TNPSC Group IV · Bite-size lessons
Tamil Grammar (Ilakkanam)
About 6 min · General Tamil — Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 370 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Tamil Grammar, known as Ilakkanam (இலக்கணம்), forms the foundation of the Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test (Part C) in the TNPSC Group IV examination. This section tests your understanding of the classical grammatical structure of Tamil as codified in ancient texts, particularly Tholkappiyam and Nannool.
Key ideas
- Eluthu (எழுத்து): Tamil has 247 letters — 12 vowels (uyir), 18 consonants (mei), 216 compound letters (uyirmei), and 1 special character (aytham ஃ). This 12+18+216+1 = 247 classification is fundamental.
- Sol (சொல்): Words are classified by origin into four types — Iyarcol (native Tamil), Thisaicol (regional/dialectal), Vadacol (Sanskrit borrowings), and Thiricol (literary words shaped for poetry).
- Sol by Grammar Function: Words are also classified as Peyarcol (noun), Vinaisol (verb), Idaisol (particle/conjunction), and Uricol (adjective/adverb with emphasis).
- Porul (பொருள்): Classical Tamil literature follows Aham (love/inner themes) and Puram (war/heroism/outer themes). Aham has five thinais (landscapes) each associated with specific emotions.
- Yappu (யாப்பு): Tamil prosody studies the structure of verse — asai (syllable unit), seer (metrical foot), thalai (linkage), adi (line), and thodai (rhyme/ornament).
Watch out for
- Confusing Vallinam count: Students sometimes include ற் with idaiyinam because it sounds soft. → Remember: ற் is vallinam. The hard consonants are க், ச், ட், த், ப், ற் — all six involve a stop sound.
- Mixing Iyarcol and Thiricol: Both are Tamil words, but Iyarcol is the standard/classical form while Thiricol is a literary word shaped for poetry (கிள்ளை, மஞ்ஞை, வெற்பு). → Everyday words understood by all (நிலம், சோறு, பால்) are Iyarcol.
- Forgetting Aytham: When asked total Tamil letters, students write 246 (12+18+216). → Always add 1 for Aytham (ஃ) = 247 total.
Quick reference
- Total Tamil letters: 12 + 18 + 216 + 1 = 247
- Mei classification: Vallinam (6) + Mellinam (6) + Idaiyinam (6) = 18
- Sol by origin: Iyarcol, Thisaicol, Vadacol, Thiricol
- Sol by grammar: Peyarcol, Vinaisol, Idaisol, Uricol
- Aham thinais: Kurinji-Mullai-Marutham-Neithal-Paalai (memorise: KuMu MaNe Pa)
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. In Tamil grammar, how many 'uyir ezhuthukal' (vowels) are there?
2. Which of the following is NOT one of the three main divisions (Athikarams) of Tholkappiyam?
3. In Tamil grammar, 'Punarchi' refers to:
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
Read the full noteFlashcards for this topic
Saves this lesson and its 3 questions in this browser on this phone. No sign-in; nothing about you is saved or sent. A saved copy is not updated until you save it again. Parts that load from the server when you use them (the AI tutor, adaptive practice, sign-in) still need a connection.