The grammar of the Gujarati language is the study of the word order, case marking, verb conjugation, and other morphological and syntactic structures of the Gujarati language, an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken by the Gujarati people. This page overviews the grammar of standard Gujarati, and is written in a romanization (see Gujarati script#Romanization). Hovering the mouse cursor over forms will reveal the appropriate English translation.
Gujarati has three genders, two numbers, and three cases (nominative, oblique/vocative, and to a certain extent, locative). Nouns may be divided into declensional subtypes: marked nouns displaying characteristic declensional vowel terminations, and unmarked nouns which do not. These are the paradigms for the termination —
| Nom. | Obl./Voc. | Loc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||
| Masc. | -ઓ o | -આ ā | -એ e | |||
| Neut. | -ઉં ũ | -આં ā̃ | -આ ā | -આં ā̃ | ||
| Fem. | -ઈ ī | |||||
Two things must be noted about the locative case and its limited nature. First, it only exists as a case for masculines and neuters, which is why the corresponding feminine cell has been left blanked out. Rather, for marked feminine and unmarked nouns the locative is a postposition, which are explained on later in the article. Second, there is no distinction of gender.
Furthermore, there also exists in Gujarati a plural marker -ઓ (o). Unlike the English plural it is not mandatory, and may be left unexpressed if plurality is already expressed in some other way: by explicit numbering, agreement, or the above declensional system (as is the case with nominative marked masculines and neuters). And yet despite the declensional system, ઓ (o) often gets tacked onto nominative marked masculine and neuter plurals anyway. This redundancy is called the double plural. Historically, the origin of this suffix is murky, but it is certainly morphological rather than lexical. It is new (18th century) and it is not attested in Old Gujarati, Middle Gujarati, and Old Western Rajasthani literature. It may simply be the case that it spread from an unrepresented dialect.
Thus combining both the declensional and plural suffixes, the following table outlines all possible Gujarati noun terminations —
| Nom. | Obl./Voc. | Loc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||
| M'd. | Masc. | -ઓ o | -આ(ઓ) ā(o) | -આ ā | -આઓ āo | -એ e |
| Neut. | -ઉં ũ | -આં(ઓ) ā̃(o) | -આં(ઓ) ā̃(o) | |||
| Fem. | -ઈ ī | -ઈઓ īo | -ઈ ī | -ઈઓ īo | ||
| unM'd. | -ઓ o | -ઓ o | ||||
There are also several forms of feminines derived from masculine nouns that do not end in -ઓ (o).
| Fem. (Sg.) | Examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. | Fem. | ||
| -ઇયો iyo | -ઇયેણ iyeṇ | ભાગિયો bhāgiyo | ભાગિયેણ bhāgiyeṇ |
| -ઇયણ iyaṇ | વાણિયો vāṇiyo | વાણિયણ vāṇiyaṇ | |
| -ઇયાણી iyāṇī | વાણિયાણી vāniyāṇī | ||
| -ઈ ī | -ણી ṇī | હાથી hāthī | હાથણી hāthaṇī |
| -એણ eṇ | |||
| -અણ aṇ | ધોબી dhobī | ધોબણ dhobaṇ | |
| -ઉ u | -વ-(Fem. suffix) -v- | સાધુ sādhu હિંદુ hĩdu | સાધ્વી sādhvī હિંદવાણી hĩdvāṇī |
| unM'd. | -આ -ā | પંડિત pãḍit | પંડિતા pãḍitā |
| -ઈ -ī | દેવ dev | દેવી devī | |
| -ડી -ḍī | ભીલ bhīl | ભીલડી bhīlaḍī | |
| -ણી -ṇī | પિશાચ piśāc | પિશાચણી piśācaṇī | |
| -આણી -āṇī | રજપૂત rajpūt | રજપૂતાણી rajpūtāṇī | |
| -એણ -eṇ | વાઘ vāgh | વાઘેણ vāghēṇ | |
| -ણ -ṇ | સિંહ sĩh | સિંહણ sĩhaṇ | |
| -વી -vī | નટ naṭ | નાટવી naṭavī | |
| Nom. | Obl./Voc. | Loc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||
| M'd. | Masc. | છોકરો chhokro ડાઘો ḍāgho મહિનો mahino કચરો kacro | છોકરા(ઓ) chhokrā(o) ડાઘા(ઓ) ḍāghā(o) મહિના(ઓ) mahinā(o) | છોકરા chhokrā ડાઘા ḍāghā મહિના mahinā કચરા kacrā | છોકરાઓ chokrāo ડાઘાઓ ḍāghāo મહિનાઓ mahināo | મહિને mahine |
| Neut. | chhokrũ kārkhānũ bārṇũ andhārũ | chhokrā̃(o) kārkhānā̃(o) bārṇā̃(o) | chhokrā kārkhānā bārṇā andhārā | chhokrā̃(o) kārkhānā̃(o) bārṇā̃(o) | kārkhāne | |
| Fem. | chhokrī ṭopī bāṭlī vījḷī | chhokrīo ṭopīo bāṭlīo | chhokrī ṭopī bāṭlī vījḷī | chhokrīo ṭopīo bāṭlīo | ||
| unM'd. | Masc. | vichār rājā dhobī baraf | vichāro rājāo dhobīo | vichār rājā dhobī baraf | vichāro rājāo dhobīo | |
| Neut. | ghar bahen medān pāṇī | gharo baheno medāno | ghar bahen medān pāṇī | gharo baheno medāno | ||
| Fem. | bābat niśāḷ bhāṣā bhakti | bābato niśāḷo bhāṣāo | bābat niśāḷ bhāṣā bhakti | bābato niśāḷo bhāṣāo | ||
Adjectives may be divided into declinable and indeclinable categories. Declinables are marked, taking the appropriate declensional termination for the noun they qualify. One difference from nouns however is that adjectives do not take the plural marker -o. Neut. nom. sg. (-ũ) is the citation form. Indeclinable adjectives are completely invariable. All adjectives can be used either attributively, predicatively, or substantively.
| Nom. ! | Obl./Voc. | Loc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||
| M'd. | Masc. | sāro chhokro | sārā chhokrā(o) | sārā chhokrā | sārā chhokrāo | sāre mahine |
| Neut. | sārũ chhokrũ | sārā̃ chhokrā̃(o) | sārā chhokrā | sārā̃ chhokrā̃(o) | sāre kārkhāne | |
| Fem. | sārī chhokrī | sārī chhokrīo | sārī chhokrī | sārī chhokrīo | ||
| unM'd. | Masc. | sāro vichār sāro rājā sāro dhobī sāro baraf | sārā vichāro sārā rājāo sārā dhobīo | sārā vichār sārā rājā sārā dhobī sārā baraf | sārā vichāro sārā rājāo sārā dhobīo | |
| Neut. | sārũ ghar sārũ medān sārũ pāṇī | sārā̃ gharo sārā̃ medāno | sārā ghar sārā medān sārā pāṇī | sārā̃ gharo sārā̃ medāno | ||
| Fem. | sārī bābat sārī niśāḷ sārī bhāṣā sārī bhakti | sārī bābato sārī niśāḷo sārī bhāṣāo | sārī bābat sārī niśāḷ sārī bhāṣā sārī bhakti | sārī bābato sārī niśāḷo sārī bhāṣāo | ||
| Nom. ! | Obl./Voc. | Loc. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||
| M'd. | Masc. | kharāb chhokro kharāb ḍāgho kharāb mahino kharāb kacro | kharāb chhokrā(o) kharāb ḍāghā(o) kharāb mahinā(o) | kharāb chhokrā kharāb ḍāghā kharāb mahinā kharāb kacrā | kharāb chhokrāo kharāb ḍāghāo kharāb mahināo | kharāb mahine |
| Neut. | kharāb chhokrũ kharāb kārkhānũ kharāb bārṇũ kharāb andhārũ | kharāb chhokrā̃(o) kharāb kārkhānā̃(o) kharāb bārṇā̃(o) | kharāb chhokrā kharāb kārkhānā kharāb bārṇā kharāb andhārā | kharāb chhokrā̃(o) kharāb kārkhānā̃(o) kharāb bārṇā̃(o) | kharāb kārkhāne | |
| Fem. | kharāb chhokrī kharāb vījḷī | kharāb chhokrīo | kharāb chhokrī kharāb vījḷī | kharāb chhokrīo | ||
| unM'd. | Masc. | kharāb vicār kharāb rājā kharāb dhobī kharāb baraf | kharāb vicāro kharāb rājāo kharāb dhobīo | kharāb vicār kharāb rājā kharāb dhobī kharāb baraf | kharāb vicāro kharāb rājāo kharāb dhobīo | |
| Neut. | kharāb ghar kharāb bahen kharāb medān kharāb pāṇī | kharāb gharo kharāb baheno kharāb medāno | kharāb ghar kharāb bahen kharāb medān kharāb pāṇī | kharāb gharo kharāb baheno kharāb medāno | ||
| Fem. | kharāb bābat kharāb niśāḷ kharāb bhāṣā kharāb bhakti | kharāb bābato kharāb niśāḷo kharāb bhāṣāo | kharāb bābat kharāb niśāḷ kharāb bhāṣā kharāb bhakti | kharāb bābato kharāb niśāḷo kharāb bhāṣāo | ||
Comparisons are made by using "than" (the postposition thī; see below) or "instead of" (nā kartā̃), and "more" (vadhu, vadhāre, etc.) or "less" (ochũ). The word for "more" is optional, while "less" is required, denoting that in the absence of either it's "more" than will be inferred.
| Gujarati | Literal | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gītā Gautamthī ū̃cī che | Gita is tall than Gautam | Gita is taller than Gautam | |
| Gītā Gautam kartā̃ ū̃cī che | Gita is tall instead of Gautam | ||
| Gītā Gautamthī vadhāre ū̃cī che | Gita is more tall than Gautam | ||
| Gītā Gautamthī ochī ū̃cī che | Gita is less tall than Gautam | ||
In the absence of an object of comparison ("more" of course is now no longer optional):
| Gujarati | Literal | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| vadhu moṭo kūtro | The more big dog | The bigger dog | |
| kūtro vadhu moṭo che | The dog more big is | The dog is bigger |
Superlatives are made through comparisons with "all" (sau).
| Gujarati | Literal | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| sauthī sāf orṛo | The clean than all room | The cleanest room | |
| orṛo sauthī sāf che | The room is clean than all | The room is the cleanest |
Or by leading with mā̃ "in" postpositioned to the same adjective.
The sparse Gujarati case system serves as a springboard for Gujarati's grammatically functional postpositions, which parallel English's prepositions. It is their use with a noun or verb that is what necessitates the noun or verb taking the oblique case. There are six, one-syllable primary postpositions. Orthographically, they are bound to the words they postposition.
Postpositions can postposition other postpositions. For example, થી (thī) (as "from") suffixing the two specific locatives can help to specify what type of "from" is meant (પરથી (parthī) "from off of", માંથી (mā̃thī) "from out of").
Beyond this are a slew of compound postpositions, composed of the genitive primary postposition નું (nũ) plus an adverb.
The genitive bit is often optionally omissible with nouns, though not with pronouns (specifically, not with first and second person genitive pronouns, because, as will be seen, they have no outward, distinct, separable નું (nũ)).
Gujarati has personal pronouns for the first and second persons, while its third person system uses demonstrative bases, categorized deictically as proximate and distal.
The language has a T–V distinction in તું (tũ) and તમે (tame). The latter "formal" form is also grammatically plural. A similar distinction also exists when referring to someone in the third person.
Rare among modern Indo-Aryan languages, Gujarati has inclusive and exclusive we, આપણે (āpṇe) and અમે (ame).
| Personal | Demonstrative | Relative | Interrogative | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st pn. | 2nd pn. | 3rd pn. | ||||||||||||||
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. &<br>Inf. | Pl./ Form. | Prox. | Dist. | |||||||||||
| Inc. | Exc. | Inf. | Form. | Inf. | Form. | Inf. | Form. | Anim. | Inan. | |||||||
| Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | Sg. | Pl. | |||||||||||
| Nominative | આપણે āpṇe | અમે ame | તમે tame | આ ā | આઓ āo | તે te | તેઓ teo | જે je | જેઓ jeo | |||||||
| Ergative | મેં mɛ̃ | તેં tɛ̃ | આણે āṇe | આઓએ āoe | આમણે āmṇe | તેણે tɛṇe | તેઓએ teoe | તેમણે tɛmṇe | જેણે jɛṇe | જેઓએ jeoe | જેમણે jɛmṇe | કોણે kɔṇe | ||||
| Dative | મને mane | આપણને āpaṇne | અમને amne | તને tane | તમને tamne | આને āne | આઓને āone | આમને āmne | તેને tɛne | તેઓને teone | તેમને tɛmne | જેને jɛne | જેઓને jeone | જેમને jɛmne | કોને kɔne | શેને śɛne |
| Genitive | આનું ānũ | આઓનું āonũ | આમનું āmnũ | તેનું tɛnũ | તેઓનું teonũ | તેમનું tɛmnũ | જેનું jɛnũ | જેઓનું jeonũ | જેમનું jɛmnũ | શેનું śɛnũ | ||||||
| Interrogative | Relative | Demonstrative | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dist. | Prox. | ||||
| Time | |||||
| Place | |||||
| Quantity | |||||
| Size | |||||
| Quality | કેવું kevũ | જેવું jevũ | તેવું tevũ | આવું āvũ | |
| Manner | કેમ kɛm | જેમ jɛm | તેમ tɛm | આમ ām | |
The Gujarati verbal system is largely structured around a combination of aspect and tense/mood. Like the nominal system, the Gujarati verb involves successive layers of (inflectional) elements after the lexical base.
Gujarati has 2 aspects: perfective and imperfective, each having overt morphological correlates. These are participle forms, inflecting for gender, number, and case by way of a vowel termination, like adjectives. The perfective forms from the verb stem, followed by -ય(y)-, capped off by the agreement vowel and the imperfective forms with -ત(t)-.
Derived from હોવું (hɔvũ) "to be" are five copula forms: present, subjunctive, past, contrafactual (aka "past conditional"), and presumptive. Used both in basic predicative/existential sentences and as verbal auxiliaries to aspectual forms, these constitute the basis of tense and mood.
Non-aspectual forms include the infinitive, the imperative, and the agentive. Mentioned morphological conditions such the subjunctive, contrafactual, etc. are applicable to both copula roots for auxiliary usage with aspectual forms and to non-copula roots directly for often unspecified (non-aspectual) finite forms.
Finite verbal agreement is with the nominative subject, except in the transitive perfective, where it is with the direct object, with the erstwhile subject taking the ergative construction -એ(e) (see postpositions above). The perfective aspect thus displays split ergativity. The infinitive's agreement is also with its direct object, if paired with one.
Tabled just below on the left are the paradigms for the major gender and number agreement termination (GN), nominative case. Oblique paradigms differ from those introduced in
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The example verb is intransitive hālvũ "to shake", with various sample inflections. Much of the below chart information derives from .
| Non-aspectual | Aspectual | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-finite |
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| Finite |
|
|
Notes
| Aff | ch-PN | hɔ-PN | ha-t-GN | hɔ-t | ha-(ī)ś-PN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neg | nathī | na hɔ-PN | na ha-t-GN | na hɔ-t | ha-(ī)ś-PN nahi | na, nahi |
Gujarati causatives are morphologically contrastive. Verbs can be causativized up to two times, to a double causative.
Causatives are made by two main schemes involving alteration of the root.
or
If the causativization is of a transitive, then the secondary agent, whom the subject "causes to" or "gets to" do whatever, is marked by the postposition nī pāse.
Furthermore, that causative can be causativized again, for a double causative ("to cause to cause... "), with a possible tertiary agent.
The passive has both periphrastic and morphological means of expression. The former has -mā̃ āvvũ postpositioned to infinitive; the latter has ā added to root, with certain phonological processes as work as well: if the root vowel is ā then it becomes a (See Gujarati phonology#ɑ-reduction) and if the root ends in a vowel then h or v is suffixed. Thus lakhvũ "to write" → lakhvāmā āvvũ, lakhāvũ "to be written". The post-position thī marks the agent, As in other New Indo-Aryan languages, formation of passives is not restricted to transitive verbs and has a restricted domain of usage except in special registers. Both intransitive and transitive may be grammatically passivized to show capacity, in place of compounding with the modal śakvũ "to be able". Lastly, intransitives often have a passive sense, or convey unintentional action.