[2] Various grammatical aspects of Kannada include tatsama–tadbhava, vibhakti pratyaya, kāla (tense forms), linga (gender forms), sandhi, samāsa, chandassu, alańkāra; and different poetrical metres such as vritta, tripadi, kanda (also called, choupadi or chaturpadi), shatpadi, sāngatya and others.
[clarification needed] The name given for a pure, true letter is akshara, akkara or varna.
Each letter has its own form (ākāra) and sound (shabda); providing the visible and audible representations, respectively.
[4] Each sound has its own distinct letter, and therefore every word is pronounced exactly as it is spelt; so the ear is a sufficient guide.
After the exact sounds of the letters have been once gained, every word can be pronounced with perfect accuracy.
However, in modern Kannada literature only three gender forms are used in practice: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
This case is formed periphrastically by combining the genitive case of the noun supposedly in the ablative with the instrumental-case form of the noun ದೆಸೆ dese, meaning 'cause, vicinity, place, point'.
However, this 'ablative' form is not commonly used colloquially, and exists only for propriety—it is not a true case, serving only to provide a parallel to the Sanskrit ablative.
Note that the nominative-case and accusative-case forms of a noun are often in the colloquial dialect substituted by the crude base.
[10] In declension, the plural form of a masculine or feminine noun is made by suffixing 'ಅರ್' (ar) to the crude base, and then the case ending, and the plural form of a neuter noun is made by suffixing ಗಳ್ (gaḷ) to the crude base, and then the case ending.
However, nouns of relationship, such as 'mother', 'great-grandfather', 'son-in-law', and 'younger brother', which are always masculine or feminine, have the plural number marker ಅಂದಿರ್ (aṃdir).
[7] Examples:[clarification needed] Kannada has four declensions (ವಿಭಕ್ತಿ ಪರಿಣಾಮ), or groups of case endings.
[7] The first declension includes all masculine and feminine nouns that end in ಅ -a; the second declension includes all neuter nouns that end in ಅ -a; the third declension includes all nouns of all genders that end in ಇ -i, ಈ -ī, ಎ -e, ಏ -ē, or ಐ -ai; the fourth declension includes all nouns of all genders that end in ಉ -u, ಊ -ō, ಋ -ṛ, ಓ -ō, or ಔ -au.
Sandhi (ವಿಭಕ್ತಿಪರಿಣಾಮದ ಸಂಧಿ) is the mutation of the final or initial letters of a word for euphony.
In the third declension, a euphonic 'ಯ್' ('yatva') must be inserted after the noun before a plural marker or case ending that begins with a vowel.
[7][10] In the fourth declension, a euphonic 'ವ್' ('vatva') must be inserted after the noun before a plural marker or case ending that begins with a vowel.
However, when a Kannada noun ends in a 'ಉ' that was already added for euphony at some original stage, that final vowel is eliminated when the noun is followed by a plural marker or case ending that begins with a vowel.
However, the adjectives ಆ ā ('that') and ಒಂದು oṃdu ('one') can be used as the definite and the indefinite article, respectively.
ಸುಂದರವಾದsundaravādaಹೆಂಗಸುhengasuಸುಂದರವಾದ ಹೆಂಗಸುsundaravāda hengasua beautiful womanಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕaitihāsikaದಿನdinaಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ದಿನaitihāsika dinaa historic dayKannada lacks true predicate adjectives.
[7] ಬರೆ (bare) (crude verb form; 'write') → ಬರೆಯ್ (barey)+ ಅಲ್ (-al) (infinitive form suffix) + ಪಟ್ಟಿತು (paṭṭitu) (past passive third person singular neuter suffix) = ಬರೆಯಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿತು (bareyalpaṭṭitu)(past passive third person neuter form of 'ಬರೆ'; 'it was written') When any other form of the verb ends with the vowel 'ಇ' ('itva') or with the vowel 'ಎ' ('etva'), eliminate that final vowel if a suffix that begins with a vowel follows.
Kannada does not have a gerund, but nouns that express the same idea can be formed by suffixing the third-person neuter pronoun to the present adjectival participle.
[7][11] ಮಾಡುmāḍu“do, make”→ ಮಾಡಿmāḍi“having done, having made”ಮಾಡು → ಮಾಡಿmāḍu {} māḍi{“do, make”} {} {“having done, having made”}ಬರೆbare“write”→ ಬರೆದುbaredu“having written”ಬರೆ → ಬರೆದುbare {} baredu“write” {} {“having written”}There are many oddly formed past adverbial participles, some of them irregular, and some of them following old formations, and others changed for euphony.
[7] ಮಾಡುmāḍu“do, make”→ ಮಾಡಿದmāḍida“who/which/that does, who/which/that made”ಮಾಡು → ಮಾಡಿದmāḍu {} māḍida{“do, make”} {} {“who/which/that does, who/which/that made”}ಬರೆbare“write”→ ಬರೆದbareda“who/which/that wrote”ಬರೆ → ಬರೆದbare {} bareda“write” {} {“who/which/that wrote”}Irregular past adjectival participles include: 'ಆದ' (āda), from crude verb root 'ಆಗು' (āgu, to be/become); 'ಪೋದ' (pōda), from crude verb root 'ಪೋಗು' (pōgu, to go); and 'ಹೋದ' (hōda), from crude verb root 'ಹೋಗು' (hōgu, to go).
[11] To conjugate verbs in their present-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the present adverbial participle.
To conjugate verbs in their past-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the past adjectival participle, except for the third person neuter singular suffix, which is attached to the past adverbial participle.
To conjugate verbs in their future-tense affirmative form, attach the following suffixes to the present-future adjectival participle.
The contingent-future form expresses the idea that the action of a verb may perhaps occur in the future.
These are the suffixes for the contingent-future form, suffixed to the past adverbial participle for verbs ending in 'ಉ' or the past adjectival participle for verbs ending in 'ಎ' or 'ಇ': The contingent-future form does not have irregular formations.
However, in Kannada, due to its highly inflected nature, a sentence's word order may be freely changed for style or emphasis.
The subject consists of the central topic of the sentence, declined to the nominative case, while the predicate consists of a verb, often with an object (which formally should be in the accusative case), or may have no verb and object at all but rather simply have another noun declined in the nominative case, known as the predicate nominative, where an equivalency statement is intended.