Town, Region and Country

The little word moves to the end

You have met the idea already: Gujarati puts its little words after the noun rather than in front of it. This module is where that stops being a fact and becomes something you can use. English says in the city. Gujarati says city-in, and joins the ending straight onto the word. Once you can see the join, a long Gujarati word stops being frightening: it is usually a place you know with a small ending attached.

Where you live

Six words for the places this topic is about. A seventh, બજાર (bajar), you already half know, since English borrowed it as "bazaar".

Match each word to its meaning

Joined on the end

Two endings do most of the work in this topic, and both attach directly to the word: માં (ma) means in. શહેર plus માં gives શહેરમાં (shaher-ma), "in the city". ગામ gives ગામમાં (gam-ma), "in the village". થી (thi) means from. દેશ plus થી gives દેશથી (desh-thi), "from the country". Notice what is NOT there. There is no separate little word standing in front, as English has. The ending is part of the word, which is why reading Gujarati means looking at the end of a word as well as the start. One honest limit: some other little words, such as પાસે (near), need an extra linking form before them. That is a further rule, and this module does not teach it, so stick to માં and થી for now.

How do you say "in the village"?

ગામ (gam) is village. Which of these means "in the village"?

• ગામમાં (gam-ma)
• માં ગામ (ma gam)
• ગામથી (gam-thi)
• ગામ (gam) on its own

The rule

English puts the little word _____ the noun: in the city. Gujarati puts it _____, joined onto the end, so "in the city" is _____. The ending _____ means "in", and _____ means "from".

Find the join

Here are two short sentences. Tap the word that is a place with a little word joined onto the end of it.

• હું
• શહેરમાં
• રહું છું.
• મારું ગામ
• નાનું
• છે.

Order them by size

Put these four places in order, smallest first.

• ગામ (gam) - village
• શહેર (shaher) - city
• પ્રદેશ (pradesh) - region
• દેશ (desh) - country

Which are correctly formed?

Select the TWO that are built the Gujarati way.

• શહેરમાં for "in the city"
• દેશથી for "from the country"
• માં ગામ, with the little word standing in front
• શહેર on its own, meaning "in the city"

The two sentences, whole

You have tapped these two sentences apart. Here they are as sentences, which is how you would write them yourself:

Gujarati joins "in" onto the end of the noun

Gujarati joins "in" onto the end of the noun. Which of these says "I live in the city"?

• હું શહેરમાં રહું છું (hu shaherma rahu chhu)
• હું માં શહેર રહું છું (hu ma shaher rahu chhu)
• હું શહેરમાં રહું (hu shaherma rahu)
• મારું ગામ નાનું છે (maru gam nanu chhe)

Use it

Three moments where the ending earns its keep.

• You want to say you live in a village. Which do you use?
• You want to say a train comes from the city. Which ending do you need?
• You meet a long Gujarati word you do not know, ending in માં. What do you do?

Front, or back

The same information, with the little word in two different places.

City, country and region in Gujarati

A city is _____ and a village is _____. A country is _____ and a region is _____. And the little words come _____ the noun, joined straight onto the end of it.

Your place, and the Gujarati rule

Write in English about where you live and one place you would like to visit. Then explain the Gujarati rule you have met in this module.

• Say whether you live in a village, a town or a city, and give the Gujarati word for it
• Explain where Gujarati puts its little words, and how that differs from English
• Give the Gujarati for "in the city" and for "from the country", and say which ending does what
• Say how the rule helps you when you meet a long Gujarati word you have never seen before