Twice a week: how Tamil counts repeats and time
A training schedule, the score of matches, 'once in four years' — the forty-fourth unit is all about repeats. Tamil builds them with three devices, and all three differ from English. For example: “நான் வாரத்துக்கு மூண்டு தரம் ஜிம் போறேன்” — I go to the gym three times a week. A rule from the Tamil course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A training schedule, the score of matches, 'once in four years' — the forty-fourth unit is all about repeats. Tamil builds them with three devices, and all three differ from English.
'A time' is தரம் (taram) or முறை (muṟai). ஒரு தரம் (oru taram) once, ரெண்டு தரம் (reṇḍu taram) twice, எத்தனை தரம் (ettaṉai taram)? how many times. On the island தரம் is commoner, in Tamil Nadu முறை; the bookish மடங்கு (maḍaṅgu) means 'so many times bigger' and has nothing to do with repeats.
'A week' is the dative case in -க்கு. English puts the preposition 'a' ('twice a week'); Tamil puts that same ending with which it gives: வாரத்துக்கு ரெண்டு தரம் (vārattukku reṇḍu taram) twice a week, நாளைக்கு மூண்டு தரம் (nāḷaikku mūṇḍu taram) three times a day, நாலு வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் (nālu varuṣattukku oru taram) once in four years. The scheme is rigid: the period in the dative, then the number, then தரம்.
'Every' is ஒவ்வொரு (ovvoru), and it demands -உம் (--um) at the end of the group. ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் (ovvoru nāḷum) every day, ஒவ்வொரு வருஷமும் (ovvoru varuṣamum) every year. Without -உம் the phrase sounds unfinished. And தினமும் (tiṉamum) is a ready-made word 'daily', and it is shorter.
How long it lasted is either -ஆ (-ā) or the bare noun. ரெண்டு மணித்தியாலம் ஓடினேன் I ran for two hours — nothing is needed here, the duration stands bare. But ரெண்டு மணித்தியாலமா காத்திருக்கிறேன் (reṇḍu maṇittiyālamā kāttirukkiṟēṉa) — I have been waiting for two hours already, and -ஆ adds 'all this time until now'. The difference is exactly the one between 'I waited two hours' and 'I have been waiting two hours'.
And the word மணித்தியாலம் (maṇittiyālam) is an island word. In Tamil Nadu they will say மணி நேரம் (maṇi nēram). மணி (maṇi) itself is the hour on the clock face: ஒன்பது மணிக்கு (oṉbadu maṇikku) at nine o'clock, and ஒன்பது மணித்தியாலம் (oṉbadu maṇittiyālam) — nine hours long. Confusing them means setting the start at a duration instead of a time.
Table
| What to say | How it is built | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| how many times | number + தரம் | ரெண்டு தரம் | twice |
| a week | period + -க்கு | வாரத்துக்கு ரெண்டு தரம் | twice a week |
| every | ஒவ்வொரு … -உம் | ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் | every day |
| daily | a ready-made word | தினமும் | daily |
| it lasted | bare noun | ரெண்டு மணித்தியாலம் ஓடினேன் | I ran for two hours |
| it has been going on | noun + -ஆ | ரெண்டு மணித்தியாலமா காத்திருக்கிறேன் | I have been waiting two hours |
| at what time | மணி + -க்கு | ஒன்பது மணிக்கு | at nine o'clock |
By example
- நான் வாரத்துக்கு மூண்டு தரம் ஜிம் போறேன்nāṉ vārattukku mūṇḍu taram jim pōṟēṉI go to the gym three times a week
- ஒலிம்பிக் நாலு வருஷத்துக்கு ஒரு தரம் நடக்கும்olimbik nālu varuṣattukku oru taram naḍakkumThe Olympiad takes place once in four years
- ஒவ்வொரு நாளும் முன் பயிற்சி பத்து நிமிசம் பண்ணுங்கovvoru nāḷum muṉ payiṟci pattu nimisam paṇṇuṅgaEvery day do the warm-up for ten minutes
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
Twice a week: how does it work in Tamil?
A training schedule, the score of matches, 'once in four years' — the forty-fourth unit is all about repeats. Tamil builds them with three devices, and all three differ from English.
What does it look like in an example sentence Tamil?
“நான் வாரத்துக்கு மூண்டு தரம் ஜிம் போறேன்” (nāṉ vārattukku mūṇḍu taram jim pōṟēṉ) — I go to the gym three times a week. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.