LingoflyThey say he will come: the tail -ஆம and referring to a source
To take the weight of somebody else's words off yourself, one syllable is enough. -ஆம் hangs on the end of the verb and means 'they say that'. அவர் (avar) வாறாராம் is 'they say he is coming', விலை (vilai) கூடுமாம் 'they say the price will rise'. For example: “நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) கடை (kaḍai) பூட்டுதாம், அப்பிடி (appiḍi) சொல்லுகினம்” (sollugiṉam) — They say the shop is closed tomorrow. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To take the weight of somebody else's words off yourself, one syllable is enough. -ஆம் hangs on the end of the verb and means 'they say that'. அவர் (avar) வாறாராம் (avar vāṟārām) is 'they say he is coming', விலை (vilai) கூடுமாம் 'they say the price will rise'.
-படி (-paḍi) is 'according to'. It hooks onto a verb or a noun: அவர் சொல்லுறபடி (avar solluṟapaḍi) 'by his words', சட்டப்படி (saṭṭappaḍi) 'by law', வழக்கப்படி 'by custom'. This is not the 'as' of likeness but the 'as' of matching.
Somebody else's question is passed on whole, question word and all: எங்க (eṅga) போறியள் (pōṟiyaḷ) எண்டு (eṇḍu) கேட்டார் (kēṭṭār) (eṅga pōṟiyaḷ eṇḍu kēṭṭār) — 'where are you going, he asked'. Word order does not shift.
An order passed on is shorter: வரச் சொன்னார் (soṉṉār) (varac soṉṉār) — 'he told me to come', word for word 'to come said'. And 'they say' with no who is the verb in the plural: சொல்லுகினம் (sollugiṉam).
Table
| What we pass on | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hearsay | predicate + -ஆம் | அவர் (avar) வாறாராம் |
| they say that | 3rd pl. without a subject | எண்டு சொல்லுகினம் (eṇḍu sollugiṉam) |
| by the words of | verb + -படி | அவர் சொல்லுறபடி (avar solluṟapaḍi) |
| by law | noun + -படி | சட்டப்படி (saṭṭappaḍi) |
| someone else's question | question + எண்டு (eṇḍu) கேட்டார் (kēṭṭār) | எங்க (eṅga) போறியள் (pōṟiyaḷ) எண்டு (eṇḍu) கேட்டார் (kēṭṭār) |
| a question 'whether' | -ஆ + எண்டு (eṇḍu) | வாறியளா எண்டு (eṇḍu) கேட்டார் (kēṭṭār) |
| someone else's order | infinitive + சொன்னார் (soṉṉār) | வரச் சொன்னார் (soṉṉār) |
| it turned out | எண்டு தெரிஞ்சுது (eṇḍu teriñcudu) | இல்லை (illai) எண்டு தெரிஞ்சுது (eṇḍu teriñcudu) |
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
They say he will come: how does it work in Tamil?
To take the weight of somebody else's words off yourself, one syllable is enough. -ஆம் hangs on the end of the verb and means 'they say that'. அவர் (avar) வாறாராம் is 'they say he is coming', விலை (vilai) கூடுமாம் 'they say the price will rise'.
What does it look like in a Tamil example sentence?
“நாளைக்கு (nāḷaikku) கடை (kaḍai) பூட்டுதாம், அப்பிடி (appiḍi) சொல்லுகினம்” (sollugiṉam) (nāḷaikku kaḍai pūṭṭudām, appiḍi sollugiṉam) — They say the shop is closed tomorrow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.