My and your: என், உன், அவர் and the possessive
Possession in Tamil is not a separate word but a special form of the pronoun, placed right before the thing: என் வீடு 'my house', உங்க முகவரி 'your address', அவங்க பிள்ளைகள் 'their children'. Nothing has to agree: one form serves every gender and number. For example: “இது என் முகவரி” — This is my address. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Possession in Tamil is not a separate word but a special form of the pronoun, placed right before the thing: என் வீடு (eṉ vīḍu) 'my house', உங்க முகவரி (uṅga mugavari) 'your address', அவங்க பிள்ளைகள் (avaṅga piḷḷaigaḷ) 'their children'. Nothing has to agree: one form serves every gender and number.
The forms are worth learning in pairs with the familiar dative. நான gives என் (eṉ) 'my' and எனக்கு (eṉakku) 'to me'; நீங்க (nīṅga) — உங்க (uṅga) 'your' and உங்களுக்கு (uṅgaḷukku) 'to you'; அவங்க (avaṅga) — அவங்க 'their' and அவங்களுக்கு (avaṅgaḷukku) 'to them'. Notice: in the third person the possessive form coincides with the pronoun itself, and that is not a mistake — Tamil changes nothing here.
With a noun the same meaning is carried by the ending -உடைய or simply -ஓட (-ōḍa) in speech: ராஜாவோட வீடு 'Raja's house', கடையோட பெயர் 'the name of the shop'. The bookish language writes ராஜாவுடைய வீடு. And very often there is no ending at all: வீட்டு கதவு (vīṭṭu kadavu) 'the door of the house' — the word is simply placed in front and slightly changes its end. You have seen such compounds already: விடுதி அறை (viḍudi aṟai), ஜன்னல் இருக்கை (jaṉṉal irukkai), படுக்கை அறை (paḍukkai aṟai).
Jaffna speech often says என்ர (eṉra) instead of என், and உங்கட (uṅgaḍa) instead of உங்க. This is not a mistake or a village distortion but the northern norm; the course keeps the common என், but recognizing என்ர வீடு (eṉra vīḍu) by ear is useful from day one.
Table
| Who | My (before a thing) | To me (dative) | Me (object) |
|---|---|---|---|
| நான் — I | என் | எனக்கு | என்னை |
| நீங்க — you | உங்க | உங்களுக்கு | உங்களை |
| அவர் — he (polite) | அவரோட | அவருக்கு | அவரை |
| அவங்க — they | அவங்க | அவங்களுக்கு | அவங்களை |
| நாங்க — we | எங்க | எங்களுக்கு | எங்களை |
By example
- இது என் முகவரிidu eṉ mugavariThis is my address
- உங்க போன் நம்பர் என்ன?uṅga pōṉ nambar eṉṉa?What is your phone number?
- அவங்க வீட்டு முற்றம் பெரிசுavaṅga vīṭṭu muṟṟam perisuThe yard of their house is big
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?
Possession in Tamil is not a separate word but a special form of the pronoun, placed right before the thing: என் வீடு 'my house', உங்க முகவரி 'your address', அவங்க பிள்ளைகள் 'their children'. Nothing has to agree: one form serves every gender and number.
What does it look like in an example sentence Tamil?
“இது என் முகவரி” (idu eṉ 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.