Bengali Language/Expressing Obligation with Verb
Expressing obligation requires a few transformations.
Step 1
[edit | edit source]The person who is obliged to do things cannot be grammatically represented in the typical Subject Pronoun form, but in the Possessive Pronoun form in the following way :
| Person and Number |
Subject pronoun form |
Possessive pronoun form |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Person Singular | আমি aami "I" |
আমার aamaar "my" |
| 2nd Person Singular (Standard/Familiar/Neutral) |
তুমি tumi "you" |
তোমার tomaar "your" |
| 2nd Person Singular (Honorific/Formal/Polite) |
আপনি aapni "you" |
আপনার aapnaar "your" |
| 2nd Person Singular (Very familiar/Impolite) |
তুই tui "you" |
তোর tor "your" |
| 3rd Person Singular (Standard/Familiar/Neutral) |
সে she "he/she" |
তার taar "his/her" |
| 3rd Person Singular (Honorific/Formal/Polite) |
তিনি tini "he/she" |
তাঁর taa(n)r "his/her" |
| 1st Person Plural | আমরা aamraa "we" |
আমাদের aamaader "our" |
| 2nd Person Plural (Standard/Familiar/Neutral) |
তোমরা tomraa "you guys" |
তোমাদের tomaader "your" |
| 2nd Person Plural (Honorific/Formal/Polite) |
আপনারা aapnaaraa "you guys" |
আপনাদের aapnaader "your" |
| 2nd Person Plural (Very familiar/Impolite) |
তোরা toraa "you guys" |
তোদের toder "your" |
| 3rd Person Plural (Standard/Familiar/Neutral) |
তারা taaraa "they" |
তাদের taader "their" |
| 3rd Person Plural (Honorific/Formal/Polite) |
তাঁরা taa(n)raa "they" |
তাঁদের taa(n)der "their" |
Step 2
[edit | edit source]Take the infinitive form of the verb denoting the activity that one is obligated to do. Add the modal word উচিত uchit right after it, like in the following table :
| Infinitive | Obligation expression (person/number independent) |
|---|---|
| বলা bawlaa "to say" |
বলা উচিত bawlaa uchit "must say" |
| করা kawraa "to do"" |
করা উচিত kawraa uchit "must do" |
| খাওয়া khaawaa "to eat"" |
খাওয়া উচিত khaawaa uchit "must eat" |
The word উচিত uchit is a modal word which means "obligation" or "must". Note that this obligation expression is person and number independent. It doesn't change according to who is doing something or how many people are doing something.
Step 3
[edit | edit source]Now combine the possessive form and the obligation expression to make a full obligation statement, like in the following
| Possessive pronoun form |
Obligation expression |
Full obligation statement (without object) |
|---|---|---|
| আমার aamaar "my" |
বলা উচিত bawlaa uchit "must say" |
আমার বলা উচিত aamaar bawlaa uchit "I must say" |
| তোমার tomaar "your"" |
করা উচিত kawraa uchit "must do" |
তোমার করা উচিত tomaar kawraa uchit "You must do" |
| তার taar "his/her"" |
খাওয়া উচিত khaawaa uchit "must eat" |
তার খাওয়া উচিত taar khaawaa uchit "You must eat" |