How to Conjugate Bengali Verbs

In Bengali, verbs usually come at the end of a sentence. There are five classes of Bengali verbs. The
conjugation of verbs depends on these classes. The classes are

1. CVC, VC
2. CAC, AC
3. CA
4. CV,
5. CACA, CVCA

Once you learn how the form the endings for these five classes, you for the most part will be able to
easily conjugate verbs. There are other forms to learn, such as infinitives and imperatives. But these
rules will at least be helpful for basic communications.

Kor and por are CVC because they consist of a consonant, vowel, consonant.

Ja and kha are CA because they consist of a consonant and an a ending. In Bengali, kh is a single
consonant sound. See http://gobangla.web.officelive.com/bengali_alphabet.html for the Bengali
consonants and vowels.

Look at these CVC verbs. The endings are formed in the same way (kor and por). These rules also apply
to VC verbs, such as uth (rise).
I do, make ami kori I read, study ami pori
You do, make tumi koro You read, study ami poro
He/she does, makes se kore He/she read, study se pore
Look at these CA verbs. The endings are formed in the same way (ja and kha). Note that the ending is
different from the verbs above (for example, jay rather than kore)
I go ami jai I eat ami khai
You go tumi jao You eat tumi khao
He/she goes se jay He/she eats se khay

The audiovisual grammar tutorial at http://gobangla.web.officelive.com/bengali_grammar.html covers

the conjugation of several verbs and includes pronunciation by a native Bengali speaker. The tutorial
covers the various verb tenses and both familiar and polite forms.

Focus on one verb class at a time and learn it well before going onto the other verb classes.

Visit http://gobangla.web.officelive.com for more helpful Bengali lessons. Visit http://www.languagetips.info for advice on
learning less commonly learned languages like Bengali. Visit http://www.learnthingsweb.info to submit your learning related
website for free.