Telugu Verbs Grammar Verbs bring life to Telugu sentences.
Introduction
In this comprehensive Telugu verbs lesson, you will learn how to identify verb roots, conjugate for person and number, and use the most common verbs in everyday speech
Telugu verbs are agglutinative — they add endings for tense, person, gender and respect. Once you learn a few patterns, you can conjugate hundreds of verbs. This lesson focuses on the present tense first, then introduces patterns for other tenses
Following Nouns and Pronouns, this page is the heart of grammar learning. It connects directly to Tenses (page 55) and Sentence Structure
Verb Roots & Common Verbs Root + Ending = Conjugated verb
వచ్చు (vachchu) — to come నేను వస్తున్నాను (I am coming)
తిను (tinu) — to eat మీరు తింటారు
చదువు (chaduvu) — to read/study అతడు చదువుతున్నాడు
వెళ్లు (veḷḷu) — to go ఆమె వెళ్తుంది
చేయు (chēyu) — to do నువ్వు చేస్తున్నావు
Present Tense Conjugation Pattern For most verbs: Root + t + person ending
నేను: -తున్నాను (tunnānu) మేము: -తున్నాం (tunnāṁ) నువ్వు: -తున్నావు (tunnāvu) మీరు: -తున్నారు (tunnāru) అతడు: -తున్నాడు (tunnāḍu) ఆమె: -తుంది (tundi) వారు: -తున్నారు (tunnāru) Pronunciation Tips The “tu” in present tense is important. Listen for the nasal “ṁ” in plural “tunnāṁ”. Verbs ending in “u” often drop the final “u” before adding endings
Vocabulary & Usage
⚠️ Pronunciation Errors
- Pronouncing "vastunnānu" without proper nasalization. Using "tundi" for males (only for females/neuter). Forgetting the long ā in "tunnāru". Confusing "veḷḷu" root with spoken "vellu". Adding extra vowels in roots. Native Speaker Tip 💡 Many verbs have two forms: formal written and spoken colloquial. Start with spoken forms like "vastunnānu" for daily use. The written form is "vastunnānu" too but context differs.
🪴 Cultural Notes
🪴 Cultural Notes
- Verb choice can show respect. Using formal endings with elders demonstrates good upbringing. In business or formal settings, always use "mīru" + formal verb endings.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- Using wrong person ending (e.g. "tundi" for "he"). Not matching gender in 3rd person singular. Using English verb order instead of Telugu. Forgetting the "tu" present marker. Using infinitive form instead of conjugated verb. 5 Practice Exercises Conjugate "tinu" (eat) for all persons. Create 5 sentences using different verbs. Translate "She is going to school". Identify root of 8 common verbs. Practice spoken vs written verb forms. 5 Quiz Questions "I am coming" in Telugu? Answer: నేను వస్తున్నాను
- Correct ending for “mīru”? Answer: తున్నారు
- Verb for “to go”? Answer: వెళ్లు
- “She is reading” correct? Answer: ఆమె చదువుతుంది
- Root of “chaduvutunnāḍu”? Answer: చదువు
- 5 FAQs How many verb tenses are there? Present, past, future (and aspects like continuous).
- Do all verbs follow the same pattern? Most do, but there are irregular verbs.
- Is Telugu verb conjugation hard? It follows clear rules once you memorize endings.
- Can I use English verbs? Sometimes in informal speech, but better to learn Telugu.
- How do I say future tense? See page 55: Tenses.
- Related Lessons Card 1: Grammar: Pronouns Card 2: Grammar: Nouns Card 3: Grammar: Tenses Card 4: Grammar: Sentence Structure Card 5: Grammar: Adjectives
- Previous Lesson: Page 52: Grammar – Nouns Next Lesson: Page 54: Grammar – Adjectives
- 📥 PDF Download Suggestion: Get the “Telugu Verbs Conjugation Chart” PDF with 50 verbs. Download PDF
- Call to Action: Start conjugating correctly today. Access our verb trainer tool.