ICSE Class 9 Tamil Syllabus 2026-27

Tamil is offered as a compulsory Second Language (Group I) in ICSE Class 9. It is one of the world's oldest classical languages — the oldest continuously spoken and written classical language still in everyday use — with a literary tradition stretching back over 2,000 years to the Sangam period (c. 300 BCE to 300 CE). A Dravidian language completely unrelated to the Indo-Aryan family, Tamil has a distinctive grammar, a unique script, and a rich literary heritage from Sangam poetry and the Thirukkural through the Bhakti saints and the Tamil epics to modern novelists and poets.

The subject carries 100 marks in total: 80 marks for the written external paper and 20 marks for school-based internal assessment. The Class IX examination is school-conducted; the Class X ICSE Board paper covers the full combined syllabus.

Exam at a Glance

Aims of the Tamil Syllabus

•       Appreciate Tamil as an effective means of communication and as a classical language with a 2,000-year literary heritage

•       Acquire knowledge of the elements of the Tamil language: grammar (Ilakkanam), vocabulary (Sol Varalaru), syntax, and idiom

•       Develop a genuine interest in the Tamil language and its literary traditions from Sangam poetry to modern Tamil writing

•       Understand Tamil when spoken at normal conversational speed

•       Develop the ability to read, comprehend, and respond to unseen prose passages in Tamil

•       Develop the ability to write compositions and letters in correct, formal (Sentamil) Tamil

•       Develop an appreciation of Tamil literature through the prescribed texts

Section A: Language (40 Marks)

All four components are compulsory. Written Tamil must be in the formal Sentamil register.

1. Composition (Katturai / Kuru Katturai)

•       Write one composition in Tamil from a choice of topics (narrative, descriptive, or expressive); approximately 250-300 words

•       Stimuli may include language prompts, pictures, or objects

•       Assessed on: relevance, organisation, clarity, correct Ilakkanam (grammar), spelling (Ezhuttu Murumai), vocabulary

2. Letter Writing (Kadi / Kaaditam)

•       Write one letter from a choice of two given subjects

•       Formal letters (Aluvalaka Kadi / Manu): to authorities, editors, organisations

•       Informal letters (Nijji Kadi / Natpu Kadi): to relatives and friends

•       Layout (place/date, address, salutation, body, conclusion, signature) forms part of the assessment

3. Comprehension (Pathippada Gadyam)

•       Unseen prose passage of approximately 250 words in Tamil; all questions and answers in Tamil

•       Tests understanding of content, meaning, and vocabulary

4. Grammar (Ilakkanam)

Tests practical use of Tamil language. Formal knowledge of grammatical terminology is NOT required. Key topics:

Ezhutthu (Script and Phonology)

•       Uyir Ezhuttugal (12 Vowels): a, aa, i, ii, u, uu, e, ee, ai, o, oo, au and their vowel marker forms

•       Mei Ezhuttugal (18 Consonants): classified as Vallinam/hard (k, ch, t, th, p, tr), Mellinam/soft-nasal (ng, nj, n, n, m, n), Idaiyinam/medium (y, r, l, v, zh, l)

•       Uyirmei Ezhuttugal: 216 combined vowel-consonant letters (18 x 12); how vowel markers combine with consonant shapes

•       Correct spelling (Ezhuttu Murumai): use of short vs long vowels; correct consonant usage (Tamil does not distinguish voiced/unvoiced pairs in the same way as Sanskrit-based languages)

Peyar / Sangya (Nouns) and Thinai Classification

•       Types of nouns: Thinaip Peyar, Porul Peyar (object), Idam Peyar (place), Kal Peyar (time), Panbu Peyar (quality/abstract)

•       Thinai -- a distinctively Tamil classification system: Tamil does NOT use simple masculine/feminine grammatical gender. Instead, nouns are classified by Thinai: Uyartinaip Peyar (rational beings -- gods, humans, beings with reason) and Ahrinaip Peyar (irrational -- animals, objects, abstracts); Uyartinaip Peyar is further subdivided by biological sex

•       Within Uyartinaip Peyar: Aandap Peyar (masculine: avan, aandavar), Pennap Peyar (feminine: aval, pendir), Paalinar Peyar (mixed plural groups)

•       Number (Vachanam): Onnril (singular) and Palvachanam (plural); plural formed by adding -kal suffix (maram/marangal)

Vidaip Peyar / Sarvanam (Pronouns)

•       Personal pronouns: First person (yaan/naana, naangal/naam); Second person (nii, niingal); Third person Uyartinaip (avan, aval, avar, avarkal) and Ahrinaip (adhu, avai)

•       Demonstrative pronouns: near (idhu, ivai, ivar, ivan, ival) and far (adhu, avai, avar, avan, aval)

•       Interrogative pronouns: evan/evar (who -- rational), endhu/evai (what -- irrational), engey (where), eppodhu (when), eppadii (how), yen (why)

Urip Peyar / Visheshan (Adjectives)

•       Adjectives (Urip Peyar) precede the noun and are invariable -- they do not change for gender or number (unlike Hindi/Sanskrit adjectives)

•       Degrees of comparison: Nimidha Nilai (positive), Meyppada Nilai (comparative: using -ai vida or -il kaatra), Uvatham Nilai (superlative: using ellaavatrilum or mikavum)

Vinai / Kriya (Verbs) -- The Most Distinctive Tamil Feature

•       Tamil verbs are agglutinative: a single verb word combines root + tense marker + Person-Number-Gender (PNG) suffix. The verb always comes at the end of the sentence

•       Kaalangal (Tenses): Nigattha Kalam (present: -kir- marker), Idainda Kalam (past: -nth-/-tt-), Edirkaala Kalam (future: -v-/-pp-)

•       PNG suffixes for Uyartinaip (rational beings): yaan (-en), naangal (-om), naam (-om), nii (-aay), niingal (-iirkal), avan (-aan), aval (-aal), avar (-aar), avarkal (-aarkal)

•       PNG suffixes for Ahrinaip (irrational beings): adhu (-adhu / singular), avai (-ana / plural)

•       Vinai Echham (Verbal/Adverbial Participle): non-finite verb form joining two clauses in sequence; add -u/-du/-tu to past stem; vandhu (having come), paarthhu (having seen) -- very common in Tamil complex sentences

•       Peyarech-cham (Relative Participle): verb functioning as adjective before a noun; padiththavan (the one who studied), varukira maanavar (the student who is coming)

•       Etirmarupa Vinai (Negative verb forms): Tamil negation is expressed through a negative verb form, NOT a separate word like 'not'; present/future negative uses -aadhu; past negative uses -avilla -- a fundamentally different negation system from Indo-Aryan languages

Veli / Vibhakti (Case and Case Suffixes) -- Eight Cases

Vakya Amaipu (Sentence Structure and Transformation)

•       SOV word order: Tamil sentences are Subject-Object-Verb; the verb ALWAYS comes at the end of the sentence -- the most fundamental structural rule of Tamil syntax

•       Sentence types: Neraanaip (declarative), Etirmarai (negative), Vinaa (interrogative), Vinavilai (imperative), Viyappu (exclamatory)

•       Active and Passive Voice (Seyyum / Seyappadum Vagai): Tamil passive uses verbal noun + uru construction

•       Direct to Indirect Speech: Tamil uses the quotative particle 'endru' (meaning: '...saying that') to introduce indirect speech -- the standard Tamil reported speech marker

•       Compound/Complex sentences: joined using Vinai Echham (participial forms) and conjunctions (matrum, aanal, enavey, aadhalaal)

Punarchi (Tamil Sandhi -- Letter Junction)

•       Uyir Punarchi: when a vowel-final word joins a vowel-initial word; glide consonant 'y' or 'v' may be inserted

•       Mei Punarchi: when a consonant-final word joins another word; specific consonant changes at the junction

•       Uyir-Mei Punarchi: most common type; affects compound nouns and noun-suffix combinations

Alankaram (Figures of Speech)

•       Upamam (Simile): comparison using Tamil markers pola, enpol, ennum, paaangu, mattam (all meaning 'like/as') -- Tamil-specific words, not the same as Hindi 'jaisa' or Urdu 'manind'

•       Uruvaham (Metaphor): direct identification without a comparison word

•       Uyarvu Uthai (Hyperbole): deliberate exaggeration; very frequent in classical Tamil Puranaanuru poetry

•       Ilakkanam (Personification): human qualities to non-human things

•       Monai (Initial Rhyme): rhyme at the BEGINNING of successive lines (second syllable/sound matches) -- the most characteristic device of classical Tamil verse; virtually every line of Sangam poetry uses Monai

•       Edhugai (End Rhyme): rhyme at the END of lines; also used as internal rhyme in classical metres

•       Seyyu Vilakkam (Alliteration): repetition of the same consonant sound at beginning of words

•       Anumaanam (Suggestion/Implication): meaning implied rather than stated -- a key device in classical Akam (love) poetry where the five Tinai landscapes encode the emotion without stating it directly

Yaappu (Tamil Poetic Metre)

•       Asai: the fundamental metrical unit (foot) in Tamil prosody

•       Venpa metre: the most characteristic Tamil metre; strict syllabic rules; rhyme at the second syllable of each line; used in Thirukkural (Kurral Venpa: 7.5 syllables + 5.5 syllables)

•       Kurral Venpa (Thirukkural metre): seven-and-a-half syllable first line + five-and-a-half syllable second line -- the most recognisable Tamil metre for ICSE students

•       Aasiriyappa: flowing metre used in epics (Cilappatikaram); more flexible than Venpa

•       Kalippaa: vigorous staccato metre; associated with heroic Puranaanuru poetry

•       Vanchippaa: flowing metre resembling a boat's movement; used in war poetry

•       Identifying the metre type in a given verse; counting Asai and Ccheer units; identifying Monai and Edhugai patterns

Sol Varalaru (Vocabulary)

•       Uriyeddu Sol (Synonyms) and Etirpporul Sol (Antonyms) of common Tamil words

•       Oru Sol Porul (One-word substitutions) for phrases in Tamil

•       Thirukkural: knowing the meaning of selected couplets; applying their message; the Kurral as a source of proverbs

•       Pazhammozhi (Proverbs) and Mudumozhigal (Idiomatic expressions): meanings and use

•       Word formation: identifying Tamil roots, prefixes, and suffixes; awareness of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and English loanwords in Tamil

Section B: Prescribed Texts (40 Marks)

Candidates answer four questions from ONLY two of the prescribed textbooks. All answers in Tamil.

Always confirm the exact prescribed textbooks with your school or from the official CISCE website before the start of the academic session.

Types of Prescribed Texts

•       Prose anthology (Nadam / Gadya Tirattu): essays, short stories, biographical sketches by notable Tamil authors

•       Poetry anthology (Paa Tirattu / Kavitai Tirattu): classical and modern Tamil poetry

•       A novel or supplementary reader may be prescribed in some sessions

Classical Tamil Literature

Sangam Literature (c. 300 BCE to 300 CE)

•       Ettuthokai (Eight Anthologies): Akanaanuru, Puranaanuru, Natrinai, Kurunthokai, Ainkurunooru, Kalittokai, Paripatal, Pathirruppattu; Akam (love/interior) and Puram (heroic/exterior) poetry

•       The Five Tinai system in Akam poetry: each poem's landscape, flora, and fauna encodes the emotional theme: Kurinji (mountains = union/joy), Mullai (forests = patient waiting), Marutam (farmland = infidelity), Neytal (seashore = separation/longing), Palai (wasteland = hardship/elopement)

•       Patthuppattu (Ten Idylls): ten long classical poems including Tirumurugatrupadai and Kuriinjiippattu

Thirukkural (c. 3rd century BCE -- 5th century CE)

•       By Thiruvalluvar; 1,330 couplets in Kurral Venpa metre; organised in three books: Araththuppal (virtue/dharma), Porutpal (wealth/governance), Kaamathuppal (love)

•       The most celebrated work of Tamil literature; UNESCO recognition; universally applicable wisdom; compact two-line Kurals are dense with meaning

•       Frequently cited in ICSE questions; students must know the meaning of prescribed Kurals and be able to explain them in their own words

Tamil Epics

•       Cilappatikaram by Ilanko Adigal: one of the Five Great Tamil Epics; story of Kovalan, Kannagi, and Madhavi; themes of chastity (Kaappu), justice, and womanhood; written in Aasiriyappa metre

•       Manimekalai by Cittalai Chattanaar: companion epic; Buddhist themes; story of Manimekalai, daughter of Madhavi

Bhakti Literature (6th--9th century CE)

•       Nayanmars (63 Shaivite saint-poets): Appar, Sambandar, Sundarar, Manikkavasagar; compiled in Thirumurai; Tevaram and Thiruvasakam (deeply lyrical devotional poetry by Manikkavasagar)

•       Azhvars (12 Vaishnavite saint-poets): Andal (the only female Azhvar), Nammazhvar, Thirumangai Azhvar; compiled in Nalayira Divya Prabandham (4,000 Divine Verses)

Medieval Tamil Literature

•       Kambaramayanam by Kamban (12th century): Tamil retelling of the Ramayana; considered a masterpiece of Tamil poetry; Kamban's Tamil is regarded as the apex of medieval Tamil literary language

Modern Tamil Literature

Subramania Bharati / Bharatiyar (1882-1921)

•       The most celebrated modern Tamil poet; revolutionary in content and style; Kannan Pattu, Kuyil Pattu, Panchali Sabatham

•       Themes: Indian independence movement, women's liberation, the downtrodden, nature; broke from classical conventions; made Tamil poetry accessible to all

Subramania Bharatidasan (1891-1964)

•       'The poet who set the Tamil world ablaze'; follower of Bharati's tradition; Kudumba Vilakku; themes of women's liberation, social equality, rationalism, Tamil pride

U.V. Swaminatha Iyer (Uvesaa, 1855-1942)

•       'Grandfather of Tamil manuscripts'; rescued and published lost classical Tamil texts (Puraanaanooru, Cilappatikaram, Manimekalai) from palm leaf manuscripts; made classical Tamil literature available to modern readers

Pudumaipitthan (1906-1948)

•       Father of modern Tamil short story; introduced realism and psychological depth into Tamil fiction; Idaimanasam, Sapa Vimochanam

Jayakanthan (1934-2015) and Ashokamitran (1931-2017)

•       Jayakanthan: Sahitya Akademi Award; realistic urban Tamil life; women's dignity, caste, and social justice; Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal

•       Ashokamitran: Sahitya Akademi Award (18-aam Atcharak Katturimai); quiet portrayals of urban Tamil life and the human condition

Nature of Questions in Section B

•       Explanation of passages or stanzas (Vilakkam): meaning in the student's own words

•       Short answer questions: factual questions on content, characters, or events

•       Character analysis: role, qualities, significance of a character

•       Thematic questions (Kathai Kooru): central theme, moral, or social message

•       Context questions (Prasangam Arivu): speaker, context, significance of a quoted verse or passage

•       Language appreciation: identifying Alankaram (especially Monai, Edhugai, Upamam) and Yaappu type (especially Venpa / Kurral Venpa)

Internal Assessment (20 Marks)

Class IX requires 2 to 3 assignments per year: at least one from the language component and one from the literature component.

Language Assignments

•       Creative writing (300-400 words): prompted by music, sounds, a picture/photograph, an opening sentence, or a newspaper clipping

•       Factual writing (informative or argumentative) in Tamil

•       Expressive writing (descriptive or imaginative) in Tamil

•       A film or book review in Tamil

•       Aural assignment: listening to a Tamil passage, then summarising or answering questions

Literature Assignments

•       Character analysis: essay on a character or persona from the prescribed text

•       Thematic analysis: central theme or message of a prescribed work

•       Socio-cultural or historical background: context of a prescribed work (e.g. Sangam Tinai system; Bhakti movement; Bharati and the independence movement; modern realism)

•       Summary or paraphrase (Vilakkam): in the student's own words

Internal Assessment Grading: Creative Writing

Internal Assessment Grading: Literature (Prescribed Texts)

Preparation Tips for Students

For Section A: Language

•       Always write in the formal Sentamil register -- not colloquial spoken Tamil. This is the most important rule for ICSE Tamil examinations

•       Practise compositions on a variety of topics; use complex Tamil sentence structures with Vinai Echham (participial clauses) rather than simple short sentences

•       Memorise both Tamil letter formats: Aluvalaka Kadi (formal) and Natpu Kadi (informal)

•       Revise Tamil's unique grammar features: SOV word order (verb always last), Thinai system (rational/irrational classification, NOT masculine/feminine), PNG verb suffixes (verb ending changes for who/what the subject is), Vinai Echham (participial joining forms), all 8 case suffixes (especially -ai accusative, -ukku dative, -il locative, -in/-udaiya genitive), negative verb forms (-aadhu/-avilla), Upamam markers (pola/enpol/ennum), Monai and Edhugai identification, Venpa / Kurral Venpa metre

•       Maintain a Sol Varalaru notebook: synonyms, antonyms, Thirukkural couplets with meanings, Pazhammozhi (proverbs)

For Section B: Prescribed Texts

•       For Thirukkural: know each prescribed Kural's meaning; practise explaining the compact two-line Kurral Venpa in your own words; note the Araththuppal/Porutpal/Kaamathuppal organisation

•       For Sangam poetry: understand the Tinai landscape system -- the landscape of the poem is not decorative; it encodes the emotion (e.g. mountains = joy/union; seashore = separation/longing)

•       For Cilappatikaram: know the three characters (Kovalan, Kannagi, Madhavi) and the themes of Kaappu (chastity/virtue) and justice

•       For Bharati: understand his revolutionary context -- freedom movement, women's liberation, writing for the ordinary person; know his major works

•       Practise identifying Monai (initial rhyme) and Edhugai (end rhyme) in every classical Tamil verse -- these are almost always tested in language appreciation questions

•       Practise context questions (Prasangam Arivu): speaker, context, and significance of a quoted verse

•       Solve previous ICSE Tamil question papers to understand format, depth, and time management