LingoflyPut it, do not put it: command and prohibition
The command form is the shortest thing in the Tamil verb: the bare stem. வா 'come', சொல் (sol) 'say', போடு (pōḍu) 'put'. You use it with a child, a younger relative and a close friend, and with nobody else. For example: “முதல்ல காய்கறியை சீவுங்கோ (mudalla kāygaṟiyai sīvuṅgō), பிறகு (piṟagu) உப்பு (uppu) போடுங்கோ” (pōḍuṅgō) — First peel the vegetables, then salt them. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The command form is the shortest thing in the Tamil verb: the bare stem. வா (vā) 'come', சொல் (sol) 'say', போடு (pōḍu) 'put'. You use it with a child, a younger relative and a close friend, and with nobody else.
The polite form adds -ங்கோ: வாங்கோ (vāṅgō), சொல்லுங்கோ (solluṅgō), போடுங்கோ (pōḍuṅgō). Every recipe and every instruction is written in it: உப்பு (uppu) போடுங்கோ (pōḍuṅgō) (uppu pōḍuṅgō), ஆறவிடுங்கோ (āṟaviḍuṅgō). Hold on to it — it is never rude.
A ban is not a word in front of the verb. It is an ending of its own, -ஆத: சொல்லாத (sollāda) 'do not say', பயப்படாத (bayappaḍāda) 'do not be afraid'. Politely it is the infinitive plus வேண்டாம் (vēṇḍām): சொல்ல (solla) வேண்டாம் (vēṇḍām) (in Tamil Nadu, சொல்லாதீங்க).
Two turns live next door, and no kitchen does without them. -அலாம் is 'we may': மாத்தலாம் 'we can swap it'. And -ட்டும் is 'let it': ஆறட்டும் (āṟaṭṭum) 'let it cool'.
Table
| What is needed | Form | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| to one's own, a younger one | bare stem | சொல் (sol) | say (intimate) |
| politely | stem + -ங்கோ | சொல்லுங்கோ (solluṅgō) | say (polite) |
| prohibition to one's own | stem + -ஆத | சொல்லாத (sollāda) | do not say (intimate) |
| prohibition politely | infinitive + வேண்டாம் (vēṇḍām) | சொல்ல (solla) வேண்டாம் (vēṇḍām) | do not say (polite) |
| may, let us | stem + -அலாம் | மாத்தலாம் | may be exchanged |
| let | stem + -ட்டும் | ஆறட்டும் | let it cool |
By example
- கொதிக்கிற பாலை உடனே குடிக்க வேண்டாம், ஆறட்டும்kodikkiṟa pālai uḍaṉē kuḍikka vēṇḍām, āṟaṭṭumDo not drink boiling milk at once — let it cool
- rasīdai vaicciruṅgō, illāṭṭi mātta muḍiyāduKeep the receipt, otherwise the exchange will not work
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
Put it, do not put it: how does it work in Tamil?
The command form is the shortest thing in the Tamil verb: the bare stem. வா 'come', சொல் (sol) 'say', போடு (pōḍu) 'put'. You use it with a child, a younger relative and a close friend, and with nobody else.
What does it look like in a Tamil example sentence?
“முதல்ல காய்கறியை சீவுங்கோ (mudalla kāygaṟiyai sīvuṅgō), பிறகு (piṟagu) உப்பு (uppu) போடுங்கோ” (pōḍuṅgō) (mudalla kāygaṟiyai sīvuṅgō, piṟagu uppu pōḍuṅgō) — First peel the vegetables, then salt them. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.