-ko sab-bhandā **t**hulo shahar ho ||
 * **Literally means** || Kathmandu Nepal-**possessive** than-all large city is ||
 * Singular: Masculine Singular: Feminine Plural: Masculine/Feminine

इलो: suffix that separates adjectives from nouns and verbs.

**__Demonstratives__**

 * As Nepali has no articles, the demonstrative adjectives- ‘this’ and ‘that’ – are in common use, both in front of nouns and alone.
 * this || //yo// || these || //yi// ||
 * that || //tyo// || those || //ti// ||
 * //Or//** in other words…
 * this girl || //yo ke**t**i// || these girls || //yi ke**t**i-haru// ||
 * that girl || //tyo ke**t**i// || those girls || //ti ke**t**i-haru// ||
 * In informal speech, singular forms are often used with plural subjects:
 * **English** || those people ||
 * **Nepali** || //ti/tyo mānche-haru// ||

**__Verbs__**
==<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">(//For Verb Formation, <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Future Tense, // //and// //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Neutral Infinitive please see Nepali Morphology) // ==
 * Verbs are at the head of the sentence structure
 * The root form of Nepali verbs always ends in
 * Nepali verbs are made up of two parts: the stem and the tense ending. The stem stays the same. The ending changes according to the person (first, second, third) and plurality of the subject pronoun.
 * Infinitives (the dictionary form) end in //-nu//:
 * to do || //garnu// ||
 * to eat || //khānu// ||
 * to go || //jānu// ||

__//<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Present Tense //__

 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The present tense verb forms corresponding to the formal pronouns all take the same ending, //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">huncha ////<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">: //
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Verbs whose stems end in a vowel keep the //<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">n //<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">to go || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">jā-nu // || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">I go || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">ma jān-chu // ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">to come || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">āu-nu // || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">I come || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">ma āun-chu // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The present tense is used for regular or habitual actions.

//**Example:**//
 * **English** || I work every day. ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">ma dinhũ kam gārchu // ||
 * **Literally means** || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">I daily work do ||
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">It can also be used to indicate the future

//**Example:**// __//<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Negation //__
 * **English** || Next week we go to Nepal. ||
 * **Nepali** || //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">āune haptā hāmi nepāl janchaũ // ||
 * **Literally means** || <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">next week we Nepal go ||
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">There is no single negative form in Nepali that corresponds to ‘not’ in English. Instead, the verb forms for each subject change in the negative, but they follow a pattern and are not difficult to learn.

**//The Verb 'To Be'//**

 * The Nepali verb ‘to be’ (//hunu//) is complex; there are three alternate versions: //cha, ho,// and //huncha,// are each used in different ways. //Cha// and //ho// are the most common versions. They both mean ‘is’, but //cha// is used for locating (i.e. where) and //ho// is used for defining (i.e. indicating ‘who, how, what’).
 * ** Present ** ||
 * **// cha //** |||| **// ho //** |||| **// huncha //** |||| ** Formal Variation **** (same: //cha, ho, huncha//) ** ||
 * I am || // ma chu // || I am || // ma hũ // || I am || // ma hunchu // || you (sg/pl) are || // tapāĩ(haru) hunu huncha // ||
 * I am not || // ma chaina // || I am not || // ma hoina // || I am not || // ma hundina // || you (sg/pl) are not || // tapāĩ(haru) hunu hunna // ||


 * ** Past ** ||
 * **// cha & ho //** |||| ** Formal Variations ** |||| **// huncha //** |||| ** Formal Variation **** (same: //cha, ho, huncha//) ** ||
 * I was || // ma thi ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10px;">ẽ // || you (sg/pl) were || // tapāĩ (haru) hunu hunthyo // || I was || // ma bha ////<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10px;">ẽ // || you (sg/pl) were || // tapāĩ(haru) hunu bhayo // ||
 * I was not || // ma thiinã // || you (sg/pl) were not || // tapāĩ (haru) hunu hunnathyo // || I was not || // ma bhainã // || you (sg/pl) were not || // tapāĩ(haru) hunu bhaena // ||

__**The Word ‘Other’**__

 * There are two words in Nepali that mean ‘other’: arko (‘the other of two’), is used mainly with singular nouns, while aru (‘other/else’), is used with plural nouns and things that can’t be counted.
 * **English** || Drink some more tea. ||
 * **Nepali** || aru ciyā khānu-hos ||
 * **Literally means** || more tea drink- **imperative** ||

__**Adverbs:**__ occur as independent or as head of structure and function as dependents of verbs.


 * __Nepali Grammar Common Transfer Errors__**
 * Reading and writing-the written language of Nepali looks nothing like the alphabet and writing system of English. It is very difficult for Nepali students to learn how to read and write in English.
 * Preposition Errors: Two different types: 1) Wrong use, 2) Redundant use. Example: 1) "He is in home" as oppossed to "He is at home". 2) "He met to the other man" as oppossed to "He met the other man".
 * There are no articles in Nepali so students frequently do not precede nouns with a, an, or the.
 * Reduplication is used in Nepali to reiterate a concept. Example: In Nepali, a student would say "My opinion Nepali food much much better than American food".
 * Expressing something that is temporary: In Nepali the word dekhi means both "since" and "from" to refer to both the past and the future. Example "From the morning of this accident Tim has not been seen" instead of "Since the morning of this accident Tim has not been seen". Difference in expressing sentences such as "He has been staying here since last night" and "He has been staying here for the last two years".


 * References**

O’ Rourke, M. J., & Shrestha, B. (1996). //Nepali phrasebook//. (3rd ed.). Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications.

= Nepali Home Page =