— 30 —
Formerly there were none; but now the undermentioned
signs are to be found in printed Malayálam books.
These should be used in writing also.
| , Comma.
; Semicolon. : Colon. . Full Stop. ? Note of Interrogation. ! Note of Exclamation. |
— Dash.
( ) Brackets. “ ” Marks of Quotation. + Plus. = Equals.
|
II. ETYMOILOGY.
CLASSIFICATION.
54. How many parts of speech are there?
There are three parts of speech. The Noun, the Verb,
and the Indeclinable.
55. What is a noun?
That part of speech which expresses a name is a Noun.
Ex: Ráman, manushyan (= a man), strí (= a woman), vastu
(= a thing), buddhi (= sense), déšam (= hamlet), uṇma
(= existence, truth), kar̥appu (= blackness).
56. What is a verb?
That part of speech which expresses doing, being or
suffering is a Verb.
Ex: cheyyunnu (= I do), áyi (= I became), varum (= it will
come), peṭuván (= about to suffer), áka (= to bocome), varikil
(=if it comes), peṭunnatu (= suffering or that which suffers).
