But it is only partially synonymous with இரு in that it has only an “existential” meaning and lacks the ‘be [located]’ and ‘be [in a certain state]’ meanings. Thus, while you can use உண்டு to say things like ‘there are 20 states in India’, you can’t use it to say ‘Tamil Nadu is in India.’
உண்டு is used with all tenses no matter what the subject’s identity is.
X-dative Y உண்டு /இருக்கிறது
Translates as ‘there is (a) Y for X’ or ‘X has a Y’.
E.g. இலங்கைக்கு …. உண்டு.
The normal way to express ‘A has (a) B’ in Tamil is to state that B exists (உண்டு or இரு) to or for (dative) X.
இரு can be used for the past, present and future tenses, but this construction can only be used for the present.
X-dative Y இல்லை.
Translates as ‘there is no Y for X’ or ‘X has no Y’.
This construction is the negative formulation of the one above.