Tenses
Rohingya distinguishes 3 tenses and 4 aspects, as shown in the examples below. In these tenses, the helping verb félai shows perfect action (comparable to English "has/have") and félaat shows perfect continuous action (compare English "has/have been"). The helping verb táki and táikki are comparable to English "be" and "been".
Verb-form-suffix (basic and/or helping verb) indicate both person and tense. The suffixes ~ir, ~yi, ~lám, ~youm are used for the first person, the suffixes ~or, ~yó, ~lá, ~bá for the 2nd person, and the suffixes ~ar, ~ye, ~l, ~bou for the 3rd person.
Similarly ~ir, ~or, ~ar indicate present continuous tense, ~yi, ~yó, ~ye present perfect tense, ~lám, ~lá, ~l past tense, and ~youm, ~bá, ~bou future tense.
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1st person |
2nd person |
3rd person |
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present |
simple present |
Añí hái. I eat. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hóo. hós. You eat. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará há. He/She/They eats/eats/eat. |
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present progressive |
Añí háir. I am eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hóor. hóor. You are eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hár. He/She/They is/is/are eating. Ite/Ibá/Itará hái boi. He/She/They is/is/are eating. |
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perfect |
Añí hái félaiyi. I have eaten. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái félaiyó. félaiyós. You have eaten. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaiye. He/She/They has/has/have eaten. |
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perfect continuous |
Añí hái félair. I have been eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái féloor. féloor. You have been eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaar. He/She/They has/has/have been eating. |
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Past |
near past |
Añí háiyi. I ate. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui háiyo. háiyós. You ate. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará háaiye. He/She/They ate. |
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far past |
Añí háailam. I ate. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui háailá. háailí. You ate. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará háail. He/She/They ate. |
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past progressive |
Añí háat táikkilám. I was eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui háat háat táikkilá. táikkilí. You were eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará háat táikkil. He/She/They was/was/were eating. |
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perfect |
Añí hái félailám. I had eaten. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái félailá. félailí. You had eaten. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félail. He/She/They had eaten. |
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perfect continuous |
Añí hái félaat táikkilám. I had been eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái félaat félaat táikkilá. táikkilí. You had been eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaat táikkil. He/She/They had been eating. |
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Future |
simple future |
Añí háiyoum. I will eat. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui háiba. háibí. You will eat. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará háibou. He/She/They will eat. |
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future progressive |
Añí háat tákiyoum. I will be eating. Añí háiyoum boi. I will be eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui háat háat tákibá. tákibí. You will be eating. Tuñí/Oñne Tui háiba háibi goi. goi. You will be eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará háat tákibou. He/She/They will be eating. Ite/Ibá/Itará háibou goi. He/She/They will be eating. |
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perfect |
Añí hái félaiyoum. I will have eaten. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái félaibá. félaibí. You will have eaten. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaibou. He/She/They will has/has/have eaten. |
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perfect continuous |
Añí hái félaat tákiyoum. I will have been eating. |
Tuñí/Oñne Tui hái hái félaat félaat tákibá. tákibí. You will have been eating. |
Ite/Ibá/Itará hái félaat tákibou. He/She/They will has/has/have been eating. |
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Inflection for person
Rohingya verbs indicate person by suffixes.
Present Tense
lek = write (command to you sg.)
lekí = I/we write.
lekó = write (command to you pl.)
lekós = You write (sg./pl.).
leké = He/she/they write(s).
Present Continuous Tense
lekír = I/we am/are writing.
lekór = You (sg./pl.) are writing.
lekér = He/she/they is/are writing.
Present Perfect Tense
lekífélaiyi = I/we have written.
lekífélaiyo = You (sg./pl.) have written.
lekífélaiyós = You (sg.) have written. (used to very closed people)
lekífélaiye = He/she/they has/have written.
Future Tense
lekíyóum = I/we will write.
lekíbá = You (sg./pl.) will write.
lekíbi = You (sg.) will write. (used to very closed people)
lekíbóu = He/she/they will write.
Past Tense (Immediate/near past)
leikkí = I/we wrote.
leikkó = You (sg./pl.) wrote.
leikkós = You (sg.) wrote. (used to very closed people)
leikké = He/she/they wrote.
Past Tense (Remote past)
leikkílám = I/we wrote long ago.
leikkílá = You (sg./pl.) wrote long ago.
leikkílí = You (sg.) wrote long ago. (used to very closed people)
leikkíl = He/she/they wrote long ago.
Past Tense (If possibility)
lekítám = I/we would have written.
lekítá = You (sg./pl.) would have written.
lekítí = You (sg.) would have written. (used to very closed people)
lekítóu = He/she/they would have written.
Forming Noun, Doer, Tool, Action
lekóon = act of writing.
e.g. Debalor uore lekóon gom noó. Writing on wall is not good.
lekóya = writer.
e.g. Itará ttu lekóya bicí. They-have many writers.
lekóni = thing with which you write.
e.g. Añártú honó lekóni nái. I-have no any writing-thing (i.e. pen, pencil)
lekát = in the action of writing.
e.g. Tui lekát asós. You are busy-in-writing.
Case
Examples of the case inflection are given below, using the singular forms of the Rohingya term for "hóliba (tailor)" which belongs to Rohingya's first declension class.
- hólibaye (nominative) "[the] hóliba" [as a subject] (e.g. hólibaye tíai táikke éçe – the tailor is standing there)
- hólibar (genitive) "[the] hóliba's / [of the] hóliba" (e.g. hólibar nam Ahmed – the tailor's name is Ahmed)
- hóliballa (dative) "[to/for the] hóliba" [as an indirect object] (e.g. hóliballa hádiya ekkán diyí – I gave a present for the tailor)
- hólibare (accusative) "[the] hóliba" [as a direct object] (e.g. Añí hólibare deikkí – I saw the tailor)
- hólibaloi (ablative) "[by/with/from/in the] hóliba" [in various uses] (e.g. Añí hólibaloi duan ot giyí – I went to the shop with the tailor).'
- óu hóliba / hóliba ya (vocative) "[you] the hóliba" [addressing the object] (e.g. "cúkuria tuáñre, óu hóliba (sáb)" – thank you, tailor).
