Language/Telugu/Grammar/Present-Tense
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As a Telugu language teacher for the past 20 years, I have taught students of all levels to speak, read, and write Telugu fluently. In this lesson, we will learn about the present tense in Telugu, the tense used to talk about actions and events happening right now or in the present.
Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Pronouns & How to Use Be.
Overview
The present tense is used to describe actions and events that are happening now or in the present. In Telugu, the present tense is formed by adding the appropriate verb suffixes to the verb root according to the subject of the sentence. There are three types of verb roots:
- Anuvaasu (ending with a nasal sound)
- Murrakaalu (ending with a consonant sound other than a nasal)
- Thaanu (ending with a vowel sound or a nasal)
Each of these types has a certain set of verb suffixes they use in the present tense.
Anuvaasu verbs
Anuvaasu verbs end with a nasal sound (m, n, or ŋ) in their infinitive form. To form the present tense of such verbs, the verb root is combined with the appropriate verb suffix based on the subject of the sentence. Below is a table that shows the present tense verb suffixes for anuvaasu verbs.
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| నేను పడుతున్నాను (nēnu paḍutunnānu) | nehn-uh puh-doo-thun-nah-nu | I am studying |
| మీరు పడుతున్నారు (mīru paḍutunnāru) | meeh-roo puh-doo-thun-nah-roo | You are studying (formal) |
| అతను పడుతున్నాడు (atanu paḍutunnāḍu) | uh-tan-uh puh-doo-thun-nah-doo | He is studying |
| అవను పడుతున్నాడు (avanu paḍutunnāḍu) | uh-vuh-nuh puh-doo-thun-nah-doo | She is studying |
| మేము పడుతున్నాము (mēmu paḍutunnāmu) | may-moo puh-doo-thun-nah-moo | We are studying |
| మనం పడుతున్నాము (manaṁ paḍutunnāmu) | muh-nuhm puh-doo-thun-nah-moo | We are studying (informal) |
| వారు పడుతున్నారు (vāru paḍutunnāru) | vaa-roo puh-doo-thun-nah-roo | They are studying |
Note that the verb root changes slightly when combined with the verb suffixes. For example, పడు (paḍu) becomes పడుతున్నాను (paḍutunnānu) in the first-person singular form.
Murrakaalu verbs
Murrakaalu verbs end with a consonant sound other than a nasal (such as ర, ల, క, ట, or చ) in their infinitive form. To form the present tense of such verbs, the verb root is combined with the appropriate verb suffix based on the subject of the sentence. Below is a table that shows the present tense verb suffixes for murrakaalu verbs.
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| నేను మాట్లాడుతున్నాను (nēnu māṭlāḍutunnānu) | nehn-uh maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-nu | I am speaking |
| మీరు మాట్లాడుతున్నారు (mīru māṭlāḍutunnāru) | meeh-roo maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-roo | You are speaking (formal) |
| అతను మాట్లాడుతున్నాడు (atanu māṭlāḍutunnāḍu) | uh-tan-uh maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-doo | He is speaking |
| అవను మాట్లాడుతున్నాడు (avanu māṭlāḍutunnāḍu) | uh-vuh-nuh maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-doo | She is speaking |
| మేము మాట్లాడుతున్నాము (mēmu māṭlāḍutunnāmu) | may-moo maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-moo | We are speaking |
| మనం మాట్లాడుతున్నాము (manaṁ māṭlāḍutunnāmu) | muh-nuhm maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-moo | We are speaking (informal) |
| వారు మాట్లాడుతున్నారు (vāru māṭlāḍutunnāru) | vaa-roo maa-tlah-duh-thun-nah-roo | They are speaking |
Note that the verb root changes slightly when combined with the verb suffixes. For example, మాట్లాడు (māṭlāḍu) becomes మాట్లాడుతున్నాను (māṭlāḍutunnānu) in the first-person singular form.
Thaanu verbs
Thaanu verbs end with a vowel sound or a nasal sound (ం) in their infinitive form. To form the present tense of such verbs, the appropriate verb suffix is added to the verb root. Below is a table that shows the present tense verb suffixes for thanau verbs.
| Telugu | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| నేను వస్తున్నాను (nēnu vasthunnaanu) | nehn-uh vuhs-thuh-nnā-nuh | I am coming |
| మీరు వస్తున్నారు (mīru vasthunnāru) | meeh-roo vuhs-thoo-nnah-roo | You are coming (formal) |
| అతను వస్తున్నాడు (atanu vasthunnāḍu) | uh-tan-uh vuhs-thoo-nnah-doo | He is coming |
| అవను వస్తున్నాడు (avanu vasthunnāḍu) | uh-vuh-nuh vuhs-thoo-nnah-doo | She is coming |
| మేము వస్తున్నాము (mēmu vasthunnamu) | may-moo vuhs-thoo-nnah-moo | We are coming |
| మనం వస్తున్నాము (manaṁ vasthunnamu) | muh-nuhm vuhs-thoo-nnah-moo | We are coming (informal) |
| వారు వస్తున్నారు (vāru vasthunnāru) | vaa-roo vuhs-thoo-nnah-roo | They are coming |
Note that the verb root remains the same when combined with the verb suffixes.
Videos
Simple Present Tense in Telugu | Learn Tenses - YouTube
Other Lessons
- Advanced Verbs
- Possessive Pronouns
- Verbs
- Basic Sentence Structure
- Future Tense
- Subject, Object, and Verb
- Alphabet and Pronunciation
- Tenses
- Plurals
- How to Use Have
Sources
- Tenses In Telugu, All Tenses In 40 Minutes, How to learn Tenses in ...
- Telugu language - Wikipedia
- Simple Present Tense in Telugu | Learn Tenses - YouTube
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