subject: How to Conjugate Bengali Verbs [print this page] How to Conjugate Bengali Verbs How to Conjugate Bengali Verbs
In Bengali, verbs usually come at the end of a sentence. There are five classes of Bengali verbs. The conjugation of verbs depends on these classes. The classes are
CVC, VC
CAC, AC
CA
CV,
CACA, CVCA
Once you learn how the form the endings for these five classes, you for the most part will be able to easily conjugate verbs. There are other forms to learn, such as infinitives and imperatives. But these rules will at least be helpful for basic communications.
Kor and por are CVC because they consist of a consonant, vowel, consonant.
Ja and kha are CA because they consist of a consonant and an a ending. In Bengali, kh is a single consonant sound. See http://gobangla.isgreat.org/bengali_alphabet.html for the Bengali consonants and vowels.
Look at these CVC verbs. The endings are formed in the same way (kor and por). These rules also apply to VC verbs, such as uth (rise).
I do, make
ami kori
You do, make
tumi koro
He/she does, makes
se kore
I read, study
ami pori
You read, study
ami poro
He/she read, study
se pore
Look at these CA verbs. The endings are formed in the same way (ja and kha). Note that the ending is different from the verbs above (for example, jay rather than kore)
I go
ami jai
You go
tumi jao
He/she goes
se jay
I eat
ami khai
You eat
tumi khao
He/she eats
se khay
The audiovisual grammar tutorial at http://gobangla.web.officelive.com/bengali_grammar.html covers the conjugation of several verbs and includes pronunciation by a native Bengali speaker. The tutorial covers the various verb tenses and both familiar and polite forms.
Focus on one verb class at a time and learn it well before going onto the other verb classes.
