For autodidact students of Assamese, "I" is a small word with a larger task than it has in English. It is মই (moi), and it comes in two parts: the word মই itself, which is "I" the doer, and the stem মো-, which takes every ending that Assamese gives to an "I" that is not the doer:
- মই (moi): I - মোৰ (mür): my, of me - মোক (mük): me, to me - মোলৈ (müloi): to me, for me - মইও (moiü): I too, I also
You have used these forms since the beginning of the course: মই ঘৰত আছোঁ, "I am at home" (Lesson 2), and মোৰ ওচৰত বহুত টকা নাই, "I have not much money on me" (Lesson 7). Now the word has a lesson of its own. The word is pronounced as one syllable, moi, with the o of British "hot" gliding into i, and it is the same for every speaker: man or woman, child or grandmother. Assamese does not make the speaker change the word for "I" according to whom the speaker addresses. The respect is in the word for "you" (Lesson 2 and the Genre Section below), and never in the word for "I".
There are four things that English speakers do not expect.
First, the pronoun is often left out. The verb already says who is acting, because every person has its own ending: খাওঁ (khaü̃) is "I eat", and the ending -ওঁ is "I". মই ভাত খাওঁ and ভাত খাওঁ both mean "I eat rice". মই is said when it is needed: to set "I" against someone else (তেওঁ চাহ খায়, কিন্তু মই নাখাওঁ, "She drinks tea, but I do not"), to begin a topic, or to give weight to the speaker.
Second, "I" has two stems. When it is the doer it is মই, and in every other place it is মো-: মোৰ, মোক, মোলৈ. The endings that follow are the ones that you know: the genitive ৰ (Lesson 5), the object ending -ক (as in তেওঁক, "her"), the "to" of -লৈ (Lesson 6), and the locative -ত (Lesson 7). The locative মোত exists but is rare; Assamese says মোৰ মনত, "in my mind", and মোৰ ওচৰত, "in my nearness, on me", as in Lesson 7. The polite "you" does the same: আপুনি becomes আপোনা-, as in আপোনাৰ and আপোনালৈ.
Third, the endings of the first person are these, and they are the same for আমি, "we": - present: -ওঁ (খাওঁ, থাকোঁ, আহোঁ) - past: -লোঁ, with -ি- after a consonant stem (খালোঁ, কিনিলোঁ, আহিলোঁ) - future: -ম, with -ি- after a consonant stem (যাম, খাম, আহিম) - perfect: -ছোঁ (আহিছোঁ, আনিছোঁ) - pluperfect: -ছিলোঁ (কিনিছিলোঁ, Lesson 7)
So মই আহিম and আমি আহিম differ only in the pronoun, and when the pronoun is left out the verb alone does not tell "I" from "we": the situation does.
Fourth, the doer and the negative behave differently from English. A noun that does something takes the ending -এ: ৰাজীৱে (rajiwe), মালতীয়ে (malotiye). The pronoun stays মই and takes no ending. The negative is joined to the verb and does not stand alone: খাওঁ is "I eat" and নাখাওঁ is "I do not eat", with the vowel of the prefix following the first vowel of the verb. Only the verb "to be" has a negative word of its own, নাই, and in the past নাছিলোঁ (Lesson 2).
A small word of time deserves a warning before the examples. কালি (kali) is both "yesterday" and "tomorrow". The tense of the verb says which: মই কালি কিনিলোঁ is "Yesterday I bought" and মই কালি আহিম is "Tomorrow I shall come".
Script note: মই is two letters, ম (m) and the full vowel letter ই (i). ম already carries the inherent vowel o, and a vowel that follows another vowel is written with its full letter, not with a sign, so the ই is the second vowel of the word. The sign ি (i) is written before its consonant, on the left, and মি would be read mi. In মোক and মোৰ the sign ো is written on both sides of ম, with ে before and া after, and it is read ü, as in the earlier lessons. The letter ৰ (r) is the Assamese letter, different from the Bengali র. In খাওঁ and যাওঁ the ending is the full letter ও with the moon-and-dot ঁ (chandrabindu) above it, which makes the vowel nasal: ü̃.
Key Takeaways: - "I" is মই; after it comes the stem মো-: মোৰ (my), মোক (me), মোলৈ (to me, for me) - Add -ও for "also": মইও, "I too"; add নিজে for "myself": মই নিজে - The verb ends in the person: -ওঁ, -লোঁ, -ম, -ছোঁ, -ছিলোঁ; the same endings go with আমি - The pronoun is dropped unless it is needed for contrast, emphasis or a new topic - The negative ন- is joined to the verb: খাওঁ → নাখাওঁ; "to be" has নাই and নাছিলোঁ - মই takes no -এ; a name does: ৰাজীৱে মোক দেখিলে - কালি is "yesterday" with a past verb and "tomorrow" with a future verb - "I like" is two ways: ভাল পাওঁ, and the feeling of the genitive, মোৰ ভাল লাগে
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8.1a মই I ভাত rice খাওঁ eat
8.1b moi (MOI) I bhat (BHAT) rice khaü̃ (KHA-un) eat-PRES.1
8.2a মই I ঘৰত at-home আছোঁ am
8.2b moi (MOI) I ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC asü̃ (A-sun) be-PRES.1
8.3a আজি today ঘৰতে at-home-itself ভাত rice খাওঁ eat
8.3b azi (A-zi) today ghorote (GHO-ro-te) house-LOC-EMPH bhat (BHAT) rice khaü̃ (KHA-un) eat-PRES.1
8.4a তেওঁ she চাহ tea খায় drinks কিন্তু but মই I নাখাওঁ do-not-drink
8.4b teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON sah (SAH) tea khay (KHAY) eat-PRES.3 kintu (KIN-tu) but moi (MOI) I nakhaü̃ (NA-kha-un) NEG-eat-PRES.1
8.5a মই I কালি yesterday ঘৰত at-home নাছিলোঁ was-not
8.5b moi (MOI) I kali (KA-li) yesterday ghorot (GHO-rot) house-LOC nasilü̃ (NA-si-lun) NEG-be-PAST.1
8.6a মই I কালি yesterday বজাৰত in-market নতুন new কাপোৰ clothes কিনিলোঁ bought
8.6b moi (MOI) I kali (KA-li) yesterday bozarot (BO-za-rot) market-LOC notun (NO-tun) new kapor (KA-por) cloth kinilü̃ (KI-ni-lun) buy-PAST.1
8.7a মই I কালি tomorrow আইতাৰ of-grandmother ঘৰলৈ to-house আহিম will-come
8.7b moi (MOI) I kali (KA-li) tomorrow aitar (AI-tar) grandmother-GEN ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT ahim (A-him) come-FUT.1
8.8a মই I বহুত many দিনৰ of-days পিছত after গাঁৱলৈ to-village আহিছোঁ have-come
8.8b moi (MOI) I bohut (BO-hut) many dinor (DI-nor) day-GEN pisot (PI-sot) after-LOC gãwloi (GAAN-wloi) village-DAT ahisü̃ (A-hi-sun) come-PERF.1
8.9a মোৰ my নাম name ৰাজীৱ Rajib
8.9b mür (MUUR) I-GEN nam (NAM) name rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib
8.10a মই I আৰু and ৰাজীৱ Rajib গাঁৱলৈ to-village যাওঁ go
8.10b moi (MOI) I aru (A-ru) and rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib gãwloi (GAAN-wloi) village-DAT zaü̃ (ZA-un) go-PRES.1
8.11a তেওঁ she মোক to-me এখন one-CL কিতাপ book দিলে gave
8.11b teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON mük (MUUK) I-ACC ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT kitap (KI-tap) book dile (DI-le) give-PAST.3
8.12a ৰাজীৱে Rajib মোক me বজাৰত in-market দেখিলে saw
8.12b rajiwe (RA-ji-we) Rajib-ERG mük (MUUK) I-ACC bozarot (BO-za-rot) market-LOC dekhile (DE-khi-le) see-PAST.3
8.13a তেওঁ she মোলৈ for-me এখন one-CL গামোচা gamosa আনিছে has-brought
8.13b teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON müloi (MUU-loi) I-DAT ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa anise (A-ni-se) bring-PERF.3
8.14a তেওঁ she বিহু Bihu ভাল good পায় gets মইও I-too ভাল good পাওঁ get
8.14b teü̃ (TE-un) she-HON bihu (BI-hu) Bihu bhal (BHAL) good pay (PAY) get-PRES.3 moiü (MOI-uu) I-also bhal (BHAL) good paü̃ (PA-un) get-PRES.1
8.15a মই I নিজে myself তেওঁৰ of-her ঘৰলৈ to-house যাম will-go
8.15b moi (MOI) I nize (NI-ze) self-EMPH teü̃r (TE-unr) she-HON-GEN ghorloi (GHOR-loi) house-DAT zam (ZAM) go-FUT.1
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8.1 মই ভাত খাওঁ। (moi bhat khaü̃) "I eat rice." 8.2 মই ঘৰত আছোঁ। (moi ghorot asü̃) "I am at home." 8.3 আজি ঘৰতে ভাত খাওঁ। (azi ghorote bhat khaü̃) "Today I eat at home." 8.4 তেওঁ চাহ খায়, কিন্তু মই নাখাওঁ। (teü̃ sah khay, kintu moi nakhaü̃) "She drinks tea, but I do not." 8.5 মই কালি ঘৰত নাছিলোঁ। (moi kali ghorot nasilü̃) "I was not at home yesterday." 8.6 মই কালি বজাৰত নতুন কাপোৰ কিনিলোঁ। (moi kali bozarot notun kapor kinilü̃) "Yesterday I bought new clothes in the market." 8.7 মই কালি আইতাৰ ঘৰলৈ আহিম। (moi kali aitar ghorloi ahim) "Tomorrow I shall come to Grandmother's house." 8.8 মই বহুত দিনৰ পিছত গাঁৱলৈ আহিছোঁ। (moi bohut dinor pisot gãwloi ahisü̃) "After many days I have come to the village." 8.9 মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ। (mür nam rajiw) "My name is Rajib." 8.10 মই আৰু ৰাজীৱ গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁ। (moi aru rajiw gãwloi zaü̃) "Rajib and I are going to the village." 8.11 তেওঁ মোক এখন কিতাপ দিলে। (teü̃ mük ekhon kitap dile) "She gave me a book." 8.12 ৰাজীৱে মোক বজাৰত দেখিলে। (rajiwe mük bozarot dekhile) "Rajib saw me in the market." 8.13 তেওঁ মোলৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছে। (teü̃ müloi ekhon gamüsa anise) "She has brought a gamosa for me." 8.14 তেওঁ বিহু ভাল পায়, মইও ভাল পাওঁ। (teü̃ bihu bhal pay, moiü bhal paü̃) "She likes Bihu, and I like it too." 8.15 মই নিজে তেওঁৰ ঘৰলৈ যাম। (moi nize teü̃r ghorloi zam) "I shall go to her house myself."
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8.1 মই ভাত খাওঁ। 8.2 মই ঘৰত আছোঁ। 8.3 আজি ঘৰতে ভাত খাওঁ। 8.4 তেওঁ চাহ খায়, কিন্তু মই নাখাওঁ। 8.5 মই কালি ঘৰত নাছিলোঁ। 8.6 মই কালি বজাৰত নতুন কাপোৰ কিনিলোঁ। 8.7 মই কালি আইতাৰ ঘৰলৈ আহিম। 8.8 মই বহুত দিনৰ পিছত গাঁৱলৈ আহিছোঁ। 8.9 মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ। 8.10 মই আৰু ৰাজীৱ গাঁৱলৈ যাওঁ। 8.11 তেওঁ মোক এখন কিতাপ দিলে। 8.12 ৰাজীৱে মোক বজাৰত দেখিলে। 8.13 তেওঁ মোলৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছে। 8.14 তেওঁ বিহু ভাল পায়, মইও ভাল পাওঁ। 8.15 মই নিজে তেওঁৰ ঘৰলৈ যাম।
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These are the grammar rules for expressing "I" in Assamese.
The word মই. মই (moi) is "I" for every speaker. It is the form for the person who does something, and it does not change for what is done, when, or to whom: মই খাওঁ (8.1), মই কিনিলোঁ (8.6), মই যাম (8.15). It takes no doer's ending: where the noun ৰাজীৱ needs -এ in 8.12 (ৰাজীৱে), the pronoun মই needs nothing.
The stem মো-. In every other place the stem is মো-, and the endings are those of Lessons 5, 6 and 7: - মোৰ (mür), my, of me, with the genitive ৰ: মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ (8.9) - মোক (mük), me, with the object ending -ক, for the one who is seen, given to or told: তেওঁ মোক এখন কিতাপ দিলে (8.11), ৰাজীৱে মোক বজাৰত দেখিলে (8.12) - মোলৈ (müloi), to me, for me, with -লৈ, for the one for whom something is brought or sent: তেওঁ মোলৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছে (8.13) - মোত (müt), in me, is rare; Lesson 7 says মোৰ মনত and মোৰ ওচৰত - The polite "you" and "we" are the same: আপুনি → আপোনাৰ, আপোনাক, আপোনালৈ (8.20); আমি → আমাৰ, আমাক, আমালৈ
"I also", "I myself". The ending -ও, "also", is joined to the end: মইও (moiü), "I also" (8.14), and মোৰো (mürü), "to me also" (8.24). The word নিজে (nize) is "oneself" and goes after the pronoun: মই নিজে, "I myself" (8.15, 8.22); তুমি নিজে, "you yourself" (8.21).
The verb carries the person. The endings of the first person are the same for মই and আমি. The present ending is -ওঁ, and it is written ো + ঁ after a consonant stem: - খা (eat) → খাওঁ (8.1, 8.3) - আছ (be) → আছোঁ (8.2, 8.19) - যা (go) → যাওঁ (8.10, 8.29) - পা (get) → পাওঁ (8.14)
The past is -লোঁ: কিনিলোঁ (8.6, 8.22), and the "be" is আছিলোঁ, in the negative নাছিলোঁ (8.5). The future is -ম, with -ি- after a consonant stem: - আহ (come) → আহিম (8.7) - যা (go) → যাম (8.15) - খা (eat) → খাম (8.28) - পিন্ধ (wear) → পিন্ধিম (8.23)
The perfect is -ছোঁ after the conjunctive: আহিছোঁ (8.8), আনিছোঁ (8.20), হৈছোঁ (8.19). It says that the action is over and its result is now: 8.8 is "I have come" and I am here.
Leaving out the pronoun. With the ending the pronoun can go: আজি ঘৰতে ভাত খাওঁ (8.3) is the same as 8.1 without মই. The pronoun is kept in three cases: - for contrast: তেওঁ চাহ খায়, কিন্তু মই নাখাওঁ (8.4) - for emphasis or a promise: মই নিজে তেওঁৰ ঘৰলৈ যাম (8.15) - at the start of a statement about oneself, when the hearer has to be told who is speaking (8.1, 8.8)
Yesterday and tomorrow. কালি (8.5, 8.6, 8.7) is both, and the verb decides: নাছিলোঁ and কিনিলোঁ are past, so "yesterday"; আহিম is future, so "tomorrow".
The negative. The prefix ন- is joined to the verb and takes the vowel of the verb's first letter: - খাওঁ → নাখাওঁ (8.4), "I do not eat" - আহোঁ → নাহোঁ, "I do not come" - কৰোঁ → নকৰোঁ, "I do not do" - "Am not", "have not" is নাই for every person (Lesson 2), and the past is নাছিলোঁ (8.5)
Two doers. In 8.10 মই আৰু ৰাজীৱ are two doers, and the verb takes the first person, যাওঁ, because one of the two is "I".
"I like". There are two ways. ভাল পাওঁ (8.14) is "I get good", with "I" as the doer. মোৰ ভাল লাগে (8.23, 8.24) puts "I" in the genitive: "to me it feels good". Both are common. The second can be said of anything: মোৰ বিহু ভাল লাগে, "I like Bihu".
Common Mistakes: - Using মই with the verb of another person. মই খায় is wrong; "I eat" is মই খাওঁ, and খায় is "he, she eats". - Putting an ending on মই. মইক, মইৰ and মইলৈ are wrong; the stem is মো-: মোক, মোৰ, মোলৈ. - Putting the doer's -এ on মই. মইয়ে is not Assamese. - Writing the vowel as ি. মি is "mi"; "I" is মই, with the full letter ই. - Writing the negative as a word of its own. না খাওঁ is wrong; the prefix is joined: নাখাওঁ. - Using নাই for "I did not come". নাই says that a thing is not there; the negative of আহিলোঁ is নাহিলোঁ. - Leaving out the pronoun where it sets "I" against another. In 8.4 কিন্তু নাখাওঁ would leave the contrast to be guessed. - Taking কালি for one day only. It is "yesterday" or "tomorrow", and the verb tells which. - Leaving off the chandrabindu. The first-person ending is written -ওঁ, with the sign above the letter.
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Assamese has one word for "I" and three for "you", and so a conversation tells you who is speaking to whom by the word for "you". With a small child or a very close friend, or in anger and contempt, a speaker says তই; with a friend, a younger person or an equal তুমি; with an elder, a stranger, a teacher or an official আপুনি. The first person never changes with the company. In the Genre Section below, Rajib is not a relative of the grandmother, and she is his elder, so he says আপুনি to her and she says তুমি to him. The pronoun মই is the same in both their mouths.
Assamese often says আমাৰ, "our", where English says "my", of the home and the village and the family: আমাৰ ঘৰলৈ, "to our house", in 7.12. A person is a member of a household and a village before being an individual, and মই, "I", is the word for the moment at which the speaker steps forward: to tell one's name (8.9), to promise (the old woman in Section F), or to say what one has done oneself (8.22).
A person who is not of the family is greeted with a word of the family. A young person who meets an elderly woman calls her আইতা, "grandmother", as Malati and Rajib do, or আই, "mother"; a man a little older than oneself is ককাইদেউ, "elder brother", and a woman a little older is বাইদেউ, "elder sister". These are used with আপুনি, and the greeting নমস্কাৰ (nomoskar) with folded hands goes before them. The name comes after: "My name is Rajib", মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ (8.9, 8.16), is the plain way to introduce oneself.
The gamosa, the white cloth with a red woven border of Lessons 6 and 7, is the gift that Assamese give to an elder or a guest as a mark of respect. Rajib brings one to Malati's grandmother, and she answers with what she will do with it: she will wear it at Bihu (8.23). He has bought it himself, as he says in 8.22: মই নিজে কিনিলোঁ.
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লক্ষ্মীনাথ বেজবৰুৱা (Lakshminath Bezbaroa, 1864–1938), "বুঢ়া-বুঢ়ী আৰু শিয়াল" — "The Old Man, the Old Woman and the Jackal," from বুঢ়ী আইৰ সাধু (Burhi Aair Xadhu, "Grandmother's Tales"), first published in 1912
The old woman has met the jackals and puts them off with a promise. Three short speeches from the tale are quoted. The old woman says that the jackals may eat her when she comes back. A jackal answers by asking what will happen if she does not. She replies with an oath. The narration between the speeches is left out.
মই উভতি আহোঁতে তহঁতে মোক খাবি। যদি উভতি নাহ, তেন্তে? মই সইত খাই কৈছোঁ, এই বাটেদিয়ে মই সোনকালে উভতি আহিম।
F-A: Interlinear
F.1a মই I উভতি returning আহোঁতে while-coming তহঁতে you-all মোক me খাবি will-eat
F.1b moi (MOI) I ubhoti (U-bho-ti) return-CONV ahü̃te (A-hun-te) come-while tohõte (TO-hon-te) you-PL-ERG mük (MUUK) I-ACC khabi (KHA-bi) eat-FUT.2
F.2a যদি if উভতি returning নাহ you-do-not-come তেন্তে then
F.2b zodi (ZO-di) if ubhoti (U-bho-ti) return-CONV nah (NAH) NEG-come-PRES.2 tente (TEN-te) then
F.3a মই I সইত on-oath খাই eating কৈছোঁ have-said এই this বাটেদিয়ে by-road মই I সোনকালে soon উভতি returning আহিম will-come
F.3b moi (MOI) I xoit (XOIT) oath-LOC khai (KHAI) eat-CONV koisü̃ (KOI-sun) say-PERF.1 ei (EI) this batediye (BA-te-di-ye) road-by moi (MOI) I xonkale (XON-ka-le) soon ubhoti (U-bho-ti) return-CONV ahim (A-him) come-FUT.1
F-B: Original and Translation
মই উভতি আহোঁতে তহঁতে মোক খাবি। যদি উভতি নাহ, তেন্তে? মই সইত খাই কৈছোঁ, এই বাটেদিয়ে মই সোনকালে উভতি আহিম।
"When I come back, you will eat me." "And if you do not come back, then?" "I say it on my oath: by this very road I shall come back soon." (Translation: Latinum Institute.)
F-C: Original
মই উভতি আহোঁতে তহঁতে মোক খাবি। যদি উভতি নাহ, তেন্তে? মই সইত খাই কৈছোঁ, এই বাটেদিয়ে মই সোনকালে উভতি আহিম।
F-D: Grammar and Literary Commentary
The whole of the lesson's pronoun is in three lines. In the first the old woman says মই, "I", the doer of আহোঁতে, "while coming", and then মোক, "me", the one who is eaten: the stem মো- with the object ending -ক, as in 8.11 and 8.12. The jackals are তহঁতে (tohõte), the plural of the intimate তই of Section E, with the doer's ending -এ, and the verb is খাবি, the future of the same grade; the grade of তুমি and আপুনি is not used here.
The jackal's question, যদি উভতি নাহ, তেন্তে?, has no pronoun at all. "You" is in the verb, as "I" is in the verb of 8.3, and the ending can be dropped because everyone knows who is spoken to. নাহ is the negative ন- joined to the verb আহ, "come", as নাখাওঁ is joined to খাওঁ in 8.4. তেন্তে, "then", is the word of 7.30.
The old woman's answer puts মই twice, in the oath and in the promise, and in each place it is there on purpose: she, and no one else, will come back. This is the use of the pronoun that 8.15 shows, মই নিজে ... যাম, and the verb is the first-person future আহিম of 8.7. কৈছোঁ is the perfect of the first person, -ছোঁ, "I have said", as in আহিছোঁ (8.8). The phrase সইত খাই, literally "eating on an oath", is the way the tale says that she swears; the sense is clear, though we have not found it in a dictionary and we give it as it is read in the tale. বাটেদিয়ে is বাট, "road", with the ending -েদি, "by way of", and এই makes it "this" road. সোনকালে, "soon", is an adverb and takes no ending. উভতি is the conjunctive of the verb "to return"; উভতি আহিম is "I shall come back", and the same উভতি is in the jackal's question.
The published date of the book is given as 1912 on the Assamese Wikisource edition and in the earlier lessons. Some reference works give 1911; we follow the edition. The spelling of the text is that of Wikisource.
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Grandmother has finished in the kitchen and comes out to the veranda, where Rajib, who has come with Malati, stands to greet her. Malati has gone into the garden. Rajib is not her relative and she is his elder, so he says the respectful আপুনি to her, and she says the familiar তুমি to him. The gamosa that Rajib bought in Guwahati (Lesson 7) is ready in his hands.
8.16a ৰাজীৱ Rajib নমস্কাৰ greeting আইতা grandmother মোৰ my নাম name ৰাজীৱ Rajib
8.16b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib nomoskar (NO-mos-kar) greeting aita (AI-ta) grandmother mür (MUUR) I-GEN nam (NAM) name rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib
8.17a আইতা grandmother জানোঁ know মালতীয়ে Malati মোক to-me কৈছিল had-told আহা come বাৰান্দাত on-veranda বহা sit
8.17b aita (AI-ta) grandmother zanü̃ (ZA-nun) know-PRES.1 malotiye (MA-lo-ti-ye) Malati-ERG mük (MUUK) I-ACC koisil (KOI-sil) say-PLUPERF.3 aha (A-ha) come-IMP.2FAM barandat (BA-ran-dat) veranda-LOC boha (BO-ha) sit-IMP.2FAM
8.18a ৰাজীৱ Rajib ধন্যবাদ thanks আপুনি you কেনে how আছে are
8.18b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib dhonyobad (DHO-nyo-bad) thanks apuni (A-pu-ni) you-HON kene (KE-ne) how ase (A-se) be-PRES.2HON
8.19a আইতা grandmother মই I বুঢ়ী old হৈছোঁ have-become কিন্তু but ভালে well আছোঁ am
8.19b aita (AI-ta) grandmother moi (MOI) I burhi (BUR-hi) old-FEM hoisü̃ (HOI-sun) become-PERF.1 kintu (KIN-tu) but bhale (BHA-le) well asü̃ (A-sun) be-PRES.1
8.20a ৰাজীৱ Rajib মই I আপোনালৈ for-you এখন one-CL গামোচা gamosa আনিছোঁ have-brought
8.20b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib moi (MOI) I apünaloi (A-puu-na-loi) you-HON-DAT ekhon (E-khon) one-CL.FLAT gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa anisü̃ (A-ni-sun) bring-PERF.1
8.21a আইতা grandmother ইমান so ভাল good গামোচা gamosa তুমি you নিজে yourself কিনিলা bought নে or
8.21b aita (AI-ta) grandmother iman (I-man) so bhal (BHAL) good gamüsa (GA-muu-sa) gamosa tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM nize (NI-ze) self-EMPH kinila (KI-ni-la) buy-PAST.2 ne (NE) Q
8.22a ৰাজীৱ Rajib হয় yes মই I নিজে myself গুৱাহাটীত in-Guwahati কিনিলোঁ bought
8.22b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib hoy (HOY) yes moi (MOI) I nize (NI-ze) self-EMPH guwahatit (GU-wa-ha-tit) Guwahati-LOC kinilü̃ (KI-ni-lun) buy-PAST.1
8.23a আইতা grandmother মোৰ to-me বহুত very ভাল good লাগিছে feels মই I এই this গামোচাখন the-gamosa বিহুত at-Bihu পিন্ধিম will-wear
8.23b aita (AI-ta) grandmother mür (MUUR) I-GEN bohut (BO-hut) very bhal (BHAL) good lagise (LA-gi-se) feel-PERF.3 moi (MOI) I ei (EI) this gamüsakhon (GA-muu-sa-khon) gamosa-CL.FLAT bihut (BI-hut) Bihu-LOC pindhim (PIN-dhim) wear-FUT.1
8.24a ৰাজীৱ Rajib মোৰো to-me-also বিহু Bihu বহুত very ভাল good লাগে feels
8.24b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib mürü (MUU-ruu) I-GEN-also bihu (BI-hu) Bihu bohut (BO-hut) very bhal (BHAL) good lage (LA-ge) feel-PRES.3
8.25a আইতা grandmother তুমি you বিহুত at-Bihu নলবাৰীলৈ to-Nalbari আহিবা will-come নে or
8.25b aita (AI-ta) grandmother tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM bihut (BI-hut) Bihu-LOC nolbariloi (NOL-ba-ri-loi) Nalbari-DAT ahiba (A-hi-ba) come-FUT.2 ne (NE) Q
8.26a ৰাজীৱ Rajib আহিম will-come আইতা grandmother মই I প্ৰতি every বছৰ year আহিম will-come
8.26b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib ahim (A-him) come-FUT.1 aita (AI-ta) grandmother moi (MOI) I proti (PRO-ti) every bosor (BO-sor) year ahim (A-him) come-FUT.1
8.27a আইতা grandmother আজি today ৰাতি night মোৰ my ঘৰতে at-house-itself ভাত rice খাবা will-eat
8.27b aita (AI-ta) grandmother azi (A-zi) today rati (RA-ti) night mür (MUUR) I-GEN ghorote (GHO-ro-te) house-LOC-EMPH bhat (BHAT) rice khaba (KHA-ba) eat-FUT.2
8.28a ৰাজীৱ Rajib ঠিক right আছে is আইতা grandmother মই I খাম will-eat
8.28b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib thik (THIK) right ase (A-se) be-PRES.3 aita (AI-ta) grandmother moi (MOI) I kham (KHAM) eat-FUT.1
8.29a আইতা grandmother মই I এতিয়া now ভাত rice ৰান্ধিবলৈ to-cook যাওঁ go তুমি you বাৰীত in-garden মালতীৰ of-Malati লগত with বহা sit
8.29b aita (AI-ta) grandmother moi (MOI) I etiya (E-ti-ya) now bhat (BHAT) rice randhiboloi (RAN-dhi-bo-loi) cook-INF-DAT zaü̃ (ZA-un) go-PRES.1 tumi (TU-mi) you-FAM barit (BA-rit) garden-LOC malotir (MA-lo-tir) Malati-GEN logot (LO-got) company-LOC boha (BO-ha) sit-IMP.2FAM
8.30a ৰাজীৱ Rajib হয় yes আইতা grandmother মই I মালতীৰ of-Malati ওচৰলৈ to-nearness যাওঁ go
8.30b rajiw (RA-jiw) Rajib hoy (HOY) yes aita (AI-ta) grandmother moi (MOI) I malotir (MA-lo-tir) Malati-GEN üsorloi (UU-sor-loi) nearness-DAT zaü̃ (ZA-un) go-PRES.1
8.16 ৰাজীৱ: নমস্কাৰ আইতা, মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ। (rajiw: nomoskar aita, mür nam rajiw.) "Rajib: Greetings, Grandmother; my name is Rajib." 8.17 আইতা: জানোঁ, মালতীয়ে মোক কৈছিল। আহা, বাৰান্দাত বহা। (aita: zanü̃, malotiye mük koisil. aha, barandat boha.) "Grandmother: I know; Malati had told me. Come, sit on the veranda." 8.18 ৰাজীৱ: ধন্যবাদ। আপুনি কেনে আছে? (rajiw: dhonyobad. apuni kene ase?) "Rajib: Thank you. How are you?" 8.19 আইতা: মই বুঢ়ী হৈছোঁ, কিন্তু ভালে আছোঁ। (aita: moi burhi hoisü̃, kintu bhale asü̃.) "Grandmother: I have grown old, but I am well." 8.20 ৰাজীৱ: মই আপোনালৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছোঁ। (rajiw: moi apünaloi ekhon gamüsa anisü̃.) "Rajib: I have brought a gamosa for you." 8.21 আইতা: ইমান ভাল গামোচা! তুমি নিজে কিনিলা নে? (aita: iman bhal gamüsa! tumi nize kinila ne?) "Grandmother: Such a good gamosa! Did you buy it yourself?" 8.22 ৰাজীৱ: হয়, মই নিজে গুৱাহাটীত কিনিলোঁ। (rajiw: hoy, moi nize guwahatit kinilü̃.) "Rajib: Yes, I bought it myself in Guwahati." 8.23 আইতা: মোৰ বহুত ভাল লাগিছে। মই এই গামোচাখন বিহুত পিন্ধিম। (aita: mür bohut bhal lagise. moi ei gamüsakhon bihut pindhim.) "Grandmother: I am very pleased. I shall wear this gamosa at Bihu." 8.24 ৰাজীৱ: মোৰো বিহু বহুত ভাল লাগে। (rajiw: mürü bihu bohut bhal lage.) "Rajib: I like Bihu very much too." 8.25 আইতা: তুমি বিহুত নলবাৰীলৈ আহিবা নে? (aita: tumi bihut nolbariloi ahiba ne?) "Grandmother: Will you come to Nalbari at Bihu?" 8.26 ৰাজীৱ: আহিম আইতা, মই প্ৰতি বছৰ আহিম। (rajiw: ahim aita, moi proti bosor ahim.) "Rajib: I shall come, Grandmother; I shall come every year." 8.27 আইতা: আজি ৰাতি মোৰ ঘৰতে ভাত খাবা। (aita: azi rati mür ghorote bhat khaba.) "Grandmother: Tonight you will eat rice at my house." 8.28 ৰাজীৱ: ঠিক আছে আইতা, মই খাম। (rajiw: thik ase aita, moi kham.) "Rajib: All right, Grandmother, I shall eat." 8.29 আইতা: মই এতিয়া ভাত ৰান্ধিবলৈ যাওঁ। তুমি বাৰীত মালতীৰ লগত বহা। (aita: moi etiya bhat randhiboloi zaü̃. tumi barit malotir logot boha.) "Grandmother: I am going to cook the rice now. You sit in the garden with Malati." 8.30 ৰাজীৱ: হয় আইতা, মই মালতীৰ ওচৰলৈ যাওঁ। (rajiw: hoy aita, moi malotir üsorloi zaü̃.) "Rajib: Yes, Grandmother; I shall go to Malati."
8.16 ৰাজীৱ: নমস্কাৰ আইতা, মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ। 8.17 আইতা: জানোঁ, মালতীয়ে মোক কৈছিল। আহা, বাৰান্দাত বহা। 8.18 ৰাজীৱ: ধন্যবাদ। আপুনি কেনে আছে? 8.19 আইতা: মই বুঢ়ী হৈছোঁ, কিন্তু ভালে আছোঁ। 8.20 ৰাজীৱ: মই আপোনালৈ এখন গামোচা আনিছোঁ। 8.21 আইতা: ইমান ভাল গামোচা! তুমি নিজে কিনিলা নে? 8.22 ৰাজীৱ: হয়, মই নিজে গুৱাহাটীত কিনিলোঁ। 8.23 আইতা: মোৰ বহুত ভাল লাগিছে। মই এই গামোচাখন বিহুত পিন্ধিম। 8.24 ৰাজীৱ: মোৰো বিহু বহুত ভাল লাগে। 8.25 আইতা: তুমি বিহুত নলবাৰীলৈ আহিবা নে? 8.26 ৰাজীৱ: আহিম আইতা, মই প্ৰতি বছৰ আহিম। 8.27 আইতা: আজি ৰাতি মোৰ ঘৰতে ভাত খাবা। 8.28 ৰাজীৱ: ঠিক আছে আইতা, মই খাম। 8.29 আইতা: মই এতিয়া ভাত ৰান্ধিবলৈ যাওঁ। তুমি বাৰীত মালতীৰ লগত বহা। 8.30 ৰাজীৱ: হয় আইতা, মই মালতীৰ ওচৰলৈ যাওঁ।
Introducing oneself. মোৰ নাম ৰাজীৱ (8.16) is "my name is Rajib", the genitive মোৰ before the noun নাম. The sentence has no verb, as in 8.9.
Told, and being told. In 8.17 the grandmother says জানোঁ, "I know", without মই, because the ending -ওঁ is enough. Then মালতীয়ে মোক কৈছিল is "Malati had told me": the one who is told is মোক, and Malati, the doer, has the ending -এ. The verb is the pluperfect, "had told", of the same kind as কিনিছিলোঁ in Lesson 7.
Two kinds of "you". Rajib uses আপুনি in 8.18, and the verb is আছে, the form of the third person with the sense of "you (respectful)": কেনে আছে? is "how are you?". The grandmother uses তুমি, and her verbs have their own endings: কিনিলা (8.21), the past of the familiar second person; আহিবা (8.25) and খাবা (8.27), the future; আহা and বহা (8.17, 8.29), the imperative. Lesson 7 has কিনিছিলা and দিবা in the same endings.
Becoming. মই বুঢ়ী হৈছোঁ (8.19) is "I have become old", with the verb হ-, "to become", in the perfect, and the adjective before it. ভালে আছোঁ is "I am well", as in Lesson 2.
For you. In 8.20 আপোনালৈ is the respectful "you" with the stem আপোনা- and the ending -লৈ, "for", as মোলৈ is "for me" (8.13). The gift is brought for a person, so -লৈ and not the object ending.
Yourself, myself. নিজে is said after the pronoun, whoever it may be: তুমি নিজে (8.21) and মই নিজে (8.22). In the grandmother's mouth it asks, and in Rajib's it answers.
Feeling. In 8.23 and 8.24 the person who feels is in the genitive, and the thing felt is the subject: মোৰ ভাল লাগিছে is "to me good has felt", "I am pleased", and মোৰো বিহু ভাল লাগে is "to me also Bihu feels good", "I like Bihu too". The -ও is joined to মোৰ, giving মোৰো. The verb is লাগ-, and in the perfect (8.23) the feeling is one that has come and is present, and in the present (8.24) it is the usual feeling.
Wearing, and the future. পিন্ধিম (8.23) is the future of the verb পিন্ধ-, "wear", the same as in Lesson 7, and এই with গামোচাখন, "this", is the pronoun before the noun with its classifier.
Coming. আহিম (8.26) is said twice. The first, without the pronoun, is the answer; the second, with মই, adds the promise "every year". প্ৰতি বছৰ is "every year", with no ending.
Eating at. ঘৰতে (8.27) is the ending -ত with the emphatic -এ, "at the house itself", and the possessor is first: মোৰ ঘৰতে, "at my house".
Going to do. The first person present of "go", যাওঁ, can say what the speaker is about to do (8.29, 8.30). In 8.29 ৰান্ধিবলৈ is the verb ৰান্ধ-, "cook", with -িবলৈ: "in order to cook", "to cook". The pronoun মই is kept, to set the grandmother against তুমি in the next sentence: "I go to cook; you sit".
Near. ওচৰলৈ (8.30) is the word of place ওচৰ, "nearness", with -লৈ, and the genitive before it: মালতীৰ ওচৰলৈ, "to Malati", "to where Malati is".
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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.
মই (moi) — IPA: /mɔi/ — the o of British "hot" runs into i in one syllable; it is near the English "boy" with an m. মইও (moiü) — IPA: /mɔiʊ/ — three vowels, said smoothly together. মোৰ (mür) — IPA: /mʊɹ/ — ো is the short vowel of "book". মোক (mük) — IPA: /mʊk/ — the final ক is a plain k, without a puff of breath. মোলৈ (müloi) — IPA: /mʊlɔi/ — ৈ is the same /ɔi/ as in মই. আমি (ami) — IPA: /ɑmi/ — the first vowel is the open vowel of "father", said short. খাওঁ (khaü̃) — IPA: /kʰɑũ/ — খ is k with a puff of air; the tilde marks the nasal vowel of the ending, which is said through the nose. আছোঁ (asü̃) — IPA: /ɑsʊ̃/ — ছ is /s/, never the "ch" of English "church". যাওঁ (zaü̃) — IPA: /zɑũ/ — য is /z/ and not "y". জানোঁ (zanü̃) — IPA: /zɑnʊ̃/ — জ is /z/ and not the "j" of English "jam". আহিম (ahim) — IPA: /ɑɦim/ — হ is a breathy /ɦ/. পিন্ধিম (pindhim) — IPA: /pindʱim/ — ধ is d with a puff of breath. নিজে (nize) — IPA: /nizɛ/ — the final ে is an open /ɛ/, as in "set". আপুনি (apuni) — IPA: /ɑpuni/. আপোনালৈ (apünaloi) — IPA: /ɑpʊnɑlɔi/. বুঢ়ী (burhi) — IPA: /buɹʱi/ — ঢ় is an r with a puff of breath after it. নমস্কাৰ (nomoskar) — IPA: /nɔmɔskɑɹ/ — স is /s/ here, in the cluster স্ক.
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Course Index: [latinum.substack.com/p/index](https://latinum.substack.com/p/index)