Summary of Grammar Rules for Conversational Bangla
We have covered the major rules describing grammatical syntax of colloquial Bangla. In this Chapter, we will summarize the rules.
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The Sentence Rule
A complete sentence consists of a Subject Phrase, a Verb and an Object Phrase.
The order of the Subject, Object and Verb will vary by language
Order of Subject, Object & Verb
English is a "Head-First" language. An English Sentence will always have a "Subject-Verb-Object" or "S-V-O" structure.
Bangla is a "Head-Final" language. A Bangla Sentence will always have a "Subject-Object-Verb" or "S-O-V" structure.
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The Minimal Subject/Object Rule
A minimal Subject or Object is made up of a Noun with an optional Determiner.
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The Determiner Rule
A Determiner is used to specify an instance of a noun.- The Determiner "the" is handled by simply adding a suffix -Ta to the noun -- the dog becomes কুকুরটা (kukuroTa). "This" for nearby and "that" for distance are expressed as এই (ei) and ওই (Oi) respectively and put before the Noun. The Noun is always tagged with the -Ta suffix.
- Possessive Pronoun Determiners like "my, your, his/her" are formed from the Pronouns by adding the "-ar" sound to the Pronoun. This will result in আমার, তোমার, ওর (amar, tOmar, Or) to describe the Noun.
Pronoun Rule
A Pronoun can replace a Noun in a Subject or Object Phrase
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Verb Conjugation Rules
- Start with the Root Verb [eg. to see দেখা = দ + ে + খ + া (d e kh a) ]
- Truncate the Vowel sound at the end [eg. দ + ে + খ
া= দেখ (d e kha) ] - There are 24 possible combinations possible. There are 3 Persons - First, Second and Third. Past Tense has 4 forms (Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Habitual). Present Tense has 3 forms (Simple, Continuous, Perfect). Future Tense has one form. The guide below shows the Past Continuous, Present Continuous and Future forms.
- In the First Person
- The Past Continuous Tense, ends with the "-ছিলাম" ("-chhilam") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছিলাম = দেখছিলাম (dekh o chhilam) ] - The Present Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছি" ("-chhi") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছি = দেখছি (dekh o chhi) ] - The Future Tense ends with the "-ব" ("-bo") sound
[eg. দেখ + ব = দেখব (dekh o bo) ]
- The Past Continuous Tense, ends with the "-ছিলাম" ("-chhilam") sound
- In the Second Person
- The Past Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছিলে" ("-chhile") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছিলে = দেখছিলে (dekh o chhile) ] - The Present Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছ" ("-chho") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছ = দেখছ (dekh o chho) ] - The Future Tense ends with the "-বে" ("-be") sound
[eg. দেখ + বে = দেখবে (dekh o be) ]
- The Past Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছিলে" ("-chhile") sound
- In the Third Person
- The Past Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছিল" ("-chhilo") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছিল = দেখছিল (dekh o chhilo) ] - The Present Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছে" ("-chhe") sound
[eg. দেখ + ছে = দেখছে (dekh o chhe) ] - The Future Tense ends with the "-বে" ("-be") sound
[eg. দেখ + বে = দেখবে (dekh o be) ]
- The Past Continuous Tense ends with the "-ছিল" ("-chhilo") sound
The Glossary of Words shows the root and inflected versions of all Verbs in this book.
Here are some examples of the Verb Rules.
| Root Verb see » দেখা dekha | |||
| Past Tense | Present Tense | Future Tense | |
| First Person | দেখেছি dekhechhi |
দেখছি dekhochhi |
দেখব dekhobo |
| Second Person | দেখেছিলে dekhechhile |
দেখছো dekhochhO |
দেখবে dekhobe |
| Third Person | দেখেছে dekhechhe |
দেখছে dekhochhe |
দেখবে dekhobe |
| Root Verb read » পড়া poRa | |||
| Past Tense | Present Tense | Future Tense | |
| First Person | পড়েছি poRechhi |
পড়ছি poRochhi |
পড়ব poRobo |
| Second Person | পড়েছিলে poRechhile |
পড়ছো poRochhO |
পড়বে poRobe |
| Third Person | পড়েছে poRechhe |
পড়ছে poRochhe |
পড়বে poRobe |
| Root Verb write » লেখা lekha | |||
| Past Tense | Present Tense | Future Tense | |
| First Person | লিখেছি likhechhi |
লিখছি likhochhi |
লিখব likhobo |
| Second Person | লিখেছিলে likhechhile |
লিখছো likhochhO |
লিখবে likhobe |
| Third Person | লিখেছে likhechhe |
লিখছে likhochhe |
লিখবে likhobe |
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The Adverb Rule
A Verb Phrase can contain any number of Adverbs that give information about the Verb in the Sentence.
For example, let us add the adverb quickly to the verb walk.
walk quickly
তাড়াতাড়ি হাঁটব
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The Adjective Rule
A Subject or Object Phrase can contain any number of Adjectives that describe the relevant Noun.
For example, let us add the adjective white and the adjective many to the noun cloud.
many white clouds
অনেক সাদা মেঘ
onek sada megh
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The Preposition Rule
A Subject or Object Phrase can contain any number of Prepositions that give information about time, place and direction of the Noun. The Preposition must follow the Noun in Bangla.
For example, let us add the preposition phrase "in the afternoon" to the sentence "I ate rice".
I ate rice in the afternoon
আমি ভাত খেয়েছি
+ in the afternoon
ami bhat kheyechhi +
in the afternoon
আমি ভাত খেয়েছি + দুপুরে
ami bhat kheyechhi + dupure
আমি ভাত দুপুরে খেয়েছি
ami bhat dupure kheyechhi
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The Conjunction Rule
A Conjunction can be used to join two Noun Phrases or two Sentences. The Conjunction is placed between the two Noun Phrases it joins or between the two Sentences it joins.
Example of Conjunction joining two Nouns
mother and father
মা আর বাবা
ma ar baba
Example of Conjunction joining two sentences
I am clever and I am beautiful
আমি চালাক এবং আমি সুন্দর
ami chalak ebong ami sundor
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Determiners - Possessive Case Rule
The Possessive case Determiners are applied to Nouns.- If the noun ends with a vowel, add the -r sound -র.
- Otherwise, add the -er sound -এর, modifying the last consonant with the "e" sound followed by the "r" sound.
For example, mother's = মা + -র = মার (ma + -r = mar) and father-in-law's = শ্বশুর + -এর = স্বশুরের (shwoshur + -er = shwoshurer)
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The Verb Negation Rule
"Verb Not" is implemented by adding a না na to the Verb.
For example, I want to eat is আমি খাব while I don't want to eat is আমি খাব না.
Applying All The Rules
We will now create a Bangla grammatical sentence using all the rules shown above.| Starting Sentence: | The boy is going home. |
| Add an Adjective: | The young boy is going home. |
| Add an Adverb: | The young boy is going home slowly. |
| Add a Prepositional Phrase: | The young boy is going home slowly with the dog. |
| Add a Conjunction and a Noun Phrase: | The young boy and the old man are going home slowly with the dog. |
Every Sentence is composed of a Subject Phrase and an Object Phrase. In this sentence, the Subject Phrase would be "The boy". The Verb is "is going" and the Object Phrase is "home". We can now look up the Bangla words in the Glossary.
Translations:
boy » ছেলে chhele
The determiner "The" is applied to the noun. This will add a suffix -Ti to the noun.
The boy » ছেলেটি chheleTi
"Is going" is the third person, present tense, of the root verb for "go".
is going » যাচ্ছে Jachchhe
home » বাড়ি baRi
We know that, in Bangla, the Verb comes last in the Verb Phrase. So the Sentence would look like this:
| English | The boy is going home. |
| Bangla | ছেলেটি বাড়ি যাচ্ছে chheleTi baRi Jachchhe |
small » ছোট chhOTo
| English | The small boy is going home. |
| Bangla | ছোট ছেলেটি বাড়ি যাচ্ছে chhOTo chheleTi baRi Jachchhe |
slowly » আস্তেআস্তে asteaste
| English | The small boy is going home slowly. |
| Bangla | ছোট ছেলেটি আস্তেআস্তে বাড়ি যাচ্ছে chhOTo chheleTi asteaste baRi Jachchhe |
dog » কুকুর kukur
The » -র Suffix -er
The dog » কুকুরের kukurer
with » সাথে sathe
| English | The small boy is going home slowly with the dog |
| Bangla | ছোট ছেলেটি কুকুরের সাথে ধীরেধীরে বাড়ি যাচ্ছে chhOTo chheleTi kukurer sathe dhIredhIre baRi Jachchhe |
and » এবং ebong
old » বুড়ো buRO
the man » লোকটি lOkoTi
| English | The small boy and the old man are going home slowly with the dog |
| Bangla | ছোট ছেলেটি এবং বুড়ো লোকটি কুকুরের সাথে আস্তেআস্তে বাড়ি যাচ্ছে chhOTo chheleTi ebong buRO lOkoTi kukurer sathe asteaste baRi Jachchhe |
This Bangla Sentence follows all the rules we have shown above and is grammatically correct.