LingoflyMy and your: என்ர, உன்ர, அவர்ர
'My' and 'your' are not separate words here. They are a special shape of the pronoun, standing straight before the thing: என்ர (eṉra) வீடு (vīḍu) 'my house', உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) முகவரி (mugavari) 'your address'. Nothing has to agree with anything. For example: “இது (idu) என்ர (eṉra) முகவரி” (mugavari) — This is my address. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
'My' and 'your' are not separate words here. They are a special shape of the pronoun, standing straight before the thing: என்ர (eṉra) வீடு (vīḍu) (eṉra vīḍu) 'my house', உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) முகவரி (mugavari) (uṅgaḍa mugavari) 'your address'. Nothing has to agree with anything.
The shapes are easiest to learn paired with the 'to me' form. நான் (nāṉ) gives என்ர (eṉra) 'my' and எனக்கு (eṉakku) 'to me'; நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) gives உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) and உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku); அவர் (avar) gives அவர்ர (avarra) 'his, her' and அவருக்கு (avarukku).
With a noun the same sense comes from -இன்ர: ராஜாவின்ர வீடு (vīḍu) 'Raja's house', கடையின்ர (kaḍaiyiṉra) பெயர் (peyar) (kaḍaiyiṉra peyar) 'the shop's name'. Often there is no ending at all: வீட்டு (vīṭṭu) கதவு (kadavu) (vīṭṭu kadavu) 'the house door'.
The course teaches Sri Lankan (Jaffna) speech: என்ர (eṉra), உன்ர (uṉra), உங்கட (uṅgaḍa), எங்கட (eṅgaḍa) are its ordinary forms, not a slip. Books write என் (eṉ), என்னுடைய, உங்களுடைய; in Tamil Nadu people say என்னோட, உங்க.
Table
| Who | My (before a thing) | To me (to whom) | Me (object) |
|---|---|---|---|
| நான் (nāṉ) — I | என்ர (eṉra) | எனக்கு (eṉakku) | என்னை (eṉṉai) |
| நீங்கள் (nīṅgaḷ) — you | உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) | உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) | உங்களை (uṅgaḷai) |
| அவர் (avar) — he (polite) | அவர்ர (avarra) | அவருக்கு (avarukku) | அவரை (avarai) |
| நாங்கள் (nāṅgaḷ) — we | எங்கட (eṅgaḍa) | எங்களுக்கு (eṅgaḷukku) | எங்களை (eṅgaḷai) |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
My and your: how does it work in Tamil?
'My' and 'your' are not separate words here. They are a special shape of the pronoun, standing straight before the thing: என்ர (eṉra) வீடு (vīḍu) 'my house', உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) முகவரி (mugavari) 'your address'. Nothing has to agree with anything.
What does it look like in a Tamil example sentence?
“இது (idu) என்ர (eṉra) முகவரி” (mugavari) (idu eṉra mugavari) — This is my address. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.