Marathi grammar, plainly explained
Marathi grammar uses three grammatical genders and postpositions; trace their work in Marathi verb-final sentences rather than memorising a list.
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Three genders shape everything: masculine (मुलगा — boy), feminine (मुलगी — girl), neuter (मूल — child, घर — house). Adjectives triple — चांगला/चांगली/चांगलं — and verbs triple too. Gender is not decoration; it is Marathi's skeleton.
Pronouns simplify persons: मी (I), तू (you-informal), तुम्ही (you-formal), तो/ती/ते (he/she/it), आम्ही (we). आम्ही vs आपण (exclusive vs inclusive we) — Marathi distinguishes; English doesn't. Choose your we wisely.
Postpositions replace prepositions: -ला (to), -ने (by/with-instrument), -शी (with-person), -मध्ये (in). मुंबईला जा (go to Mumbai), चमच्याने खा (eat with a spoon). Suffixes after nouns — think backwards from English.
Verbs anchor sentences last: मी भात खातो (I rice eat), ती शाळेत जाते (she to-school goes). Present (खातो), past (खाल्लं), future (खाईन) — tense on verbs, time words framing. Verb-final: the one rule that never breaks.
Words and phrases for this topic
| English | Marathi | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Boy (masculine) | मुलगा | mulagaa |
| Girl (feminine) | मुलगी | mulagi |
| Child (neuter) | मूल | mool |
| You (informal) | तू | tu |
| We (exclusive) | आम्ही | aamhi |
| We (inclusive) | आपण | aapan |
| To Mumbai (-ला) | मुंबईला | mumbaila |
| In / inside | मध्ये | madhye |
| With (a person) | शी | shi |
| By / with (instrument) | ने | ne |
| I eat rice (m speaker) | मी भात खातो | mi bhaat khaato |
| I did it | मी केलं | mi kelan |
| I will do it | मी करीन | mi kareen |
Language, culture, and common traps
Practice: recall, then use
Use this quick recall drill for Marathi grammar, plainly explained. Hide the script and romanisation columns; say the Marathi form for each cue before revealing its row, then check spelling and sound. The phrase-table speaker buttons provide a model when a matching browser voice is available.
- Boy (masculine)
- To Mumbai (-ला)
- I will do it
Transfer practice. Return to one complete example and mark the words that carry the relationship between its parts. Change only one word, read the new version aloud, and check whether the meaning still follows. This small contrast is safer than memorising a rule without seeing the language used in context. Start from मुलगा (mulagaa) and decide whether it fits the situation before using it elsewhere.
Context check. For Marathi grammar, plainly explained, “I will do it” belongs to a particular setting. A common mistake is to treat an English gloss as universal; read the language-specific note above and ask a fluent speaker when local usage differs.
Check your recall: answer key
- मुलगा mulagaa — Boy (masculine)
- मुंबईला mumbaila — To Mumbai (-ला)
- मी करीन mi kareen — I will do it
Questions learners ask
Masculine, feminine, neuter — nouns, adjectives AND verbs agree. मोठा/मोठी/मोठं (big), जातो/जाते/जातं (go). Triples everywhere; learn them as sets.
ला marks direction (मुंबईला — to Mumbai), ने marks doers (रामने केलं — Ram did), शी/शी means with. Postpositions follow nouns — learn each with ten examples.
Subject-Object-Verb: मी भात खातो (I rice eat). Verb last, always. English order is the classic beginner error.