# Malayalam grammar

Malayalam is one of the Dravidian languages and has an agglutinative grammar. The word order is generally subject–object–verb, although other orders are often employed for reasons such as emphasis. Nouns are inflected for case and number, whilst verbs are conjugated for tense, mood, and causativity (and also in archaic language for person, gender, number, and polarity). Malayalam adjectives, adverbs, postpositions, and conjunctions do not undergo any inflection; they are invariant.

## Nouns

The declensional paradigms for some common nouns and pronouns are given below. As Malayalam is an agglutinative language, it is difficult to delineate the cases strictly and determine how many there are, although seven or eight is the generally accepted number. Alveolar plosives and nasals (although the modern Malayalam script does not distinguish the latter from the dental nasal) are marked with a macron below, following the convention of the National Library at Kolkata romanization.

### Pronouns

There are three persons – first, second, and third. The first person has three forms – singular, inclusive plural (i.e. speaker, listener, and possibly others), and exclusive plural (i.e. speaker and others, but not the listener). The second person has three forms – singular informal, singular formal and plural. Of these, the singular formal and, plural forms are similar. A fourth form ('respectful' or 'official') is sometimes used in certain official documents and announcements.
The third person has eight forms – proximal and distal forms of singular masculine, singular feminine, singular neutral and plural. The masculine and feminine genders are used for humans and anthropomorphised non-humans. Non-living objects, plants and most animals take the neutral gender. The plural form is used for multiple objects of any gender. The plural form can also be used for a single person to show respect or because the gender is unknown or irrelevant.
Personal Pronoun :
| | | | singular | plural |
| 1st person | Exclusive | Exclusive | ഞാൻñān̠ഞാൻñān̠I | ഞങ്ങൾñaṅṅaḷഞങ്ങൾñaṅṅaḷwe |
| 1st person | Inclusive | Inclusive | ഞാൻñān̠ഞാൻñān̠I | നാംnām//നമ്മൾnammaḷനാം / നമ്മൾnām / nammaḷwe |
| 2nd person | Informal | Informal | നീnīനീnīyou | നിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷനിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷyou (all) |
| 2nd person | Formal | Formal | നിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷനിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷyou | നിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷനിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷyou (all) |
| 2nd person | 'Respectful' / 'Official' | 'Respectful' / 'Official' | താങ്കൾtāṅkaḷതാങ്കൾtāṅkaḷyou | നിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷനിങ്ങൾniṅṅaḷyou (all) |
| 3rd person | Proximal | Masculine | ഇവൻivan̠ഇവൻivan̠(this) he | ഇവർivar̠ഇവർivar̠(this) they |
| 3rd person | Proximal | Feminine | ഇവൾivaḷഇവൾivaḷ(this) she | ഇവർivar̠ഇവർivar̠(this) they |
| 3rd person | Proximal | Neutral | ഇത്itŭഇത്itŭ(this) it | ഇവivaഇവiva(this) these |
| 3rd person | Distal | Masculine | അവൻavan̠അവൻavan̠(that) he | അവർavar̠അവർavar̠(that) they |
| 3rd person | Distal | Feminine | അവൾavaḷഅവൾavaḷ(that) she | അവർavar̠അവർavar̠(that) they |
| 3rd person | Distal | Neutral | അത്atŭഅത്atŭ(that) it | അവavaഅവava(that) those |
| 3rd person | Reflexive | Reflexive | താൻtān̠താൻtān̠himself | താങ്കൾtāṅkaḷതാങ്കൾtāṅkaḷthemself തങ്ങൾtaṅṅaḷതങ്ങൾtaṅṅaḷthemself |
* These are the commonly used pronouns though in total they have rarer synonyms and dialectal/colloquial forms, for example 2SG "you" can have around over 10 forms like nī, niṅṅaḷ, tāṉ, tāṅkaḷ, aṅṅŭ, tvaṁ, sanskritic gendered bhavāṉ, bhavati, dialectal for nī: ī, iyyŭ, ijjŭ, ji etc. Some colloquial dialects use avaṉmār̠, avaḷmār̠ as (dist.) 3Pl. masculine and feminine pronouns.

### Cases

Vocative forms are given in parentheses after the nominative, as the only pronominal vocatives that are used are the third person ones, which only occur in compounds.
Singular :
| Case വിഭക്തി | 1st person | 2nd person | 2nd person | 3rd person (distal) | 3rd person (distal) | 3rd person (distal) |
| Case വിഭക്തി | 1st person | informal | formal | masculine | feminine | non-human |
| Nominative നിർദ്ദേശിക | ഞാൻ ñāṉ | നീ nī | നിങ്ങൾ niṅṅaḷ | അവൻ avaṉ (voc. avaṉē) | അവൾ avaḷ (voc. avaḷē) | അത് atŭ (voc. atiṉē) |
| Accusative പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക | എന്നെ eṉṉe | നിന്നെ niṉṉe | നിങ്ങളെ niṅṅaḷe | അവനെ avaṉe | അവളെ avaḷe | അതിനെ atiṉe |
| Genitive സംബന്ധിക | എന്റെ/എന്നുടെ/എൻ eṉṟe/eṉṉuṭe/eṉ | നിന്റെ/നിന്നുടെ/നിൻ niṉṟe/niṉṉuṭe/niṉ | നിങ്ങളുടെ niṅṅaḷuṭe | അവന്റെ/അവനുടെ avaṉṟe/avaṉuṭe | അവളുടെ avaḷuṭe | അതിന്റെ atiṉṟe |
| Dative ഉദ്ദേശിക | എനിക്ക് eṉikkŭ | നിനക്ക് niṉakkŭ | നിങ്ങൾക്ക് niṅṅaḷkkŭ | അവന് avaṉŭ | അവൾക്ക് avaḷkkŭ | അതിന് atiṉŭ |
| Instrumental പ്രായോജിക | എന്നാൽ eṉṉāl | നിന്നാൽ niṉṉāl | നിങ്ങളാൽ niṅṅaḷāl | അവനാൽ avaṉāl | അവളാൽ avaḷāl | അതിനാൽ atiṉāl |
| Locative ആധാരിക | എന്നിൽ eṉṉil | നിന്നിൽ niṉṉil | നിങ്ങളിൽ niṅṅaḷil | അവനിൽ avaṉil | അവളിൽ avaḷil | അതിൽ atil |
| Sociative സംയോജിക | എന്നോട് eṉṉōṭŭ | നിന്നോട് niṉṉōṭŭ | നിങ്ങളോട് niṅṅaḷōṭŭ | അവനോട് avaṉōṭŭ | അവളോട്‌ avaḷōṭŭ | അതിനോട് atiṉōtŭ |
| Notes: ↑ For proximal form, replace the initial 'a' with an 'i'. |||||||
Plural :
| Case വിഭക്തി | 1st person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person |
| Case വിഭക്തി | exclusive | inclusive | 2nd person | 3rd person |
| Nominative നിർദ്ദേശിക | ഞങ്ങൾ ñaṅṅaḷ | നമ്മൾ/നാം nammaḷ/nām | നിങ്ങൾ niṅṅaḷ | അവർ avaṟ (voc. avarē) |
| Accusative പ്രതിഗ്രാഹിക | ഞങ്ങളെ ñaṅṅaḷe | നമ്മളെ/നമ്മെ nammaḷe/namme | നിങ്ങളെ niṅṅaḷe | അവരെ avare |
| Genitive സംബന്ധിക | ഞങ്ങളുടെ ñaṅṅaḷuṭe | നമ്മളുടെ/നമ്മുടെ nammaḷuṭe/nammuṭe | നിങ്ങളുടെ niṅṅaḷuṭe | അവരുടെ avaruṭe |
| Dative ഉദ്ദേശിക | ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് ñaṅṅaḷkkŭ | നമ്മൾക്ക്/നമുക്ക് nammaḷkkŭ/namukkŭ | നിങ്ങൾക്ക് niṅṅaḷkkŭ | അവർക്ക് avaṟkkŭ |
| Instrumental പ്രായോജിക | ഞങ്ങളാൽ ñaṅṅaḷāl | നമ്മളാൽ/നമ്മാൽ nammaḷāl/nammāl | നിങ്ങളാൽ niṅṅaḷāl | അവരാൽ avarāl |
| Locative ആധാരിക | ഞങ്ങളിൽ ñaṅṅaḷil | നമ്മളിൽ/നമ്മിൽ nammaḷil/nammil | നിങ്ങളിൽ niṅṅaḷil | അവരിൽ avaril |
| Sociative സംയോജിക | ഞങ്ങളോട് ñaṅṅaḷōṭŭ | നമ്മളോട്/നമ്മോട് nammaḷōṭŭ/nammōṭŭ | നിങ്ങളോട് niṅṅaḷōṭŭ | അവരോട് avarōṭŭ |
The mnemonic 'നിപ്രസം ഉപ്രസം ആ' created by combining the first sounds of the case names is used.

### Number

The suffix -കൾ (-kaḷ), which changes to -ങ്ങൾ (-ṅṅaḷ) when the nouns ends in -അം (-aṁ), is the most common suffix for denoting plural nouns. It is used by all inanimate nouns, concrete or abstract, and most animate, non-gendered nouns. Two other suffixes, -മാർ (-māṟ) and അർ (-aṟ), are used exclusively by a few animate nouns. All suffixes follow the sandhi (സന്ധി) rules where applicable, and are not used when preceded by numeral adjectives. The following are a few examples.
| Word | Singular | Plural |
| umbrella | കുട (kuṭa) | കുടകൾ (kuṭakaḷ) |
| fish | മീൻ (mīṉ) | മീനുകൾ (mīṉukaḷ) |
| youngster | യുവാവ് (yuvāvŭ) | യുവാക്കൾ (yuvākkaḷ) |
| dog | നായ (nāya) | നായ്ക്കൾ/നായകൾ (nāykkaḷ/nāyakaḷ) |
| book | പുസ്തകം (pustakaṁ) | പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ (pustakaṅṅaḷ) |
| mother | അമ്മ (amma) | അമ്മമാർ (ammamāṟ) |
| king | രാജാവ് (rājāvŭ) | രാജാക്കന്മാർ (rājākkaṉmāṟ) |
| human | മനുഷ്യൻ (manuṣyaṉ) | മനുഷ്യർ (manuṣyaṟ) |
| gujarati person | ഗുജറാത്തിക്കാരൻ/-രി (gujaṟāttikkār(aṉ/i)) | ഗുജറാത്തിക്കാർ (gujaṟāttikkāṟ) |
* A person from a place is denoted with -kāraṉ/kāri whose plural is -kāṟ. other ways include malayāḷikaḷ, tamiḻaṉmāṟ, kannaḍigaṟ.

### Other nouns

The following are examples of some of the most common declensional patterns.
| Word | tree | tree | elephant | elephant | human | human | dog | dog |
| Case | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural |
| Nominative | maram | maraṅṅaḷ | āṉa | āṉakaḷ | maṉuṣyaṉ | maṉuṣyaṟ | paṭṭi | paṭṭikaḷ |
| Vocative | maramē | maraṅṅaḷē | āṉē | āṉakaḷē | maṉuṣyā | maṉuṣyarē | paṭṭī | paṭṭikaḷē |
| Accusative | marattiṉe | maraṅṅaḷe | āṉaye | āṉakaḷe | maṉuṣyaṉe | maṉuṣyare | paṭṭiye | paṭṭikaḷe |
| Genitive | marattiṉṯe | maraṅṅaḷuṭe | āṉayuṭe | āṉakaḷuṭe | maṉuṣyaṉṯe | maṉuṣyaruṭe | paṭṭiyuṭe | paṭṭikaḷuṭe |
| Dative | marattiṉŭ | maraṅṅaḷkkŭ | āṉaykkŭ | āṉakaḷkku | maṉuṣyaṉŭ | maṉuṣyaṟkkŭ | paṭṭikkŭ | paṭṭikaḷkku |
| Instrumental | marattāl | maraṅṅaḷāl | āṉayāl | āṉakaḷāl | maṉuṣyaṉāl | maṉuṣyarāl | paṭṭiyāl | paṭṭikaḷāl |
| Locative | marattil | maraṅṅaḷil | āṉayil | āṉakaḷil | maṉuṣyaṉil | maṉuṣyaril | paṭṭiyil | paṭṭikaḷil |
| Sociative | marattōṭŭ | maraṅṅaḷōṭŭ | āṉayōṭŭ | āṉakaḷōṭŭ | maṉuṣyaṉōṭŭ | maṉuṣyarōṭŭ | paṭṭiyōṭŭ | paṭṭikaḷōṭŭ |

## Adjectives

Malayalam is thought to have no semantic category for adjectives, and instead relies heavily on using participial relative clauses for modifying nouns. There are two classes of words that typically act as adjectives.
* Native roots + -(iy)a: This includes words such as നൽ > നല്ല (nalla, good), വൽ > വലിയ (valiya, big), നനഞ്ഞു > നനഞ്ഞ (naṉañña, wet), and ചെറു/ചിറു > ചെറിയ/ചിറ്റ (ceṟiya/ciṟṟa, short). All such words can be directly used as adjectives, without further modification. The conventional view regarding this category of words is that they typically encode the possession of the property they signify in the participial marker (-a) attached to them, meaning a word such as നല്ല (nalla) would actually mean "having goodness". For instance: ഇതൊരു നല്ല പുസ്തകമാണ് (itoru nalla pustakamāṇŭ), translating to "this is a good book", could be thought to mean "this is a goodness-having book". Note that when used in typical relative clauses, the marker -a can be inflected for tense, but not when used here in an adjectival sense.
* Removing the noun formative -am: This includes words such as സങ്കടം (saṅkaṭaṁ, sadness), മരം (maraṁ, tree), and ഉയരം (uyaraṁ, height/tallness). As in marattaṭi "timber", mara vīṭŭ "wooden house". Another way is in the form of -ഉള്ള (uḷḷa), the suffix for the non-finite existential copula. For instance: അവൻ ഉയരമുള്ള കുട്ടിയാണ് (avaṉ uyaramuḷḷa kuṭṭiyāṇŭ, translating to "he is a tall child") could be thought to mean "he is a tallness-having child". Since the suffix is non-finite it does not vary with tense or person. The exception is with color words like (skt. nīla >) nīla "blue" which can act as both a noun and an adjective.
* Words ending with -ṟu, -tŭ, -ṭu can have the plosive doubled to make an adjective as in kāṭŭ > kāṭṭŭ, kāṭṭu tī "forest fire"; cōṟŭ > cōṟṟŭ, cōṟṟupātram "tiffin box".
* Another adjectivizing suffix is -m added to some words ending with vowels, pai > paim "green, gorgeous," paiṅkiḷi > "green bird, parrot"; pū > pūm "flowery", pūmpāṟṟa "flower lizard, butterfly".
* Another adjectivizing suffix is -aṉ, eg. kaṭu > kaṭṭaṉ "strong, thick", kaṭṭaṉ cāya "strong tea, black tea".

## Verbs

Inflection of Malayalam verbs occurs for tense, aspect, and mode (TAM), and not for number (plurality) or gender. The dictionary form of verbs typically have the ending -ഉക (-uka), although some verbs have the ending ഇക (-ika) too.

### Tenses

Broadly, there are three tenses in Malayalam language: present, past and future. Verb forms in different tenses are created by either simply replacing the citation form ending (for present and future tense), or by suffixing the verb stem (obtained by removing the citation form ending and the preceding consonant) with a special marker depending on the class of the verb (for past tense).

#### Present tense

The present tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉന്നു (-unnu). For example, the present tense form of പറയുക (paṟayuka, 'to say') is പറയുന്നു (paṟayunnu).

#### Future tense

The future tense is formed by replacing the citation form ending with -ഉം (-um). For example, the future tense form of നടക്കുക (naṭakkuka, 'to walk') is നടക്കും (naṭakkum).

#### Past tense

For most verbs the marker -ഇ (-i) (or യി, (-yi) if the verb stem ends in a vowel) is added to the verb stem to create the past tense form, but other verb classes have different rules. A non-exhaustive list of the rules for different classes, as well as some exceptions, is given below.
* If the citation form of the verb ends in a short vowel followed by -ടുക (-ṭuka) – that is, if it ends in -അടുക (-aṭuka), -ഇടുക (-iṭuka), -ഉടുക (-uṭuka), -എടുക (-eṭuka), or -ഒടുക (-oṭuka) – then replace the -ടുക at the end with -ട്ടു (-ṭṭu). For example, the past form of ഇടുക (iṭuka, 'to put'), is ഇട്ടു (iṭṭu).
* If the citation form ends in -യ്യുക (-yyuka), then replace that ending with -യ്തു (-ytu). For example, the past form of ചെയ്യുക (ceyyuka, 'to do') is ചെയ്തു (ceytu).
* If the citation form ends in -അക്കുക (-akkuka), then replace that ending with -അന്നു (-annu). For example, the past form of നടക്കുക (naṭakkuka, 'to walk') is നടന്നു (naṭannu). An exception to this rule is നക്കുക (nakkuka, to lick), whose past tense is നക്കി (nakki).
* The past tense of ഇരിക്കുക (irikkuka, 'to sit, reside') is ഇരുന്നു (irunnu). But apart from this exception if the citation form ends in -ഇക്കുക (-ikkuka), then replace that ending with -ഇച്ചു (-iccu). For example, the past form of അടിക്കുക (aṭikkuka, 'to beat') is അടിച്ചു (aṭiccu).
* If the citation form ends in -ഉക്കുക (-ukkuka) or -ര്‍ക്കുക (-ṟkkuka), then replace that ending with -ഉത്തു (-uttu) or -ര്‍ത്തു (-ṟttu) respectively. For example, the past form of തണുക്കുക (taṇukkuka, 'to get cold') is തണുത്തു (taṇuttu), and the past form of ഓര്‍ക്കുക (ōṟkkuka, 'to remember') is ഓര്‍ത്തു (ōṟttu). The past tense form of ഒക്കുക (okkuka, 'to manage/be able to') is ഒത്തു (ottu).
* The past tense of നില്‍ക്കുക (nilkkuka, 'to stand/wait') is നിന്നു (ninnu). But apart from this exception if the citation form ends in -ല്‍ക്കുക (-lkkuka), then replace that ending with -റ്റു (-ṯṯu). For example, the past form of തോല്‍ക്കുക (tōlkkuka, 'to lose') is തോറ്റു (tōṯṯu).
* If the citation form ends in -ള്‍ക്കുക (-ḷkkuka), then replace that ending with -ട്ടു (-ṭṭu). For example, the past form of കേള്‍ക്കുക (kēḷkkuka, 'to hear') is കേട്ടു (kēṭṭu).
* If the citation form ends in -യുക (-yuka), then replace that ending with -ഞ്ഞു (-ññu). For example, the past form of പറയുക (paṟayuka, 'to say') is പറഞ്ഞു (paṟaññu).
* If the citation form ends in -രുക (-ruka), then replace that ending with -ര്‍ന്നു (-ṟnnu). For example, the past form of തീരുക (tīruka, 'to end') is തീര്‍ന്നു (tīṟnnu). However, the past tense of പോരുക (pōruka, 'to come') is പോന്നു (pōnnu).
* If the citation form ends in -ലുക (-luka) or -ല്ലുക (-lluka), then replace that ending (whichever of the two it is) with -ന്നു (-nnu). For example, the past form of അകലുക (akaluka, 'to move away') is അകന്നു (akannu). However, the past tense of ചൊല്ലുക (colluka, 'to narrate') may be either ചൊന്നു (connu) or ചൊല്ലി (cholli); for തല്ലുക (talluka, 'to beat') it is തല്ലി (talli) and in the northern dialects തച്ചു (taccu).
* If the citation form ends in -ളുക (-ḷuka) or -ള്ളുക (-ḷḷuka), then replace that ending (whichever of the two it is) with -ണ്ടു (-ṇṭu). For example, the past form of ഉരുളുക (uruḷuka, 'to roll') is ഉരുണ്ടു (uruṇṭu). However, the past tense of പൊള്ളുക (poḷḷuka, 'to burn') is പൊള്ളി (poḷḷi).
* If the citation form ends in -രിക (-rika), then replace that ending with -ന്നു (-nnu). For example, the past form of വരിക (varika, 'to come') is വന്നു (vannu).
* If the citation form ends in -ണുക (-ṇuka), then replace that ending with -ണ്ടു (-ṇṭu). For example, the past form of കാണുക (kāṇuka, 'to see') is കണ്ടു (kaṇṭu), for ഉണ്ണുക (uṇṇuka, 'to eat') it's ഉണ്ടു (uṇṭu).
* The past form of തിന്നുക (tiṉṉuka, 'to eat') is തിന്നു (tinnu).
* The past form of വേകുക/വേവുക (vēkuka/vēvuka, 'to get cooked') is വെന്തു (ventu), for നോവുക (nōvuka, 'to pain') it's നൊന്തു (nontu).
Verb conjugations for the verb "പോകുക" (pōkuka, to go) based on the commonly recognized aspects in Malayalam are given below. The past tense marker in this case is -ഇ (-i).
Tenses :
| | Past | Present | Future |
| Simple | പോയിpōyiപോയിpōyi | പോകുന്നുpōkunnuപോകുന്നുpōkunnu | പോകുംpōkumപോകുംpōkum |
| Continuous | പോവുകയായിരുന്നുpōvukayāyirunnuപോവുകയായിരുന്നുpōvukayāyirunnu | പോവുകയാണ്pōvukayāṇŭപോവുകയാണ്pōvukayāṇŭ | പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുംpōyikkoṇṭirikkumപോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുംpōyikkoṇṭirikkum |
| Perfect | പോയിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōyiṭṭuṇṭāyirunnuപോയിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōyiṭṭuṇṭāyirunnu | പോയിട്ടുണ്ട്pōyiṭṭuṇṭŭപോയിട്ടുണ്ട്pōyiṭṭuṇṭŭ | പോയിട്ടുണ്ടാകുംpōyiṭṭuṇṭākumപോയിട്ടുണ്ടാകുംpōyiṭṭuṇṭākum |
| Perfect continuous | പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭāyirunnuപോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭāyirunnu | പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭŭപോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്pōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭŭ | പോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടാകുംpōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭākumപോയിക്കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്നുണ്ടാകുംpōyikkoṇṭirikkunnuṇṭākum |
| Habitual | പോകാറുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōkāṟuṇṭāyirunnuപോകാറുണ്ടായിരുന്നുpōkāṟuṇṭāyirunnu | പോകാറുണ്ട്pōkāṟuṇṭŭപോകാറുണ്ട്pōkāṟuṇṭŭ | – |

### Mood
#### Imperative

Bare root can act as an imperative, eg. cey! "do!", another way is by suffixing -ṇam, ceyyaṇam "must do!".

#### Potential

-ām is used for potential mood, ceyyām "will do", ceytēkkām "may do".

### Copula

Malayalam employs two defective verbs as its copulas. The first, -ആക് (ākŭ), is the plain equative copula. The second, -ഉണ്ട് (uṇṭŭ), is the locative copula and also used to indicate possession (with the subject/possessor in the dative case). These verbs change forms in different tenses and are usually suffixed to the noun phrases that are specified by the copula. The table below lists some examples.
| Example | Notes |
| Equative ||
| അവൻavaṉസന്തുഷ്ടനാണ്santuṣṭaṉāṇŭഅവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനാണ്avaṉ santuṣṭaṉāṇŭHe is happy | Present tense form of ആക് is ആണ് (āṇŭ) |
| അവൻavaṉസന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നുsantuṣṭaṉāyirunnuഅവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നുavaṉ santuṣṭaṉāyirunnuHe was happy | Past tense form of ആക് is ആയിരുന്നു (āyirunnu) |
| അവൻavaṉസന്തുഷ്ടനാകുംsantuṣṭaṉākuṁഅവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനാകുംavaṉ santuṣṭaṉākuṁHe will be happy | Future tense form of ആക് is അകും (ākuṁ) |
| Locative ||
| അവൻavaṉവീട്ടിലുണ്ട്vīṭṭiluṇṭŭഅവൻ വീട്ടിലുണ്ട്avaṉ vīṭṭiluṇṭŭHe is in the house | ഉണ്ട് stays the same in the present tense |
| അവൻavaṉവീട്ടിൽvīṭṭilഉണ്ടായിരുന്നുuṇṭāyirunnuഅവൻ വീട്ടിൽ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നുavaṉ vīṭṭil uṇṭāyirunnuHe was in the house | Past tense form of ഉണ്ട് is ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു (uṇṭāyirunnu) |
| അവൻavaṉവീട്ടിൽvīṭṭilഉണ്ടാകുംuṇṭākuṁഅവൻ വീട്ടിൽ ഉണ്ടാകുംavaṉ vīṭṭil uṇṭākuṁHe will be in the house | Future tense form of ഉണ്ട് is ഉണ്ടാകും (uṇṭākuṁ) |
| Possessive ||
| അവൾക്ക്avaḷkkŭഒരുoruപുസ്തകമുണ്ട്pustakamuṇṭŭഅവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകമുണ്ട്avaḷkkŭ oru pustakamuṇṭŭShe has a book | |
| അവൾക്ക്avaḷkkŭഒരുoruപുസ്തകംpustakaṁഉണ്ടായിരുന്നുuṇṭāyirunnuഅവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നുavaḷkkŭ oru pustakaṁ uṇṭāyirunnuShe had a book | |
| അവൾക്ക്avaḷkkŭഒരുoruപുസ്തകംpustakaṁഉണ്ടാകുംuṇṭākuṁഅവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകം ഉണ്ടാകുംavaḷkkŭ oru pustakaṁ uṇṭākuṁShe will have a book | |

### Causatives

Malayalam has 3 levels of causatives, usually verb happening, 1st person causing it to happen and making someone do it. Usually the last consonant is doubled to make the 2nd level but some verbs can use -kku- for it; 3rd level suffixes -ppikku-. Example ōṭuka "to run", ōṭikkuka/ōṭṭuka "to make someone run/ to drive", ōṭippikkuka/ōṭṭikkuka "to make someone make someone run/to make someone drive". Another suffix for 2nd level is -ttu, eg. cāruka/cāṟttuka/cāṟttikkuka, akaluka/akaṟṟuka/akaṟṟikkuka, kāṇuka/kāṭṭuka/kāṭṭikkuka, last 2 with sandhi for -ttu. 2nd level can be made 1st by adding peṭuka after it, eg. kāṇappeṭuka "get seen". Not all verbs have causatives like pōkuka.

### Negation

Standard negation is expressed through the use of the negative particle/suffix -ഇല്ല (-illa, literally "no"), regardless of tense. The equative copula -ആക്, however, is negated by the negative suffix -അല്ല (-alla) in the present tense; in all other tenses -ഇല്ല is used. When these particles are suffixed to their corresponding noun phrases, sandhi (സന്ധി) rules must be obeyed.
| Example | Notes |
| അവൻavaṉസന്തുഷ്ടനല്ലsantuṣṭaṉallaഅവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനല്ലavaṉ santuṣṭaṉallaHe is not happy | Equative copula negated by -അല്ല (-alla) in the present tense |
| അവൻavaṉസന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നില്ലsantuṣṭaṉāyirunnillaഅവൻ സന്തുഷ്ടനായിരുന്നില്ലavaṉ santuṣṭaṉāyirunnillaHe was not happy | Equative copula negated by -ഇല്ല (-illa) in any tense other than the present tense |
| അവൾക്ക്avaḷkkŭഒരുoruപുസ്തകമില്ലpustakamillaഅവൾക്ക് ഒരു പുസ്തകമില്ലavaḷkkŭ oru pustakamillaShe does not have a book | All other negations use -ഇല്ല (-illa) |
| അവൾavaḷപോകുന്നില്ലpōkunnillaഅവൾ പോകുന്നില്ലavaḷ pōkunnillaShe is not going | All other negations use -ഇല്ല (-illa) |
| അവർavaṟഇവിടെയില്ലiviṭeyillaഅവർ ഇവിടെയില്ലavaṟ iviṭeyillaThey are not here | All other negations use -ഇല്ല (-illa) |
* Old Malayalam -ā is rare, used mostly in the standard language, eg. paṟakkā kiḷi "flightless bird", commonly paṟakkātta kiḷi / paṟakkillātta kiḷi.
Prohibitive
| Dismissive/Insistent/Low "don't" | ചെയ്യല്ലേ (ceyyallē) |
| Non-polite "don't" | ചെയ്യാൻ പാടില്ല (ceyyān pāṭilla) |
| Polite "please don't" | ചെയ്യാതെ (ceyyāte) |
| Recommending "shouldn't" | ചെയ്യരുത് (ceyyarutu) |
| Forbidding "mustn't" | ചെയ്യണ്ട (ceyyaṇṭa) |

## Others
### Comparatives

* -kāḷ and -kāṭṭi are used interchangeably as comparatives after adding the accusative case, eg. pattiṉekkāṭṭi/pattiṉekkāḷ valutŭ nūṟāṇŭ. -um can be added for intensification pattiṉekkāṭṭum valutŭ nūṟāṇŭ.

## Sandhi (സന്ധി)

Malayalam is an agglutinative language, and words can be joined in many ways. These ways are called sandhi (literally 'junction'). There are basically two genres of Sandhi used in Malayalam – one group unique to Malayalam (based originally on Old Tamil phonological rules, and in essence common with Tamil), and the other one common with Sanskrit. Thus, we have the "Malayāḷa Sandhi" and "Saṁskr̥ta Sandhi".

### Sandhi unique to Malayalam, based on Old Tamil

There are basically four Sandhi types unique to Malayalam – the "lōpa sandhi", "dvitva sandhi", "āgama sandhi" and "ādēśa sandhi".

#### Lōpa sandhi or "Elision"(ലോപ സന്ധി)

The Lopa sandhi occurs when the varna (vowel) at the end of a word is lost when it merges with another word. In most cases, the varna is the "samvr̥tōkāram". (the "closed u sound").
കണ്ട്
kaṇṭŭ
ഇല്ല
illa
കണ്ടില്ല
kaṇṭilla
കണ്ട് + ഇല്ല = കണ്ടില്ല
kaṇṭŭ + illa = kaṇṭilla
നായ
nāya
കുട്ടി
kuṭṭi
നായ്ക്കുട്ടി
nāykuṭṭi
നായ + കുട്ടി = നായ്ക്കുട്ടി
nāya + kuṭṭi = nāykuṭṭi

#### Dvitva Sandhi or "Rule of doubling"

In Malayalam, gemination is more in tense consonants and less in lax consonants. When two words combine in which the first is the qualifier and the qualified, the tense consonant initial to the second word geminates.
മര
mara
കൊമ്പ്
kombŭ
മരക്കൊമ്പ്
marakkombŭ
മര + കൊമ്പ് = മരക്കൊമ്പ്
mara + kombŭ = marakkombŭ
കൈ
kai
കൂലി
kūli
കൈക്കൂലി
kaikkūli
കൈ + കൂലി = കൈക്കൂലി
kai + kūli = kaikkūli

#### Āgama sandhi or "Rule of arrival" (ആഗമ സന്ധി)

When two vowels undergo Sandhi, a consonant ("y" or "v") is added to avoid the pronunciation difficulty.
വഴി
vaḻi
അമ്പലം
ampalam
വഴിയമ്പലം
vaḻiyampalam.
വഴി + അമ്പലം = വഴിയമ്പലം
vaḻi + ampalam = vaḻiyampalam.
പൊതു
potu
ആയി
āyi
പൊതുവായി
potuvāyi
പൊതു + ആയി = പൊതുവായി
potu + āyi = potuvāyi

#### Ādēśa Sandhi or "Rule of substitution"

In this Sandhi, one letter is substituted by another during concatenation.
വിൺ
viṇ
തലം
talam
വിണ്ടലം
viṇṭalam
(t replaced by ṭ)
വിൺ + തലം = വിണ്ടലം
viṇ + talam = viṇṭalam
വലം
valam
കൈ
kai
വലങ്കൈ
valaṅkai
(m replaced by ṅ)
വലം + കൈ = വലങ്കൈ
valam + kai = valaṅkai
നൽ
nal
-മ
ma
നന്മ​
naṉma
(l replaced by ṉ)
നൽ + -മ = നന്മ​
nal + ma = naṉma
This sandhi also includes Sanskrit Sandhi forms like vi + samam = viṣamam.

### Sandhi common with Sanskrit

These Sandhi rules are basically inherited from Sanskrit, and are used in conjunction with Sanskrit vocabulary which forms approximately 60% of Modern Standard Malayalam (the entire Sanskrit vocabulary is also usable with appropriate changes). The rules like savarṇadīrgha sandhi, yaṇ sandhi, guṇa sandhi, vr̥ddhi sandhi and visarga sandhis are used without changes.

#### Samāsam (സമാസം)

All the Sanskrit samāsa rules are adapted to Malayalam compounds. In Malayalam, the tatpuruṣa compounds are classified according to the vibhakti they are based on, during compounding. The "alaṅkāraṁ" is also used to classify tatpuruṣa compounds. There are 4 types of samasam: 1) āvyayi bhavaṉ, 2) tatpuruṣa, 3) dvandaṉ, and 4) bahuvr̥hi.

#### Vr̥ttaṁ (വൃത്തം)

The vr̥ttaṁ consists of metres of Malayalam prosody. Like Sandhi, there are specific vr̥ttaṁs unique to Malayalam apart from the metres common with Sanskrit. As in case of Sandhi, the Malayalam vrittams are also named in Sanskrit.

#### Alaṅkāram (അലങ്കാരം)

Alaṅkāraṁ or "ornamentation" is also based on Sanskritic grammarian classification. It consists of the different figures of speech used in Malayalam poetry. Being successor to Sanskrit and Maṇipravāḷam, most of Sanskrit alankaras are used in Malayalam. Thus, the common figures of speech in poems are rūpakaṁ, utprēkṣā, upamā etc.

## Words adopted from Sanskrit

When words are adopted from Sanskrit, their endings are usually changed to conform to Malayalam norms:

### Nouns

* Masculine Sanskrit nouns with a word stem ending in a short "a" take the ending "an" in the nominative singular. For example, Kr̥ṣṇa -> Kr̥ṣṇaṉ. The final "n" is dropped before masculine surnames, honorifics, or titles ending in "an" and beginning with a consonant other than "n" – e.g. Krishna Menon, Kr̥ṣṇa Kaṇiyāṉ etc., but Kr̥ṣṇan Eḻuttaccaṉ. Surnames ending with "aṟ" or "aḷ" (where these are plural forms of "aṉ" denoting respect) are treated similarly – Kr̥ṣṇa Potuvāḷ, Kr̥ṣṇa Cākyāṟ, but Kr̥ṣṇaṉ Nāyaṟ, Kr̥ṣṇaṉ Nambyāṟ, as are Sanskrit surnames such "Vaṟma(ṉ)", "Śaṟma(ṉ)", or "Gupta(ṉ)" (rare) – e.g. Kr̥ṣṇa Vaṟma, Kr̥ṣṇa Śaṟmaṉ. If a name is a compound, only the last element undergoes this transformation – e.g. Kr̥ṣṇa + dēva = Kr̥ṣṇadēvaṉ, not Kr̥ṣṇandēvaṉ. This is also done to personify something like śukraṉ, śvāṉaṉ etc.
* Feminine words ending in a long "ā" or "ī" are changed so that they now end in a short "a" or "i", for example Sītā -> Sīta and Lakṣmī -> Lakṣmi. However, the long vowel still appears in compound words, such as Sītādēvi or Lakṣmīdēvi. The long ī is generally reserved for the vocative forms of these names, although in Sanskrit the vocative actually takes a short "i". There are also a small number of nominative "ī" endings that have not been shortened – a prominent example being the word "strī" "woman".
* Nouns that have a stem in -an and which end with a long "ā" in the masculine nominative singular have a "vŭ" added to them, for example Brahmā (stem Brahman) -> Brahmāvŭ. When the same nouns are declined in the neuter and take a short "a" ending in Sanskrit, Malayalam adds an additional "m", e.g. Brahma (neuter nominative singular of Brahman) becomes Brahmam. This is again omitted when forming compounds.
* Words whose roots end in -an but whose nominative singular ending is -a – for example, the Sanskrit root of "Karma" is actually "Karman" –are also changed. The original root is ignored and "Karma" (the form in Malayalam being "Karmam" because it ends in a short "a") is taken as the basic form of the noun when declining. However, this does not apply to all consonant stems, as "unchangeable" stems such as "manasa" ("mind") and "suhr̥ta (friend)" are identical to the Malayalam nominative singular forms (although the regularly derived "manam" sometimes occurs as an alternative to "manasa").
* Sanskrit words describing things or animals rather than people with a stem in short "a" end with an "m" Malayalam. For example, Rāmāyaṇa -> Rāmāyaṇam. In most cases, this is actually the as the Sanskrit ending, which is also "m" (or allophonically anusvara due to Sandhi) in the neuter nominative. However, "things and animals" and "people" are not always differentiated based on whether or not they are sentient beings – for example Narasimha becomes Narasiṃham and not Narasiṃhan, whereas Ananta becomes Anantan even though both are sentient.
* Nouns with short vowel stems other than "a", such as "Viṣṇu", "Prajāpati" etc. are declined with the Sanskrit stem acting as the Malayalam nominative singular (the Sanskrit nominative singular is formed by adding a visarga, e.g. Viṣṇuḥ)
* The original Sanskrit vocative is often used in formal or poetic Malayalam, e.g. "Harē" (for Hari) or "Prabhō" (for "Prabhu" – "lord"). This is restricted to certain contexts – mainly when addressing deities or other exalted individuals, so a normal man named Hari would usually be addressed using a Malayalam vocative such as "Harī". The Sanskrit genitive is also occasionally found in Malayalam poetry, especially the personal pronouns "mama" (my/ mine) and "tava" (thy/ thine). Other cases are less common and generally restricted to the realm of Maṇipravāḷam.
* Along with these tatsama borrowings, there are also many tadbhava words in common use. These were borrowed into Malayalam before it became distinct from Tamil. As the language did not then accommodate Sanskrit phonology as it now does, words were changed to conform to the native phonological system. For example: Kr̥ṣṇa -> Kaṇṇan, suṣira > tuḻiraṁ.