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In old telugu the infinitive is widely used but in colloquial telugu it is used only before the auxiliaries and the adverbializer -ga:/-ga:ne.
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The infinitive suffix in Abujhmaria is -a: which occurs after those verbs ending in a vowel or in a nasal. The allomorph -i occurs in other environments.
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ki-y-a: |
‘to do’ |
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in-d-a: |
‘to say’ |
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tin-d-a: |
‘to eat’ |
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e:n-d-i: |
‘to dance’ |
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a -i: |
‘to weep’ |
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In adilabad dialect of Gondi, the inifinitive suffix -a: is varying freely with -le: and -ne:n in some idiolects.
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tin-d-a: |
‘to eat’ |
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tin-d-le: |
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tin-d-ne:n |
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wa:y-a |
‘to come’ |
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wa:y-le |
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wa:y-ne:n |
| Kui |
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i -a |
‘to place’ |
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pan -a |
‘to send’ |
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vri-s-a |
‘to write’ |
| Kurux |
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es-a:/es-na: |
‘to break’ |
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The infinitive in many of the Dravidian languages is used to express a variety of meanings (Subrahanyam, 1971 : 441). The chief meaning of the infinitive is purposive. This use is found in many a Dravidian languages. See the following examples:
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| Tamil |
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na:n u a vante:n ‘I came to eat’ |
| Malayalam |
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ña:n paraya:n vannu ‘I came to say’ |
| Kannaa |
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avaru no:a(ikke) bandaru ‘he came to see’ |
| Gondi |
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vo:r kihitk tarle: sotto:r
‘he went to the well to bring water’ |
| Maria |
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pe:ko:r e:ndi: va:yinto:r
‘boys came to dance’ |
| Kona |
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baylud(u) miten bitek otan
‘Bitek took (cattle) out to graze’ |
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