Nepali-+Morphology

=**Nepali Morphology** =

//"The study of forms"//

 * The Nepali verbal system, like that of other modern Indo-Aryan languages, is simplified in comparison to Sanskrit. Instead the verbal system relies heavily on a system of roots, affixes and auxiliary verbs. In other words, morphological variations are attributed to the inflectional and derivational methods of word formation.
 * In Nepali, variations are based on relations such as person, gender, number, tense, and case. The process of adding affixes to words in Nepali is a way to create variations and it applies to nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Inflections are achieved mainly through attaching prefixes and suffixes.


 * __ Person __**
 * The following examples of verbs satisfy three persons:
 * **Nepali** || **English** ||
 * //u cha// || he is ||
 * //uni haru cha-n// || they are ||
 * //ta? cha-s// || you (sg) are ||
 * //timi haru ch-au// || you (pl) are ||
 * //ma ch-u// || I am ||
 * //hami ch-au?// || we are ||


 * __ Gender __**
 * There are all together four genders in Nepali: Masculine, Feminine, Neuter, and Common.
 * Names of males are always masculine, as in: //babu// (father), //raja// (king), //chhora// (son), //ghoda// (horse), and //Gopal// (Gopal- male name).
 * Names of females are always feminine, as in: //ama// (mother), //rani// (queen), //chhori// (daughter), //ghodi// (mare), and //Ajita// (Ajita- female name).
 * Almost all things other than male or female are neuter, such as: //ghar// (house), //pustak// (book), //rukh// (tree), //phul// (flower), //sahar// (town), etc.
 * Names denoting animals of either gender are common, such as: //chara// (bird), //janawar// (animal)
 * Genders are known by means of objects which they denote.
 * There are three different ways by which a masculine noun is distinguished from a feminine:


 * 1)  By a change of word: //gāyaka// (male singer), //gāyikā// (female singer)
 * 2)  By adding a word: //mānchē// (man), //āimāī// (woman)
 * 3) By adding //ikar, ekar, aukar, naikar, okar//


 * __ Number __**
 * In Nepali, there are two numbers: Singular and Plural
 * For the plural of nouns: add the suffix //-haru// to the end of a word.
 * ** Nepali Singular ** || ** English Singular ** || ** Nepali Plural ** || ** English Plural ** ||
 * **// raja //** || king || **// rajahāru //** || kings ||
 * **// manche //** || person || **// manchehāru //** || persons ||
 * **// kitaab //** || book || **// kitaabhāru //** || books ||
 * **// pāsāl //** || shop || **// pāsālhāru //** || shops ||
 * **// bhaïsi //** || buffalo || **// bhaïsihāru //** || buffalos ||
 * **// jholaa //** || suitcase || **// jholaahāru //** || suitcases ||
 * **// chara //** || bird || **// charaahāru //** || birds ||
 * **// des //** || country || **// deshāru //** || countries ||
 * **// gau //** || village || **// gauhāru //** || villages ||
 * **// shāhār //** || city || **// shāhārhāru //** || cities ||
 * They can also be made without adding //–haru//. In that case the number of the noun is known through the verb.

// **For example** //
 * ** Nepali Singular ** || ** English Singular ** || ** Nepali Plural ** || ** English Plural ** ||
 * **//Manis maryo//** || A man died. || **// Manis mare //** || Men died. ||
 * **// Rukh dhalyo //** || A tree fell. || **// Rukh dhale //** || Trees fell. ||

=**__Tense__** = //** Continuous Tense **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">In Nepali, the continuous tense is formed by inserting //-dai//- between the verb stem and the ending. Present, past, and future tenses can also be continuous, which means that the action goes on for a period of time. The present continuous is the most common tense spoken in Nepali.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Continuous Tense ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Formal Variation ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I am eating || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// ma khān-dai-chu // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">you (sg) are eating || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// tap //// āĩ //// khān-dai-hunu huncha // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">You (sg) are eating || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// timi khān-dai-chau // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">you (pl) are eating || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// tap //// āĩharu //// khān-dai-hunu huncha // ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** Past Tense **// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** (add //-bhayo// and //-bhaena// to the infinitive) ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The past tense is used for completed actions, and corresponds to the English past tense. When the sentence has an object, the subject in the past always takes the ending //-le//.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Continuous Tense ** |||| <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">** Formal Variation **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I did || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// mai(-le) gar //// ẽ // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">you (sg) did || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// tap //// āĩ //// (-le) garnu bhayo // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I didn’t || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// mai(-le) garinã // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">you (sg) didn’t || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// tap //// āĩ(-le) garnu bhaena // ||


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Verbs whose stems end in a vowel, drop the final vowel in the past tense:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">to come || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// āunu // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I come || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// ma āun-chu // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I came || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// ma ā- //// ẽ // ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** Future Tense **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The most common future tense used in spoken Nepali is formed by using the verb in the present tense followed by the third person singular future form of ‘to be’ //– holā.//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** English ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">I will go. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">He/She will not go. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Nepali ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//ma janchu hola// || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//u jandaina hola// ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Literally means ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I go will-be || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">he/she not-go will-be ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** The Neutral Infinitive **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Nepali speakers commonly use a flexible neutral verb form for present, and especially future tenses. It is used mainly in short statements and questions, and pronouns are usually left out. The ending //–ne// replaces the infinitive ending //–nu// to form this neutral verb. Its negative is formed simply with the prefix //na-//:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** English ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">What will we do today? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Let’s go out. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Let’s not go out. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Nepali ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//āja ke garne?// || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//bāhira jāne// || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">//bāhira najāne// ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Literally means ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">today what to-do? || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">outside to-go || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">outside not-to-go ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**__ Case __**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A case is the relation of a noun or pronoun to the verb. In Nepali, this type of morphology generates words with different meanings and different syntactic categories. Verb compounding is a characteristic seen in many South Asian languages, including Nepali and Hindi, and is another source of new word generation. There are 7 cases in Nepali; please refer to **//Nepali Grammar (Nouns//** //**section)**// for more information.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** Possession **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Since there is no verb equivalent to the English ‘to have’, the idea of possession may be expressed using a form of //cha// plus a possessive noun or pronoun.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**// Example //**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**English** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">He/She has five children. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Nepali** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// usko pānc janā chorā-chori chan // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Literally means** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">he/she five people children have ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">If the possession is portable, the postposition meaning ‘with’, -sanga or –sita is added to the possessor:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**English** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I don’t have a pen. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Nepali** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// Ma-sanga kalam chaina // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Literally means** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">I-with pen am-not ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** Imperative **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">This verb form is used for giving orders or making requests. To make a polite imperative, add the suffix //–hos// to the infinitive ending //–nu//. To make this negative, use the prefix //na-//:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**English** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Please eat. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Please don’t tell me. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Nepali** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// khānu-hos // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// ma-lāi na-bhannu-hos // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Literally means** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">To-eat-**imperative** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">I-to negative-tell-**imperative** ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//** Necessity **//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">To express necessity, use the infinitive of a verb plus a third person singular form of the common verb //parnu// (‘to be necessary’). The subject is usually omitted. If the subject is expressed it takes the ending //-le// when the sentence contains an object and //-lāi// when there is no object.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**//Example//**

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**English** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It is necessary to walk there. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It isn’t necessary to come to this office. || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">I have to wash these clothes. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Nepali** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// thaya hidnu-parcha // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// yo karyalaya-ma-aunu-parcha // || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">// maile yo luga dhunu-parcha // ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Literally means** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">there walk-must || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">this office-to come-must-not || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px;">I//-le// this clothing wash-must ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Guha, N. K. (1997). //Learn Nepali in a month//. New Delhi, India: Reading Well Publications. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Hutt, M. J. (1988). //Nepali: A national language and its literature.// New Delhi, India: Sterling Publishers Private Limited. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">O’ Rourke, M. J., & Shrestha, B. (1996). //Nepali phrasebook//. (3rd ed.). Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet Publications.
 * Resources **