Reflexive Pronouns
தன்வினை பிரதிபெயர்கள்
English marks 'doing something to oneself' with a dedicated set of -self words — a separate, visible marker where Tamil often just leaves the reflexive sense built into the verb itself.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
myself/yourself/himself as an explicit add-on, not a built-in verb sense
I hurt myself. (myself is a separate, required word)
நான் காயப்பட்டேன். (the reflexive sense is often built directly into the verb, no separate word needed)
Tamil frequently builds the 'to oneself' meaning directly into the verb's own form, without a separate reflexive word required. English instead requires an explicit -self/-selves word (myself, yourself, himself, herself, ourselves, themselves) whenever the subject and object of a verb are the same person — 'I hurt myself' cannot drop myself the way Tamil might fold the sense into காயப்பட்டேன். Treat this as a mandatory add-on English requires that your Tamil instinct won't automatically remind you to include.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| English | Pronunciation | Tamil |
|---|---|---|
| I hurt myself. | eye hurt my-SELF | நான் காயப்பட்டேன்.nān kāyappaṭṭēn. |
| Don't hurt yourself. | dohnt hurt yor-SELF | உன்னை காயப்படுத்திக்காதே.uṉṉai kāyappaduththikkādhē. |
| He looked at himself in the mirror. | hee lookt at him-SELF | அவன் கண்ணாடியில் தன்னைப் பார்த்தான்.avan kaṇṇāḍiyil thaṉṉaip pārththān. |
| They enjoyed themselves. | thay en-JOYD them-SELVZ | அவங்க சந்தோஷமா இருந்தாங்க.avanga sandhōshamā irundhānga. |