4 Tamil Conjunctions: An Easy Guide!

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By Editorial Team
Published on January 4, 2023

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Conjunctions or இணைப்புகள் (Iṇaippukaḷ) are words that connect clauses, sentences, or words within a clause or sentence. In any language, conjunctions are crucial in providing coherence and cohesion to a piece of writing or speech. Tamil conjunctions may sound challenging to master, but with some practice and patience, you can master them in no time! In this article, we’ll be covering some of the most frequently used Tamil conjunctions. We’ll also explain how these words are used and give examples to help you understand them better. Let’s get started!

There’s no denying that conjunctions are important in Tamil, as they help to connect ideas and provide structure to sentences and paragraphs. They also help to convey the relationships between different parts of a sentence or clause, such as cause and effect, contrast, or similarity. By using these special words, writers and speakers can create more complex and nuanced sentences and communicate more effectively with their audience. Let’s get to know more about it below.

Tamil Conjunctions

Conjunctions in Tamil are words that connect clauses, phrases, or sentences or express various relationships between them. Conjunctions can be divided into four types including:

Coordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions
Conjunctive adverbs
Correlative conjunctions

We will look at conjunction words in each category after briefly defining them.

Tamil Conjunctions_Ling App_Learn Tamil_Sentence On Blackboard — Tamil Conjunctions – In A Sentence

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are conjunction used to connect words, phrases, or independent clauses and are of equal syntactic importance. Remember that they always join elements of the same kind, for example, subject + subject, verb phrase + verb phrase, or sentence + sentence. These are typically found in the middle of a sentence with a comma just before the Tamil conjunction or at the beginning of the sentence.

In Tamil, some common coordinating conjunctions include the following:

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
And	ஆனால்	Anal	ஆனால்
But	மற்றும்	Marrum	மற்றும்
So	அதனால்	Atanal	அதனால்
Or	அல்லது	Allatu	அல்லது

Subordinating Conjunctions

They add two clauses together, with one being dependent on the other. Let’s have examples of these in Tamil and then look at some sentences.

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
As	என	Ena	என
If	என்றால்	Eral	என்றால்
As if	என	Ena	என
After	பிறகு	Piraku	பிறகு
Before	முன்	Mun	முன்
As though	இருந்தாலும்	Iruntalum	இருந்தாலும்
Although	என்றாலும்	Enralum	என்றாலும்
Though	இருந்தாலும்	Iruntalum	இருந்தாலும்
Because	ஏனெனில்	Enenil	ஏனெனில்
So that	அதனால்	Atanal	அதனால்
How	எப்படி	Eppati	எப்படி
Than	விட	Vita	விட
Whether	என்பதை	Enpatai	என்பதை
Since	இருந்து	Iruntu	இருந்து
Till	வரை	Varai	வரை
Until	வரை	Varai	வரை
When	எப்பொழுது	Eppolutu	எப்பொழுது
While	போது	Potu	போது
Where	எங்கே	Enke	எங்கே

Let’s try to see these words in the sentences below.

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
She played hide and seek until the sun went down.	சூரியன் மறையும் வரை கண்ணாமூச்சி விளையாடினாள்.	Cūriyaṉ maṟaiyum varai kaṇṇāmūcci viḷaiyāṭiṉāḷ.
The teacher kept writing while talking to the students.	ஆசிரியர் மாணவர்களுடன் பேசிக்கொண்டே எழுதினார்.	Āciriyar māṇavarkaḷuṭaṉ pēcikkoṇṭē eḻutiṉār.
We will talk more next time when I see you again.	அடுத்த முறை நான் உங்களைப் பார்க்கும்போது மேலும் பேசுவோம்.	Aṭutta muṟai nāṉ uṅkaḷaip pārkkumpōtu mēlum pēcuvōm.

Conjunctive Adverbs

They connect independent clauses, meaning the two sentences can stand alone with this connector.

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வணக்கம் vaṇakkam Hello

நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள் nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ How are you

என் பெயர் eṉ peyar My name is

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English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
Also	மேலும்	Melum	மேலும்
Finally	இறுதியாக	Irutiyaka	இறுதியாக
Next	அடுத்தது	Atuttattu	அடுத்தது
Otherwise	இல்லையெனில்	Illaiyenil	இல்லையெனில்
Therefore	எனவே	Enave	எனவே
Indeed	உண்மையில்	Unmaiyil	உண்மையில்
Besides	தவிர	Tavira	தவிர
Instead	பதிலாக	Patilaka	பதிலாக
Then	பிறகு	Piraku	பிறகு
Likewise	அதேபோல்	Atepol	அதேபோல்
Still	இன்னும்	Innum	இன்னும்
Meanwhile	இதற்கிடையில்	Itarkitaiyil	இதற்கிடையில்

Let’s try to see these words in the sentences below.

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
Ramu went to school also Tina had a dance lesson.	ராமு பள்ளிக்குச் சென்றாள், டினாவுக்கு நடனப் பாடம் இருந்தது.	Rāmu paḷḷikkuc ceṉṟāḷ, ṭiṉāvukku naṭaṉap pāṭam iruntatu.
Dad needed to get the laundry done besides going to the car wash.	கார் கழுவுவதற்குச் செல்வதைத் தவிர அப்பா சலவை செய்ய வேண்டியிருந்தது.	Kār kaḻuvuvataṟkuc celvatait tavira appā calavai ceyya vēṇṭiyiruntatu.
Uncle knew about the family secrets and therefore he kept these hidden.	மாமாவுக்கு குடும்ப ரகசியங்கள் தெரியும், எனவே அவர் அவற்றை மறைத்து வைத்தார்.	Māmāvukku kuṭumpa rakaciyaṅkaḷ teriyum, eṉavē avar avaṟṟai maṟaittu vaittār.

Tamil Conjunctions_Ling App_Learn Tamil_Conjunctions Exercise — Tamil Conjunctions – Conjunctions In An Exercise

Correlative Conjunctions

These conjunctions cannot do without each other and usually work in pairs. Typical examples are:

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
Either – Or	இது – அல்லது	Itu – Allatu	இது – அல்லது
Neither – Nor	அதுவுமில்லாமல் – இதுவுமில்லாமல்	Atuvumillamal – Ituvumillamal
Whether – Or	என்பதை – அல்லது	Enpatai – Allatu
Both – And	இரண்டும் – மற்றும்	Irantum – Marrum
As many – As	பல – என	Pala – Ena	பல – என
Not only – But also	மட்டுமல்ல – ஆனால்	Mattumalla – Anal

Using these in sentences, we have:

English	Tamil	Pronunciation	Sound
Not only was it raining, but also it started to snow.	மழை மட்டுமல்ல, பனியும் பெய்யத் தொடங்கியது.	Maḻai maṭṭumalla, paṉiyum peyyat toṭaṅkiyatu.
Both Chandra and Shashi were having a birthday party on the same day.	சந்திரா மற்றும் சசி இருவரும் ஒரே நாளில் பிறந்தநாள் விழாவை கொண்டாடினர்.	Cantirā maṟṟum caci iruvarum orē nāḷil piṟantanāḷ viḻāvai koṇṭāṭiṉar.
Find as many socks as you can.	உங்களால் முடிந்தவரை பல காலுறைகளைக் கண்டறியவும்.	Uṅkaḷāl muṭintavarai pala kāluṟaikaḷaik kaṇṭaṟiyavum.

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