Level I)
1. Marathi Script
2. The Alphabets
3. Word Formation
4. Genders
5. Plurals
6. Tenses
7. Sentence Structure
8. Voices
9. Pronouns
10. Verbs
11. Adverbs
Influences on Marathi Language Dialects Vocabulary
Texts and Reference Books
(Contact mailto:
Structure of Marathi
(Level I)
(0)Translitaration Scheme अ a आ aa(A) # ई $ ई(ई) % उ ^ ऊ @ ए @ए ई आए ओ आए ओ अ< ऍम अ> अह \ र^ई § र^ई ¤ ल^ई ¥ ल^ई A अ.क Aa आ.क क का ओ खा ग गा " घ ' न^ क चा डी छ जे जा ह झा जन क्यू ता क्यू था एफ़ द एफ़ ध [ ना त ता व था डी द एक्स ध न ना प प ) फ ब बीए - भा म माँ य या र र् ल ला व व ज़ श ; शह एस सा ह हां ¦ ला ] क्ष } द्न्य
(1) Marathi Script ‡ (forward - level II) (forward - level 3)
The script currently used for Marathi is called 'bALbodh' which is a modified version of Devnaagarii script (You can use ITRANS to write in Devnagari using phonetic script). Earlier, another script called 'moDI' was in use till the time of the Peshwas (18th century). This script was introduced by HemADpanta, a minister in the court of the Yadava kings of Devgiri (13th century). This script looked more like today's Dravidian scripts and offered the advantage of greater writing speed because the letters could be joined together. Today only the Devnaagarii bALbodh script is used which is easier to read but does not have the advantage of faster writing.
(2)The Alphabets ‡ (forward - level II) (forward - level III) (to see how they are pronounced click here or to hear their pronunciation click here)
Marathi script consists of 18 vowels and 36 consonants making a total of 54 alphabets. The alphabets have a horizontal line on their heads. (To see the shapes from which these are made and how, click on 'shapes'.)
(a) Vowels (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
The vowels can be divided in three groups. The first group consists of 12 vowels as follows:
A Aa # $ % ^ @ @e Aae AaE A— A>
a aa(A) i ii(I) u uu(U) e ai o au aM aH
The first 10 vowels are very widely used. The last two are less commonly used. This basic group of vowels is called ‘bArAkhaḍI’ (probably having its etymology in ‘bArA’ + ‘aksharI’ (consisting of ‘twelve’ + ‘letters’)). (For further details click here)
The second group consists of the 4 vowels :
\ § ¤ ¥
R^i R^I L^i L^I
These are from Sanskrit, however there original pronounciation is now lost and they are now mostly pronounced as combinations of a consonant (R or L) and a vowel that folows them (i or I). Also the vowels R^I and L^I are entirely extinct today. The vowel L^i is found only in the word 'kL^iptee' (meaning a clever idea) which is also a tongue-twister and can explain the near extinction of these vowels. The vowel R^i still finds use in words like R^ishI (sage), R^itU (season) etc. But in Marathi, it is pronounced more like 'ru' (r is a consonant) which differs significantly from its original Sanskrit pronunciation. Since these were pure vowels in Sanskrit, they are treated as vowels in Marathi grammers too.
Following two vowels are created recently to show the pronunciation of vowels as in words like 'bat' and 'office', borrowed especially from English: A Aa a.c aa.c
(b) Consonants (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Out of the 36 consonants, first 25 are stops and are divided into 5 groups, each containing 5 letters. This classification is based on their pronunciation. The first letter of each group is a simple one; second letter is an aspirated, third is voiced; fourth is aspirated+voiced and the last letter in each group requires 'nasal' pronunciation and is called 'anunAsik' (anu = following, nAsikA = nose).
The first group of 5 consonants is as follows:
k o g " '
k kh g gh N^
These letters are Gutturals and are called 'kaNthya' (kaNtha = throat) meaning that these are pronounced from the throat. The last letter N^ (anunAsik) finds its only use in the word 'vAN^may' (meaning literature), otherwise it is also extinct. However, when a nasal sound precedes any of the other 4 letters of this group, the anusvaara actually represents this letter (however, instead of this anunaasika form only the anunaasika symbol is used in Marathi). For example, aN^ka (number), paN^kha (wing), raN^ga (color) or saN^gha (union) (To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
The second group of 5 consonants is as follows:
c D j H
ch chh j jh JN
These are Palatals and are called ''taalavya'(TaaLU = palate or roof of the mouth) as they are pronounced by touching the tongue to the palate. The last letter JN is entirely extinct but appears in nasal sounds before the other four alphabets. For ex., saJNcha (set), gaJNa (rust), jhuJNja (combat). (To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
The letters ch, j and jh of this group are pronounced in two ways and this is peculiar to Marathi alone. One of them is a palatal affricate (mUrdhanya) and the other one is a dental affricate (or dantya, danta = teeth). This is a striking feature of the Marathi phonological system alone. The contrast between the two sounds is noticed when they appear before the vowels a and aa. For ex. Palatal: chaar (four), jag (world), jaD (heavy), jhassha (fish); dental: chaaraa (fodder), jaag (awakening), jaaD (thick, fat), jharaa (stream). To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
The third group of 5 consonants is as follows:
q Q f F [
T Th D Dh N
These are Cerebrals and are called 'muurdhanya' because they are pronounced by touching the tongue to 'muurdhanii' which is a part of the upper jaw between the roof and the teeth.. The anunAsik 'N' of this group is very much used independently as well as always appears in nasal sound before the other 4 letters. For ex. ghaNTA (bell), kaNTha (throat), bhANDaN (quarrel) etc. (To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
The fourth group of 5 consonants is as follows:
t w d x n
t th d dh n
These are Dentals and are called 'dantya'(danta = teeth) because the tongue touches the teeth while pronouncing these. These are 'softer' versions of letters of the third group. The first sound 't' is absent in English. The sounds 'th, d and dh' are somewhat similar to the sound 'th' in throat, that and this respectively. Again the anunAsik 'n' is very commonly used and also appears in nasal sounds before the other four. For ex. santa (saint), pantha (sect), manda (slow), gandha (smell) etc. (To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
The fifth group of 5 consonants is as follows:
p ) b - m
p ph b bh m
These are Labials and are called 'aushThya' letters (oshTha = lip) since they are pronounced by touching the lips together. The second letter in this group 'ph' is originally an 'aushThya' letter but with influence of English has got somewhat modified to a form similar to a 'dantya' letter. Now a days, many people pronounce it in the same way as the English letter 'F' which is quite different from the original 'ph'. Again the anunAsik 'm' is widely used and also appears in nasal sounds before the other 4 letters. For ex., sampa (strike), gumphaa (cave), pratibimba (reflection), sumbha (rope) etc. (To see Devanaagarii forms click here)
All these are ‘stop’ consonants as in their pronunciation the flow of air is momentarily stopped at different places of articulation. The consonants in the first group (gutturals) are pronounced in the throat, the breath being stopped by raising the back part of the tongue. Those in the second group (palatals) are produced at the back part of the palate while the breath is stopped by the middle of the tongue. The next group of cerebrals is articulated at the center of the roof of the mouth, the breath being stopped by the front upper part of the tongue. The consonants of the fourth group (dentals) are pronounced with the tip of tongue touching the upper teeth. The labial consonants are produced by closing both lips.
Among these five groups the second and the fourth letters in each group are 'aspirated' forms (with 'h' sound added) of the first and the third letters respectively.
We can further divide these 25 consonants into another 5 groups: the first letter of each group is a simple stop, second letter in each group is aspirated stop, third letters are voiced stops, fourth letters are aspirated voiced and the fifth letters are nasals.
Another interesting thing to note is that if the nose is blocked (by cold) then the anunAsik (fifth letter) in each group gets replaced by the third letter in the same group.
The remaining eleven consonants are:y r l v z ; s h ¦ ] }
y r l v sh shh s h L ksh Dnya
Of these first four (y r l v) are semi vowels. The pronunciation of these requires a combination of usages of tongue mentioned earlier; ‘y’ is palatal, ‘r’ is cerebral, ‘l’ is dental and ‘v’ is fricative labial. ‘v’ is usually pronounced with the lower lip touching the upper teeth. But when ‘v’ occurs as the second consonant in a consonant cluster, it is pronounced like w in water. Both the lips are then rounded and the tongue remains neutral.
The next three (sh,shh,s) are sibilants and are very similar. The letter 'shh' finds very limited use, only in words directly taken from Sanskrit.
‘h’ is aspirate and voiced, and is called 'mahaprAN'(maha = big, prAN = air, soul)
The letter 'L' (retroflex ¦ ) has sound similar to 'l' but is a tongue twister. This letter is very abundant in Marathi as it is very commonly used in many nouns and verbs. Sounds similar to 'L' are found in Gujarati, Oriya and many South Indian languages. It is probably the most difficult Marathi sound for English speakers. To say ¦ , the speaker has to thrust his lower jaw slightly forward, and flip his tongue up toward the roof of his mouth, without actually making contact with it. (To hear it click here).
Among these the Marathi 'r' is much 'harder' than the English sound of 'r'. Also this consonant has a pronunciation very close to the vowel R^i. When combined with other consonants, this letter is represented by four different distinct forms. e.g.
' = ¢
+ = raò+ Here, 'r' comes after T = raashTra (nation)
= tha, dya Here, 'r' comes before either 'h' or 'y' and is not stressed = tarhaa (manner), daryaa (vallies)(see ‘dar’yaa’ above) .
The pronunciation of the last letter 'GY' as 'DNYA' is peculiar to Marathi alone. The last two letters 'ksh' and 'dnya' are consonant clusters (combination of k k + z sha; d d + n n + y y) and have also limited use.
The last ‘a’ (or linguistically speaking the ‘shva’ (∂) ) of any word is never pronounced in Marathi speech. So the words like ‘gavata’will be pronounced as ‘gavat’ (gvt! ) and ‘parvata’ as ‘parvat’(pvRt!) only.
(4) Word Formation (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
(a) Syllable Formation: Vowels are combined with consonants in forming syllables which ultimately form a word. This is shown in the script by special diacritic marks. Each vowel has a characteristic mark, such as
‘a’ 'kAnA' for 'aa',
‘i ’ and ‘ I’ 'velANTI' for 'i' and 'ii',
‘ u ’ and ‘ U ’ ‘ukaar’ for 'u' and 'uu' and
single or double ‘ e ’ and ‘ E’ 'mAtrA' to indicate 'e' , 'ai', 'o' and 'au'.
'anuswAr' ( < ) indicates a nasal (anunAsik) or the vowel 'aM' and a 'visarga' ( : ) indicates 'aH'. Syllables which involve 'i' and 'u' are called 'rhasva' meaning that the pronunciation is short whereas syllables involving 'ii' and 'uu' are the corresponding 'diirgha' forms which require 'stretched' pronunciation. There are two separate marks to indicate 'rhasva' ( i , u ) and 'deergha' ( I , U ). (For examples click here). These are helpful in knowing where the stress comes in pronouncing a word.
Marathi has a complex system of signs to indicate consonant clusters or 'jodAkshare'. Particularly for the letter 'r', as indicated earlier, when combined with other consonants, there are 4 different marks in the script depending on its place in a word (see above). The consonant clusters which are difficult to pronounce are the 'aspirated' forms of N, n and m (mhaNUn, nhAN, kaNheri etc.) and of r,l.v (tarhA, kolhA, kevhA).
Two different words are joined together if the second word starts from a vowel. This is referred to as a 'sandhi'(combination). For example, 'ati+uttam' gives the word 'atyuttam'. There are certain rules for 'sandhi' which need to be followed in making such word combinations. (For detailed Sandhii rules click here). The other method of combining words is referred to as 'samAs' and there are no fixed rules for making a 'samAs'. (samAs literally means ‘to say it in short’). When the second word starts with a consonent, a sandhi can not be formed, but a samAs can be formed. For example, mIth-bhaakar (salt & bread), udyogpatI (businessman), ashtabhujA (one with eight hands, a godess) etc. There are different names given to each type of samAs. (For details click).
Suffixes, equivalent to prepositions in English, are attached to words to indicate relation of the noun (subject or object) with the verb. These are referred to as 'vibhaktI pratyay' by old grammarians and there are eight such vibhaktI in Marathi according to them. But now it is widely accepted that these are not ‘pratyay’ or suffixes. These are post-positions, because all the so-called suffixes change forms with relation to the gender, number and person of the nouns to which they are attached.
The form of the original word changes when such a suffix or post-position is attached to the word and the new, modified form is referred to as 'sAmAnya rUp' (common form) of the original word. For example, the word "aefa 'ghoDA'(a horse) gets transformed into "aef(avr 'ghODyAvar' (on the horse) when the suffix 'var' (on/above) is attached to it. Subsequently ‘var’ can become ‘varuuna’ (from) and the word can be "aef(avên ‘ghODyAvaruuna’ (from above the horse).
(5) Genders (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Marathi preserves the neuter gender found in Sanskrit. There are 3 genders in Marathi - pui‘
Genders
Endings
Masculine
aa (Marked)
rastaa (road)
ii
maaLii (gardener)
uu
bhaauu (brother)
consonant
haat (hand)
o
dhanako (creditor)
Feminine
ii (marked)
gaaDii (car)
aa
shaaLaa (school)
uu
vastuu (object)
consonant
khep (turn)
o
bayako (wife)
Nueter
e (marked)
bhaanDe (vessel)
ii
paaNii (water)
uu
limbuu (lemon)
consonant
ghar (house)
(6) Plurals (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
There are singular nouns and plural nouns. The dwivachan (dual number) found in Sanskrit representing two things together, is lost in Marathi. Sometimes plurals are the same as singular nouns. For example, waagh (tiger/ tigers) or mor (peacock/peacocks). For things representing a group, the plurals are usually the same as singular nouns. For ex,. daat (teeth), kes (hair) etc. There are certain rules depending on the gender. For example,
kaavaLaa - kaavaLe, (masculine),
maasaa - maase (masculine),
chimaNee - chimaNyaa (feminine),
paal- paalii (feminine),
phool - phule (neuter) etc.
Plurals are also used while addressing elderly people to show respect and this is referred to as 'aadaraarthii anekvachan' (honorific plural).
Number, Straight and Oblique forms: Nouns may be either singular or plural in number. For each number there are two forms: the straight (normal) form, and oblique form. The oblique form is used before postpositions - the relational words - that are like the English prepositions. But in Marathi they follow the noun rather than precede it.
The rules for formation of plural and oblique forms in Marathi are not difficult, but they are numerous, as they vary not only for each gender but also for each ending within the gender. Moreover, even words of the same gender having the same ending may fall into two or more subclasses following different rules for plural and oblique formation. And, finally, no matter how the rules are stated, there remain exceptions.
Actually, however, the situation is not as chaotic as it may seem. The majority of words do follow rules predictable from their gender and ending class. The remaining subclasses are very small, and usually consist of borrowings, especially form Sanskrit. What follows below gives some indication as to which rules cover large classes and which cover small classes.
In applying the rules for formation of plural and oblique it is also necessary to apply certain general phonological rules governing word building. (See ‘phonological’ rules)
(7) Tenses (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
There are three main tenses (kaaL) in Marathi - vartamaan (present), bhoot (past) and bhavishhya (future) kaaL. Each of these is divided into various sub-categories. In First and Second person the neutral forms are not in use.
Present Tense : (gender, number, person dependent) :
paradigm of Present Tense suffixes :
Gender
Number
1st Person
IInd Person
IIIrd Person
Masculine
Singular
to
tos
to
Plural
to
taa
taat
Feminine
Singular
te
tes
te
Plural
to
taa
taat
Neuter
Singular
--
--
te
Plural
--
--
taat
Example sentences :
1) Simple present :
1st person 2nd person 3rdperson
Masculine :
Singular mii jaato (I go) tuu jaatos (you go) to jaato He goes)
Plural aamhii jaato (We go) tumhii jaataa (you go) te jaataat (They
go
Feminine :
Singular mii jaate tuu jaates tii jaate
Plural amhii jaato tumhii jaataa tyaa jaataat
Neuter : -- -- te jaate
-- -- tii jaataat
Simple Present also gives the sense of Immediate Futute : ‘mii jato’ can mean “I am off / I am just going)
Present tense is further divided into following two other sub-categories :
1) Immediate present : mii jaato aahe (I am now actually in the process of going). Here the auxiliary aahe is added with the verb. in colloquial form ‘aahe’ becomes ‘y’ and the whole verbal phrase becomes ‘jaatoy’ (‘jataey’)
2) Habitual present: mii (roj / nehamii) jaato (I go (daily / often))
Past Tense : The roots undergo several changes and the past form behaves like an adjective having concordance with the gender, number and person of the nominal. For example the root 'jaa' (to go) changes to 'ge' and has the following forms after suffixes are added:
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
Masculine
Singular gelo gelaas gelaa
Plural gelo gelaat gele
Feminine
Singular gele geliis gelii
Plural gelo gelaat gelyaa
Neuter
Singular -- -- gele
Plural -- -- gelii
Changes in roots for Past tense
1) Roots which assume aa (Aa) :
Root Past Tense
Niigh nighaa (mii nighaalo - I went out / to nighaalaa – He went out)
paL paLaa (mii paLaalo - I fled / to paLaalaa - he Fled)
mhaN mhaNaa (mii mhaaNaalo – I said / to mhaNaalaa – He said)
(In the following examples the changed root added with the 3rd person masculine singular suffix (laa) is only shown) :
riigh (penetrate by force) righaalaa
hiiv (be cold) hivaalaa
Note 1: The above verbs have only the specified forms for the past tens whereas the following verbs have more than one form and the italicized form is in general use.
jiir (soak into) jiraalaa / jiralaa
DhaL (slip aside) DhaLaalaa / DhaLalaa
tiiD (crack) tiDaalaa / tidalaa
niibh (get out of) nibhaalaa / nibhaalaa
bhiij (be wetted) hijaalaa . bhijalaa
muur (be absorbed) muraalaa / muralaa
uuD (fly) uDaalaa / uDalaa
daD (lie hid) daDaalaa / daDalaa
niim (cease) nimaalaa / nimalaa
niiv (cool) nivaalaa / nivalaa
buuD (sink) buDaalaa / buDalaa
miiL (meet with) miLaalaa / miLalaa
viir (melt) viraalaa / viralaa
2. In the following both the forms are equally used :
uubh (cease for a time) ubhaalaa / ubhalaa
khiij (grate) khijaalaa / khijalaa
gaL (leak, waste away) gaLaalaa / gaLalaa
jaL (burn) jaLaalaa / jaLalaa
jhiij (wear away) jhijaalaa / jhijalaa
dab (yeild, give away) dabaalaa / dabalaa
diip (be dazzaled) dipaalaa / dipalaa
buujh (start, shy) bujhaalaa/ bujhalaa
mhaN (say) mhaNaalaa / mhaNalaa
riijh (be delighted with ) rijhaalaa / rijhalaa
lap (lie hid) lapaalaa / lapalaa
viijh (be extinguished) vijhaalaa / vijhalaa
3. Verbs which add or substitute different consonants and vowels for some of the letters of the root, in order to make up the past tense:
gaa sing gaailaa
dhyaa meditate dhyaailaa
maa hold, be contained in maailaa
ghe take ghetalaa
pii drink pyaalaa
dhuu wash dhutalaa
bhii fear bhyaalaa
vii bear vyaalaa
le wear lyaalaa
de give dilaa
bagh see baghitalaa
maag ask maagitalaa
saang tell saangitalaa
mhaN say mhaTalaa (used only in karmani prayog)
ghaala put ghaatalaa
kar do kelaa
mar die melaa
khaa eat khaallaa
4. following roots completely change or in other words they have a past tense formed from another root :
jaa go gelaa
ye come aalaa
ho become jhaalaa
Past tense can be divided into following 5 sub-categories :
1) Simple past : mii gelo (I went)
2) Perfect past : mii aalo aahe (I have come)
3) Pluperfect : mii gelo hoto {past of ‘aahe’}(I had gone)
4) Imperfect : mii jaat hoto ( I was going)
5) Habitual : mii jaaI (I used to go) {transitive}/ mii base (I used to sit) {intransitive}
Future Tense : (no gender dependence, however, the suffixes for transitive and intransitive differ slightly:
Transitive Intransitive
Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st person iina uu ena uu
2nd person shiila aala shiila aala
3rd person iila tiila ela tiila
Future has following sub-categories:
1) Simple future : mii jaaIna {transitive} / mii basena {intransitive}(I will go / sit)
2) Immediate future : mii jaato (I am just going) {see simple present above)
3) Strong future : mii jaaNaar aahe ( I propose / intend to go)
(8) Sentence Structure (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
The most common sentence structure is Subject-Object -Verb: (Subject=kartaa, object=karma andverb=kriyaapad)
In deeper levels it can be Subject à Adverb à Direct Object à Verb =
mii roj shaaLet jaato
I every day to school go (I go to school everyday.)
Constructions
SENTENCE PATTERNS :
(1) S – V (Subject - Verb )
Pakshii uDataat – Birds fly.
Mii jaato - I go.
(2) S - C - V (Subject – Complement -Verb )
haa aamacaa bagichaa aahe. – This is our garden.
tii maajhii bahiiNa aahe. – She is my sister.
(3) S- O - V (Subject - Object – Verb)
to patra lihiita aahe - He is writing a letter.
tyaalaa duudha aavaDate . He likes milk. (For more on this construction click here.)
(4) S – O - O – V (Subject - Object 1 – Object 2 – Verb)
to malaa paise deto – He gives me money.
malaa tujhe pustaka daakhav - Show me your book.
(5) S - O – OC – V (Subject - Object - Object Complement - Verb)
tyaane gharaalaa paanDharaa ranga dilaa - He painted the house white.
malaa cahaat bharapuura saakhara avaDate - I like ample sugar in my tea.
QUESTIONS : Marathi makes its questions or interrogative Sentences in two main ways.
(1) Questions where a question word is included. Question words are koN (who), kuThe (where), kaay (what) kashaalaa (for what) etc. In these situations the question word appears at the same place in the sentence where the answer word might appear :
a) to kuThe jaat aahe? à to gharii jaat aahe. b) muul kaay piita aahe? à muul duudh pite aahe.
These, generally, are information type questions.
(2) In the instances where there is no question word Marathi simply adds kaa at the end of of the sentence.
a) to jaato aahe kaa? (Is he going?)
b) muul duudh pite kaa? (Does the child drink milk?) These generally are yes-no type questions.
COMMANDS (Imperatives) : Questions in this category are formed with a future form - ^ directly added to the stem of the verb.
a) mii jaauu? (May I go?)
b) aamhii basuu? (Shall we sit?).
In answers to these questions an Imperative form of the verb is used. Imperative form is just the stem of the verb. jaa, bas. But its plural form is basaa. Some morphophonemic rules are involved in the formation of these plural forms. (see Morphophonemic rules)
IMPERATIVE SENTENCES: As in English, Marathi too drops the subject of the command:
“ikaDe ye” (Come here ) means You come here, but you is dropped. However, when a particular person is to be specially mentioned then it is pronounced :
“tuu ikaDe ye”
NEGATIVE SENTENCES : Negative sentences are primarily formed by the use of the word naahii. It is a negative substantive verb and is used as an Auxiliary in all tenses. a) mii jaat naahii ( I am not going) - present
c) mii gelo naahii - past
d) mii jaaNaar naahii. - future.
OBLIGATIONAL: It is used in the same kind of situations as are covered in English by ‘should’ and ‘ought to’.
a) mii jaave (I should go)
b) abhyaas karaavaa (study should be done)
CAUSATIVE : All the causative verbs operate in Simple past and pluperfect with karmani prayoga:
a) mii raDalo à tyaane malaa raDavale
(9) Voices (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
KARTARII & KARMANI PRAYOG (PASSIVE & ACTIVE ): These constructions can be viewed as ‘Voices’{Active & Passive} in English
There are three types of voices in Marathi which are referred to as 'Prayog'.
Kartarii prayog refers to a sentence construction in which the verb changes according to the subject (or kartaa) which is same as the active voice in English. For example, Raam mhaNato (Raam says), Raam aambaa khaato (Raam eats a mango) etc.
KarmaNii prayog refers to a sentence construction in which the verb changes according to the object (karma) This is same as the passive voice in English. For ex. Raamaane aambaa khallaa. There are examples in which apparently there is no object but still it is a 'karmaNii' prayog. For ex. Raamaane saangitale. (Ram told) But if we put some kind of object in this sentence such as nirop (message) or mantra (hymns) then the verb changes and the 'karmaNii' prayog becomes evident. KarmaNii prayog is invariably in past tense.
Bhaave prayog refers to a verb which does not change according to either the subject or the object. Constructions involving order (aadnyaartha) or suggestions (vidhyartha) fall in this category. For example, 1.Mulaanii roj sakaaLii lavkar uthaave (Children should get up early in the morning every day, suggestions) {see : ‘Obligational’ above 2. Maajha nirop tyaala jaaun saang. (Give my message to him) This type of voice is not found in English.
(10) Pronouns (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Pronouns in Marathi are similar to the ones in English. There are three 'persons' or 'purushh'.
Pratham purushh (first person) includes mI (I), aamhI (we) and aapaN (us- me & you). 'aamhi' does not include the person you are talking to but 'aapaN' includes that person.
Dwitiya purushh (second person) includes tuu (you) and tumhi (you-plural) & aapaNa. 'tumhi' could be used for a single person to show respect. Use of 'aapaN' in place of 'tumhi' is considered very formal and is quite rare.
Trutiya purushh (third person) includes to (he), tii (she) and te (it). The plural form for masculine gender is again 'te' which could also be used for a single person to show respect. The plural for feminine gender is 'tyaa' and for neuter gender is 'tee'. In English all of these (te, tyaa, tee) are replaced by ‘they’ as there is no distinction among different genders.
Pronouns can be divided in two groups : Subject pronouns & object pronouns. The above mentioned are subject pronouns.
Object pronouns are similar to 3rd person subject pronouns i.e. to, tii, te. object pronouns are again divided into two groups: Direct object & Indirect object. Pronoun referring to non-personal noun can be a direct object and can be used in straight form. Ex. mii to/tii/te karato (I do that). here that may refer to 'abhyaasa' - study (masculine non-personal noun), 'kavitaa' - poem (feminine non-personal noun) or 'kaama' - work (neuter non-personal noun). So in a sentence like ' mii abhyaasa karato', the non-personal noun- abhyaasa- can be replaced by a masculine direct object 'to' as 'abhyaasa' is masculine non-personal noun. Similarly for 'kavita' the fiminine direct object pronoun 'tii' can be used and for 'kaama' the neuter direct object pronoun 'te' can be used.
However pronoun referring to a personal noun is an indirect object and its oblique form must be used to which the suffixes 'laa' (singular) or 'naa' (plural) are to be added before using it in a sentence. Ex. 'to malaa oLakhato' - He knows me ; 'mii tyaaMnaa oLakhato' - I know them.
The 3rd person subject/object pronouns can again be divided into two groups based on the distance. The distant pronouns are - 'to', 'tii', 'te' and the proximate pronouns are -'haa', 'hii', 'he'. Plurals of these are 'te', 'tyaa', 'tii' and 'he', 'hyaa'. 'hii' respectively.
Please see the following table:
Pronouns
Subject
Sing. Plu.
object
Sing. Plu.
1st person
mii aamhii/aapaNa
malaa amhaalaa/aapaNaalaa
2nd person
tuu tumhii/aapaNa
tulaa tumhaalaa/aapaNaala
3rd person
Distant
to,tii.te te,tyaa.tii
Proximate
haa, hii,he he, hyaa, hii
tyaala,
tilaa, tyaaMnaa
tyaala
hyaalaa,
hilaa, hyaaMnaa
hyaalaa
Possesive pronoun: It functions as an adjective, i.e. it has a concordance of GNP of the noun with which it is attached. The suffixes 'jh' (1st and 2nd person) or 'ch' (3rd person) along with gender and number suffixes are added to the oblique forms of pronouns to make possessive pronouns. Ex.
Suffix ‘jh’-
Oblique possessive forms for ‘mii’ and ‘tuu’
maajhaa/tujhaa bhaauu - my / your brother (sing.),
maajhe/tujhe bhaau (Plu.);
maajhii /tujhii bahiiNa - my / your sister (sing.),
majhyaa/tujhyaa bahiNii (plu.);
maajhe/tujhe muula - my / your child (sing.)
majhii/tujhii mule (plu.)
suffix ‘ch’
Oblique possessive forms for ‘aamhii’ and ‘tumhii’
Aamachaa / tumachaa bhaauu (sing.)
Aamache/ tumache bhaauu (plu.);
Oblique possessive forms for ‘to’, ‘tii’, ‘te’
tyaachaa / tichaa bhaauu – his / her brother,
tyaache/tiche bhaauu (plu.);
Instead of ‘jh’ or ‘ch’ ‘la’ is added to the honorific form of ‘aapaNa’ -
Aapalaa bhaauu (sing.);
Aapale bhaauu (plu.).
See the following table (A) for full forms of singular pronouns and table (B) for plural pronouns as adjectives in all GNPs-
Table (A)
1st person
(as an adjective for a singular / plural noun)
Singular
maajhaa (Mas)
maajhii (Fem)
maajhe (Nue)
Plural
maajhe
maajhyaa
maajhii
2nd person
tujhaa
tujhii
tujhe
tujhe
tujhyaa
tujhii
3rd person
tyaachaa
tyaachii
tyaache
tyaache
tyaachyaa
tyaachii
Table (B)
1st person
(as an adjective for a singular / plural noun)
Singular
aamachaa
aamachii
aamache
Plural
aamache
aamachyaa
aamachii
2nd person
tumachaa
tumachii
tumache
tumache
tumachyaa
tumachii
3rd person
tyaaMchaa
tyaaMchii
tyaaMche
tyaaMche
tyaaMchyaa
tyaMchii
Possessive oblique form for honorific ‘aapaNa’
Singular - (Mas) – aapalaa (Fem) aapalii (Nue) aapale
Plural aapale aapalyaa aapalii
These possessive pronouns again can have oblique forms when suffixes are added to them. This is achieves by adding ‘y’ before the final vowel. For example – maajhaa – majhyaa javaLa (near me), tujhyaa kaDe (at you), tyaachyaa paashii (with him) etc.
Pronouns as Demonstrative adjectives: They precede nouns. They have two different forms for Distant = to, tii, te (that) and
Proximate = haa, hii, he (this)
Reflexive pronouns: There are two reflexive pronouns in Marathi. ‘aapaNa’ and ‘svataH’.
‘aapaNa’ which is an honorific, also functions as reflexive pronoun. It is used when there is a second reference to the subject within a sentence. Ex.
tyaalaa vaaTate kii aapaNa nokarii karaavii. (He feels that he should do a job).
It can also be used as an adjective (where it should be used in its oblique form):
to aapalyaa mulaashii kheLato (He plays with his son).
‘svataH’ can be used in places where English uses ‘himself, herself’:
tii svataH samora yete – she herself comes forward.
to svataHshii bolato – he talks to himself
to svataHlaa moThaa samajato – He thinks/considers himself great
Note: Some times both reflexives can be used in a single sentence, where ‘apaNa’ serves to qualify the subject, as in English phrases ‘ on his part’, ‘at least’, ‘for one’ etc. :
tii aapalii svataH jhopate – she (on her part) sleeps herself.
mii aapalaa svataH jaato – I for one go myself.
(11) Verbs (forward - level II) (forward - level III
Verbs - The citation form of a verb is always the stem + Ne (jaa + Ne = jaaNe - going (It is a Gerund Noun form).
In Marathi, there are supportive verbs equivalent to various forms of 'to be' in English. In spoken Marathi, these verbs usually combine with the main verb to form a single word but they are written separately. For example, 'disat aahe' (= looks) in written Marathi becomes 'disatay' in spoken form. Many verbs that end with 'e' are pronounced with an 'a' sound in the end which is indicated by an anuswaar in written Marathi. For example, jhaale -jhaala or kele -kela etc. However, in formal text these are written as 'jhaale', 'kele' etc.
Most of the verbs and adjectives change according to gender and whether the noun is a plural or a singular (i.e. Number).
1. Auxiliary-cum-substantive – The verb ‘to be’ in the present has the stem ‘aah’. It is defective as it lacks the complete range of endings of an ordinary verb and has to be supplemented in other tenses by other verbs. In the present tense its paradigm is :
mii aahe aamhii aaho
tuu aahesa tumhii aahaa
to (mas.) / tii (Fem.) / te (neu.) aahe te / tyaa / tii aaheta
aahe is mostly used as an Auxiliary Verb which is added on to the other verb forms to modify their meaning in some way. For example, when it is added to the present tense of another verb it makes the difference between Habitual Present and Immediate Present.
The Negative of aahe is naahi and has the following paradigm:
mii naahii aamhii naahi
tuu naahiisa tumhii naahii
to (mas.) / tii (Fem.) / te (ney.) naahii te / tyaa / tii naahiita
2. Transitive – These type of verbs require objects. For example : “raama aambaa khaato” - Ram eats mango - where raama is subject, aambaa is object and khaato is a present tense verb. In this sentence there is a coordination between the subject and verb or the doer and the action. Hence the verb follows the GNP of the subject. This is called a ‘kartarii’ type of construction or an active voice. However, when the action shifts to the object i. e. there is a coordination between the object and the verb the sentence is called a ‘karmanii’ type or a passive voice. Most transitive verbs can be used in ‘karmanii’ type sentences where the subject or doer (which is not in concordance with the verb) is put in the instrumental case: “raamaane aambaa khallaa” – the mango was eaten by Rama.
3. Intransitive - These are the verbs which do not expect objects. For example : “tii mulagii aahe” – She is a girl; “ raama hushaara aahe” – Rama is clever; “mii dhaavato” – I run;
4. Reversing - Marathi, like all other North Indian languages, has a large number of verbs which operate in the opposite direction, as it were, to that expected by speakers of European languages. For instance ‘paahaNe’ more usually maens ‘ to look at’ than ‘to see’. The normal Marathi equivalnet of “ I see the dog” might be literally translated as “the dog appears to me” for it uses the ‘Reversing’ verb ‘disaNe’ : “malaa kutraa disato”.
All such ‘Reversing’ Verbs behave exactly like ordinary intransitive verbs. Indeed the are ordinary verbs. The fact that their meaning seems reversed to an English speaker only tells us that English and Marathi view some actions from opposite ends. Western languages come close to some Indian usages with impersonal constructions like : ‘It seems to me that… “ , but Marathi verbs are not impersonal. They can have a subject in any person, number or gender and therefore must agree with it. so in “ malaa dydha phaar aavaDate” ‘dudha’ is in all ways the subject of the sentence just like ‘milk’ in ‘milk is greatly pleasing to me’ which might serve as an extremely stilted trranslation. However, the Marathi sentence is the normal and preferred way of expressing the ‘idea of liking’ and would have to be translated by the equivalent in English which happens to work the other way round : I like milk very much’.
Among these Reversing Verbs are two important ones : ‘paahije’ (is wanted) and ‘ ‘nako’ (is not wanted), paradigm for which is as follows:
mii paahije aamhii paahije
tuu paahijesa tumhii paahije
to (mas.) / tii (Fem.) / te (ney.) paahije te / tyaa / tii paahijeta
mii nako aamhii nako
tuu nakosa tumhii nako
to (mas.) / tii (Fem.) / te (ney.) nako te / tyaa / tii nakota
Either can be followed by the Auxiliary ‘aahe’ (but not by ‘naahii’) for extra emphasis, immediacy etc. For example: “tilaa he pustak paahije aahe” – She wants this book; “malaa caar rupaye paahije aahet” – I want four rupees.”; “ malaa cahaa nako. dudha paahije” – I don’t want tea. [I] want milk.
5. causative – There are a number of pairs of verbs in Marathi of which one is intransitive and the other transitive (as with English ‘fell’ and ‘fall’). For example:
suTaNe (become loose, start) - soDaNe (loosen, release)
phuTaNe (burst) - phoDaNe (break open)
tuTaNe (break) - toDaNe (break off)
phaaTaNe (tear) - phaaDaNe (tear)
paDaNe (fall) - paaDaNe (knock down)
piNe (drink) - paajaNe (give to drink)
These are all relics of old pre-Marathi Causatives (‘to fell’ is ‘to cause to fall’), but alongside them Marathi developed its own system of creating Causatives not by internal change in the stem (as it appears in the above list), but by adding an extra element of ‘va’ or ‘ava’ to the stem of the base verb. This has produced over the years a number verbs. Some are still recognizably Causative (‘shikavaNe’ ‘cause to learn, teach’ is obviously still closely related in meaning to ‘shikaNe’ ‘learn’; similarly with ‘samajaNe’ ‘understand’ and ‘samajaavane’ ‘explain, reason with’) , while others have lost their non-Causative doublet altogether (‘paaThavaNe’ ‘send, make go after’) or become so shifted in meaning that the relation is no longer clear : (‘bolaNe’ ‘talk, speak’ and ‘bolaavaNe’ ‘summon’; ‘soDaNe’ ‘release’ and ‘soDavaNe’ ‘solve’; ‘maagaNe’ ‘ask’ and ‘maagavaNe’ ‘order’ etc.)
The verbs described so far exist in their own right, as it were. They are used and have their meaning without any reference being needed to the base (non-Causative) Verb form which they derived. However, the ‘va’ element is still productive and can be added to almost any Verb to make a Causative form of it. Thus :
(a) on an Intransitive verb:
raDaNe cry raDavaNe make someone cry
hasaNe laugh hasavaNe make someone laugh
uThaNe get up uThavaNe make get up, rouse
caalaNe walk caalavaNe make go, drive
bhijaNe get wet bhijavaNe make wet, soak
(b) On a transitive verb:
karaNe do karavaNe make (someone) do (something)
moDaNe break moDavaNe cause to be broken
jevaNe eat jevavaNe cause to eat, feed
(c) On a verb with a stem ending in a vowel the ‘va’ is doubled:
pii drink pivavaNe cause to drink
bhii fear bhiivavaNe cause to fear
de give devavaNe cause to give
Note: Instead of these causative forms (1) stem + aayalaa saangaNe; (2) stem + aayalaa laavaNe; (3) stem + uuna gheNe constructions can also be used:
For example, ‘aaii mulaalaa lavakar uThavate’ – Mother causes son to get up early’ can be :
(1) stem + aayalaa saangane = to tell (someone) to do (something) can be used with any verb:
‘aaii mulaalaa lavakar uThaayalaa saangate – Mother tells son to get up early’
‘shikshaka mulaanna vacaayalaa saangataata. – Teacher tells boys to read. (stem = vaaca (transitive) - to read)
(2) stem + aayalaa laavaNe = to make (someone) to do (something) – used usually with Transitive Verbs involving rapid actions :
‘aaii mulaalaa lavakar uThaayalaa laavate’ – Mother makes son to get up early’
‘shikshaka mulaanna vacaayalaa laavataata. - Teacher makes boys to read.
(3) stem + uuna gheNe = to get (something) done (by someone) - used with transitive Verbs only. ‘stem + uuna gheNe’ is basically a Compound Verb which is also used as an explicit Causative. In the later case the ‘someone’ must be a Nominal + ‘-kaDuuna’
Since ‘uThaNe’ – get up is not a Transitive Verb the first sentence cannot take the other form i.e. you cannot say:
*‘aaii mulaalaa lavakar uThavuuna ghete’. However, it is perfectly grammatical to say:
‘shikshaka mulaankaDuuna vacuuna ghetaata – Teacher gets reading done by boys.
There is an important difference in usage between Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs. Putting ‘va’ on to an Intransitive verb produces a very ordinary Verb that can be used freely in modern colloquial Marathi. However, adding ‘va’ to an originally Transitive Verb (for example verbs in (b) above i.e.
karaNe do karavaNe make (someone) do (something)
moDaNe break moDavaNe cause to be broken
jevaNe eat jevavaNe cause to eat, feed
etc. ) usually produces a very literary form that in spoken Marathi would be replaced by the ‘aayalaa’ type of Causative construction.
All the verbs with Causative infix (‘va’ or ‘ava’) must be Transitive and therefore operate in the Simple Past and Pluperfect with ‘karmaNii’ constructions only : ‘tyaane pustake maagavalii’ – He ordered books.
6. Potential Verbs : The ‘va’ infix which acts to form a Causative can also turn a simple Verb into a Potential meaning ‘to be able to …’. Compare these two sentences:
(1) ‘aaii mulaalaa lavakar uThavate’.
(2) ‘mulaalaa lavakara uThavate’. – The boy is able to get up early.
Although the form of the Verb looks the same, it can be seen that the construction involved is quite different.
A Causative is an ordinary Transitive Verb, but a Potential is Intransitive and Reversing with its agent (the person who can or cannot do whatever it is) in the ‘-laa’/ ‘-naa’ form. In practice the potential tends to be used with only a limited number of verbs in a closed series of idioms. Also it is found mainly in Negative constructions. For extra emphasis the agent of a Potential Verb can also be expressed by instrumental sufix ‘-ne’ / ‘-nii’ or by preposition ‘-kaDuuna’. If the agent is a Personal Pronoun the extended Possessive form is used before these endings:
‘mulaalaa lavakara uThavata naahii’ - The boy is not able to get up early.
‘mulaakaDuna lavakara uThavata naahii’
‘tyaacyaane lavakara uThavata naahii’
7. Compound Verb : These are little more than sequential verbs. The second verb, the ‘operator’, in these cases conveys a mood, a way of doing the first verb. Here, the transitive operators only go with transitive main verbs, and intransitive operators with intransitive verbs. Each such verb has a specific meaning and it is obviously not the sum of the two verbs. For example, ‘pustak vaacuuna Theva’ : here ‘vaacaNe’ and ‘ThevaNe’ these two verbs are involved. If we consider it a sequential verb then its meaning should be ‘read and then keep’, which is not.
8. Defective & Anomalous
a. Defective
b. Anomalous : These are transitive in function, but behave like Intransitive in form. For example "kheL - khelaNe" - to play; "to krikeT kheLalaa" - He played cricket. Usually transitive verbs in past tense require the instrumental case of the subject, i.e. "tyaane bhaata khaallaa" - he ate rice - ; however, in case of the anomalous verbs some action is transferred from their subject to a direct object. Further it can be observed that in case of only Animate objects they take the 'laa' (singular) or 'naa" (plural) suffixes; and other objects do not need any other part of speech (preposition, postposition, suffix etc.) For example - " to naav visaralaa" - He forgot the name and "to tilaa visaralaa" - He forgot her; Here the first object is inanimate and the later is animate.
Following is the list of all the anomalous verbs in Marathi :
1. aacaraNe - practise
2. okaNe - vomit
3. kheLaNe - play
4. caavaNe - bite
5. cukaNe - miss
6. janaNe - bear, give birth (to)
7. jinkaNe - conquer
8. jevaNe - dine
9. zombaNe - seize hold of
10. DasaNe - bite, sting
11. taraNe - cross over (a river etc.)
12. thunkaNe - spit
13. nesaNe - put on (dress etc.)
14. paDhaNe - study
15. pasavaNe - give birth
16. paangharaNe - clothe, cover
17. paavaNe - attain
18. piNe - drink
19. prasavaNe - bring fort young, give birth
20. bolaNe - tell, speak
21. bhiNe - fear
22. bheTaNe - meet
23. mukaNe - lose
24. mhaNaNe - say
25. laagaNe - touch
26. leNe - put on (ornament, dress etc.)
27. viNe - bring forth young, give birth
28. visaraNe - forget
29. shikaNe - learn
30. shinkaraNe - blow nose
31. shivaNe - touch
32. samajaNe - understand
33. smaraNe - remember
34. haraNe - lose
These are Intransitive in form in the following ways :
(A) In the past they are kartari only : "to maraaThi shikalaa hotaa." - he had learned Marathi.
(B)they have a Present Pearticiple in 'ta' only (kheLata, caavata etc.) and never have it in 'ita', even in old-fashioned texts, with one exception : jeviita
In addition to the nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives, there are 'avyaye' meaning words which are not 'spent' or which do not change their form when used in any sentence. These include conjugations such as 'aaNi','va'(meaning 'and') paN, kintu, parantu (meaning 'but') or exclamations such as 'ababa', 'arere','waa' etc.
(For full discussion on Marathi verb system click here).
(11a) Adverbs (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Adverbs are adjuncts of the simple sentence. As in English, the position of adverbs is less rigidly fixed than that of other elements. Generally, however, an adverb preceded the verb it modifies. For example:
aaj yaa. ( Aaj ya)
today Come (Come today)
Most adverbs are invariables. A few are variable and they agree in gender and number with the word with which the verb agrees. They use the regular adjective endings. For example:
(a) to nukataaca aalaa. (tae nuktac Aala. )
he recently came. (He came recently.)
(b) tii nukatiica aalii. (tI nuktIc AalI. )
she recently came (She came recently.)
The majority of adverbs fall into one of the four categories: adverbs of time, of extent, of manner, and of place. (See vocabulary for classification)
There are a number of adverbs of manner, which have the ending "uun". These appear to be verb forms with the subordinating conjunction "uun", but in some cases they have a meaning slightly different from the original verb. In other cases, the basic verb is not found in the language at all. For example:
draên daraaruuna profusely
QasUn Thasuuna emphatically
jpUn japuuna carefully
in]Un nikshuuna explicitly
hqkªn haTakuuna unfailingly
Interrogative Adverbs:
kse kase (v) how
keVha kevhaa when
kxI kadhii when
k…Qe kuThe where
ka kaa why
(11b) Postpositions: Postpositions are relational words similar to English prepositions except that they follow rather than precede the word to which they are related. Attached to nouns, pronouns or verbs, they form phrases that function as adverbs and occupy the same position as adverbs in the sentence.
Possessive postposition "ca" is an exception in that where all other postpositions are invariable, 'ca' is variable. 'ca' is also an exception to the rule that postpositions form adverb phrases. As a possessive postposition, it forms an adjective phrase, and agrees in gender and in number with the noun it modifies.
(12) Influence of other languages on Marathi (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Marathi has been mainly derived from Sanskrit and majority of words found in Marathi are Sanskrit-based. These are divided into two categories:(1) tatsam or words taken directly from Sanskrit such without any change such as vidyaa (education), dishaa (direction) kavii (poet), van (jungle), vichaar (thought), mitra (friend) etc. and (2) tadbhav or words which have undergone some change from their original Sanskrit form such as, bahiiN (sister) based on bhaginii, hattii (elephant) from hastii, waagh (tiger) based on wyaaghra
Other than Sanskrit, Marathi has also been influenced by the languages of its neighboring states which are kannad (state of Karnataka) and telugu (state of Andhra Pradesh). The words of kannad origin in Marathi are adakittaa, guDhii. kirkoL etc. whereas words of telugu origin include anaarasaa, gherii, kiduk-miduk etc.
Marathi has absorbed words from the languages of different people who ruled India at different times. During the time of the Mughal rulers, lot of words of Persian, Arabic and Turkish origin entered Marathi. These include shahar (city), baajaar (market), dukaan (shop), hushaar (clever), kaagad (paper), jamin (land), darvajaa (door), meherbaani, mujaraa, maafii etc. Such words form a large portion of Marathi vocabulary.
The portuguese also influenced Marathi through words such as baTaaTaa (potato), bashii (saucer), pagaar (salary), istrii (iron) etc. which are very common in Marathi. And of course during the British rule, lots of English words were accepted which have become an inherent part of today's Marathi. These include pen, pencil, cake, cycle, boot, rubber, plastic etc.
These words also indicate a change in lifestyle and the influence of other cultures on the Marathi people.
(13) Dialects (forward - level II) (forward - level III)
Although it is debatable whether konkaNii is a separate language or dialect of Marathi, it is very similar to Marathi. The other major dialects include Varhadii spoken in the Vidarbha region and Dangii spoken near Maharashtra-Gujaraat border. In Marathi, the alphabet 'L' is abundantly used in many verbs and nouns. In the Varhadii dialect, it is replaced by the letter 'y' which makes it quite distinct. As such the spoken language changes from Mumbai (Bombay) to PuNe to Marathawada to Khandesh to Vidarbha, as one travels from one region of Maharashtra to another. The Marathi script is phonetic because there are no silent pronunciations. However, the spoken Marathi is quite different from the formal, written Marathi found in many text books. Marathi also has a very strong and powerful literary tradition starting from the time of the saints upto modern day. This is the language of Dnyaneshar, which can win bets with the nectar and hopefully it will keep growing and blossoming forever.
(14) Vocabulary (go to dictionary)
(15) Books for Learning Marathi (back)
Level I – (1) Let’s Learn Marathi by Dr. R.S. Saraf, Nitin Prakashan1464, Sadashiv Peth, Pune 4110340, 1993, Rs. 35
(2) An Intensive course for Marathi by Indumati Chitnis, CIIL, Mysore,
(3) Learnig Marathi by Dr. Kalyan Kale & Dr. Anjali Soman, Shri Vishakha Prakashan, 58, Shanivar Peth, Pune 411030, 1986, price Rs. 150
Level II - Marathi Reading course by I.M.P. Raeside & B.V. Nemade (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Heritage Publishers, 4C, Ansari Road, New Delhi, 110 002, India. 1991. (This book is not for sale outside India)
Level III -
Set I An Intermediate Marathi Reader, Part I, Part II An Advanced Marathi Reader, Part I, Part II A Marathi Reference Grammar A Basic Marathi-English Dictionary Marathi Diagnostic Test
by Maxine Berntsen and Jai Nimbkar, 1975, set: 20.00
Set II Marathi Vocabulary ManualMarathi Conversational SituationsMarathi Illustrated VocabularyMarathi ReadingsMarathi Structural Patterns
by Maxine Berntsen and Jai Nimbkar, 1983, set: $20.00
Available from the South Asia Regional Studies, 820 Williams Hall/CU,
Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305;
phone 215-898-7475; fax 215-898-0993.
For detail description of the above books go to “Marathi Teaching Material” in “Companion to Marathi Learning Courses”.
