Telugu! తెలుగు నేర్చుకుందాం.

[hippopotame]

Alright, sorry, I keep wanting to get to verbs, but right now I need to talk a little bit about nouns.

LESSON 4: Definite/Indefinite Nouns, and the Genitive, Accusative, and Dative Cases:

Definite and Indefinite Nouns, Demonstrative Adjectives
In Telugu, there is no word for "the"; it all depends on context, though definite nouns can be denoted by a demonstrative adjective like "that". Sometimes the word "a", ఒక (oka) can be used to emphasize that a noun is indefinite.

Demonstrative adjectives:
this/these = ఈ ī
that/those = ఆ ā

As you may have noticed, ī is usually used to denote proximal adjectives and pronouns, while ā is used to denote distal adjectives and pronouns.

Examples:
this city = ఈ ఊరు ī ūru
those cities = ఆ ఊళ్లు ā ūḷḷu


Genitive Case

Telugu has eight cases, one of which is the genitive. When putting a noun into any case other than the nominative case, the suffix denoting that certain case is usually added to the genitive form of the noun. This rule is also followed when adding a postposition after a noun. First of all, here are the genitive pronouns:

my = నా nā
your = నీ nī
his (dist/prox) = వాడి/ వీడి vāḍi/ vīḍi
his (dist/prox) = అతని/ ఇతని atani/ itani
his (dist/prox) = ఆయన/ ఈయని āyana/ īyana
its/ her (dist/prox) = దాని/ దీని dāni/ dīni
her (dist/ prox) = ఆమె/ ఈమె āme/ īme
her (dist/ prox) = ఆవిడ/ ఈవిడ āviḍa/ īviḍa

our (inclusive) = మన mana
our (exclusive) = మా mā
your = మీ mī
their (dist/prox/dist/prox) = వాళ్ళ/ వీళ్ళ/ వారి/ వీరి vāḷḷa/ vīḷḷa/ vāri/ vīri
their (neuter, dist/prox) = వాటి/ వీటి vāṭi/ vīṭi

So, for example,
Dog = కుక్క kukka
To bark = మొరుగుట moruguṭa
My dog = నా కుక్క nā kukka
My dog is barking = నా కుక్క మొరుగుతోంది nā kukka morugutōndi
(don't worry about the conjugation just yet, I'll get there.)

Note: Many nouns' genitive case looks the same as their nominative case. There are some irregularities, which I'll point out when we get to them.
For example:
Monkey = కోతి kōti
Hand = చెయ్యి cheyyi
A monkey's hand = కోతి చెయ్యి kōti cheyyi


Accusative Case

Let's go over the accusative case now. The accusative case is only used when the object is a definite object. Thus, in "I saw the monkey," "monkey" would be in the accusative case. But in "I saw a monkey," "monkey" would not be in the accusative case. Sometimes, though, you do use the accusative case with an indefinite object, when the action denotes that the object is explicitly affected by the action [I'm not exactly sure how to explain this] (I hit a monkey.) In this case, it would be necessary to add the indefinite noun marker, ఒక (oka) before the object. [I realize the explanation isn't the clearest, because the usage of the accusative is not the clearest. You have to get used to when to use it and when to not use it.]

To form the accusative case, you add -ను or -ని (-nu or -ni) to the genitive form of the noun.
Note: In a case where the object is not put into the accusative case, it is always the same as its nominative form, NOT its genitive form. (This is prevalent to the words that have different nominative and genitive forms.)

Examples:
I hit (past) = కొట్టాను koṭṭānu
I saw = చూసాను chūsānu

I saw the monkey = నేను కోతిని చూసాను nēnu kōtini chūsānu
I saw a monkey = నేను (ఒక) కోతి చూసాను nēnu (oka) kōti chūsānu
I hit the monkey = నేను (ఆ) కోతిని కొట్టాను nēnu (ā) kōtini koṭṭānu
I hit a monkey = నేను ఒక కోతిని కొట్టాను nēnu oka kōtini koṭṭānu
(Notice the SOV order)
(You can add ā ("that") to emphasize the definiteness of a noun)

Here are the accusative pronouns:
me = నన్ను nannu
you = నిన్ను ninnu
him (dist/prox) = వాడిని/ వీడిని vāḍini/ vīḍini
him (dist/prox) = అతన్ని/ ఇతన్ని atanni/ itanni
him (dist/prox) = ఆయన్ని/ ఈయన్ని āyanni/ īyanni
it/ her (dist/prox) = దాన్ని/ దీన్ని dānni/ dīnni
her (dist/ prox) = ఆమెను/ ఈమెను āmenu/ īmenu
her (dist/ prox) = ఆవిడను / ఈవిడను āviḍanu/ īviḍanu

us = మమ్మల్ని mammalni
you = మిమ్మల్ని mimmalni
them (dist/prox/dist/prox) = వాళ్ళను/ వీళ్ళను/ వారిని/ వీరిని vāḷḷanu/ vīḷḷanu/ vārini/ vīrini
them (neuter, dist/prox) = వాటిని/ వీటిని vāṭini/ vīṭini

Note: Most nouns will usually use the -ni suffix, though -ni and -nu are often interchangeable (except in most of these pronouns)


Dative Case
Now, let's go over the dative case. Many expressions that would use the nominative case in English, require the dative case in Telugu. (For example, "I am hungry" would require the first person pronoun to be in the dative case, and there would be an inherent subject of "it". I'll explain this more later, when I talk about the verb, "to be".)

To form the dative case, add the suffix -కు or -కి (-ku or -ki) to the genitive form of a noun. (If the genitive noun ends in "i", you're probably going to use "-ki", though, again, like the accusative suffixes, -ku and -ki are many times interchangeable.)

Examples:
Give (imperative) = ఇవ్వు ivvu
Give to me = నాకు ఇవ్వు nāku ivvu
Give me a monkey/ Give a monkey to me = నాకు కోతి ఇవ్వు nāku kōti ivvu (Notice here, that kōti is not put in the accusative case, because it is indefinite)



Now, some exercises:
town = ఊరు ūru
town (genitive) = ఊరి ūri
hit (past, 3sF/ 3sNEUT) = కొట్టింది koṭṭindi
eggplant = వంకాయ vankāya

Translate the following -
I saw the town.
Your monkey hit me.
Give me his eggplant.
She hit my eggplant.
Give him that monkey.

[Ambrisio]

Hello again, Hippopotame garu!

I've never formally studied a Dravidian language before, and I find your lessons very insightful and interesting. It's kind of strange that many grammatical features are just like Estonian -- maybe that's why I find Estonian grammar so intuitive.

For example,

When putting a noun into any case other than the nominative case, the suffix denoting that certain case is usually added to the genitive form of the noun. This rule is also followed when adding a postposition after a noun.

Many nouns' genitive case looks the same as their nominative case. There are some irregularities

Many expressions that would use the nominative case in English, require the dative case in Telugu.

Though strictly speaking, it's the adessive, not the dative, in Estonian. Coincidentally, 'I'm hungry' is 'Mul on nälg' ('mul' is 'I' in the adessive case; the dative form is 'mulle'). But many languages have a similar construction (e.g. Spanish 'Tengo hambre').

the usage of the accusative is not the clearest. You have to get used to when to use it and when to not use it.

It sounds like how the genitive or the partitive cases may be used for direct objects in Estonian.

I have a few questions:

eight cases

I just know that there are more cases -- e.g. there is a difference between inessive (-lo) and adessive (-pai).

Spoiler:

I saw the town. -- ūrini chūsānu (is pro-drop allowed?)
And would "I saw a town" be 'ūri chūsānu'?
Your monkey hit me. -- nī kōti nannu koţţindi
Give me his eggplant. -- āme vankāyani nāku ivvu
She hit my eggplant. -- āme nā vankāyani koţţindi
Give him that monkey. -- ā kōtini vāḍiki(?) ivvu

I assume that 'vankāya' is the same in the genitive case. And is there some sort of vowel harmony with those -ni and -nu suffixes (-ni following a front vowel, -nu followed a back vowel)?

[hippopotame]

Hello again, Hippopotame garu!

I've never formally studied a Dravidian language before, and I find your lessons very insightful and interesting. It's kind of strange that many grammatical features are just like Estonian -- maybe that's why I find Estonian grammar so intuitive.

Thank you! Wow, yeah it's interesting to see the parallels with Estonian.

eight cases

I just know that there are more cases -- e.g. there is a difference between inessive (-lo) and adessive (-pai).

As I learned it, there are 8 cases (vibhakti): nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative.
The cases are usually signified by postpositions. The inessive (-lo) is included in the genitive case, and the adessive (-pai) I am assuming is included in the locative case.


My corrections are below in the quote.

Spoiler:

I saw the town. -- ūrini chūsānu (is pro-drop allowed?)
I will talk about this in the lesson on verbs, but yes, pro-drop is the general rule.
And would "I saw a town" be 'ūri chūsānu'?
"I saw a town" would be "oka ūru chūsānu" (The object would not even be put in the genitive case. I realized I might have not been clear on that. Also, here you would have to add "oka" because if you didn't, it would be more along the lines "I saw the town". I'm finding it very difficult to make a rule regarding when to use the accusative and when to add the definite/indefinite noun markers.)
Your monkey hit me. -- nī kōti nannu koţţindi
Good job!
Give me his eggplant. -- āme vankāyani nāku ivvu
āme means her. Here, we would use vāḍi (or any of the other 3rd person singular masculine genitive pronouns. )
Also, here, eggplant would not be put in the accusative case. So, the correct sentence would be Vāḍi vankāya nāku ivvu.
She hit my eggplant. -- āme nā vankāyani koţţindi
Good job!
Give him that monkey. -- ā kōtini vāḍiki(?) ivvu
Again, here, the object would not be put in the accusative case, so it would be "ā kōti vāḍiki ivvu". I guess the usage of the accusative depends on the verb itself; with "to give", for example, even if the noun is definite, we don't (usually) put the object in the accusative.

And is there some sort of vowel harmony with those -ni and -nu suffixes (-ni following a front vowel, -nu followed a back vowel)?

There isn't a very strict vowel harmony. For the most part, you'll be using -ni.

[Ambrisio]

nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative.

Those would of course be the 8 cases in Sanskrit (or PIE, if you will). I wouldn't analyze Dravidian languages that way (any more than I would analyze Estonian as having the same case system as German or Russian!). There's no reason why the -lo: in 'u:rilo:' should be considered a postposition and the -tho: in 'cheyyitho:' (I hope I got that right) a case ending (namely, instrumental).

I would resist the temptation to look at non-IE languages through Sanskrit glasses. Either Telugu has only three cases (nominative, genitive and in the pronouns, accusative) and the rest are simply postpositions, or it has a full inventory of cases (including all the weird ones found in Estonian).

[hippopotame]

nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative.

Those would of course be the 8 cases in Sanskrit (or PIE, if you will). I wouldn't analyze Dravidian languages that way (any more than I would analyze Estonian as having the same case system as German or Russian!). There's no reason why the -lo: in 'u:rilo:' should be considered a postposition and the -tho: in 'cheyyitho:' (I hope I got that right) a case ending (namely, instrumental).

I do understand. However, these are the 8 official cases (vibhaktulu) as stated in the original treatise on Telugu grammar, Andhra Sabda Chintamani. Namely:
Prathamā vibhakti - nominative case
Dvitīyā vibhakti - accusative case
Tṛtīyā vibhakti - instrumental case
Chaturthi vibhakti - dative case
Panchamī vibhakti - ablative case
Shashṭhī vibhakti - genitive case
Saptamī vibhakti - locative case
Sambōdhana prathamā vibhakti - vocative case

Also, "-lo" is considered a case ending for shashṭhī vibhakti, the genitive case.

Here's a table from Wikipedia showing the different cases and the general suffixes that signify each case. This is the table that I was taught with when learning about the cases in Telugu.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_gra ... tpositions

[Ambrisio]

What about '-pai', then?

(As an interesting aside, I used the instrumental case ending '-too' in one of my conlang, Proto-Ginösic -- the 'oo' is a long 'o', as in 'door'. For example,
Siõrlõk Houms ngoun dortosniktoo droske uḳõn
Sherlock Holmes saw the man with binoculars)
And coincidentally, the dative and adessive cases are -ken and -pai -- as in nuuken 'to me' and kõn mulpai 'on this planet')

And how would you say the following in Telugu?
1) He stole the food from me.
2) I believe in you.
3) I was dreaming about you.
4) Straw is easy for cows to digest.
5) I found a nice video on YouTube.
6) I have a cat. (That's dative for sure).
7) She has grown into a beautiful woman.
8) He walked toward the building.
9) I see myself as an explorer.
10) Life is pointless without geometry.
11) Eminem traveled to Moscow last summer.
12) Have I asked you too many questions?
(I really want to know because I'm creating a language family, Ginösic, that mirrors Dravidian in a sense, and one particular language in that family -- Yõnggirezim -- owes a lot to Telugu. For one thing, most Yõnggirezim words end in either a vowel or 'm', giving it a more mellifluous sound than most other languages in that family. Its cases are very much like Telugu as well.)

[hippopotame]

I would resist the temptation to look at non-IE languages through Sanskrit glasses. Either Telugu has only three cases (nominative, genitive and in the pronouns, accusative) and the rest are simply postpositions, or it has a full inventory of cases (including all the weird ones found in Estonian).

Yeah, I understand this; Telugu grammar has always been looked at through Sanskrit glasses, though. How, though, do you really differentiate between a case ending and a postposition?

If we treat most of the suffixes/postpositions as postpositions and not case endings, then I think we can say that Telugu has the nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, and vocative cases.


Now to your translation question:

1) He stole the food from me.

అతను నా నుంచి తిండి దోచాడు.
atanu nā nunchi tindi dōchāḍu.
3ms 1s.GEN from food steal-PAST.3ms

2) I believe in you.

నాకు నీ మీద నమ్మకం ఉంది.
nāku nī mīda nammakam undi.
1s.DAT 2s.GEN on belief be-PRES.3NEUT.SG

3) I was dreaming about you.

This would translate more to something like "You came into my dreams" (nuvvu nā kalallō vachchāvu) , or "I saw you in my dreams." (nā kalallo ninnu chūsānu).
To say "about", you would use the postposition "గురించి" (gurinchi).

So, to say, for example, "I am talking about you.", you would say
నేను నీ గురించి మాట్లాడుతున్నాను
nēnu nī gurinchi māṭlāḍutunnānu
1s 2s.DAT about talk-PRES.PROG.1s

4) Straw is easy for cows to digest.

అవులకు గడ్డి తేలికగా అరుగుతుంది.
āvulaku gaḍḍi tēlikagā arugutundi.
cow-PL.DAT straw easy-ADV be.digested.PRES.3NEUT.SG

5) I found a nice video on YouTube.

నాకు యూత్యోబ్ లో/ యూత్యోబ్ మీద మంచి వీడియో దొరికింది.
nāku YouTube lo/ YouTube mīda manchi video dorikindi.
1s.DAT YouTube in/ YouTube on nice video be.found-PAST.3NEUT.SG

6) I have a cat. (That's dative for sure).

నాకు పిల్లి ఉంది
nāku pilli undi
(1s.DAT cat be.PRES.3NEUT.SG)

7) She has grown into a beautiful woman.

This isn't really directly translatable into Telugu. You'd probably say something along the lines of "What a beautiful woman she has become after growing up!"
ఆమె పెరిగి ఎంత అందంగా అయిందో!
āme perigi enta andangā ayindō!
3fs grow.NFIN how.much beauty-ADV become.PAST.3fs-EMPH

8) He walked toward the building.

అతను భవనానికి నడిచాడు
atanu bhavanāniki naḍichāḍu
3ms building.DAT walk-PAST.3ms

9) I see myself as an explorer.

It's a bit difficult to translate this, as there isn't a structure to directly correspond to this reflexiveness.
You could translate it to something like "I think that I am an explorer." = "nēnu anvēshakudini ani anukunṭānu"

10) Life is pointless without geometry.

క్షేత్రగణితం లేకుండా అసలు జీవితమే లేదు.
kshētragaṇitam lēkunḍa asalu jīvitam-ē lēdu.
geometry.GEN without real life-EMPH be.PRES.NEG.3NEUT.SG

Note: Adding "ē" after a noun (in this type of context) creates emphasis on the noun. In this case, "-ē" is added after "jīvitam" to emphasize the impossibility of life without geometry. The word "asalu" is also used for emphasis, usually in negative sentences or in questions.

11) Eminem traveled to Moscow last summer.

ఎమినెమ్ మొన్న సమ్మర్లో మాస్కోకి ప్రయాణం చేసాడు.
Eminem monna summer-lo Moscow-ki prayāṇam chēsāḍu
Eminem day.before.yesterday summer-in Moscow.DAT voyage do.PAST.3ms

Note 1: "మొన్న" (monna) can be used to signify "in the near past". In the above example, "monna summer-lo" means something along the lines of "In the near past in summer," which then can mean "last summer".
Note 2: వేసవికాలం (vēsavikālam) is the Telugu word for "summertime", but the word has more of an emphasis on the general, reoccurring time of the year, rather than a defined, single time period (for example, you would be more likely to use "vēsavikālam" when saying something general like "It is hot in the summertime." It's also a more formal word. When talking informally, about specific events, most people usually say the English word, "summer". In everyday Telugu speech you'll find there are a lot of English words scattered throughout.

12) Have I asked you too many questions?

నేను మిమ్మల్ని ప్రశ్నలు ఎక్కువ అడిగానా?
nēnu mimmalni prasnalu ekkuva aḍigānā?
1s 2s.FORM.ACC questions too.much ask-PAST.1SG.INT

[Ambrisio]

It's a lot trickier than I thought!

This isn't really directly translatable into Telugu.

That just made me realize how hard it is to create a truly non-European conlang. Proto-Ginösic can express that -- just like English!

Sun ngoun siob nrontrun ġim.
she PAST beautiful woman-TRANSL grow.

[hippopotame]

Now, on to "to be". There's a lot of stuff to cover here.

Lesson 5 -TO BE:
Verbs in Telugu have different conjugations based on the subject, gender, and tense.

First of all, let's go over the verb "to be," because it can be seen in the various conjugations. It is unique in that it has both a present tense and a present habitual/future tense, whereas other Telugu verbs only have the present habitual/future tense.

to be/ to stay = ఉండుట unḍuṭa
Present tense conjugations:
1s: నేను ఉన్నాను nēnu unnānu (this becomes nēnunnānu due to Sandhi, or joining of words for better flow; you can also omit the last "nu" in conjugations with nēnu in informal situations, making it nēnunnā)
2s: నువ్వు ఉన్నావు nuvvu unnāvu (this, due to Sandhi, becomes nuvvunnāvu; when speaking the last "u" in conjugations with nuvvu is often omitted, making it nuvvunnāv)
3sM: వాడు ఉన్నాడు vāḍu unnāḍu (this, due to Sandhi, becomes vāḍunnāḍu)
3sF/ 3sNEUT: అది ఉంది adi undi (this, due to Sandhi, becomes adundi; āme undi becomes āmundi, and āviḍa undi becomes āviḍundi)

1pl: మనము ఉన్నాము manamu unnāmu (manamunnāmu; the last "u" in 1pl conjugations can be omitted, making it manamunnām, or mēmunnām)
2pl: మీరు ఉన్నారు mīru unnāru (mīrunnāru)
3pl: వాళ్ళు ఉన్నారు vāḷḷu unnāru (vāḷḷunnāru) [this conjugation is also used for formal forms of 3rd person singular]
3plNEUT: అవి ఉన్నాయి avi unnāyi (avunnāyi)



Now, let's talk about the usage of this verb. There are three distinct usages of unḍuṭa with the sense of "to be".
0. unḍuṭa is NOT used with nouns.
1. To express existence. (There is tea. I am there. There is no food.)
2. With an adverb, to express locality, or to express the particular state of a subject at a particular time. There is a separate structure for expressing an innate quality, but sometimes you can use unḍuṭa for that too. (The bread is on the table. You are in your house. I am happy. The dog is sick. She is tall.)
3. Impersonally - in Telugu, some adverbs require altering of sentence structure. What would normally be the subject is instead put in the dative case. The sentence, then, has an inherent subject of "it". I'll elaborate on this later in this post.


CASE 0: With Nouns
When "to be" would be used with a noun in English, there is no verb in Telugu. It instead appears in the form of a suffix to the object. unḍuṭa is not used here.

For example:
man = మగవాడు magavāḍu (notice the "ḍu" ending - this is used with most masculine nouns)
men = మగవాళ్ళు magavāḷḷu (the pluralization suffix in telugu is -లు -lu, but it can become -ళ్ళు -ḷḷu depending on the preceding consonant)
woman = ఆడది āḍadi (notice the "di" ending - this is used in some feminine nouns)
women = ఆడవాళ్ళు āḍavāḷḷu

I am a man = నేను మగవాడిని nēnu magavāḍini
You are a man = నువ్వు మగవాడివి nuvvu magavāḍivi
He is a man = వాడు మగవాడు vāḍu magavāḍu
We are men = మనం మగవాళ్ళం manam magavāḷḷam
You(pl) are men = మీరు మగవాళ్ళు/మగవారు mīru magavāḷḷu/ magavāru (more formal)
They are men = వాళ్ళు మగవాళ్ళు/వారు మగవారు vāḷḷu magavāḷḷu/ vāru magavāru (more formal)

Here, the "-ḍu" becomes "-ḍi" in a sort of vowel harmony with the "-ni" and "-vi". The "-ḍi" signifies the masculine gender, and the "ni", "vi", and "ḷḷam" signify correspondence to a specific subject pronoun.

I am a woman = నేను ఆడదాన్ని nēnu āḍadānni
You are a woman = నువ్వు ఆడదానివి nuvvu āḍadānivi
She is a woman = ఆమె ఆడది āme āḍadi
We are women = మనం ఆడవాళ్ళం manam āḍavāḷḷam
You(pl) are women = మీరు ఆడవాళ్ళు/ఆడవారు mīru āḍavāḷḷu/ āḍavāru
They are women = వాళ్ళు ఆడవాళ్ళు/ వారు ఆడవారు vāḷḷu āḍavāḷḷu/ vāru āḍavāru

This structure is also used to express innate characteristics. Here's an example:
మంచి manchi = good

If the subject is male, you affix "వాడు" (vāḍu) to the end of the adjective, to make "మంచివాడు" (manchivāḍu), a noun, which means "good man"
Then, you change the suffix according to the rules that we saw with "magavāḍu".
For example,
I am a good man/ I(male) am good. = నేను మంచివాడిని nēnu manchivāḍini
Because "I am good" implies an innate characteristic, we turned the adjective "మంచి" (manchi) into a noun.

If the subject is female or neuter, you affix "ది" (di) to the end of the adjective, to make "మంచిది" (manchidi), a noun, which means "good woman/female/thing"
Then, you change the suffix according to the rules that we saw with "āḍadi"
For example,
You are a good woman./ You(female) are good. = నువ్వు మంచిదానివి nuvvu manchidānivi
That's good. = అది మంచిది adi manchidi

CASE 1: unḍuṭa to Express Existence
This type of sentence will have no object.
For example:
There is/exists a dog. = కుక్క ఉంది (kukka undi)



CASE 2: unḍuṭa with Adverbs:
beauty = అందము andamu
beautiful = అందమైన andamaina (adjectives go before nouns)
beautifully = అందంగా andangā (adverbs go before verbs)

-గా (-gaa) is the suffix to create adverbs. This suffix is added to the noun form of the word, as seen here.
Taking the word అందము andamu, which is the same as అందం andam, you just add -గా (-gā) to the end to make అందంగా andangā.

Now, using this with unḍuṭa:
I am beautiful = నేను అందంగా ఉన్నాను nēnu andangā unnānu
Of course, due to Sandhi and colloquial speech, when speaking this will likely become నేనందంగా ఉన్నా nēnandangā unnā

This structure is usually used with adjectives that describe something at a certain point in time, rather than innate qualities, BUT this is a fine line and sometimes this structure can be used with innate qualities as well. It really just comes down to a matter of learning the different expressions and which structure to use with them.


CASE 3: Impersonally:
Some expressions in Telugu require an altering of sentence structure so that what is normally the subject is instead put in the dative case, and an inherent "it" is used as the subject. First off, here is the dative case of all the personal pronouns (essentially the dative case is denoted by the suffix -కు or -కి (-ku or -ki). Basically, when adding a suffix denoting a case, the suffix is added to the genitive form of a noun. So to make the dative case, you take the genitive case and add "ku" or "ki" depending on the word. I'll go over cases again later, but here are the genitive pronouns. (The pronouns are in the same order of formality as when I listed them before)

my = నాకు nāku
your = నీకు nīku
his (dist/prox) = వాడికి/ వీడికి vāḍiki/ vīḍiki
his (dist/prox) = అతనికి/ ఇతనికి ataniki/ itaniki
his (dist/prox) = ఆయనకు/ ఈయనకు āyanaku/ īyanaku
its/ her (dist/prox) = దానికి/ దీనికి dāniki/ dīniki
her (dist/ prox) = ఆమెకు/ ఈమెకు āmeku/ īmeku
her (dist/ prox) = ఆవిడకు/ ఈవిడకు āviḍaku/ īviḍaku

our (inclusive) = మనకు manaku
our (exclusive) = మాకు māku
your = మీకు mīku
their (dist/prox/dist/prox) వాళ్ళకు/ వీళ్ళకు/ వారికి/ వీరికి vāḷḷaku/ vīḷḷaku/ vāriki/ vīriki
their (neuter, dist/prox) వాటికి/ వీటికి vāṭiki/ vīṭiki

Just a sidenote: The third person pronouns for which I've used "-ku" can also use "-ki". Generally, if the word ends with "-i" you use the accusative or dative suffix that ends with "-i"; otherwise you can usually use either, though it's most common in everyday speech to use the suffix that ends with "-i".

Now to some examples:

hunger = ఆకలి ākali
I am hungry:
నాకు ఆకలిగా ఉంది nāku ākaligā undi
1s.DAT hunger-ADV be.PRES.3NEUT.SG

So this would literally translate to something like "It is hungrily for me".

Likewise,
intelligence/ mind = బుద్ధి
He has no intelligence/ He's stupid:
అతనికి బుద్ధి లేదు ataniki buddhi lēdu
3ms.DAT mind be.PRES.NEG.3NEUT.SG

Literally, "There is no mind for him." This also utilizes the structure in Case 1, to express existence (or lack of existence). This is also the way to express possession. There is no verb "to have" in Telugu, so you use this type of structure to express such ideas.

For example, as I translated in an earlier post,
cat = పిల్లి pilli
I have a cat = నాకు పిల్లి ఉంది nāku pilli undi
So here, what would be the subject in English, becomes dative in Telugu. The object in English then becomes the subject in Telugu. So it would translate to something like "There is a cat to/for me."


Another way to say "He has no intelligence/ He's stupid", if you wanted to say this without using a verb, (Case 0), would be
అతను బుద్ధిలేనివాడు atanu buddhilēnivāḍu
బుద్ధి (buddhi) = mind
లేని (lēni) = that which does not have
వాడు (vāḍu) = the suffix used to turn the word into a noun describing a male

బుద్ధిలేని (buddhilēni) by itself would be an adjective, so if you said "బుద్ధిలేని అబ్బాయి" (buddhilēni abbāyi), it would mean "stupid boy", or more literally, "boy who does not have a mind" (అబ్బాయి "abbāyi" means boy)


There are many expressions that use the Case 3 impersonal structure. Emotions (anger, happiness, etc.) and physical feelings (hunger, thirst, sleepiness) will usually use this structure.




Here's a little vocab, followed by a few translation exercises to practice.

happiness = సంతోషం santōsham
teacher (male) = ఉపాధ్యాయుడు upādhyāyuḍu
banana = అరటిపండు araṭipanḍu
elephant = ఏనుగు ēnugu
elephants = ఏనుగులు ēnugulu
because = ఎందుకంటే endukantē (the placement of "because" in a sentence corresponds to where it would be placed in English - between the two clauses it is relating)

She (medium formality) is happy
You (medium formality) are a teacher (male).
This is a banana.
There is a banana.
Those are elephants.
Those are happy elephants.
We (exclusive) have an elephant.
Our (exclusive) elephant is happy because it has a banana.

[Ambrisio]

1s.DAT hunger-ADV be.PRES.3NEUT.SG

I never thought an adverb could modify 'to be' in such a context!
And when I first saw the ending 'gā', I mistook it for a comitative case ending. Stupid me -- though it does make some sort of sense (even English can use nouns in the comitative, i.e. nouns following the preposition 'with', as adverbs -- and the adverbial morpheme '-ly' is not really productive with nouns), and it sure is a great idea for a conlang! (1s.DAT hunger-COM be.PRES.3NEUT.SG, or even 1s.NOM hunger-COM be.PRES.1.SG)

And I'd like to know how the verb 'to be' is used in Turkish. Is it similar?

mind + that which does not have

Interesting. I'd think that such a word would mean 'mindless', not 'stupid'. How would you say 'mindless'?

Our (exclusive) elephant is happy because it has a banana.

Really?? Is just one banana enough to satisfy an elephant?

Seriously, I'll get to the translation exercises when I have some free time.