Word Order Facts
Menu

Tamil

Dravidian family · Eurasia

Tamil is an SOV language, like 564 of the 1,376 languages WALS codes for basic word order.

Of its word-order pairings, the one Tamil shares with the fewest languages is Order of Relative Clause and Noun: “Relative clause precedes noun (RelN)”, the value of 141 of the 824 languages coded.

The least common value coded for Tamil is “Plural in all nouns, optional in inanimates” on Occurrence of Nominal Plurality, held by 15 of the 291 languages coded.

Its closest grammar profile in the atlas is that of Kannada: the two agree on 53 of the 67 features both have coded.

Compared with English, Tamil has the same value on 26 of the 69 features both are coded for (38%).

Tamil: order of head and dependent in 9 constructions← beforeafter →verbsubject80%13%Order of Subject and Verb: Subject precedes verb (SV). Of 1,496 languages coded, 1,192 put the subject before the verb and 194 after it.verbobject47%46%Order of Object and Verb: Object precedes verb (OV). Of 1,518 languages coded, 712 put the object before the verb and 705 after it.adpositionnoun phrase49%43%Order of Adposition and Noun Phrase: Postpositions. Of 1,184 languages coded, 577 put the noun phrase before the adposition and 511 after it.noungenitive55%37%Order of Genitive and Noun: Genitive-noun (GenN). Of 1,249 languages coded, 685 put the genitive before the noun and 468 after it.nounadjective27%64%Order of Adjective and Noun: Modifying adjective precedes noun (AdjN). Of 1,367 languages coded, 373 put the adjective before the noun and 879 after it.noundemonstrative45%48%Order of Demonstrative and Noun: Demonstrative word precedes noun (DemN). Of 1,225 languages coded, 551 put the demonstrative before the noun and 590 after it.nounnumeral42%53%Order of Numeral and Noun: Numeral precedes noun (NumN). Of 1,154 languages coded, 479 put the numeral before the noun and 608 after it.nounrelative clause17%70%Order of Relative Clause and Noun: Relative clause precedes noun (RelN). Of 824 languages coded, 141 put the relative clause before the noun and 579 after it.adjectivedegree word47%40%Order of Degree Word and Adjective: Degree word precedes adjective (DegAdj). Of 481 languages coded, 227 put the degree word before the adjective and 192 after it.
The order Tamil uses in 9 pairings of a head word and its dependent. Bars: how all languages coded for each pairing split, before or after.

Contrast Tamil with Kannada or with any other language

Uncommon values

Values that fewer than one in ten of the coded languages share with Tamil, rarest first.

Inside the Dravidian family

Tamil matches the most frequent Dravidian value on 38 of the 55 features where at least three other members of the family are coded (69%). Among the 5 Dravidian languages profiled here, that rate ranks fourth from the top.

Closest profiles

Languages that share the most coded values with Tamil; the count is out of the features both languages are coded for.

The rest of the profile

WALS codes Tamil for 69 of the 144 profile features used on this site. The remaining 61 are listed here, grouped by topic; within each group the value Tamil shares with the fewest languages comes first.

Word structure 2

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Prefixing vs. Suffixing in Inflectional MorphologyPredominantly suffixing406 of 969
ReduplicationProductive full and partial reduplication278 of 368

Nouns and pronouns 13

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Number of GendersThree26 of 257
Pronominal and Adnominal DemonstrativesDifferent inflectional features21 of 201
Systems of Gender AssignmentSemantic assignment53 of 257
Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender SystemsSex-based gender system84 of 257
Distributive NumeralsMarked by reduplication85 of 251
Ordinal NumeralsFirst, two-th, three-th110 of 321
Conjunctions and Universal QuantifiersFormally similar, involving interrogative expression43 of 116
Position of Case AffixesCase suffixes452 of 1,031
Coding of Nominal PluralityPlural suffix513 of 1,066
Distance Contrasts in DemonstrativesTwo-way contrast126 of 234
Intensifiers and Reflexive PronounsIntensifiers and reflexive pronouns are formally identical94 of 168
Indefinite PronounsInterrogative-based indefinites194 of 326
Comitatives and InstrumentalsDifferentiation213 of 322

Noun phrases 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Action Nominal ConstructionsSentential25 of 168
Nominal and Verbal ConjunctionNominal and verbal conjunction are different125 of 301
Noun Phrase ConjunctionAND-languages: 'and' and 'with' are not identical131 of 234

Verbs: tense, mood, evidence 12

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Situational PossibilityAffixes on verbs63 of 234
The ProhibitiveSpecial imperative + special negative146 of 496
Coding of EvidentialityVerbal affix or clitic131 of 418
Overlap between Situational and Epistemic Modal MarkingOverlap for either possibility or necessity66 of 207
Epistemic PossibilityAffixes on verbs84 of 240
The PerfectOther perfect80 of 222
Semantic Distinctions of EvidentialityOnly indirect evidentials166 of 418
The Past TensePast/non-past distinction marked; no remoteness distinction94 of 222
The Future TenseInflectional marking of future/non-future distinction110 of 222
The Morphological ImperativeSecond singular and second plural292 of 548
Perfective/Imperfective AspectNo grammatical marking of perfective/imperfective distinction121 of 222
Position of Tense-Aspect AffixesTense-aspect suffixes667 of 1,131

Word order 10

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Order of Adjective and NounModifying adjective precedes noun (AdjN)373 of 1,367
Position of Polar Question ParticlesNo question particle355 of 884
Order of Numeral and NounNumeral precedes noun (NumN)479 of 1,154
Order of Demonstrative and NounDemonstrative word precedes noun (DemN)542 of 1,225
Order of Object and VerbObject precedes verb (OV)712 of 1,518
Order of Degree Word and AdjectiveDegree word precedes adjective (DegAdj)227 of 481
Order of Adposition and Noun PhrasePostpositions577 of 1,184
Order of Genitive and NounGenitive-noun (GenN)685 of 1,249
Position of Interrogative Phrases in Content QuestionsInterrogative phrases not obligatorily initial615 of 902
Order of Subject and VerbSubject precedes verb (SV)1,192 of 1,496

Simple clauses 16

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Polar QuestionsInterrogative verb morphology164 of 955
Predicative PossessionLocational Possessive48 of 240
Nominal and Locational PredicationIdentical117 of 386
Negative MorphemesNegative affix395 of 1,157
Predicative AdjectivesPredicative adjectives have nonverbal encoding132 of 386
Zero Copula for Predicate NominalsZero copula is possible175 of 386
Comparative ConstructionsLocational Comparative78 of 167
Ditransitive Constructions: The Verb 'Give'Indirect-object construction189 of 378
Applicative ConstructionsNo applicative construction100 of 183
Other Roles of Applied ObjectsNo applicative construction100 of 183
Reciprocal ConstructionsDistinct from reflexive99 of 175
Periphrastic Causative ConstructionsPurposive type but no sequential type68 of 118
Antipassive ConstructionsNo antipassive146 of 194
Productivity of the Antipassive Constructionno antipassive146 of 186
Nonperiphrastic Causative ConstructionsMorphological type but no compound type254 of 310
Negative Indefinite Pronouns and Predicate NegationNegative indefinites co-occur with predicate negation170 of 206

Complex sentences 3

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Reason ClausesDeranked42 of 169
'When' ClausesDeranked51 of 174
Purpose ClausesDeranked102 of 170

Vocabulary 2

FeatureValueLanguages sharing it
Hand and ArmIdentity: a single word denotes both 'hand' and 'arm'228 of 617
Finger and HandDifferent521 of 593