For autodidact students of Assamese, the first thing to know about "be" is that Assamese does not use one verb for all its meanings. English says "I am at home", "I am a teacher", "there is a river" and "I have a car" (which is "there is a car of mine" in many languages), and uses "be" or "have" for all of them. Assamese divides them up:
- Being somewhere, existing, having: the verb আছ- (as-). মই ঘৰত আছোঁ (moi ghorot asü̃), "I am at home"; নৈ আছে (noi ase), "there is a river"; মোৰ গাড়ী আছে (mür gari ase), "I have a car" (literally "my car is"). - Being something: usually no verb at all. You met this in Lesson 1: কিতাপখন নতুন (kitapkhon notun), "the book [is] new"; মানুহজন মোৰ দেউতা (manuhzon mür deuta), "the man [is] my father". Where a verb is wanted, it is হয় (hoy), which also means "yes".
This lesson teaches the first of these, আছ-, the Assamese verb of being there. It is one of the commonest words in the language. You have already met its two commonest forms: আছে (ase), "is", in Lesson 1 (1.7, 1.13), and its past আছিল (asil), "was", all through Lesson 1's story.
আছ- changes its ending for the person, as every Assamese verb does: - মই আছোঁ (moi asü̃): I am - তুমি আছা (tumi asa): you are (familiar) - আপুনি আছে (apuni ase): you are (respectful) - সি আছে (xi ase), তাই আছে (tai ase), তেওঁ আছে (teü ase): he, she is
In the past the stem is আছিল- (asil-): মই আছিলোঁ (moi asilü̃), "I was"; সি আছিল (xi asil), "he was".
The negative is a different word. "Is not there, does not exist, has not" is নাই (nai), for every person: মই ঘৰত নাই (moi ghorot nai), "I am not at home"; পানী নাই (pani nai), "there is no water". In the past it is নাছিল (nasil), "was not", with the person endings of আছিল: মই নাছিলোঁ (moi nasilü̃), "I was not".
আছ- has only a present and a past. For "will be", Assamese uses another verb, থাক- (thak-), "stay, remain": সি ঘৰত থাকিব (xi ghorot thakibo), "he will be at home".
The same verb is found in Assamese's neighbours: Bengali আছে (ache) and Odia ଅଛି (achhi) are its cousins. Its negative নাই goes back to Early Assamese নাহি (nahi), "not", and is related to Bengali নাই and Hindi नहीं (nahīn).
Script note: আছে is three letters. আ (a) is the full vowel letter, used at the start of a word. ছ is the consonant that is "chh" in Bengali and Hindi, but in Assamese it is pronounced /s/, as in English "sun". The vowel sign ে (e) is written before its consonant, on the left, though it is read after it: ছে (se). In আছোঁ the vowel sign ো is written on both sides of ছ, as in টো in Lesson 1, and the moon-and-dot ঁ (chandrabindu) above it makes the vowel nasal: asü̃.
Key Takeaways: - আছ- (as-) is "be" in the sense of being somewhere, existing, and having - "Be" in the sense of being something usually needs no verb in Assamese - Present: আছোঁ (I), আছা (you, familiar), আছে (you, respectful; he, she, it, they) - Past: আছিলোঁ (I), আছিলা (you, familiar), আছিল (you, respectful; he, she, it, they) - The negative is নাই (nai) in the present and নাছিল (nasil) in the past - "Have" is said with the genitive and আছে: মোৰ এখন গাড়ী আছে, "I have a car"
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2.1a মই I ঘৰত at-home আছোঁ am
2.1b moi (MOI) I ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC asü̃ (A-suun) be-PRES.1
2.2a দেউতা father ক'ত where আছে is
2.2b deuta (DEU-ta) father kot (KOT) where ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.3a তুমি you কেনে how আছা are
2.3b tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM kene (KE-ne) how asa (A-sa) be-PRES.2FAM
2.4a মই I ভালে well আছোঁ am
2.4b moi (MOI) I bhale (BHA-le) well asü̃ (A-suun) be-PRES.1
2.5a পানী water নাই is-not
2.5b pani (PA-ni) water nai (NAI) NEG.be
2.6a আপুনি you কেনে how আছে are
2.6b apuni (A-pu-ni) you-HON kene (KE-ne) how ase (A-se) be-PRES.2HON
2.7a মোৰ my এখন one-CL সৰু small গাড়ী car আছে is
2.7b mür (MUUR) I-GEN ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT xoru (XO-ru) small gari (GA-ri) car ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.8a কিতাপখন the-book টেবুলখনৰ of-the-table ওপৰত on-top নাই is-not
2.8b kitapkhon (KI-tap-khon) book-CL.FLAT tebulkhonor (TE-bul-kho-nor) table-CL.FLAT-GEN üporot (UU-po-rot) top-LOC nai (NAI) NEG.be
2.9a কালি yesterday মই I গুৱাহাটীত in-Guwahati আছিলোঁ was
2.9b kali (KA-li) yesterday moi (MOI) I guwahatit (GU-wa-ha-tit) Guwahati-LOC asilü̃ (A-si-luun) be-PAST.1
2.10a সেই that গাঁৱত in-village এখন one-CL ডাঙৰ big নৈ river আছিল was
2.10b xei (XEI) that gãwot (GAAN-wot) village-LOC ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT dangor (DANG-or) big noi (NOI) river asil (A-sil) be-PAST.3
2.11a ল'ৰাবোৰ the-boys এতিয়াও still পথাৰত in-the-field খেলি playing আছে are
2.11b lorabür (LO-ra-buur) boy-PL etiyaü (E-ti-ya-u) now-also potharot (PO-tha-rot) field-LOC kheli (KHE-li) play-CONV ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.12a মোৰ my ভনীৰ of-sister দুটা two-CL কুকুৰ dog আছে is কিন্তু but মেকুৰী cat নাই is-not
2.12b mür (MUUR) I-GEN bhonir (BHO-nir) sister-GEN duta (DU-ta) two-CL kukur (KU-kur) dog ase (A-se) be-PRES.3 kintu (KIN-tu) but mekuri (ME-ku-ri) cat nai (NAI) NEG.be
2.13a আমাৰ our গাঁৱত in-village আগতে before এখন one-CL স্কুল school নাছিল was-not এতিয়া now দুখন two-CL স্কুল school আছে is
2.13b amar (A-mar) we-GEN gãwot (GAAN-wot) village-LOC agote (A-go-te) before ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT skul (SKUL) school nasil (NA-sil) NEG-be-PAST.3 etiya (E-ti-ya) now dukhon (DU-khon) two-CL.FLAT skul (SKUL) school ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.14a ডাক্তৰগৰাকী the-doctor এতিয়া now ঘৰত at-home নাই is-not তেওঁ she বজাৰলৈ to-market গৈছে has-gone
2.14b daktorgoraki (DAK-tor-go-ra-ki) doctor-CL.HON etiya (E-ti-ya) now ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC nai (NAI) NEG.be teü (TEU) she-HON bozarloi (BO-zar-loi) market-DAT goise (GOI-se) go-PERF.3
2.15a বৰষুণ rain দি giving আছে is সেইবাবে therefore ল'ৰাবোৰ the-boys ঘৰৰ of-house ভিতৰত inside আছে are
2.15b borxun (BOR-xun) rain di (DI) give-CONV ase (A-se) be-PRES.3 xeibabe (XEI-ba-be) therefore lorabür (LO-ra-buur) boy-PL ghoror (GHO-ror) house-GEN bhitorot (BHI-to-rot) inside-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
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2.1 মই ঘৰত আছোঁ। (moi ghorot asü̃) "I am at home." 2.2 দেউতা ক'ত আছে? (deuta kot ase?) "Where is Father?" 2.3 তুমি কেনে আছা? (tumi kene asa?) "How are you?" 2.4 মই ভালে আছোঁ। (moi bhale asü̃) "I am well." 2.5 পানী নাই। (pani nai) "There is no water." 2.6 আপুনি কেনে আছে? (apuni kene ase?) "How are you?" (respectful) 2.7 মোৰ এখন সৰু গাড়ী আছে। (mür ekhon xoru gari ase) "I have a small car." 2.8 কিতাপখন টেবুলখনৰ ওপৰত নাই। (kitapkhon tebulkhonor üporot nai) "The book is not on the table." 2.9 কালি মই গুৱাহাটীত আছিলোঁ। (kali moi guwahatit asilü̃) "Yesterday I was in Guwahati." 2.10 সেই গাঁৱত এখন ডাঙৰ নৈ আছিল। (xei gãwot ekhon dangor noi asil) "There was a big river in that village." 2.11 ল'ৰাবোৰ এতিয়াও পথাৰত খেলি আছে। (lorabür etiyaü potharot kheli ase) "The boys are still playing in the field." 2.12 মোৰ ভনীৰ দুটা কুকুৰ আছে, কিন্তু মেকুৰী নাই। (mür bhonir duta kukur ase, kintu mekuri nai) "My sister has two dogs, but no cat." 2.13 আমাৰ গাঁৱত আগতে এখন স্কুল নাছিল; এতিয়া দুখন স্কুল আছে। (amar gãwot agote ekhon skul nasil; etiya dukhon skul ase) "Before, there was no school in our village; now there are two." 2.14 ডাক্তৰগৰাকী এতিয়া ঘৰত নাই; তেওঁ বজাৰলৈ গৈছে। (daktorgoraki etiya ghorot nai; teü bozarloi goise) "The doctor is not at home now; she has gone to the market." 2.15 বৰষুণ দি আছে, সেইবাবে ল'ৰাবোৰ ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত আছে। (borxun di ase, xeibabe lorabür ghoror bhitorot ase) "It is raining, so the boys are indoors."
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2.1 মই ঘৰত আছোঁ। 2.2 দেউতা ক'ত আছে? 2.3 তুমি কেনে আছা? 2.4 মই ভালে আছোঁ। 2.5 পানী নাই। 2.6 আপুনি কেনে আছে? 2.7 মোৰ এখন সৰু গাড়ী আছে। 2.8 কিতাপখন টেবুলখনৰ ওপৰত নাই। 2.9 কালি মই গুৱাহাটীত আছিলোঁ। 2.10 সেই গাঁৱত এখন ডাঙৰ নৈ আছিল। 2.11 ল'ৰাবোৰ এতিয়াও পথাৰত খেলি আছে। 2.12 মোৰ ভনীৰ দুটা কুকুৰ আছে, কিন্তু মেকুৰী নাই। 2.13 আমাৰ গাঁৱত আগতে এখন স্কুল নাছিল; এতিয়া দুখন স্কুল আছে। 2.14 ডাক্তৰগৰাকী এতিয়া ঘৰত নাই; তেওঁ বজাৰলৈ গৈছে। 2.15 বৰষুণ দি আছে, সেইবাবে ল'ৰাবোৰ ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত আছে।
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "be" in Assamese.
Two kinds of "be". English "be" does two jobs that Assamese keeps apart: - Being somewhere, existing, having: আছ- (as-). দেউতা ক'ত আছে? (Where is Father?, 2.2); সেই গাঁৱত এখন ডাঙৰ নৈ আছিল (there was a big river in that village, 2.10) - Being something: no verb, or হয় (hoy). কিতাপখন নতুন (the book is new, Lesson 1, 1.1)
A useful test: if the English sentence answers "where?" or "is there?" or "who has?", use আছ-. If it says what something is or what it is like, leave the verb out.
The present of আছ-. The ending shows the person. Assamese verbs do not change for singular and plural, or for he and she: - মই আছোঁ (moi asü̃), I am; আমি আছোঁ (ami asü̃), we are - তই আছ (toi aso), you are (intimate: to a small child or a very close friend) - তুমি আছা (tumi asa), you are (familiar: to a friend, to someone younger, within the family); also to several people, তোমালোক আছা (tümalük asa) - আপুনি আছে (apuni ase), you are (respectful: to an elder, a stranger, a teacher) - সি আছে (xi ase), he is; তাই আছে (tai ase), she is; তেওঁ আছে (teü ase), he or she is (respectful); সিহঁত আছে (xihõt ase), they are
The respectful "you", আপুনি, takes the same ending as "he" and "she": আপুনি কেনে আছে? (2.6) beside দেউতা ক'ত আছে? (2.2).
The past of আছ-. The stem is আছিল- (asil-), with the same pattern of endings: - মই আছিলোঁ (moi asilü̃), I was (2.9) - তই আছিলি (toi asili), you were (intimate) - তুমি আছিলা (tumi asila), you were (familiar) - আপুনি আছিল, সি আছিল, তাই আছিল, তেওঁ আছিল (asil), you (respectful) were, he, she was (2.10)
The negative: নাই and নাছিল. আছ- is not made negative with ন- like other verbs. The present negative is নাই (nai), the same for every person: মই নাই (I am not there), পানী নাই (there is no water, 2.5), কিতাপখন টেবুলখনৰ ওপৰত নাই (the book is not on the table, 2.8). The past negative is নাছিল- (nasil-) with the past endings: মই নাছিলোঁ (I was not there), এখন স্কুল নাছিল (there was not a school, 2.13).
নাই is also the everyday "no" in answer to a question about whether something is there: চাহ আছে নে? নাই। (Is there any tea? No.)
"Have" is "be" with the genitive. Assamese has no verb "have". The owner goes into the genitive in -ৰ (-r), and the thing owned is the subject of আছে: মোৰ এখন সৰু গাড়ী আছে (literally "of me a small car is", 2.7); মোৰ ভনীৰ দুটা কুকুৰ আছে (my sister has two dogs, 2.12). "Not have" is নাই: মেকুৰী নাই (she has no cat, 2.12). In the past: মালতীৰ এটা মেকুৰী আছিল (Malati had a cat, Lesson 1, 1.18).
আছ- as a helping verb. After the converb of another verb (the form in -ই or -ি), আছ- makes the continuous tenses, "is doing" and "was doing": খেলি আছে (are playing, 2.11), বৰষুণ দি আছে (it is raining, literally "rain is giving", 2.15); বহি আছিল (was sitting, Lesson 1, 1.24). The perfect, "has done", grew from the same pattern and still carries আছ- inside it: গৈছে (has gone, 2.14), দেখিছোঁ (I have seen, Lesson 1, 1.25).
"Will be". আছ- has no future. Use থাক- (thak-), "stay, remain": মই ঘৰত থাকিম (moi ghorot thakim), "I will be at home"; তুমি থাকিবা (tumi thakiba), "you will be"; সি থাকিব (xi thakibo), "he will be".
Being something: হয় and নহয়. In the present, a sentence that says what something is normally has no verb: মানুহজন মোৰ দেউতা (the man is my father). হয় (hoy) can be added for emphasis, and it is also the word for "yes". Its negative is নহয় (nohoy), "is not": এইখন মোৰ কিতাপ নহয় (this is not my book). These are taught fully in a later lesson.
Common Mistakes: - Using আছে to say what something is. "The book is new" is কিতাপখন নতুন, not \*কিতাপখন নতুন আছে. - Leaving the verb out when you mean "is there". "Where is Father?" needs আছে: দেউতা ক'ত আছে? - Making আছে negative with ন-. There is no \*নাছে; the negative is নাই: মই ঘৰত নাই. - Using নাই for "is not (something)". সি মোৰ ভাই নহয় means "he is not my brother"; \*সি মোৰ ভাই নাই does not mean that, because মোৰ ভাই নাই means "I have no brother". - Looking for a verb "have". Say মোৰ ... আছে: মোৰ গাড়ী আছে, "I have a car". - Using আছে with তুমি. The familiar "you" takes -আ: তুমি কেনে আছা? The ending -এ belongs to আপুনি and to "he" and "she".
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The first thing an Assamese speaker asks after a greeting is a question with আছ-: আপুনি কেনে আছে? (How are you?), to an elder or a stranger, or তুমি কেনে আছা? to a friend. The usual answer is ভালে আছোঁ (I am well), often with the question returned: ভালে আছোঁ, আপুনি? (Well, and you?). Asking after a family is done the same way: ঘৰৰ সকলো ভালে আছে নে? (Is everyone at home well?).
The choice between আছা and আছে is a choice of respect, and it matters as much as the classifiers of Lesson 1. A student says আপুনি to a teacher and uses আছে; friends of the same age say তুমি and আছা; তই with আছ is for a small child or for the closest of friends, and from anyone else it can be rude. Because আপুনি and the respectful তেওঁ share the ending of "he" and "she", a sentence such as ক'ত আছে? (where is [he/she/are you]?) can be polite to the person addressed and still say nothing about who is meant: the context tells.
Some of the commonest expressions in the language are built on আছ-. মোৰ মনত আছে (literally "it is in my mind") means "I remember", and মনত নাই, "I don't remember". সময় নাই means "there is no time". When a shopkeeper has run out of something, the answer is simply নাই.
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লক্ষ্মীনাথ বেজবৰুৱা (Lakshminath Bezbaroa, 1864–1938), "অ' মোৰ আপোনাৰ দেশ" — "O My Own Dear Land," the state song of Assam, third stanza
In Lesson 1 you read the opening of Bezbaroa's song. Its last stanza ends with নাই:
অ' মোৰ ওপজা ঠাই অ' মোৰ অসমী আই চাই লওঁ এবাৰ মুখনি তোমাৰ হেঁপাহ মোৰ পলোৱা নাই
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a অ' O মোৰ my ওপজা born ঠাই place
F.1b o (O) O mür (MUUR) I-GEN üpoza (UU-po-za) born thai (THAI) place
F.2a অ' O মোৰ my অসমী of-Assam আই mother
F.2b o (O) O mür (MUUR) I-GEN oxomi (O-xo-mi) Assam-ADJ ai (AI) mother
F.3a চাই looking লওঁ let-me-take এবাৰ once মুখনি dear-face তোমাৰ your
F.3b sai (SAI) look-CONV loü̃ (LO-un) take-PRES.1 ebar (E-bar) one-time mukhoni (MU-kho-ni) face-CL.DIM tümar (TUU-mar) you-FAM-GEN
F.4a হেঁপাহ longing মোৰ my পলোৱা sated নাই is-not
F.4b hẽpah (HEN-pah) longing mür (MUUR) I-GEN polüwa (PO-luu-wa) sate-VN nai (NAI) NEG.be
F-B: Original and Translation
অ' মোৰ ওপজা ঠাই / অ' মোৰ অসমী আই / চাই লওঁ এবাৰ মুখনি তোমাৰ / হেঁপাহ মোৰ পলোৱা নাই।
"O land where I was born, / O Mother Assam, / let me look once more upon your face: / my longing has not been sated." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
অ' মোৰ ওপজা ঠাই অ' মোৰ অসমী আই চাই লওঁ এবাৰ মুখনি তোমাৰ হেঁপাহ মোৰ পলোৱা নাই
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The stanza ends on নাই, and it shows a use of the word that this lesson has not yet given. After the verbal noun of another verb, the form in -আ, নাই makes the negative of the perfect: "has not (done)". The everyday example is মই খোৱা নাই (moi khüwa nai), "I have not eaten". So হেঁপাহ মোৰ পলোৱা নাই is "my longing has not been sated": the poet has looked, and wants to look again. The positive perfect, as Section D showed, carries আছ- inside it (গৈছে, দেখিছোঁ); its negative uses নাই, the negative of আছ-, openly. The song, as it is sung, ends on the word that means "is not", and so it ends unfinished, as the longing is.
The other lines repay a learner's attention. ওপজা ঠাই is "the place where (I was) born", from ওপজ-, "be born". অসমী আই is "Mother Assam": আই is "mother", and অসমী is "of Assam". চাই লওঁ is a converb and a second verb, like the pairs in Lesson 1's story (তুলি ল'লে, "picked up"): চাই, "looking", লওঁ, "I take", together "let me take a look". মুখনি is মুখ (mukh), "face", with -নি, an affectionate classifier for small and dear things, used here of a mother's face. The possessives মোৰ and তোমাৰ stand after their nouns in two places (মুখনি তোমাৰ, হেঁপাহ মোৰ), which is the order of verse and song, not of plain prose, where they would come first: তোমাৰ মুখনি, মোৰ হেঁপাহ.
The song addresses the land as তুমি: তোমাৰ, "your", is the familiar form. It is the "you" of the family, used to a mother.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
A short memory, told in the first person and mostly in the past. Watch আছিল and নাছিল for "was" and "was not", and আছে and নাই in the words people speak.
2.16a মোৰ my আইতাৰ of-grandmother ঘৰ house এখন one-CL সৰু small গাঁৱত in-village আছে is
2.16b mür (MUUR) I-GEN aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN ghor (GHOR) house ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT xoru (XO-ru) small gãwot (GAAN-wot) village-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.17a ঘৰৰ of-house কাষত beside এটা one-CL পুখুৰী pond আছে is
2.17b ghoror (GHO-ror) house-GEN kaxot (KA-xot) side-LOC eta (E-ta) one-CL pukhuri (PU-khu-ri) pond ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.18a পুখুৰীত in-pond বহুত many মাছ fish আছে are
2.18b pukhurit (PU-khu-rit) pond-LOC bohut (BO-hut) many mas (MAS) fish ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.19a যোৱা last বছৰ year মই I তাত there এমাহ one-month আছিলোঁ was
2.19b züwa (ZUU-wa) gone bosor (BO-sor) year moi (MOI) I tat (TAT) there emah (E-mah) one-month asilü̃ (A-si-luun) be-PAST.1
2.20a এদিন one-day ৰাতিপুৱা morning আইতা grandmother ঘৰত at-home নাছিল was-not
2.20b edin (E-din) one-day ratipuwa (RA-ti-pu-wa) morning aita (AI-ta) grandmother ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC nasil (NA-sil) NEG-be-PAST.3
2.21a মই I ককাক grandfather সুধিলোঁ asked আইতা grandmother ক'ত where আছে is
2.21b moi (MOI) I kokak (KO-kak) grandfather-ACC xudhilü̃ (XU-dhi-luun) ask-PAST.1 aita (AI-ta) grandmother kot (KOT) where ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.22a ককাই grandfather ক'লে said তোমাৰ your আইতা grandmother বাৰীত in-garden আছে is
2.22b kokai (KO-kai) grandfather-ERG kole (KO-le) say-PAST.3 tümar (TUU-mar) you-FAM-GEN aita (AI-ta) grandmother barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.23a বাৰীত in-garden আইতাৰ of-grandmother লগত with মোৰ my খুৰা uncle আছিল was
2.23b barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN logot (LO-got) company-LOC mür (MUUR) I-GEN khura (KHU-ra) uncle asil (A-sil) be-PAST.3
2.24a দুয়ো both কল banana গছৰ of-tree তলত under বহি sitting আছিল were
2.24b duyü (DU-yuu) both kol (KOL) banana gosor (GO-sor) tree-GEN tolot (TO-lot) underside-LOC bohi (BO-hi) sit-CONV asil (A-sil) be-PAST.3
2.25a আইতাই grandmother সুধিলে asked তুমি you ভালে well আছানে are?
2.25b aitai (AI-tai) grandmother-ERG xudhile (XU-dhi-le) ask-PAST.3 tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM bhale (BHA-le) well asane (A-sa-ne) be-PRES.2FAM-Q
2.26a মই I ক'লোঁ said মই I ভালে well আছোঁ am কিন্তু but ঘৰত at-home কোনো anyone নাছিল was-not
2.26b moi (MOI) I kolü̃ (KO-luun) say-PAST.1 moi (MOI) I bhale (BHA-le) well asü̃ (A-suun) be-PRES.1 kintu (KIN-tu) but ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC küno (KUU-no) anyone nasil (NA-sil) NEG-be-PAST.3
2.27a খুৰাই uncle হাঁহি laughing ক'লে said আমি we ইয়াতে right-here আছোঁ are
2.27b khurai (KHU-rai) uncle-ERG hãhi (HAAN-hi) laugh-CONV kole (KO-le) say-PAST.3 ami (A-mi) we iyate (I-ya-te) here-LOC-EMPH asü̃ (A-suun) be-PRES.1
2.28a সেইদিনা that-day আকাশত in-sky মেঘ cloud নাছিল was-not
2.28b xeidina (XEI-di-na) that-day akaxot (A-ka-xot) sky-LOC megh (MEGH) cloud nasil (NA-sil) NEG-be-PAST.3
2.29a আমি we গোটেই whole দিনটো the-day বাৰীতে right-in-garden আছিলোঁ were
2.29b ami (A-mi) we gütei (GUU-tei) whole dintü (DIN-tuu) day-CL barite (BA-ri-te) garden-LOC-EMPH asilü̃ (A-si-luun) be-PAST.1
2.30a এতিয়াও still মোৰ my মনত in-mind সেই that দিনটো the-day আছে is
2.30b etiyaü (E-ti-ya-u) now-also mür (MUUR) I-GEN monot (MO-not) mind-LOC xei (XEI) that dintü (DIN-tuu) day-CL ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
2.16 মোৰ আইতাৰ ঘৰ এখন সৰু গাঁৱত আছে। (mür aitar ghor ekhon xoru gãwot ase.) "My grandmother's house is in a small village." 2.17 ঘৰৰ কাষত এটা পুখুৰী আছে। (ghoror kaxot eta pukhuri ase.) "Beside the house there is a pond." 2.18 পুখুৰীত বহুত মাছ আছে। (pukhurit bohut mas ase.) "There are a lot of fish in the pond." 2.19 যোৱা বছৰ মই তাত এমাহ আছিলোঁ। (züwa bosor moi tat emah asilü̃.) "Last year I was there for a month." 2.20 এদিন ৰাতিপুৱা আইতা ঘৰত নাছিল। (edin ratipuwa aita ghorot nasil.) "One morning Grandmother was not at home." 2.21 মই ককাক সুধিলোঁ, "আইতা ক'ত আছে?" (moi kokak xudhilü̃, "aita kot ase?") "I asked Grandfather, 'Where is Grandmother?'" 2.22 ককাই ক'লে, "তোমাৰ আইতা বাৰীত আছে।" (kokai kole, "tümar aita barit ase.") "Grandfather said, 'Your grandmother is in the garden.'" 2.23 বাৰীত আইতাৰ লগত মোৰ খুৰা আছিল। (barit aitar logot mür khura asil.) "In the garden my uncle was with Grandmother." 2.24 দুয়ো কল গছৰ তলত বহি আছিল। (duyü kol gosor tolot bohi asil.) "The two of them were sitting under the banana tree." 2.25 আইতাই সুধিলে, "তুমি ভালে আছানে?" (aitai xudhile, "tumi bhale asane?") "Grandmother asked, 'Are you well?'" 2.26 মই ক'লোঁ, "মই ভালে আছোঁ, কিন্তু ঘৰত কোনো নাছিল।" (moi kolü̃, "moi bhale asü̃, kintu ghorot küno nasil.") "I said, 'I'm well, but there was nobody at home.'" 2.27 খুৰাই হাঁহি ক'লে, "আমি ইয়াতে আছোঁ।" (khurai hãhi kole, "ami iyate asü̃.") "My uncle laughed and said, 'We're right here.'" 2.28 সেইদিনা আকাশত মেঘ নাছিল। (xeidina akaxot megh nasil.) "That day there were no clouds in the sky." 2.29 আমি গোটেই দিনটো বাৰীতে আছিলোঁ। (ami gütei dintü barite asilü̃.) "We stayed in the garden the whole day." 2.30 এতিয়াও মোৰ মনত সেই দিনটো আছে। (etiyaü mür monot xei dintü ase.) "I still remember that day."
2.16 মোৰ আইতাৰ ঘৰ এখন সৰু গাঁৱত আছে। 2.17 ঘৰৰ কাষত এটা পুখুৰী আছে। 2.18 পুখুৰীত বহুত মাছ আছে। 2.19 যোৱা বছৰ মই তাত এমাহ আছিলোঁ। 2.20 এদিন ৰাতিপুৱা আইতা ঘৰত নাছিল। 2.21 মই ককাক সুধিলোঁ, "আইতা ক'ত আছে?" 2.22 ককাই ক'লে, "তোমাৰ আইতা বাৰীত আছে।" 2.23 বাৰীত আইতাৰ লগত মোৰ খুৰা আছিল। 2.24 দুয়ো কল গছৰ তলত বহি আছিল। 2.25 আইতাই সুধিলে, "তুমি ভালে আছানে?" 2.26 মই ক'লোঁ, "মই ভালে আছোঁ, কিন্তু ঘৰত কোনো নাছিল।" 2.27 খুৰাই হাঁহি ক'লে, "আমি ইয়াতে আছোঁ।" 2.28 সেইদিনা আকাশত মেঘ নাছিল। 2.29 আমি গোটেই দিনটো বাৰীতে আছিলোঁ। 2.30 এতিয়াও মোৰ মনত সেই দিনটো আছে।
আছে and আছিল: now and then. The story begins in the present, because the house and the pond are still there: ঘৰ ... আছে (2.16), পুখুৰী আছে (2.17), মাছ আছে (2.18). It moves into the past for the visit: মই তাত এমাহ আছিলোঁ (2.19), খুৰা আছিল (2.23). In the speech of the characters, the present comes back: আইতা ক'ত আছে? (2.21).
The person endings. মই ... আছিলোঁ (2.19) and আমি ... আছোঁ, আছিলোঁ (2.27, 2.29): "I" and "we" take the same ending -ওঁ. Grandmother speaks to the child as তুমি and says আছা (2.25); the child answers আছোঁ (2.26). A grandmother says তুমি to a grandchild; the grandchild, speaking of her to Grandfather, uses no pronoun at all and calls her simply আইতা (2.21).
নাছিল: "was not there". নাছিল is the negative past of আছ-: আইতা ঘৰত নাছিল (Grandmother was not at home, 2.20); আকাশত মেঘ নাছিল (there were no clouds, 2.28). With কোনো, "anyone", it means "nobody was there": ঘৰত কোনো নাছিল (2.26). Assamese says "anyone was not", where English says "nobody was".
The question particle নে. Added to the end of a verb, নে turns a statement into a yes-or-no question: তুমি ভালে আছা (you are well) → তুমি ভালে আছানে? (are you well?, 2.25). It is often written joined to the verb, as here.
-তে: "right there". The locative -ত with the emphatic -এ gives -তে: ইয়াতে, "right here" (2.27); বাৰীতে, "in the garden itself, the whole time in the garden" (2.29).
বহি আছিল: "were sitting". The converb বহি (sitting) with আছিল makes the past continuous (2.24), as খেলি আছে made the present continuous in 2.11.
মনত আছে: "remember". The story ends with the Assamese way of saying "I remember": মোৰ মনত সেই দিনটো আছে, literally "in my mind that day is" (2.30). What is remembered is the subject of আছে, and the one who remembers is in the genitive, মোৰ, just as the owner is in মোৰ গাড়ী আছে (2.7).
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
The romanisation follows the system of Lesson 1: 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, OO is the short vowel of "book", and the stressed first syllable is in capitals.
আছে (ase) — IPA: /ɑsɛ/ — ছ is /s/, never the "ch" of English "church". The final ে is an open /ɛ/, as in "set". আছোঁ (asü̃) — IPA: /ɑsʊ̃/ — the last vowel is short /ʊ/, said through the nose (ঁ). আছা (asa) — IPA: /ɑsɑ/ — both vowels are the open /ɑ/ of "father". আছিল (asil) — IPA: /ɑsil/ — the final inherent vowel is not pronounced. আছিলোঁ (asilü̃) — IPA: /ɑsilʊ̃/. নাই (nai) — IPA: /nɑi/ — one syllable, like English "nigh" with the vowel of "father". নাছিল (nasil) — IPA: /nɑsil/. থাকিব (thakibo) — IPA: /tʰɑkibɔ/ — থ is t with a strong puff of breath after it, never the "th" of "thin". Here the final vowel is pronounced. কেনে (kene) — IPA: /kɛnɛ/. ভালে (bhale) — IPA: /bʱɑlɛ/ — ভ is a b with breath after it, a sound English does not have. বৰষুণ (borxun) — IPA: /bɔɹɔxun/ — ষ is /x/, as in "loch"; ণ is /n/. হেঁপাহ (hẽpah) — IPA: /ɦɛ̃pɑɦ/ — a nasal /ɛ/, from ঁ over হে.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
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