Welcome to the 8th lesson about Assamese grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.
We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Assamese and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Assamese and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Assamese.
| Prepositions - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| and আৰু [Ārau] |
| above ওপৰত [Ōparata] |
| under তলত [Talata] |
| before আগেয়ে [Āgēẏē] |
| after পিছত [Pichata] |
| in front of সন্মুখত [Sanmukhata] |
| behind পিছফালে [Pichaphālē] |
| far from দুৰলৈ [Duralai] |
| near ওচৰত [Ōcarata] |
| in ভিতৰত [Bhitarata] |
| inside ভিতৰফালে [Bhitaraphālē] |
| outside বাহিৰফালে [Bāhiraphālē] |
| with সৈতে [Saitē] |
| without অবিহনে [Abihanē] |
| about বিষয়ে [Biṣaẏē] |
| between মাজত [Mājata] |
| but কিন্তু [Kintu] |
| for বাবে [Bābē] |
| from পৰা [Paraā] |
| to লৈ [Lai] |
The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Prepositions + Rules - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] মই ছুৰিৰ ব্যৱহাৰ নকৰাকৈ খাওঁ। [Ma'i churaira byarahāra nakaraākai khā'ōm̐.] |
| she lives near the church [verb + preposition] তেখেত গীৰ্জাঘৰৰ ওচৰত থাকে। [Tēkhēta gīrjāgharara ōcarata thākē.] |
| he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] তেখেত তেখেততকৈ ওখ। [Tēkhēta tēkhētatakai ōkha.] |
| he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] তেখেত লগত সৰু কুকুৰটো লৈ আহিছিল। [Tēkhēta lagata sarau kukuraṭō lai āhichila.] |
| can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] আপুনি মোৰ সৈতে আহিবনে? [Āpuni mōra saitē āhibanē?] |
Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.
| Negation + Rules - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| I understand you [affirmative form] মই আপোনাক বুজোঁ। [Ma'i āpōnāka bujōm̐.] |
| I don't understand you [negation + verb] মই আপোনাক বুজা নাই। [Ma'i āpōnāka bujā nā'i.] |
| this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] এইটো সঠিক শব্দ নইয়। [Ē'iṭō saṭhika śabda na'iẏa.] |
| don't leave me [imperative negation] মোক এৰি নাযাব। [Mōka ērai nāyāba.] |
| no problem [negation + noun] চিন্তা নকৰিব। [Cintā nakaraiba.] |
| Negative Sentences - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| I don't speak French [negation + present tense] মই ফৰাছী ভাষা নকওঁ। [Ma'i pharaāchī bhāṣā naka'ōm̐.] |
| she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] তেখেতে জাৰ্মানীলৈ যোৱা নাছিল। [Tēkhētē jārmānīlai yōraā nāchila.] |
| he cannot see us [negative modal verb] তেখেতে আমাক নেদেখে। [Tēkhētē āmāka nēdēkhē.] |
| can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] তেখেতে দবা খেলিব নোৱাৰে নেকি? [Tēkhētē dabā khēliba nōraāraē nēki?] |
| we will not come late [negation + future tense] আমি দেৰিকৈ নাহোঁ। [Āmi dēraikai nāhōm̐.] |
Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:
| English - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| how? কেনেকৈ? [Kēnēkai?] |
| what? কি? [Ki?] |
| who? কোন? [Kōna?] |
| why? কিয়? [Kiẏa?] |
| where? ক'ত? [Ka'ta?] |
More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:
| Questions + Rules - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| where do you live? [interrogative + verb] আপুনি ক'ত থাকে? [Āpuni ka'ta thākē?] |
| does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] তেখেতে চীনাভাষাত কথা কব পাৰেনে? [Tēkhētē cīnābhāṣāta kathā kaba pāraēnē?] |
| how much is this? [interrogative preposition] এইটোৰ দাম কিমান? [Ē'iṭōra dāma kimāna?] |
| can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] মই আপোনাক সহায় কৰিব পাৰোঁনে? [Ma'i āpōnāka sahāẏa karaiba pāraōm̐nē?] |
| what is your name? [interrogative preposition] আপোনাৰ নাম কি? [Āpōnāra nāma ki?] |
It's time to learn the adverbs in Assamese. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Adverbs - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| now এতিয়া [Ētiẏā] |
| yesterday কালি [Kāli] |
| today আজি [Āji] |
| tonight আজিৰাতি [Ājiraāti] |
| tomorrow কালিলৈ [Kālilai] |
| soon সোনকালে [Sōnakālē] |
| quickly ততালিকে [Tatālikē] |
| slowly লাহেলাহে [Lāhēlāhē] |
| together একেলগে [Ēkēlagē] |
| very খুব [Khuba] |
| almost প্রায় [Prāẏa] |
| always সদায় [Sadāẏa] |
| usually সাধাৰনতে [Sādhāranatē] |
| sometimes কেতিয়াবা [Kētiẏābā] |
| rarely কেতিয়াবাহে [Kētiẏābāhē] |
| never কেতিয়াও [Kētiẏā'ō] |
The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.
| Adverbs + Rules - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] আপুনি এতিয়া মোক বুজিব পাৰিছেনে? [Āpuni ētiẏā mōka bujiba pāraichēnē?] |
| I need help immediately [noun + adverb] মোক ততালিকে সহায়ৰ প্রয়োজন। [Mōka tatālikē sahāẏara praẏōjana.] |
| she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] তেখেত বৰ বুদ্ধিমতী। [Tēkhēta bara bud'dhimatī.] |
| I will always love you [verb + adverb] মই আপোনাক সদায় ভাল পাই থাকিম। [Ma'i āpōnāka sadāẏa bhāla pā'i thākima.] |
| can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] আমি একেলগে জাৰ্মান শিকিব পাৰোঁনে? [Āmi ēkēlagē jārmāna śikiba pāraōm̐nē?] |
We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Assamese. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:
| Personal Pronouns - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| I মই [Ma'i] |
| you আপুনি [Āpuni] |
| he তেখেত [Tēkhēta] |
| she তেখেত [Tēkhēta] |
| we আমি [Āmi] |
| they তেখেতসকল [Tēkhētasakala] |
| Object Pronouns - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| me মোক [Mōka] |
| you আপোনাক [Āpōnāka] |
| him তেখেতক [Tēkhētaka] |
| her তেখেতক [Tēkhētaka] |
| us আমাক [Āmāka] |
| them তেখেতসকলক [Tēkhētasakalaka] |
| Possessive Pronouns - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| my মোৰ [Mōra] |
| your আপোনাৰ [Āpōnāra] |
| his তেখেতৰ [Tēkhētara] |
| her তেখেতৰ [Tēkhētara] |
| our আমাৰ [Āmāra] |
| their তেখেতসকলৰ [Tēkhētasakalara] |
I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.
| Personal Pronouns - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] মই আপোনাৰ বন্ধু [Ma'i āpōnāra bandhu] |
| you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] আপুনি বৰ খৰকৈ কথা কয়। [Āpuni bara kharakai kathā kaẏa.] |
| he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] তেখেতৰ তিনিটা কুকুৰ আছে। [Tēkhētara tiniṭā kukura āchē.] |
| she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] তেখেতে জাৰ্মান ভাষা কব পাৰে। [Tēkhētē jārmāna bhāṣā kaba pāraē.] |
| we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] আমি দেৰিকৈ নাহোঁ। [Āmi dēraikai nāhōm̐.] |
| they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] তেখেতসকলে গাখীৰ আৰু পাওৰুটি কিনিলে। [Tēkhētasakalē gākhīra ārau pā'ōrauṭi kinilē.] |
The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:
| Object Pronouns - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] আপোনাৰ নামটো কবনে? [Āpōnāra nāmaṭō kabanē?] |
| I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] মই আপোনাক টকা দিম। [Ma'i āpōnāka ṭakā dima.] |
| she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] তেখেতে তেখেতক এখন চিঠি লিখিছিল। [Tēkhētē tēkhētaka ēkhana ciṭhi likhichila.] |
| they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] তেখেতেসকলে তেখেতক কালি দেখা কৰিছিল। [Tēkhētēsakalē tēkhētaka kāli dēkhā karaichila.] |
| can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] তেখেতে আমাক সহায় কৰিব পাৰেনে? [Tēkhētē āmāka sahāẏa karaiba pāraēnē?] |
| he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] তেখেতে তেখেতসকলক খাদ্য দিছিল। [Tēkhētē tēkhētasakalaka khādya dichila.] |
| Possessive Pronouns - Assamese + Pronunciation |
|---|
| my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] মোৰ নাম মায়া । [Mōra nāma māẏā.] |
| your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] আপোনাৰ ভায়েক ইয়াত থাকে। [Āpōnāra bhāẏēka iẏāta thākē.] |
| her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] তেখেতৰ মাকে আমাৰবাবে ৰন্ধা-বঢ়া কৰে। [Tēkhētara mākē āmārabābē randhā haiṁ - baṛhā karaē.] |
| his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] কিতাপ পঢ়াটো তেখেতৰ হবি। [Kitāpa paṛhāṭō tēkhētara habi.] |
| our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] পেৰিছ ভ্রমন কৰাটো আমাৰ স্বপ্ন। [Pēraicha bhramana karaāṭō āmāra sbapna.] |
| their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] তেখেতৰ ঘৰটো বেছি দূৰত নহয়। [Tēkhētara gharaṭō bēchi dūrata nahaẏa.] |
One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.
| Demonstrative Pronouns - Assamese - Pronunciation |
|---|
| this is my house এইটো মোৰ ঘৰ। [Ē'iṭō mōra ghara.] |
| that restaurant is far সেই ৰেস্তোঁৰাখনলৈ বহুদূৰ। [Sē'i raēstōm̐raākhanalai bahudūra.] |
| these apples are delicious এই আপেলবোৰ সুস্বাদু। [Ē'i āpēlabōra susbādu.] |
| those stars are shiny সেই ঘৰবোৰ জাকতজিলিকা। [Sē'i gharabōra jākatajilikā.] |
I hope you learned a lot about the Assamese grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!
Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus |