For autodidact students of Assamese, "it" is the first English word that has no exact Assamese twin. Assamese has no pronoun that means only "it". The word that the course lists for it is সি (xi), and it means "he", "she", "it" and "that one", all at once: it is the plain word for a child, an animal, a person of no special rank, or a person who is simply being talked about. The respectful "he, she" is তেওঁ (Lesson 8), and the "she" of Lesson 1 is তাই. This lesson is about সি, which is the nearest thing Assamese has to a doer "it" when the creature is alive, and about the words that take its place when the thing is not. Like মই and তুমি, it has two parts: the word সি itself, which is the doer, and the stem তা-, which takes every ending that is not the doer's:
- সি (xi): he, she, it; that one - তাৰ (tar): his, her, its - তাক (tak): him, her, it, to him - তালৈ (taloi): to him, for him, to it - সিহঁত (xihõt): they, those
You have met the stem before. তাৰ পিছত, "after that", was said in Lesson 3 and again in Lesson 6, and in the citation of Lesson 7 the mother put a dish of milk তাৰ ওচৰতে, "right near it", beside the tulsi plant. Now the word has a lesson of its own. সি is one syllable, said with the x of Scottish "loch" and the i of "machine": XI.
There are five things that English speakers do not expect.
First, there is no doer "it" for things. Where English says "it is on the table", Assamese says "this one is on the table" with a demonstrative and a classifier: এইটো (eitü, "this one") and সেইটো (xeitü, "that one"). সি is kept for what lives: a person, a child, a dog, a cat, a jackal. Only the stem তা- is used of things, as in তাৰ পিছত and তাৰ ওচৰতে, and there it means "that" or "its". The line between the two is the subject of Section D.
Second, there is no "he" and "she". সি is said of a boy and of a girl, of a cat and of a cow, and the verb does not change. English asks for the sex of the animal, and Assamese does not. If the speaker wants to say "she" of a woman or a girl, there is তাই (Lesson 1), and if the person is to be honoured, তেওঁ.
Third, the doer takes no ending. A noun that does something takes -এ, as in মালতীয়ে (9.11), but সি, like মই, তুমি and তাই, stays as it is. Only in the plural, সিহঁত, is the doer's -এ heard in reading, সিহঁতে, and in this lesson we write the plural as it stands.
Fourth, the verb of সি is the verb that every noun has: আছে, আহে, খায়, আহিব. If you know the verb of "the tree is" (আছে, Lesson 9) or "the grandmother comes" (আহে), you know the verb of সি. Nothing new has to be learned in the verb.
Fifth, the pronoun is often left out, as মই is, but it is kept far more often, because the verb of the third person does not say who is meant. মই, তুমি and আপুনি are told by the ending, while আছে is the verb of all the world. The listener needs the সি, or the name, or the thing to which it points.
Script note: সি is two marks. The letter স (x) has the sign ি (i) written before it, on the left, and the eye meets the vowel sign first, as in তুমি. The sound of স in Assamese is not the s of English "sun": it is the /x/ of Scottish "loch", and the romanisation of the course writes it x. The English s is written by the two letters চ and ছ, and in the romanisation s. তাৰ ends in the Assamese letter ৰ (r), different from the Bengali র. In সিহঁত the sign ঁ over the হ shows the nasal vowel, and the romanisation puts a tilde on the vowel: xihõt.
Key Takeaways: - Assamese has no "it" of things: সি is "he, she, it" for a person, a child or an animal, and things are এইটো (this one) and সেইটো (that one) - After সি comes the stem তা-: তাৰ (his, her, its), তাক (him, her, it), তালৈ (to him, for him) - The plural is সিহঁত (they), with সিহঁতৰ (their) and সিহঁতক (them) - The verb of সি is the verb of every noun: আছে, খায়, আহে, আহিব, আহিছে - The past of the third person is -িল or -িলে: আহিল, গ'ল, দেখিলে - The doer takes no ending: সি, never সিয়ে - Say তেওঁ for a respected person, তাই for a woman, and সি for the rest
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10.1a সি he ঘৰত at-home আছে is
10.1b xi (XI) 3 ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
10.2a সি he কেনে how আছে is
10.2b xi (XI) 3 kene (KE-ne) how ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
10.3a সি he ভাত rice খায় eats
10.3b xi (XI) 3 bhat (BHAT) rice khay (KHAY) eat-PRES.3
10.4a সি he কলৈ to-where যায় goes
10.4b xi (XI) 3 koloi (KO-loi) where-DAT zay (ZAY) go-PRES.3
10.5a সি he কালি yesterday বজাৰলৈ to-market গ'ল went
10.5b xi (XI) 3 kali (KA-li) yesterday bozarloi (BO-zar-loi) market-DAT gol (GOL) go-PAST.3
10.6a সি he কালি yesterday ঘৰত at-home নাছিল was-not
10.6b xi (XI) 3 kali (KA-li) yesterday ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC nasil (NA-sil) NEG-be-PAST.3
10.7a তাৰ his নাম name কি what
10.7b tar (TAR) 3-GEN nam (NAM) name ki (KI) what
10.8a মই I তাক to-him এখন one-CL কিতাপ book দিলোঁ gave
10.8b moi (MOI) I tak (TAK) 3-ACC ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT kitap (KI-tap) book dilü̃ (DI-lun) give-PAST.1
10.9a মালতীয়ে Malati তাক him বজাৰত in-market দেখিলে saw
10.9b malotiye (MA-lo-ti-ye) Malati-ERG tak (TAK) 3-ACC bozarot (BO-za-rot) market-LOC dekhile (DE-khi-le) see-PAST.3
10.10a মই I তালৈ for-him এখন one-CL গামোচা gamosa আনিছোঁ have-brought
10.10b moi (MOI) I taloi (TA-loi) 3-DAT ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa anisü̃ (A-ni-sun) bring-PERF.1
10.11a যদি if সি he আহে comes মই I তাক to-him গাখীৰ milk দিম will-give
10.11b zodi (ZO-di) if xi (XI) 3 ahe (A-he) come-PRES.3 moi (MOI) I tak (TAK) 3-ACC gakhir (GA-khir) milk dim (DIM) give-FUT.1
10.12a সিহঁত they বিহুৰ of-Bihu আগতে before গাঁৱলৈ to-village আহিব will-come
10.12b xihõt (XI-hont) 3-PL bihur (BI-hur) Bihu-GEN agote (A-go-te) before-LOC-EMPH gãwloi (GAAN-wloi) village-DAT ahibo (A-hi-bo) come-FUT.3
10.13a তাৰ to-him বহুত very ভোক hunger লাগিছে feels সেইদেখি therefore সি he ঘৰলৈ to-home আহিছে has-come
10.13b tar (TAR) 3-GEN bohut (BO-hut) very bhük (BHUUK) hunger lagise (LA-gi-se) feel-PERF.3 xeidekhi (XEI-de-khi) therefore xi (XI) 3 ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT ahise (A-hi-se) come-PERF.3
10.14a সেইটো that-one মেকুৰী cat সি it গাখীৰ milk ভাল good পায় gets
10.14b xeitü (XEI-tuu) that-CL mekuri (ME-ku-ri) cat xi (XI) 3 gakhir (GA-khir) milk bhal (BHAL) good pay (PAY) get-PRES.3
10.15a মই I কুকুৰটো the-dog দেখিলোঁ saw সি it ঘৰলৈ to-home গ'ল went
10.15b moi (MOI) I kukurtü (KU-kur-tuu) dog-CL dekhilü̃ (DE-khi-lun) see-PAST.1 xi (XI) 3 ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT gol (GOL) go-PAST.3
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10.1 সি ঘৰত আছে। (xi ghorot ase) "He is at home." 10.2 সি কেনে আছে? (xi kene ase) "How is he?" 10.3 সি ভাত খায়। (xi bhat khay) "He eats rice." 10.4 সি কলৈ যায়? (xi koloi zay) "Where does he go?" 10.5 সি কালি বজাৰলৈ গ'ল। (xi kali bozarloi gol) "Yesterday he went to the market." 10.6 সি কালি ঘৰত নাছিল। (xi kali ghorot nasil) "He was not at home yesterday." 10.7 তাৰ নাম কি? (tar nam ki) "What is his name?" 10.8 মই তাক এখন কিতাপ দিলোঁ। (moi tak ekhon kitap dilü̃) "I gave him a book." 10.9 মালতীয়ে তাক বজাৰত দেখিলে। (malotiye tak bozarot dekhile) "Malati saw him in the market." 10.10 মই তালৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছোঁ। (moi taloi ekhon gamüsa anisü̃) "I have brought a gamosa for him." 10.11 যদি সি আহে, মই তাক গাখীৰ দিম। (zodi xi ahe, moi tak gakhir dim) "If he comes, I shall give him milk." 10.12 সিহঁত বিহুৰ আগতে গাঁৱলৈ আহিব। (xihõt bihur agote gãwloi ahibo) "They will come to the village before Bihu." 10.13 তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে, সেইদেখি সি ঘৰলৈ আহিছে। (tar bohut bhük lagise, xeidekhi xi ghorloi ahise) "He is very hungry, and so he has come home." 10.14 সেইটো মেকুৰী, সি গাখীৰ ভাল পায়। (xeitü mekuri, xi gakhir bhal pay) "That is a cat; it likes milk." 10.15 মই কুকুৰটো দেখিলোঁ, সি ঘৰলৈ গ'ল। (moi kukurtü dekhilü̃, xi ghorloi gol) "I saw the dog; it went home."
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10.1 সি ঘৰত আছে। 10.2 সি কেনে আছে? 10.3 সি ভাত খায়। 10.4 সি কলৈ যায়? 10.5 সি কালি বজাৰলৈ গ'ল। 10.6 সি কালি ঘৰত নাছিল। 10.7 তাৰ নাম কি? 10.8 মই তাক এখন কিতাপ দিলোঁ। 10.9 মালতীয়ে তাক বজাৰত দেখিলে। 10.10 মই তালৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছোঁ। 10.11 যদি সি আহে, মই তাক গাখীৰ দিম। 10.12 সিহঁত বিহুৰ আগতে গাঁৱলৈ আহিব। 10.13 তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে, সেইদেখি সি ঘৰলৈ আহিছে। 10.14 সেইটো মেকুৰী, সি গাখীৰ ভাল পায়। 10.15 মই কুকুৰটো দেখিলোঁ, সি ঘৰলৈ গ'ল।
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "he, she, it" in Assamese.
The word সি. সি (xi) is the third-person pronoun of the plain style. It is the form for the one who does something, and it does not change for what is done, when, or to whom: সি খায় (10.3), সি গ'ল (10.5), সি আহিব. It takes no doer's ending: where the noun মালতী needs -এ in 10.9 (মালতীয়ে), the pronoun সি needs nothing.
The stem তা-. In every other place the stem is তা-, and the endings are those of Lessons 5, 6 and 7: - তাৰ (tar), his, her, its, with the genitive ৰ: তাৰ নাম কি? (10.7) - তাক (tak), him, her, it, with the object ending -ক, for the one who is given to or seen: মই তাক এখন কিতাপ দিলোঁ (10.8), মালতীয়ে তাক বজাৰত দেখিলে (10.9) - তালৈ (taloi), to him, for him, with -লৈ, for the one for whom something is brought: মই তালৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছোঁ (10.10) - তাত (tat) is "there" or "in it", and "in him" is rare, as মোত is - the plural is সিহঁত (xihõt), "they", with the same endings after it: সিহঁতৰ (their), সিহঁতক (them), সিহঁতলৈ (to them) - the others of the same family are তেওঁ → তেওঁৰ, তেওঁক (Lesson 8), and তাই → তাইৰ, তাইক
There is no সিৰ, সিক or সিলৈ. A student who writes সিৰ has joined the ending to the wrong stem.
Who is সি. সি is for the person who is not being honoured, and for the creature that is not a person. Take the three third-person words together: - সি: a child, a young person, a friend, an inferior, a person we are naming without ceremony, and an animal - তাই: a woman or a girl, in the same plain style - তেওঁ: a man or a woman who is to be honoured, an elder, a teacher, or a person of authority (9.13)
So the same "he" of a conversation can be সি from a mother speaking of her son and তেওঁ from a stranger speaking of the same man. A student who is not sure takes তেওঁ for a person and keeps সি for a child or an animal.
"It" for things. Where English says "it" of a thing and the thing is the doer, Assamese does not use সি. It says "this one" or "that one", with the demonstrative এই or সেই, and the classifier -টো, -খন or -জোপা that belongs to the thing: - এইটো (eitü), this one: এইটো তাৰ গাখীৰ (10.24), "this is its milk" - সেইটো (xeitü), that one: সেইটো মেকুৰী (10.14), "that is a cat" - সেয়া (xeya), "that there": সেয়া কি? "What is that?"
In the other places the stem তা- is used of things as well as of people: তাৰ পিছত, "after that" (3.12, 6.28), and তাৰ ওচৰতে, "right near it". When the thing is an animal, সি is used once the animal has been pointed out: 10.14 says সেইটো for the pointing and সি for the creature that likes milk. For a plant, a book or a house the sentence is built with the name and the classifier, as in কিতাপখন or ঘৰটো, and the name is repeated where English would say "it".
The verb of সি. The verb of সি is the verb of every noun, and none of it is new: - present: আছে (10.1), খায় (10.3), যায় (10.4), আহে (10.11), পায় (10.14) - past of the one who comes or goes: -িল, as in আহিল, and the short গ'ল, the past of যা (10.5, 10.15) - past of the one who does something to something: -িলে, as in দেখিলে (10.9), খালে, লিখিলে - future: -িব after a consonant stem (আহিব, 10.12), -ব after a vowel stem (যাব, খাব) - perfect: -ছে after the conjunctive (আহিছে, 10.13; লাগিছে, 10.13) - the "be" is নাছিল in the negative past (10.6)
The ending of the third person is the same as the verb of the noun that does the action: সি আহিব and মালতী আহিব, ঘৰটো আছে and সি আছে.
Hunger and feelings. ভোক লাগিছে (10.13) is "hunger has been felt", and the person who feels it is in the genitive, তাৰ, as মোৰ ভাল লাগে was in 8.23: তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে, "to him much hunger is felt", "he is very hungry". The feeling is the subject of the verb, and the person is its possessor. The same is said with মোৰ: মোৰ ভোক লাগিছে, "I am hungry".
"Likes". ভাল পায় (10.14) is "gets good", with the third person as the doer, as ভাল পাওঁ was with মই and ভাল পোৱা with তুমি. The thing liked takes no ending when it is a thing: গাখীৰ ভাল পায়. When it is a person it takes -ক: তাক ভাল পায়, "he likes him".
If. যদি (zodi) is "if", and it comes at the start of the first part: যদি সি আহে, মই তাক গাখীৰ দিম (10.11). The verb of the "if" part is in the present, আহে, "if he comes", and the verb of the other part is in the future, দিম, "I shall give". The two parts are separated by a comma in writing.
Joining two sentences. Assamese joins two sentences with a comma, and no word for "and": 10.14 and 10.15 are two statements, and the second has সি to say that it is the same creature. In 10.13 the join is the word সেইদেখি, "therefore", as in 9.22.
Which "it" is it? The danger of the third person is that it may be anyone. In 10.15 the dog is the object of the first part, and সি of the second part is the dog because there is nobody else in the sentence. In a longer passage the speaker does not leave it to the verb: he repeats the name, or he says তাক, or he points with এইটো. Section F below shows how a storyteller keeps a jackal in sight with সি and তাৰ, and not with a name.
The negative. The prefix ন- is joined to the verb and takes the vowel of the verb's first letter, as in Lesson 9. In the past of "be" it is নাছিল (10.6), "was not". The present "is not" is নাই, as in ঘৰত নাই, "he is not at home", and the word does not take the ending: সি ঘৰত নাই.
Asking. The yes-or-no question puts নে at the end, as in Lesson 8: সি আহিব নে? "Will he come?" With a question word there is no নে: সি কলৈ যায়? (10.4), তাৰ নাম কি? (10.7). নেকি (neki) is a longer question, with a note of surprise or doubt: তাৰ ভোক লাগিছে নেকি? "Is he hungry, then?"
Common Mistakes: - Using সি for a thing that is the doer. "That is a book" is সেইটো কিতাপ, with the demonstrative, and not সি কিতাপ - Using সি of a person who is to be honoured. For a teacher, an elder or a stranger it is তেওঁ, as in Lesson 8 - Putting an ending on সি. সিৰ, সিক and সিলৈ are wrong; the stem is তা- - Putting the doer's -এ on সি. সিয়ে is not Assamese - Using তাৰ for "their". The plural has its own stem, সিহঁত-: সিহঁতৰ - Leaving out the pronoun when the speaker has changed. The verb আছে does not say who is meant, so the সি or the name is kept - Reading স as the s of English. The Assamese letter is read /x/, and the romanisation is x - Writing ৰ as the Bengali র. The Assamese letter is ৰ - Writing the past of যা as যাইল or যালে. The form is গ'ল
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Assamese has no "it", and so every creature that has a place in a story has a person's word. An Assamese storyteller can call a jackal সি, and a tiger সি, and a cat সি, and the listener hears them as persons, with a name and a will, and not as things. The folk tales in which animals speak, like those of Lakshminath Bezbaroa, are told in this voice, and the pronoun does not mark a difference between the human and the animal. The jackal of the tale below is one who wants his supper and gets his head into a pot, and the pronoun সি follows him through the story with no more ceremony than it would a neighbour's boy.
The shape of the third person also teaches a lesson about who may be spoken of with ceremony. Between the plain সি, the feminine তাই and the respectful তেওঁ lies the whole social ladder of Assamese speech. A visitor who points at the headmaster and says সি will be heard as rude. The animals, children and friends of a household are সি. The teacher and the elder are তেওঁ. A student who is unsure of the rank takes the higher word, as they take আপুনি for "you".
The cat of the Genre Section is the white cat of Lesson 1, and the conversation that Malati and Rajib have about it is the kind of ordinary talk in which a household shows itself. Nobody in it speaks of the cat's sex or of its price: they say where it is, when it went out, whether it has eaten, and who will give it milk, and the pronoun সি carries all of that. Milk for the cat is a small care of the same kind as the dish of milk that the mother in Lesson 7 set out beside the tulsi plant.
The tale of Section F has a second household detail. The pitha, the rice cake, which the jackal finds in the storeroom, was set aside "for Lakshmi", লখিমীলৈ. Lakshmi (লখিমী, Lokhimi) is the goddess of prosperity, and in Assamese homes food is offered to her at the granary, where the grain is kept. A jackal who eats the offering is an intruder in the house of the goddess, and the story is funnier for it.
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লক্ষ্মীনাথ বেজবৰুৱা (Lakshminath Bezbaroa, 1864–1938), "বুধিয়ক শিয়াল" — "The Clever Jackal," from বুঢ়ী আইৰ সাধু (Burhi Aair Xadhu, "Grandmother's Tales"), first published in 1912
The jackal, hungry, has been wandering through a village from house to house looking for something to eat, and in one house he finds the offering of cakes. The first sentence below is the finding. The narration in between, in which he finishes the cakes and licks the leaf that covers the broken bottom of the vessel, is left out, and the second passage is the end of it: the pot has gone over his head.
এনেতে সি এঘৰত ভঁৰালৰ চাঙত তলি-ফুটা ভগা দোণ এটাত লখিমীলৈ দিয়া পিঠা কিছুমান পালেগৈ। … ভগা দোণটো তাৰ মূৰেদি ডিঙিত গল-মণি হৈ পৰিল।
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a এনেতে just-then সি he এঘৰত in-one-house ভঁৰালৰ of-the-storeroom চাঙত on-the-platform তলি-ফুটা bottom-holed ভগা broken দোণ vessel এটাত in-one লখিমীলৈ for-Lakshmi দিয়া given পিঠা cakes কিছুমান some পালেগৈ went-and-found
F.1b enete (E-ne-te) just-then xi (XI) 3 eghorot (E-gho-rot) one-house-LOC bhõralor (BHON-ra-lor) storeroom-GEN sangot (SA-ngot) platform-LOC toli-phuta (TO-li-PHU-ta) bottom-holed bhoga (BHO-ga) broken dün (DUUN) vessel etat (E-tat) one-CL-LOC lokhimiloi (LO-khi-mi-loi) Lakshmi-DAT diya (DI-ya) give-PTCP pitha (PI-tha) cake kisuman (KI-su-man) some palegoi (PA-le-goi) find-CONV-go
F.2a ভগা broken দোণটো the-vessel তাৰ his মূৰেদি through-head ডিঙিত on-neck গল-মণি neck-ring হৈ becoming পৰিল fell
F.2b bhoga (BHO-ga) broken düntü (DUUN-tuu) vessel-CL tar (TAR) 3-GEN muredi (MU-re-di) head-through dingit (DI-ngit) neck-LOC gol-moni (GOL-MO-ni) neck-ring hoi (HOI) become-CONV poril (PO-ril) fall-PAST.3
F-B: Original and Translation
এনেতে সি এঘৰত ভঁৰালৰ চাঙত তলি-ফুটা ভগা দোণ এটাত লখিমীলৈ দিয়া পিঠা কিছুমান পালেগৈ। … ভগা দোণটো তাৰ মূৰেদি ডিঙিত গল-মণি হৈ পৰিল।
"Just then, in one house, on the platform of the storeroom, in a broken pot with a hole in its bottom, he found some cakes that had been set out for Lakshmi. … The broken pot went through his head and hung on his neck like a necklace." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
এনেতে সি এঘৰত ভঁৰালৰ চাঙত তলি-ফুটা ভগা দোণ এটাত লখিমীলৈ দিয়া পিঠা কিছুমান পালেগৈ। … ভগা দোণটো তাৰ মূৰেদি ডিঙিত গল-মণি হৈ পৰিল।
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The lesson's pronoun is the second word of the first sentence. After এনেতে, "just then", comes সি, and it is the jackal, whom the tale named in the sentence before as এটা শিয়াল and has not named since. The storyteller needs no name, because the lesson of the third person is here shown whole: the creature has been introduced by a noun, and from then on সি follows it, with the verb পালেগৈ saying nothing about who finds. In the second sentence the possessive is the stem তা-, তাৰ মূৰেদি, "through his head", and it is the genitive of Section D (তাৰ নাম, 10.7). Note that the vessel is called দোণটো, with -টো, and not সি: the pot is a thing, and the thing has the demonstrative and the classifier, and the jackal alone is সি and তাৰ.
The long phrase of the first sentence is a string of nouns in the genitive and the locative: এঘৰত, "in one house", ভঁৰালৰ, "of the storeroom", চাঙত, "on the platform", and then the pot, which is qualified by two adjectives, তলি-ফুটা, "bottom-holed", and ভগা, "broken". The offering follows: লখিমীলৈ দিয়া পিঠা, "cakes given to Lakshmi", where দিয়া is the participle of দি-, "give", as in the দিয়া of "the given", and -লৈ, as in তালৈ (10.10), is the "to" of the one for whom something is meant. পালেগৈ is পা-, "find", with the ending of "going and finding", "went and found".
Three words must be taken with care. We could not verify দোণ in a reference work; we give it as "vessel" and "pot" from the sense of the passage, in which a broken bottomless thing has the hole through which the jackal's head goes. গল-মণি is given as "neck-ring", "necklace", from the sense, since the pot has ended on his neck. And চাং, which is generally "a raised platform", is given so. We have quoted only the sentences above from the edition at Wikisource, and have not compared a second edition; the spelling is that of Wikisource, and the published date of 1912 is that of the earlier lessons.
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Malati has come to the village for Bihu, as her grandmother's letter asked in Lesson 9, and she has brought her white cat from Lesson 1 with her. The cat is not at the door, and she asks her friend Rajib, who has come with her, where it has gone. The two use the familiar তুমি with one another, and the cat is সি.
10.16a ৰাজীৱ Rajib মোৰ my মেকুৰীটো the-cat ক'ত where
10.16b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib mür (MUUR) I-GEN mekuritü (ME-ku-ri-tuu) cat-CL kot (KOT) where
10.17a সি it ঘৰৰ of-house বাহিৰত outside আছে is
10.17b xi (XI) 3 ghoror (GHO-ror) house-GEN bahirot (BA-hi-rot) outside-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
10.18a সি it কেতিয়া when ওলাই out গ'ল went
10.18b xi (XI) 3 ketiya (KE-ti-ya) when oloi (O-loi) come-out-CONV gol (GOL) go-PAST.3
10.19a সি it আজি today ৰাতিপুৱা in-the-morning ওলাই out গ'ল went
10.19b xi (XI) 3 azi (A-zi) today ratipuwa (RA-ti-pu-wa) morning oloi (O-loi) come-out-CONV gol (GOL) go-PAST.3
10.20a তাৰ to-him বহুত very ভোক hunger লাগিছে feels নেকি then
10.20b tar (TAR) 3-GEN bohut (BO-hut) very bhük (BHUUK) hunger lagise (LA-gi-se) feel-PERF.3 neki (NE-ki) Q
10.21a হয় yes সি it কালি yesterday ভাত rice নাখালে did-not-eat
10.21b hoy (HOY) yes xi (XI) 3 kali (KA-li) yesterday bhat (BHAT) rice nakhale (NA-kha-le) NEG-eat-PAST.3
10.22a মই I তাক to-him গাখীৰ milk দিম will-give
10.22b moi (MOI) I tak (TAK) 3-ACC gakhir (GA-khir) milk dim (DIM) give-FUT.1
10.23a তুমি you তালৈ for-him গাখীৰ milk আনিছা have-brought নে or
10.23b tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM taloi (TA-loi) 3-DAT gakhir (GA-khir) milk anisa (A-ni-sa) bring-PERF.2 ne (NE) Q
10.24a আনিছোঁ have-brought এইটো this-one তাৰ his গাখীৰ milk
10.24b anisü̃ (A-ni-sun) bring-PERF.1 eitü (EI-tuu) this-CL tar (TAR) 3-GEN gakhir (GA-khir) milk
10.25a সি it তোমাক you চিনি knowing পায় gets নে or
10.25b xi (XI) 3 tümak (TUU-mak) you-FAM-ACC sini (SI-ni) know-CONV pay (PAY) get-PRES.3 ne (NE) Q
10.26a পায় does সি it মোক me বহুত very ভাল good পায় gets
10.26b pay (PAY) get-PRES.3 xi (XI) 3 mük (MUUK) I-ACC bohut (BO-hut) very bhal (BHAL) good pay (PAY) get-PRES.3
10.27a চোৱা look সি it আমগছৰ of-the-mango-tree তলত under আছে is
10.27b süwa (SUU-wa) look-IMP.2 xi (XI) 3 amgosor (AM-go-sor) mango-tree-GEN tolot (TO-lot) under-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
10.28a হয় yes সি it মোৰ my ওচৰলৈ to-near আহিছে has-come
10.28b hoy (HOY) yes xi (XI) 3 mür (MUUR) I-GEN üsorloi (UU-sor-loi) nearness-DAT ahise (A-hi-se) come-PERF.3
10.29a তুমি you তাক it ঘৰলৈ to-home নিবা will-take নে or
10.29b tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM tak (TAK) 3-ACC ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT niba (NI-ba) take-FUT.2 ne (NE) Q
10.30a নিম will-take সি it মোৰ my ওচৰত near থাকিব will-stay
10.30b nim (NIM) take-FUT.1 xi (XI) 3 mür (MUUR) I-GEN üsorot (UU-so-rot) nearness-LOC thakibo (THA-ki-bo) stay-FUT.3
10.16 ৰাজীৱ, মোৰ মেকুৰীটো ক'ত? (rajiw, mür mekuritü kot?) "Rajib, where is my cat?" 10.17 সি ঘৰৰ বাহিৰত আছে। (xi ghoror bahirot ase.) "It is outside the house." 10.18 সি কেতিয়া ওলাই গ'ল? (xi ketiya oloi gol?) "When did it go out?" 10.19 সি আজি ৰাতিপুৱা ওলাই গ'ল। (xi azi ratipuwa oloi gol.) "It went out this morning." 10.20 তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে নেকি? (tar bohut bhük lagise neki?) "Is it very hungry, then?" 10.21 হয়, সি কালি ভাত নাখালে। (hoy, xi kali bhat nakhale.) "Yes, it did not eat rice yesterday." 10.22 মই তাক গাখীৰ দিম। (moi tak gakhir dim.) "I shall give it milk." 10.23 তুমি তালৈ গাখীৰ আনিছা নে? (tumi taloi gakhir anisa ne?) "Have you brought milk for it?" 10.24 আনিছোঁ, এইটো তাৰ গাখীৰ। (anisü̃, eitü tar gakhir.) "I have. This is its milk." 10.25 সি তোমাক চিনি পায় নে? (xi tümak sini pay ne?) "Does it recognise you?" 10.26 পায়, সি মোক বহুত ভাল পায়। (pay, xi mük bohut bhal pay.) "It does; it likes me very much." 10.27 চোৱা, সি আমগছৰ তলত আছে। (süwa, xi amgosor tolot ase.) "Look, it is under the mango tree." 10.28 হয়, সি মোৰ ওচৰলৈ আহিছে। (hoy, xi mür üsorloi ahise.) "Yes, it has come to me." 10.29 তুমি তাক ঘৰলৈ নিবা নে? (tumi tak ghorloi niba ne?) "Will you take it home?" 10.30 নিম, সি মোৰ ওচৰত থাকিব। (nim, xi mür üsorot thakibo.) "I shall; it will stay with me."
10.16 ৰাজীৱ, মোৰ মেকুৰীটো ক'ত? 10.17 সি ঘৰৰ বাহিৰত আছে। 10.18 সি কেতিয়া ওলাই গ'ল? 10.19 সি আজি ৰাতিপুৱা ওলাই গ'ল। 10.20 তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে নেকি? 10.21 হয়, সি কালি ভাত নাখালে। 10.22 মই তাক গাখীৰ দিম। 10.23 তুমি তালৈ গাখীৰ আনিছা নে? 10.24 আনিছোঁ, এইটো তাৰ গাখীৰ। 10.25 সি তোমাক চিনি পায় নে? 10.26 পায়, সি মোক বহুত ভাল পায়। 10.27 চোৱা, সি আমগছৰ তলত আছে। 10.28 হয়, সি মোৰ ওচৰলৈ আহিছে। 10.29 তুমি তাক ঘৰলৈ নিবা নে? 10.30 নিম, সি মোৰ ওচৰত থাকিব।
Where is it. 10.16 asks with ক'ত, "where", as in 1.3 and 2.2, and the answer in 10.17 has the pronoun সি and the verb আছে, the verb of every noun. ঘৰৰ বাহিৰত is the genitive ঘৰৰ, "of the house", with বাহিৰ, "outside", and the locative -ত: "outside the house".
When it went. কেতিয়া (10.18) is "when", as in 6.16. ওলাই গ'ল is ওলাই, the conjunctive of "come out", with the past গ'ল of যা, "go": "went out". The conjunctive, in -ই, comes before the verb that finishes the sentence, as দেখি did in 9.25. ৰাতিপুৱা (10.19) is "in the morning", and আজি ৰাতিপুৱা is "this morning".
Hungry. তাৰ বহুত ভোক লাগিছে (10.20) is the sentence of 10.13: the person who feels is in the genitive, তাৰ, and the feeling is ভোক লাগিছে. নেকি closes the question with a note of "then", where নে would simply ask.
Did not eat. নাখালে (10.21) is the negative of খালে, "ate", with the prefix ন- joined and taking the vowel of the first letter, as নাযাবা did in 9.27. The word হয় is "yes", and is said in answer to a question of this kind.
Two kinds of "bring". আনিছা (10.23) is the perfect of তুমি, and আনিছোঁ (10.24) the perfect of মই. The answer has no pronoun, because the verb says who. The thing brought is এইটো তাৰ গাখীৰ, "this one is his milk": the pronoun সি is not used for the milk, which has এইটো.
Recognise. চিনি পায় (10.25) is the conjunctive of চিনা, "know a person, recognise", with the verb পা, "get": "gets to know", "recognises". The person recognised takes -ক: তোমাক. The same verb is চিনি পাইছা in "do you recognise me?". Do not confuse it with ভাল পায়, "likes", which has ভাল, "good".
Likes. In 10.26 the answer is the verb alone, পায়, "it does", and the next clause is ভাল পায়, "likes", with the person liked in the object form, মোক. The answer with the verb alone is the usual way to say "yes" to a question with a verb.
Look. চোৱা (10.27) is the present of তুমি used as an order, "look!", and so is the cat's place আমগছৰ তলত, "under the mango tree": the genitive of the tree with তল, "under", and the locative -ত. The tree is the tree of Lesson 9.
Come to me. আহিছে (10.28) is the perfect of the third person, "has come", and the one to whom it comes is মোৰ ওচৰলৈ, "to my nearness", as in 9.23. The cat is the subject, and the verb is the verb of every noun.
Take. নিবা (10.29) is the future of তুমি, as in 9.23, and the future is used for the question and the polite request. নিম (10.30) is the future of মই, "I shall take".
Stay with me. নিম (10.30) is the future of মই, "I shall take". The cat's staying is থাকিব, the future of the third person, "will stay", the verb of every noun, as in 6.30; and মোৰ ওচৰত, "near me", has the locative -ত where 10.28 had -লৈ: -লৈ for coming to a place, -ত for being at it.
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The romanisation follows the system of the earlier lessons: ü for the short /ʊ/ of English "book", o for /ɔ/, x for the /x/ of Scottish "loch", s for চ and ছ, z for জ and য, a tilde for a nasal vowel. In the respellings, UU is the short vowel of "book", -un is a nasal ending, and the stressed syllable is in capitals.
সি (xi) — IPA: /xi/ — স is the /x/ of Scottish "loch", and the vowel is the i of "machine". তাৰ (tar) — IPA: /tɑɹ/ — ত is a soft t, and the vowel is the open vowel of "father", said short. তাক (tak) — IPA: /tɑk/ — the final ক is a plain k, without a puff of breath. তালৈ (taloi) — IPA: /tɑlɔi/ — ৈ is the same /ɔi/ as in মই. সিহঁত (xihõt) — IPA: /xihɔ̃t/ — the tilde marks the nasal vowel, said through the nose. এইটো (eitü) — IPA: /ɛitʊ/ — the final ো is the short vowel of "book". সেইটো (xeitü) — IPA: /xɛitʊ/. আছে (ase) — IPA: /ɑsɛ/ — ছ is /s/, never the "ch" of English "church". খায় (khay) — IPA: /kʰɑi/ — খ is k with a puff of air. যায় (zay) — IPA: /zɑi/ — য is /z/ and not "y". গ'ল (gol) — IPA: /ɡɔl/ — the apostrophe stands for the vowel /ɔ/, the o of British "hot". ভোক (bhük) — IPA: /bʱʊk/ — ভ is b with a breath of air, and ো is the short vowel of "book". গাখীৰ (gakhir) — IPA: /ɡɑkʰiɹ/. মেকুৰী (mekuri) — IPA: /mɛkuɹi/. কুকুৰ (kukur) — IPA: /kukuɹ/. যদি (zodi) — IPA: /zɔdi/. ক'ত (kot) — IPA: /kɔt/ — the apostrophe is the /ɔ/ of "hot". ওলাই (oloi) — IPA: /ʊlɑi/. ৰাতিপুৱা (ratipuwa) — IPA: /ɹɑtipuwɑ/ — ৱ is w. আমগছ (amgos) — IPA: /ɑmɡɔs/. চোৱা (süwa) — IPA: /sʊwɑ/ — চ is /s/ and ো is the short vowel of "book". চিনি (sini) — IPA: /sini/. নেকি (neki) — IPA: /nɛki/. দোণ (dün) — IPA: /dʊn/ — ণ is read as n. পিঠা (pitha) — IPA: /pitʰɑ/ — ঠ is t with a puff of breath. লখিমী (lokhimi) — IPA: /lɔkʰimi/.
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