Language/Bengali/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be
Hi Bengali learners! đ
In this lesson, we will learn about the verb "be" and how to use it in Bengali. We will also talk about some cultural information and interesting facts related to the topic. By the end of the lesson, you will be able to use "be" correctly in Bengali sentences. So, let's get started!
Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Future Tense & Pronouns.
What is "Be" in Bengali?[edit | edit source]
In Bengali, "be" is the verb āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka). The verb is used to indicate existence, location, and state of being. It is one of the most commonly used verbs in Bengali and is essential for basic communication.
Let's see some examples to understand the usage of āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka):
Bengali | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻ¸ā§ āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤ Se bashay ache. |
sheÉĒ bÉĘaÉĒ Éʧe | He is at home. |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻŽāĻ¨ āĻĨāĻžāĻā§? Tumi kemon thako? |
tĘmi kemon Ęhako | How are you? |
āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻŦ āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§ āĻāĻāĻŋāĨ¤ Ami khub valo ashi. |
a.mi khub bĘ°alo a.Ęi | I am very well. |
āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž āĻāĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻšā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ āĻĨāĻžāĻā§āĨ¤ Tara ekhon ekti hotel'e thake. |
ta.ra e.khon ekti ho.tel'e Ęhake | They are staying in a hotel now. |
As you can see from the examples, āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka) is used to indicate the existence or state of being of the subject.
How to Conjugate "Be" in Bengali[edit | edit source]
Like any other verb, āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka) is also conjugated according to the tense, gender, and number of the subject.
Let's see the present tense conjugation of āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž (thaka) for different subjects:
āĻŦāĻā§āĻ¤āĻž | āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻž-āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž | āĻāĻ-āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž | āĻŦāĻšā§-āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž |
---|---|---|---|
āĻāĻŽāĻŋ Ami (I) |
āĻāĻāĻŋ ashi |
āĻāĻ asho |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ Tumi (You-Singular) |
āĻāĻ asho |
āĻāĻ asho |
āĻāĻ asho |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ Tumi (You-Plural) |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻ¸ā§ Se (He/She/It) |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋ Tini (Respectful-He/She/It) |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
āĻāĻŽāĻ°āĻž Amra (We) |
āĻāĻāĻŋ ashi |
āĻāĻāĻŋ ashi |
āĻāĻāĻŋ ashi |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻ°āĻž Tomra (You-Plural) |
āĻāĻā§ asho |
āĻāĻā§ asho |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻž Tara (They) |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻāĻā§ ashe |
āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋāĻĻā§āĻ° Tinider (Respectful-They) |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
āĻāĻā§āĻ¨ ashen |
To form the present continuous tense, we use the auxiliary verb "āĻāĻāĻŋ (ashi)" for the first person and "āĻāĻā§ (ashe)" for others, and add the present participle (-āĻāĻŋ, -āĻ, -āĻā§, -āĻā§āĻāĻŋ, -āĻā§āĻ, -āĻā§āĻā§) of the main verb at the end.
For example,
Bengali | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ˛āĻāĻŋāĨ¤ Ami khelchi. |
a.mi kʰel.ʧʰi | I am playing. |
āĻ¸ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ¨ āĻāĻžāĻāĻā§āĨ¤ Se gan gaiche. |
sheÉĒ ÉĄan ÉĄaÉĒ.ʧʰe | He is singing a song. |
Interesting Facts[edit | edit source]
Bengali is known for its extensive use of metaphors, idioms, and proverbs. The language is also known for its rich cultural heritage, especially in music, literature, and cinema.
Bengali is the seventh most spoken language in the world, with more than 250 million speakers worldwide. It is the official language of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam.
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Let's see a dialogue between two friends who are talking about the location of a restaurant.
- Person 1: āĻ¸ā§āĻĻāĻžāĻŽāĻž āĻ°ā§āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¨ā§āĻ āĻā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻā§?
Sudama restaurant kothay ache? - Person 2: āĻ¸ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻā§āĨ¤ āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻž āĻĒāĻžāĻ āĻļāĻžāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻŋāĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻā§āĨ¤
Sedike. Seta path shalar biporite ache. - Person 1: āĻĢāĻžāĻāĻ¨āĨ¤ āĻ§āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻžāĻĻāĨ¤
Phain. Dhonnobad.
(Person 1: Sudama Restaurant kothay ache? (Where is Sudama Restaurant?) Person 2: Sedike. Seta path shalar biporite ache. (It is nearby. It is opposite to the school.) Person 1: Phain. Dhonnobad. (Thank you.) )
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
In this lesson, we learned about the verb "be" in Bengali and its usage. We also saw how to conjugate "be" in Bengali for different subjects and tenses. We hope you enjoyed the lesson and found it useful. To improve your Bengali Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! Don't forget to check out our Grammar section for more lessons like this. đ
⥠If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
⥠Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. đ
Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Types of Adjectives & Nouns.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Plurals
- Give your Opinion
- Negation
- Adjectives
- Conditional Mood
- How to Use Have
- Future Tense
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Questions
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Bengali/Grammar - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
- Bengali grammar - Wikipedia
- A Rule-Based Bengali Grammar Checker | IEEE Conference ...