Personal Pronouns & 'to be' / 'to have'
பிரதிபெயர்கள் மற்றும் sein/haben வினைச்சொற்கள்
German pronouns and the verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have) are the first building blocks of any sentence — and Tamil's own pronoun-verb agreement already primes you for how German verbs change shape with each person.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Pronouns carry gender the way Tamil verbs do
er (he) / sie (she) / es (it)
அவன் (he) / அவள் (she) / அது (it)
German's er/sie/es maps directly onto Tamil's அவன்/அவள்/அது — masculine, feminine, and neuter/impersonal 'it'. The difference: in Tamil this gender distinction also shows up baked into the verb ending (வந்தான் vs. வந்தாள்). In German, the verb form doesn't change by gender at all — only by person (I / you / he-she-it / we / you-all / they). One less thing to track per sentence.
sein is irregular — and can't be dropped
ich bin, du bist, er/sie/es ist, wir sind (sein = 'to be')
நான் நல்லா இருக்கேன் — 'இரு' is often implied, not always spoken explicitly
Tamil frequently folds 'to be' into an adjective ending or drops it in casual speech. German never omits sein — a state or description always needs it spoken out loud ('I am tired' = Ich bin müde, never just 'Ich müde'). Expect to consciously insert bin/bist/ist where Tamil habit might tempt you to skip it.
haben is a real verb; Tamil possession says 'to me, it exists'
Ich habe ein Buch. (I have a book — habe is the main verb)
என்னிடம் ஒரு புத்தகம் இருக்கிறது. (lit. 'with me a book exists')
German haben works exactly like English 'have': subject + habe + object. Tamil has no single-word equivalent — possession is expressed by putting the possessor in a dative-like form (எனக்கு/என்னிடம், 'to/with me') and using the existence verb இரு ('to exist'). When you say ich habe, resist rebuilding that 'to me, it exists' frame in German — just treat habe as an ordinary verb with a direct object.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| German | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ich bin | ikh bin | நான் இருக்கிறேன்nān irukkiṟēn | I am |
| du bist | doo bist | நீ இருக்கிறாய்nī irukkiṟāy | you are (informal) |
| er ist | air ist | அவன் இருக்கிறான்avan irukkiṟān | he is |
| wir sind | veer zint | நாங்கள் இருக்கிறோம்nāngaḷ irukkiṟōm | we are |
| ich habe | ikh HAH-beh | என்னிடம் இருக்கிறதுeṉṉiṭam irukkiṟadhu | I have |
| du hast | doo hahst | உன்னிடம் இருக்கிறதுuṉṉiṭam irukkiṟadhu | you have (informal) |
| er hat | air haht | அவனிடம் இருக்கிறதுavaṉiṭam irukkiṟadhu | he has |
| wir haben | veer HAH-ben | எங்களிடம் இருக்கிறதுengaḷiṭam irukkiṟadhu | we have |