All Tenses of some common Telugu verbs (Complete English version - Detailed)
Sunday 25 December 2011
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In this post, I'm listing all the possible uses of the verb (in terms of tenses) in our day to day conversations. If you feel I've missed something or want me to add something, please let me know, I'll add to this list. For people who already know Telugu, please let me know if I've made a mistake, I'll correct it.
Note: There is a similar post here that explains tenses in Telugu but contains some Telugu text. I fully encourage you to learn how to read Telugu text which should be very easy if your mother tongue is one of the Indian languages, so that, that post will also be of use to you. This post is completely in English and is in more detail (w.r.t. the explanation of tenses) though the number of verbs covered is less. I'll try to add more verbs to this page in due course of time.
First let's start with one verb say 'go' in very detailed manner.
1. Verb: go
1. Present tense (verb - go)
a. I (nEnu) : velthAnu
Usage: While referring to yourself: 'I go' - 'nEnu velthAnu'
b. We (mEmu) : velthAmu
Usage: While referring to ourselves: 'We go' - 'mEmu velthAmu'
c. Male/Female informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellu
Usage: While addressing (directly speaking to) male/female informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvu vellu (nuvvellu)'
c1. Male very informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellara (vellu + ra)
Usage: While addressing a male very informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvellara (nuvvu + vellara)'
c2. Female very informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellave (vellu + e)
Usage: While addressing a female/object very informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvellave (nuvvu + vellave)'
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You) (mIru) : vellandi
Usage: While addressing a male/female respectfully OR addressing more than two persons: 'You go' - 'mIru vellandi'
e. Male informal (He) (vAdu/athadu) : velthAdu
Usage: While referring to a male informally: 'He goes' - 'vAdu velthAdu'
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It) (Ame, adhi) : velthundhi
Usage: While referring to a gender-less object or while referring to a female informally: 'She/It goes' - 'Ame/adhi velthundhi'
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They) (vAru/vAllu) : velthAru
Usage: While referring to a male/female with respect OR more than two persons: 'He/She (respect) goes', 'They go', - 'vAru velthAru'.
Note: While vAru can be used to refer both 'Male/female with respect' and 'They', vAllu can only be used to refer 'They'.
2. Present continuous tense (verb + ing - going)
a. I - velthunnAnu
Usage: I am going - nEnu velthunnAnu
b. We - velthunnAmu
Usage: We are going - mEmu velthunnAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthunnAvu
Usage: You are going - nuvvu velthunnAvu (nuvvelthunnAvu)
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthunnAru
Usage: You are going - mIru velthunnAru (mIrelthunnAru)
e. Male informal (He): velthunnAdu
Usage: He is going - vAdu velthunnAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthundhi
Usage: She/It is going - Ame/adhi velthundhi
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They): velthunnAru
Usage: They are going, He/She (respect) is going - vAru velthunnAru
3. Past tense (2nd form of verb - went)
*Note: The 'A' in these starred words should be pronounced like 'a' in 'bash' or 'bat' and NOT like 'a' in 'bar'.
a. I - vellAnu*
b. We - vellAmu*
c. Male/Female informal (You) - vellAvu*
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): vellAru*
e. Male informal (He): vellAdu*
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): vellindhi
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They): vellAru*
4. Past continuous tense (was/were + verb + ing - was/were going )
a. I - velthU unnAnu
b. We - velthU unnAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthU unnAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthU unnAru
e. Male informal (He): velthU unnAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthU undhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthU unnAru
5. Future tense (will + verb - will go)
a. I - velthAnu
b. We - velthAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthAru
e. Male informal (He): velthAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthundhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthAru
6. Future continuous tense (will be + verb + ing - will be going)
a. I - velthU untAnu
b. We - velthU untAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthU untAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthU untAru
e. Male informal (He): velthU untAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthU untundhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthU untAru
7. can (indicating capacity) + verb - can go
a. I - vellagalanu
b. We - vellagalamu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - vellagalavu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): vellagalaru
e. Male informal (He): vellagaladu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): vellagaladhu
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): vellagalaru
Other:
8. can(NOT indicating capacity)/might + verb: vellacchu
Usage: You/He can go: nuvvu/vAdu vellacchu
9. should + verb: vellAli
Usage: You/He should go: nuvvu/vAdu vellAli
10. should have + 3rd form of verb: velli undAlsindhi
Usage: You/He should have gone: nuvvu/vAdu vellundAlsindhi
11. might have + 3rd form of verb (gender insensitive): velli undacchu (vellundacchu)
Usage: You/He might have gone: nuvvu/vAdu vellundacchu
12. should have + 3rd form of verb + know?! : vellundacchugA (velli+undacchu+kadA(know))
Usage: You should have gone know?! = vellundacchugA?!. Note the simplification of 'kadA' (know) to simply 'gA'. This is widely used in spoken Telugu
NOTE:
1. In day to day conversations, the individual words will not be pronounced separately, but will be combined (and in the process some letters can be omitted also) and pronounced like in 'nuvvellu' which is actually a combination of two words 'nuvvu' and 'vellu'.
2. a) For sentences which have 'You(informal)' as subject, the verbs generally end in 'vu'. But in day to day conversations, the last 'u'(vowel) will be omitted. Ex: ekkadiki vellavu (where did you go)? = ekkadiki vellav? (applying principle 2) = ekkadikellav? (applying principle 1). b) In sentences with 'I' as subject, the verbs generally end in 'nu', but in day to day conversations (spoken Telugu), that last 'nu' won't be pronounced. For example to say 'I ate'(nEnu thinnAnu), say it has 'nEnu thinnA'. If you use these two rules (a,b) and other spoken Telugu rules (like 12 above) people will think that you are a native Telugu speaker!
3. Notice the similarity between 1a-5a, 1b-5b, 1e-5e, 1f-5f, 1g-5g. It's common in day to day conversations.
4. Notice the similarity between d-g in every set (2 to 7) except 1st. This is because in 1d (verb), if we use 'velthAru' instead of 'vellandi' it generally means 5d (i.e, will + verb). Ex1: vAlla tharuvAtha mIru velthAru : After them you will go. Ex2: vAlla tharuvAtha mIru vellandi: You go after them.
5. In many cases, in place of set 4, some times set 2 itself is used as you can see there is no much difference between them except for splitting set 1 verb forms in between and extending the sound of 'u' gives set 2.
6. Since writing this detail for every verb would be cumbersome, I will use the notation like 1e,8,3g, etc to refer to above and give only the corresponding verb forms.
2. Verb: Come
* - The 'A' in these starred words should be pronounced like 'a' in 'bash' or 'bat' and NOT like 'a' in 'bar'
More verbs will be added in due course of time OR upon request by readers
Read more...
In this post, I'm listing all the possible uses of the verb (in terms of tenses) in our day to day conversations. If you feel I've missed something or want me to add something, please let me know, I'll add to this list. For people who already know Telugu, please let me know if I've made a mistake, I'll correct it.
Note: There is a similar post here that explains tenses in Telugu but contains some Telugu text. I fully encourage you to learn how to read Telugu text which should be very easy if your mother tongue is one of the Indian languages, so that, that post will also be of use to you. This post is completely in English and is in more detail (w.r.t. the explanation of tenses) though the number of verbs covered is less. I'll try to add more verbs to this page in due course of time.
First let's start with one verb say 'go' in very detailed manner.
1. Verb: go
1. Present tense (verb - go)
a. I (nEnu) : velthAnu
Usage: While referring to yourself: 'I go' - 'nEnu velthAnu'
b. We (mEmu) : velthAmu
Usage: While referring to ourselves: 'We go' - 'mEmu velthAmu'
c. Male/Female informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellu
Usage: While addressing (directly speaking to) male/female informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvu vellu (nuvvellu)'
c1. Male very informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellara (vellu + ra)
Usage: While addressing a male very informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvellara (nuvvu + vellara)'
c2. Female very informal (You) (nuvvu) : vellave (vellu + e)
Usage: While addressing a female/object very informally: 'You go' - 'nuvvellave (nuvvu + vellave)'
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You) (mIru) : vellandi
Usage: While addressing a male/female respectfully OR addressing more than two persons: 'You go' - 'mIru vellandi'
e. Male informal (He) (vAdu/athadu) : velthAdu
Usage: While referring to a male informally: 'He goes' - 'vAdu velthAdu'
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It) (Ame, adhi) : velthundhi
Usage: While referring to a gender-less object or while referring to a female informally: 'She/It goes' - 'Ame/adhi velthundhi'
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They) (vAru/vAllu) : velthAru
Usage: While referring to a male/female with respect OR more than two persons: 'He/She (respect) goes', 'They go', - 'vAru velthAru'.
Note: While vAru can be used to refer both 'Male/female with respect' and 'They', vAllu can only be used to refer 'They'.
2. Present continuous tense (verb + ing - going)
a. I - velthunnAnu
Usage: I am going - nEnu velthunnAnu
b. We - velthunnAmu
Usage: We are going - mEmu velthunnAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthunnAvu
Usage: You are going - nuvvu velthunnAvu (nuvvelthunnAvu)
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthunnAru
Usage: You are going - mIru velthunnAru (mIrelthunnAru)
e. Male informal (He): velthunnAdu
Usage: He is going - vAdu velthunnAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthundhi
Usage: She/It is going - Ame/adhi velthundhi
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They): velthunnAru
Usage: They are going, He/She (respect) is going - vAru velthunnAru
3. Past tense (2nd form of verb - went)
*Note: The 'A' in these starred words should be pronounced like 'a' in 'bash' or 'bat' and NOT like 'a' in 'bar'.
a. I - vellAnu*
b. We - vellAmu*
c. Male/Female informal (You) - vellAvu*
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): vellAru*
e. Male informal (He): vellAdu*
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): vellindhi
g. Male/female with respect OR Plural (They): vellAru*
4. Past continuous tense (was/were + verb + ing - was/were going )
a. I - velthU unnAnu
b. We - velthU unnAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthU unnAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthU unnAru
e. Male informal (He): velthU unnAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthU undhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthU unnAru
5. Future tense (will + verb - will go)
a. I - velthAnu
b. We - velthAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthAru
e. Male informal (He): velthAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthundhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthAru
6. Future continuous tense (will be + verb + ing - will be going)
a. I - velthU untAnu
b. We - velthU untAmu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - velthU untAvu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): velthU untAru
e. Male informal (He): velthU untAdu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): velthU untundhi
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): velthU untAru
7. can (indicating capacity) + verb - can go
a. I - vellagalanu
b. We - vellagalamu
c. Male/Female informal (You) - vellagalavu
d. Plural OR male/female with respect (You): vellagalaru
e. Male informal (He): vellagaladu
f. Female/Neutral informal (She, It): vellagaladhu
g. Plural OR male/female with respect (They): vellagalaru
Other:
8. can(NOT indicating capacity)/might + verb: vellacchu
Usage: You/He can go: nuvvu/vAdu vellacchu
9. should + verb: vellAli
Usage: You/He should go: nuvvu/vAdu vellAli
10. should have + 3rd form of verb: velli undAlsindhi
Usage: You/He should have gone: nuvvu/vAdu vellundAlsindhi
11. might have + 3rd form of verb (gender insensitive): velli undacchu (vellundacchu)
Usage: You/He might have gone: nuvvu/vAdu vellundacchu
12. should have + 3rd form of verb + know?! : vellundacchugA (velli+undacchu+kadA(know))
Usage: You should have gone know?! = vellundacchugA?!. Note the simplification of 'kadA' (know) to simply 'gA'. This is widely used in spoken Telugu
NOTE:
1. In day to day conversations, the individual words will not be pronounced separately, but will be combined (and in the process some letters can be omitted also) and pronounced like in 'nuvvellu' which is actually a combination of two words 'nuvvu' and 'vellu'.
2. a) For sentences which have 'You(informal)' as subject, the verbs generally end in 'vu'. But in day to day conversations, the last 'u'(vowel) will be omitted. Ex: ekkadiki vellavu (where did you go)? = ekkadiki vellav? (applying principle 2) = ekkadikellav? (applying principle 1). b) In sentences with 'I' as subject, the verbs generally end in 'nu', but in day to day conversations (spoken Telugu), that last 'nu' won't be pronounced. For example to say 'I ate'(nEnu thinnAnu), say it has 'nEnu thinnA'. If you use these two rules (a,b) and other spoken Telugu rules (like 12 above) people will think that you are a native Telugu speaker!
3. Notice the similarity between 1a-5a, 1b-5b, 1e-5e, 1f-5f, 1g-5g. It's common in day to day conversations.
4. Notice the similarity between d-g in every set (2 to 7) except 1st. This is because in 1d (verb), if we use 'velthAru' instead of 'vellandi' it generally means 5d (i.e, will + verb). Ex1: vAlla tharuvAtha mIru velthAru : After them you will go. Ex2: vAlla tharuvAtha mIru vellandi: You go after them.
5. In many cases, in place of set 4, some times set 2 itself is used as you can see there is no much difference between them except for splitting set 1 verb forms in between and extending the sound of 'u' gives set 2.
6. Since writing this detail for every verb would be cumbersome, I will use the notation like 1e,8,3g, etc to refer to above and give only the corresponding verb forms.
2. Verb: Come
1.Present come | 2.Present continuous coming | 3.Past came | 4.Past continuous was/were coming | 5.Future will come | 6.Future continuous will be coming | 7.can come | 8 - 11 (Note: 8 - 11 verbs can be used for all subjects (I,You,He,etc) | |
a. I (nEnu) | vasthAnu | vasthunnAnu | vacchAnu* | vasthU unnAnu | vasthAnu | vasthU untAnu | rAgalanu | 8. can come: rAvacchu |
b. We (mEmu) | vasthAmu | vasthunnAmu | vacchAmu* | vasthU unnAmu | vasthAmu | vasthU untAmu | rAgalamu | 9. should come: rAvAli |
c. You (Single) (nuvvu) | rA,rAra,rAve | vasthunnAvu | vacchAvu* | vasthU unnAvu | vasthAvu | vasthU untAvu | rAgalavu | 10. should have come: vacchi undAlsindhi OR rAvAlsindhi |
d. You (Plural) (mIru) | randi | vasthunnAru | vacchAru* | vasthU unnAru | vasthAru | vasthU untAru | rAgalaru | 11. might have come: vacchi undacchu |
e. He (vAdu / athadu) | vasthAdu | vasthunnAdu | vacchAdu* | vasthU unnAdu | vasthAdu | vasthU untAdu | rAgaladu | 12.You should have come know?!: vacchundacchugA |
f. She/It (Ame / adhi) | vasthundhi | vasthundhi | vacchindhi | vasthU undhi | vasthundhi | vasthU untundhi | rAgaladhu | |
g. They (vAllu / vAru) | vasthAru | vasthunnAru | vacchAru* | vasthU unnAru | vasthAru | vasthU untAru | rAgalaru |
* - The 'A' in these starred words should be pronounced like 'a' in 'bash' or 'bat' and NOT like 'a' in 'bar'
More verbs will be added in due course of time OR upon request by readers
