For autodidact students of Assamese, "in" is not a word but an ending. Assamese puts the ending ত (-ot) on the end of the noun that English puts after "in", "at" or "on":
- ঘৰত (ghorot): in the house, at home - নৈত (noit): in the river - গাঁৱত (gãwot): in the village - বাৰীত (barit): in the garden - ক'ত (kot): where, in what place
This is the locative ending that you have been using since Lesson 1: in পথাৰত, "in the field" (Lesson 1), in গুৱাহাটীত, "in Guwahati" (Lesson 2), and in বাৰান্দাত, "on the veranda" (Lesson 6). Now it has a lesson of its own. After a consonant the ending is pronounced -ot (ঘৰত, ghorot) and after a vowel it is pronounced -t (বাৰীত, barit). In writing it is always the one letter ত, joined to the end of the word.
There are four things that English speakers do not expect.
First, one ending does the work of three English words. ঘৰত is "in the house" and "at the house", and the same ending is "on" for a thing that is written on or fixed to: কাপোৰত, "on the cloth". Where English says "on top of" or "above", Assamese does not use the bare ending but a word of place with the ending: টেবুলখনৰ ওপৰত (Lesson 1), "on the table".
Second, the words that English calls prepositions, "inside", "under", "beside", "near", "with", "after", are in Assamese nouns that take -ত, and the thing they are said of goes before them in the genitive ৰ (Lesson 5): ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত (ghoror bhitorot), "in the inside of the house", "inside the house". The same nouns say "with" and "have": আইতাৰ লগত, "with Grandmother"; মোৰ ওচৰত টকা নাই, "I have no money on me", literally "in my nearness there is no money".
Third, -ত goes far beyond place. It marks the time something happens: ছয় বজাত, "at six o'clock"; বিহুত, "at Bihu"; বহাগ মাহত, "in the month of Bohag". It marks the language in which something is said, অসমীয়াত, "in Assamese". And it marks the mind, which Assamese treats as a place where things are kept: মোৰ মনত আছে is "in my mind it is", "I remember".
Fourth, -ত is for rest and never for motion. ঘৰত থাকোঁ is "I stay in the house", and ঘৰলৈ যাওঁ (Lesson 6) is "I go to the house". "From the house" is a separate word, ঘৰৰ পৰা. Time words like আজি, "today", কালি, "yesterday", ৰাতিপুৱা, "in the morning" and গধূলি, "in the evening", carry no ending at all.
Script note: Assamese has no separate retroflex t, so ত and ট are both pronounced t. They are still two letters, and each has its own words. The classifier -টো (ঘৰটো, ghortü, "the house") is written with ট, and the locative ending is always written with ত. The locative of ঘৰটো is ঘৰটোত (ghortüt), "in the house", with the ending last of all.
Key Takeaways: - "In", "at" and "on" are the ending -ত: ঘৰত, নৈত, বাৰীত; -ot after a consonant, -t after a vowel - The ending comes last, after the classifier and the plural: ঘৰটোত, ঘৰখনত, ঘৰবোৰত - "Inside", "under", "near", "with" are nouns with -ত after the genitive: ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত, গছৰ তলত, আইতাৰ লগত - "Have" is "in my nearness": মোৰ ওচৰত টকা আছে; "I remember" is মোৰ মনত আছে - Time, month, festival and clock hour take -ত: বজাত, মাহত, বিহুত; আজি and কালি do not - A language takes -ত: অসমীয়াত, ইংৰাজীত - Rest takes -ত and motion takes -লৈ: ঘৰত, ঘৰলৈ
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7.1a মাছ fish নৈত in-river আছে is
7.1b mas (MAS) fish noit (NOIT) river-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.2a চৰাইটো the-bird গছত in-tree আছে is
7.2b soraitü (SO-rai-tuu) bird-CL gosot (GO-sot) tree-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.3a কিতাপখন the-book মোনাত in-bag আছে is
7.3b kitapkhon (KI-tap-khon) book-CL.FLAT münat (MUU-nat) bag-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.4a আমি we গাঁৱত in-village থাকোঁ live
7.4b ami (A-mi) we gãwot (GAAN-wot) village-LOC thakü̃ (THA-kun) live-PRES.1
7.5a ল'ৰাটো the-boy স্কুলত at-school নাই is-not
7.5b loratü (LO-ra-tuu) boy-CL skulot (SKU-lot) school-LOC nai (NAI) NEG.be
7.6a কোঠাটোৰ of-the-room ভিতৰত inside এখন one-CL টেবুল table আছে is
7.6b küthatür (KUU-tha-tuur) room-CL-GEN bhitorot (BHI-to-rot) inside-LOC ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT tebul (TE-bul) table ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.7a মোৰ my ওচৰত in-nearness বহুত much টকা money নাই is-not
7.7b mür (MUUR) I-GEN üsorot (UU-so-rot) nearness-LOC bohut (BO-hut) much toka (TO-ka) rupee nai (NAI) NEG.be
7.8a আজি today ৰাতিপুৱা in-the-morning আকাশত in-sky বহুত many মেঘ cloud আছিল was
7.8b azi (A-zi) today ratipuwa (RA-ti-pu-wa) morning akaxot (A-ka-xot) sky-LOC bohut (BO-hut) many megh (MEGH) cloud asil (A-sil) be-PAST.3
7.9a বিহুত at-Bihu আমি we নতুন new কাপোৰ clothes পিন্ধোঁ wear
7.9b bihut (BI-hut) Bihu-LOC ami (A-mi) we notun (NO-tun) new kapor (KA-por) cloth pindhü̃ (PIN-dhun) wear-PRES.1
7.10a আজি today গধূলি in-the-evening বাছখন the-bus ছয় six বজাত at-o'clock আহিব will-come
7.10b azi (A-zi) today godhuli (GO-dhu-li) evening baskhon (BAS-khon) bus-CL.FLAT soy (SOY) six bozat (BO-zat) o'clock-LOC ahibo (A-hi-bo) come-FUT.3
7.11a বহাগ Bohag মাহত in-month অসমৰ of-Assam সকলো every ঠাইত in-place বিহু Bihu হয় is-held
7.11b bohag (BO-hag) Bohag mahot (MA-hot) month-LOC oxomor (O-xo-mor) Assam-GEN xokolü (XO-ko-luu) every thait (THAIT) place-LOC bihu (BI-hu) Bihu hoy (HOY) be-PRES.3
7.12a মোৰ my মনত in-mind আছে is তুমি you যোৱা last বছৰ year বিহুত at-Bihu আমাৰ our ঘৰলৈ to-house আহিছিলা had-come
7.12b mür (MUUR) I-GEN monot (MO-not) mind-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3 tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM züwa (ZUU-wa) go-PTCP bosor (BO-sor) year bihut (BI-hut) Bihu-LOC amar (A-mar) we-GEN ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT ahisila (A-hi-si-la) come-PLUPERF.2
7.13a তেওঁ she অসমীয়াত in-Assamese গান song গায় sings কিন্তু but ইংৰাজীত in-English কথা talk কয় speaks
7.13b teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON oxomiyat (O-xo-mi-yat) Assamese-LOC gan (GAN) song gay (GAY) sing-PRES.3 kintu (KIN-tu) but ingrazit (ING-ra-zit) English-LOC kotha (KO-tha) talk koy (KOY) say-PRES.3
7.14a আমি we ঘৰৰ of-house ভিতৰত inside নবহি not-sitting বাৰীত in-garden বহি sitting চাহ tea খালোঁ had
7.14b ami (A-mi) we ghoror (GHO-ror) house-GEN bhitorot (BHI-to-rot) inside-LOC nobohi (NO-bo-hi) NEG-sit-CONV barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC bohi (BO-hi) sit-CONV sah (SAH) tea khalü̃ (KHA-lun) eat-PAST.1
7.15a মই I গুৱাহাটীত in-Guwahati থাকোঁ live কিন্তু but মোৰ my মনটো the-mind সদায় always গাঁৱতে in-village-itself থাকে stays
7.15b moi (MOI) I guwahatit (GU-wa-ha-tit) Guwahati-LOC thakü̃ (THA-kun) live-PRES.1 kintu (KIN-tu) but mür (MUUR) I-GEN montü (MON-tuu) mind-CL xodai (XO-dai) always gãwote (GAAN-wo-te) village-LOC-EMPH thake (THA-ke) stay-PRES.3
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7.1 মাছ নৈত আছে। (mas noit ase) "The fish are in the river." 7.2 চৰাইটো গছত আছে। (soraitü gosot ase) "The bird is in the tree." 7.3 কিতাপখন মোনাত আছে। (kitapkhon münat ase) "The book is in the bag." 7.4 আমি গাঁৱত থাকোঁ। (ami gãwot thakü̃) "We live in the village." 7.5 ল'ৰাটো স্কুলত নাই। (loratü skulot nai) "The boy is not at school." 7.6 কোঠাটোৰ ভিতৰত এখন টেবুল আছে। (küthatür bhitorot ekhon tebul ase) "There is a table inside the room." 7.7 মোৰ ওচৰত বহুত টকা নাই। (mür üsorot bohut toka nai) "I have not much money on me." 7.8 আজি ৰাতিপুৱা আকাশত বহুত মেঘ আছিল। (azi ratipuwa akaxot bohut megh asil) "This morning there were many clouds in the sky." 7.9 বিহুত আমি নতুন কাপোৰ পিন্ধোঁ। (bihut ami notun kapor pindhü̃) "At Bihu we wear new clothes." 7.10 আজি গধূলি বাছখন ছয় বজাত আহিব। (azi godhuli baskhon soy bozat ahibo) "This evening the bus will come at six o'clock." 7.11 বহাগ মাহত অসমৰ সকলো ঠাইত বিহু হয়। (bohag mahot oxomor xokolü thait bihu hoy) "In the month of Bohag, Bihu is held in every place in Assam." 7.12 মোৰ মনত আছে, তুমি যোৱা বছৰ বিহুত আমাৰ ঘৰলৈ আহিছিলা। (mür monot ase, tumi züwa bosor bihut amar ghorloi ahisila) "I remember: last year at Bihu you came to our house." 7.13 তেওঁ অসমীয়াত গান গায়, কিন্তু ইংৰাজীত কথা কয়। (teü̃ oxomiyat gan gay, kintu ingrazit kotha koy) "She sings in Assamese, but she speaks in English." 7.14 আমি ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত নবহি বাৰীত বহি চাহ খালোঁ। (ami ghoror bhitorot nobohi barit bohi sah khalü̃) "We did not sit inside the house; we sat in the garden and had tea." 7.15 মই গুৱাহাটীত থাকোঁ, কিন্তু মোৰ মনটো সদায় গাঁৱতে থাকে। (moi guwahatit thakü̃, kintu mür montü xodai gãwote thake) "I live in Guwahati, but my heart is always in the village."
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7.1 মাছ নৈত আছে। 7.2 চৰাইটো গছত আছে। 7.3 কিতাপখন মোনাত আছে। 7.4 আমি গাঁৱত থাকোঁ। 7.5 ল'ৰাটো স্কুলত নাই। 7.6 কোঠাটোৰ ভিতৰত এখন টেবুল আছে। 7.7 মোৰ ওচৰত বহুত টকা নাই। 7.8 আজি ৰাতিপুৱা আকাশত বহুত মেঘ আছিল। 7.9 বিহুত আমি নতুন কাপোৰ পিন্ধোঁ। 7.10 আজি গধূলি বাছখন ছয় বজাত আহিব। 7.11 বহাগ মাহত অসমৰ সকলো ঠাইত বিহু হয়। 7.12 মোৰ মনত আছে, তুমি যোৱা বছৰ বিহুত আমাৰ ঘৰলৈ আহিছিলা। 7.13 তেওঁ অসমীয়াত গান গায়, কিন্তু ইংৰাজীত কথা কয়। 7.14 আমি ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত নবহি বাৰীত বহি চাহ খালোঁ। 7.15 মই গুৱাহাটীত থাকোঁ, কিন্তু মোৰ মনটো সদায় গাঁৱতে থাকে।
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "in" in Assamese.
The ending -ত. "In", "at" and "on", the place where something is or happens, is the ending -ত, joined to the noun with no change to the noun. It is pronounced -ot after a consonant and -t after a vowel: - ঘৰ (ghor) → ঘৰত (ghorot), "in the house" - বাৰী (bari) → বাৰীত (barit), "in the garden" (7.14) - নৈ (noi) → নৈত (noit), "in the river" (7.1) - মোনা (müna) → মোনাত (münat), "in the bag" (7.3) - গুৱাহাটী (guwahati) → গুৱাহাটীত (guwahatit), "in Guwahati" (7.15) - গাঁও (gãü) → গাঁৱত (gãwot), "in the village" (7.4): the noun is written গাঁৱ- before every ending, as in গাঁৱৰ and গাঁৱলৈ
The ending comes last. When the noun has its classifier ("the", Lesson 1) or a plural ending, -ত goes on the very end: - ঘৰটো (ghortü) → ঘৰটোত (ghortüt), "in the house" - ঘৰখন (ghorkhon) → ঘৰখনত (ghorkhonot), "in the house" - ঘৰবোৰ (ghorbür) → ঘৰবোৰত (ghorbürot), "in the houses" - When a word describes the noun, it stays as it was and the noun alone takes the ending: এখন ডাঙৰ দোকানত (ekhon dangor dokanot), "in a big shop" (7.22)
Here, there, where. The words of place take the same ending: - ইয়াত (iyat), "here"; তাত (tat), "there"; ক'ত (kot), "where" (7.16) - With -এ, "right there": তাতে (tate) (7.25)
Being in a place. The place goes first and the thing second, and the verb আছে comes last: নৈত মাছ আছে (7.1), "in the river there are fish". The verb of living is থাকা, "to stay": গাঁৱত থাকোঁ, "I live in the village" (7.4).
The words of place. These are nouns with -ত. What they are said of goes before them in the genitive ৰ (Lesson 5): - ভিতৰত (bhitorot), inside: কোঠাটোৰ ভিতৰত (7.6), ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত (7.14) - বাহিৰত (bahirot), outside: ঘৰৰ বাহিৰত, "outside the house" - ওপৰত (üporot), above, on top of: টেবুলখনৰ ওপৰত (Lesson 1) - তলত (tolot), under: গছৰ তলত, "under the tree" (Lesson 2) - কাষত (kaxot), beside: ঘৰৰ কাষত, "beside the house" (Lesson 2) - ওচৰত (üsorot), near: স্কুলৰ ওচৰত, "near the school" (Lesson 5); ওচৰত also has "have" (below) - লগত (logot), with: আইতাৰ লগত, "with Grandmother" (7.26) - আগত (agot), in front of, before; পিছত (pisot), behind, after: বহুত দিনৰ পিছত, "after many days" (7.26) - মাজত (mazot), in the middle of, among: ফুলৰ মাজত, "among the flowers" (7.30)
"Have" is "in the nearness". Assamese says that a thing is in a person's nearness: মোৰ ওচৰত বহুত টকা নাই, "I have not much money on me" (7.7); আইতাৰ ওচৰত ইমান ভাল গামোচা নাই, "Grandmother has not so good a gamosa" (7.23). This is for what a person has on them or at hand. A person's family and house are said with the genitive alone: মোৰ আইতা, মোৰ ঘৰ.
The mind. The mind is a place where things are kept, so মনত with a genitive is "remembers": মোৰ মনত আছে, "I remember" (7.12), and মোৰ মনত নাই, "I do not remember". States of feeling also take -ত: ভয়ত, "in fear"; আনন্দত, "in joy".
Time. -ত names the time at which something happens: - the hour: ছয় বজাত (7.10), "at six o'clock"; বজা is "o'clock" - the festival: বিহুত (7.9, 7.12), "at Bihu". Compare বিহুৰ সময়ত, "at the time of Bihu" (Lesson 5), and বিহুলৈ, "for Bihu" (Lesson 6) - the month: বহাগ মাহত (7.11), "in the month of Bohag" - the year: ১৯১২ চনত, "in 1912" - Many time words take no ending, because they are already adverbs: আজি, কালি, ৰাতিপুৱা, গধূলি (7.8, 7.10); one does not say আজিত
Language. What language a thing is said or sung in takes -ত: অসমীয়াত, "in Assamese", ইংৰাজীত, "in English" (7.13).
Rest and motion. Rest takes -ত, motion takes -লৈ (Lesson 6), and the point from which something comes is a word, পৰা: - ঘৰত থাকোঁ (ghorot thakü̃), "I stay at home" - ঘৰলৈ যাওঁ (ghorloi zaü̃), "I go home" - ঘৰৰ পৰা আহোঁ (ghoror pora ahü̃), "I come from home" - In 7.12, ঘৰলৈ আহিছিলা has -লৈ because it is a coming to the house, while বিহুত says when
-তে, "itself". With the emphatic -এ the ending is -তে: ঘৰতে, "at home and nowhere else"; গাঁৱতে, "in the village itself, all the time in the village" (7.15), as in ইয়াতে and বাৰীতে of Lesson 2.
The negative of the conjunctive. নবহি (7.14) is the conjunctive বহি, "sitting", with the negative ন-: "not sitting", "without sitting". The negative is joined to the verb.
Common Mistakes: - Writing the ending as a word of its own. ঘৰ ত is not "in the house"; the ending is joined: ঘৰত. - Putting -ত before the classifier. ঘৰতটো is wrong; the ending is last: ঘৰটোত. - Using -লৈ for rest, or -ত for going. "I am at home" is ঘৰত আছোঁ, and ঘৰলৈ আছোঁ is wrong; "I am going home" is ঘৰলৈ যাওঁ, and ঘৰত যাওঁ is not what Assamese says. - Leaving out the genitive. "Inside the house" is ঘৰৰ ভিতৰত, not ঘৰ ভিতৰত. - Adding -ত to a time word that does not take it: আজি, কালি, ৰাতিপুৱা, গধূলি. - Putting -ত on a person to say "with" or "at". "With Grandmother" is আইতাৰ লগত; "at Grandmother's" is আইতাৰ ঘৰত or আইতাৰ ওচৰত. - Writing ট for the ending. The ending is ত; ট is in the classifier -টো.
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"Where is your home?", আপোনাৰ ঘৰ ক'ত?, is one of the first questions that people ask each other when they meet in Assam, as elsewhere in India. The answer is the place to which a person belongs, a town, a district or a village, and it is given with -ত: নলবাৰীত, "in Nalbari". The question is a way of finding a common acquaintance, or at least a common river or town, and it is meant to be friendly.
At a house the custom is to call from the gate or the door and to ask whether anyone is in: ঘৰত কোনো আছে নে?, "Is anyone at home?" The answer is likewise ঘৰত, and the question has no other word for "home" than ঘৰ and -ত, as Lesson 2 would lead you to expect.
Bihu is the great festival of the Assamese year, and it is in the month of Bohag, বহাগ মাহত, in mid-April, that the Assamese new year begins with Bohag Bihu. People put on new clothes, and the gamosa, the white cloth with a red woven border of Lesson 6, is given and worn. Because Bohag Bihu is at the turn of the year, বিহুত, "at Bihu", is also the way to say what is done every year, as in 7.9.
Where a person lives is where the heart lives, whatever the address. Many Assamese live and work in Guwahati or in cities far from Assam while the village, and its নৈ, its গছ and its বাৰী, remains the place in which they say they belong: that is the feeling of 7.15.
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লক্ষ্মীনাথ বেজবৰুৱা (Lakshminath Bezbaroa, 1864–1938), "মেকুৰীৰ জীয়েকৰ সাধু" — "The Tale of the Cat's Daughter," from বুঢ়ী আইৰ সাধু (Burhi Aair Xadhu, "Grandmother's Tales"), first published in 1912
The tale of Lessons 5 and 6 goes on. Here the cat leaves two girls at home each day while she goes out to look for food. They ask her what they are to do if someone strikes her down while she is away, and the quotation breaks off where her answer begins:
ছোৱালী দুজনীক ঘৰতে থৈ মেকুৰীয়ে নিতৌ মাছ, গাখীৰ ইত্যাদি বিচাৰি যায়। "আই, তুমি যদি গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁতে কোনোবাই মাৰি থয় তেনেহ'লে আমি কেনেকৈ জানিম আৰু কি কৰিম?" তেতিয়া মাকে এজোপা তুলসী আৰু তাৰ ওচৰতে এমলা গাখীৰ থৈ ক'লে,
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a ছোৱালী girl দুজনীক the-two ঘৰতে in-house-itself থৈ leaving মেকুৰীয়ে the-cat নিতৌ daily মাছ fish গাখীৰ milk ইত্যাদি and-so-on বিচাৰি seeking যায় goes
F.1b süwali (SUU-wa-li) girl dujonik (DU-zo-nik) two-CL.FEM-ACC ghorote (GHO-ro-te) house-LOC-EMPH thoi (THOI) put-CONV mekuriye (ME-ku-ri-ye) cat-ERG nitou (NI-tou) daily mas (MAS) fish gakhir (GA-khir) milk ityadi (I-tya-di) and-so-on bisari (BI-sa-ri) seek-CONV zay (ZAY) go-PRES.3
F.2a আই mother তুমি you যদি if গাঁৱলৈ to-village যাওঁতে while-going কোনোবাই someone মাৰি striking থয় puts তেনেহ'লে in-that-case আমি we কেনেকৈ how জানিম will-know আৰু and কি what কৰিম will-do
F.2b ai (AI) mother tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM zodi (ZO-di) if gãwloi (GAAN-wloi) village-DAT zaü̃te (ZA-un-te) go-while künobai (KUU-nu-bai) someone-ERG mari (MA-ri) strike-CONV thoy (THOY) put-PRES.3 tenehole (TE-ne-ho-le) in-that-case ami (A-mi) we kenekoi (KE-ne-koi) how zanim (ZA-nim) know-FUT.1 aru (A-ru) and ki (KI) what korim (KO-rim) do-FUT.1
F.3a তেতিয়া then মাকে mother এজোপা one-CL তুলসী tulsi আৰু and তাৰ its ওচৰতে right-near এমলা one-dish গাখীৰ milk থৈ putting ক'লে said
F.3b tetiya (TE-ti-ya) then make (MA-ke) mother-ERG ezopa (E-zo-pa) one-CL.PLANT tuloxi (TU-lo-xi) tulsi aru (A-ru) and tar (TAR) that-GEN üsorote (UU-so-ro-te) nearness-LOC-EMPH emola (E-mo-la) one-dish gakhir (GA-khir) milk thoi (THOI) put-CONV kole (KO-le) say-PAST.3
F-B: Original and Translation
ছোৱালী দুজনীক ঘৰতে থৈ মেকুৰীয়ে নিতৌ মাছ, গাখীৰ ইত্যাদি বিচাৰি যায়। "আই, তুমি যদি গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁতে কোনোবাই মাৰি থয় তেনেহ'লে আমি কেনেকৈ জানিম আৰু কি কৰিম?" তেতিয়া মাকে এজোপা তুলসী আৰু তাৰ ওচৰতে এমলা গাখীৰ থৈ ক'লে,
"Leaving the two girls at home, the cat goes out every day to look for fish, milk and the like. 'Mother, if someone strikes you down while you are going to the village, how shall we know, and what shall we do?' Then the mother put a tulsi plant, and right beside it a dish of milk, and said," (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
ছোৱালী দুজনীক ঘৰতে থৈ মেকুৰীয়ে নিতৌ মাছ, গাখীৰ ইত্যাদি বিচাৰি যায়। "আই, তুমি যদি গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁতে কোনোবাই মাৰি থয় তেনেহ'লে আমি কেনেকৈ জানিম আৰু কি কৰিম?" তেতিয়া মাকে এজোপা তুলসী আৰু তাৰ ওচৰতে এমলা গাখীৰ থৈ ক'লে,
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
Three sentences, and the lesson's whole contrast in them. ঘৰতে, "at home", and ওচৰতে, "right beside it", are the ending -ত with the emphatic -এ, -তে. ঘৰতে থৈ is "putting them at home itself", "leaving them in the house", and the cat's whole care is in that one word: the girls are to stay where they are. ওচৰতে is the "near" of 7.7, here the place of a thing, "in the nearness of it": the milk is put right beside the tulsi. তাৰ is "its", the genitive of the pronoun "that", which goes before the word of place just as the genitive goes before ওচৰত in 5.8 and 7.23.
Between the two stands the daughters' question, and it has no -ত at all, because it is about going: গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁতে, "while going to the village", has -লৈ. The girls are afraid of what happens on the road and in the village, and not of the house, where they stay: ঘৰত and গাঁৱলৈ keep their places in the lesson as they do in the tale. যাওঁতে is the verb যা-, "go", with the ending -ওঁতে, "while going".
The sentence breaks off at the mother's answer, which belongs to the rest of the tale. মাৰি থয় is literally "strikes and puts". মেকুৰীয়ে নিতৌ ... বিচাৰি যায় is "the cat goes seeking daily": নিতৌ is "daily", a synonym of দিনৌ, "day after day", in Lesson 6. এমলা is এ-, "one", with মলা, a small earthen vessel, so "one dishful". তুলসী is the holy basil, which Assamese households keep in front of the house.
The two editions that we compared differ in small points of spelling: ক'লে or কলে, তেনেহ'লে or তেনেহলে, মাছ, গাখীৰ with a comma or মাছ-গাখীৰ with a hyphen, and ছোৱালী দুজনী with a space or ছোৱালীদুজনী without. The words are the same. We follow the spelling of the earlier lessons, with the apostrophe in ক'লে and তেনেহ'লে, and the text as it stands on Assamese Wikisource for the rest.
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Malati and Rajib have made the journey to Nalbari that they planned in Lesson 6, and they are now at the grandmother's house. Rajib has brought the gamosa that he promised to buy for her. They use the familiar তুমি with each other.
7.16a ৰাজীৱ Rajib মালতী Malati আইতা grandmother ক'ত where আছে is
7.16b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati aita (AI-ta) grandmother kot (KOT) where-LOC ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.17a মালতী Malati তেওঁ she পাকঘৰত in-kitchen ভাত rice ৰান্ধি cooking আছে is
7.17b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON pakghorot (PAK-gho-rot) kitchen-LOC bhat (BHAT) rice randhi (RAN-dhi) cook-CONV ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.18a ৰাজীৱ Rajib মোৰ my মোনাটো the-bag বাৰান্দাত on-the-veranda নাই is-not
7.18b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib mür (MUUR) I-GEN münatü (MUU-na-tuu) bag-CL barandat (BA-ran-dat) veranda-LOC nai (NAI) NEG.be
7.19a মালতী Malati মই I সেইটো that কোঠাত in-room থৈছোঁ have-put
7.19b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati moi (MOI) I xeitü (XEI-tuu) that-CL küthat (KUU-that) room-LOC thoisü̃ (THOI-sun) put-PERF.1
7.20a ৰাজীৱ Rajib ধন্যবাদ thanks মোনাটোৰ of-the-bag ভিতৰত inside এখন one-CL গামোচা gamosa আছে is
7.20b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib dhonyobad (DHO-nyo-bad) thanks münatür (MUU-na-tuur) bag-CL-GEN bhitorot (BHI-to-rot) inside-LOC ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa ase (A-se) be-PRES.3
7.21a মালতী Malati তুমি you গামোচাখন the-gamosa গুৱাহাটীত in-Guwahati কিনিছিলা had-bought নে or
7.21b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM gamüsakhon (GA-muu-sa-khon) gamosa-CL.FLAT guwahatit (GU-wa-ha-tit) Guwahati-LOC kinisila (KI-ni-si-la) buy-PLUPERF.2 ne (NE) Q
7.22a ৰাজীৱ Rajib হয় yes বজাৰৰ of-market এখন one-CL ডাঙৰ big দোকানত in-shop কিনিছিলোঁ had-bought
7.22b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib hoy (HOY) yes bozaror (BO-za-ror) market-GEN ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT dangor (DA-ngor) big dokanot (DO-ka-not) shop-LOC kinisilü̃ (KI-ni-si-lun) buy-PLUPERF.1
7.23a মালতী Malati আইতাৰ of-grandmother ওচৰত in-nearness ইমান so ভাল good গামোচা gamosa নাই is-not
7.23b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN üsorot (UU-so-rot) nearness-LOC iman (I-man) so bhal (BHAL) good gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa nai (NAI) NEG.be
7.24a ৰাজীৱ Rajib বিহুত at-Bihu তেওঁ she নিশ্চয় surely ভাল good পাব will-get
7.24b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib bihut (BI-hut) Bihu-LOC teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON nixoy (NI-xoy) surely bhal (BHAL) good pabo (PA-bo) get-FUT.3
7.25a মালতী Malati আইতা grandmother গধূলি in-the-evening বাৰান্দাত on-the-veranda বহি sitting থাকে stays তাতে right-there তেওঁক her গামোচাখন the-gamosa দিবা will-give
7.25b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati aita (AI-ta) grandmother godhuli (GO-dhu-li) evening barandat (BA-ran-dat) veranda-LOC bohi (BO-hi) sit-CONV thake (THA-ke) stay-PRES.3 tate (TA-te) there-LOC-EMPH teü̃k (TE-unk) she-HON-ACC gamüsakhon (GA-muu-sa-khon) gamosa-CL.FLAT diba (DI-ba) give-FUT.2
7.26a ৰাজীৱ Rajib ঠিক right আছে is আইতাৰ of-grandmother লগত with বহুত many দিনৰ of-days পিছত after দেখা meeting হ'ব will-be
7.26b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib thik (THIK) right ase (A-se) be-PRES.3 aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN logot (LO-got) company-LOC bohut (BO-hut) many dinor (DI-nor) day-GEN pisot (PI-sot) after-LOC dekha (DE-kha) meeting hobo (HO-bo) be-FUT.3
7.27a মালতী Malati আহা come আমি we বাৰীত in-garden অলপ a-little বহোঁ sit
7.27b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati aha (A-ha) come-IMP.2FAM ami (A-mi) we barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC olop (O-lop) a-little bohü̃ (BO-hun) sit-PRES.1
7.28a ৰাজীৱ Rajib বাৰীত in-garden বহুত many ফুল flowers ফুলিছে have-bloomed
7.28b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC bohut (BO-hut) many phul (PHUL) flower phulise (PHU-li-se) bloom-PERF.3
7.29a মালতী Malati বহাগ Bohag মাহত in-month আইতাৰ of-grandmother বাৰীত in-garden বহুত many ফুল flowers ফুলে bloom
7.29b maloti (MA-lo-ti) Malati bohag (BO-hag) Bohag mahot (MA-hot) month-LOC aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC bohut (BO-hut) many phul (PHUL) flower phule (PHU-le) bloom-PRES.3
7.30a ৰাজীৱ Rajib তেন্তে then সেইবোৰ those ফুলৰ of-flowers মাজত in-middle আমি we এখন one-CL ফটো photo তুলিম will-take
7.30b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib tente (TEN-te) then xeibür (XEI-buur) that-PL phulor (PHU-lor) flower-GEN mazot (MA-zot) middle-LOC ami (A-mi) we ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT photo (PHO-to) photo tulim (TU-lim) take-FUT.1
7.16 ৰাজীৱ: মালতী, আইতা ক'ত আছে? (rajiw: maloti, aita kot ase?) "Rajib: Malati, where is Grandmother?" 7.17 মালতী: তেওঁ পাকঘৰত ভাত ৰান্ধি আছে। (maloti: teü̃ pakghorot bhat randhi ase.) "Malati: She is cooking rice in the kitchen." 7.18 ৰাজীৱ: মোৰ মোনাটো বাৰান্দাত নাই। (rajiw: mür münatü barandat nai.) "Rajib: My bag is not on the veranda." 7.19 মালতী: মই সেইটো কোঠাত থৈছোঁ। (maloti: moi xeitü küthat thoisü̃.) "Malati: I have put it in the room." 7.20 ৰাজীৱ: ধন্যবাদ। মোনাটোৰ ভিতৰত এখন গামোচা আছে। (rajiw: dhonyobad. münatür bhitorot ekhon gamüsa ase.) "Rajib: Thank you. There is a gamosa inside the bag." 7.21 মালতী: তুমি গামোচাখন গুৱাহাটীত কিনিছিলা নে? (maloti: tumi gamüsakhon guwahatit kinisila ne?) "Malati: Did you buy the gamosa in Guwahati?" 7.22 ৰাজীৱ: হয়, বজাৰৰ এখন ডাঙৰ দোকানত কিনিছিলোঁ। (rajiw: hoy, bozaror ekhon dangor dokanot kinisilü̃.) "Rajib: Yes, I bought it in a big shop in the market." 7.23 মালতী: আইতাৰ ওচৰত ইমান ভাল গামোচা নাই। (maloti: aitar üsorot iman bhal gamüsa nai.) "Malati: Grandmother has not got so good a gamosa." 7.24 ৰাজীৱ: বিহুত তেওঁ নিশ্চয় ভাল পাব। (rajiw: bihut teü̃ nixoy bhal pabo.) "Rajib: At Bihu she will surely like it." 7.25 মালতী: আইতা গধূলি বাৰান্দাত বহি থাকে; তাতে তেওঁক গামোচাখন দিবা। (maloti: aita godhuli barandat bohi thake; tate teü̃k gamüsakhon diba.) "Malati: In the evening Grandmother sits on the veranda; give her the gamosa there." 7.26 ৰাজীৱ: ঠিক আছে। আইতাৰ লগত বহুত দিনৰ পিছত দেখা হ'ব। (rajiw: thik ase. aitar logot bohut dinor pisot dekha hobo.) "Rajib: All right. I shall see Grandmother after many days." 7.27 মালতী: আহা, আমি বাৰীত অলপ বহোঁ। (maloti: aha, ami barit olop bohü̃.) "Malati: Come, let us sit in the garden for a while." 7.28 ৰাজীৱ: বাৰীত বহুত ফুল ফুলিছে! (rajiw: barit bohut phul phulise!) "Rajib: Many flowers have bloomed in the garden!" 7.29 মালতী: বহাগ মাহত আইতাৰ বাৰীত বহুত ফুল ফুলে। (maloti: bohag mahot aitar barit bohut phul phule.) "Malati: In the month of Bohag many flowers bloom in Grandmother's garden." 7.30 ৰাজীৱ: তেন্তে সেইবোৰ ফুলৰ মাজত আমি এখন ফটো তুলিম। (rajiw: tente xeibür phulor mazot ami ekhon photo tulim.) "Rajib: Then we shall take a photograph among those flowers."
7.16 ৰাজীৱ: মালতী, আইতা ক'ত আছে? 7.17 মালতী: তেওঁ পাকঘৰত ভাত ৰান্ধি আছে। 7.18 ৰাজীৱ: মোৰ মোনাটো বাৰান্দাত নাই। 7.19 মালতী: মই সেইটো কোঠাত থৈছোঁ। 7.20 ৰাজীৱ: ধন্যবাদ। মোনাটোৰ ভিতৰত এখন গামোচা আছে। 7.21 মালতী: তুমি গামোচাখন গুৱাহাটীত কিনিছিলা নে? 7.22 ৰাজীৱ: হয়, বজাৰৰ এখন ডাঙৰ দোকানত কিনিছিলোঁ। 7.23 মালতী: আইতাৰ ওচৰত ইমান ভাল গামোচা নাই। 7.24 ৰাজীৱ: বিহুত তেওঁ নিশ্চয় ভাল পাব। 7.25 মালতী: আইতা গধূলি বাৰান্দাত বহি থাকে; তাতে তেওঁক গামোচাখন দিবা। 7.26 ৰাজীৱ: ঠিক আছে। আইতাৰ লগত বহুত দিনৰ পিছত দেখা হ'ব। 7.27 মালতী: আহা, আমি বাৰীত অলপ বহোঁ। 7.28 ৰাজীৱ: বাৰীত বহুত ফুল ফুলিছে! 7.29 মালতী: বহাগ মাহত আইতাৰ বাৰীত বহুত ফুল ফুলে। 7.30 ৰাজীৱ: তেন্তে সেইবোৰ ফুলৰ মাজত আমি এখন ফটো তুলিম।
Where, and the answer. The question ক'ত আছে? (7.16) is answered with the same ending: পাকঘৰত (7.17), বাৰান্দাত (7.18), কোঠাত (7.19). The place of the thing is in the middle of the sentence, before the verb, and the verb is last.
The bag and its inside. In 7.18 the bag is not "on the veranda": বাৰান্দাত is a place with the ending alone. In 7.20 the gamosa is "inside the bag", মোনাটোৰ ভিতৰত, with the genitive and then the word of place. The classifier stays on the noun before the genitive ending, so মোনাটো becomes মোনাটোৰ.
-ত at the end of the phrase. In 7.22 the phrase is বজাৰৰ এখন ডাঙৰ দোকানত, "in a big shop of the market". The genitive বজাৰৰ, the classifier এখন and the adjective ডাঙৰ stay as they are, and only the noun দোকান takes -ত.
Having. In 7.23, আইতাৰ ওচৰত ... নাই is "Grandmother has not got": the "have" of Section D, with the thing that she does not have, গামোচা, before নাই.
Time. In 7.24 বিহুত says when, and in 7.29 বহাগ মাহত. গধূলি, "in the evening" (7.25), has no ending. তাতে (7.25) is "there" with the emphatic -এ, "right there": on the veranda, where she sits.
Meeting. আইতাৰ লগত দেখা হ'ব (7.26) is "with Grandmother there will be a meeting", the way Assamese says "I shall see her". The person is not the subject of the verb; the meeting is, and the person is in the company, লগত. বহুত দিনৰ পিছত, "after many days", is the word of time পিছত after the genitive দিনৰ.
Among. In 7.30 ফুলৰ মাজত is "in the middle of the flowers", with the genitive plural noun before মাজত, and সেইবোৰ is "those": the plural -বোৰ added to the pronoun সেই.
Blooming. ফুলিছে (7.28) says that the flowers have bloomed and are out now; ফুলে (7.29) says that they bloom every year.
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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", and the stressed first syllable is in capitals.
ত (-ot) — IPA: /ɔt/ after a consonant and /t/ after a vowel — the final ত is a plain t, said without a puff of breath and without a retroflex curl, and the ending is not pronounced as a separate word. ঘৰত (ghorot) — IPA: /ɡʱɔɹɔt/ — ঘ is g with a puff of breath. ক'ত (kot) — IPA: /kɔt/ — the apostrophe in the spelling stands for the vowel o. নৈত (noit) — IPA: /nɔit/. গাঁৱত (gãwot) — IPA: /ɡãwɔt/ — the tilde is a nasal a. আকাশত (akaxot) — IPA: /ɑkɑxɔt/ — শ is /x/. ভিতৰত (bhitorot) — IPA: /bʱitɔɹɔt/ — ভ is b with a puff of breath. ওচৰত (üsorot) — IPA: /ʊsɔɹɔt/ — চ is /s/. কোঠাত (küthat) — IPA: /kʊtʰɑt/ — ঠ is t with a puff of breath. মনত (monot) — IPA: /mɔnɔt/. বিহুত (bihut) — IPA: /biɦut/ — হ is a breathy /ɦ/. বজাত (bozat) — IPA: /bɔzɑt/. মাহত (mahot) — IPA: /mɑɦɔt/. লগত (logot) — IPA: /lɔɡɔt/. তলত (tolot) — IPA: /tɔlɔt/. গধূলি (godhuli) — IPA: /ɡɔdʱuli/ — ধ is d with a puff of breath.
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