Chhattisgarhi grammar, step by step

Chhattisgarhi is Subject–Object–Verb: the verb always comes at the very end of the sentence. Objects, postpositional phrases, and other modifiers all come between the subject and the final verb.

Chhattisgarhi verbs agree with the grammatical gender of the subject, not with person (first/second/third). A masculine speaker uses a different verb ending than a feminine speaker, even with the same pronoun. This gender agreement runs through all verb forms.

Chhattisgarhi uses auxiliary verbs to encode tense and person. In the habitual present, the auxiliary is fused into the ending. In progressive and past forms, the auxiliary stands separately and agrees with the subject in gender.

Chhattisgarhi uses postpositions — relational words that always follow the noun. Common ones include "में" (in), "से" (from/by), "ला/को" (to/for), "के" (of), and "ऊपर" (on). This is the opposite of English prepositions.

Nouns have two forms in Chhattisgarhi: the direct form (used as subject or bare object) and the oblique form (used before any postposition). Masculine singular nouns typically change their ending when they take a postposition. Feminine nouns often stay the same.

Adjectives in Chhattisgarhi agree with the noun they modify in gender. Masculine adjectives typically end in -आ/-अ and feminine in -ई/-इ. When a noun shifts to oblique case before a postposition, its adjective shifts too.

The habitual participle (-ता for masculine, -ती for feminine) combined with an auxiliary marks a habitual or repeated action. In Chhattisgarhi, the -थ- suffix handles simple present habituality, while -त/-ती + auxiliary stresses that the habit is ongoing over time.

The progressive is formed with the continuous participle "-रहा" (masculine) or "-रही" (feminine) between the verb root and the auxiliary. It marks an action happening right now or continuously in a specific time frame.

"नइ" (naī, the Chhattisgarhi form of "नहीं") comes immediately before the verb and negates it. The verb form does not change. For commands, "मत" (mat) replaces "नइ".

Yes/no questions are formed by placing "का" (kaa) at the start of an otherwise unchanged sentence. Wh-question words (question words for who, what, where, etc.) remain in the same position they would occupy as answers — they do not move to the front.

Three levels of second-person address encode social distance: "तैं" (taĩ) for intimate or downward address, "तुम" (tum) for casual/peers, and "आप" (aap) for respectful formal address. Each takes a different verb ending.

In the perfective (completed past) of transitive verbs, the grammar switches systems: the agent takes an oblique form with the ergative marker "ने/-न", and the verb agrees with the OBJECT's gender instead. This split is called ergativity — only the perfective triggers it.

Chhattisgarhi possessive pronouns (मोर, तोर, ओकर, हमर, etc.) are base forms that stay the same. However, when followed by a postposition, the possessed noun shifts to oblique case, and any adjectives in the phrase must agree with it.

Chhattisgarhi uses "ला" (laa, equivalent to Hindi "को") to mark objects that are specific, definite, or animate. Generic or indefinite objects appear without any postposition as bare nouns.

Light verbs (also called compound verbs) attach to the main verb stem and add a nuance of direction or beneficiary: "-ले" (take/for oneself — self-benefactive), "-दे" (give — other-benefactive, doing for someone else), "-जा" (go — completive/directional away).

Chhattisgarhi grammar revolves around two axes: gender (which the verb tracks in all aspects) and ergativity (which flips the agreement target in the completed past). Postpositions, light verbs, and politeness levels layer on top of this foundation.