Understanding Subordination and Coordination in Tamil Grammar

What are Subordination and Coordination in Tamil?

In Tamil grammar, subordination and coordination are two important ways to connect clauses within sentences. Understanding these concepts helps learners form complex and meaningful sentences.

Coordination in Tamil

Coordination involves joining two or more clauses or phrases of equal importance. In Tamil, coordinated clauses are often connected using conjunctions like மற்றும் (maṟṟum - and), அல்லது (allatu - or), and ஆனால் (āṉāl - but). These conjunctions link clauses that can stand independently.

For example:

• நான் பாடம் படிக்கிறேன் மற்றும் அவள் ஓடுகிறாள். (Nāṉ pāṭam paṭikkiṟēṉ maṟṟum avaḷ ōṭukiṟāḷ.) - I study and she runs.
• அவன் வருவான் அல்லது அவள் வருவாள். (Avaṉ varuvāṉ allatu avaḷ varuvāḷ.) - He will come or she will come.

Subordination in Tamil

Subordination connects a dependent clause to an independent clause, where the dependent clause cannot stand alone. Tamil uses specific conjunctions and participial forms to express subordination.

Common subordinating conjunctions include ஏனெனில் (ēṉeṉil - because), என்றால் (eṉṟāl - if), and போது (pōtu - when). Additionally, Tamil often uses verb participles to form subordinate clauses.

For example:

• நான் வருகிறேன் ஏனெனில் அவன் அழைத்தான். (Nāṉ varukiṟēṉ ēṉeṉil avaṉ aḻaittāṉ.) - I am coming because he called.
• அவன் பாடம் படித்தால், வெற்றி பெறுவான். (Avaṉ pāṭam paṭittāl, veṟṟi peṟuvāṉ.) - If he studies, he will succeed.

Using Participles for Subordination

Tamil frequently uses participial forms of verbs to create subordinate clauses without explicit conjunctions. This is a distinctive feature compared to English.

For example:

• பாடம் படித்து, அவன் ஓடினான். (Pāṭam paṭittu, avaṉ ōṭiṉāṉ.) - Having studied, he ran.
• வானம் மங்கியபோது, மழை பெய்தது. (Vāṉam maṅkiyapōtu, maḻai peytatu.) - When the sky darkened, it rained.

Summary of Key Points

• Coordination connects clauses of equal importance using conjunctions like மற்றும் and அல்லது.
• Subordination connects a dependent clause to an independent clause using conjunctions like ஏனெனில் and participial forms.
• Participles are commonly used in Tamil to form subordinate clauses without explicit conjunctions.
• Understanding these helps in constructing complex Tamil sentences effectively.