Tamil verb tense and subject–verb agreement: a simple guide

Use time words as your first clue

Time words often reveal the tense a sentence needs. நேற்று (yesterday) usually points to a past form, இன்று (today) often introduces a present action, and நாளை (tomorrow) points to a future form.

For example, அவன் நேற்று பள்ளிக்கு செல்கிறான் mixes a past-time word with a present-tense verb. A clearer written form is அவன் நேற்று பள்ளிக்குச் சென்றான்.

Match the subject and the verb

The subject determines the verb ending. நான் takes first-person forms such as சென்றேன், while அவன் takes a third-person masculine form such as சென்றான். நீ and நீங்கள் also need different forms, and அவர்கள் commonly takes the plural or respectful form சென்றார்கள்.

• நான் நேற்று சென்றேன். — I went yesterday.
• அவன் நேற்று சென்றான். — He went yesterday.
• அவர்கள் நேற்று சென்றார்கள். — They went yesterday.

Check tense and agreement together

It is possible for a verb to agree with the subject but still use the wrong tense. It is also possible to choose the right tense but the wrong person ending. Review both questions: when did the action happen, and who performed it?

Respectful and plural subjects deserve special attention. அவர்கள் வந்தான் is not a suitable match; அவர்கள் வந்தார்கள் keeps the subject and verb aligned.

Improve a sentence without changing its meaning

When revising, change only what the sentence requires. Keep the original subject, object, and intended time unless the writer clearly meant something else. This is especially important when a sentence contains a case marker or a compound object.

Paste your sentence into the Tamil sentence correction tool to review tense, agreement, and word order together. If the text is conversational, the spoken-to-formal Tamil tool can help with register as well.