Tulu Lesson 3: Simple Present Tense

Hello everyone, welcome back!

Today we are going to learn simple present tense. Simple present tense used to remark habits, general realities, repeated actions or unchanging situations. In Tulu it’s also used for future tense.

As far as I know, there is no such a well-defined rule in the Tulu grammar books or there are very few scholars who wrote about Tulu grammar. As a native speaker, I have observed how the verbs in Tulu are conjugated.  There are two conjugations. Look at the following verbs:

Root verbs:

pO – To go

bare – To write

mAr – To sell

kaDapu – To cross

Aye pOpe – He goes.

Aye barepe – He writes

Aye mAruve – He sells.

Aye kaDapuve – He crosses.

Can you see the difference? Yes, first two verbs are conjugated by adding extra ‘p’ sound and other two verbs are conjugated by adding ‘uv’ sound. So what is the difference between these verbs? If you studied ‘chandas’ in Sanskrit or in any other Indian languages, it is simple! If a root verb takes 2 or less than 2 ‘matras’ (meters) to pronounce, then the sound ‘p’ is added and if a root verb takes more than 2 ‘matras’ to pronounce, then it is conjugated by adding ‘uv’ sound. Please note that in Tulu, words which end with consonant sound has final ‘half-u’ sound as I explained in How to Pronounce. So, while calculating ‘matras’, make sure to consider ‘half-u’ as equal to a vowel.

For those who don’t know about ‘chandas’, let me explain in different way. To add ‘p’ sound to verb conjugation in Simple Present tense, a root verb must be in one of the following cases:

1. Root verb has only one syllable.

2. Root verb should not have more than 2 syllables.  If root verb has 2 syllables, then any of the syllables should not have a long vowel or more than one consonant.

Otherwise, it is conjugated by adding ‘uv’ sound.

Syllable is a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants. The number of times that you hear the sound of a vowel is the number of syllables in a word.

Eg: ‘rAjA’ has 2 syllables rA and jA. 

‘satya’ has 2 syllables sat and ya   

Now take the verb ‘pO’. It has only one syllable. So it can be conjugated as pO + p + personal ending.

The verb ‘bare’ has two syllables ‘ba’ and ‘re’ and each has one short vowel and single consonant. So it can be conjugated as bare + p + personal ending.

The verb ‘mAr’ has two syllables (including final ‘half-u’ sound i.e mA and rŭ) and the first syllable has a long vowel. So it is conjugated as mAr + uv + personal ending.

The verb ‘kaDapu’ has three syllables ‘ka’, ‘Da’ and ‘pu’. So it is conjugated as kaDapu + uv + personal ending.

Let us take one more verb ‘malpu’. It has two syllables ‘mal’ and ‘pu’. First syllable has two consonant sounds. So it is conjugated as malpu + uv + personal ending. Got it?

You do not have to worry about it. I will make two groups for your reference; Class A and Class B.

Class A is for the verbs like ‘pO’ (Gerund: pOpini) and ‘bare’ (Gerund: barepini) - To make Gerund form, add ‘pini’ to root verb. Eg: pO+pini=pOpini

Class B is for the verbs like ‘mAr’ (mAruni) and ‘kaDapu’ (kaDapuni) - To make Gerund form, add ‘uni’ to root verb. Eg: mAr+uni=mAruni

Before proceeding further, let us look at all of the personal endings:

		Singular			Plural
		Pronoun	Ending	Example: pO	Pronoun	Ending	Example: pO
First Person		yAn	ae	pOpae	nama/enkulu	a	pOpa
Second Person		I	a	pOpa	nikulu/Ir	ar	pOpar
Third Person	Masc.	Aye/imbe	e	pOpe	akulu/Ar/mokulu/mEr	er	pOper
	Fem.	Al/mOlu	al	pOpal
	Neut.	au/undu	uNDu	pOpuNDu	aikulu/undekulu	a	pOpa

yAn pOpae – I go

I pOpa – You go

Aye/imbe pOpe – He goes

Al/mOlu pOpal – She goes

au/undu pOpuNDu – It goes

nama/enkulu pOpa – We go

Ir/nikulu pOpar – You go

akulu/mokulu/Ar/mEr pOper – They go

undekulu/aikulu pOpa – They go

yAn malpuvae – I do

I malpuva – You do

Aye/imbe malpuve – He does

Al/mOlu malpuval – She does

au/undu malpuNDu – It does (We don’t have to add ‘uv’ sound since personal ending starts from ‘u’ sound. Personal ending ‘uNDu’ directly added to root verb)

nama/enkulu malpuva – We do

Ir/nikulu malpuvar – You do

akulu/mokulu/Ar/mEr malpuver – They do

undekulu/aikulu malpuva – They do

Some of the verbs used in daily conversation:

Class A verbs:

A (Apini) – To become

pO (pOpini) – To go

tU (tUpini) – To see

dI (dIpini) – To place

mI (mIpini) – To bathe

rA (rApini) – To fly

sai (saipini) – To die

bar (barpini) – To come

kaDe (kaDepini) – To grind

paDe (paDepini) – To obtain

tiN (tiNpini) – To eat

uN – (uNpini) To eat (rice or lunch/dinner)

paN (paNpini) – To say/tell

ben (benpini) – To work

ker (kerpini) – To kill

ner (nerpini) – To scold

par (parpini) – To drink

kor (korpini) – To give

bare (barepini) – To write

buDu (buDpini) - To leave

Class B verbs:

uppu/ippu (uppuni/ippuni) – To be

kEN (kENuni) – To hear/ listen /ask

bUr (bUruni) – To fall

jAr (jAruni) – To slip

mAr (mAruni) – To sell

pAr (pAruni) – To run

pAter (pAteruni) – To speak

nInd (nInduni) – To swim

dakk (dakkuni) – To throw

dekk (dekkuni) – To wash

tikk (tikkuni) – To get/meet

untu  (untuni) – To stand

kullu (kulluni) – To sit

lakk (lakkuni) – To get up

kalk (kalkuni) – To shout

bad’k (bad’kuni) – To live

murku (murkuni) – To sink/drown

telipu (telipuni) – To smile/laugh

naDapu (naDapuni) – To walk

balipu (balipuni) – To run

bulipu (bulipuni) – To weep/cry

nalipu (nalipuni) – To dance

malpu (malpuni) – To do

kalpu (kalpuni) – To learn

kApu (kApuni) – To wait

paripu (paripuni) – To tear

parapu (parapuni) – To flow/crawl

maDipu (maDipuni) – To fold

oripu (oripuni) – To save

mugipu (mugipuni) – To finish

menpu (menpuni) – To wake someone up

jeppu (jeppuni) – To sleep

jappu (jappuni) – To get down

leppu (leppuni) – To call

lappu (lappuni) – To measure

kaDpu (kaDpuni) – To cut

kaDapu (kaDapuni) – To cross

torpu (torpuni) – To kick

uripu (uripuni) – To blow

sOpu (sOpuni) – To lose

aDipu (aDipuni) – To sweep

deppu (deppuni) – To remove/take out or to open ( the door)
derpu (derpuni) - To lift

madapu (madapuni) – To forget

korepu (korepuni) – To bark

gobbu (gobbuni) – To play

deng (denguni) – To hide

gend (genduni) – To win

muchchu (muchchuni) – To close

Odu (Oduni) – To read

lAg (lAguni) – To jump

pAD (pADuni) – To put/wear

nUku (nUkuni) – To push/shove

ottu (ottuni) – To press

galas (galasuni) – To use

balas (balasuni) – To serve food

patt (pattuni) – To hold/catch

muTTu (muTTuni) – To touch/reach

kaTT (kaTTuni) – To build/tie

paTT (paTTuni) – To share/distribute

naTT (naTTuni) – To beg

boTTu (boTTuni) – To knock

puTTu (puTTuni)  – To born

Ak (Akuni) – To hit/beat

Whenever I come across new verbs, I will keep updating it in Vocabulary page.

Let us make some short sentences in simple present tense. To begin with, we need to know the structure of a sentence. In Tulu, we have subjects at the beginning and verbs at the end of the sentences. All other items such as objects come between these two. Sometimes objects may come at the beginning and subjects in the middle.  

yAn sAleg pOpe – I go to school. (Kannada: nAnu shAlege hOguttEne)

I sAleg pOpa – You go to school. (Kannada: nInu shAlege hOguttIya)

Aye sAleg pOpe – He goes to school (Kannada: avanu shAlege hOguttAne)

mOlu sAleg pOpal – She goes to school (Kannada: ivaLu shAlege hOguttALe)

enkulu dinola pEpar Oduva – We read news paper daily. (Kannada: nAvu dinA pEpar OduttEve)

Ir vArogu onji katae barepar – You write one story every week. (Kannada: nIvu vArakke ondu kathe bareyuttIri)

akulu tingolgu ora illaDe barper – They come home once a month (Kannada: avaru tingaLige omme manege baruttAre)

nAyi dinola rAtrae korepuNDu – Dog barks at night daily. (Kannada: nAyi dinA rAtri bogaLuttade)

nAyilu dinola rAtrae korepuva - Dogs bark at night daily. (Kannada: nAyigaLu dinA rAtri bogaLuttave)

yAn enna baik’n pratI aitAra dekkuvae – I wash my bike every Sunday. (Kannada: nAnu nanna baikannu pratI bhAnuvAra toLeyuttEne)

nama dinola kANDae mIpa – We take bath every morning. (Kannada: nAvu dinA beLigge snAna mADuttEve)

Aye dinola bayyag gobbuve – He plays every evening. (Kannada: avanu dinA sanje ADuttAne)

sUrya mUDaiD puTTuNdu, paDDaiD murkuNDu – Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. (sUrya pUrvadalli huTTuttade, pashchimadalli muLuguttade)

petta pEr korpuNDu – Cow gives milk. (Kannada: dana hAlu koDuttade)

AkAshoDu pakkilu rApa – Birds fly in the sky.(Kannada: AkAshadalli hakkigaLu hAruttave)

akulu dinola kaNDoDu benper – They work in the field daily. (Kannada: avaru dinA gaddeyalli duDiyuttAre)

Al Epola satya pAterval – She always speaks truth. (Kannada: avaLu yAvAgalU satya mAtADuttALe)

I dinola kANDae chA parpa – You drink tea every morning. (Kannada: nInu dinA beLigge chahA kuDiyuttIya)

enkulu dinoku raDD portu uNpa – We eat (rice) two times a day. (Kannada: nAvu dinakke eraDu sala UTa mADuttEve)

‘uN’ verb only used to indicate eating rice. From ‘uN’ we have the word ‘oNas’ which means lunch or dinner (meals). In South India, normally everyone eat rice for lunch and dinner.

‘tiN’ verb used for other eatables. From ‘tiN’ we have the word ‘teNas’ which means eatable.       

In Tulu, Simple Present Tense also used for future tense to talk about prior plans, strong intentions, fixed arrangements and to make promises or threats.  

yAn ellae illaDe pOpae – I will go home tomorrow. (Kannada: nAnu nALe manege hOguttEne)

yAn aitAra nikk tikkuvae – I will meet you on Sunday. (Kannada: nAnu bhAnuvAra ninage siguttEne)

rAjEsh raDD gaNTeD pira barpe – Rajesh will return in two hours. (Kannada: rAjEsh eraDu gaNTeyalli hinde baruttAne)

yAn bayya ain gaNTeg nigaNT barpae – I will definitely come at 5 o’clock in the evening. (Kannada: nAnu sanje aidu gaNTege khaNDita baruttEne)

mAtala sama ApuNDu. – Everything will be fine.(Kannada: ellavU sari Aguttade)

yAn nikk kApuvae – I will wait for you. (Kannada: nAnu ninage kAyuttEne)

I enan madapuva – you will forget me. (Kannada: nInu nannannu mareyuttIya)

New words used in today’s lesson:

dina/dino – day

dinola – daily

onji – one

katae – story

vAra/vAro – week

tingolu – month

ora – once

ill – house

sAlae – school

nAyi – dog

rAtrae – night

aitAra – Sunday

pratI – every

kANDae – morning

bayya – evening

mUDai – east

paDDai - west

chA – tea

raDD – two

portu – time

petta – cow

pEr – milk

AkAsha/AkAsho – sky

pakki – bird

kaNDa/kaNDo – field

Epola – always

satya – truth

ellae – tomorrow

gaNTe – hour

mAtha – all

mAthala – everything

sama/sari – correct

Please try to make sentences using other verbs listed above. If you need help, feel free to comment. See you next week!

Solmelu! (Thanks!)

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