Next: Number
Up: Nouns and noun
Previous: Syntactic usage of
Since the oblique form of the noun may be
used to indicate possession, it is often considered to be a case form (see
below), i.e. equivalent to what is called `genitive' in other case systems.
But in fact the oblique form can have case markers added to it, or can stand
alone. It thus presents a challenge to analysts of the Tamil case system.
In LT there were a number of possible additional genitive markers such as Ǩ
an (used primarily with pronouns, and now used in ST only as a `frozen'
form in Ç»ÆÔ×Á adanaale `therefore'); ɨ in (not used in
ST): and ËÙ¹¿ udaiya, obviously a postposition derived from the
verb ËÙ¹ udai `possess'. ËÙ¹¿ udaiya could be
attached to Ǩ an or ɨ in, as in Ç»íÙ¹¿ adanudaiya `its'.
In ST, ËÙ¹¿ udaiya has changed to Ñ×¹ oode, and
is used by many speakers, in addition to the `bare' oblique stem.
- ͨ äöÓ»´£ en pustakam `my book', along with ͨØÆÔ×¹ äöÓ»´£
ennoode pustakam'.
- ÇÂç ¾×ÆÂÕ avaru manevi `his wife', along with
ÇÂØÀÔ×¹ ¾×ÆÂÕ avaroode manevi
Harold_F.Schiffman