Spoken Marathi Reference Grammar

Spoken Marathi Ref.
Grammar
Modified from Berntsen & Nimbkar: Marathi Reference Grammar
Chapter 1
The Marathi Sound System
1.1. Vowels
Marathi has the following vowels and diphthongs (combinations of
two vowels); the underlining indicates "long":
a
ai
au
English examples of vowels (diphthong vowels: the 2 sounds elided):

a
i
u
e
as in
as in
as in
as in
but
bit
butte
bet
a
i
u
o
as in
as in
as in
as in
bought
beat
boot
boat
A contrast between short i and long i and between short u and

long u occurs only in a few words. Otherwise both vowels are long in the
final syllable of a word except when followed by a consonant cluster.
There is a contrast between short and long a only at the end of a
word. The short a is simply the automatic result of certain consonant
combinations (e.g., the a at the end of chitra); the long a is the normal
vowel a. In this text the long a in word-final position will be written e,
and the short a will be omitted whenever conveniently possible.
With the exceptions just mentioned, Marathi vowels are always
pronounced long.
The mid-vowel i is found in combination with r (rishi, etc), and with l
(only one example: klipti); check pronunciation with a local speaker.
An additional vowel sign is used in English loan words: as in "hat".
1.2. Consonants.
The Marathi consonants are listed in Table 1.2. Note that for each of
the five main articulatory positions-- back, palatal, retroflex, dental, and
labial-- there are five sounds: voiceless unaspirate, voiceless aspirate,
voiced unaspirate, voiced aspirate, and nasal. The last line of the table
contains semivowels and a few other miscellaneous sounds which don't
fit into the above matrix.
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Table 1.2: Marathi Consonants:

_______________________________________________________________
Voiceless
Voiced
Nasal
Unaspirated Aspirated
Back
Palatal
Retroflex
Dental
Labial
k
ch
t
t
p
Unaspirated Aspirated
kh
chh
th
th
ph
g
j
d
d
b
gh
jh
dh
dh
bh
n
n
m
Semivowels etc:___y r l w sh s h l__ ksh__dny_____________

Back: back of tongue against back of palate. Palatal: middle of tongue against
palate. Retroflex: tip of tongue against center of palate (it is flexed somewhat
backwards). Dental: tip of tongue against the teeth. Labial: the lips together.
Voicing is produced by vibration of the vocal cords. Aspiration is the
production of an audible puff of air with the consonant (the h-sound). The nasal
h-sound has a similar occurrence in Marathi and English (eg, bang, bank, etc),
and therefore h isn't differentiated from n in this text; similarly, isn't
differentiated from n (only n and n are differentiated). The general rule
concerning pronunciation of nasals: the nasal should be of the same articulatory
series as the consonant which it precedes (this happens automatically).
1.3. Difficulties for English speakers

Seven kinds of Marathi consonants may present special difficulties for
English speakers:
(1) voiceless unaspirates
(2) voiced aspirates
(3) retroflex
(4) r
(5) w and hw
(6) ch and j
(7) y and dny (and ksh)
(1) Voiceless unaspirates. English speakers tend to slightly aspirate
initial stops (k, t, p, etc). This is demonstrated by pronouncing such
words (can, tan, pan, etc) with a lighted match held directly in front of
the mouth: it will generally go out. This habit is correctible by practice
(2) Voiced aspirates. Voiced aspirates are uncommon in English and
the English speaker may find it difficult to pronounce them correctly
with proper aspiration. To pronounce bhau, first say bahau, then delete
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the a. Others may be treated similarly.

(3) Retroflex contrasted with dental: English t and d are alveolar, that
is, about halfway between the position for the Marathi dental t/d and
the retroflex t/d. Neither the dental nor the retroflex sounds pose any
difficulty in articulation once the tongue is placed in the correct position;
however, it may be difficult for an English speaker to hear the
dental/retroflex contrast. To make a dental t or d, press the tongue
firmly against the teeth. To make a retroflex t or d, put the tip of the
tongue firmly against the center of the roof of the mouth. The sound
produced will resemble rt (or rd), since the English r is a retroflex sound.
Retroflex l is one of the more difficult Marathi sounds for the English
speaker to pronounce. To say la, flip the tongue up to touch the center
of the roof of the mouth, without making firm contact with it. Then try
to say la. The result will sound distinctly Oriental ("so solly").
(4) Marathi r differs from English r in that it is slightly trilled: a
current of air is forced under the tongue causing it to vibrate against
the alveolar ridge of the roof of the mouth.
(5) Marathi w, like the English w, is a bilabial sound, but produced
with less lip-rounding, more lip tension, and a slight amount of friction.
The sound is thus somewhere between that of English w and v. Hw is
essentially indistinguishable from wh (but written wh in Devanagari).
(6) Marathi ch and j: though represented here thusly, the sound of
the former sometimes more closely resembles ts (as in bets), and the
latter dz (as in beds). To produce ch, put the tongue in the position for t;
then before releasing it, say sa. Similarly, to produce j, put the tongue in
the position for d; then before releasing it, say za.
(7) Marathi y and dny (and ksh): Terminal -y is pronounced -ya
(unlike English) The trigraph dny is spoken as if all three sounds are
being pronounced simultaneously The Hindi transliteration for this is
gy or j (example: dnyan is written gyan or jan in Hindi). Trigraph
ksh is similarly pronounced as the combination of k and sh.
1.4. Sound sequences: Marathi speakers give relatively equivalent
value to each syllable spoken, but English speakers almost invariably
tend to reduce vowels to a when they occur in unstressed syllables. They
do this because in English, vowels in unstressed syllables are usually
reduced. In English, single and doubled consonants sound the same; but
in Marathi the preceding syllable receives extra stress, and the
consonant is doubled by holding the tongue in contact for a moment
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before releasing it. The doubled consonant may be thought of as ending

one syllable, and beginning the next ("Have a good-day").
Chapter 2
Nouns, Pronouns and Adjectives
2.A. Nouns
2.A.1. Gender
Marathi nouns are divided into three genders: masculine, feminine,
and neuter. Nouns referring to a male person or creature are masculine,
and those referring to a female person or creature are feminine. Some
nouns referring to a person or creature without specification of sex are
neuter. A few nouns, especially those referring to a profession or status,
can be masculine or feminine, depending on the person to whom they
refer (examples: daktar: 'doctor', wakil: 'lawyer', brahman: 'Brahman').
Otherwise, grammatical gender has little to do with natural gender, and
must be learned for each word. In each gender, there are some nouns
that have the characteristic ending of that gender. These are called
marked nouns; all others are unmarked. Marked masculine nouns are
those ending in -a, marked feminine nouns those ending in -i, and
marked neuter nouns those ending in -e. In speech the neuter -e is
regularly replaced by -a (in this text word-final -a is written -e).
Summary of the endings of singular nouns in each gender class:
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
(a) a (marked)
(b) i*
(c) u
(d) consonant
(a) e (marked)
(b) i
(c) u
(d) consonant
(a) i (marked)
(b) a**
(c) u
(d) consonant
*often refers to occupation (mali: 'gardener', etc)

**abstract nouns ending in -ta are usually feminine
2.A.2. Number, straight and oblique forms
Nouns may either be singular or plural in number. For each number
there are two forms: the straight form and the oblique form. The oblique
form is used before postpositions, which are relational words similar to
English prepositions (but they follow the noun rather than precede it).
The rules for formation of plural and oblique forms in Marathi vary
for each gender and for each ending within the gender. Moreover,
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words of the same gender and ending may fall into different subclasses
having different rules for plural and oblique formation. And no matter
how the rules are stated, there will be exceptions to them.
In applying the rules for formation of plural and oblique it is also
necessary to apply certain general morphophonemic rules governing
word-building; these are summarized in Appendix A. These rules are
given at relevant places in the text, and are designated M1, M2, etc.
The rules for plural and oblique formation are given below.
(1) Masculine
(a) Marked: ending in -a
The straight plural is formed according to rule: -a -e;
the oblique singular and plural according to rule: -a -ya.
rasta
raste
road
roads
rastyawar
on the road
rastywar
on the roads
Note that with plural nouns in the oblique form, a tilde is added to the
final vowel to indicate nasalization. When a nasal sound occurs in a
given word, if it precedes most consonants it's written n (band, etc);
preceding retroflex consonants it's written n (bhande, etc); preceding
labial consonants it's written m (lamb, etc). If a nasal precedes any of
the semi-vowels r, sh, s & h, either n or m may be written; e.g.,
ahimsa/ahinsa (may be written either way in English), 'non-violence'.
(b) Unmarked: ending in i
Class 1
The plural does not change; the oblique does not change.
Words in this class include:
agni 'fire', aropi 'accused', asami 'person', hatti 'elephant',
kawi 'poet', nidhi 'fund', pati 'husband', wadi 'plaintiff'.
kawi
kawi
poet
poets
kawila
kawna
to the poet
to the poets
Class 2
The plural does not change; add -a to form the oblique.
Rule M1 applies: i and e y before addition of -a.
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mali
mali
gardener
gardeners
malyala
malyna
to the gardener
to the gardeners
(c) Unmarked: ending in u

Class 1 (most masculine nouns ending in -u)
sadhu
sadhu
ascetic
ascetics
sadhula
sadhna
to the ascetic
to the ascetics
Class 2 (a few words)

Rule M2 applies: u and o w before addition of -e, -a, or -e.
bhau
bhau
brother
brothers
bhawala
bhawna
to the brother
to the brothers
(d) Unmarked: ending in a consonant

ek hat
don hat
one hand
two hands
eka hatat
don hatt
in one hand
in two hands
(2) Neuter
(a) Marked: ending in -e
The straight plural is formed according to rule: -e -i;
the oblique singular and plural according to rule: -e -ya.
bhande
bhandi
vessel
vessels
eka bhandyat
don bhandyt
in one vessel
in two vessels
(b) Unmarked: ending in -u

The straight plural is formed according to rule: -u -e;
the oblique singular and plural according to rule: -u -a.
limbu
limbe
lemon
lemons
limbache
limbche
of the lemon
of the lemons
(c) Unmarked: ending in -i

These are all uncountable nouns without plural forms;
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add -a to form the oblique.

pani
dahi
water
curds
panyat
dahyat
in the water
in the curds

Form the straight plural by adding -e;
form the oblique singular and plural by adding -a.
ghar
ghare
house
houses
gharat
ghart
in the house
in the houses
Exceptions:
1. paul 'foot' and deul 'temple' follow the above rule,
but in addition the medial u changes to w:
deul
dewle
temple
temples
dewlat
dewlt
in the temple
in the temples
(3) Feminine
(a) Marked: ending in -i
Class 1
Some of the words in this class are listed below; note that
they are all borrowings from Sanskrit: apatti 'calamity',
dewi 'goddess', grihini 'housewife', paddhati 'system'.
dewi
dewi
goddess
goddesses
dewila
dewna
to the goddess
to the goddesses
Class 2
The oblique singular does not change;
form the straight and oblique plurals by adding -a.
gadi
gadya
car
cars
gadine
gadyni
by car
by the cars
Exceptions:
1. The plural and oblique of mulgi is muli, and of porgi is pori.
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mulgi
muli
girl
girls
mulila
mulna
to the girl
to the girls
2. The straight and oblique plural of bai is baya:

bai
woman
baya
women
(b) Unmarked: ending in -u
baila
bayna
to the woman
to the women
Class 1
ek wastu one object
don wastu two objects
eka wastula
for one object
don wastna
for two objects
Class 2
The oblique singular does not change;
Rule M2 applies: u and o w before addition of -e, -a, or -e.
sasu
saswa
mother-in-law sasula
mothers-in-law saswna
to the mother-in-law
to the mothers-in-law
(c) Unmarked: ending in -a

The oblique singular is formed according to rule: -a -e;
the straight and oblique plurals do not change.
ek shala one school
don shala two schools
eka shalet
don shalt
in one school
in two schools

Class 1: Fi group
Form the plural and oblique by adding -i.
bahin
bahini
sister
sisters
bahinila to the sister

bahinna to the sisters
Class 2: Fe group
Form the oblique singular by adding -e;
khep
turn
khepela
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on the turn
khepa
turns
khepna
on the turns
An exception: chuk forms the oblique singular by adding -i;

and forms the straight and oblique plurals by adding -a.
chuk
chuka
mistake
mistakes
chukila
chukna
for the mistake

for the mistakes
2.A.3. Applicable morphophonemic rules

Rule M1: -i and -e -y- before addition of -a.
Rule M2: -u and -o -w- before addition of -e, -a, or -e.
Rule M5: -se -sh- before addition of -i or -y.
Rules M6 and M7 follow automatically from a general Rule that i & u
in preceding syllables are shortened or deleted when a vowel is added.
2.A.4. Locative
The locative functions as an adverb. It is formed by adding -i directly
to the noun without requiring a change to the oblique form. The locative
can only be used with certain nouns. Some common examples:
diwas
ghar
pay
sakal
day
house
foot
morning
diwashi* on the day

ghari
in the house
payi
on foot
sakali
in the morning
*note the operation of Rule M5

2.A.5. Vocative
The vocative is used mainly in addressing people, though it may be
employed for addressing a creature or inanimate object that one wants
to personify. For the vocative singular, the bare oblique singular form is
used. For the vocative plural, the oblique plural form with the ending
-no is used. In the examples below the vocative forms are capitalized.
mul
mule
child
children
Mula!
Mulno!
Child!
Children!
mulgi
muli
girl
girls
Muli!
Mulno!
Girl!
Girls!
Majhya gadya!
Majhya gadyno!
My dear friend!
My dear friends!
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2.B. Adjectives
Adjectives are of two types, according to their form: variable and
invariable. Invariable adjectives end in a consonant, and they do not
undergo any change in form. Variable adjectives must agree in gender
and number with the nouns or pronouns they modify.
2.B.1. Variable adjectives endings, with examples.
Singular
Masc. -a
Plural
changla rasta (good road)
Fem. -i changli gadi (good car)
-e
changle raste (good roads)
-ya changlya gadya (good cars)
Neut. -e changle pustak (good book) -i
changli pustake (good books)
2.B.2. Invariable adjectives

Singular
Plural
Masc.
lamb rasta (long road)
lamb raste (long roads)
Fem.
lahan gadi (small car)
lahan gadya (small cars)
Neut.
lahan pustak (small book)
lahan pustake (small books)
Oblique form. A variable adjective modifying a noun in the oblique

must also be in the oblique. The oblique is formed by changing the
adjective ending to -ya.
changla rasta a good road
mothi gadi
a big car
changlya rastyawar
mothya gadine
on a good road
with a big car
There may be several adjectives modifying a noun in the oblique. In

this case all of the variable adjectives must be in the oblique:
majhya thorlya bhawachi mulgi
majhya lahan bhawacha mulga
my elder brother's daughter

my young(er) brother's son
2.C. Pronouns
2.C.1. Subject pronouns
The Marathi pronoun system has complications which are unfamiliar
to English speakers, as correct pronoun usage is bound up with the
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etiquette of the language.

First Person. The first person forms are the least complicated. The first
person singular (English 'I') is mi. In using the plural (English 'we'),
however, the Marathi speaker must make it clear whether or not the
pronoun includes the person to whom one is speaking. The inclusive
form of 'we' (that which includes the person spoken to) is apan; the
exclusive form is amhi.
Second Person. For directly addressing a person, the selection of
pronouns depends on the speaker's social relationship to that person.
There are three levels of social distance and respect. The corresponding
pronouns are familiar tu, respectful tumhi, and honorific apan.
The honorific form apan indicates the greatest degree of social
distance and respect. In everyday conversation the use of apan is
decreasing. It seems unlikely that most American speakers will use this
form very often, but it is still desirable to be able to recognize it. If the
social relationship does not call for the use of the honorific, the speaker
must choose between the familiar and the respectful:
(a) The familiar is used for children, close friends, siblings, mother,
mother's sister, and grandmother.
(b) For all others (including father & husband) the respectful is used.
(c) Some people address servants in the familiar, but it is generally
better to use the respectful. In fact, the general rule is:
When in doubt, always use the respectful.
The discussion above relates to pronoun choice when the speaker is
speaking to one person. In speaking to a group he has only to choose
between the respectful and the honorific. The honorific is used only for
formal situations; otherwise, the respectful is used.
Table 2.C.1(1): First and Second Person Subject Pronouns
First Person
mi
I (Sing.)
amhi we (exclusive Plur.)
apan we (inclusive Plur.)
Second Person
tu
you (familiar Sing.)
tumhi you (respectful Sing. & Plur.)
apan you (honorific)
Third Person. The third person may be used to refer to objects, ideas,
creatures, or people. In referring to any of the first three categories, the
choice of pronoun depends upon two factors:
(a) the gender & number of the noun which the pronoun is replacing.
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(b) the physical proximity of the object in question (i.e., 'this' vs. 'that').
In referring to someone in the third person, a speaker's choice of
pronoun depends upon three factors:
(a) the sex of the person spoken of
(b) the social distance between the speaker and the person spoken of
(c) the physical proximity of the person spoken of
Table 2.C.1(2): Third Person Subject Pronouns
Distant ("that")
Proximate ("this")
to
ti
te
te
tya
ti
ha
hi
he
he
hya
hi
he (familiar), it (M)
she (familiar), it (F)
it (N)
he (respect), they (M)
she (respect), they (F)
they (N)
he (familiar), it (M)
she (familiar), it (F)
they (N)
he (respect), they (M)
she (respect), they (F)
they (N)
Table 2.C.1(3): Summary of Forms

Singular
M___ F____N
Plural
M___ F____N
Distant
to
ti
te
te
tya
Proximate
ha
hi
he
he
hya hi
ti
In the third person there are only two degrees of respect: familiar and
respectful; there is no special honorific form. For the familiar the
masculine or feminine singular forms are used.
Reference to a person in the neuter singular is not common, but may
occur in referring to a child, when the sex is unknown or insignificant.
For respectful reference in the third person singular, the masculine or
feminine plural forms are used. In the third person plural the question
of respectful forms does not arise, so the only factors governing the
selection of pronouns are the sex and physical proximity of the person
referred to.
Unlike the singular, the third person plural neuter pronouns are
frequently used to refer to people. They are used either for a mixed
group of men and women or boys and girls, or for a group of men or
boys. For a group of women or girls the feminine pronouns are used.
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2.C.2. Object pronouns

A pronoun referring to an impersonal noun may be used as a direct
object. The direct object pronoun always has the same form as the
subject pronoun. For instance, the sentence 'I do that' may have three
possible forms (mi to karto, mi ti karto, mi te karto), depending on the
gender of the noun referred to. Example: 'mi wyayam (M) karto,' or 'mi
to karto.' Note that if the gender of the direct object noun is unknown,
one may employ the neuter (singular or plural) pronoun in its place.
A pronoun referring to a person may not generally be used as a
"direct" object. The postposition -la or -na must be added to the pronoun,
thus making it "indirect". Before -la or -na (-la with single pronouns and
-na with plural) special pronoun forms are required. They are listed in
Table 2.C.2. Note that in the singular, to and te both become tyala, and
ha and he both become hyala, Similarly in the plural, te, tya and ti all
become tyna, and he, hya and hi all become hyna.
In English, these forms will be translated either as so-called "direct
objects" or as "indirect objects", depending on the context of the sentence,
as illustrated in these examples:
mi tyala phon karto. I call him (direct object).
mi tyala lihito.
I write to him (indirect object).
Table 2.C.2: Indirect Object Pronoun Forms
Subject
1. mi
2. tu
3. to, te
ti
ha, he
hi
Singular
Indirect object
Subject
mala
tula
tyala
tila
hyala
hila
Plural
Indirect object
amhi/apan
tumhi
te, ti
tya
he, hi
hya
amhala/aplyala
tumhala
tyna
tyna
hyna
hyna
2.C.3. Possessives
The possessive pronouns consist of a special possessive stem plus the
regular adjective endings, agreeing in gender & number with the noun
modifed. Since these have the form and function of adjectives they will
be referred to as possessive adjectives. The possessive adjectives are
listed in table below (according to gender & number of modified noun).
Table 2C3: Possessive Adjectives.
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Singular
F
1 majha
2 tujha
3 tyacha
hyacha
ticha
hicha
1 amcha
apla
2 tumcha
3 tyancha
hyancha
majhi
tujhi
tyachi
hyachi
tichi
hichi
amchi
apli
tumchi
tyanchi
hyanchi
Plural
F
majhe
tujhe
tyache
hyache
tiche
hiche
amche
aple
tumche
tyanche
hyanche
majhe
tujhe
tyache
hyache
tiche
hiche
amche
aple
tumche
tyanche
hyanche
majhya
tujhya
tyachya
hyachya
tichya
hichya
amchya
aplya
tumchya
tyanchya
hyanchya
N
majhi
tujhi
tyachi
hyachi
tichi
hichi
amchi
apli
tumchi
tyanchi
hyanchi
2.C.4. Pronoun + -ne

In certain constructions a pronoun is to be combined with the
instrumental postposition -ne (in ordinary speech the singular form is ne, and the plural form is -ni; in formal speech, the singular form is -ne).
In this case special oblique forms of the pronoun are required. These
forms (listed in Table 2.C.4) may be translated literally as 'by me', 'by
you', etc., but the corresponding English sentences will normally have
the pronouns in the subject form, that is, 'I', 'you', etc.
Table 2.C.4: Forms of Pronouns Used with -ne
Singular
Person Subject
Form with -ne
1
2
3
mi
tu
to, te
ti
ha, he
hi
mi
tu
tyane
tine
hyane
hine
Plural
Subject
Form with -ni
amhi/apan amhi/apan
tumhi
tumhi
te, ti
tyani
tya
tyani
he, hi
hyani
hya
hyani
Note that only the third person pronouns have special forms. In the
other persons the -ne is theoretically there, but it is not actually present.
2.C.5. Oblique form of pronouns
Before postpositions other than -la (plural: -na) and -ne (plural: -ni),
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pronouns must be in the oblique form. For pronouns referring to

persons, the possessive is used as the base for the oblique. For masculine
and neuter pronouns referring to impersonal nouns, the subject form is
often used as the base. Whichever base is used, the rule for the ending
is the same: the ending is changed to -ya.
(1) Examples of pronouns referring to persons
majhe
my
majhyajawal
near me
tyache
his
tyachyasathi
for him
tumche
your
tumchyakade to you(r place)
amche
our
amchyakadun from us
(2) Examples of pronouns referring to impersonal nouns
te
that (N)
ti
those (N)
tyanantar
tyamule
tyanchyat
after that
because of that
in those
2.C.6. Demonstrative adjectives (pronouns used as adjectives)

The demonstrative adjectives are used to modify a noun.
to manus
ti gay
te ghar
amhi lok
that man
that cow
that house
we people
ha manus
hi gay
he ghar
tumhi lok
this man
this cow
this house
you people
2.C.7. Oblique form of demonstrative and possessive adjectives

When the noun they are modifying is in the oblique, demonstrative
and possessive adjectives must also be in the oblique; the ending is -ya,
regardless of the gender or number of the noun modified.
majha bhau
tyachi mule
to mulga
te gaw
ti gadi
amhi lok
my brother
his children
that boy
that town
that car
we people
majhya bhawala
tyachya mulkadun
tya mulala
tya gawala
tya gadit
amchya lokna
to my brother
from his children
to that boy
to that town
in that car
to us people
2.C.8. Reflexive pronouns

The pronoun apan, which has already been introduced, also functions
as a reflexive pronoun. It is used when there is a second reference to the
subject within a sentence. Examples:
15
te aplya mulna shalet pathawat nahit.

They don't send their kids to school.
tyala ase watle ki apan te kam karawe. He felt he should do the work.
In some cases apan serves to qualify the subject, somewhat as the
phrases 'at least', 'for one', and 'on his part' do in English. It takes the
form of a variable adjective (aple) agreeing with the subject in gender
and number.
mi apla janar ahe.
ti apli tashich jewli.
I for one am going to go.

She (on her part) ate her meal.
The other reflexive pronoun is swataha; this is often spelled swat:

(with the -aha indicated by a colon, as written in Devanagari script). An
alternative Romanization is to replace -aha by -ha (swatha, etc); the
result is easier to handle, and it sounds equivalent.
to swathashi bolto.
to swathala motha samajto.
tine swatha kam kele.
He talks to himself.
He considers himself great.
She did the work herself.
2.D. Interrogative Forms

Nouns, pronouns and adjectives may be replaced by interrogative
Q-words to form questions. Following are the interrogative forms:
Straight form
Oblique form
kay (what)
kon (who)
konte (which)
kashakonakontya-
Chapter 3
Verbs
3.A. Classification
3.A.1. Transitive-intransitive
Marathi verbs can be classified in two principal ways. First, verbs are
classified as transitive or intransitive according to whether or not they
take a direct object. Transitive verbs are those that take a direct object;
16
intransitive verbs are those that do not. Transitive verbs are further
divided according to the agreement rules they follow for the formation of
the perfect construction. The majority of transitive verbs are referred to
in this text simply as transitive verbs or T-verbs. A special sub-class is
referred to as semi-transitive verbs or S-verbs. Intransitive verbs are
referred to as I-verbs.
3.A.2. Personal-impersonal
Verbs may also be classified according to whether or not they can
have a personal noun as subject. Those which can are called personal
verbs; those which cannot are called impersonal verbs (though this
distinction may not always be clear-cut). For the most part, verbs which
are impersonal in Marathi are impersonal in English also, and they
present no special difficulty. Below are some examples of impersonal
verbs; note that they are all intransitive. The dictionary "citation form"
for verbs uses the infinitive ending -ne.
galneto drip
sampne
to finish
tapne
to heat
niwne
to cool
shijne
to cook
walne
to dry
There is a subset of impersonal verbs that cause special problems to

the English speaker. Many of these verbs deal with desire, perception,
or feeling. In English such verbs have personal subjects, as in the
sentences below.
I like ice cream.
My sister wants this book.
My brother doesn't feel well.
In the corresponding Marathi sentences the person is the object, not
the subject.
mala aiskrim awadte
I like ice cream. (lit., 'ice cream pleases me')
majhya bahinila he pustak pahije

My sister wants this book (lit., 'to my sister this book is required')
majhya bhawala bare watat nahi
My brother doesn't feel well (lit., 'to my brother it doesn't feel well')
These "literal" translations are, of course, awkward; they're given
merely to convey the sense of the Marathi construction. These verbs will
be referred to as reverse-intransitive verbs (R-verbs).
17
3.A.3. Tense and aspect

Students are accustomed to thinking about verbs in terms of tense-usually divided into past, present, and future. Even for English these
categories are not really accurate, and for Marathi they are definitely
not. To understand the Marathi verbal system it is necessary to grasp
the difference between two key concepts: tense and aspect.
Tense refers to the relative location of an action in time. The time
sequence is often divided into past, present, and future, but it should be
kept in mind that these categories are relative and their meaning shifts
according to context. In one context the present may be the present
moment and the past a minute earlier. In other contexts the present
may be a day, a year, or a century. That is, our time scale can expand or
contract according to our communicative needs.
Aspect, on the other hand, refers not to the time of occurrence of an
action but to the way it is viewed. The action may be viewed as
impending, as ongoing, or as a completed event. A verbal construction
combining information about both aspect and tense enables the speaker
to convey exactly what he wants to regarding a particular action.
3.A.4. Tense in Marathi
In Marathi only the verb asne 'to be' has a full range of tenses: past,
present, future, and habitual. The past and present have the meanings
one would expect, but the future has an unexpected element; it may
convey pure futurity, or it may simply indicate probability or likelihood.
The habitual is used for habitual or regular action.
3.A.5. Aspect in Marathi
Marathi has three aspects-- perfect, imperfect, and prospective. In the
perfect, action is viewed as completed. In the imperfect, action is viewed
as ongoing, or as habitual. In the prospective, action is viewed as
impending, or about to take place.
Aspect is indicated by the base form of the verb V, plus an aspect
marker. The marker of the perfect is l; the marker of the imperfect is t;
and the marker of the prospective is nar. Aspectual forms may be
combined with the various forms of the auxiliary to produce a large
variety of verb constructions, which will be discussed later.
3.B. The Verb asne 'to be'
3.B.1. Uses of asne
18
The verb asne 'to be' is of special interest in Marathi. As mentioned, it

has the full range of tenses: past, present, future, and the habitual. In
addition, it can be used with the forms available to other verbs. This
chapter will present only the tense forms mentioned above.
Like its corresponding English verb 'to be' asne has at least five
distinct uses, examples of which are given below (the word 'ahe' means
'he, she, or it is'):
(a) ha majha bhau ahe.
This is my brother.
(b) to mulga hushar ahe.
That boy is bright.
(c) majhi bahin ithe ahe.
My sister is here.
(d) dew ahe.
God is (God exists).
(e) mama yenar ahe.
Uncle is coming.
In sentences (a) and (b) asne is a coupling verb, serving as a link

between subject and predicate. In sentence (c) it is used in reference to
location. In sentence (d) it asserts existence. In sentence (e) it serves as
an auxiliary of the main verb. When necessary to distinguish between
the various uses of asne the following terms may be used: coupling,
locational, existential, and auxiliary. The term 'auxiliary' when used
without comment, however, will refer to asne without reference to its
distinct uses.
3.B.2. Present
The negative form of asne is nasne. The present tense of asne (and
nasne) is given in the paradigm below.
The paradigms throughout this book will not include apan. When
apan is used for the first person it requires the same verb forms as
amhi. For the second person it requires the same forms as tumhi.
Note that in speech the h in ahe and ahet is generally elided,
resulting in ae and aet (except when special emphasis is placed on
them). In ahot and ahat the h is softened but may not entirely
disappear. No attempt was made to reproduce all of the elisions
found in the spelling of words in this text.
1s
mi
ahe (nahi)
I am (I am not)
2s
tu
ahes (nahis)
you are (you are not)
3s
to,ti,te
ahe (nahi)
he,she,it is (he,she,it is not)

19
1pl
amhi
ahot (nahi)
we are (we are not)
2pl
tumhi
ahat (nahi)
you are (you are not)
3pl
te,tya,ti
ahet (nahit)
they are (they are not)
It can be seen that the gender of the subject does not affect the
form of asne (that is, one's existential being is unaffected by gender).
The above paradigm is summarized in Table 3.B.2.
Table 3.B.2: Present of asne (and nasne).
Person
Singular
Plural
ahe (nahi)
ahot (nahi)
ahes (nahis)
ahat (nahi)
3
ahe (nahi)
ahet (nahit)
3.B.3. Contrast of the present with the present habitual
The present tense (ahe, etc) is used either to refer to something
happening at present, or to a general fact. It contrasts with the present
habitual (used for regular or habitual actions). Though the present
habitual form has yet to be introduced it may be helpful to contrast the
present and present habitual forms of asne here.
to aphisat ahe.
roj dupari te aphisat astat.
He's in the office (right now).

Every afternoon he's in the office.
he pustak phar awghad ahe

tyachi pustake nehmich awghad astat
This book is very difficult.

His books are always hard.
nadimadhe pani phar kami ahe. There's very little water in the river.
dar unhalyat pani kami aste.
Every summer there's little water.
3.B.4. Past
The stem (a verb form to which the ending is added) for the past
affirmative of asne is hot-; for the negative, it is nahwt-. The endings
are the regular perfect endings for intransitive verbs. The endings are
presented in Table 3.B.4 (the third person endings are regular adjective
endings, agreeing with the subject).
Table 3.B.4: Past endings for hot- and nahwtPerson
Singular
M
F
N
Plural
M
F
N
20
1
2
3
-o
-as
-a
-e
-is
-i
---e
-o
-o
--a(t)* -a(t)* --e
-ya -i
*parentheses in tables indicate optional alternants

Past affirmative and negative forms are given below. The forms of
nahwt- are the same as for hot- with the addition of the negative prefix
na- (substituting -w- for the middle vowel). Note that hw is reversed
when written in Devanagari script (that is, it's written: nawht-). Forms
in parentheses are for subjects with feminine gender.
1s
mi
2s
tu
3s
to, ti, te
1pl
amhi
2pl
tumhi
3pl
te, tya, ti
hoto (hote)
I was
nahwto (nahwte)
I wasnt, etc.
hotas
(hotis)
nahwtas (nahwtis)
hota, hoti, hote
nahwta, nahwti, nahwte
hoto
nahwto
hota(t)
nahwta(t)
hote, hotya, hoti
nahwte, nahwtya, nahwti
Use of the past. The past of asne and nasne is used to refer to a
particular moment in the past or to a general condition or a general
truth. It is not, however, used in reference to a habitual state in the
past. For the latter the past habitual is used. See the next section for the
contrast between the use of the past and the past habitual.
3.B.5. Habitual
The stem for the habitual affirmative is as-; for the negative, it's nas-.
The habitual endings are presented in Tables 3.B.5(1 & 2).
Table 3.B.5(1): Present habitual endings for ast- (as- plus aspect
marker t) and nast-; note that this is identical to Table 3.B.4 above
Singular
M
F
N
-o
-e
--
-o
-as
-is
--
Person
Plural
F
N
-o
--
-a(t) -a(t) -21
-a
-i
-e
-e
-ya
-i
The full forms for the present habitual are given below:
1s
mi
2s
tu
3s
to, ti, te
1pl
amhi
2pl
tumhi
3pl
te, tya, ti
asto (aste)
I (generally) am
nasto (naste)
I (generally) am not, etc.
astas (astis)
nastas (nastis)
asta, asti, aste
nasta, nasti, naste
asto
nasto
asta(t)
nasta(t)
aste, astya, asti
naste, nastya, nasti
Table 3.B.5(2): Past habitual endings for as- and nasPerson
Singular
Plural
-e
-u
-as
-a
-e
-at
Contrast with past. Note the difference in the use of the past and past
habitual forms of asne, in the example below:
amhi kal ithe hoto.
We were here yesterday.
amhi lahanpani tithe asu.
We were there in childhood.
The past habitual of the auxiliary is frequently found in writing. In

speech, however, the past ayche habitual (it means 'used to') is more
likely to be used. For this form, asaych- (nasaych-) is the stem; the
endings are same as given in Table 3.B.5(1). Examples:
mi apla ektach asaycho
I myself used to be lonely.
kunich nasayche majhyashi bolayla
There was no-one to talk to.
The full forms for the past asayche habitual are given below:
22
1s
mi
2s
tu
3s
to, ti, te
1pl
amhi
asaycho (asayche)
'I used to be
nasaycho (nasayche)
I didn't used to be
asaychas (asaychis)
nasaychas (nasaychis)
asaycha, asaychi, asayche
nasaycha, nasaychi, nasayche
asaycho
nasaycho
tumhi
asaycha(t)
nasaycha(t)
te, tya, ti asayche, asaychya, asaychi
nasayche, nasaychya, nasaychi
2pl
3pl
3.B.6. Future
The stem for the future affirmative is as-; for the negative, it is nas-.
The endings are the regular future endings, which are presented in
Table 3.B.6 below:
Table 3.B.6: Future endings for as- and nasPerson
Singular
Plural
-en
-u
-shil
-al
-el
-til
The full forms for the future are given below:

1s
2s
3s
mi
tu
to, ti, te
asen (nasen)
asashil (nasashil)
asel (nasel)
1pl
2pl
3pl
amhi
tumhi
te, tya, ti
asu (nasu)
asal (nasal)
astil (nastil)
'I will be ('I won't be')
Use of the future. The future tense of the auxiliary may be used
simply to indicate futurity. Generally, however, an element of
uncertainty is implied:
te udya ghari astil
They will (probably?) be home tomorrow
The future of the auxiliary may also be used to express uncertainty

23
about the present:

te ata ghari astil
They must (probably?) be at home now
To express greater definiteness about the future, the prospective may

be used: the invariable suffix -nar is added to the stem (opt. auxiliary):
mi udya ghari asnar (ahe)
I'll be home tomorrow
3.C. Verb Forms

3.C.1. Basic verb forms
Most of the verb constructions used in Marathi are combinations of
one or more of the forms listed below, along with, in many cases, the
auxiliary asne which has already been introduced.
(a) V-
(b) V-i-
(c) V-u
(d) V-ne
(e) V-ayla
(f) V-aych-
(g) V-un
(h) V-aw-
(i) V-t
(j) V-nar
(k) V-l(a) is the verbal base; (b) is the verbal base plus the stem-formative i;
(c) is used in subordinated constructions; (d) and (e) are verbal nouns
and (f) is a verbal adjective; (g) serves as a subordinating conjunction;
(h) is a modal stem used in constructions conveying attitudes of desire,
uncertainty, or obligation; (i), (j), and (k) are aspectual stems: (i) for
viewing the imperfect, (j) the prospective, and (k) the perfect.
3.C.2. Application of morphophonemic rules
We have already seen in the discussion of noun forms that when stem
formations or endings are added to base forms, certain regular sound
changes (morphophonemic changes) occur. The rules for some of these
are quite general; that is, they apply to forms in all parts of speech.
Summary of morphophonemic rules applicable in this section:
Rule M1: i and e y before addition of -a.
Rule M2: -u and -o -w before addition of -e, -a, or -e.
Rule M3: u uw before addition of -a or -u.
Rule M4: when -a is added to a, the result is a.
Examples of stem changes preceding suffixes beginning with a:
24
(a) Stems ending in -a:

kha kha, khayla, khayche, khawe.
ja
ja, jayla, jayche, jawe.
(b) Stems ending in -ah (the stem vowel may vary):
pah paha, pahayla, pahayche, pahawe.
rah raha, rahayla, rahayche, rahawe.
(c) Stems ending in -e or -i:
de
ghe
ne
pi
ye
dya, dyayla, dyayche, dyawe.

ghya, ghyayla, ghyayche, ghyawe.
nya, nyayla, nyayche, nyawe.
pya, pyayla, pyayche, pyawe.
ya, yayla, yayche, yawe.
(d) Stems ending in -u (this is unique):

dhu dhuwa, dhuwayla, dhuwayche, dhuwawe.
(e) Stem ending in -o (probably unique):
ho
hwa*, hwal, hwayla, hwayche, hwawe.
*the hw is written reversed in Devanagari script: wha, etc
The remainder of this section will list the basic verb forms and the
constructions in which they are used, along with the relevant morphophonemic rules and the most common irregular bases. For the details of
each construction, consult the appropriate section in the text (see index).
Verb constructions (V- is the base; E is a variable ending)
(a) V only. The verbal base itself is the familiar imperative.
Add -a to form the respectful/plural imperative (applic: M1,M3,M4).
Exceptions:
1. The familiar imperative of lih- is lihi.

2. The respectful/plural imperative of ye- is ya.
(b) V-i (V-e)

(1) Future
(2) Past habitual
(3) V-i paryant
A variant of V-i is V-e. The i-stem is used with bases terminating in a
vowel or a vowel plus h, and with most transitive verbs. For other verbs
the e-stem is used.
Examples of i-stem: ja- (ends in a), rah- (ends in h), kar- (transitive).
25
Examples of e-stem: jhop-, poch- (both intransitive).

(c) V-u (applicable: M3)
(1) V-u ka? (or K* V-u?)
(2) V-u de(3) V-u lag(4) V-u ya
(5) V-u naye

(6) V-u nako(s)/naka
(7) V-u shak(8) V-u pah-
*K = Q-word (Interrogative)
(d) V-ne
(1) V-ne
(2) V-nya + post.
(e) V-ayla (applicable: M1-4)

(1) V-ayla
(2) V1-ayla V2
(3) V-ayla pahije

(4) V-ayla lag-
(f) V-aych- (applicable: M1-4)

(1) N V-aych-E
(4) V-aych-E N
(2) V-aych-E Aux
(5) V-aychya + post.
(3) N-la (N-ne) V-aych-E Aux
(6) V1-aych-E V2
(g) V-un (applicable: M3)
(1) V1-un V2. Subordinating conjunction, compound verb
(2) N1-kadun N2 V-un ghe(h) V-aw- (applicable: M1-4)
(1) N V-aw-E
(2) N-ne V-aw-E
(3) N-la V-aw-E lag(i) V-t (t is the imperfect aspect marker)
(1) V-t-E (E: present habit. ending)
(2) V-t Aux
(3) V-ta V-ta
(4) V-t
(5) V-tach
(6) na V-ta
(7) V-tana
(8) V-ta ye(9) V-t-E ahe
(10) chal-t-E ho
(11) V-t-E N
(j) V-nar (nar is the prospective aspect marker)

(1) V-nar Aux
(2) V-nar-E N
26
(k) V-l- (l is the perfect aspect marker)

(1) V-l-E Aux
(2) V-l-E ast-E
(3) V-l-E pahije
(4) V-lel-E
(5) V-lel-E bar-E

(6) V-lel-E N
(7) V-lel-E V2
(8) V-lya + post.
Irregular verbs: special stem forms before l (V-le in parentheses):

bagh- (baghitle); bhi- (bhyayle); de- (dile); dhu- (dhutle); ga(gayle); ghal- (ghatle); ghe- (ghetle); ho- (jhale); ja- (gele); kar(kele); kha- (khalle); le- (lyayle); lih/lihi- (lihile); mag- (magitle);
mar- (mele); mhan- (mhanale/mhatle*); mil- (milale); nigh(nighale); pal- (palale); pah- (pahile); pi- (pyayle); poh- (pohole);
rah- (rahile); sang- (sangitle); ud- (udale); wah- (wahile); wi(wyayle); ye- (ale).
* Mhatle is used in the perfect when it is transitive (tyane mhatle);
and mhanale is used when it is semi-transitive (to mhanala).
Chapter 4
Simple Sentences
4.A. Basic Patterns
4.A.1.
N1 N2 (Aux)*
N1 is N2.
to manus ahe.
He is a man.
te dawakhana ahe.
That is a dispensary.
*often the auxiliary is omitted (indicated by parentheses)
4.A.2.
N1 mhanje N2
barobar
N1 means N2.
equals
bhau mhanje brother.

don adhik don barobar char.
Bhau means brother.

Two plus two equals four.
This pattern is slightly different from 1 above. In 1, the

27
relationship between N1 and N2 is that of identification: that is,

we're asserting that N2 belongs to a certain set of objects. In 2, the
relationship is one of equivalence: that is, two objects are asserted to
have the same value.
4.A.3.
4.A.4.
Adj.
Aux.
is
Adj.
ghar mothe ahe.
The house is big.
pustak changle ahe.
The book is good.
to unch ahe.
He is tall.
N Adv. Aux
N1 N2-post. Aux.
N1 is prep. N2*
is
Adv.*
*the adverb or prep. phrase may precede the subject
4.A.5.
aphis sinemasamor ahe.
The office faces the cinema.
tyachyajawal paise ahet.
He has money.
(lit: 'money is with him')
tila mulga ahe.
She has a son.
mi V-u ka?
Shall (should) I V?
amhi V-u ka?
Shall (should) we V?
mi te gheu ka?
Shall I take it?
mi suru karu ka?
Shall I begin?
amhi tikde jau ka?
Should we go there?
Strictly speaking, this and the following pattern contain the first
person imperative paradigm; however, since all of the imperatives
require special sentence patterns, they are given their own sections.
4.A.6.
mi K V-u?
Q-word shall I V?
amhi K V-u?
Q-word shall we V?
mi kuthe jau?
Where shall I go?
mi kiti wajta yeu?
What time shall I come?
amhi te kuthe thewu?
Where should we put it?
4.A.7(1). V (V-a)
V
28
chal
Come on (familiar).
chala
Come on (respect./plural).
This is the second person imperative. The simple verb stem V serves as
the familiar; -a is added for the respectful/plural. This pattern may be
expanded with a direct object:
4.A.7(2). N V
V N
chaha ghe
Take tea (familiar).
chaha ghya
Take tea (respect./plural).
The pattern may also be expanded with addition of adverbs:

4.A.7(3). Adv V
V Adv.
tikde ja
tikde ja
Go there (familiar).
Go there (respect./plural).
ath wajta ye
ath wajta ya
Come at 8 (familiar).
Come at 8 (respect./plur).
halu bol
halu bola
Speak softly (familiar).

Speak softly (respect./plur).
These two patterns may also be combined with adverbs and/or objects:
pustak udya ne
Take the book tomorrow.
The negative form of the familiar imperative is V-u nako(s); for the
respectful/plural the form is V-u naka:
4.A.8.
te karu nakos (nako)
Don't do that (familiar).
te karu naka
Don't do that (resp./plur).
(apan) V-u ya
Let's V.
apan tyachyakade jau ya
Let's go to his place.
apan udya suru karu ya
Let's start tomorrow.
apan apalapa khelu ya
Let's play hide & seek.
This construction has no corresponding negative. A negative reply to

the first sentence above could take one of various forms:
nako, apan ithe thambu ya
29
No, let's stay here.
tyachyakade jayla nako

4.A.9.
Let's not go to his place.
V-aych-E
This is an impersonal construction with no exact English equivalent.

It is particularly used in giving directions or in describing how something is to be done (meaning one 'should', or 'ought to').
saral pudhe jayche rastyaparyant; tithe dawikade walun jayche.
Go straight ahead to the road; then turn and go left.
If there's a direct object, the ending of V-aych-E must agree with the
object in gender and number (otherwise, use neuter singular -e); the
endings are the regular adjective endings.
4.A.10.
N V
N V.
The greatest number of Marathi sentences are of this pattern, in

which N is the subject and V the predicate. Within this general pattern
there are two forms of verb construction: unitary and participial. In a
unitary construction all information about the action is contained in a
single verb form. In a participial construction a participle is used along
with the auxiliary. The participle indicates the aspect and the auxiliary
generally indicates tense. However, the auxiliary may also be used in
an aspectual form to convey a particular nuance of an action.
The section below is arranged according to the forms of construction
within the general N V pattern. Since there are differences in sentence
pattern depending on whether a verb is transitive, intransitive, or
reverse-intransitive, examples of sentences with each verb type will be
given. Whenever asne can be used as a main verb in a participial
construction, an example will also be given.
4.B. Unitary Constructions
4.B.1. The future
The future (the unitary future; the immediate future is called the
prospective) is used for actions felt as somewhat remote. The actual time
may be imminent, but it isn't felt as immediate or definite. The formula
for this construction is:
N V-E
where E stands for the set of future endings presented in Table 4.B.1.
30
Table 4.B.1: Future Endings

Person
1
Singular
-in
Plural
-en
-u
-shil
-il
-al
-el
-til
The endings -in and -il are used after a base ending in a vowel, or a
vowel plus -h, and with most transitive verbs. For some other verbs -en
and -el are used. The full paradigm for jane 'to go' is given below:
1s
mi
jain
2s
tu
jashil
3s
to,ti,te
jail
1pl
amhi
2pl
3pl
jau
tumhi
te,tya,ti
jal
jatil
Example of intransitive:
to pudhchya warshi tikde jail.
mi ithech thamben.
He'll go there next year.

I'll wait right here.
Example of transitive:
mi udya he kam sampawin.
Reverse-intransitive:
I'll finish this work tomorrow.
The formula for the future with R-verbs is: N1-la N2 V-E
The ending E is governed by N2, and will be in the third person.
Example:
amhala mal udya milel.
We will receive the goods tomorrow.
Auxiliary: the future of the auxiliary has already been given (3.B.6).
Negative: The future has no corresponding negative. The negative is
that of the prospective (4.C.3):
mi janar nahi
mi te karnar nahi
amhala ti welewar milnar nahit.
I won't go.
I won't do it.
We won't get them on time.
4.B.2. The past habitual: the ayche habitual (it means 'used to')
31
The past habitual is used for habitual or regular action in the past,
much as 'used to' is in English. The formula for this construction is:
N V-aych-E
where E indicates the set of past ayche habitual endings presented in
Table 4.B.2 below. These agree with the subject N.
Table 4.B.2: Past ayche Habitual Endings
Person
1
2
3
Singular
M
F
N
Plural
M
F
N
-o
-as
-a
-o
-a
-e
-e
-is
-i
---e
-o
-a
-ya
---i
These endings are the same as those for the perfect of intransitive
verbs (4.C.2). Note that the third person endings are the regular
adjective endings.
The alternative form for expressing the same meaning is V-t ase
(given in section 4.C.2). The full paradigm for jane 'to go' is given below
(Feminine in parentheses):
1s
2s
3s
mi jaycho (jayche)
tu
jaychas (jaychis)
to
jaycha
ti
jaychi
te
jayche
1pl
2pl
3pl
amhi
tumhi
te
tya
ti
jaycho
jaycha
jayche
jaychya
jaychi
ti purwi tikde jaychi.
She used to go there.
purwi to shetat kam karaycha.
He used to work in the field.
Example of reverse-intransitive:
tyachi pustake mala awadaychi. I used to like his books.
Example of auxiliary:
ithe purwi jhadi asaychi.
There used to be trees here.
4.B.3. The desiderative

The desiderative is used to express mild obligation. It corresponds
roughly to some uses of English should. The construction may be either
32
personal or impersonal.
(1) Personal. The formula for the personal is: N1-ne (N2) V-aw-E
where E indicates the set of desiderative verb endings. The choice of
ending is governed by N2, the direct object. If there is no direct object the
ending is neuter singular. Note that the subject is in the instrumental:
that is, it is followed by the instrumental postposition -ne.
Since agreement is with the direct object, the desiderative endings are
limited to the third person. They are given in Table 4.B.3 below.
Table 4.B.3.: Desiderative (and Subjunctive) Endings
Singular
M
F
N
-a
-i
-e
Plural
F
N
-e(t) -ya(t) -i(t)
Note that these are the regular adjective endings (agreeing with the
object) except that the plural forms may have -t added. If the subject is
second person singular, an -s is often added to the ending agreeing with
the object.
Examples of intransitive:
mulni aiwadilkade rahawe.
tu ithe rahawes.
Kids should stay with their folks.

You should stay here.
sarkarne lokna madat karawi.
The gov't should help the people.
pahunyala ha padarth awadawa.
The guest should like this dish.
tumhi anandat asawe.
You should be happy.
Negative. The negative of this construction is:

N1-ne (N2) V-u naye
If the direct object is plural, the ending -t is added to naye. If the
subject (N1) is in the second person, naye generally agrees with the
subject rather than the object: the ending -s is added when the subject is
singular and -t when it is plural.
wis warshchya at mulni lagna karu naye.
33
Girls should not marry before twenty.

tu paise ghalawu nayes.
You shouldn't waste money.
(2) Impersonal. The impersonal construction is used for general

statements about things to be done. The corresponding English sentences are usually expressed in the passive or with the impersonal 'one',
etc. The formula for the impersonal desiderative is: (N2) V-aw-E
The ending is governed by N2, the direct object. If there is no direct
object the ending is neuter singular.
sakali lawkar uthawe.
One should get up early in the morn.
pikna purese khat takawe.
Crops should be sufficiently fertilized.
sarwna* purese paise milawet. Everyone should get enough money.
*sarwa lokna
nehmi kamat asawe.
One should always be busy.
Negative: The negative of this construction is: (N2) V-u naye

duparchya unhat hindu naye.
One shouldn't go out in the afternoon sun.
4.B.4. The subjunctive
The subjunctive is restricted to the third person, used mainly to
indicate indefiniteness or uncertainty. It is also used in figurative
speech. Corresponding sentences in English often have expressions like
'as if', 'most likely', or 'might'. The subjunctive is also used for repeated
actions; the corresponding English sentences for these usually have
'would'.
Intransitive verbs and auxiliary. For I-verbs and the auxiliary the
form of the subjunctive is:
N V-aw-E
where E indicates the set of endings presented in Table 4.B.4. The
endings are governed by the subject N. If there is no subject (that is, if
the sentence is impersonal), the verb is neuter singular.
Table 4.B.4: Subjunctive (and Desiderative) Endings
34
Singular
F
N
-a
-i
-e
Plural
F
N
-e(t) -ya(t) -i(t)
Note that these are adjective endings (with the optional addition of -t
to the plural), identical to the previous table of desiderative endings.
thodya welane to yawa.
He should be here shortly.
to ram asawa.
That must be Ram.
Negative: For the negative of the auxiliary, nas- is used.

hya parikshet pas hone awghad nasawe.
It's probably not hard to pass this exam.
The negative subjunctive of I-verbs is not generally encountered.
Transitive verbs. For T-verbs the subjunctive is identical to the
desiderative: the endings (same as in Table 4.B.4) agree with the direct
object if possible, otherwise neuter singular.
tyane ghodyawar basaycha prayatna karawa ani ghoda palawa.
He would try to sit on the horse and the horse would run away.
Negative: The negative of this form (like that of the desiderative) is:
V-u naye.
The same rules of agreement apply.
4.B.5. The past habitual
The past habitual of verbs other than the auxiliary is not commonly
used in speech, but it is used in written narration. Even then it is
generally restricted to the first and third person singular and the third
person plural.
The past habitual corresponds roughly to English 'would V'.
The formula for the past habitual is: N V-E
where E stands for the set of past habitual endings, given below.
Table 4.B.5: Past Habitual Endings
Person
1
Singular
Plural
-i, -e
-35
2
3
--i, -e
--t,-at,-it
The -i ending is used after a base ending in a vowel, or vowel plus -h, and
with most transitive verbs; for most other verbs -e is used.
The plural endings also vary: bases ending in a vowel require -t, and those
ending in a consonant require -at (or -it).
The paradigm for jane 'to go' is given below:

1s mi jai
3s to, ti, te jai
3pl te, tya, ti jat
Instead of individual sentences, a paragraph of narration will give a

better idea of the use of the past habitual (the global lamplighter ballet,
from Chapter 16 of The Little Prince translated by Latika Mande):
Thode durun pahile tar he drishya pharech chittawedhak disat ase. Diwe
lawnarychya hya halchali mhanje nrityanatikemadhlya kalakarsarkhya talbaddh
asat. Pahilya pratham Australia wa New Zealand hyakhandchi pali yei, aple diwe
lawun jhale ki hi mandali jhopat. Mag China diwe lawnare rangmanchawar prawesh
karit. Te paddya-ad gelyawar Russiat wa Bharatat diwe lawnare hajir hot, nantar
Africet wa Europat. Tyanchya pathopath uttar ani dakshin Americetle diwe lawnare
pudhe yet. Apla kram kunidekhil chukawit nase. He drishya pharech bahariche dise.
Seen from a slight distance, it would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of
the lamplighters would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera. First would
come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their
lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China would enter
the stage, and then they too would be waved back into the wings. After that the
lamplighters of Russia and India would be present; then those of Africa and Europe.
Then would follow the lamplighters of North and South America. And never would
they make a mistake in the order of their entry. The sight would be magnificent.
Negative. The negative past habitual of the auxiliary is nase. For

other words the negative meaning of the past habitual is conveyed not
with this form but with the construction V-t nase.
There is in form a negative counterpart for the past habitual, but it
has a slightly different meaning from what would be expected. This
form is limited to the third person. In the singular it is V-ina (or V-ena),
in the plural V-inat (or V-enat). This form is used for repeated action.
mi punha punha dar ughadaycha prayatna kela pan te ughadena.
I tried again & again to open the door but it wouldn't open.
mi pushkalda tyala sangitle pan to abhyas karina.
I told him to many times but he wouldn't study.
36
4.B.6. The third person imperative.

The first and second forms of the imperative have already been
introduced. The remaining forms are much less frequently used. They
occur primarily in prayers, blessings, etc. The corresponding English
sentences often have the form 'May N V' or 'Let N V'.
The formula for the third person imperative is: N V-E
where E indicates the set of third person imperative endings. The
ending of the verb is governed by the subject. The endings are given in
Table 4.B.6 below.
Table 4.B.6: Third Person Imperative Endings
Singular
-o
Plural
-ot
The third person imperative forms of karne 'to do' are karo and karot.
tujhya tondat sakhar pado!
May sugar fall into your mouth!*
*said when someone predicts something good
dew tujhe bhale karo!
May God bless you!
tula bare wato!
May you feel well!
Examples of auxiliary:
aso. So be it.
hawe aso wa naso.
4.C. Participial Constructions
Whether wanted or not.
Some of the unitary verb constructions have almost passed out of use.
Participial constructions, on the other hand, belong to the living
structure of the language. The forms can be put together in a large
number of permutations & combinations; the meaning of the constructions is usually evident from the meaning of their constituent parts.
4.C.1. The imperfect
As we have seen, action in the imperfect is uncompleted. This action
may be viewed as current, or as ongoing, For these two views of the
imperfect there are different forms: "habitual" and "continuous".
37
(1) Present habitual. This form though obviously not a participle

(it has no auxiliary), was put here for other reasons. This is used for the
current situation and action: regular or habitual actions which may or
may not be going on at the moment of speaking. Its formula: N V-t-E
where E indicates the set of endings given in Table 4.C.1. The ending is
governed by the subject, N.
Table 4.C.1: Present Habitual Endings
Person
1
2
3
Singular
M
F
N
-o
-os
-o
-e
-es
-e
Plural
---e
-o
-a
-at
The full paradigm for jane 'to go' is given below (Fem in parentheses):
1s
2s
3s
mi
tu
to
ti
te
jato (jate)
jatos (jates)
jato
jate
jate
1pl
2pl
3pl
amhi
tumhi
te
tya
ti
jato
jata
jatat
jatat
jatat
to roj amchyakade yeto.
te warshatne donda punyala jatat.
He comes to our place daily.

They go to Pune twice a year.
Examples of transitive:
to karkhanyat nokri karto.
to marathi shikawto.
Examples of reverse-intransitive:
He works in the factory.

He teaches Marathi.
tila marathi samajte.

tyala sinema awadto.
She understands Marathi.

He enjoys movies.
majhi bahin mumbaila aste.
My sister lives in Bombay.
amerikemadhe pushkal imarati dagdi astat.
There are many stone buildings in U.S.A.
The present habitual is limited to the affirmative; for the negative it
must borrow from the regular present continuous.
38
(2) Continuous. This form of the imperfect is used primarily for action
viewed as ongoing (happening right now). Its formula is: N V-t Aux.
The auxiliary may be used in the past, present, future, past habitual,
present habitual, prospective, subjunctive, and other forms. Examples
given here will be limited to the forms just mentioned.
to tikde jat ahe.
He's going there (right now).
to tikde jat hota.
He was going there (he was on the way).

He used to go there.
to tikde jat asel.
He's probably going there (right now).

He probably goes there.
to tikde jat ase
He used to go there.
to tikde jat asto.
He keeps going there.
to tikde jat asnar. He probably goes there. He's prob. going there.
to tikde jat asawa. He probably goes there. He's prob. going there.
to shetat kam karat ahe.
He is working in the field.
to shetat kam karat hota.
He was working in the field.

to shetat kam karat asel.
He's probably working in the field.

He probably works in the field.
He'll probably be working in the field.
to shetat kam karat ase.

to shetat kam karat asto.

He regularly works in the field.
to shetat kam karat asnar.

He'll probably be working in the field.
to shetat kam karat asawa.

*Note that this set of paradigms has three examples translated "He's
probably working in the field." The sentence with asel is neutral. The use of
asnar implies more certainty; the use of asawa less.
Examples of reverse-intransitive: Generally, R-verbs are not used in

this construction. This is similar to English usage, which prohibits use of
39
forms like "I am wanting," "I am understanding," etc.

Examples of auxiliary. The auxiliary also cannot be used in the
continuous as its meaning is 'to be' and not 'to become'. For the meaning
'to become', the verb hone is used:
halli diwas lamb hot ahe.
Recently the day's getting long.
Negative: The negative of the continuous is formed according to the

formula:
N V-t Auxneg
This form also serves as the negative of the habitual. To emphasize
the sense of continuous as opposed to habitual action, there's a special
form: N V-t nahi Aux.
to tikde jat nahi ahe.
He isn't going there.
to tikde jat nahi.
He doesn't go there.
to tikde jat nahwta.
He wasn't going there (at the time).
to tikde jat nasel.
He probably won't be going there.
to tikde jat nase.
He didn't used to go there.
to shetat kam karat nahi ahe. He isn't working in the field.
to shetat kam karat nahi.
to shetat kam karat nahwta.
He doesn't work in the field.

He wasn't working in the field.
to shetat kam karat nase.
He didn't used to work in the field.
to shetat kam karat nasel.
He probably isn't working in the field.

He probably doesn't work in the field.
He prob. won't be working in the field.
Since R-verbs are rarely used in the continuous construction, the
negative formula serves only for the habitual.
tila marathi samajat nahi.
tyala sinema awadat nahi.
She doesn't understand Marathi.

He doesn't enjoy movies.
to halli ithe nasto.
Nowadays he isn't here.

40
4.C.2. The perfect

Action in the perfect is viewed as completed. The formula depends on
the type of verb.
(1) Intransitive verbs. The formula for the perfect with I-verbs is:
N V-l-E Aux.
where E indicates the set of perfect endings presented in Table 4.C.2(1).
Table 4.C.2(1): Perfect Endings for Intransitive Verbs
Singular
Plural
Person
1
2
3
-o
-a
-a
-e
-i
-i
---e
-o
-a
-e
-o
-a
-ya
---i
majha bhau dillila gela.
My brother went to Delhi.
majha bhau dillila gela ahe.
My brother has gone to Delhi.
majha bhau dillila gela hota.
My brother had gone to Delhi.
majha bhau dillila gela asel.
My bro. has prob. gone to Delhi.
majha bhau dillila gela asnar.
majha bhau dillila gela asawa.
Meaning. The verb constructions in the first three sentences above

have a meaning similar to that of English past, present perfect, and
past perfect; however, they differ slightly from English in the range of
their use. The first sentence simply declares that the brother went to
Delhi. The second sentence means that the brother has gone to Delhi
recently and hasn't yet returned. The third sentence means that the
brother went and came back (that is, the action is completely finished).
Auxiliary: The auxiliary has a perfect form, but its use is restricted to
complex sentences (conditional).
(2) Transitive verbs. The formula for the perfect with T-verbs is:
N1-ne N2 V-l-E Aux.
where E represents the regular set of adjective endings. The subject N1
is followed by the instrumental postposition -ne (plural: -ni). The verb
ending must agree in gender and number with the direct object N2.
When the subject is in the second person singular, the main verb agrees
41
with the direct object and the auxiliary agrees with the subject. In all
other cases the auxiliary agrees with the direct object.
Normally when a person is a direct object, the noun representing the
person is followed by the postposition -la (plural: -na). This in effect
makes the person an "indirect" object. Below are examples of sentences
in which a person is a direct object. Note that the verb ending is in the
neuter singular.
mastarni mulala marle
The teacher (respect.) hit the boy.
mi ramla wicharle ahe
I have asked Ram.
tyni changlya dostna niwadle ahe. They've chosen good friends.
Below is the paradigm of karne 'to do', used with the singular direct
object kam and the present auxiliary. Note that all verb constructions
are identical, except for the second person singular.
mi kam kele ahe
tu kam kele ahes
tyane/tine kam kele ahe
amhi kam kele ahe

tumhi kam kele ahe
tyni kam kele ahe
In the paradigm above the direct object stayed the same and the
subject changed from sentence to sentence. In the sentences below the
subject is the same and the direct object changes.
shetkaryni jwari perli ahe.
shetkaryni kande lawle ahet.
shetkaryni khup kam kele ahe.
The farmers have planted jowar.

The farmers have planted onions.
The farmers have worked hard.
The sentences below illustrate the use of the perfect with other forms
of the auxiliary.
shetkaryni jwari perli hoti. The farmers had planted jowar.
shetkaryni jwari perli asel. The farmers must have planted jowar.
shetkaryni jwari perli asnar. The farmers will have planted jowar.
shetkaryni jwari perli asawi. The farmers have prob. planted jowar.
As in the intransitive, if the subject is in the second person singular, -s
is added to the verb endings. If the subject is in the second person
plural, -t is optionally added.
tu nibandh changla lihila ahes.
tumhi khup madat kelit.
You have written the essay well.

You helped a lot.
(3) Special transitive verbs. S-verbs are a small set of T-verbs which,
like I-verbs, agree with the subject rather than with the direct object in
42
the perfect. The most common of these are shikne (to learn), nesne (to
wrap on a sari, etc), wisarne (to forget), pine (to drink).
mi marathi shiklo.
ti sadi nesli.
to phon karayla wisarla.
to kaphi pyayla.
I learned Marathi.
She put on a sari.
He forgot to phone.
He drank the coffee.
(4) Reverse-intransitive verbs. The formula for the perfect with Rverbs is:
N1-la N2 V-l-E Aux.
The E ending (a regular adjective ending) agrees with N2.
tyna mal milala ahe.
tyna mal milala hota.
tyna mal milala asel.
They have received the goods.

They had received the goods.
They have prob. received the goods.
Negative. As with the imperfect, the negative of the perfect is formed

by using the negative auxiliary.
to tikde gela nahi.
to tikde gela nahwta.
to tikde gela nasel.
He hasn't gone (didn't go) there.

He hadn't gone there.
He probably hasn't gone there.
tyane kam kele nahi.
tyane kam kele nahwte.
tyane kam kele nasel.
He hasn't done (didn't do) the work.

He hadn't done the work.
He probably hasn't done the work.
tyna mal milala nahi.
tyna mal milala nahwta.
tyna mal milala nasel.
4.C.3. The prospective.
They haven't received the goods.

They ghadn't received the goods.
They prob. haven't received the goods.
Action in the prospective is viewed as about to take place. The formula

for the prospective with T- and I-verbs is:
N V-nar Aux.
to aj janar ahe.
to aj janar hota.
to aj janar asel.
He is going today.
He was going today.
He's probably going today.
43
to aj kam suru karnar ahe.
to aj kam suru karnar hota.
to aj kam suru karnar asel.
He's going to begin work today.

He was going to begin work today.
He's prob. going to begin work today.
Reverse-intransitive:
The formula for the prospective with R-verbs is:
N1-la N2 V-nar Aux.
where the auxiliary agrees with N2.
mala mal udya milnar ahe
mala mal udya milnar hota.
I am going to get the goods tomorrow.

I was going to get the goods tomorrow.
saheb ata ghari asnar.
simlyat ata thandi asnar.
Saheb is most likely at home now.

It's most likely cold in Simla now.
4.C.4. The -ayche prospective

Action in the prospective, conveying a keen desire or intention. The
formula for the -ayche prospective is (E agrees with N): N V-aych-E
ti aj yaychich
She's definitely coming today.
he kam jhalyashiway mi nahi yaycha. I won't come till the job's done.
Chapter 5
Adjuncts of the Simple Sentence
5.A. Adverbs
Adverbs are adjuncts of the simple sentence. As in English, the
position of adverbs is less rigidly fixed than that of other elements.
Generally, however, an adverb precedes the verb it modifies.
Most adverbs are invariable; a few are variable. Variable adverbs
agree in gender and number with the word with which the verb agrees.;
they use the regular adjective endings. The majority of adverbs fall into
one of four categories: adverbs of time, of extent, of manner, and of
place. Some of the most common of these are listed below.
5.A.1. Adverbs of time
44
kal
yesterday
aj
today
udya
tomorrow
parwa
day after tomorrow,

day before yesterday
sakali
in the morning
dupari
in the afternoon
sandhyakali
in the evening
ratri
at night
pahate
at dawn
ata
now
agodar
before
nantar
afterwards
lawkar
soon
mag
then
tabadtob
immediately
lagech
immediately
kwachit
seldom
nehmi
always
sarkhe (opt. var.) constantly
pushkalda often
adhunmadhun occasionally
ajun
kadhi (with neg. V) ever
nukte (var.) a while ago, recently
kadhi kadhi
now and then
sahasa (with neg. V) generally
alikade
these days, recently
diwasa
yet, still
during the day
Strictly speaking, sakali, dupari, etc. are locative forms of the noun.
However, they function as adverbs and are treated as such here.
Examples of invariable adverbs of time:
aj ya.
to kal sandhyakali ala.
to parwa dupari dillila janar.
Come today.
He came last evening.
The day after tomorrow
afternoon, he's going to Delhi.
Examples of variable adverbs of time:

te nuktech ale. (respectful)
to sarkha gappa marat asto.
tyane nuktech kam sampawle.
He came recently.
He's always gabbing.
He just finished work a while ago.
5.A.2. Adverbs of extent

agdi
quite, very, completely
jara
rather, somewhat
phar
very
nidan
at least
khup
very much, very
itke (opt. var.) so much, so

45
Examples:
amchi pariksha phar awghad hoti.
Our exam was very difficult.
to itka halu bolto ahe ki mala aiku yet nahi.

He's speaking so softly that I can't hear.
5.A.3. Adverbs of manner
sawkash
slowly
halu
softly (force/volume)
bharabhar
rapidly
spasht
clearly, frankly
kaljipurwak
carefully
sahaj
saral
straight
Examples:
sawkash bola.
to phar bharabhar bolto.
casually, easily
Please speak slowly.
He speaks very rapidly.
5.A.4. Adverbs of place

ithe
here
tithe
there
ikde
here, this way
tikde
there, that way
war, warti
above, upstairs
khali
below, down(stairs)
jawal
near
dur
far
samor
in front of
shejari
next to
at, atmadhe
inside
baher
out, outside
pudhe
ahead
mage
behind
ekatra
together
saglikade everywhere
barobar
together, along
lamb
far
alikade
this side
palikade
that side
Examples:
amhi tithe pach warshe rahilo.
tumhala khali basawe lagel.
ikde ye.
5.A.5. Other adverbs
We stayed there five years.

You'll have to sit down.
Come here.
kadachit
perhaps
nakki
definitely
bahutek
probably
ekun
altogether
paiki
among, included in
46
5.A.6. Interrogative adverbs (Q-words)

kase (var.)
how
kadhi
when
kashala
why
kewha
kuthe
when
where
kay
what
5.B. Postpositions
Postpositions are relational words similar to English prepositions
except that they follow rather than precede the word to which they are
attached. Attached to nouns, pronouns, or verbs, they form phrases that
function as adverbs and occupy the same position as adverbs in the
sentence.
With the exception of the possessive postposition -che, postpositions
are invariable: -che is an exception to the statement that postpositions
form adverb phrases. As a possessive postposition, it forms an adjective
phrase, and agrees in gender and number with the noun modified.
Postpositions fall into three categories: postpositions of place, time,
and abstract relations. Following are the most common postpositions,
with examples of their use. Those preceded by a hyphen are used only
as postpositions. Those without a hyphen are also independent adverbs.
5.B.1. Postpositions of place
at, -t, -madhe in, inside, between
war
on, to
khali
under
-kade
to, towards, chez
-paryant
up to, until
jawal
-pashi
near, with
-la
-shi, -s
to, with (see eg.)
-hun, -un from
alikade
on this side
palikade
on that side, beyond
aspas
in the vicinity
shejari
next door to
samor
in front of
mage
behind
bhowti
around
5.B.2. Postpositions of time
barobar
with
agodar
before
adhi
before
purwi
before
nantar
after
pudhe
later on
paryant
up to, until
47
near, with
to
5.B.3. Postpositions of abstract relations

-ne (-ni)
by, by means of
-sathi
for
-hun
more than
-peksha
more than
-karta
for
-baddal
about, concerning
-pramane
according to
-aiwaji
instead of
-mule
because of
-warun
because of
Examples of postpositions:
to steshanwar gela.
He went to the station.
mi roj tyachyakade jato.
I go to his place every day.
tumhi daktarkade ja.
Go to a doctor.
tya dewlaparyant ja.
Go to that temple.
pachparyant ithe thamba.
Stay here until five.
te dewlapashi rahtat
They live near the temple.
mi te tujhyasathi anle.
I brought it for you.
he pustak kashabaddal ahe? What is this book about?
tyanchyapashi kahich nahi.
They don't have anything.*
tyache ghar steshanjawal ahe. His house is near the station.
tumchyajawal pach rupaye ahet ka? Do you have Rs. 5 with you?*
*see 9.A.1 for a discussion of various ways of expressing possession
5.B.4. Notes
(1) -la/-na is also used when personal nouns function as direct objects.
tyane mala sangitle
te changlya dostna niwadtat.
He told me.
They choose good friends.
(2) -shi is used commonly in only a few contexts. It's required with
bolne 'to speak', lagna karne 'to marry', and bhandne 'to quarrel'. Some
other senses of 'with' and 'to' also are expressed by -shi.
mi tyachyashi bollo.
I talked to him.
mi poli chatnishi khalli.
I ate the poli with chutney.
majha tyachyashi sambandh nahi. I have nothing to do with him.
tya petishi chala karu nakos.
Don't fool with that box.
hya resheshi katkon karun resha kadh.
Draw a line perpendicular to this one.
tyane shindychya mulishi lagna kele.
48
He married Shinde's daughter.

(3) -un is often used following a postposition or adverb.
to gharatun baher padla.
He came out of (lit. out from) the house.
hyawarun tumhala kay samajte? What do you understand from this?
tikdun amhi ithe alo.
From there we came here.
punyapasun mumbai kiti mail ahe? How far is Bombay from Pune?
tewhapasun amchi bhet jhali nahi. Since then we haven't met.
ekpasun pannasparyant moja.
Count from one to fifty.
to warshatun ekda ghari yeto.
He comes home once a year.
(4) The instrumental postposition is -ne or -ni in most people's speech
(the plural is -ni); in writing, -ne is generally used. This postposition is
used in a variety of ways:
(a) with the names of tools.
te hatodyane thoka.
he tyane hatane banawle.
Pound it with a hammer.

He made it by hand.
(b) with the names of vehicles or routes.

amhi wimanane alo.
amhi Pune margane alo.
We came by plane.
We came by way of Pune.
(c) with nouns referring to time.

thodya welane ya.
apan khup diwasni bhetlo.
Come after a short time.

We've met after a long time.
(d) as an instrumental suffix with T-verbs in the perfect.

ramne kam kele.
tya lokni amhala madat keli.
Ram worked.
Those people helped us.
(e) as an indication of manner.

tyane jorane brek lawla.
He braked hard.
to shantapanane tithe basla hota. He was calmly seated there.
(f) in the sense 'in terms of'.
to wayane lahan ahe.
to angane motha ahe.
5.B.5. Expressions of time
He's young (lit, 'small in age').

He's big (lit, 'big in body').
There are four different constructions for expressions of time.

49
Compare the following sentences:

mi pach warshe tithe rahilo.
majha bhau don warshni parat ala.
tyni don mahinyt he ghar bandhle.
mi mahinyatun ekda yeto.
I stayed there five years.

My bro. returned after 2 years.
They built this house in 2 mo.
I come here once a month.
Note that in the first sentence the time expression 'pach warshe' is
used without a postposition; this has the meaning 'for a period of'. The
second sentence uses the postposition -ne; this has the meaning 'after a
period of'. In the third sentence the postposition -at is used; this means
'within a period'. In the last sentence the combined postposition -atun is
used; this is used for expressions of frequency.
5.C. Particles
Particles differ from postpositions in that they are attached to the
straight form of the noun rather than the oblique. They may also be
attached to other parts of speech. The most common particles in Marathi
are -ch and -hi.
5.C.1. the particle -ch
-ch is an emphatic particle: it singles out and emphasizes the word to
which it is attached. Examples:
tech pahije.
tyanech te kele.
donach dya.
junmadhe paus padtoch.
That's the one I want.

He's the one who did it.
Give two (no more, no less).
It definitely rains in June.
5.C.2. the particle -hi

-hi means 'also' or 'too'; it also serves as an intensifier of meaning,
especially to heighten contrast (-pan has the same meaning as -hi).
tehi yenar ahet.
They are coming too.
mi tyalahi ti ghosht sangitli. I told the story to him also.
tithehi hawa thande aste.
The weather's cold there too.
tumhi kuthehi gela tari tech sapadnar.
Wherever you go, that's what you'll find.
ho, tasech mi pan mhante
Yes, I also say just like that.
Chapter 6
50
Operators
6.A. Verb Operators
There are certain elements that can be added to the verbal root to
alter the meaning. These may be called verb operators.
6.A.1. V-ayla lag-
begin to V
to kam karayla lagto.

He begins to work.
to kam karayla lagla.
He began to work.
to kam karayla lagel.
He will begin to work.
mala marathi samajayla lagle ahe.
I've begun to understand Marathi.
mala shastriy sangit awadayla lagle ahe.
I've begun to like classical music.
6.A.2. V-u lag-
begin to V
This has the same meaning as the previous construction, but it's more formal.
to bolu lagto.
to bolu lagla.
to bolu lagel.
tyala ingraji samaju lagle ahe.
He begins to speak.
He began to speak.
He will begin to speak.
He's begun to understand English.
6.A.3. V-t bas-
to keep on V-ing
This construction often contains an implied criticism.
to gappa marat basto.

to gappa marat basla.
He keeps on talking & talking.

He kept on talking & talking.
6.A.4. V-t rah-
to go on V-ing
Unlike the previous construction, this does not have a negative implication.
diwasbhar paus padat rahila.

It went on raining all day long.
aj diwasbhar phon wajat rahnar.
The phone is going to be ringing all day today.
6.A.5. V-t al-
have been V-ing
mi ajparyant hech karat alo ahe.

I have always been doing this.
to nehmich aple kam welewar karat ala ahe.
He has always done his work on time.
With verbs having the sense of 'to be completed,' 'to be used up', or 'to
51
come to maturity', this construction means 'nearly V-ed'.

sakhar sampat ali ahe.
bhat shijat ala ahe.
pani atat ale ahe.
ambe pikat ale ahet.
satranji phatat ali ahe.
kam hot ale ahe.
The sugar is nearly finished.

The rice is nearly done cooking.
The water is almost dried up.
The mangoes are nearly ripe.
The carpet has almost worn out.
The work is almost done.
6.A.6. V-u shak-
to be able to V
This construction is less commonly used than N-la V-ta yemi kewhahi yeu shakto.
to kal yeu shakla nahi.
to udya yeu shakel.
I can come at any time.

He couldn't come yesterday.
He'll be able to come tomorrow.
6.A.7. V1-un V2
Compound verb
Many verbs can be used in this special compound form. The second
verb is one of a small set of verbs used with attentuated meaning.
Consider the following examples:
he kam lawkar sampawun taka.
Finish up this work quickly.
mi lagech uttar lihun takle.
I wrote off an answer immediately.
baghun ghya.
Take a look.
lihun ghya.
Take it down.
mi te sagle phekun dile.
I threw it all away.
In each of these examples, the second verb-- takne, ghene, dene-- has
only a vestige of its normal meaning. It primarily serves as an
intensifier of the meaning of the first verb. Compare this usage with
that of the particles up and off with English verbs: 'Write up the story',
'Send off the letter'. The verb takne is generally used in regard to
finishing an activity, ghene in regard to doing something directed
towards oneself (getting something done), and dene in regard to doing
something directed away from oneself. This construction is highly
idiomatic, and examples help in learning how to use it.
The resultant construction V1-un V2 appears identical with the
construction joining two actions in a series with the conjunction V-un.
This compound construction is probably derived from the binary
construction, but is no longer identical with it, and shouldn't be
confused with it.
52
6.A.8. V-t ja (imperative)
continue to V
amchyakade yet ja.

ase karit ja.
6.A.9. V-u pah-
Come over now and again.

Keep on doing this.
try to V (implies effort in spite of obstacle)
pakshyni udu pahila
The birds tried to fly.
6.B. Sentence Operators

There is a fairly small set of sentences that can be used as a frame for
almost any sentence. In the formulas S stands for the reported sentence.
6.B.1(1) N (ase) aik- ki S
mhanwichar-
N hear- that S
sayask-
mi ase aikle ki tyanchi miting udya honar ahe.

I heard that their meeting was going to be tomorrow.
te mhanale ki udya amhi ikde yeu.
They said that they would come here tomorrow.
tyane mala (ase) wicharle (ki) tu kuthe jato ahes.
He asked me where I was going.
Note that unlike English, reported speech in Marathi does not require
an indirect construction. Following 'ki' the actual words of the speaker
are given without the change of pronoun or tense required in English.
The above patterns can be shifted around so that the reported
sentence comes first, with the pattern:
6.B.1(2) S ase N aikmhanwichartyanchi miting udya honar ahe, ase mi aikle.
amhi udya tikde yeu, ase te mhanale.
tu kuthe jato ahes, ase tyane mala wicharle.
6.B.2. N1 N2-la (ase) sang- ki S
N1 tell- N2 that S
tyane amhala ase sangitle ki jato ahe.
He told us that he's going.
6.B.3(1). N-la mahit Aux ki S
N know- that S
mala mahit ahe ki pagar kami ahe.
I know that the pay is low.
6.B.3(2). S te/he N-la mahit Aux

53
pagar kami ahe, te mala mahit ahe.

6.B.4(1). (N-la) (ase) wat- ki S
kaldis-
N feel- that S
N find- out that S
It appear- that S
mala ase kalle/watte ki sagli mahiti ithech milel.

I learned/feel that all the information could be obtained right here.
ase diste ki pudhchya warshi paristhiti sudharel.
It looks as if the situation will improve next year.
6.B.4(2). S ase (N-la) watkaldissagli mahiti ithech milel, ase mala kalle/watte.
pudhchya warshi parsithiti sudharel, ase diste.
6.B.5(1). N-chi ashi khatri Aux ki S
kalpna
N is confident that S
N has the idea that S
majhi ashi khatri ahe ki tyala changle kam karta yeil.

I'm confident that he'll be able to do a good job.
6.B.5(2). S ashi N-chi khatri Aux
tyala changle kam karta yeil ashi majhi khatri ahe.
6.B.6(1) N-la kalpna Aux ki S
N has an idea that S
amhala kalpna nahwti ki itki lok yetil.

We had no idea that so many people would come.
6.B.6(2) S hyachi kalpna N-la Aux
itke lok yetil hyachi kalpna amhala nahwti.
6.B.7(1) N-chya (ase) lakshat ye- ki S
manat
N realise- that S
It came to N that S
majhya lakshat (ase) ale ki hya babatit mala kahi karta yet nahwte.
I realised that in this matter there was nothing I could do.
tyachya manat (ase) ale ki apan mumbait nokri shodhawi.
He felt that he should look for a job in Bombay.
6.B.7(2) S ase N-chya lakshat yemanat
54
hya babatit mala kahi karta yet nahwte ase majhya lakshat ale.
apan mumbeit nokri shodhawi ase tyachya manat ale.
Chapter 7
Verbal Nouns and Adjectives
The Marathi verbal nouns and adjectives are an important part of the
structure of the language. They do not easily lend themselves to the
transformational framework used elsewhere in this book, so they are
treated here in a separate chapter.
7.1. V-ne
The Marathi verbal noun V-ne is similar to English 'to V' or 'V-ing'
(termed an 'infinitive'). It may be thought of as a generalization of a
verbal action. This is the usual dictionary citation form of the verb:
karne 'to do', jane 'to go', etc.
jhadna pani dene, bajarat jane, hi kame to karto.
He does jobs of watering the trees and going to the bazar.
pradakshina karne mhanje dewlachya bhowti pheri marne.
Doing pradakshine means going round the temple.
ase karne changle naste
It is not good to do something like that.
Since V-ne is a neuter noun, it may in some cases be made plural.
tyanchi jani yeni sarkhi hotat.
They constantly come and go.
(lit., 'their comings & goings constantly occur')
tyane lokna bolawni pathawli.
He sent invitations to people.
7.2. V-nya + post. The oblique form of the verbal noun is also used
with postpositions in a variety of constructions.
(1) V-nya + purwi / agodar / adhi, etc. In this construction, V-nya- is
interchangeable with V-aychya-.
kam suru karnyapurwi lekhi notis pathawa.
Send a written notice before starting work.
(2) V-nya + sathi / karata. This construction is essentially interchangeable with V-ayla.
mantryala bhetnyasathi to mumbaila gela ahe.
He has gone to Bombay to meet the minister.
55
(3) V-nyane. This is often interchangeable with V-lyane.

tumchya yenyane amhala anand jhala.
(4) V-nyapramane.
tu wadilchya sangnyapramane kar.
We're happy you came.

Do as your father told you.
(5) V-nyache. With the postposition -che, the verbal noun actually
becomes a verbal adjective equivalent to V-ayche, and freely
interchangeable with it. For the use of V-ayche, see section 7.4 below.
ase honyachi pharshi shakyata nahi.
There's not much possibility of that happening.
7.3(1). V-nyasarkh-E N is a construction using postposition sarkhe,
which means 'an N worth V-ing'. The ending E agrees with N.
baghnyasarkhe thikan
a place worth seeing
7.3(2). V-lyasarkh-E is a construction using postposition sarkhe, which

means 'as if V-ed'. The ending E follows the normal rules for agreement
in the perfect.
mala melyasarkhe jhale
I felt extremely embarassed ('as if I'd died')
kahitari phutlyasarkha awaj jhala.
There was a sound as if something had broken.
hi khari kaphi aslyasarkhi watte.
This tastes like real coffee.
7.4. V-aych-E
(1) V-aych-E, meaning 'of V-ing', is used as a verbal adjective with a
large set of nouns. The following are some examples:
bet (plan), bhiti (fear), garaj (need), ichchha (wish), jarur (need),
prayatna (attempt), saway (habit), wyawastha (arrangement)....
arj karaychi kahi jarur nahi.
There's no need to apply.
tyane te durust karaycha prayatna kela.
He attempted to fix it.
mulala andharat jhopaychi bhiti watte.
The child is afraid of sleeping in the dark.
(2) V-aych-E can also be used to incorporate a sentence as the direct
object of a limited number of verbs. The incorporated sentence and the
main sentence must have the same subject. The construction has the
form:
N1 (N2) V1-aych-E V2
56
The ending E is the normal adjective ending agreeing with N2. If

there is no N2, it is neuter singular.
kahi chuka durust karaychya rahilya. Some errors remain unfixed.
tyane bharatat parat jayche therawle. He decided to return to India.
tine gane mhanayche sodle.
She gave up singing.
tyane kam karayche ardhwat takle.
He left his work half-done.
7.5. V-ayla. This can be translated 'to V'. In addition to its use as a
verb operator (6.A.1), it can be used as a complement of various
elements in the sentence. This form may be thought of as the verbal
accusative (just as -ne is the verbal nominative). V-nyas is
interchangeable with V-ayla (relatively uncommon).
(1) Many adjectives can take V-ayla as a complement.
marathi shikayla pharse awghad nahi na.
Marathi isn't that very hard to learn.
ti disayla jara changli ahe.
She's kind of good-looking.
(2) V-ayla can also complement asne in its existential sense.
ase karayla/karnyas kahi harkat nahi. There's no objection to do this.
khurpayla gawat nahwte.
There was no grass to hoe.
(3) A limited set of nouns take V-ayla as a complement.
tyala nighun jayla tewdhech nimitt purte.
That's all the excuse he needs to leave.
jayla kahi harkat nahi.
There's no reason not to go.
tyane bolayla surwat keli.
He began to speak.
ithe kam karayla bharpur waw milto.
There's lots of scope to work here.
(4) A limited set of verbs take V-ayla as a complement.
roj to shetawar dekrekh karayla jato.
Every day he goes to the field to supervise.
roj ti ithe gappa marayla yete.
Daily she comes here to chat.
to trktar chalawayla shikto ahe. He's learning to drive a tractor.
to mulna pohayla shikawto ahe. He's teaching the children to swim.
kapus unhat walayla thewa.
Put the cotton in the sun to dry.
ithun nagpurla jayla char tas lagtat.
It takes to go 4 hours to go from here to Nagpur.
57
mi lalala gadi durust karun ghyala sangen.

I'll tell Lala to get the car fixed.
tyane jewan tayar karayla adnya keli
He ordered the meal to be prepared.
Chapter 8
Unary Transformations
8.A. Basic Patterns
Simple sentences may be modified by certain operations, which may
be called unary transformations. Below are listed some of the most
important unary transformations in Marathi.
It will be noted that many of these constructions have similar
meanings, especially those dealing with necessity and obligation. A
distinct meaning was provided for each construction, but they are in
fact often interchangeable in actual use.
8.A.1. N-la (or N-ne) V-aych-E Aux
(1) Any N V sentence in which N is a person can be transformed
into N-la V-aych-E Aux. The meaning of this construction is: 'N wants
to V' or 'N is to V'. The ending is the regular adjective ending. It agrees
with the direct object, if there is one; otherwise it is neuter singular.
tyala kam karayche ahe.
He wants to work.
He is to work.
He has work to do.
tyala kam karayche hote.
He wanted to work.
He was to work.
He had work to do.
tyala kam karayche asel.
He prob. wants to work.

He prob. is to work.
He prob. has work to do.
tyala kam karayche nahi.
He doesn't want to work.

He doesn't have work to do.
(2) N-ne may be substituted for N-la in construction 1. The meaning

of this construction is: 'N is to V', or 'N should V'. The agreement rules
are the same as in 1. Like construction 1 above, this can be used with
58
the auxiliary in the past or future (to avoid excessive repetition,

examples of past and future auxiliaries are not included here).
tumhi he kam karayche ahe.
You are to do this work.
tyane tithe jayche ahe.
He should go there.
8.A.2. N-la (or N-ne) V-ayla pahije (Aux)
(1) Any N V sentence in which the subject is a person can be
transformed into N-la V-ayla pahije (Aux), meaning 'N has to V'. Note
that Aux is given in parentheses, indicating that (when it is the present
auxiliary) it may be deleted.
If there is an auxiliary, it has a regular adjective ending agreeing
with the direct object; if there is no direct object, the ending of the
auxiliary (if present) is neuter singular. If there is no auxiliary, pahije
agrees with the direct object (if present), by adding -t when it is plural..
mala mumbaila jayla pahije.
I have to go to Bombay.
mala ambe todayla pahije ahet.

mala ambe todayla pahijet.
I have to pick the mangoes.
gelya mahinyat tyala dillila jayla pahije hote.

Last month he should have gone to Delhi.
Last month he wanted to go to Delhi.
(2) N-ne may be substituted for N-la in construction 1. The meaning
then becomes 'should V' rather than 'has to V'.
tyane dillila jayla pahije.
He should go to Delhi.
tyane dillila jayla pahije hote.
He should've gone to Delhi.
8.A.3. N-la (or N-ne) V-l-E pahije

Any N V sentence in which the subject is a person can be
transformed into N-ne (or N-la) V-l-E pahije, meaning 'N must V'. This
construction expresses greater necessity than N-la V-ayla pahije. The
meaning is essentially the same, whether N-la or N-ne is used here.
E is the regular adjective ending, which agrees with the direct object.
If there is no direct object, E is neuter singular. Pahije also agrees with
the direct object, by adding -t when it is plural.
tyala kam kele pahije.
He must work.
59
tyane kam kele pahije.

tyala gele pahije.
tyane gele pahije.
He must go.
tyane gadi durust keli pahije.

He must repair the car.
tyane gadya durust kelya pahijet. He must repair the cars.
8.A.4. Any N V sentence in which the subject is a person can be transformed into N-la V-aw-E lag- (Aux), meaning '(for N) to have to V'.
This seems to be somewhat stronger than N-la V-l-E pahije. If there's a
direct object, the ending E agrees with it; otherwise it's neuter singular.
mala jawe lagte.
mala jawe lagle (hote).
mala jawe lagnar.
mala jawe lagel.
mala kam karawe lagte.
mala kam karawe lagle (hote).
mala kam karawe lagnar.
mala kam karawe lagel.
I have to go (habitually).
I had to go.
I'm going to have to go.
I will have to go.
I have to work (habitually).
I had to work.
I'm going to have to work.
I will have to work.
8.A.5(1). Any N V sentence in which the subject is a person can be

transformed into N-la V-ta ye-, meaning 'N is able to V'.
mala jata yete.
mala jata yet nahi.
mala jata ale.
I can go.
I can't go.
I was able to go.
8.A.5(2). Any N V sentence in which the subject is a person can be

transformed into N-Ne V-ta kama naye, meaning 'N ought not to V'.
tyane ase karta kama naye.
He oughtn't to do this.
8.A.6. Any N V sentence in which N is a person can be transformed

into N-la V-ayla awad-, meaning 'N likes to V'.
tyala pohayla awadte.
tyna sinemala jayla awadte.
He likes to swim.
They like to go to the movies.
8.A.7. Any N1 V1 sentence can be transformed into N2 N1 V1-u de,

meaning '(for) N2 to let N1 V1'. The imperative form has an invariant
alternant: N V-u det, meaning 'Let N V'.
amhi tyala khelu dile.
We allowed him to play.

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tyala te karu dya (det).
Let him do it.
8.A.8. A sentence N1 N2 V can be transformed into:

N3 N1-kadun N2 V-un ghe-, meaning 'for N3 to have N2 V-ed by N1'.
mi shimpyakadun polke shiwun ghetle.
I had the blouse stitched by the tailor.
8.A.9(1). Passive. Any sentence of form N1 N2 V can be transformed
into the passive construction (N1-kadun) N2 V-l-E ja-, meaning 'for N2
to be V-ed (by N1)'. As in English, the passive is often used with agent
unstressed, so the phrase designating the agent (N1-kadun) is often not
used. The ending E is the regular adjective ending, agreeing with N2.
bharatmadhe pushkal bhasha bollya jatat.
Many languages are spoken in India.
sarkarkadun pratinidhi nemle jatat.
The representatives are appointed by the government.
8.A.9(2). Another passive construction that is used in news reportage:
(N1-kadun) N2 V-nyat ye-, meaning 'It is V-ed (by N1) that N2'.
adhikrit gotakadun (gotatun) ase sangnyat ale ki ...
It was said by an authoritative source that ...
8.A.10. Pluperfect. Any sentence in the perfect can be transformed
into the pluperfect:
N(-ne) V-lel-E Aux.
This form indicates the action was relatively further back in the past.
Ending E is governed by the normal rules for agreement in the perfect.
mi tyachyakade gelo tyaweli to baher gelela hota.
When I went to his place he had gone out.
ha khel mi pushkalda khellelo ahe.
I've often played this game.
8.A.11. Any N V sentence can be transformed into:
N(-ne) V-lel-E bar-E, meaning 'It would be best if N V-ed'.
The form of ending E depends on whether a T-verb or I-verb is used.
(1) Transitive: uses normal T-verb endings.
(2) Intransitive*: uses N-ne with the neuter singular ending.
*N in third person may be in subject form (-ne not added); E agrees with N.
amhi lawkar nighalele bare.
We'd better leave soon.

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hyane amchyabarobar alele bare.

ha amchyabarobar alela bara.
He'd better come with us.

He'd better come with us.
8.A.12. chal-t-E ho-. In an older form of the language a sentence

could be transformed into N V-t-E ho-. This transformation is no longer
applicable, except for chalne.
ti chalti jhali She left.
8.B. Questions
chalta ho. Get out (Off you go).
Questions are a type of unary transformation. Because of their

importance, they're given here in a special section. They are basically of
two kinds: yes-no questions, and questions asking for more information.
There are two additional sub-types: rhetorical questions & question tags.
8.B.1. Yes-no questions
Yes-no questions are formed by adding ka? to the statement.
hi tumchi mulgi ahe.
hi tumchi mulgi ahe ka?
This is your daughter.

Is this your daughter?
tyala yayche ahe.

tyala yayche ahe ka?
He wants to come.
Does he want to come?
8.B.2. Questions asking for more information

These questions are formed by putting the interrogative Q-word in
the position in which the desired information will appear in the answer.
te kuthe gele?
te kolhapurla gele.
Where did they go?

They went to Kolhapur.
tyala kiti andi pahijet?

tyala char andi pahijet.
How many eggs does he want?

He wants 4 eggs.
te kiti wajta nighnar ahet?

te tin wajta nighnar ahet.
What time are they starting out?

They're starting out at 3 o'clock.
8.B.3. Rhetorical questions

Sometimes a question is used purely for rhetorical effect. That is, the
speaker is not asking for information; he is making a statement in the
form of a question. For example, he may say: "Isn't it hot today?" when
what he means is, "It's very hot today." Marathi has special forms for at
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least two kinds of rhetorical questions.

(1) N thod-E-ch V. This is the form for a rhetorical question intended
to suggest a negative answer. The ending E is the regular adjective
ending. In sentences with I-verbs, E agrees with the subject; in
sentences with T-verbs E may agree with either the subject or the object.
to thodach tujhe aiknar ahe?
Is he going to listen to you?
(meaning: He's not going to listen to you)
mi thodach tyachyawar wishwas thewnar ahe?
Am I going to trust him?
(meaning: I'm not going to trust him)
tya thodech gane mhannar ahet?
Are they going to sing a song?
(meaning: They're not going to sing a song)
(1) N bar-E V. This is the form for a rhetorical question intended to
suggest 'why should N V?' The ending E is the regular adjective ending.
to bara yeil?
Why should he come?
8.B.4. Question tags

As in English, a question tag may be added to any statement. The
question tags are: nahi ka, ho ki nahi, ho na, and na.
ti yenar ahe, nahi ka?
She's going to come, isn't she?
tu yenar ahes, nahi ka?
You're going to come, aren't you?
tyni changle kam kele ahe, nahi ka?

They've done good work, haven't they?
tu tithe gela hotas, ho ki nahi?
You went there, didn't you?
tula natak awadle, ho na?
You liked the play, didn't you?
to ajari nahi na?
He isn't sick, is he?
tu janar ahes na?
You're going, aren't you?
tyane te kele nahi na?
He didn't do that, did he?
8.C. Appositives
A noun in any position may have another noun in apposition to it.
Some of the common patterns of apposition are presented below.
(a) common noun + proper noun
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ha majha bhau waman.

majha bhau waman kal ala.
This is my brother Waman.

My brother Waman came yesterday.
(b) proper noun + pronoun + common noun

akbarane bandhlele phattepur sikri he shahar amhi pahile
We saw Fatehpur Sikri, the city built by Akbar.
(c) A common noun may also be followed by a pronoun.
matritwa he mangal aste.
Motherhood (this) is sacred.
Chapter 9
Binary Transformations
9.A. Sentences into Noun Phrases
Binary transformations are transformations of two or more sentences
into a single sentence. A number of these are used to change sentences
into noun phrases which then can be embedded into another sentence.
9.A.1. Possessive. In English the verb 'to have' is used to expess both
intrinsic relations and possession of things. That is, we can say 'I have a
brother', and 'a cow has horns', and 'I have a pencil'. In Marathi there is
one construction for the first two senses of 'to have', and a different
construction for the last.
(1) Intrinsic relations are expressed by the construction:
N1-la N2 Aux.
N1 has N2
mala bhau ahe.

tila don mule ahet.
gaila shinge ahet.
I have a brother.
She has two children.
A cow has horns.
The possessive transformation changes this sentence into a noun

phrase, according to the formula:
N1-poss. N2
where poss. stands for the possessive. The form of the possessive
depends on N1 and N2. If N1 is a noun, the possessive particle -che (if a
pronoun, the possessive adjective) is used, and its ending is the regular
adjective ending agreeing with N2 in gender and number.
Thus the sentences above will become:
majha bhau
tichi don mule
gaichi shinge
my brother
her two children
the cow's horns
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The same transformation may be repeated over and over again to

make an elaborate noun phrase. For example, the first phrase above
can be combined with more phrases.
majha bhau
my brother
majhya bhawala mulgi ahe.
My brother has a daughter.
majhya bhawachi mulgi
my brother's daughter
majhya bhawachya mulila nawra ahe.
My brother's daughter has a husband.
majhya bhawachya mulicha nawra.
my brother's daughter's husband
(2) Ownership of things is expressed by:
N1-chyajawal N2 Aux.
pashi
kade
N1 has N2
tyachyajawal pustake ahet.

He has some books.
tyachyakade paise ahet.
He has money.
tujhyapashi panchwis paise ahet ka? Do you have 25 paise?
The above sentences can be transformed:
tyachi pustake
tyache paise
tujhe panchwis paise
his books
his money
your 25 paise
9.A.2. Two sentences of the form below may be combined to produce a

noun phrase:
N
Aux
N-che naw X
X nawache N
There is an N
N's name is X
ek mulgi ahe.
tiche naw suman
suman nawachi mulgi
an N named X
There is a girl.
Her name is Suman.
a girl named Suman
ek natak ahe.
There is a play.
tyache naw "garam pani" (ahe). It is called "Hot Water."
"garam pani" nawache natak
a play called "Hot Water"
9.A.3. An N A Aux sentence can be transformed into the phrase A N.
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ghar mothe ahe.

mothe ghar
The house is big.

a big house
gadi changli ahe.

changli gadi
The car is nice.

a nice car
9.A.4. A sentence of the form below can be transformed into a noun

phrase. E is the regular adjective ending agreeing with N1.
N1 N2-at Aux
madhe
N2-at-l-E N1
madh-
tya kapatat bhandi ahet.

tya kapatatli bhandi
N1 is in N2 the N1 in N2
The pots are in that cupboard.
the pots in that cupboard
shalemadhe mule ahet.

shalemadhli mule
There are children in the school

the children in the school
There is a formal variant of this transformation:

N1 N2-at Aux
madhe
N2-atil N1
madhil
N1 is in N2 the N1 in N2
The terminations atil and madhil are invariable.

tya deshat lok ahet
tya deshatil lok
There are people in that country.

the people of that country
9.A.5. A sentence in the present habitual may be transformed into a

noun phrase:
N1 (N2) V-t-E
(N2) V-nar-E N1
N1 V (N2) the N1 V-ing (N2)
The ending E is the regular adjective ending agreeing with N1.

lok tikde kam kartat.
tikde kam karnare lok
People work there.

the people working there
bai kapde dhute.

kapde dhunari bai
The woman washes clothes.

the clothes washer-woman
9.A.6. A sentence in the present continuous may be transformed into

a noun phrase:
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N1 (N2) V-t Aux (N2) V-t aslel-E N1

N1 be- V-ing (N2) the N1 V-ing (N2)
wikas hot ahe.
hot aslela wikas
Development is taking place.

the development taking place
desh dhanyachi niryat karat ahet. Countries are exporting grain.

dhanyachi niryat karat aslele desh the countries exporting grain
Construction 6 is rather formal. However, construction 5 is commonly
used in speech to express the continuous as well as the habitual:
honara wikas
the development taking place
dhanyachi niryat karnare deshthe countries exporting grain
9.A.7. A sentence in the present continuous containing a T-verb may
also be transformed into a phrase with the direct object N2 as headword.
te sanshodhen karat ahe.
te karat aslele sanshodhen
They are doing research.

the research they are doing
9.A.8(1). A perfect sentence with an I-verb may be transformed into a

noun phrase:
N V-l-E V-lel-E N
N V-ed the N who V-ed
mulga tithe basla ahe.

tithe baslela mulga
The boy is seated there.

the boy who is seated there
mule jhopli ahet.

jhopleli mule
The children have gone to sleep.

the children who have gone to sleep
9.A.8(2). A perfect sentence with a T-verb may be tranformed into a

noun phrase:
N1-ne N2 V-l-E N1-ne V-lel-E N2
N1 V-ed N2 the N2 V-ed by N1
tyane pustake ghetli.
tyane ghetleli pustake
He got the books.

the books he got
tya lokni kam kele.

tya lokni kelele kam
Those people did the work.

the work those people did
9.A.9. A sentence of the form below can be transformed into a noun

phrase:
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N1 N2-pasun banawlel-E Aux
N2-poss. N1
N1 is made from N2 N1 N2
With some N2 the following construction also can be used: N2-i N1.
te tebal lakdapasun banawlele ahe.
lakdache tebal (or: lakdi tebal)
That table is made of wood.

a wooden table
9.A.10. V-t-E N and V-l-E N. Noun (participle) phrases can't be

described readily by transformations of the sort given above. E is the
regular adjective ending, agreeing with N.
tyache rahte ghar punyala ahe.
His residence is in Pune.
tyane pettya agit udi ghetle.
He jumped into the blazing fire.
bharlya poti jhopu naye.
One shouldn't sleep on a full stomach.
9.B. Joining Sentences with Conjunctions
9.B.1. Coordinating conjunctions
A pair of simple sentences may be joined by coordinating conjunctions,
according to the formula: S1 conj. S2. Some coordinating conjunctions:
ani, an, ni
agar
na ... na
mhanun, mag
and
or
neither ... nor
so
athwa, wa
kiwa, ki
parantu, pan
karan
or
or
but
because
(1) ani (short forms: an or ni)

te saglya mulna tapasnar ahet.
They're going to examine all the children.
te ajari mulna aushadh denar ahet.
They're going to give medicine to the sick children.
te saglya mulna tapasnar ahet ani ajari mulna aushadh denar ahet.
They're going to examine all the children
and give medicine to the sick chldren.
mala keli ani ambe ghyayche ahet.
I want to get bananas and mangoes.
(2) athwa, kiwa (short forms: ki or wa); na ... na
There's some difference in the use of the two main words meaning 'or':
athwa is used when there is an exclusive choice (either A or B, but not
both); kiwa, on the other hand, is used when both A and B are possible;
na ... na (neither ... nor) functions similarly to its English counterpart.
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mi poli karu ka?

mi bhakri karu ka?
mi poli ki bhakri karu?
Shall I make poli?

Shall I make bhakri?
Shall I make poli or bhakri?
tu yenar ahes wa nahis?

Are you coming or not?
te mumbaila kiwa punyala milel. It's available in Bombay or Pune.
tyala buddhi nahi.
tyala paisa nahi.
tyala na buddhi na paisa.
He has no brains.
He has no money.
He has neither brains nor money.
(3) parantu (short form: pan)

mi tyachyashi bollo.
I spoke with him.
tyala patle nahi.
He wasn't convinced.
mi tyachyashi bollo parantu (pan) tyala patle nahi.
I spoke with him but he wasn't convinced.
(4) mhanun (short form: mag)
trktar bighadla hota.
The tractor broke down.
kam jhale nahi.
The work didn't get done.
trktar bighadla hota mhanun kam jhale nahi.
The tractor broke down, so the work didn't get done.
Note that the same sentence would appear in reverse order with karan.
kam jhale nahi karan trktar bighadla hota.
The work didn't get done because the tractor was broken.
9.B.2. Conjunctive adverbs and postpositional phrases
There are a number of adverbs and postpositional phrases which are
used as conjunctions between sentences. In intonation the sentences
remain separate. The resulting construction is: S1 conj. S2.
Following are some common conjunctive adverbs and postpositional
phrases (tya- and tyachya- are interchangeable before a postposition):
taripan, tarisuddha, taridekhil
tathapi
tyawelela, tyaweli
at that time
tyanantar after that*
toparyant
until then
tyapurwi prev. to that
tya-adhi, tya-agodar before that
tyamule
nevertheless
but still, nevertheless
because of that tya-aiwaji

69
instead of that
shiway
besides
tyasathi, tyakarata
nahitar
otherwise
tyashiway
for that
besides/without that
tyane khup prayatna kela, taripan tyala jamle nahi.

He tried very hard, but he still couldn't manage it.
tyancha mal mahag asto, shiway tyachi kwaliti itki changli naste.
Their goods are expensve, besides the quality isn't so very good.
9.B.3. Relative constructions
(1) A relative construction is a pair of sentences joined so that the
second sentence refers to some element of the first. In Marathi, the first
clause is introduced by an element beginning with j, the second by the
same element, but beginning with t. Following are the relative forms:
jo to
he, that
jase tase
just as
jewha tewha
when
jithe tithe
where
jewdhe tewdhe
as much as
jitke titke
as much/many as
The j element may be omitted if its ending is same as the t element.
aj sakali (jo) tumchyabarobar ala hota to kon ahe?
Who was it that came with you this morning?
kal jyane gane mhatle tyache naw kay?
What's the name of the man who sang a song yesterday?
(jewha) tumhi mumbaila jal tewha tyachyakade jaun bheta.
Go & meet him when you go to Bombay.
(jitki) pahijet titki pustake ghya. Take as many books as you want.
(2) jo to used together as a subject means 'each person' or 'everybody'.
jyane tyane aple pahawe.
Each one should see to his own affairs.
(3) jo jo ... to to (doubled form) means 'the more ... the more'.
tyala je je hawe ahe te te milale. The more he wanted the more he got.
(4) mhanje and ki can be used in a relative expression:
S1 mhanje/ki S2 'When S1 then S2'
gadi ali mhanje mi jain.
I'll go when the car comes.
epril mahina ala ki ukadayla lagte. When April comes it heats up.
9.B.4. Subordinating conjunctions
The transformations which follow employ subordinating conjunctions
to make a sentence into a dependent clause.
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(1) V-un. Two sentences may be combined with this construction.

This resembles the compound verb construction (6.A.7), but is derived
differently. Note that if one verb is an T-verb and the other an I-verb,
the form of the subject is determined by V2.
N 1 V1
(mag) N1 V2
N1 V1-un V2
N 1 V1
Then N1 V2
The resultant sentence may also have the form:

mi tikde jato.
mi tyala bhetto.
mi tikde jaun tyala bhetto.
N1 V1 and V2
V1-un N1 V2
I go there.
I meet him.
I go there and meet him.
to ghari ala.
He came home.
to jewayla basla.
He sat down to eat.
to ghari yeun jewayla basla. He came home and sat down to eat.
(2)
V-lya + post. Two sentences may be combined with this
construction. N2 may be the same as N1, or it may be different.
N 1 V1
tyanantar N2 V2
N1 V1-lyanantar N2 V2
N 1 V1
After N1 V1, N2 V2
After that N2 V2
The following post-positions may be used in place of nantar:

war
after, on
mule
because of
ne by, on account of, because of
barobar
shiway
immediately after
without, unless
to tikde gela.
He has gone there.
tyanantar to kay karnar?
What's he going to do after that?
tikde gelyanantar to kay karnar?
After going there what's he going to do?
tu bi e hoshil.
You will get your B.A.
mag tu kay karnar?
Then what will you do?
bi e jhalyawar tu kay karnar? What'll you do after you get your B.A.?
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to ghari ala.
He came home.
lagech to jhopayla gela.
Immediately he went to bed.
ghari alyabarobar to jhopayla gela.
As soon as he got home, he went to bed.
tyane amhala madat keli.
He helped us.
tyamule amhala kahi tras jhala nahi.
Because of that, we didn't have any difficulty.
tyane amhala madat kelyamule amhala kahi tras jhala nahi.
Because he helped us, we didn't have any difficulty.
khat waparayla pahije.
One must use fertilizer.
nahi tar dhanyache changle utpann yet nahi.
Otherwise one doesn't get a good yield of grain.
khat waparlyashiway dhanyache changle utpann yet nahi.
Unless one uses fertilizer, one doesn't get a good yield of grain.
apan bharbhar chadhan chadhto. We climb a slope rapidly.
mhanun aplyala dam lagto.
On account of that we get tired.
chadan bharbhar chadhlyane aplyala dam lagto.
We get tired from climbing a slope rapidly.
(3)
V-i-paryant. Two sentences may be combined with this
construction, meaning 'until' (the verbal action occurs). N2 may be the
same as N1, or it may be different. Toparyant means 'until then'.
N1 V1-i-E
N1 V1-i-paryant, N2 V2
toparyant N2 V2
N1 will V1
Until N1 V1, N2 V2
Until then N2 V2
to yeil.
toparyant mi thamben.
to yeiparyant mi thamben.
He will come.
Until then I will wait.
I'll wait until he comes.
to jaga hoil.
toparyant tu baher jau nakos.
to jaga hoiparyant tu baher jau nakos.
He will wake up.

Until then don't go outside.
Don't go out till he awakens.
(4a) V-tana. Two sentences in the present continuous may be

combined with this construction, meaning 'while' the verbal action is
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occurring. N2 may be the same as N1, or it may be different:

N1 V1-t Aux.
N1 V1-tana N2 V2-t Aux.
tyawelela N2 V2-t Aux.
N1 is V1-ing
While N1 is V1-ing
At that time N2 is V2-ing
N2 is V2-ing
The resultant sentence may also have the form:
N1 V1-t astana N2 V2-t Aux.
to kam karat ahe.
tyawelela to gane mhanat ahe.
to kam kartana gane mhanat ahe.
He is working.
At that time he is singing.
He's singing while he's working.
ek bai saphsaphai karat ahe.

One woman is cleaning.
tyawelela dusri bai swaipak karat ahe.
At that time the other woman is cooking.
ek bai saphsapai karat astana dusri bai swaipak karat ahe.
While one woman is cleaning the other is cooking.
The original pair of sentences may also be in the present habitual:
N1 V1-t -E
tyawelela N2 V2-t-E
N1 V1-tana N2 V2
N 1 V1
While N1 V1, N2 V2
At that time N2 V2
to kam karto.
He works.
tyawelela to gani mhanto.
At that time he sings.
to kam kartana (karat astana) gani mhanto. He sings while working.
ek bai saphsaphai karte.
One woman cleans.
tya welela dusri bai swaipak karte. At that time the other cooks.
ek bai saphsaphai kartana (karat astana) dusri bai swaipak karte.
While one woman cleans, the other woman does the cooking.
(4b) V-tana may also be used to embed a sentence as the direct object
of another, according to the formula below:
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N1 V-t Aux.
tyawelela N2 N1 pahaik-
N2 N1 V-tana pahaik-
N1 is V-ing
N2 see- N1 V-ing
At that time N2 see- N1
hearhearto kam karat hota.
tyawelela mi tyala pahile.
to kam kartana mi tyala pahile.
He was working.
I saw him at that time.
I saw him while he was working.
(4c) V-tana may also be used if one sentence has an auxiliary verb:
N1 V
N2 Adv. astana N1 V
tyawelela N2 Adv. Aux.
N1 V
While N2 be- Adv. N1 V
At that time N2 be- Adv.
to ala.
He came.
tyawelela mi baher hoto.
At that time I was out.
mi baher astana to ala.
He came while I was out.
(5) V-t. Two sentences may be combined with this construction. Note
that the subject must be the same in both sentences:
N V1
N V2 -t V1
tyawelela N V2 -t Aux.
N V1
N V1 V2-ing
At that time N be- V2 -ing
amhi phirayla gelo.
tyawelela amhi gappa marat hoto.
amhi gappa marat phirayla gelo.
We went for a walk.

We were chatting at the time.
Chatting, we went for a walk.
To emphasize the fact that the two actions continued over the same
span of time, V-t may be repeated. Note the resemblance of this form to
the next construction.
amhi gappa marat marat phirayla gelo.
74
We went for a walk while chatting.

(6) V-ta V-ta. Two sentences may be combined with this construction.
It has nearly the same meaning as V-tana (but is less commonly used).
The subject of both sentences may be the same or different.
N1 V1-t Aux.
tyawelela N2 V2
N1 V1-ta V1-ta N2 V2
N1 be- V1-ing
While N1 be V1-ing N2 V2
At that time N2 V2
We were talking.
amhi bolat hoto.
ek wishay nighala.
A subject came up.
amhi bolta bolta ek wishay nighala.
As we were talking a subject came up.
jawaibuwa bhurka marat hote.
The son-in-law was slurping.
tyawelela tyana uttar dile.
At that time he answered.
bhurka marta marta jawaibuwane uttar dile.
While slurping, the son-in-law answered.
(7) V-tach. Two sentences may be combined with this construction,
meaning 'as soon as' (the verbal action occurs). The subject of both
sentences may be the same or different.
N 1 V1
N1 V1-tach N2 V2
lagech N2 V2
N 1 V1
As soon as N1 V1, N2 V2
Immediately N2 V2
diwas ujadla.
Day dawned.
lagech to baher nighala.
Immediately he set out.
diwas ujadtach to baher nighala. As soon as day dawned he set out.
(8) na V-ta.
N V1
N V2 neg
Two sentences may be combined with this construction.
na V2-ta N V1
N V
N V2 neg
tyane pagar ghetla.
N V1 without V2-ing
He took the pay.
75
tyane kam kele nahi.

kam na karta tyane pagar ghetla.
He didn't do the work.

He took the pay without working.
ti ghari rahili.
She stayed at home.
ti shalet geli nahi.
She didn't go to school.
shalet na jata ti ghari rahili. She stayed at home & didn't go to school.
(9) V-aychya + post. Two sentences may be combined with this
construction. The subject of both sentences may be the same or different.
N 1 V1
N1 V1-aychya-agodar N2 V2
tya-agodar N2 V2
purwi
adhi
N 1 V1
Before N1 V1, N2 V2
Before that N2 V2
ti yeil.
She'll come.
tya-agodar amhala he kam sampawle pahije.

Before that we have to finish this work.
ti yaychya-agodar amhala he kam sampawle pahije.

Before she comes we have to finish this work.
amhi ithe alo.
We came here.
tya-agodar amhi mumbaila daha diwas rahilo.

Before that we stayed 10 days in Bombay.
ithe yaychya-agodar amhi daha diwas mumbaila rahilo.

Before coming here we stayed 10 days in Bombay.
9.B.5. Conditional
(1) jar tar. A conditional construction is a relative construction in
which the first sentence is a condition of the second. The most commonly
used form of conditional construction in Marathi is:
(jar) S1 tar S2
If S1 then S2
jar is often omitted; tar may not be omitted. There are several
permissible verb sequences in a conditional construction.
(a) V1 and V2 may both be in the future.
(jar) tu jashil tar mihi jain.
If you will go I will go too.
(b) The same meaning as above is more often expressed with V1 in the
perfect. If the first verb is in the imperfect it may be used with the
auxiliary in the perfect.
76
(jar) tu gelas tar mihi jain.

(jar) tyane he kele tar bare hoil.
If you go I will go too.

It'll be good if he does it.
If there's an auxiliary in the sentence, it may be used in the perfect.

(jar) tu mumbaila janar aslas tar majhyasathi ek kam karshil ka?
If you're going to Bombay, will you do something for me?
(jar) tula bare watat nasle tar ghari jaun jhop.
If you don't feel well, go home and sleep.
(jar) siment jast mahag asle tar apan chuna waparu.
If cement is too expensive, we will use lime.
In the above examples the perfect is used for V1, although the action
hasn't actually occurred. There are also instances in which it has:
jar tyane he kele tar amhihi karu shaku.
If he did it so can we.
(jar) tyala pariksha awghad watle tar mala nakki awghad watel.
If he found the exam difficult, then I definitely will.
9.B.6. Hypothetical conditional
(1) V-l-E as-t-E. Some conditional sentences postulate a hypothetical
situation: if X had happened, then Y would have happened. These are
often called 'contrary-to-fact sentences.' Referred to as the hypothetical
conditional here, they usually have this form:
(jar) N1 V1-l-E as-t-E, tar N2 V2-l-E as-t-E
If N1 had V1-ed, then N2 would have V2-ed
N1 and N2 may be the same or different. E is the regular adjective
ending and follows the normal rules for agreement in the perfect.
(jar) to ala asta tar he jhale naste.
If he had come this wouldn't have happened.
(jar) tyane abhyas kela asta tar to napas jhala nasta.
If he had studied he wouldn't have failed.
(jar) tyane khat takle aste tar pik changle ale aste.
If he had applied fertilizer the crop would've turned out well.
(jar) paise milale aste tar amhala kam karta ale aste.
If we had received the money, we'd have been able to do the work.
9.B.7. Concessive
77
(1) jari tari. The concessive is a type of relative construction having

the form:
(jari) S1 tari S2
Although S1 S2
(jari) tyna sangitle tari te jwari lawayla tayar nahwte.
Although we told them, they weren't ready to plant the jowar.
(jari) tyanchi paristhiti changli ahe tari aharamadhe kami matan ahe.
Although they're well off, there is too little meat in their diet.
The present auxiliary may be replaced by the perfect:
(jari) tyanchi paristhiti changli asli tari etc.
9.C. Comparison of Sentences
9.C.1. Comparison of adjectives
(1) Comparative. What is termed 'comparison of adjectives' is actually
the comparison of two or more sentences of the form: N A Aux.
N1 A Aux.
N2 jasta A Aux.
N2 N1-peksha jast A Aux.

N1 is A
N2 is more A than N1
N2 is more than A
ti chitrapeksha jast sundar ahe.
She's prettier than a picture.
majhya kamat mala kalpnepeksha adhik yash ale hote.

More success had come to me in my work than I had any idea of.
(2). Equality. Two sentences of the form below can be combined:
N1 A Aux.
N2 N1-itk-E A Aux.
N2 tewdh-E A Aux.
N1 is A
N2 is as A as N1
N2 is equally A
E is the regular adjective ending and agrees with N2.
hi jat tya jati-itki changli ahe.
This variety is as good as that.
ha dongar tya dongra-itka unch ahe. This hill is as high as that one.
(3) Superlative. The superlative is the result of the comparison of
three or more sentences of the type N A1 Aux. The result has the form:
78
(N1,2,3,n-paiki) N3 saglyat (jast) A Aux.

sarwat
(of N1,2,3,n) N3 is the most A of all
(hya bhagatlya dongrpaiki) ha dongar saglyt unch ahe.
(Of all the hills in this area) this hill is the highest.
tyane lihilelya pustakpaiki he pustak sarwt changle ahe.
Of the books he has written this one is the best.
he chitra majhyasathi sarwa jagat saglyat sundar ahe.
For me this picture is the most beautiful in the whole world.
9.C.2. Comparison of N V sentences
(1) Sentences of the form N V can be compared in the same manner
as N A Aux. sentences. Some examples should be sufficient for these:
itar dhanypeksha maharashtratil lok jast jwari khatat.
People in Maharashtra eat more jowar than any other grain.
himalayat yuropitki thandi padte.
It gets as cold in the Himalayas as it does in Europe.
(2) V-nya-itk-E A. This construction means 'A enough to V'.
mala bhashan karnya-itke marathi yet nahi.
I don't know enough Marathi to make a speech.
to rananganamadhe udi ghenya-itka shur asto.
He's brave enough to jump onto the battlefield.
Chapter 10
Word Derivation
Marathi vocabulary contains a great many derived words. A
knowledge of the processes of derivation can often enable one to
understand words that have not previously been encountered.
10.A. Noun Derivation
10.A.1. Abstract noun suffixes
(1) A number of suffixes are used to derive abstract nouns from
adjectives.
79
(a) -ta
shakyata
possibility
bhinnata
difference
importance
shubhratwa
whiteness
greatness
shurpana
bravery
childhood
mothapan
adulthood
height
lambi
length
(b) -twa
mahatwa
(c) -pana
mothapana
(d) -pan
lahanpan
(e) -i
unchi
(2) -nuk. This suffix is used to derive abstract nouns from verbs.
wagne
to behave
wagnuk
behavior
karamne
to time-pass
karamnuk
pastime
10.A.2. Agentive suffixes

(a) -kar
winkar
weaver
prabhakar
sun (bright-maker)
farmer
warkari
pilgrim
(b) -kari
shetkari
(c) -kar
kalakar
artist
kirtankar
performer of kirtans
(d) -gar
kamgar
workman
gunhegar
criminal
artisan
tamasgir
performer of tamasha
warganidar
subscriber
(e) -gir
karagir
(f) -dar
dukandar shopkeeper
(g) -wala (variable; indicates any habitual relationship with N)

dudhwala milk-seller
lal keswala
80
red-haired fellow
10.A.3. Feminine suffixes

(a) -in (this can mean 'wife of N' or 'a woman who is N')
malin
gardener
daktarin
doctor
(b) -ika (this means only 'a woman who is N')

lakhika
woman writer
shikshika
woman teacher
dawakhana
dispensary
granthalay
library
10.A.4. Other noun suffixes

(a) -khana ('place')
jimkhana sports-ground
(b) -alay ('place')
dewalay
temple, etc.
10.A.5. Reduplication
Marathi makes extensive use of various processes of reduplication.
(1) The most common process is the repetition of a word, with bisubstituted for the first syllable. This is used to express the idea 'and
other such things' or 'or anything of the sort' (compare Yiddish shm-).
The original may be either singular or plural.
bhajya
vegetables
bhajyabijya
vegetables & such things
andi
eggs
andibindi
eggs & such things
bhandi vessels
bhandibindi
pots & pans, etc.
malam ointment
malambilam
ointment schmointment
mi malambilam kahi nahi lawle

I didn't apply ointment or anything of the sort.
(2) For some words there are special reduplicated forms.
saman
goods
samansuman
material goods, etc.
upas
fast
upastapas
austerities, penances, etc.
(3) Some words are made up of two different words-- often from
different languages-- meaning the same thing. Generally, they have the
meaning 'x and such things'.
dagad
rocks
dagaddhonde
81
rocks and stones
jhade
trees
jhadejhudpe
gure
cattle
guredhore
trees and bushes

livestock: cows, oxen, etc.
(4) The same word may be repeated with '&' in the middle.
athewden athewde
week after week
diwasandiwas
day after day
mailan mail
mile after mile
10.B. Adjective Derivation

10.B.1. Adjectives derived from nouns
(a) -ik (with this suffix the vowel of the preceding syllable
changes as follows:
a a
i ai
u au)
samaj
society
samajik
social
yantra
machine
yantrik
mechanical
itihas
history
aitihasik
historical
puran
mythology
pauranik mythological
winod
humor
winodi
humorous
sarkar
government
sarkari
governmental
science
shastriya scientific
(b) -i
(c) -iya
shastra
bharat
India
bharatiya Indian
10.B.2. Adjectives derived from adverbs
Two suffixes (both variable) are used for deriving adjectives from
adverbs. Note that adverbs drop the ending -e before a suffix.
(a) -le
at (inside)
mage (in back)
ithe (here)
atle (of within)

magle (of behind)
ithle (of here, local)
82
(b) -che
mage (before)
ata (now)
aj (today)
magche (last, previous)

atache (this moment's)
ajche (today's)
maglya warshi tu kahi kam keles?

ajcha diwas mi kamala jayche.
Did you do any work last year?

This very day I have to go to work.
10.B.4. Diminutive and intensive

Several suffixes may be added to adjectives to modify their force.
(a) -t
hirwat
greenish
lahanse
mothase
rather small
quite large
lalsar
reddish
mothale
thorle
very big
big, great (esp. bigger, etc.), elder
(b) -se (var.)
(c) -sar
(d) -le (var.)
10.B.5. Other adjectival affixes

(1) Prefixes
There are many prefixes which serve an adjectival function in
compounds. Some of the most common are listed below.
(a) sugood
suwichar
good thoughts
(b) ku-
evil, bad
kumarg
evil path
(c) maha-
great
maharaja
king
(d) sam-
same, like
samantar
parallel
(e) saha-
co-
sahakarya
cooperation
(f) punar-
re-
punarjanma
rebirth
(g) para-
foreign, other
paralok
the other world
83
(h) purwa-
earlier
purwardhe
the first half
(i) nawa-
new
nawachitrakala modern art
(j) param-
greatest
parameshwar
God Almighty
(k) swa-
self
swabhaw
temperament
(2) Suffixes
There are many adjective suffixes (all are invariable). Some of the
most common are listed below:
(a) -bhar
-ful, -long
badlibhar
diwasbhar
(b) -may
full of
anandmay happy
(c) -shunya
-less
hridayshunya
heartless
(d) -grast
afflicted by
chintagrast
anxious, careworn
(e) -man
having
buddhiman
intelligent
(f) -wan
having
widwan
learned
(g) -want
having
namwant
famous
shilwati
of good character
(h) -wati (F) having
bucketful
all day long
10.B.6. Reduplication
The processes of reduplication also apply to adjectives.
(1) The most common process of adjective reduplication is simple
repetition.This intensifies the meaning of the adjective.
jadjad
thick
mothmothe
big
unun
hot
gargar
cold
(2) For some adjectives there are special reduplicated forms.
lahan (small)
lahansahan
sadhe (simple)
sadhesudhe
khare (true)
kharekhure
(3) Some colors have intensifying adjuncts:

lal (red)
lalbhadak
hirwe (green)
hirwegar
84
piwle (yellow)
piwledhamak
pandhre (white)
pandhrephatak
kale (black)
kalekutta
(4) Some words are made up of two words having the same meaning.
thandegar (cold-cold)
mothethorle (great big)
10.C. Relational Affixes

10.C.1. Negative prefixes
(a) aanyay
injustice
ahimsa
non-violence
disinterested
nishpap
innocent
unexpected
anisht
undesirable
inaccessible
dushprawritti
bad tendency
bad turn
apyash
defeat
helplessness
napasanti
disapproval
useless
nigarwi
modest
gairsoy
inconvenience
besharam
shameless
(b) nir-/nis(h)nirapeksh
(c) ananapekshit
(d) dur-/dus(h)durgam
(e) apapkar
(f) nana-ilaj
(g) ninikami
(h) gairgairsamaj misunderstanding
(i) be- (without)
betal
uncontrolled
(j) bin- (without)

bindok
brainless
(k) sa- (with)

saprem
with love
85
10.D. Verbs
10.D.1. Transitive verbs
There are a number of regular processes by which T-verbs are derived
from I-verbs:
(a) Change of a to a; the T-verb's meaning may diverge somewhat.
charne (I)
to graze
marne (I)
to die
charne (T)
to feed
marne (T)
to kill, beat
(b) Change of voiceless consonant to voiced; a vowel may also change.

phatne (I)
to tear
phadne (T) to tear
phitne (I)
to be repaid
phedne (T)
to repay
(c) Addition of aw to the verbal base; the most common method.

thambne (I)
to stop
thambawne (T) to stop
phirne (I)
to revolve
phirawne (T)
to spin
An old variant of aw is awi: phirawine (T) to spin.

10.D.2. Causative
(1) When aw is added to the base of a T-verb, it becomes a causative
verb: that is, it indicates an action done through the agency of another.
anne (T)
to bring
anawne (C)
to have brought
magne (T)
to ask for
magawne (C)
to order
An old variant of aw is awi: magawine (C) to order.

10.D.3. Phrasal verbs
Many actions are expressed in Marathi by a combination of a noun or
adjective and karne (or hone): e.g., bhojan karne 'to dine'. To make
verbs out of words borrowed from other languages Marathi uses the
same device. These verbs may be called phrasal verbs.
kabij karne
to seize
gadap hone
to disappear
djast karne
to adjust
khak hone
to burn to ashes
86
10.D.4. Reduplication among verbs

(1) Two verbs of the same meaning are sometimes used together.
dhawatpalat
running
maratjhodat
beating down
(2) The verb sawarne is used as an intensifier with some verbs:

karunsawarun doing
shiklesawarlele well educated
(3) The bare stem of the verb is sometimes repeated as an intensifier:

marmar marne to beat & beat
has-has hasne
to laugh & laugh
10.E. Adverbs
10.E.1. Suffixes
(a) -pane. Used to derive adverbs of manner from adjectives.
shant
calm
shantpane
calmly
spasht
clear
spashtpane
clearly
(b) -pat. Used with a preceding numeral x to mean: 'x times over'
duppat
twofold
daspat
tenfold
10.E.2. Reduplication
Reduplication is extensively used in adverb formation.
(1) Doublets (of form: V-un V-un) are common in adverbs of manner.
yeunjaun
altogether
bolunchalun
after all
rahunrahun
repeatedly
lapunchapun
secretly
ghasunpusun
immaculately
chorunmarun
furtively
Appendix A
Morphophonemic Rules
(1) Rule M1: -i and -e -y before addition of -a.
pine: pi- + -a = pya
ghene: ghe- + -a = ghya
87
(2) Rule M2: -u and -o -w before addition of -e, -a, or -e.

natu + -a = natwa
ho + -a = hwa (Devanagari spelling: wha)
(3) Rule M3: -w- is inserted after u before addition of -a.
dhune: dhu + a = dhuwa
(4) Rule M4: combination of a + a = a.
ja + a = ja
(5) Rule M5: -se -sh- before addition of -i or -y.
diwas + -i = diwashi (with Rule M7: diwshi)
(6) Rule M6: In a one-syllable word consisting of the vowel i or u
sandwiched between two consonants CVC, the vowel V is shortened
before adding another vowel to the end of the word.
mith + -at = mithat
dudh + -at = dudhat
(7) Rule M7: In a word of two or more syllables ending in the vowel a,
i, or u sandwiched between two consonants (-CCVC or -VCVC), the
sandwiched vowel is deleted before adding another vowel to the end of
the word. The deletion is pronounced, but need not necessarily be
indicated in writing (generally not indicated in this book).
kagad + -war = kagdawar
wadil + -na = wadlna
sakhar + -at = sakhret
lasun + -che = lasnache
Appendix B
Word Order in General
1. Subject. The subject generally precedes the verb. In emphatic
sentences, it sometimes follows the verb.
tumhi kuthe challa?
kuthe challa tumhi?

88
A subject that is understood is sometimes omitted:

maharashtrat jwari khatat.
In Maharashtra (they) eat jowar.
2. Direct object. The direct object follows the subject, precedes the verb.
to marathi shikto.
He is learning Marathi.
3. Indirect object. The indirect object precedes the direct object.

to tyala madat karto.
He helps him.
4. Adverbs and postpositional phrases. In Marathi the position of

adverbs and postpositional phrases (serving as adverbs) is less rigidly
fixed than that of other elements in the sentence. Generally, however,
they precede the noun they modify. If there are several adverbs
modifying a verb they generally follow the order: time, manner, means
or instrument, place (English order can be used).
mi aj payi dongrawar gelo.
I went up the hill on foot today.
Subject Index
Adjectives
comparison, 76-77
derivation, 80-83
demonstrative, 15
invariable, 9-10
oblique form, 10
position in sentence, 27, 64
variable, 10
verbal, 55
Aspect, 17-18
Adjuncts of simple sentence, 43-49
Binary transformation, 63-77
Adverbs, 43-46
conjunctive, 68
derivation, 85
position in sentence, 28, 87
Causative, 84
Agentive suffixes, 78-79

Appositives, 62
Aspiration, 2
Auxiliary, 18-23
future,22-23
habitual, 21-22
past, 20-21
present, 23-4
present habitual, 21-22
Comparison of sentences, 77
Complement, 56
Compound verb, 51
89
Concessive, 76
Conditional, 75-76
hypothetical, 75-76
Conjunctions, 67-74
conjunctive adverbs, 68
coordinating, 67-68
relative, 68-69
subordinating, 69-74
Conjunctive adverbs, 68
Consonants, 1-4
Gender
of adjectives, 9-10
of nouns, 4
Habitual
past, 31, 35-36
present, 20-21, 37-38
of auxiliary, 21
Honorific, 11
Hypothetical conditional, 75-76
Coupling, 19
Imperative, 28-29, 36
of auxiliary, 36
Degrees of comparison, 76-77
Imperfect, 37-40
Demonstrative adjectives, 15
Indirect object, 13, 41, 87
Derivation, word, 78-85

adjective, 80-84
adverb, 85
noun, 78-79
verb, 84-85
Desiderative, 32-33
Impersonal construction, 29, 33
Devanagari script, 3, 16, 20
Interrogatives, 14, 46
Diminutive suffixes, 81
Intransitive verbs, 16, 29-43
Direct object, 12-13, 27, 41, 87
Locative, 9
Emphatic particles, 49
Marked nouns, 4
Feminine
endings of adjectives, 9-10
endings of nouns, 4-8
suffixes of nouns, 78-79
Masculine
endings of adjectives, 10
endings of nouns, 5-6
Future (see also Prospective), 30-1

of auxiliary, 22-23
Impersonal verbs, 17
Instrumental postposition, 14, 48
Intensive suffixes, 81
Morphophonemic rules, 5, 9, 24, 86

Nasalization, 2, 5
90
Negative (see specific verb forms)

Negative prefixes, 83-4
Neuter
endings of adjectives, 10
endings of nouns, 4, 6-7
Perfect, 40-42
Personal verbs, 16-17
Pluperfect, 60
Possession, 63-64
Noun phrases, 63-66
Possessive adjectives, 13-14

oblique form, 15
Noun, predicate, 29
Possessive pronouns, 13-14
Nouns
abstract, 78
derivation, 78-80
endings, 4
marked, 4
oblique forms, 4-8
plural forms, 4-8
straight forms, 4
verbal, 54-55
Postpositional phrases, 46-9, 68, 87
Object
direct, 12-13, 27, 41, 87
indirect, 13, 41, 87
Operators
sentence, 52-53
verb, 50-51
Present tense
of auxiliary, 19-20
of other verbs (see Imperfect)
Pronouns, 10-16
demonstrative, 15
instrumental, 14
object, 12-13
oblique form, 15
possessive, 13-14
reflexive, 15-16
relative, 68-69
subject, 10-12
Particles, 49
Participial constructions, 29, 37-42
Passive, 60
Past
of auxiliary, 20
of other verbs (see Perfect,
Habitual, Past habitual)
Past habitual, 31, 35-36
Postpositions, 4, 27, 46-49

Prefixes, 81-82
Present continuous, 38-40
Present habitual, 20-21, 37-38
of auxiliary, 21
Prospective, 43
of auxiliary, 23
Questions, 28, 61-62
rhetorical, 61-62
Reduplication, 79-80, 82-83
91
Relational affixes, 83-84

Relative construction, 68-69
Retroflex consonants, 1-3
Reverse-intrans. verbs, 17, 30-42
Sentence operators, 52-53
Simple sentences, 27-42
Subject, position, 27-30, 87
Subjunctive, 34
Subordinating conjunctions, 69-74
Suffixes, 82
Superlative, 77
Syllable, 2-4
Verb operators, 50-51

Verbal nouns and adjectives, 54-55
Verbs
aspect, 17-18
auxiliary, 18-23
classification, 16-17
compound, 51
construction listing, 25-26
derivation, 84
desiderative, 32-33
future, 30-31
imperative, 28-29, 36
imperfect, 37-40
irregular, 26
participial constrxns, 29, 37-42
past habitual, 31, 35-36
perfect, 40-42
phrasal, 85
prospective, 43
subjunctive, 34
tense and aspect, 17-18
unitary constructions, 30-37
Vocative, 9
Tense, 17-18
Time expressions, 49
Voiced consonants, 2-3
Transitive verbs, 17, 30-42

Unary transformations, 57-63
Vowels, 1
long vowels, 1, 86
Word derivation, 78-85
Unmarked nouns, 4
Word order, 87
Index of Verb forms

V
Imperative, 28
N V-aych-E (prospect), 43
V-aych-E, 29
N-la/ne V-aych-E Aux, 57
V-aych-E N, 55
V-aychya + post, 74
V1-aych-E V2, 55
V-a (see V)
V-aychN V-aych-E (past habit), 31
92
V-ayla
V-ayla, 56
V-ayla pahije, 58
V-ayla lag-, 50
V-nar Aux, 43
V-nar-E N, 65
V-t
V-awN V-aw-E, 34
N-ne V-aw-E, 32
N-la V-aw-E lag-, 59
V-i
V-u
Future, 31-31
Past habitual, 35-36
V-i paryant, 71
V-ina (V-ena), 36
V-u de-, 59
V-u ka?, 28
V-u lag-, 50
V-u nako, 34
V-u naye, 33
V-u pah-, 52
V-u shak-, 51
V-u ya, 29
V-l
V-un
V1-un V2: subord. conj., 69
compound verb, 51
N1-kadun N2 V-un ghe-, 59
V-e (see V-i)
V-ne
V-ne, 54
V-nya + post, 54-55
V-nyas, 56 (V-ayla sect.)
V-nar
93
V-t-E, 37-38
V-t Aux, 38-40
V1-t V2, 73
V-ta V-ta, 73
V-tach, 73-74
na V-ta, 74
V-tana, 71-72
V-ta ye-, 59
chal-t-E ho-, 60
V-t-E N, 66
V-t ja, 52
V-t aslel-E N, 65
V-l-E Aux, 40-42
V-l-E ast-E, 75-76
V-l-E pahije, 58
V-l-E N, 66
V-lel-E, 60
V-lel-E bar-E, 60
V-lel-E N, 66
V-lya + post, 70
V-lyasarkhe, 55

Spoken Marathi Reference Grammar

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Spoken Marathi Reference Grammar

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Spoken Marathi Ref.

English examples of vowels (diphthong vowels: the 2 sounds elided):

A contrast between short i and long i and between short u and

Table 1.2: Marathi Consonants:

Semivowels etc:___y r l w sh s h l__ ksh__dny_____________

1.3. Difficulties for English speakers

the a. Others may be treated similarly.

before releasing it. The doubled consonant may be thought of as ending

*often refers to occupation (mali: 'gardener', etc)

(c) Unmarked: ending in u

Class 2 (a few words)

(d) Unmarked: ending in a consonant

(b) Unmarked: ending in -u

(c) Unmarked: ending in -i

add -a to form the oblique.

(d) Unmarked: ending in a consonant

2. The straight and oblique plural of bai is baya:

(c) Unmarked: ending in -a

(d) Unmarked: ending in a consonant

bahinila to the sister

An exception: chuk forms the oblique singular by adding -i;

for the mistake

2.A.3. Applicable morphophonemic rules

diwashi* on the day

*note the operation of Rule M5

changla rasta (good road)

Fem. -i changli gadi (good car)

changle raste (good roads)

-ya changlya gadya (good cars)

Neut. -e changle pustak (good book) -i

changli pustake (good books)

2.B.2. Invariable adjectives

lamb rasta (long road)

lamb raste (long roads)

lahan gadi (small car)

lahan gadya (small cars)

lahan pustak (small book)

lahan pustake (small books)

Oblique form. A variable adjective modifying a noun in the oblique

There may be several adjectives modifying a noun in the oblique. In

my elder brother's daughter

etiquette of the language.

Table 2.C.1(3): Summary of Forms

2.C.2. Object pronouns

2.C.4. Pronoun + -ne

pronouns must be in the oblique form. For pronouns referring to

2.C.6. Demonstrative adjectives (pronouns used as adjectives)

2.C.7. Oblique form of demonstrative and possessive adjectives

2.C.8. Reflexive pronouns

te aplya mulna shalet pathawat nahit.

I for one am going to go.

The other reflexive pronoun is swataha; this is often spelled swat:

2.D. Interrogative Forms

There is a subset of impersonal verbs that cause special problems to

I like ice cream. (lit., 'ice cream pleases me')

majhya bahinila he pustak pahije

3.A.3. Tense and aspect

The verb asne 'to be' is of special interest in Marathi. As mentioned, it

(b) to mulga hushar ahe.

That boy is bright.

(c) majhi bahin ithe ahe.

(d) dew ahe.

God is (God exists).

(e) mama yenar ahe.

Semivowels etc:_y r l w sh s h l kshdny___________