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Marathi Grammar

Marathi Verbs & Tenses (with Examples)

How Marathi verbs work — everyday verbs, continuous tense and the SOV sentence pattern, compared with Hindi.

Units 01, 04, 21

Curated by xmirtunjay for Bol Marathi ·Reviewer: pending native-speaker review ·how the curriculum works

What you will learn

How Marathi verbs work — everyday verbs, continuous tense and the SOV sentence pattern, compared with Hindi. Notes below come straight from the Bol Marathi lessons.

How Marathi verbs work: movement and compound verbs, ability and obligation forms, the introductory verbs lesson from Unit 01, and advanced passive and causative voice from Unit 21. Each note has Marathi explanation and English meaning. Since Marathi verbs close every sentence, this topic pairs naturally with sentence structure and the essential-verbs word list.

Tip: Read every example to its last word — the verb is the point.

Movement Verbs · Movement Verbs

जाणे, येणे, फिरणे. मी जातो, मी येतो.

Movement verbs: jāṇe (go), yeṇe (come), phiraṇe (stroll). Examples: mī jāto (I go), mī yeto (I come).

Note: कुठे, इथे, तिथे.

From Unit 04

Compound Verbs · Compound Verbs

सुरू करणे, पूर्ण करणे, प्रयत्न करणे.

Compound verbs with karaṇe (to do): surū karaṇe (to start), pūrṇa karaṇe (to finish), prayatna karaṇe (to try). Loanword nouns attach to karaṇe.

Note: करणे + noun pattern.

From Unit 04

Ability · Ability: शकतो

मी करू शकतो. शकत नाही = cannot.

Mī karū shakto means I can do it. For cannot, use shakat nāhī after the verb stem.

Note: Infinitive + शकतो = can.

From Unit 04

Obligation · Obligation: पाहिजे

मला मराठी शिकावी पाहिजे. सोपे = easy.

Malā Marāṭhī shikāvī pāhije means I must learn Marathi. pāhije after the verb conveys must, should or want.

Note: Infinitive + पाहिजे = must.

From Unit 04

Verbs · क्रियापद • Verbs

खाणे, पिणे, जाणे, येणे, करणे.

Core verbs take the infinitive -ṇe: khāṇe (eat), piṇe (drink), jāṇe (go), yeṇe (come), karaṇe (do).

Note: क्रियापद वाक्याच्या शेवटी.

From Unit 01

Passive Voice · Passive Voice

कर्मणी प्रयोग - त्याने केलं -> तयार झालं. वाच्य परिवर्तन.

Passive voice: Tyānē kelē (he did it) becomes Tayāra jhālē (it got done) - the object moves into the subject position.

Note: कर्तृ -> कर्मणी.

From Unit 21

Causative & Permissive · Causative & Permissive

प्रेरणार्थक (करवा), अनुमतार्थक (द्या) - क्रियापद रूप.

Causative verbs add -vā/-avā to make someone do something: karā becomes karavā (get it done). Permissive uses ḍēā (let/allow).

Note: खावा = make eat. खाऊ द्या = let eat.

From Unit 21