Across, through, past: not prepositions but postpositions
The fifty-first unit is the first place in the course where an English preposition and the Tamil word part not in meaning but in place in the sentence. English 'across the road' is a preposition plus a noun. The Tamil வீதியை குறுக்கால is the object form plus a POSTposition, and the order is reversed. The course spine tags such words prep, but the tag describes the English side of the card, not the Tamil one. For…
How it works
The fifty-first unit is the first place in the course where an English preposition and the Tamil word part not in meaning but in place in the sentence. English 'across the road' is a preposition plus a noun. The Tamil வீதியை குறுக்கால (vīdiyai kuṟukkāla) is the object form plus a POSTposition, and the order is reversed. The course spine tags such words prep, but the tag describes the English side of the card, not the Tamil one.
Which case a postposition demands must be memorized together with it.
The object -ஐ is taken by குறுக்கால (kuṟukkāla) across, தாண்டி (tāṇḍi) past, ஊடா (ūḍā) through: வீதியை குறுக்கால, கடையை தாண்டி (kaḍaiyai tāṇḍi), காட்டை ஊடா.
The dative -க்கு is taken by எதிரா (edirā) toward, facing: எனக்கு எதிரா (eṉakku edirā). It also stands with பக்கமா (pakkamā) in the direction of: கடைக்குப் பக்கமா (kaḍaikkup pakkamā).
The genitive -இன்ர is taken by நடுவில (naḍuvila) in the middle of and ஆழத்தில (āḻattila) in the depths of: முற்றத்தின்ர நடுவில (muṟṟattiṉra naḍuvila), காட்டின்ர ஆழத்தில (kāṭṭiṉra āḻattila).
The second half of the lesson is not postpositions but nouns in a case. வெளியில (veḷiyila), தூரத்தில (tūrattila), விளிம்பில (viḷimbila), ஆழத்தில — these are the nouns 'outside', 'distance', 'edge', 'depth' in the locative, and the spine tags them adv only because in English they are adverbs. Understanding them as nouns is useful: then it is clear why மேலால (mēlāla) and கீழால (kīḻāla) stand in the instrumental (movement over, under), and மேல்நோக்கி (mēlnōkki) and கீழ்நோக்கி (kīḻnōkki) are assembled from the converb நோக்கி 'looking'.
The trap everyone stumbles on. பக்கத்தில (pakkattila) means 'near', and பக்கத்தால (pakkattāla) — 'on the side'. The difference is one letter, the meaning is different: the first is about neighborhood, the second about the side. The same with பின்னால (piṉṉāla) 'behind' and பின்னுக்கு (piṉṉukku) 'backward': the first answers 'where', the second 'where to'.
Table
| Tamil | The case before it | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| குறுக்கால | object -ஐ | வீதியை குறுக்கால | across the road |
| தாண்டி | object -ஐ | கடையை தாண்டி | past the shop |
| ஊடா | object -ஐ | ஜன்னலை ஊடா | through the window |
| எதிரா | dative -க்கு | எனக்கு எதிரா | toward me |
| நடுவில | genitive -இன்ர | முற்றத்தின்ர நடுவில | in the middle of the yard |
| பக்கத்தில | dative -க்கு | வீட்டுக்கு பக்கத்தில | near the house |
| பக்கத்தால | dative -க்கு | வீட்டுக்கு பக்கத்தால | on the side of the house |
By example
- வீதியை குறுக்கால ஒரு மரம் விழுந்து கிடக்குvīdiyai kuṟukkāla oru maram viḻundu kiḍakkuA fallen tree lies across the road
- கோயிலை தாண்டி, முற்றத்தின்ர நடுவில கிணறு இருக்குkōyilai tāṇḍi, muṟṟattiṉra naḍuvila kiṇaṟu irukkuHaving passed the temple, in the middle of the yard there is a well
- வீட்டுக்கு பக்கத்தில கடை, வீட்டுக்கு பக்கத்தால வழிvīṭṭukku pakkattila kaḍai, vīṭṭukku pakkattāla vaḻiNear the house there is a shop, on the side of the house a path
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
Across, through, past: how does it work in Tamil?
The fifty-first unit is the first place in the course where an English preposition and the Tamil word part not in meaning but in place in the sentence. English 'across the road' is a preposition plus a noun. The Tamil வீதியை குறுக்கால is the object form plus a POSTposition, and the order is…
What does it look like in an example sentence Tamil?
“வீதியை குறுக்கால ஒரு மரம் விழுந்து கிடக்கு” (vīdiyai kuṟukkāla oru maram viḻundu kiḍakku) — A fallen tree lies across the road. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.