A century, the day before, every other time: cases with a stretch of time
The fifty-fifth unit introduces three dozen expressions of time, and almost all of them are a noun in a case. Understanding which case means what is cheaper than memorizing thirty turns. For example: “வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் போவன், அண்மையில தான் போயிட்டு வந்தன்” — I travel once a year, and just the other day I went. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The fifty-fifth unit introduces three dozen expressions of time, and almost all of them are a noun in a case. Understanding which case means what is cheaper than memorizing thirty turns.
The locative -இல: 'when'. இக்காலத்தில (ikkālattila) nowadays, அந்த நேரத்தில (anda nērattila) at that moment, காலப்போக்கில (kālappōkkila) in the course of time, அண்மையில (aṇmaiyila) the other day. This is the commonest case of time.
The same -இல: 'in how long'. சில நிமிசத்தில (sila nimisattila) within minutes, ஒரு வருஷத்தில (oru varuṣattila) within a year. The verb sorts out the sense: if the action finished, the case reads as 'within'; if it dragged — as 'in'.
The dative -உக்கு: 'how many times per'. வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் (varuṣattukku oru taram) once a year, வாரத்துக்கு ரெண்டு தரம் (vārattukku reṇḍu taram) twice a week. English puts 'a' here; Tamil puts 'to'.
வரைக்கும: 'until'. அது வரைக்கும் (adu varaikkum) until then, நாளைக்கு வரைக்கும் (nāḷaikku varaikkum) until tomorrow. The Lankan form; in Tamil Nadu they will say it shorter — வரை (varai).
Frequency is built in three ways. The ending -தோறும் (-tōṟum) gives 'every': நாள் தோறும் (nāḷ tōṟum) daily, வாரம் தோறும் (vāram tōṟum) weekly. Doubling gives growth or extension: காலங்காலமா (kālaṅgālamā) from time immemorial, நாளுக்கு நாள் (nāḷukku nāḷ) day by day, இடையிடையே (iḍaiyiḍaiyē) now and then. And the counting of repeats goes through தரம் (taram): ஒரு தரம் விட்டு (oru taram viṭṭu) every other time, முதல் தரமா (mudal taramā) for the first time.
And the trap of the two meanings of தரம். This word means both 'a time' and 'quality' — the second stands in unit 57. ரெண்டு தரம் (reṇḍu taram) twice, நல்ல தரம் (nalla taram) good quality: only the neighboring word sorts them out, and Tamil has no other way.
Table
| Form | What it means | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -இல | when | இக்காலத்தில | nowadays |
| -இல | within how long | சில நிமிசத்தில | within minutes |
| -உக்கு + number + தரம் | how many times per | வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் | once a year |
| வரைக்கும் | until which limit | அது வரைக்கும் | until then |
| -தோறும் | every | நாள் தோறும் | daily |
| doubling | constantly, growing | காலங்காலமா | from time immemorial |
| தரம் | a time AND quality | ரெண்டு தரம் / நல்ல தரம் | twice / good quality |
By example
- வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் போவன், அண்மையில தான் போயிட்டு வந்தன்varuṣattukku oru taram pōvaṉ, aṇmaiyila tāṉ pōyiṭṭu vandaṉI travel once a year, and just the other day I went
- தீ சில நிமிசத்தில பரவிட்டுது, அது வரைக்கும் ஒருத்தரும் அறியேல்லைtī sila nimisattila paraviṭṭudu, adu varaikkum oruttarum aṟiyēllaiThe fire spread within minutes; until then nobody knew
- நாள் தோறும் வாறார், ஆனா மருந்தை ஒரு தரம் விட்டு குடிக்கிறார்nāḷ tōṟum vāṟār, āṉā marundai oru taram viṭṭu kuḍikkiṟārHe comes daily but takes the medicine every other time
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
A century, the day before, every other time: how does it work in Tamil?
The fifty-fifth unit introduces three dozen expressions of time, and almost all of them are a noun in a case. Understanding which case means what is cheaper than memorizing thirty turns.
What does it look like in an example sentence Tamil?
“வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் போவன், அண்மையில தான் போயிட்டு வந்தன்” (varuṣattukku oru taram pōvaṉ, aṇmaiyila tāṉ pōyiṭṭu vandaṉ) — I travel once a year, and just the other day I went. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.