Grammar

Before resuming the conjugation of the verb asonk in the next post, picking up from where we left off a while ago, I would first like to double down on the difference between the two distinct Konkani versions of the verb to be, underscoring the fact that although, in matters grammatical, Konkani is very similar … Continue reading »

A brief review I think it is best to begin with a short review of what we have done so far with regard to the conjugations of Konkani verbs. As mentioned earlier, the best way to learn any Konkani verb is to learn and, if possible, memorize all its five principal parts. Incidentally, that is … Continue reading »

Just as the first and second declensions follow a similar pattern, the third and the fourth too resemble each other in a parallel manner. And while the first and third declensions comprise only masculine and neuter nouns, the second and fourth declensions cover only feminine nouns. The fourth declension comprises only feminine nouns ending in … Continue reading »

The third declension comprises the following nouns (but no adjectives): monosyllabic (single syllable) masculine nouns ending in i, disyllabic (having two syllables) masculine nouns ending in i, which have a single consonant sound between the two syllables, e.g., dhobi, ghaddi. monosyllabic neuter nouns ending in im, e.g., bim disyllabic neuter nouns ending in im, which … Continue reading »

As has been explained under Conjugation 1, in this system, all verbs are to be learnt with their five principal parts: The first principal part is the infinitive which is the key to most uses of the verb. The distinguishing mark of the infinitive of the second conjugation is that it ends with a consonant + unk. … Continue reading »

Before we begin with the regular conjugations, there are a few points I would like to underscore. As I have mentioned earlier, in my system of Konkani grammar, every verb is presented in its five principal parts. These parts have been especially selected because practically all other tenses of that verb are derived from one of these … Continue reading »

When we talk about declensions, we deal mainly with nouns (and also adjectives that are used nominally, i.e., as nouns, as in “The good, the bad and the ugly”). The second declension comprises all feminine words ending in i, with the exception of monosyllabic or disyllabic nouns (not adjectives) having a single consonant (unless it is j or … Continue reading »

I have written earlier about postpositions, but a little repetition here will perhaps not be out of place. Some of us are so used to prepositions in English and perhaps other European languages, that they would naturally expect an equivalent in Konkani as well, and rightly so. We do have almost an exact equivalent of that … Continue reading »

Like most languages, Konkani has a number of irregular verbs. We have already seen one of them: asonk, to be. Zanno zaunk (to know) and nokllo zaunk (not to know) are two others, which are very commonly used.   Zanno zaunk Singular Plural  1st Person  Hanv zannom  I know  Ami zannonv We know  2nd Person … Continue reading »

We are now starting with regular declensions. I have classified regular declensions by their singular and plural flex stems. If any nouns form both their flex stems in the same manner, then they belong to the same declension, irrespective of their genders or the manner in which they form their (nominative) plurals. Thus ambo and … Continue reading »