Bengali grammar

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Bengali word order, verbs, pronouns and the mistakes everyone makes — explained, not listed.

1. The verb goes last

Bengali is subject–object–verb: আমি ভাত খাই (ami bhat khai) — मैं चावल खाता हूँ — “I eat rice (word-for-word: I · rice · eat)”. Learn this once and every sentence parses.

2. No grammatical gender

Unlike Hindi, adjectives never change: the word for “good” stays the same for boys, girls and books. One less thing to memorise.

3. Pronouns

English	Hindi	Bengali	Say it
I	मैं	আমি	ami
we	हम	আমরা	amra
you (formal)	आप	আপনি	apni
you (familiar)	तुम	তুমি	tumi
you (intimate)	तू	তুই	tui
	Close friends, children, God — never strangers
he / she	वह	সে	she
	One word for both — no he/she split
this person (formal)	ये	ইনি	ini
that person (formal)	वे	উনি	uni
they	वे	তারা	tara
this (thing)	यह	এটা	eṭa
that (thing)	वह	ওটা	oṭa
what	क्या	কি	ki
who	कौन	কে	ke
where	कहाँ	কোথায়	kothay
when	कब	কখন	kokhon
why	क्यों	কেন	kæno
how	कैसे	কেমন / কীভাবে	kæmon / kibhabe
	কেমন = how is X; কীভাবে = how to do X
how much / how many	कितना	কত	koto
which	कौन-सा	কোন	kon

4. Present tense — one full verb

“To eat” (খাওয়া) in the present. Notice আপনি/তুমি/তুই: formal, familiar and intimate forms differ — the verb tells you the relationship.

Who		Verb	Say it
I	আমি	খাই	khai
you (intimate)	তুই	খাস	khas
you (familiar)	তুমি	খাও	khao
you (formal) / he / she	আপনি / সে	খান / খায়	khan / khay
we	আমরা	খাই	khai
you all (familiar)	তোমরা	খাও	khao
they	তারা	খায়	khay

5. Past and future (first steps)

English	Hindi	Bengali	Say it
I ate	मैंने खाया	আমি খেলাম	ami khelam
I went	मैं गया	আমি গেলাম	ami gelam
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	আমি খাবো	ami khabo
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	আমি যাবো	ami jabo

6. Negation is one word

Put না (na) after a present-tense verb: আমি জানি না (ami jani na) — I don't know. Past tense tucks it inside: খাইনি (khaini) — didn't eat.

7. Postpositions (not prepositions)

Meaning	Hindi	Bengali	Example
in / at	में	-এ / -তে	বাড়িতে (baṛite) — at home
to	को	-কে	আমাকে দিন (amake din) — give (to) me
from	से	থেকে	ঢাকা থেকে (Dhaka theke) — from Dhaka
with (using)	से	দিয়ে	চামচ দিয়ে (chamoch diye) — with a spoon
for	के लिए	জন্য	আপনার জন্য (apnar jonno) — for you
with (a person)	के साथ	সাথে	বন্ধুর সাথে (bondhur shathe) — with a friend

8. Counting words

Things take টা, people take জন:

Bengali	Hindi	Note
একটা বই (ekṭa boi)	एक किताब	one book — টা counts things
দুটো আম (duṭo am)	दो आम	two mangoes — দুই + টো contracts to দুটো
তিনজন লোক (tinjon lok)	तीन लोग	three people — জন counts people

The sentence ladder

Do not learn grammar as a list of rules. Learn it as a ladder with seven rungs, where every rung is something you can say out loud today.

Say what you are. Simple I-sentences with no verb change.
Say what you want. The same pattern with a noun from the common words list.
Say what you do. The present-tense table above, first person only.
Say what someone else does. The same table, third person — this is where the endings move.
Say what happened. Past tense, five sentences about yesterday.
Say what will happen. Future tense, five sentences about tomorrow.
Say what does not happen. Negative forms of five sentences you have already built.

Past and future, in five sentences each

English	Hindi	Bengali	Say it
I ate	मैंने खाया	আমি খেলাম	ami khelam
I went	मैं गया	আমি গেলাম	ami gelam
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	আমি খাবো	ami khabo
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	আমি যাবো	ami jabo

Small words, big sentences

Two groups of small words turn correct sentences into natural ones: the little words that mean in, at or to, and the words used when counting things.

English	Hindi	Bengali	Say it
in / at	में	-এ / -তে	-e / -te
to	को	-কে	-ke
from	से	থেকে	theke
with (using)	से	দিয়ে	diye
for	के लिए	জন্য	jonno
with (a person)	के साथ	সাথে	shathe

And the counting words:

English	Hindi	Bengali	Say it
one book	एक किताब	একটা বই	ekṭa boi
	one book — টা counts things
two mangoes	दो आम	দুটো আম	duṭo am
	two mangoes — দুই + টো contracts to দুটো
three people	तीन लोग	তিনজন লোক	tinjon lok
	three people — জন counts people

The grammar rule that matters most. Notice আপনি/তুমি/তুই: formal, familiar and intimate forms differ — the verb tells you the relationship. Learn the pattern, then change one thing at a time — verb, then person, then tense. Learners who change everything at once produce sentences they cannot debug.

More guides in this course

Beginner's guide — BengaliHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
Alphabet, letter by letter — BengaliEvery letter with the sound it makes.
Phrases for travel — BengaliStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
Numbers 1 to 100 — BengaliCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
Most common words — BengaliThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
Common mistakes — BengaliThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
How to read the script — BengaliA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
vs Hindi — BengaliWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
Practise speaking alone — BengaliShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.