Bengali Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Bengali 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 Bengali and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Bengali and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Bengali.

Prepositions - Bengali - Pronunciation
and এবং [ēbaṁ]
above উপরে [uparē]
under নিচে [nicē]
before পূর্বে [pūrbē]
after পরে [parē]
in front of সামনে [sāmanē]
behind পিছনে [pichanē]
far from দূর থেকে [dūra thēkē]
near নিকটে [nikaṭē]
in মধ্যে [madhyē]
inside ভিতরে [bhitarē]
outside বাইরে [bā'irē]
with সঙ্গে [saṅgē]
without ব্যতিত [byatita]
about সম্বন্ধে [sambandhē]
between মাঝখানে [mājhakhānē]
but কিন্তু [kintu]
for জন্য [jan'ya]
from হইতে [ha'itē]
to প্রতি,-তে [prati, - tē]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Bengali + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] আমি ছুরি ব্যবহার না করেই খাই [āmi churi byabahāra nā karē'i khā'i]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] তিনি গির্জার কাছেই থাকেন [tini girjāra kāchē'i thākēna]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] তিনি তার চেয়ে বেশি লম্বা [tini tāra cēẏē bēśi lambā]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] তিনি তার ছোট কুকুরটি সঙ্গে এনেছিলেন [tini tāra chōṭa kukuraṭi saṅgē ēnēchilēna]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] আমার সাথে আসতে পারেন? [āmāra sāthē āsatē pārēna?]

Negation in Bengali

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 - Bengali + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] আমি আপনাকে বুঝি [āmi āpanākē bujhi]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] আমি আপনাকে বুঝিনা [āmi āpanākē bujhinā]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] এটি সঠিক শব্দ নয় [ēṭi saṭhika śabda naẏa]
don't leave me [imperative negation] আমাকে ছেড়ে যাবেন না [āmākē chēṛē yābēna nā]
no problem [negation + noun] কোন সমস্যা নয [kōna samasyā naya]

Negative Sentences - Bengali + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] আমি ফরাসি বলতে পারি না৷ [āmi pharāsi balatē pāri nā.]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] তিনি জার্মানিতে যান নি [tini jārmānitē yāna ni]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] তিনি আমাদের দেখতে পান না [tini āmādēra dēkhatē pāna nā]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] তিনি কি দাবা খেলতে পারেন না? [tini ki dābā khēlatē pārēna nā?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] আমরা দেরি করে আসবো না [āmarā dēri karē āsabō nā]

Questions in Bengali

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Bengali - Pronunciation
how? কিভাবে? [kibhābē?]
what? কি? [ki?]
who? কে? [kē?]
why? কেন? [kēna?]
where? কোথায়? [kōthāẏa?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Bengali + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] আপনি কোথায় থাকেন? [āpani kōthāẏa thākēna?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] তিনি কি চীনাভাষায় কথা বলেন? [tini ki cīnābhāṣāẏa kathā balēna?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] এটা কত দাম? [ēṭā kata dāma?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] আমি কি আপনাকে সাহায্য করতে পারি? [āmi ki āpanākē sāhāyya karatē pāri?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] আপনার নাম কি? [āpanāra nāma ki?]

Adverbs in Bengali

It's time to learn the adverbs in Bengali. 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 - Bengali - Pronunciation
now এখন [ēkhana]
yesterday গতকাল [gatakāla]
today আজ [āja]
tonight আজ রাত [āja rāta]
tomorrow আগামীকাল [āgāmīkāla]
soon শীঘ্র [śīghra]
quickly দ্রুততা [drutatā]
slowly ধীরে ধীরে [dhīrē dhīrē]
together একসাথে [ēkasāthē]
very খুব [khuba]
almost প্রায় [prāẏa]
always সর্বদা [sarbadā]
usually সাধারণত [sādhāraṇata]
sometimes মাঝে মাঝে [mājhē mājhē]
rarely কালেভদ্রে [kālēbhadrē]
never কখনো না [kakhanō nā]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Bengali + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] আপনি কি আমাকে এখন বোঝেন? [āpani ki āmākē ēkhana bōjhēna?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] আমর অবিলম্বে সাহায্যের প্রয়োজন [āmara abilambē sāhāyyēra praẏōjana]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] তিনি খুব বুদ্ধিমান [tini khuba bud'dhimāna]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] আমি সবসময় আপনাকে ভালবাসবো [āmi sabasamaẏa āpanākē bhālabāsabō]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] আমরা কি একসাথে জার্মানভাষা শিখতে পারি? [āmarā ki ēkasāthē jārmānabhāṣā śikhatē pāri?]

Pronouns in Bengali

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Bengali. 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 - Bengali - Pronunciation
I আমি [āmi]
you তুমি [tumi]
he সে [sē]
she সে [sē]
we আমরা [āmarā]
they তারা [tārā]

Object Pronouns - Bengali - Pronunciation
me আমাকে [āmākē]
you তুমি [tumi]
him তাকে [tākē]
her তার [tāra]
us আমাদেরকে [āmādērakē]
them তাদেরকে [tādērakē]

Possessive Pronouns - Bengali - Pronunciation
my আমার [āmāra]
your তোমার [tōmāra]
his তার [tāra]
her তার [tāra]
our আমাদের [āmādēra]
their তাদের [tādēra]

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 - Bengali + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] আমি আপনার বন্ধু [āmi āpanāra bandhu]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] আপনি খুব দ্রুত কথা বলেন [āpani khuba druta kathā balēna]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] তার তিনটি কুকুর আছে [tāra tinaṭi kukura āchē]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] তিনি জার্মান বলতে পারেন [tini jārmāna balatē pārēna]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] আমরা দেরী করে আসবো না [āmarā dērī karē āsabō nā]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] তারা দুধ এবং রুটি কিনেছিলেন [tārā dudha ēbaṁ ruṭi kinēchilēna]

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 - Bengali + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] আমাকে আপনার নাম বলতে পারেন? [āmākē āpanāra nāma balatē pārēna?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] আমি আপনাকে পয়সা দেবো [āmi āpanākē paẏasā dēbō]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] তিনি তাকে একটি চিঠি লিখেছিলেন [tini tākē ēkaṭi ciṭhi likhēchilēna]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] তারা তার সাথে গতকাল দেখা করেছিলেন [tārā tāra sāthē gatakāla dēkhā karēchilēna]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] তিনি কি আমাদের সাহায্য করতে পারেন? [tini ki āmādēra sāhāyya karatē pārēna?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] তিনি তাদের খাবার দিয়েছিলেন [tini tādēra khābāra diẏēchilēna]

Possessive Pronouns - Bengali + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] আমার নাম মায়া [āmāra nāma māẏā]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] আপনার ভাই এখানে থাকেন [āpanāra bhā'i ēkhānē thākēna]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] তার মা আমাদের জন্য রান্না করেন [tāra mā āmādēra jan'ya rānnā karēna]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] তার শখ বই পড়া [tāra śakha ba'i paṛā]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] আমাদের স্বপ্ন প্যারিসে যাওয়া [āmādēra sbapna pyārisē yā'ōẏā]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] তাদের বাড়ি দূরে নয [tādēra bāṛi dūrē naya]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Bengali - Pronunciation
this is my house এই হল আমার বাড়ি [ē'i hala āmāra bāṛi]
that restaurant is far ওই রেস্টুরেন্টটি দূরে [ō'i rēsṭurēnṭaṭi dūrē]
these apples are delicious এই আপেলগুলো সুস্বাদু [ē'i āpēlagulō susbādu]
those stars are shiny ওই তারাগুলো চকচকে [ō'i tārāgulō cakacakē]

I hope you learned a lot about the Bengali grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!