36 A GRAMMAR OF THE
The exceptions, to this rule, are that in some few cases of nouns ending
in ഇ, the plural is formed by adding മാർ to the nominative singular: as,
| നമ്പൂരി, | Malabar Brahmin. | നമ്പൂരിമാർ. |
| പത്നി, | Wife. | പത്നിമാർ. |
Nouns ending in ഉ, sometimes form their plural by adding ക്കന്മാർ
to the nominative singular; as,
| ഗുരു, | Teacher. | ഗുരുക്കന്മാർ. |
| പ്രഭു, | Prince. | പ്രഭുക്കന്മാർ. |
6th. Nouns ending in ൽ, and ൾ, form their plural by adding കൾ,
or ഉകൾ; as,
| തൊൽ, | Leather. | തൊലുകൾ. |
| വാൾ, | Sword. | വാളകൾ, or വാളുകൾ. |
The exceptions are, that some nouns ending in ൽ, form their plural
by dropping the ൽ, and adding ങ്ങൾ; as,
പൈതൽ, Child. പൈതങ്ങൾ.
7th. Nouns ending in ൻ, form their plural by dropping ൻ, and ad-
ding ർ, or ന്മാർ; thus,
| ദൂതൻ, | Messenger. | ദൂതർ. |
| ഭൃത്യൻ, | Servant. | ഭൃത്യന്മാർ. |
| കള്ളൻ, | Thief, Liar. | കള്ളന്മാർ. |
The exceptions to this rule are that, in a few cases, ഉകൾ is added
to the nominative singular; as,
| മാൻ, | Deer. | മാനുകൾ. |
| പെൻ, | Louse. | പെനുകൾ. |
It is to be observed with respect to neuter nouns that, in very nume-
rous instances, the plural form is not used, except in poetry. The noun
being qualified by some other word in the sentence; as,
പത്ത മാൻ വന്നു. Ten Deer came.
CASES OF NOUNS.
53. Malayalim nouns have eight cases, viz. the Nominative, Genitive,
Dative, Accusative and four Ablatives13. To these may added the
13 It is usual among Native teachers of the Indian languages, to clas-
sify the cases of nouns by numbers; which, with very few exceptions,
are arranged as follow;
