Kokborok grammar

Kokborok grammar is the grammar of the Kokborok language, also known as Tripuri or Tipra which is spoken by the Tripuri people, the native inhabitants of the state of Tripura. It is the official language of Tripura, a state located in Northeast India.

Syntax
The principal structures of affirmative sentences in Kokborok are the following:

Subject Complement

Naisok {chwrai kaham.}

Naisok {boy good}

Naisok is a good boy.

Subject Object Verb

Naisok mai chao.

Naisok rice eat

Naisok eats rice.

Possessive Subject Question

Nini (bu)mung tamo?

Your name what

What is your name?

Subject Question Verb

Nwng {tamoni bagwi} phai?

You {what for} come

Why have you come?

Subject {Verb and Question}

Nwng thangnaide?

You {will go}

Will you go?

Subject {Verb and Command}

Nwng thangdi.

You go

You go.

Person
In Kokborok grammar use of the notion of 'person' is almost absent; the form of verb is same for one who speaks, one who is spoken to, and one who is spoken about.

Number
In Kokborok there are two numbers: Singular and plural. The plural marker is used at the end of the noun or pronoun. There are two plural markers: rok and song. Rok is universally used while song is used with human nouns only. The plural marker is normally used at the end of the noun or pronoun. But when the noun has an adjective the plural marker is used at the end of the adjective instead of the noun.

Examples:


 * Bwrwirok Teliamura o thangnai. These women will go to Teliamura.
 * O bwrwi naithokrok kaham rwchabo. These beautiful women sing very well.

Gender
In Kokborok there are four genders: masculine gender, feminine gender, common gender, and neuter gender. Words which denote male are masculine, words which denote female are feminine, words which can be both male and female are common gender, and words which cannot be either masculine or feminine are neuter gender.

There are various ways to change genders of words:

Case and case endings
In Kokborok there are the nominative, accusative, instrumental, ablative, locative and possessive cases.

These case suffixes are used at the end of the noun/pronoun and there is no change in the form of the noun.

Adjective
In Kokborok the adjectives come after the words they qualify. This rule is strictly followed only in the case of native adjectives. In case of loan adjectives the rule is rather loose. Kokborok adjectives may be divided into four classes:


 * 1) pure adjectives
 * 2) compound adjectives
 * 3) verbal adjectives
 * 4) K-adjectives

The first three classes may include both native and loan words. The fourth class is made of purely native words. e.g.:


 * 1) hilik – heavy, heleng – light
 * 2) bwkha kotor – (heart big) – brave, bwkha kusu – (heart small) – timid
 * 3) leng – tire, lengjak – tired, ruk – to boil, rukjak – boiled.
 * 4) kaham – good, kotor – big, kisi – wet.

Numerals
Kokborok numerals are both decimal and vigesimal.
 * sa
 * 1) nwi
 * 2) tham
 * 3) brwi
 * ba
 * 1) dok
 * 2) sni
 * 3) char
 * 4) chuku
 * 5) chi


 * ra – hundredth
 * sara – one hundred
 * sai – thousandth
 * sasai- one thousand
 * rwjag – a lakh

A numeral is organised as:

chi + sa

ten + one

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