A2 Verb Tenses 1 min read سهل

Past Tense Suffix (-aa- / -ina-)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use the -aa- or -ina- suffix to transform a verb root into the past tense, indicating completed actions.

  • Add -aa- to most verb roots for the past tense: 'choodu' (watch) becomes 'choosaanu' (I watched).
  • Use -ina- for specific verb classes or when connecting to nouns: 'tinnaanu' (I ate).
  • The suffix changes based on the subject pronoun to ensure agreement.
Verb Root + (aa/ina) + Person Suffix = Past Tense Verb

Past Tense Conjugation (Verb: Choodu - To See)

Pronoun Root Suffix Full Form
Nenu (I)
choo
saanu
choosaanu
Nuvvu (You)
choo
saavu
choosaavu
Atanu (He)
choo
saadu
choosaadu
Aame (She)
choo
sindi
choosindi
Adi (It)
choo
sindi
choosindi
Manamu (We)
choo
saamu
choosaamu
Meeru (You/Pl)
choo
saaru
choosaaru
Vaaru (They)
choo
saaru
choosaaru

Meanings

These suffixes are the primary markers for the simple past tense in Telugu, denoting actions that have been completed.

1

Completed Action

An action that started and finished in the past.

“నేను వెళ్ళాను (I went)”

“అతను చూశాడు (He watched)”

2

Resultative State

Used when the action has a lasting effect.

“ఆమె రాసింది (She wrote)”

“వాళ్ళు వచ్చారు (They came)”

Reference Table

Reference table for Past Tense Suffix (-aa- / -ina-)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Root + aa/ina + Suffix
tinnaanu
Negative
Infinitive + ledu
tinadam ledu
Question
Affirmative + aa
tinnaara?
Short Answer (Yes)
Avunu
Avunu, tinnaanu
Short Answer (No)
Kaadu
Kaadu, tinaledu
Past Continuous
Verb + thoo + undi
thintoo undi

طيف الرسمية

رسمي
నేను భుజించాను (Nenu bhujinchaanu)

నేను భుజించాను (Nenu bhujinchaanu) (Eating)

محايد
నేను తిన్నాను (Nenu tinnaanu)

నేను తిన్నాను (Nenu tinnaanu) (Eating)

غير رسمي
నేను తినేశాను (Nenu tinesaanu)

నేను తినేశాను (Nenu tinesaanu) (Eating)

عامية
తినేశా (Tinesaa)

తినేశా (Tinesaa) (Eating)

Past Tense Construction

Past Tense

Root

  • choo see

Suffix

  • aa past marker

Ending

  • nu I
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أمثلة حسب المستوى

1

నేను తిన్నాను

I ate

2

అతను వెళ్ళాడు

He went

3

మేము చూశాము

We watched

4

నువ్వు వచ్చావు

You came

1

నేను నిన్న సినిమా చూశాను

I watched a movie yesterday

2

ఆమె పుస్తకం చదివింది

She read a book

3

వాళ్ళు పని చేశారు

They did the work

4

నువ్వు ఎందుకు వెళ్ళావు?

Why did you go?

1

నేను ఆ పనిని పూర్తి చేశాను

I completed that work

2

అతను నాకు ఫోన్ చేశాడు

He called me

3

మేము అక్కడ చాలా సేపు ఉన్నాము

We stayed there for a long time

4

ఆమె పాట పాడింది

She sang a song

1

నిన్న జరిగిన సమావేశంలో నేను పాల్గొన్నాను

I participated in the meeting that happened yesterday

2

అతను చెప్పిన విషయాన్ని నేను నమ్మాను

I believed what he said

3

మేము అనుకున్న దానికంటే త్వరగా వచ్చాము

We came earlier than we thought

4

ఆమె తన నిర్ణయాన్ని మార్చుకుంది

She changed her decision

1

అతను ఆ సమస్యను సులభంగా పరిష్కరించాడు

He solved that problem easily

2

మేము ఆ చారిత్రక ప్రదేశాన్ని సందర్శించాము

We visited that historical place

3

ఆమె తన ప్రసంగంలో అనేక విషయాలను ప్రస్తావించింది

She mentioned many things in her speech

4

వాళ్ళు తమ లక్ష్యాన్ని సాధించారు

They achieved their goal

1

ఆయన తన జీవితకాలంలో ఎన్నో అద్భుతాలను సృష్టించారు

He created many wonders in his lifetime

2

ఈ మార్పులు సమాజంపై తీవ్ర ప్రభావాన్ని చూపాయి

These changes showed a severe impact on society

3

ఆమె తన వాదనను సమర్థించుకుంది

She defended her argument

4

మేము ఆ సంప్రదాయాన్ని గౌరవించాము

We respected that tradition

سهل الخلط

Past Tense Suffix (-aa- / -ina-) مقابل Habitual Past

Learners confuse 'I did' with 'I used to do'.

Past Tense Suffix (-aa- / -ina-) مقابل Present Perfect

Learners use past tense for recent events that still matter.

Past Tense Suffix (-aa- / -ina-) مقابل Infinitive

Using the dictionary form as the past tense.

أخطاء شائعة

✗

choodu-nu

✓

choosaanu

Missing the past tense marker.
✗

vellu-aa-nu

✓

vellanu

Incorrect root modification.
✗

tin-aa-nu

✓

tinnaanu

Incorrect suffix choice.
✗

vach-aa-nu

✓

vachaanu

Phonetic error.
✗

choosindi

✓

choosaanu

Wrong person agreement.
✗

tinna-ledu

✓

tinaledu

Incorrect negative formation.
✗

vellu-sindi

✓

vellindi

Root error.
✗

chesi-aa-nu

✓

chesaanu

Redundant suffixing.
✗

vachinaanu

✓

vachaanu

Wrong marker for this verb.
✗

chadhivina-nu

✓

chadhivaanu

Incorrect stem.
✗

sadhinchina-sindi

✓

sadhinchindi

Double suffixing.
✗

prastavinchina-nu

✓

prastavinchannu

Stem error.
✗

gouravinchina-nu

✓

gouravinchannu

Stem error.

أنماط الجُمل

నేను ___ చేశాను.

నువ్వు ___ వెళ్ళావా?

అతను ___ తిన్నాడు.

మేము ___ చూశాము.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Vachaanu! (I arrived!)

Job Interview very common

Nenu pani chesaanu. (I worked.)

Ordering Food common

Order ichaanu. (I gave the order.)

Social Media common

Cinema choosaanu! (I watched the movie!)

Travel very common

Nenu vellaanu. (I went.)

Reporting common

Vaaru chepparu. (They said.)

سجّل مجاناً لرؤية جميع الأمثلة
💡

Root First

Always find the root. If the verb is 'choodu', the root is 'choo'.
⚠️

Irregulars

Some verbs like 'vachhu' (to come) change to 'vach-'. Watch out!
🎯

Listen for -aa-

When listening to native speakers, listen for the long 'aa' sound in verbs.
💬

Politeness

Use 'vaaru' for respect, which changes the ending to '-ru'.

Smart Tips

Identify the root by removing the -u.

choodu → choo

Always use the -ru ending for respect.

vellaadu → vellaaru

Check your subject-verb agreement.

Nenu vellaadu → Nenu vellaanu

Memorize the top 5 most common irregulars.

vachhu-aa-nu → vachaanu

النطق

aa (long)

Vowel Length

The 'aa' sound is long. Hold it for two beats.

Statement

Nenu vellaanu ↓

Falling intonation for facts.

Question

Nuvvu vellaavaa? ↑

Rising intonation for questions.

احفظها

وسيلة تذكّر

Think of 'aa' as 'already'—if you did it already, add 'aa'.

ربط بصري

Imagine a clock ticking backwards. Every time it ticks, a little 'aa' sticker lands on the verb.

Rhyme

For the past, don't be blue, just add 'aa' and then 'nu'.

Story

Yesterday, I went (vellanu) to the store. I saw (choosaanu) a cat. I ate (tinnaanu) a snack. Everything is in the past!

Word Web

vellanuchoosaanutinnaanuvachaanuchesaanuchadhivaanu

تحدٍّ

Write 5 sentences about what you did this morning using the -aa- suffix.

ملاحظات ثقافية

In formal settings, people use the -aa- suffix clearly. In casual speech, it often shortens.

Some verbs have unique regional past markers.

Literary Telugu preserves the full suffix structure strictly.

The Telugu past tense evolved from Proto-Dravidian verbal suffixes.

بدايات محادثة

“

నిన్న ఏం చేశావు? (What did you do yesterday?)

“

చివరిసారిగా ఎప్పుడు సినిమా చూశావు? (When did you last watch a movie?)

“

నువ్వు ఎప్పుడైనా హైదరాబాద్ వెళ్ళావా? (Have you ever been to Hyderabad?)

“

నువ్వు ఆ పనిని ఎలా పూర్తి చేశావు? (How did you complete that work?)

مواضيع للكتابة اليومية

Write about your favorite childhood memory.
Describe your last vacation in detail.
Write a short story about a mysterious event.
Reflect on a major life decision you made.

أخطاء شائعة

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

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Test Yourself

Fill in the correct past tense suffix.

Nenu annam ___ (tinu).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tinnaanu
The root 'tin' takes the -naa- marker.
Find the error. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Atanu vellu-aa-du.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Atanu vellaadu
The root is 'vel', not 'vellu'.
Select the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Meeru ___ (choodu) ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: choosaaru
Meeru requires the -ru ending.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nenu cinema choosaanu
Subject-Object-Verb order.
Translate to Telugu. الترجمة

I went.

Answer starts with: Nen...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nenu vellaanu
Correct person and tense.
Conjugate 'cheyu' for 'vaaru'. Conjugation Drill

Vaaru ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: chesaaru
Vaaru is plural/respectful.
Match the pronoun to the ending. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -nu
Nenu ends in -nu.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'aame' and 'chadhuvu'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aame chadhivindi
Aame takes -indi.

Score: /8

تمارين تطبيقية

8 exercises
Fill in the correct past tense suffix.

Nenu annam ___ (tinu).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: tinnaanu
The root 'tin' takes the -naa- marker.
Find the error. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Atanu vellu-aa-du.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Atanu vellaadu
The root is 'vel', not 'vellu'.
Select the correct form. اختيار متعدد

Meeru ___ (choodu) ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: choosaaru
Meeru requires the -ru ending.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

choosaanu / nenu / cinema

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nenu cinema choosaanu
Subject-Object-Verb order.
Translate to Telugu. الترجمة

I went.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nenu vellaanu
Correct person and tense.
Conjugate 'cheyu' for 'vaaru'. Conjugation Drill

Vaaru ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: chesaaru
Vaaru is plural/respectful.
Match the pronoun to the ending. Match Pairs

Nenu - ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: -nu
Nenu ends in -nu.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'aame' and 'chadhuvu'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aame chadhivindi
Aame takes -indi.

Score: /8

الأسئلة الشائعة (8)

It depends on the verb class. Some roots naturally take -ina- for phonetic harmony.

No, the ending changes based on the subject (I, you, he, etc.).

Use the infinitive + 'ledu'. Example: 'tinaledu'.

No, that requires the future tense.

The sentence will sound incomplete or like present tense.

Yes, a few like 'vachhu' (come) have special stems.

Yes, it is the standard way to write past events.

Add 'aa' to the end of the sentence.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

سجّل مجاناً للتدريب

In Other Languages

Spanish partial

Preterite

Spanish changes the whole ending; Telugu adds a marker.

French low

Passé Composé

French is analytical; Telugu is synthetic.

German low

Präteritum

German has many strong verbs; Telugu is more consistent.

Japanese high

Ta-form

Japanese uses -ta; Telugu uses -aa-.

Arabic low

Perfective

Arabic changes the internal vowels; Telugu adds external suffixes.

Chinese low

Le particle

Chinese is isolating; Telugu is agglutinative.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Next
Irregular Past Tense Verbs (Po, Va, Thinu)

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Present Continuous Suffix (-tunna-)
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