Introduction

This course addresses the elements of sentences in the following way:-

SOME BENGALI SENTENCE STRUCTURES ON WHICH THIS ANALYSIS IS BASED:-

1. Doers (nouns and pronouns)   [Go to Top]

Some Useful Words to Learn — Nouns and Pronouns: These can be used for ‘Doers’ and ‘Objects’  [Go to Top]

2. Process Done (verb) – Simple Past, Present and Future Tense   [Go to Top]

Person	Past	Present	Future
Common
I, we	-laam	_i	-bo
you, YOU	-le	_o	-be
he, she, it they	-la	_e or _y	-be
Honorific
you, YOU	-len	_en	-ben
he, she, they

PATTERN 1:- kar_aa — to do, to make

Person	Past	Present	Future
Common
I, we	kar-laam	kar_i	kar-bo
you, YOU	kar-le	kar_o	kar-be
he, she, it they	kar-la	kar_e	kar-be
Honorific
you, YOU	kar-len	kar_en	kar-ben
he, she, they

Do Exercise 2.1

PATTERN 2:- la-oyaa — to lead, take

Person	Past	Present	Future
Common
I, we	lai-laam	la-i	la-bo
you, YOU	lai-le	la-o	la-be
he, she, it they	lai-la	la-y	la-be

Honorific
you, YOU	lai-len	la-n	la-ben
he, she, they

Exceptions:-

ha-oyaa — to be: (definite state)	chi-laam	aach-i;	ha-bo
ha-oyaa — to be: (prove or come to be	ha-laam	ha-i	ha-bo
ne-oyaa — to take	ni-laam	ne- i	ni-bo
de-oyaa — to give	di-laam	de-i	di-bo

Do Exercises 2.4, 2.5

PATTERN 3:- khaa-oyaa — to eat

Person	Past	Present	Future
Common
I, we	khe-laam	khaa-i	khaa-bo
you, YOU	khe-le	khaa-o	khaa-be
he, she, it they	khe-la	khaa-y	khaa-be
Honorific
you, YOU	khe-len	khaa-n	khaa-ben
he, she, they

Exceptions:-
yaa-oyaa — to go:- ge-laam (not yelaam);     yaa-i;     yaa-bo
caa-oyaa — to want:-     caa-i-laam;             caa-i;     caa-i-bo
gaa-oyaa — to sing:-       gaa-i-laam;             gaa-i;     gaa-bo

PATTERN 4:- ghum_aa-no — to sleep

Person	Past	Present	Future
Common
I, we	ghumaa-laam	ghumaa-i	ghumaa-bo
you, YOU	ghumaa-le	ghumaa-o	ghumaa-be
he, she, it they	ghumaa-la	ghumaa-y	ghumaa-be
Honorific
you, YOU	ghumaa-len	ghumaa-n	ghumaa-ben
he, she, they

Negative Form of Verbs  [Go to Top]

Person	Past	Present	Future
I, we	kar_i ni	kar_i naa	kar-bo naa
you, YOU	kar_o ni	kar_o naa	kar-be naa
he, she, it they	kar_e ni	kar_e naa	kar-be naa
you, YOU	kar_en ni	kar_en naa	kar-ben naa
he, she, they

The past negative uses the present form with ‘ni’ added. ‘It does not exist’ = ‘nei’.

Examples:-

I do not understand. aami bujhi naa.
I did not understand. aami bujhi ni.

I have a big book. aamaar bara bai aache.
I do not have a big book. aamaar bara bai nei.

Like kar_aa
to do, make	kar_aa	to be able to (can)	paar_aa
to speak	bal_aa	to die	mar_aa
to read, fall	par_aa	to hit, kill	maar_aa
to understand	bujh_aa	to know	jaan_aa
to bring	aan_aa	to see	dekh_aa
to come	aas_aa	to remain	thaak_aa

Do Exercises 2.2, 2.3

Like la-oyaa	[pron.: “la-waa”]
to lead, bring	la-oyaa
to be, prove to be	ha-oyaa
[‘not to be’ (notional)]	[‘na-oyaa’]

Do Exercise 2.4

Like khaa-oyaa	[pron.: “khaa-waa”]
to want	caa-oyaa	to go	yaaoyaa
to get	paa-oyaa	to sing	gaaoyaa

Do Exercise 2.6

Like ghum_aa-no
to sleep	ghum_aa-no	to cause to do	kar_aa-no
to run	door_aa-no	to cause to see (show)	dekh_aa-no
to stand	d^aar_aa-no

Do Exercise 2.7

Compound Verbs (a noun or adjective with an auxilliary verb like kar_aa)

to think	mane kar_aa	to destroy	dhvan°sa kar_aa
to believe	bishvaas kar_aa	to hate	ghrrinaa kar_aa
to create	srristi kar_aa	to love	prem kar_aa
to encourage	ut`saahita kar_aa	to delight	aanandita kar_aa
to forget	bhule yaaoyaa

Note: The verb is placed last in the sentence (with ‘naa’ or ‘ni’, if negative.)

e.g. We sleep.	aamaraa ghumaa-i.
They stood.	taaraa d^aaraa-lo.
I thought.	aami mane kar-laam.
He created.	tini srristi kar-len.
You encourage.	aapani ut`saahita kar_en.
They don't believe.	taaraa bishvaas kar_e naa.
We could not.	aamaraa paari ni.
Peace doesn't exist.	shaanti nei.

Do Exercise 2.8, etc.

---

3. Quality Describing Doers and Objects (Adjectives, etc.)  [Go to Top]

These words can be used as they are with no adjustment for gender or number.

all sakal, sab, samasta    any kono      bad manda, khaaraap     big bara     coming, next aagaamii     false bhul     few; a little alpa     forever, unending ananta     -full -puurna     good bhaala     happy sukhii, aanandita     his, her (honorific) t^aar     his, her, its taar     holy pavitra     important gurutvapuurna     impossible asambhab     less kam     more beshi; aar-o     most sab ceye     much anek     my aamaar     near (at hand) (san-)nikat    necessary dar-kaar, prayojaniiya     other apar, anya     our aamaader     past, previous gata     peaceful shaantipuurna     possible sambhab     righteous dhaarmik     -'s singular possessive -er     -s' pl. (personal) -der     -s' pl. (non-personal) -gulir     small chotta, chota     some kicchu     that ee     their taader     their t^aader     this e     true satya     unhappy,     sad, sorry duhhakhita     unrighteous adhaarmik     unwell; sick; ill asustha     violent hin°sra     well sustha; bhaala     who's? kaar?     WHO's kaader?     whose yaar     WHOSE yaader     your tomaar     your (honorific) aapanaar     YOUR tomaader     YOUR aapanaader

Examples:-
happy life — sukhii jiiban
any peace — kono shaanti
peaceful home — shaanti-puurna ghar
violent attitude — hin°sra manobhaab

Numbers To Indicate the Quantity of Things

one	ek	eight	aat
two	dui	nine	nay
three	tin	ten	dash
four	caar	eleven	egaara
five	p^aac	twelve	baara
six	chay	twenty	biish
seven	saat	hundred	sha`

e.g. two good friends

dui bhaala bandhu

Do Exercises 3.xx

4. Manner  (Adverb) Describing The Process Done   [Go to Top]

very	khub	-ly	-bhaabe
again	aabaar	- indeed; -particularly	-i
here	e-khaane	how?	keman?; kii-bhaabe?
there	o-khaane	this way	e-man; e-bhaabe
where?	kon`-khaane?	when?	kakhan? kabe?
	kothaay?	then	takhan; tabe
why?	kena?	now	e-khan
why	kaaran; yena	not (present or future)	naa
for this reason	e-kaarane	not (past)	ni
also, as well, too	-o
e.g. very very	khub-i	e.g. in this (very) way	e bhaabe-i
e.g. I alone	aami-i	e.g. Why did you go?	kena gelen?
e.g. leaders also	netaaraa-o	e.g. YOU too	tomaraa-o

Do Exercises 4.xx

5. Object Forms Of Nouns and Pronouns According To ‘Case’  [Go to Top]

A noun or pronoun representing a thing that is the object in a clause is usually a modified form of the word that would be used if it were the doer (subject).

Personal Object	Singular	Plural
man	maanus	m...-raa
affecting the man	m... -ke	m...-der  (-ke)
of the man	m... -er	m...-der
to the man	m... -ke	m...-der  (-ke)
through the man	m... -er dvaaraa	m...-der  dvaaraa
by way of the man	m... -er diye	m...-der  diye
from the man	m... (-er kaac) theke	m...-der  (kaac) theke
in/on/at the man	m... -e (or -te)	m...-der  madhye (or -te)
Oh the man!	he maanus !	he maanuseraa !

Non-Personal Object	Singular	Plural
book	bai	b...-guli
affecting the book	b... (-ke)	b...-guli (-ke)
of the book	b... -(e)r	b...-guli -r
to the book	b... (-ke)	b...-guli (-ke)
through the book	b... dvaaraa	b...-guli dvaaraa
by way of the book	b... -er diye	b...-guli diye
from the book	b... theke	b...-guli theke
in/on/at the book	b... -te (or -e)	b...-guli -r madhye (or -te)
Oh the book!	he bai !	he baiguli !

Similar to ‘from’, than can be ‘theke’, ‘hate’; ‘haite’. More commonly it is ‘ceye’.
best (“good than all”) sab ceye bhaala
The father is bigger than I            pitaa aamaa ceye bara
Love is better than hatred.           prem ghrrinaa ceye bhaala.
It is better to give than to take     paaoyaa ceye deoyaa bhaala
for ... ...-er janya           against ... ...-er viruddhe
with ... ...-er saathe or -er san¹ge

Do Exercises 5.xx

---

6. Connectives  [Go to Top]

and  eban° / aar    as a result phalata    because  kenanaa; kaaran    but   kintu
for this reason e-kaarane    if yadi    in order that; so that yena    in that case, then tabe, taahale    lest; so that not paache    so (therefore) taai    that (the fact that)  ye    whether? ki?    or athabaa; baa; kin°baa

Examples:-
He came and we went. se aas-lo eban° aamaraa ge-laam. You came but they did not go. tumi aas-le kintu taaraa yaay ni. Are you well? aapani ki sustha? They say that God does not exist. taaraa bale ye iishvar nan. We do it so that you will get benefit. aamaraa taa kari yena tumi laabh paabe. I will write lest I forget. aami likh-bo paache bhule yaa-i.

Do Exercises 6.xx

---

7. Conditional Sentences   [Go to Top]

To modify a minor clause (that states a condition) add a word like ‘if’:- ‘yadi’

To modify a main clause (that states the main process) that is linked to a condition add a word like ‘then’: ‘tabe’ or ‘that being the case’: ‘taahale’.

The order of the main and minor clauses can be swapped with minor adjustments:-

e.g. I will go, {if you come too}.
e.g. {If you come,} then I will go.

Qualified Statement	Condition
I will go,	if you come.
aami yaa-bo	yadi aapani aas-ben
Say,	if you know.
balo	yadi jaano.
Listen,	if you can.
shuno	yadi paaro

Condition	Qualified Statement
If you come,	then I will go.
yadi aapani aas-ben	tabe aami yaa-bo.
If you know,	then say
yadi jaano	tabe balo.
If you can,	listen
yadi paar-o	shuno

Bengali uses conditional participles: to make these just add ‘-le’ to the verb's stem.

For example, the present participle of ‘aas_aa’ is ‘aas-le’:-
            In the case of you coming you will hear.
                                           aas-le tumi shun-be

Do Exercises 7.xx

---

8. Interrogatives, Correlatives and Relatives   [Go to Top]

Interrogatives

what?	kii
who? WHO?	ke? kaaraa?
why?	kena?
when?	kakhan? kabe?
where?	kothaay? kon-khaane?
how?	keman? kii-bhaabe?
whether?	ki?
which?	kon`?

The words listed can be used without adjusting their spelling for gender or number.

Correlatives and Relatives

xxx	The xxx which	such xxx
[e.g.]	[That (the thing) which it says	such (thing) is true.]
thing	yaa	taa / se-i
things	ye ye	taaraa / se-guli
person	ye	se
persons	yaaraa	taaraa
reason	ye kaarane	se kaarane
reason	yena	se-janya
time	yakhan	takhan
time	yabe	tabe
place	yekhaane	sekhaane
place	ye-sthaane; yothaay	se-sthaane; tothaay
manner	yeman	teman
manner	ye-bhaabe	se-bhaabe

Do Exercises 8.xx

9. Other Forms of Expression Common or Without Equivalent  [Go to Top]

The main information in the original language has to be identified, and an acceptable alternative way has to be found of communicating enough of this in a way that is comfortable in the new language.

English	Bengali
greeting (from Arabic)	aassaalaam-oyaalaaikum
response to greeting (from Arabic)	oyaalaaikum-aassaalaam
greeting (with other backgrounds)	namaskaar
Yes	hy^aa
No	naa
I must listen (‘my listening will be’)	aamaar shun-te habe
I have a book (‘my book exists’)	aamaar bai aache
It was said to me	aamaake taa balaa gela (or hala)
It was said by me	aamaa(r) dvaaraa balaa gela (or hala)
a book that speaks truth	ek satya balaa bai
a	[The indefinite article does not exist.]
a set number of persons	-jan
e.g. 2 friends; 4 daughters	e.g. dui-jan bandhu; caar-jan meye
a set number of non-persons / diminutive	-ti or -taa
e.g. 4 books; 10 wars	e.g. car-ti bai; dash-taa yuddha
the (personal)	se-i
the (non-personal/diminutive)	se-i ... or ...-taa e.g. se-i bai or bai-taa

Do Exercises 9.xx

---

10. Add More Features   [Go to Top]

It may be beneficial to add other important features of the Bengali language in order facilitate a rapid but sufficiently accurate start to meaningful, fluent communication.

1. The doer word can be omitted from the sentence, if it can be implied from the verb ending theat is used.

Example:-
I am fine aami bhaala.
I am fine bhaala aachi.

Do Exercises 10.xx

NOTES
1. Note that throughout this course ‘YOU’ means the plural of ‘you’.
2. Note that English pronouns underlined are equivalent to the honorific form in Bengali.
3. Bengali letters underlined represent the ‘cerebral’ sound, not the ‘dental’.
4. In Bengali spellings ‘_’ indicates that the adjacent letters get brought together as one syllable.
5. In Bengali spellings ‘-’ indicates that the adjacent letters are in different syllables.

---

EXERCISE 1.1  [Go to Top]

Translate:-

I am English.	aami in°rej
	se baan¹gaalii
This is violence.
	uttar shaanti.
The Bible is truth.
	iishvar ke?
Kindness is the answer.
	santraas ghrrinaa.

EXERCISE 1.2

Learn words about world conditions.

EXERCISE 1.3

Learn words about family members and other human relationships.

EXERCISE 1.4  [Go to Top]

Ask questions. In these simple sentences, the interrogative like ‘ke’ (‘who’)  is positioned last. Then provide answers.

Q: Who are you?	tumi ke?
A:
Q: What is this thing?
A:
Q: What are those things?
A:
Q: What is today?
A:
Q: What is this time period?
A:

EXERCISE 1.5

Make plurals of the singular pronouns. They end in ‘-raa’, but slight changes to the stem are needed for some of these.

aami
tumi
se
taa
aapani
tini

EXERCISE 1.6  [Go to Top]

Make singulars of the plural pronouns.

	aamaraa
	tomaraa
	taaraa
	taaraa
	aapanaaraa
	taaraa
	t^aaraa

EXERCISE 1.7  [Go to Top]

Make plurals of these personal nouns by adding ‘-raa’ after a vowel or ‘-eraa’ after a consonant.

saaksii	saaksii-raa
bhaai
bandhu
meye
baan¹gaalii
bon	bon_eraa
maanus
lok
in°rej

EXERCISE 1.8  [Go to Top]

Make plurals of the singular non-personal nouns by adding ‘-guli’.

prashna	prashna-guli
yuddha
chabi
sabhaa
din	din-guli
parivaar
jiiban
baaibel
uttar

EXERCISE 1.9

Learn the days of the week.

EXERCISE 2.1  [Go to Top]

I did	aami kar-laam
	tumi kar-le
he did
we do	aamaraa kar-i
she does
	aapani kar-en
he will do	tini kar_ben
you will do
	iishvar kar_ben
The boy will do
	ke kar_be?
we will do

EXERCISE 2.2

Learn some of the verbs patterned like ‘kar_aa’

EXERCISE 2.3  [Go to Top]

I speak	aami bal_i
	se par-lo
You understand
He will come
	aapani aas-len
	se par-lo
Peace will come?
	taaraa dekh-lo
	aamaraa dekh-bo
God knows
We will bring ...
	taaraa maare
He died
YOU will see!
	aami dekh-laam
	kii aas-be?

EXERCISE 2.4   [Go to Top]

We lead/take	aamaraa la-i
	kii ha-lo?
They led/took
	se bandhu nay.
	aami la-bo
You are not a boy.
He proves to be
	tini bandhu han.
aami iishvar nai
	bai baaibel.
God is (exists).
It is not this.
	ee nay.
	satya aache.
I am	aami aachi
	kii aache?
you were	tumi chile
It will be
I was (there)
	aamaraa chilaam

EXERCISE 2.5  [Go to Top]

You give	tumi deo
I will give
	aami nilaam
He will give.
	aami nei
YOU will take.
he takes