[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Archaeology, epigraphy and coins](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy) › [Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003) › c27.s32 # Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s32: 7.29 Tense Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c27.s32 - **Language:** English ## Contents - [c27.s32.t1 7.29.1 Past tense](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t1) — 3 parts - [c27.s32.t2 7.29.2 Non-past (present-future) tense](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t2) — 3 parts - [c27.s32.t3 7.29.3 Absence of finite verbs](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t3) — 1 part ### 7.29 Tense ### [c27.s32.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.1) Modern Tamil has three tenses, past, present and future. Old Tamil distinguished only two tenses, past and non-past (present-future). The Corpus reflects the pattern of tense in Old Tamil. Specifically, the present tense suffixes \*-kir-\* and \*-kiṉṟ-\* are absent from the Corpus. ### 7.29.1 Past tense ### [c27.s32.t1.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t1.1) Verbs in the past tense may be classified on the basis of the past tense markers, \*-t-\*, \*-tt-\*, \*-nt-\* and \*i\* (~ \*-iṉ-\*, \*-y-\*): ### [c27.s32.t1.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t1.2) | \*-t-\* | \*-tt-\* | \*-nt-\* | \*-i-\* (~ \*-iṉ-\*, \*-y-\*): | | \*cey\* / \*ceyi\* / \*cē\* | \*aṟu\* | \*ama\* | \*ā\* / \*āku\* | | \*toṭu\* (\> \*to(ṭ)ṭ-\*) | \*ī\* | \*āru\* | \*āṭu\* | | | \*koṭu\* / \*kuṭu\* | \*tā\* (\> \*tant-\*) | \*karu(v)u\* / \*karu(k)ku\* | | | \*tai\* | \*piṟa\* | \*koṭṭu\* | | | \*nōl\* (\> \*nōṟṟ-\*) | | \*ēvu\* | | | \*puṇaru\* | | \*ko(ṟ)ṟu\* | | | \*muṭi\* | | \*cē\* (variant of \*cey\*) | | | \*ve\* / \*vai\* | | | ### [c27.s32.t1.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t1.3) The distribution is as in LT except for \*cē\* (a variant of \*cey\* attested only in inscriptions) taking not only the past tense marker \*-t-\* as in \*cētavar\* 'they who made' (35.3), but also \*-i-\* as in \*cē-i-ya\* 'which was made ' (2.10) and \*-y-\* as in \*cē-y-a\* 'which was made' (31.2). See Commentary (2.10, 31.2) for discussion. ### 7.29.2 Non-past (present-future) tense ### [c27.s32.t2.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t2.1) There is only one occurrence of a verb form in the non-past tense in the Corpus: ### [c27.s32.t2.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t2.2) \*ve(p)pōṉ\* (LT \*vaippōṉ\*) 'he who has endowed' (13.4) ### [c27.s32.t2.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t2.3) The non-past suffix here is \*-(p)p-\* (not doubled in the original). ### 7.29.3 Absence of finite verbs ### [c27.s32.t3.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32.t3.1) A remarkable feature of the inscriptions in the Corpus is the absence of finite verb forms. Their place is taken by participial nouns and adjectival participles. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c27.s32) · Pramāṇa