Nouns
Nouns in Bangla are quite regular. Bengali has no grammatical gender; rather, we can classify nouns into two groups: animate and inanimate. Nouns referring to people and deities are animate. Nouns referring to non-living things are inanimate. Nouns referring to animals can be animate or inanimate depending on the context.
Summary of suffixes
Inanimate nouns
Inanimate nouns use the suffixes in the table below. In the definite singular suffixes, -টা -ṭi can be replaced with -টি -ṭi to sound slightly more formal. Likewise, -গুলা -gula can be replaced with -গুলি -guli to sound slightly more formal. Western dialects tend to use -গুলো gulo instead of -গুলা gula.
| indefinite | definite singular | definite plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | (none) | -টা -ṭa | -গুলা -gula |
| objective | (none) | -টা -ṭa | -গুলা -gula |
| genitive | -(এ)র -(e)r | -টার -ṭar | -গুলার -gular |
| locative | -এ -e, -য় -y -তে -te |
-টায় -ṭay -টাতে -ṭate |
-গুলায় -gulay -গুলাতে -gulate |
The table below shows these suffixes with the noun বাটি baṭi ‘bowl’.
| indefinite | definite singular | definite plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | বাটি baṭi ‘bowl(s)’ |
বাটিটা baṭiṭa ‘the bowl’ |
বাটিগুলা baṭigula ‘the bowls’ |
| objective | বাটি baṭi ‘bowl(s)’ |
বাটিটা baṭiṭa ‘the bowl’ |
বাটিগুলা baṭigula ‘the bowls’ |
| genitive | বাটির baṭir ‘of bowl(s)’ |
বাটিটার baṭiṭar ‘of the bowl’ |
বাটিগুলার baṭigular ‘of the bowls’ |
| locative | বাটিতে baṭite ‘in bowl(s)’ |
বাটিটায় baṭiṭay বাটিটাতে baṭiṭate ‘in the bowl’ |
বাটিগুলায় baṭigulay বাটিগুলাতে batigulate ‘in the bowls’ |
Animate nouns
Animate nouns use the suffixes in the table before. As with inanimate nouns, -টা -ṭi can be replaced with -টি -ṭi to sound slightly more formal. The objective formal suffix is -দের -der in many western dialects and in Standard Bengali, and -দের(কে) -der(ke) in many eastern dialects.
| indefinite | definite singular | definite plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | (none) | -টা -ṭa | -রা -ra |
| objective | -কে ke | -টাকে -ṭake | -দের(কে) -der(ke) |
| genitive | -(এ)র -(e)r | -টার -ṭar | -দের -der |
The table below shows these suffixes with the noun ছাত্র chatro ‘student’
| indefinite | definite singular | definite plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | ছাত্র chatro ‘student(s)’ |
ছাত্রটা chatroṭa ‘the student’ |
ছাত্ররা chatrora ‘(the) students’ |
| objective | ছাত্রকে chatro ‘(to) student(s)’ |
ছাত্রটাকে chatroṭake ‘(to) the student’ |
ছাত্রদের(কে) chatroder(ke) ‘(to the) students’ |
| genitive | ছাত্রের chatrer ‘of student(s)’ |
ছাত্রটার chatroṭar ‘of the student’ |
ছাত্রদের chatroder ‘of (the) students’ |
Definiteness and Number
The definite suffixes in Bangla are somewhat like the definite article ‘the’ in English. The suffix we use depends on whether the word is singular or plural and animate or inanimate. These suffixes are as follows:
| inanimate | animate | |
|---|---|---|
| unmarked | (none) | (none) |
| definite singular | -টা -ṭa -টি -ṭi |
-টা ṭa -টি -ṭi |
| definite plural | -গুলা -gula (East), -গুলো -gulo (West) -গুলি -guli |
-(এ)রা -(e)ra |
Where there are multiple suffixes, the one at the top is the most common one. The suffixes -টি -ṭi and -গুলি -guli are basically equivalent to their counterparts, but they can also indicate sympathy or smallness.
The animate plural suffix has three forms:
- -রা -ra after vowels
- মহিলা mohila ‘woman’ > মহিলারা mohilara ‘(the) women’
- -এরা -era after consonants
- বোন bon ‘sister’ > বোনেরা bonera ‘(the) sisters’
- -য়েরা -yera after one-syllable words that end in a vowel
- মা ma ‘mother’ > মায়েরা mayera ‘(the) mothers’
This suffix is not necessarily definite; it can be used to refer to a group of people generally:
ছাত্ররা পড়াশোনা করে।
Chatrora pôṛashona kôre.
‘Students study.’
Cases
Bengali nouns have four cases: direct, objective, genitive, and locative. Case indicates the function of a noun in a sentence. The case of a noun is indicated using a suffix which can also be preceded by a definite suffix.
Nominative Case
The nominative case is the form of the noun without any extra case suffixes. It is used for the subject of a verb, like the nominative case in many European languages.
মা কাজ করছে।
Ma kaj korche.
‘Mother is working.’
The nominative case is also used when the direct object of a verb is an inanimate noun.
ছেলেটা ভাত খাচ্ছে।
Cheleṭa bhat khacche.
‘The boy is eating.’
Objective Case
The objective case is used when the object of a verb is animate. The suffix for the objective case is -কে -ke.
অনিতাকে ভাত দিয়েছি।
Ônitake bhat diyechi.
‘I gave rice to Anita.’
In standard Bangla, the animate definite plural suffix is -দের -der. In many dialects of Bangla, especially in Bangladesh, the suffix used is -দেরকে -derke.
মেয়েদের(কে) ভাত দিয়েছি।
Meyeder(ke) bhat diyechi.
‘I gave rice to the girls.’
Genitive Case
The genitive case is used for the possessor of another noun. In general, the suffix for the genitive case is -র -r for nouns ending in a vowel and -এর -er for nouns ending in a consonant.
গরু goru ‘cow’ > গরুর মাংস gorur mangsho ‘cow’s meat (i.e. beef)’
চাঁদ cãd ‘moon’ > চাঁদের আলো cãder alo ‘moon’s light (i.e. moonlight)’
One-syllable nouns ending in a vowel take the suffix -য়ের -yer.
মা ma ‘mother’ > মায়ের আদর mayer ador ‘mother’s affection’
বই boi ‘book’ > বইয়ের পাতা boiyer pata ‘book’s pages’
Nouns ending in a consonant cluster plus o have the final o replaced by -এর -er in the genitive.
সমুদ্র shomudro ‘ocean’ > সমুদ্রের পানি shomudrer pani ‘ocean’s water’
সূর্য shurjo ‘sun’ > সূর্যের আলো shurjer alo ‘sun’s light (i.e. sunlight)’
Locative Case
The locative case is used to indicate location in space or time. Its usage roughly overlaps with the English prepositions ‘in’, ‘on’, and ‘at’. The suffix for the locative case is -এ -e for nouns ending in a consonant.
বাংলাদেশ Bangladesh ‘Bangladesh’ > বাংলাদেশে Bangladeshe ‘in Bangladesh’
টেবিল ṭebil ‘table’ > টেবিলে ṭebile ‘on (the) table’
Nouns that end in a vowel can take the locative suffix -তে -te.
বাড়ি baṛi ‘house’ > বাড়িতে baṛite ‘in (the) house’
আমেরিকা Amerika ‘America’ > আমেরিকাতে Amerikate ‘in America’
Nouns that end in vowels other than e or i can alternatively take the locative suffix -য় -y.
বাসা basha ‘home’ > বাসায় bashay ‘at home’
আমেরিকা Amerika ‘America’ > আমেরিকায় Amerikay ‘in America’