On the other hand he has endeavored to condense the matter presented into the shortest possible space. What is obvious has been omitted, many secondary words are but slightly noticed and a liberal use has been made of abbreviations. By these means it is possible to publish the whole work in one portable volume; smaller than Rottler's Tamil or Reeve's Canarese Dictionary. 11. The student may at the beginning be embarassed by some of the abbreviations adopted (for instance √ for root; + plus as in അവൻ which is composed of അ+അൻ; the figures (2) (3) which point to that signification of the parent word from which the derivative is deducible, as അകക്കരൾ (3) to അകം 3., tbe mind). Also the absence of the common signs s., adj. may startle him at first sight. They have been deliberately abandoned. What, for instance, is the use of calling അചരം an adj., which indeed it is in Sanscrit, when the example subjoined ചരാചരങ്ങൾ shows that in Malayalam it is used as a noun? Or why should അകൃതം be called an adj. and അകൃത്യം a subst., whilst in S. both are equally adjectives and in Malayalam strictly speaking both are nouns, though poetical usage may treat them more or less as adjectives. Can the indefinite Numerals, such as അനേകം അസാരം be called adjectives, or have composition-cases like അകത്തേ a claim to that name? It seems to be of more moment to show by examples, how the words are applied, than to pretend to classify them by the utterly incongruous nomenclature of the grammar of European languages. Where doubts might arise, the gender, which in most cases is recognizable by the termination, will be found marked, as അമ്പലവാസി m. — സിനി f. അഴകൻ m. അഴകി f. But since Malayalam grammar acknowledges only the distinctions of Nouns, Verbs and Indeclinables, the Verb seems to be the only part of speech which requires specifying marks. This has been amply done by the abbreviations a. v.=active verb, n.v.=neuter verb, CV.=Causal Verb, den V.= denominative Verb, def V.=defective Verb, (for instance ഉള്ളു.), adj. V.= adjectival Verb (as അരു, ഇള), aux V.=auxiliary Verb (f.i. ഇടുക), as also by marking its parts (past, 1st and 2nd fut., inf., conditional, adj. and adv. participle, VN.= Verbal Noun, etc.)
