Syntax

Tamil is a consistently head-final language. The verb comes at the end of the cl
ause, with a typical word order of subject object verb (SOV).[116][117] However, wor
d order in Tamil is also flexible, so that surface permutations of the SOV order
are possible with different pragmatic effects. Tamil has postpositions rather t
han prepositions. Demonstratives and modifiers precede the noun within the noun
phrase. Subordinate clauses precede the verb of the matrix clause.
Tamil is a null-subject language. Not all Tamil sentences have subjects, verbs,
and objects. It is possible to construct grammatically valid and meaningful sent
ences which lack one or more of the three. For example, a sentence may only have
a verb such as mu?intuvi??atu ("completed") or only a subject and object, without a
verb such as atu e? vi?u ("That [is] my house"). Tamil does not have a copula (
a linking verb equivalent to the word is). The word is included in the translati
ons only to convey the meaning more easily.