Pashto is an S-O-V language with split ergativity. Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for gender (masc./fem.), number (sing./plur.), and case (direct, oblique, ablative and vocative). The verb system is very intricate with the following tenses: Present; simple past; past progressive; present perfect; and past perfect. In any of the past tenses (simple past, past progressive, present perfect, past perfect), Pashto is an ergative language; i.e., transitive verbs in any of the past tenses agree with the object of the sentence. The dialects show some non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms.
In order to distinguish sentences with indefinites from questions, یو /yaw/ 'one' may be added, to yield یو څوک /yaw ʦok/ 'someone' and یو څه /yaw ʦə/ 'something'.
When هر /har, ar/ 'every' precedes the indefinite pronouns, the combination can mean everyone [هر څوک], everything [هر څه], each one [هر یو]
Nouns
Case and gender
Pashto inflects nouns into four grammatical cases: direct, oblique, ablative (also known as oblique II) and vocative. The oblique case is used as prepositional case as well as in the past tense as the subject of transitive verbs (i.e. in ergative construction), and the ablative case is used with certain prepositions and with some numerals.
There are two genders: masculine and feminine. Gender of a noun is indicated by its ending. Animate nouns' gender agrees with biological gender regardless of the ending.[4]
Pashto has no definite article. But when necessary, definiteness may be indicated by other means such as demonstratives. Likewise, it may be contraindicated by use of the word for "one", يو; as in "يو روغتون" – "a hospital".
Class 1
Masculine nouns
Generally, animate masculine nouns take ان -ā́n in plural, and inanimate ones take ونه -úna. Masculine nouns ending in ۀ -ә lose it when attaching the suffixes. The grammatical animacy usually corresponds with physical animacy, but there are some exceptions, like مېړۀ meṛә́ "husband" is inanimate grammatically with plural مېړونه meṛúna, and پل pul "bridge" is animate — پلان pulā́n.
The nouns ending in -i, -ā (these are always animate) or -u (these can be both animate and inanimate) take ان with -g-, -y- or -w- inserted between vowels.
Words ending in -āCә́ pattern (like وادۀ wādә́ "wedding") have short -a- in plural.
Feminine nouns generally have final -a. They change it to -e in the oblique cases and direct plural and to -o in oblique plural, independently of their animacy. A few feminine nouns end in a consonant, they still take the same endings.
In Southern Pashto, the final -e is pronounced -i when unstressed. For example, the plural of سترګه stә́rga "eye" and لار lār "way" would be سترګې stә́rge and لارې lā́re in the North, but سترګي stә́rgi and لاري lā́ri in the South, while مڼه maṇá "apple" and تخته taxtá "board" would be مڼې maṇé and تختې taxté in both dialect groups.
There are also feminine nouns ending in other vowels, particularly -e (they take یانې -yā́ne in the plural) and -ā or -o (they take either ګانې -gā́ne or وې -we). In Southern Pashto they are یاني -yā́ni, ګاني -gā́ni and وي -wi (the last one is not as common as in Northern Pashto and is mostly restricted to a few nouns).
In class 2 there's only masculine nouns, both animate and inanimate. They are subject to various alterations inside the stems. The take -ə́ in the plural and oblique forms.
Nouns with -ú- or -ó- in the last syllable change them to -ā-. Some nouns like تنور tanúr "oven" belong to the mixed conjugation, they form their oblique forms as Class 2 nouns, but their plurals are derived according to Class 1 pattern (but the -ú/ó- may be reduced to -a- in Southern dialects or -ə- in Northern dialects). The word پالېز paléz "kitchen garden" is often cited as an example of a noun that belongs to class 2, but doesn't undergo any stem changes.[5]
There are some animate masculine nouns ending in -á (مېلمه melma "guest", اسبه asba "(horse) shepherd", غوبه ğoba "(cow) shepherd", کوربه korba "owner of the house" etc.), they also belong to Class 2.
Monosyllabic nouns with -a- lose it and take -ə in the oblique and plural forms. There several exceptions here: غر ğar "mountain", ور war "door", ګز gaz "gaz (unit of length)", من man "man (unit of weight)", ټغر ṭağar "rug" take ونه -úna in the plural form (غرونه ğrúna, ورونه warúna/wrúna etc).
Nouns with -á- in the last syllable change it to -ə́-. Most of them are mixed in their conjugation: they can take (or not take) -ā́n or -úna in the plural form. A lot of inanimate nouns in this class can take both suffixes. The only exception here is سخر sxar "stone", which is always sxə́r in plural. This subclass also contains words suffixed with ګر, ور, ن, زن.
Nouns in Class 3 are related to adjectives ending in -ay, -əy, -e.
Masculine -áy (note the stress) nouns, especially if animate, sometimes have alternative plurals in -yā́n. Its usage is somewhat dialect-dependent, they aren't as common in Southern Pashto.
Among feminine -əy nouns, even inanimate ones can take یانې or ګانې, they also can stay unchanged in the plural. Some abstract nouns suffixed with ي -i (such as دوستي "friendship", چلاکي "trickiness", ګرمي "heatness" etc.) also belong here.
An adjective is called stāynúm in Pashto [ستاينوم]. The adjectives or stāynumúna agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
Category 5
Masculine
Singular
Direct
-
-ay
Oblique II
-a
-aya
-i
Vocative
-e
Oblique
-
-ə
-i
Plural
Direct
Oblique/Vocative
-o
-io/-o
-yo/-o
Feminine
Singular
Direct
-a
-əy
-e
Oblique II
Vocative
-e
Oblique I
Plural
Direct
Oblique/Vocative
-o
-əyo/-o
-yo/-o
Notes:
In the plural, both obliques and the vocative merge into a single form.
Singular Oblique I and plural Direct always merge into a single form.
The above two conditions mean that there can be at most five distinct forms for masculine adjectives (but in fact, no class distinguishes more than four).
For feminine adjectives, singular Oblique I and Vocative merge, while singular Direct and Oblique II merge; combined with mergers noted previously, there can be at most three distinct forms for feminine adjectives.
Categories 2 and 3 have stem and stress alternations among different cases. Category 3 has a basic distinction between the masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, with stem stress, and all other forms, with a (sometimes) different stem and with ending stress (e.g. masc. trīx, fem. traxá "bitter"; masc. sūr, fem. srá "red"; masc. sōṛ, fem. saṛá "cold"; fem. raṇā "light" with only one stem). Category 2 has the same stress alternation, but has three distinct stems, with stressed stem vowel 'o' or 'u' in masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, unstressed stem vowel 'ā' in masculine singular Oblique I and plural Direct, and unstressed stem vowel 'a' in all other forms (e.g. masc. sing. pōx, masc. plur. pāxǝ́, fem. paxá "ripe, cooked").
Class 1
Case-marking suffixes
Class I adjectives are consonant-final in their citation form and keep the stress on the final syllable of the stem.
In the Southern dialects, Class I adjectives with certain stem shapes will undergo mutation either:
Vowel harmony
or
Centralization
In other dialects these vowels do not mutate.
Vowel harmony
Class I adjectives with the stressed stem vowel /ə́/ (Southern), such as دنګ /dəng/ 'tall', undergo regressive harmony in the feminine direct plural and in both oblique plural forms—when the suffix vowel is /o/.
Centralization
Class I adjectives for which the last syllable in the masculine direct singular form is ور /‑wár/, ګر /‑gár/, جن /‑ján/, or م ن /‑mán/, as well as ordinal numbers ending in م /‑ám/, undergo a different vowel alternation: the vowel /á/ of the final syllable centralizes to /ə́/ in feminine non-direct singulars and in all plural forms, irrespective of gender.
The paradigm for the adjective زړور /zṛawár/ 'brave' illustrates centralization rule for the Southern dialect.
Animacy
When modifying animate nouns, some Class I adjectives may take the animate plural suffixes of Class I nouns example:
ex:
مشران وروڼه
Məʃarɑn
wruɳa
Məʃarɑn wruɳa
'Elder brothers'
Class 2
Class 2 adjectives can end in either a consonant or a stressed schwa ( ه /‑ə́/). Except for the masculine singular ablative and vocative suffixes, the suffixes of Class II are inherently stressed. These stressed suffixes are the chief difference between Class 1 and Class 2, although there are a few differences in suffix shape as well. Whether a consonant-final adjective belongs to Class 1 (stem-stressed) or Class II (suffix-stressed) is a property of the lexeme and is not predictable.
Some Class2 adjectives undergo stem allomorphy processes upon inflection, all of them stress-conditioned. The first, Syncope I, affects the final vowels of /ə́/-final Class 2 adjectives; the rest affect the stem vowels of consonant-final Class 2 adjectives (which either lower or delete when unstressed). Lowering affects only back vowels, but not all of them. It is not possible to predict which rule, Back vowel lowering or Syncope II, applies to a given consonant-final adjective. The rules are:
Syncope I
Back vowel lowering
Monophthongization
Lengthening
Syncope II
Epenthesis
Syncope I
V2 → Ø/ V́1_
V́1 → Ø/ _V́2
If suffixation results in two adjacent vowels and only one is stressed, the unstressed vowel deletes. If both are stressed, the first vowel deletes. This rule applies to vowel-final adjectives.
Examole: Vowel-final adjectives that end in stressed ۀ /‑ə́/
Vowel-final adjectives that end stressed ه /‑ə́/ in their citation form include تېره /terə/́ 'sharp'. These can be reliably identified from this citation form as belonging to Class 2; no other class has adjectives ending in /-ə́/. The final stem-vowel of these adjectives undergoes one or other of the morphophonemic rules of Syncope I.
Back vowel lowering
V-stress] [+back, → V[-high]/ C_
Inmost Class 2 consonant-final adjectives with non-initial back vowels, و /o/, /u/ lowers to /a/ when unstressed.
In most consonant-final adjectives where the stem vowel is a back vowel, و /o/, /u/, it will undergo vowel lowering in unstressed position, followed by lengthening when the next syllable contains /ə́/ such as for the words, پو خ /pox/ 'cooked, ripe' and ړوند /ṛund/ 'blind', illustrated above.
Monophthongization
a[+stress]w → V-high] [+back,
wa[+stress] → V-high] [+back,
In adjectives with /aw/ or /wa/ in the stem [usually seen in the feminine tense], those sequences simplify to /o/ when stressed.
Back vowel breaking: تود /tod/ 'hot'; stem = /tawd/.
Lengthening
a → ā /_(C)Cə́
Short /a/ lengthens to long /ā/ when the syllable following it contains /ə́/. This rule affects those adjectives that undergo back vowel lowering, such as for پاخۀ → پوخ and ړاندۀ → ړوند and those that undergo monophthongization, such as تاودۀ → تود.
Lengthening
V[-stress] → Ø
In a few consonant-final adjectives the stem vowel is deleted when not stressed.
Example = سور /sur/ – red
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Direct
سور sur
سرۀ srə
سره sra
سرې sre
Oblique
سرۀ srə
سرو sro
سرې sre
سرو sro
Ablative
سوره súra
Vocative
Epenthesis
Ø → a/C_CC or CC_C
If syncope results in a triple consonant cluster, an /a/ might be inserted after the first or second consonant.
Class 3
These adjectives end in the diphthong participial suffix, ی /‑ay/, in the masculine direct singular form/. This suffix may be stressed or unstressed.
This the "non-declining" class – these do not decline. These adjectives are generally borrowed from other languages. They do not have masculine-feminine or singular-plural distinction.
But some speakers use the oblique suffixes و /‑o/, وو /‑wo/ on these adjectives in the plural oblique, ablative and vocative cases.
Example = شمالي (Persian-Arabic borrowing)
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Direct
شمالي šamālí
Oblique
Ablative
Vocative
Example = شمالي (Southern Dialect)
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Direct
شمالي šamālí
Oblique
شمالي šamālí
شمالو šamāló
شمالي
šumālí
شمالو šamāló
Ablative
Vocative
Derivational affixes
Pashto utilities morphological derivation: there is an addition to the base form or stem of a word in order to modify its meaning [not grammatical function like verbal suffixes].
Prefixes
These are attached at the beginning of words. Here is a list of the most common ones:
Prefix
Meaning
نا
a negative prefix to nouns or particles having the same meaning as English "un, in, dis, non" etc.
بې
this means "without". When prefixed to words it is equivalent to the English "dis, less" etc.
Considered a preposition.
بيا
this means again. When prefixed to words it is equivalent to English "re"
هم
this means same, equivalent. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "co and homo"
ګڼ
this means crowded and numerous. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "multi"
دوه
this means two. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "bi"
A list of examples:
Word
English meaning
Prefixed word
English meaning
نا nā
وړ
waṛ
suitable
ناوړ
nāwáṛ
unsuitable
بې be
کور
kor
home
بې کوره
be kóra
[کور in the ablative case]
homeless
بيا byā
جوړول
joṛawә́l
to make
بيا جوړول
byā joṛawә́l
to remake
هم ham
[زولی [نارينه]، زولې [ښځينه
zólay, zóle
age [classical Pashto]
همزولی، همزولې
hamzólay, hamzól
coeval
ګڼ gaṇ
هېواديز
hewādíz
national
ګڼ هېواديز
gaṇhewādíz
multinational
دوه dwa
اړخيز
aṛxíz
aṛx= side, íz = adjective forming suffix
دوه اړخيز
dwa aṛxíz
bilateral
Suffixes
These are attached at the end of a word. Here is a list of the most common ones:
Prefix
Meaning
توب
this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
تیا
this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ي
this is affixed to noun to make adjectives.
ي
a suffix also used to create nouns of profession.
يز [masculine] يزه [feminine]
adjectival suffix. Used to make adjectives from nouns. Becomes "yiz" if preceded by a vowel e.g. سوله=سوله ييز
من
suffix that forms nouns and adjectives that mean possessing a quality or object
جن
adjective-forming suffix; having the quality of the noun e.g. چنجن [worm-eaten; stubbornly picky]
ين
an adjective-forming suffix applied to nouns denoting a material
ور
an adjective forming suffix to show endowment/possession.
م
forms ordinal number names from cardinals
ښت
this is affixed to adjectives (including verbal adjectives) to show a state of being
ګلوي
this is affixed to nouns to form feminine concept/abstract nouns mostly to do with association e.g. پیژند ګلوي, پلار ګلوي etc.
والی
this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
ولي
this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ځی
this makes nouns denoting place of the action
نه
this is the most common suffix used to makes nouns from verb. The new suffixed word has feminine gender.
ون
less frequently used than نه. This also creates nouns from verbs
اک
this is used to make only two nouns [خوراک and څښاک] denoting consumable noun. Like Japanese particle もの.
تون
used to create nouns of place. Meaning the "(main) place of"
پال [masculine] پاله [feminine]
means someone is the cherisher/nourisher of the word attached. It is like Persian پرست but unlike پرست only used for agentive nouns not as an adjective.
پالنه
makes concept/abstract nouns showing the root's cherishing/fostering. Like Persian پرستي
واکي
makes nouns which signify "mastery of", "rule of" or "endowment with in quality" with the root word. Related to word واک [authority].
makes nouns showing that noun is a resident of that place, is engaged in the activity indicated in the root word, possessor of the root word. Like English suffix "er", "or" and "ist".
واله
makes nouns denoting owenership
ګر
used to form an actor noun. Denoting maker, doer, worker etc. of the root.
چي
an agent-noun suffix borrowed from Ottoman Turkish. Only used with borrowed words.
ګوټی
a diminutive suffix. Example مېز [table] – مېزګوټی [small table].
وزمه
suffix to indicate something is like/similar to the root word but not that word. Also used to denote shades of colour.
نی
suffix affixed to words having to do with time and location
ی
suffix affixed to place names to form a masculine noun living or found in that place
ۍ
suffix affixed to place names to form a feminine noun living or found in that place
ګنۍ
suffix for nouns expressing kinship/relationships
وړ [masculine] وړه [feminine]
this is used exactly as the English -able. Forms adjectives meaning fit/able to be done or suitable to.
يالی [masculine] يالۍ [feminine]
forms adjectives from nouns. The adjective shows a quality that can be possessed.
غاړی [masculine] غاړې [feminine]
forms actor/agent nouns that have to do with an art/skill [example: لوبغاړی, سندرغاړی]. Also used to create adjective/nouns related to the throat [غاړه] such as بوږغاړی [harsh sounding]
چک
an adjectival suffix showing that the new word is "somewhat" like the root word. Similar to "ish" suffix in English.
ډله
this means group. It can be used as suffix to denote team, group, company etc.
هار
according to Z. A. Pashtoon: "suffix used to form onomatopoeic words indicating the repetition or intensification of a sound". according to H. G. Raverty: a suffix "affixed to nouns signifying sound of any kind, in forming the plural".
A list of examples:
Word
English meaning
Prefixed word
English meaning
توب tob
بربنډ
barbə́nḍ
nude
بربنډتوب
barbənḍtób
nudeness/nudity
تیا tyā
روغ
roğ
healthy
روغتيا
roğtyā́
health
ي i
ولس
(w)ulə́s
nation
ولسي
(w) uləsí
national
ي i
ترکاڼ
tarkā́ṇ
carpenter
ترکاڼي
tarkāṇí
carpentry
يز/يزه iz/iza
لمر
lmar
sun
لمريز
lmaríz لمريزه
lmaríza
solar
يز/يزه yiz/yiza
وټه
wáṭa
economy
وټه ييز
waṭayíz وټه ييزه
waṭayíza
economic
من man
لانجه
lānjá
problem
لانجمن
lānjamán
lānjamə́n
problematic
جن
jən
کرکه
krә́ka
repugnance
کرکجن
krәjә́n
someone who is repugnant
to something
ين
in
زر
zar
gold
زرين
zarín
golden
ور war
ګټه
gáṭa
profit
ګټور
gaṭawár
advantageous
م
am/əm
اووه
uwə́
seven
اووم
uwə́m
seventh
ښت əx̌t
جوړ
joṛ
made/built
جوړښت
joṛə́x̌t
structure
ګلوي galwi
پلار
plār
father
پلارګلوي
plār
paternity
والی wālay
اوږد
uẓ̌d
long
اوږدوالی
uẓ̌dwā́lay
length/height
ولي wali
ورور
wror
brother
ورورولي
wrorwalí
brotherhood
ځی dzay
ښوول
x̌owə́l
to teach
ښونځی
x̌owə́ndzay
school
نه əna
غوښتل
ğox̌tə́l
to demand
غوښتنه
ğox̌tə́na
demand
ون un
بدلول
badlawə́l
to change
بدلون
badlún
change
اک āk
څښل
tsx̌ə́l خوړل
xwaṛə́l
to drink to eat
څښاک
tsx̌āk خوراک
xwaṛā́k
drink food
تون tun
پوهنه
pohə́na
knowledge
پوهنتون
pohəntún
university
پال/پاله pal/pāla
مېلمه
melmá
guest
مېلمه پال
melmapā́l مېلمه پاله
melmapā́la
host
پالنه pālana
مېلمه
melmá
guest
مېلمه پالنه
melmapālə́na
hospitality
واکي wāki
پلار
plār
father
پلارواکي
plārwākí
patriarchy
وال wāl
ليک
lik
writing
ليکوال
likwā́l
writer
واله'
wālə
غنم
ğanə́m
wheat
غنم واله
ğanəmwālə
wheat-merchant
ګر gər
کوډه
kóḍa
magic
کوډګر
koḍgə́r
koḍgár
magician
چي chi
توپ
top
cannon
توپچي
topčí
cannoneer
ګوټی goṭay
کتاب
kitā́b
book
کتاب ګوټی
kitābgóṭay
booklet
وزمه wazma
تور
tor
black
تور وزمه
torwázma
blackish
نی
(a)náy
کال
kāl
year
کالنی
kālanáy
annual
ی
áy
جاپان
jāpā́n
Japan
جاپانی
jāpānáy
a Japanese male
ۍ
ə́i
جاپان
jāpā́n
Japan
جاپانۍ
jāpānə́i
a Japanese female
ګنۍ ganai
پلار
plār مور
mor
father mother
پلارګنۍ
plārganə́i مورګنۍ
morganə́i
paternal-family maternal-family
وړ/وړه waṛ/waṛa
خندا
xandā́
laughter
خنداوړ
xandāwáṛ خنداوړه
xandāwáṛa
laughable
يالۍ /يالی yālay/yālə́i
ننګ
nang
honor
ننګيالی
nangyāláy ننګيالۍ
nangyālə́i
honorable
غاړې /غاړی ğāṛay/ğāṛe
سندره
sandə́ra
song
سندرغاړی
sandərğā́ṛay سندرغاړې
sandərğā́ṛe
singer
چک cak
سپين
spin
white
سپين چک
spinčák
whitish
ډله ḍala
لوب
lob
root word of play
لوبډله
lobḍála
team (sports)
هار hār
پړک
pṛak
slap/clap
پړکهار
pṛakahā́r
clapping/sounds of claps
Creating new words
Other than the recognised words above; new words can be coined by speakers through these affixes
Example:
Creating a new word process
Existing word
Existing suffix
New word
غو
ğo
ييز
yíz
غوييز
ğoyíz
sex
adjective-forming suffix
sexual
Infinitive
This is called Kaṛnúmay [کړنومی] in Pashto that is "the name of a verb".[6] It shows an infinite action or occurrence. It is used as a noun. It acquires the gender and number of a masculine plural noun.
Formed: Past Imperfective Stem + verbal ل (ә́l)
Conjugation Class
Past Imperfective Stem
Infinitives
1st
-کېد
ked-
become
-کېد
ked-
become
کېدل
kedә́l
to become
کېدل
kedә́l
{to become}
2nd
-ننوت
nənawat-
-ننوت
nənawat-
ننوتل
nənawatә́l
to enter
ننوتل
nənawatә́l
{to enter}
3rd
Joined
-ښخو
x̌axaw-
do bury
-ښخو
x̌axaw-
{do bury}
ښخول
x̌axawә́l
to bury
ښخول
x̌axawә́l
{to bury}
Unjoined
-سوچ کو
soč kaw-
do think
{-سوچ کو}
{soč kaw-}
{do think}
سوچ کول
soč kawә́l
to think
{سوچ کول}
{soč kawә́l}
{to think}
Example: وکړل [past perfective tense of the transitive verb کول – "to do"] shows agreement with masculine plural object that is the infinitive وهل.
These are formed by combining two infinitives – either by combining a simple infinitive with a prefixed infinitive.
Simple infinitive
Prefixed infinitive
Double infinitive
تلل [going]
راتلل [coming]
تلل راتلل [coming and going]
ګرځېدل [to walk/walking]
راګرځېدل [to repass]
ګرځېدل راګرځېدل [walking about]
– or by combining two simple infinitives:
Simple infinitive 1
Simple infinitive 2
Double infinitive
خوړل [eating]
څښل [drinking]
خوړل څښل [eating drinking]
وهل [beating/hitting]
ټکول [knocking]
وهل ټکول [beating]
Verb
Pashto has three tenses: Past, present and future.
The future tense is the same as present tense with the exception of markers.
Aspect: Pashto in every tense has perfective aspect [بشپړاړخ][6] and imperfective aspect [نابشپړاړخ]. The perfective aspect indicates completion of an action while the imperfective aspect indicates continuous or habitual action.
Pashto verbs are of four categories: simple verbs, prefixed verbs, a-initial verbs and compound verbs.
Prefixed verbs, a-initial verbs and compound verbs are separable.
Pashto verbs can be conjugated by the bases they have.
Present and imperative forms are formed on present bases. Past, optative, and infinitive forms are formed on past bases.
Based on the stems they classed as either single stemmed, two stemmed or multiple stemmed
Verbs agree in person and in number with either the objects or subjects of sentences, depending on tense and construction.
Agreement is indicated with verbal suffixes following the verb stem which indicate person and number.
Verbs: categories
Simple verbs
They are in the morpheme state.
Examples:
Infinitive
Transliteration
Meaning
تلل
tlə́l
to go
وتل
watə́l
to go out
ګرځېدل
gardzedə́l
to walk
کول
kawə́l
to do
خوړل
xwaṛә́l
to eat
Prefixed verbs
These are described below as doubly irregular.
They take the form of a derivational prefix plus a verb base.
Deictic prefixed verb
These correspond to the oblique pronominal and directionals clitics.
Prefix
Direction
Example
Example meaning
را
rā
towards 1st person
راتلل
rā tlә́l
to come
در
dər/dar
towards 2nd person
درتلل
dәr tlә́l
to go towards you
ور
wər/war
towards 3rd person
ورکول
wәr kawә́l
to give
Non-productive prefixed verbs
Like deictic prefixed these are subject to the same rules of stress movement to show perfective aspect, as well as to separation from the rest of the verb by negative morphemes and second-position clitics. But generally their meanings are not synchronically separable from the verbal lexeme of which they are a part of.
Prefix
Transliteration
Example
Example meaning
کښې
kxe [Northern]
kṣ̌i [Southern]
کښېوتل
kxewatә́l
to drop into
کې
ke [Northern]
ki [Southern]
کېښودل
kex̌awdә́l
to put
نن
nəna
ننوتل
nənawatә́l
to enter
پورې
pore
پورې ايستل
pore istә́l
to traverse
تېر
ter
تېروتل
terwatә́l
to get mistaken
پرا
prā
پرانيستل
prānistә́l
to open
پرې
pre
پرېوتل
prewatә́l
to lie down
Example: پرېکول – to cut. The prefix [پرې] is separated from the verb stem [کول] by a second position clitic [يې]
These begin with ا /a/; but they do not include compound verbs beginning with /a/.
Examples:
Infinitive
Transliteration
Meaning
اڼول
aṇawə́l
to gather
استول
astawə́l
to send
اخيستل
axistə́l
to buy
Their syntactic behaviour resembles that of prefixed verbs: the initial /a/ can separate from the rest of the verb as though it were a prefix. Unlike prefixed verbs, a-initial verbs differ in that
they take the prefix و /wə́/ for perfective forms.
ex:
وا
wā́
buy:AOR
مې
me
I:SG:WK
خيستل
xistəl
buy:PST:3PL:M
وا مې خيستل
wā́ me xistəl
buy:AOR I:SG:WK buy:PST:3PL:M
I bought them
Unlike all the verbs; they are unusual, in that their stress is variable in the imperfective aspect: it can be either be initial or non-initial. Other verbs can not have initial stress. When the /a/ is separated from the rest of the verb in the imperfective aspect it has initial stress.
Example: initial stress
ex:
ا
á
buy:CONT
مې
me
I:SG:WK
خيستل
xistəl
buy:PST:3PL:M
ا مې خيستل
á me xistəl
buy:CONT I:SG:WK buy:PST:3PL:M
I was buying them
Example: non-initial stress
ex:
اخيستل
axistə́l
buy:CONT:PST:3PL:M
مې
me
I:SG:WK
اخيستل مې
axistə́l me
buy:CONT:PST:3PL:M I:SG:WK
I was buying them
Compound verbs
There are two categories of compound verbs. There are also some exceptions to these.
First category
These are formed by adding ول [-wә́l] and ېدل [edә́l] verbal-suffixes to nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The attaching noun, adjective and adverb should not end in a vowel.
Example:
Word
Verb formed
ښخ
x̌ax
adjective, singular, mas
ښخول
x̌awә́l
buried
to bury
Exceptions
There are also exceptions to this category. Example: سوچ کول etc.
Word
Verb formed
سوچ
soč
noun, singular masculine
سوچ کول
soč kawә́l
though
to think
Second category
These are formed adding auxiliary verbs کول and کېدل to the noun and adjectives. The attaching noun and adjective end in a vowel.
Examples:
Word
Verb formed
ښايسته
x̌āistá
adjective, feminine, class 4
ښايسته کول
x̌āista kawә́l
pretty
to make pretty
ستړی
stә́ṛay
noun, sing. masc., class 3
ستړی کول
stəṛay kawә́l
tired
to tire
Verbs: conjugation classes
These can be divided in reference to the verb categories as above:[7]
First Conjugation Class: Simple Verbs and A-Initial Verbs
Second Conjugation Class: Prefixed Verbs
Third Conjugation Class: Compound Verbs
Verbs: bases
Pashto verb bases are formed according to the tense (present/past) and aspect (perfective/imperfective) of a verb.[7]
Aspect
The perfective aspect is indicated by the stressed prefix و /wә́/ or in the case of complex verbs [prefixed verbs, a-initial and compound verbs] by stress on the prefix or complement. The imperfective aspect is indicated by the absence of و /wə/ or stress on the verb itself rather than the prefix or complement.[7]
Tense
The present tense either by the absence of this suffix (transitives), or by the suffix ېږ /ég/ (intransitives).[7]
For single stem verbs: the past tenses is indicated by either the suffix ل /ə́l/ (for transitive verbs) or ېد /ed(ə́l)/ (for intransitives).
For two or more stemmed verbs: the past tense is indicated by stem allomorphy.
Bases
Therefore, the following four-fold-method to differentianate of bases:
1. present perfective
2. present imperfective
3. past perfective
4. past impefective
Inflection
In order to make fully inflected verbs, you add either of the following to these bases:[7]
a verbal suffix
an imperative or optative suffix, or
an adjectival suffix (to form a participle)
Verbs: Single Stems
These are referred to as Weak Verbs by Anna Boyle.[7] These have one stem. From this single stem from all four bases are predictable.
First Conjugation Class
Transitve
Here is an example first conjugation class transitive verb: "to tie"
Verb
Stem
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
-وتړ wә́ taṛ-
-تړ taṛ-
-وتړل
wә́ taṛ әl-
-تړل
taṛә́l-
تړل
taṛә́l
تړ
taṛ
Notes:
present imperfective base = stem
present perfective base: و /wә́/ + stem
past imperfective base: stem+ ل /ə́l/ (suffix obligatory)
past perfective base: و /wә́/ + stem+ ل /əl/(suffix obligatory)
Intransitve
Here is an example first conjugation class intransitive verb: "to reach"
Verb
Stem
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
-ورسېږ wә́ raseẓ̌-
-رسېږ raseẓ̌-
-(ورسېد(ل wә́ rased(ә́l)-
-(رسېد(ل rásed-
رسېدل rasedә́l
رس
ras
Notes:
present imperfective base: stem+ ېږ /eg/
present perfective base: و /wә́/ + stem+ ېږ /eg/
past imperfective base: stem + ېد /ed/ (+ ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
past perfective base: و /wә́/ + stem + ېد /ed/( + ل /əl/— prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
Second Conjugation Class
In the second conjugation, perfectives are formed by a shift of stress to the existing prefix, rather than the addition of the و /wә́/ prefix.
Here is an example first conjugation class transitive verb: "to bring (to speaker)"
Verb
Stem
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
-راوړ
rā́ wṛ-
-راوړ
rā wṛ-
-راوړل
rā́ wṛә́l-
-راوړل
rā wṛә́l-
راوړل
rāwṛә́l
راوړ
rā wṛ
Notes:
present imperfective base = stem
present perfective base: stressed prefix + stem
past imperfective base: prefix + stem+ ل /ə́l/(suffix obligatory)
past perfective base: stressed prefix + stem+ ل /ə́l/(suffix obligatory)
Verbs: Two Stems
These are referred to as Strong Verbs by Anna Boyle[7]
These have two stems: present stem and a past stem.
First Conjugation Class
The stems can either share initial sounds as in example:
a) where ل is replaced by ن in the present tense:
Verb
Present Stem
Present
Past Stem
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfect
وژل wažә́l
وژن
wažən
-و وژن wә́ wažən-
-وژن wažən-
وژ
waž
-(و وژ(ل wә́ waž(əl)-
-(وژ(ل waž(ә́l)-
b) where و is added in the middle in the present tense:
Verb
Present Stem
Present
Past Stem
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfect
بلل balә́l
بول
bol
-و بول wә́ bol-
-بول bol-
بل
bal
-(و بل(ل wә́ baləl-
-(بل(ل bal(ә́l)-
c) The verb ختل [to climb]:
Verb
Present Stem
Present
Past Stem
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfect
ختل xatә́l
خېژ xež
-و خېژ wә́ xež-
-خېژ xež-
خت
xat
[or خوت xot]
-(و خت(ل wә́ xat(əl)-
-(خت(ل xat(ә́l)-
d) where دل is dropped in the present tense:
Verb
Present Stem
Present
Past Stem
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfect
پېژندل pežandә́l
پېژن pežan
-و پېژن wә́ pežan-
-پېژن pežan-
پېژند pežand
-(و پېژند(ل wә́ pežand(əl)-
-(پېژند(ل pežand(ә́l)-
اوبدل obdә́l
اوب ob
-و اوب wә́ ob-
-اوب ob-
اوبد
obd
-(و اوبد(ل wә́ ob(əl)-
-(اوبد(ل obd(ә́l)-
Or they can be share no similar sounds
Example: the verb لیدل [to see]
Verb
Present Stem
Present
Past Stem
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfect
لیدل
lidә́l
وین win
-ووین
wә́ win-
-وین
win-
لید
lid
-(ولید(ل
wә́ lid(əl)-
-(لید(ل
lid(ә́l)-
In either case the same rules apply, as noted by Anna Boyle:[8]
Notes:
present imperfective base = present stem
present perfective base: و /wә́/ + present stem
past imperfective base: past stem (+ ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
past perfective base: و /wә́/ + past stem(+ ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
Second Conjugation Class
As above, in the second conjugation, perfectives are formed by a shift of stress to the existing prefix, rather than the addition of the و /wә́/ prefix.
past imperfective base: prefix + past stem (+ ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc.; optional elsewhere)
past perfective base: stressed prefix + past stem(+ ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
Verbs: Multiple Stems
These are referred to as Strong Verbs by Anna Boyle.[7]
These are verbs whose imperfective and perfective stems differ as well as their present and past stems. The difference between perfective and imperfective is carried by stress; in perfective the stress is on the first part of the verb whereas in imperfective the stress is on the last syllables.
These examples have been taken from Anna Boyle, pages 219–224 with the tables rearranged:[9]
Examples:
Observation: either three stemmed [ږد, کېږد, کېښود] or four stemmed [یښود ږد, کېږد, کېښود]
Verb
Meaning
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfectiv
Perfective
Imperfective
یښودل ix̌odә́l
to put
-کېږد kéẓ̌d-
-ږد ẓ̌d-
-(کېښود(ل kéx̌od(əl)-
-(کېښود(ل kex̌od(ә́l)-
-(یښود(ل ix̌od(ә́l)-
Observation: Four stems
Verb
Meaning
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
بېول bewә́l
بوول bowә́l
to take [to a place]
to lead away
-بوځ bódz-
-بياي byāy-
-(بوتل(ل bótl(əl)-
-(بېو(ل bew(ә́l)-
or -(بوو(ل bow(ә́l)-
Observation: Four Stems
Verb
Meaning
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
تلل tlә́l
to go
-و)لاړش) (w)lā́ṛ š‑-
-ځ
dz-
-و)لاړل)
(w)lā́ṛəl‑
-(تل(ل tl(ә́l)-
Observation: This example contains locative prefixes را,در,ور
Verb
Meaning
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
راتلل rā tlә́l
to come (towards 1st person)
-راش rā́ sh-
-راځ rā dz-
-(راغ(ل rā́ ğ(l)-
-(راتل(ل rā tl(ә́l)-
درتلل dar tlә́l
to go (towards 2nd person
-درش dә́r sh-
-درځ dәr dz-
-(درغ(ل dә́r ğ(l)-
-(درتل(ل dәr tl(ә́l)-
ورتلل war tlә́l
to go (towards 3rd person)
-ورش wә́r sh-
-ورځ wәr dz-
-(ورغ(ل wә́r ğ(l)-
-(ورتل(ل wәr tl(ә́l)-
Observation:Three stems:وړ [wṛ] for imperfective and یوس + یووړ for the perfectives . Note – Prefixed وړل /wṛә́l/ 'to carry', use its weak stem [as illustrated with پرېوتل above]
• Past imperfective base: (past continuous) stem+ (ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
• Past perfective base: initial-stressed past perfective stem + (ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
کول and کېدل
Here there use as main verbs are alluded to. To the verb – to do: The brackete [ṛ] in the present perfective base of کول /kawә́l/ 'to do' indicates that it sometimes is not pronounced in speech[10]
Important: Here there use as main verbs are alluded to - when کول and کېدل are used as verbalizers, their perfective forms are not formed with the first conjugation prefix و /wә́/, but are irregular.[10]
• Present imperfective base = (present) imperfective stem
• Present perfective base: و /wә́/ + present perfective stem
• Past imperfective base: (past continuous) stem+ ( ل /ə́l/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
• Past perfective base: و /wә́/ + past perfective stem + ( ل /‑ə́l-/—prohibited in 3rd Person Sing. Masc; optional elsewhere)
Verbs: aspect
Pashto in every tense has an aspect: perfective aspect [بشپړاړخ] and imperfective aspect [نابشپړاړخ]. The perfective aspect indicates completion or termination of an action. The imperfective aspect indicates continuity of an action or the habitual nature of the action.
Present
Past
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Verb – خوړل [to eat]
زه ډوډۍ وخورم نو بيا به راشم [Once] I eat food then i'll come
زه ډوډۍ خورم I am eating
ما ډوډۍ وخوړه I ate food
ما ډوډۍ خوړه چې هغۀ راغلو I was eating when he came
In both aspects the stress [خج] is applied to the verb. In perfective, the stress is applied to the initial part of the verb, while in the imperfective it is generally applied to the final part of the verb.[12]
Aspect
Perfective
Imperfective
Example: Wahə́l [to beat]
ما ډوکړه ووهله
زه ډوکړه وهم
Transliteration
Mā ḍukṛá wə́-wahəla
Zə ḍukṛá wahə́m
Stress notes
Stress shifts to the prefix wə́
Stress to the final verbal suffix ə́m
Literal meaning
I [pronoun oblique case] small-drum [female-singular noun] beat [feminine 3rd person past tense]
I [pronoun direct case] small-drum [female-singular noun] am-beating [1st person present tense]
English Equivalent
I played the small-drum.
I am playing the small drum
First conjugation
First conjugation verbs, e.g. وهل as above, can be recognised by perfective form, which begin with the prefix و /wə́/, which carries an inherent stress. In a-initial verbs, the perfecive prefix و /wə́/ coalesces with the /a/ to form a prefix وا /wā́/. [8] Example:
Aspect
Perfective
Imperfective
Example: Wahə́l [to beat]
ما پانګه واچوله
زه پانګه اچوم
Transliteration
Mā pā́nga wā́cawə́la
Zə pā́nga acawə́m
Stress notes
Stress shifts to the prefix wā́
Stress to the final verbal suffix ə́m
Literal meaning
I [pronoun oblique case] capital [female-singular noun] pour [feminine 3rd person past tense]
I [pronoun direct case] capital [female-singular noun] pour [1st person present tense]
English Equivalent
I investeded
I am investing
Second conjugation
These are referred to as prefixed verbs aboves: all of the form prefix + stem. These behave morphosyntactically: they undergo stress shift to form the perfectived, and they can be separated from the stem by a second-position clitic or the negative morpheme.[8]
These are called compound verbs above – those with adjective complements and noun complements + forms of کول /kawə́l/ or کېدل /kedə́l/. Here the perfective is formed by:[8]
shifting stress from the verbalizer to the noun or adjective complement, according to the lexical stress of noun or adjective
using the irregular perfective forms of the verbalizer (rather than the forms with و /wə́/).
Many third conjugation verbs are contracted in the imperfective aspect, in perfective constructions, the complement is always separate from the verbalizer.
Example 1:
Aspect
Perfective
Imperfective
Transitive: Joṛ-awə́l [to make]
ډوډۍ مې جوړه کړه
ډوډۍ جوړوم
Transliteration
ḍoḍə́i me jóṛa kṛa
ḍoḍə́i joṛawə́m
Stress notes
Stress shifts to the adjective element jóṛa
Stress to the verb element in ə́m
Literal meaning
food/bread [feminine noun] I [1st person sing. weak pronoun] made [singular feminine adjective] do [3rd person sing. fem. past tense]
food/bread [feminine noun] make [1st person present tense]
English Equivalent
I made food
I am making food
Example 2:
Aspect
Note
Perfective
Imperfective
The verbal suffix ېږ [éẓ̌] is stressed in the imperfective.
Due to this the final syllable ي[i] in our example is not stressed.
Compare the past imperfective sentence
کور جوړېده
kor joṛedə́
The house was getting made
Here the normal rules of aspect-stress are followed with the final syllable də́ being stressed.
Intransitive: Joṛ-edə́l [to get made]
کور جوړ شه
کور جوړېږي
Transliteration
kor jóṛ šə
kor joṛéẓ̌i
Stress notes
Stress shifts to the adjective element jóṛ
Stress to the verbal element in éẓ̌i
Literal meaning
house [masc. sing. noun] made [singular masc. adjective] do [3rd person sing. masc. past tense]
house [masc. sing. noun] make [1st person present tense]
It is easy to demonstrate these in with intransitive verbs in the imperfective.
Present imperfective tense
Gəḍéẓ̌ is the present imperfective stem of the verb gaḍedəl [to dance].
Number
Person
Verbal suffix
Example
Translation
Singular
1st person
م əm
زه ګډېږم Zə gaḍéẓ̌əm
I am dancing
2nd person
ې e
ته ګډېږې Tə gaḍéẓ̌ē
You are dancing
3rd person
ي i
دی/دا ګډېږي Day/Dā gaḍéẓ̌i
He/She is dancing
Plural
1st person
و ū
موږ ګډېږو Muẓ̌ gaḍéẓ̌u
We are dancing
2nd person
ئ ai
تاسو ګډېږئ Tā́so gaḍéẓ̌ai
You are dancing
3rd person
ي i
دوی/هغوی ګډېږي Dúi/Hağúi gaḍéẓ̌i
They are dancing
Past imperfective tense
Gəḍēd is the past stem of the verb gaḍēdəl [to dance].
Number
Person
Gender
Verbal suffix
Example
Translation
Singular
1st person
م əm
زه ګډېدم Zə gaḍedә́m
I was dancing
2nd person
ې e
تۀ ګډېدې Tə gaḍedé
You were dancing
3rd person
Masculine
ۀ ə
دی ګډېدۀ Day gaḍedә́
He was dancing
Feminine
ه a
دا ګډېده Dā gaḍedá
She was dancing
Plural
1st person
و u
موږ ګډېدو Muẓ̌ gaḍedú
We were dancing
2nd person
ئ әi
تاسو ګډېدئ Tā́so gaḍedә́i
Your were dancing
3rd person
ل əl
دوی/هغوی ګډېدل Dúi/Hağúi gaḍedә́l
They were dancing
Feminine
ې e
دوی/هغوی ګډېدې Dúi/Hağúi gaḍedé
They were dancing
Note: In the plural the 3rd person past masculine can denote both genders when talking about a group. While in the plural the 3rd person past feminine is only used when talking about a group of individuals classed in the female gender.
Example:
هغوی ګډېدل [They were dancing] – can imply only males dancing or both males and females dancing
هغوی ګډېدې [They were dancing] – implies only women were dancing. It can also be used for transgenders [ايجړاګان] by itself. But you can not say ايجړاګان ګډېدې since ايجړا is a masculine noun so one would use ايجړاګان ګډېدل.
3rd Person Past Singular Masculine
Generally ه [ə] or no-stem suffix is employed. But sometimes ئ [əi] is found also.
PAST – 3rd Person Singular Masculine
Morphology
Verb
Verbal Suffix employed
Imperfective
Perfective
وتل-
-watəl
الوتل
alwatә́l
to fly
none
الوت
alwát
والوت
wā́lwat
پرېوتل
prewatә́l
to fall
پرېووت
prewót
پرېووت
préwot
پوري وتل
pori watә́l
to cross
پوري ووت
pori wót
پوري ووت
póri wot
ننوتل
nənawatә́l
to enter
ننوت
nənawát
ننوت
nә́nawat
وتل
watә́l
to go out
وت
wát
wót
ووت
wә́wat
wә́wot
تېروتل
terwatә́l
to be mistaken
تېروت
terwát
تېروت
térwat
تلل-
-tləl
راتلل rā tlә́l
to come
ئ
əi
راغئ
rāğә́i
راغئ
rā́ğəi
درتلل dar tlә́l
to go
[towards 2nd person]
درغئ
darğә́i
درغئ
dárğәi
ورتلل war tlә́l
[towards 3rd person]
ورغئ
warğә́i
ورغئ
wárğəi
اروېدل
to hear
ۀ
ə
اروېده
arwedә́
وروېده
wárweda
ایشېدل
to boil
ایشېده
išedә́
وایشېده
wә́ išedә́
برېښېدل
to shine/appear
برېښېده
brex̌dә́
وبرېښېده
wә́ brex̌də
درومېدل
to march
درومېده
drumedә́
ودرومېده
wә́ drumedə
زېږېدل
to be born
زېږېده
zeẓ̌edә́
وزېږېده
wә́ zeẓ̌edə
Plural suffix of وتل watəl
With وتل the plural suffix ل(əl) is not used instead:
PAST – 3rd Person Singular Masculine
Change
PAST – 3rd Person Plural Masculine
Verb
Verbal Suffix employed
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
الوتل
alwatә́l
to fly
none
الوت
alwát
والوت
wā́lwat
ووت← واتۀ
wot → wātə
الوته
alwātә́
والواته
wā́lwātə
پرېوتل
prewatә́l
to fall
پرېووت
prewót
پرېووت
préwot
پرېواته
prewātә́
پرېواته
préwātә́
پوري وتل
pori watә́l
to cross
پوري ووت
pori wót
پوري ووت
póri wot
پوري واته
pori wātә́
پوري واته
póri wātə
ننوتل
nənawatә́l
to enter
ننوت
nənawát
ننوت
nә́nawat
ننواته
nənawātә́
ننواته
nә́nawātə
وتل
watә́l
to go out
وت
wát
wót
ووت
wә́wat
wә́wot
واته
wātә́
وواته
wә́wātə
تېروتل
terwatә́l
to be mistaken
تېروت
terwát
تېروت
térwat
تېرواته
terwātә́
تېرواته
térwātә́
Verbs: agreement
Intransitive verbs
As can be seen from the intransitive verb above [ګډېدل] – the verb agrees with the subject.
Agreement – transitive verbs
Ergative construction is used in the past tense of transitive verbs: the predicate [verb] agrees in person, number and gender with the object. The subject changes to into the oblique case.
In the present tense the transitive verb agrees with the subject: in person, number and gender.
Example 1: خوړل – transitive verb – to eat
Past
Verb
Object
Subject
وخړه / وخړله
wә́xwṛa / wә́xwṛәla
دوډۍ
ḍoḍә́i
سړي
saṛí
eat
food
man
past perfective stem – with
3rd person singular feminine verbal suffix
noun – singular, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, masculine, oblique case
The man ate the food
Compare:
Present
Verb
Object
Subject
خوري
xwrí
دوډۍ
ḍoḍә́i
سړی
saṛáy
eat
food
man
present imperfective stem – with
3rd person singular masculine verbal suffix
noun – singular, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, masculine, direct case
The man is eating the food
Example 2: اغوستل – transitive verb – to put on/dress
Past
Verb
Object
Subject
واغوستې
wā́ğoste
جامې
jāmé
ما
mā
wear
clothes
I
past perfective stem – with
3rd person pluralfeminine verbal suffix
noun – plural feminine direct case
noun – singular, oblique case
I wore the clothes
Compare:
Present
Verb
Object
Subject
اغوندم
ağundә́m
جامې
jāmé
زه
zә
put-on
clothes
I
present imperfective stem – with
1st person singular verbal suffix
noun – plural, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, direct case
I am wearing the clothes
Compound transitive verbs – split agreement
In the present tense the nominal/adjectival part of the compound verb agrees with the object. But the auxiliary کول [to do] agrees with the subject.
Example: پاکول – compound transitive verb – to clean
Present
Compound verb
Auxiliary
Adjectival component
Object
Subject
كړي
ki
پاکه
pā́ka
کوټه
koṭá
سړی
saṛáy
do
clean
room
man
present perfective stem – with
3rd person singular masculine verbal suffix
adjective – singular, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, masculine, direct case
[When] the man cleans the room
In the past both nominal/adjectival and auxiliary components agree with the object.
Example: پاکول – compound transitive verb – to clean
Past
Compound verb
Auxiliary
Adjectival component
Object
Subject
كولې
kawә́le
پاکې
pāke
کوټې
koṭé
سړي
saṛí
do
clean
rooms
man
past imperfective stem – with
3rd person plural feminine verbal suffix
adjective – plural, feminine, direct case
noun – plural, feminine, direct case
noun – singular, masculine, oblique case
The man was cleaning the rooms
Verbs: participle
Present participle
The present participle is formed with the past imperfective stem without ل (əl) + ونک (unk) and declension follows the pattern of unstressed ی (ay).
Example ليکل [likəˈl] – writer → ليک [lik] past imperfective stem → ليکونکی [likəwúnkay] – writer
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Direct
ليکونکی likúnkay
ليکونکي likúnki
ليکونکې likúnke
ليکونکې likúnke
Oblique
ليکونکي likúnki
ليکونکو likúnko
ليکونکې likúnke
ليکونکو likúnko
Ablative
ليکونکي likúnki
ليکونکو likúnko
ليکونکې likúnke
ليکونکو likúnko
Vocative
ليکونکیه likúnkya
ليکونکو likúnko
ليکونکې likúnke
ليکونکو likúnko
Past participle
Past participle suffix
The past participle employs the following stems. It is used in perfect constructions of the verb.
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
ی ay
ي i
ې e
Present perfect
This is formed in the following ways:
Category 1 [non-compound verbs]: Past imperfective stem + past participle suffix + present imperfective of "to be"
Category 2 [compound verbs]: Past perfective stem of کېدل-ېدل and کول-ول + past participle suffix + present imperfective of "to be"
Example: of Category 1 verb رسېدل
Singular
Plural
Translation
1st person
Masculine
رسېدلی یم
rasedə́lay
yəm
رسېدلي یو
rasedə́li yu
Singular: I have reached
Plural: We have reached
Feminine
رسېدلې يمه
rasedə́le
yəmá
رسېدلې یو
rasedə́le yu
2nd person
Masculine
رسېدلی یې
rasedə́lay ye
رسېدلي یئ
rasedə́li yəy
Singular: You have reached
Plural: You have reached
Feminine
رسېدلې یې
rasedə́le ye
رسېدلې یئ
rasedə́le yəy
3rd person
Masculine
رسېدلی دی
rasedə́lay day
رسېدلي دي
rasedə́li di
Singular masc: He has reached
Singular fem.: She has reached
Plural: The has reached
Feminine
رسېدلې ده
rasedə́le da
رسېدلې دي
rasedə́le di
Future perfect
Formed by به [future marker] +present perfect
Singular
Plural
Translation
1st person
Masculine
به رسېدلی یم
bə rasedə́lay
yəm
به رسېدلي یو
bə rasedə́li yu
Singular: I will have reached
Plural: We will have reached
Feminine
به رسېدلې يمه
bə rasedə́le
yəmá
به رسېدلې یو
bə rasedə́le yu
2nd person
Masculine
به رسېدلی یې
bə rasedə́lay ye
به رسېدلي یئ
bə rasedə́li yəy
Singular: You will have reached
Plural: You will have reached
Feminine
به رسېدلې یې
bə rasedə́le ye
به رسېدلې یئ
bə rasedə́le yəy
3rd person
Masculine
به رسېدلی دی
bə rasedə́lay day
به رسېدلي دي
bə rasedə́li di
Singular masc: He will have reached
Singular fem.: She will have reached
Plural: They will have reached
Feminine
به رسېدلې ده
bə rasedə́le da
به رسېدلې دي
bə rasedə́le di
Past perfect
This is formed in the following ways:
Category 1 [non-compound verbs]: Past imperfective stem + past participle suffix + past imperfective of "to be"
Category 2 [compound verbs]: Past perfective stem of کېدل-ېدل and کول-ول + past participle suffix + past imperfective of "to be"
Example:
Singular
Plural
Translation
1st person
Masculine
رسېدلی وم
rasedə́lay
wəm
رسېدلي وو
rasedə́li wu
Singular: I had reached
Plural: We had reached
Feminine
رسېدلی ومه
rasedə́lay
wəmá
رسېدلې وو
rasedə́le wu
2nd person
Masculine
رسېدلی وې
rasedə́lay we
رسېدلي وئ
rasedə́li wəy
Singular: You had reached
Plural: You all had reached
Feminine
رسېدلې وې
rasedə́le we
رسېدلې وئ
rasedə́le wəy
3rd person
Masculine
رسېدلی وه
rasedə́lay wə
رسېدلي وو
rasedə́li wu
Singular masc.: He had reached
Singular fem.: She had
Plural: They had reached
Feminine
رسېدلې وه
rasedə́le wa
رسېدلې وې
rasedə́le we
Agreement
Transitive verbs uses ergative construction: Past participle + verb "to be" agree with object; subject is in oblique case
Intransitive verbs: Past participle+ verb "to be" agree with the subject
تاسو وئ\واست tā́so wəy (in Southern dialect – wāst)[2]
3rd
Masc.
دی ؤ day wə
دوی وو\ول dui wu (in Southern dialect – wəl)[3][14]
3rd
Fem
دا وه dā wa
دوی وې dui we
Future tense
In Pashto the future tense [ راتلونکی مهال][15] is the same as the present tense [اوسنی مهال][16] with the exception that in the future tense the marker به [bə] is added.
In the third person future tense, also, irrespective of number or gender وي is used.[17]
Future tense of "to be":
Person
Singular
Plural
1st
به يم
bə yəm
به يو
bə yu
2nd
به يې
bə ye
به يئ
bə yəy
3rd Person
Masculine
به وي
bə wi
Feminine
Imperative Form
Also known as Command Form
Person
Singular
Plural
2nd
ته شه tə sha-can
تاسو شئ
tā́so yəi
"Wi" – usage
وي [wi] is also used; this is the third person singular and plural of the present tense of the verb to be. وي is used when an assumption or a given fact is being discussed where as دی/ده/دي are used reporting an observation. شته functions as "there is" in English.
Sentence
Meaning
وي
سړي دلته ناست وي
Men sit here [fact; speaker assumes this as true]
دي
سړي دلته ناست دي
Men are sitting here [an observation; speaker sees them]
Verbs: causative construction
This is used to make verbs that mean "to make (someone/something) do X" [where do X is the original verb].
Formation: verb stem + an affix و /‑aw‑/.
The causative can either use the present stem or past stem [and sometimes both] – depending on the original verb.
Original verb
Stem used in bold
Causative verb
Present
Past
لوستل lwastә́l
to read
-لول lwal-
‑ لوست
lwast-
لولول lwalawә́l
to cause to read
زنګل
zangә́l
to swing
-زانګ
zāng-
-زنګ
zang-
زنګول
zangawә́l
to rock [e.g. in a cradle]
الوتل
alwatә́l
to fly
-الوز
alwuz-
-الوت
alwat-
الوزول
alwuzawә́l
to make fly; to explode something
اغوستل
aghustә́l
to wear
-اغوند
aghund-
-اغوست
aghust-
اغوندول/ اغوستول
aghundawә́l/aghustawә́l
to dress someone
Example:
خندل – original verb
خندول – causative verb
مه خانده
má xānda
مه (يې) خندوه
má (ye) xandawa
Don't laugh!
Don't make him/her laugh!
Verbs: imperative form
This is used to make commands. The present stems of the verbs are used to make commands:
Verb
Stem used in bold
Present
Past
لوستل lwastә́l
to read
-لول lwal-
‑ لوست
lwast-
Number
The two verbal suffixes are employed:
Number
Suffix
Singular
ه
a
Plural
ئ
əi
Example:
Verb
Number
Singular
Plural
راتلل rātlә́l
to come
راځه rādzá
راځئ
rādzә́i
come
come
The singular is told to one person; the plural is told to more than one person or as form of respectful command.
Positive command
Pashto positive imperative have two aspects: perfective (initial stress) an imperfective (final stress)
وهل – to beat
wahә́l
Imperfective
Perfective
وهه
wahá
و وهه
wә́ waha
beat it [focus on continuance]
beat it [focus on completion]
In general the perfective aspect is used to make commands. However, for doubly irregular verbs, the imperfective aspect is used.
Intensive
The imperfective aspect in the imperative is also used to convey a sense of an urgent command example:
خوره چې ځو
xwrá če dzú
—Finish eating, so we go.
Compound verbs
Transitive
For compounds in the transitive, the nominal/adjective part of the verb agrees with the direct object.
پاکول – to clean
pākawә́l
Masculine object
Feminine object
کور
کوټه
ته کور پاک کړه
tә kor pā́k ka
ته کوټه پاکه کړه
tә koṭá pā́ka ka
Clean the house
Clean the room
Where the is no object, the nominal/adjective part of the verb agrees with the subject
پاکول – to clean
pākawә́l
No object of the verb
Masculine subject
Feminine subject
Said to a male
Said to a female
ته پاک کړه
tә pā́k ka
ته پاکه کړه
tә pā́ka ka
You clean it
You clean it
Intransitive
For compounds in the intransitive, the nominal/adjective part of the verb agrees with the subject
پاکېدل – to get clean
pākedә́l
Masculine subject
Feminine subject
ته پاک شه
tә pā́k ša
ته پاکه شه
tә pā́ka ša
Get clean
Get clean
Negative command
Pashto Negative Imperatives only employs the Imperfective Aspect with stress on the particle مه /má/.
Compare:
وهل – to beat
wahә́l
Imperfective -positive
Negative command
وهه
wahá
مه وهه
má waha
beat it
don't beat it
Prefixed verbs
North Eastern Pashto treats negative forms differently for prefixed verbs, placing the negative particle before the entire verb, whereas some other dialects place it between the prefix and the stem.
پرېکول – to cut
prekawә́l
Prefix: پرې
Stem: کول
North Eastern
Other
مه پرېکوه
má pre kawa
پرې مه کوه
pre má kawa
don't cut
don't cut
Verbs: phrasal verbs
These by adding noun to verbs to make verbs phrase-like meaning.
Examples
Word
Root verb
Final verb
توره کول
túra kawə́l
sword
to do
to perform a brave act
تڼۍ شلول
taṇә́i šlawə́l
button(s)
to tear
to toil/endeavour
ټېل وهل
ṭel wahə́l
push
to beat
to shove
سا اخستل
sā axәstә́l
breath
to take
to breathe
Verbalisers: Kawə́l and Kedə́l
These two verbs, کول and کېدل, are used to form compound verbs (denominal verbs). They use the irregular form in the perfective: without prefix و /wə́/.
Kawə́l
Here are the forms of Kawə́l[18] as a verbaliser [not a main verb]:
Present
Past
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1st Person
کوم
kawə́m
کوو
kawú
کړم
kəm
kṛəm
کړو
ku
kṛu
1st Person
کولم
kawə́ləm
کولو
kawə́lu
کړم
kṛəm
کړلم
kṛə́ləm
کړو
kṛu
کړلو
kṛə́lu
2nd Person
کوې
kawé
کوئ
kawə́y
کړې
ke
kṛe
کړئ
kəy
kṛəy
2nd Person
کولې
kawə́le
کولئ
kawə́ləy
کړې
kṛe
کړلې
kṛə́le
کړئ
kṛəy
کړلئ
kṛə́ləy
3rd Person
کوي
kawí
کړي
ki
kṛi
3rd Person
Masculine
کوه
kawə́
کاوه
kāwə́
(کول(ه
kawə́l(ə)
کړ
kəṛ
که
kə
کړل
kṛəl
کړله
kṛə́lə
Feminine
کوله
kawə́la
کوه
kawá
کولې
kawə́le
کوې
kawé
کړه
kṛa
که
ka
کړله
kṛə́la
کړلې
kṛə́le
کړې
kṛe
As mentioned by Anna Boyle: ړ /ṛ/ in present perfective forms is written, and pronounced in careful speech, but is unpronounced in many dialect.[19] She mentions that in past 3rd person, even the /ṛ/ can be dropped, since the
personal suffixes differ from those in the present: past ه /ə, a/ as opposed present ي /i/; thus revealing tense without need of ړ /ṛ/.[20]
Kedə́l
Here are the forms of Kedə́l[21] as a verbaliser [not a main verb]:
Present
Past
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
1st Person
کېږم
kéẓ̌əm
کېږو
kéẓ̌u
شم
šəm
شو
šu
1st Person
کېد(ل)م
ked(ə́l)ə́m
کېد(ل)و
ked(ə́l)ú
شو(ل)م
šw(ə́l)əm
شو(ل)و
šw(ə́l)u
2nd Person
کېږې
kéẓ̌e
کېږئ
kéẓ̌əy
شې
še
شئ
šəy
2nd Person
کېد(ل)ې
ked(ə́l)é
کېد(ل)ئ
ked(ə́l)ə́y
شو(ل)ې
šw(ə́l)e
شو(ل)ئ
šw(ə́l)əy
3rd Person
کېږی
kéẓ̌i
شي
ši
3rd Person
Masculine
کېده
kedə́
کېدل(ه)
kedə́l(ə́)
شه
šə
شول(ه)
šwə́l(ə́)
Feminine
کېد(ل)ه
ked(ə́l)á
کېد(ل)ې
ked(ə́l)é
شو(ل)ه
šw(ə́l)á
شو(ل)ې
šw(ə́l)é
As mentioned by Anna Boyle the 1st and 2nd person forms of Kedə́l are the same to those of the present perfective forms of "to be".[22]
Future Tense
The future tense is formed with the addition of به /bә/; which has been defined by Tegey as a "future marker"[23] and as a "modal clitic" by Boyle.[5]
Future Expression
The clitic به /bә/ is added to the present perfective verb to convey future time event, speculation, or doubt.[5]
Pashto has pre-positions, post-positions and pre-post-positions. Adpositions generally govern either oblique or ablative case assignment to their objects.[32]
Prepositions
List of prepositions
Preposition
Dialect variation
Meaning
Uses
د
də
/de/, /ye/, /e/
[Middle dialects]
of
Mark possession e.g. د سړي لاس [A man's hand]
To mark the objects of transitive nominalizations or gerunds
To mark the subjects of intransitive nominalizations or gerunds
Marks the item denoting the possessor or the holonym of which another adpositional phrase may denote the possessed item or be the meronym
له
lə
د
də
[North Eastern]
from
It is only considered part of a circumposition/ambiposition.
However, له /lə/ can function as a preposition of ablative function or of origin, when its object appears with ablative case marking. e.g. له پلاره راغلئ یم [I have come from father; North Western and South Western Dialects]
بې
be
without
Considered as prefix. But can also be considered a preposition since the noun followed by بې shows ablative case-marking e.g. بې پلاره – with پلار being in the ablative case
په
pə
پر
/pər/
on; at
Used as preposition to express location e.g. په مېز مې کېښود [I kept it on the table]
Used as part circumposition containing it may be used to express location e.g. په ... باندې
Can govern a noun that refers to a time of day e.g. په يوې بجې راشه [Come at 1 O'Clock]
تر
tər
till; than
Usually used as an ambiposition/circumpositions to express "up to, until" e.g. تر پېښور پورې لاړم [I went till Peshawar]
As a preposition; is used in comparative and superlative constructions e.g. زه تر ماما دنګ يم [I am taller than my maternal-uncle]
لکه
laká
like
As a preposition used as "like"e.g. لکه د زمري زورور يم [I am strong like a lion]
Postpositions
Preposition
Dialect variaition
Meaning
Uses
ته
tə
to
Denotes destination. The object appears in the oblique case form. Example کور ته ځم [I am going to the house]
ته
tə
له
lə
[North Eastern]
for
Denotes recipients e.g. ځان ته څپلۍ هم اخلم [I am buying shoes also for myself]
Ambipositions
Pashto uses a significant amount of ambipositions (circumpositions). These usually have two elements, with the noun object positioned between the two elements.
The initial element is likely to be one of these four elements:
Transliteration
په
pə
له
lə
د
də
تر
tər
The final element is likely to be one of these words:
Transliteration
Meaning
لاندې
lā́nde
below
پسې
pəsé
after
نه
na
پورې
póre
سره
sará
with
کې/کښې
ke/kx̌e
on
باندې
bā́nde
on
څخه
tsә́xa
غوندې
ğwә́nde
like
Here is a list of the simple formations:
Second Component →
کښې...
... ke
نه....
... na
لاندې...
...lā́nde
باندې...
... bā́nde
پسې...
... pəsé
پورې...
... póre
سره...
... sará
څخه...
...tsә́xa
وروستو...
wrústo.
First Component
↓
...د
də ...
د...نه
də...na
'from'
د ...لاندې
də...lā́nde
'under'
د ... پسې
də...pəsé
'after'
د ... پورې
də...póre
'up to,
across'
د...سره
də...sará
'with'
د...څخه
də...tsә́xa
'from'
...له
lə ...
له...نه
lə...na
'from'
له...لاندې
lə...lā́nde
'under'
له...سره
lə...sará
'with'
له...څخه
lə...tsә́xa
'from'
...پر
pər ...
په... کښې
pə...ke
'in, at, on'
په...باندې
pə...bā́nde
'on top of, by
means of'
په...پسې
pə...pəsé
'after,
behind'
پر ... پورې
pər...póre
'with'
په...سره
pə...sará
'with'
...په
pə ...
...تر
tər ...
تر...لاندې
tər...lā́nde
'under'
تر...پورې
tər...póre
'until, up to'
تر ... وروستو
tər...wrústo
'after'
Examples
Example
Example's meaning
په ... کښې
په سيند کښې
in the river
په ... پسې
په ما پسې
after me
پر ... باندې
په مېز باندې
on the table
له ... سره
له سړي سره
with a man
تر ... لاندې
تر مېز لاندې
under the table
له ... څخه
له سړي څخه
from a man
له ... نه
له سړي نه
from a man
د ... نه
د سړي نه
from a man
تر ... پورې
تر پېښور پورې
till Peshawar
تر ... وروستو
تر خوراک وروستو
after food
The first element must be dropped when the object of the pre-position is a weak pronoun. Examples:
Example sentence
Meaning
سړی ور سره ځي
A man is going with him/her
سړي ور سره ځي
Men are going with him/her
چاړه مې در نه واخس
I took the knife from you
ليک ور باندې ايښی دی
The letter is on it
Sometimes in colloquial Pashto, the word له is dropped from نه and سره.
Colloquial Pashto
له سړي نه
سړي نه
له سړي سره
سړي سره
Phrases
Pashto consist of combinations of circumposition phrases and additional words.
With له.... نه
These use ambiposition له.... نه + additional word
In some dialects له is replaced by د
Component
Meaning
له.... نه پخوا
له ... نه مخکې
From + before
before
له...نه پس
له...نه پسته
له...نه ورستو
له ... نه وروستۀ
From + after
after
له...نه+ بهرر
From + outside
outside
Examples
Phrase
Sentence
Meaning
له .. نه پخوا
له تا نه پخوا راغله
She came before you
د ...نه مخکې
ستا نه مخکې راغله
[د+تا = ستا]
She came before you
له ... نه وروستو
له تا نه وروستو راغله
She came after you
د ... نه بهر
د ور نه بهر ولاړ و
He was standing outside the door
With د ... په
Examples:
Meaning
د ... په اړه də ... pə aṛá
about
د ... په شان də ... pə šān
like
د ... په وړاندې
də ... pə wṛā́nde
against/opposite
د ... په پرتله
də ... pə partalá
in comparison to
د ... له مخې
də ... lə mә́xe
according to
د ... په ځای
də ...pə dzāy
instead of
Examples:
Note: the possessive phrase [də/د] can be substituted with a weak possessive pronoun.
Sentence where د not dropped
Meaning
Sentence with possessive pronouns
Meaning
د ... په اړه
د سړي په اړه يې څه ووې
də saṛí pə aṛá ye tsə wә́ we
What did he/she say about the man
زما په اړه يې څه ووې
zmā pə aṛá ye tsə wә́ we
What did he/she say about me
د ... په شان
د سپوږمۍ په شان ښځه غواړم
də spoẓ̌mә́i pa šān x̌ә́dza ğwāṛә́m
I want a wife like the moon
ستا په شان ښځه غواړم
stā pa šān x̌ә́dza ğwāṛә́m
I want a wife like you
د ... په وړاندې
د بلې ډلې په وړاندې يې وينه وکړه
də bә́le ḍále pə wṛā́nde ye wә́ina wә́ kṛa
[They/He/She] talked against the other party
ستا په وړاندې يې وينه وکړه
stā pə wṛā́nde ye wә́ina wә́ kṛa
[They/He/She] talked against you.
د ... په پرتله
د پيشوګانو په پرتله سپي زيات مينه ناک وي
də pišogā́no pə partalá spí zyāt minanā́k wi
In comparison to cats, dogs are more affection
زموږ په پرتله هغوی لټ دي
zmuẓ̌ pə partalá hağúi laṭ di
In comparison to us, they are lazy
د ... له مخې
د دې څېړنې له مخې دا ډېر ګټور دی
də de tseṛә́ne lə mә́xe dā ḍer gaṭawár day
According to this research this is very beneficial
ستا له مخې څنګه شانتې سړی دی
stā lə mә́xe tsə́nga šā́nte saṛáy day
According to you, what kind of a guy is he.
د ... په ځای
د کابل په ځای کندهار ته لاړ شه
də kābə́l pə dzāy kandahā́r tə lā́ṛ sha
Instead of Kabul go to Kandahar
زما په ځای بل کس ټاکل شوی دی
zmā pə dzāy bəl kas ṭākə́l šə́way day
He has been elected instead of me
Adpositions and noun cases
Oblique case
Most common case. The object [noun] of an adposition is most often assigned the oblique case.
Used with:
ته /tə/ 'to'
سره /səra/ '[comitative] with'
the prepositions د /də/ 'of' and په /pə/ 'at', plus any circumposition consisting of a postposition and one of these two prepositions;
the circumposition له ... نه /lə ... na/ 'from/.
Example: سړی [using preposition د] and ښځه [using preposition په] are in oblique case; compare ملګری in direct case
Pashto does not have a distinguishable morphological passive construction. The construction identified by some comprises a special case of denominal verbs.[33] The verbal part of the construction consists of a form of the verbaliser کېدل /kedә́l ('to become') and a verbal complement (in the infinitive form).The actor is expressed as the subject of the sentence, and that noun is case-marked direct and triggers verb agreement (in both past and present).
The foundations of two buildings were laid in the city
The auxiliary verb کېدل combined with the infinitive وهل:
Active
"Passive"
Example:
Present
Past
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
وهل
wahә́l
وهل کېدل
wahә́l kedә́l
زه وهل کېږم
که زه ووهل شم
زه وهل کېدلم
زه ووهل شوم
zә wahә́l kéẓ̌әm
kә zә wә́ wahәl šәm
zә wahә́l kedә́lәm
zә wә́ wahәl šwәm
to beat
to beaten
I am being beaten
Should I be beaten
I was being beaten
I was beaten
If the actor, if expressed, will most likely appear in an adpositional phrase governed by the circumposition د ...له خوا /də...lə xwā/ or د...له لورې /də...lə lure/.
Present
Past
Imperfective
Perfective
Imperfective
Perfective
وهل
زه د خځې له خوا وهل کېږم
که زه د خځې له خوا ووهل شم
زه د خځې له خوا وهل کېدلم
زه د خځې له خوا ووهل شوم
zә dә x̌ә́źe lә xwā wahә́l kéẓ̌әm
kә zә dә x̌ә́źe lә xwā wә́ wahәl šәm
zә dә x̌ә́źe lә xwā wahә́l kedә́lәm
zә dә x̌ә́źe lә xwā wә́ wahәl šwәm
Meaning
I am being beaten by the woman
Should I be beaten by the woman
I was being beaten by the woman
I was beaten by the woman
As with active sentences, the subject may be expressed through the verb agreement suffix alone
I am finding the studies that were written by the woman
Adverbial Clauses
Pashto utilises conjunction phrases as adverbs. Examples:
Conjunction
Transliteration
Literal meaning
English approximate
هيڅ کله نه
hits kә́la na
nothing when no
never, at no time
که هر څنګه
kə hər tsә́nga
if ever how
howsoever, in whatever way
راځه چې
rādzá che
come that
(come) let's
تر اوسه پورې
tər ósa póre
till now up to/till
so far, as yet, up till now
تر دغه پورې
tər dáğa póre
till this till
as far as this
تر کله پورې
tər kә́la póre
till when till
till when?, how long?
تر کومه پورې
tər kóma póre
till where till
how far?, to where?
Particles
Anna Boyle Davids defines particles "any lexically free item that does not host inflection and that does not function as the argument or complement of a verb or adposition".[34]
Existential
The word شته [shta] and its negative form نشته /nə́ šta/ is used to denote existence.
Sentence
Literal meaning
Meaning
پړنګ شته ؟
pṛāng šta?
Tiger there-is/are (exists)?
Is there a tiger?
نشته
ná šta
not-there-is/are
There isn't
Modal Particles
Anna Boyle Davids defines these as: "...uninflected sentence-level modifiers. The clause within the scope of the particle may appear as a main clause or as a finite subordinate clause".[5] چې /t͡ʃe/ can appear as a main clause and as a finite subordinate clause.
Affirmative
که نه
Affirmation questions and statements contain the affirmation particle: که نه /kə ná/ (literally: "if/or no").[35]
Affirmative Question Example:
ex:
لاړې که نه ؟
lā́ṛe
go:AOR:PST:2:SG
kə
or:PARTICLE
ná
no:NEG
lā́ṛe kə ná
go:AOR:PST:2:SG or:PARTICLE no:NEG
You went, didn't you?
Affirmative Statement Example:
ex:
نه که نه
ná
no:NEG
kə
or:PARTICLE
ná
no:NEG
ná kə ná
no:NEG or:PARTICLE no:NEG
No, of-course not; No, I didn't you know
Deontic
دې
The modal دې [de; Southern dialects: di] expresses a duty or obligation like "must " when used with the perfective tense of a verb.[36]
ex:
هغه دې وګډېږي
hağá
he:3SG:STR:DIR
de
NEC
wә́gaḍegi
dance:AOR:PRS:3:SG
hağá de wә́gaḍegi
he:3SG:STR:DIR NEC dance:AOR:PRS:3:SG
He should/must dance
باید
The modal "bāyád" is also found in construction with the present perfective form of the verb. Tegey notes that like English "should" it carries ambiguity.[37]
ex:
هغه بايد وګډېږي
hağá
he:3SG:STR:DIR
bāyád
NEC
wә́gaḍegi
dance:AOR:PRS:3:SG
hağá bāyád wә́gaḍegi
he:3SG:STR:DIR NEC dance:AOR:PRS:3:SG
He should dance
پکار دى
"Pəkā́r day" [it is needed] is also used as deontic clause
The particle خو /xo/ appears in the second-position and denotes emphasis.[38]
ex:
دا خو منو ده
dā
this:DIR
xo
xo:EMPH
manó
shark:F:DIR
da
be:CONT:PRS:3:SG:F
dā xo manó da
this:DIR xo:EMPH shark:F:DIR be:CONT:PRS:3:SG:F
This is a shark!
Note: as an emphatic خو /xo/ is considered to be different from the conjunction خو /xo/ 'but'.
Possibility
ښایي / ښائي
The particle x̌ā́yi is placed sentence-initially and can appear in construction with the complementizer چې [če][39]
ex:
ښايي چې سبا ته راشي
x̌ā́yi
maybe:PARTICLE
če
that:COMP
sabā́
tomorrow:ADV
ta
to
rā́ši
come:AOR:PRS:3
x̌ā́yi če sabā́ ta rā́ši
maybe:PARTICLE that:COMP tomorrow:ADV to come:AOR:PRS:3
Maybe he/she will come tomorrow
The particle x̌ā́yi can also demonstrate deonitic "should"
کېدی شي
Kedáy ši (could become) which potential construction of the verb "to become" – کېدل /kedә́l/ is also used as particle to denote possibility – again as above چې maybe used
The particle کاشکې /kāške/ or کاشکي /kāški/ is used as English "if only"; to express wish or desire that something would happen or would have happened.[41]
It can be used with an optative verb, to express a counterfactual wish.
She was saying oh sweet beloved, if only your intelligence be mine
Nuance
In this section the nuances or the semantics in relation to specific words will be explained.
راوړل and راوستل
Both راوستل /rāwastә́l/ and راوړل /rāwṛә́l/ are both transitive verbs denoting the meaning of "to bring"; but their nuance is different. راوړل /rāwṛә́l/ has the meaning in which the subject is directly involved thus have the meaning more inline with "to bring and carry". راوستل /rāwastә́l/ has the meaning in which the subject is causing the object to be brought but the object by its own motion is come thus having a meaning closer to "to bring along".[43]
Tangible Objects
Example راوړل:
ex:
اوبه مې راوړې
obә́
water:N:F:DIR
me
I:SG:WK
rā́wṛe
bring:AOR:PST:3:F:PL
obә́ me rā́wṛe
water:N:F:DIR I:SG:WK bring:AOR:PST:3:F:PL
I brought the water
Explanation: Here the water is being brought by the speaker by his own hand or through a container e.g. by a glass
Example راوستل:
ex:
اوبه مې راوستې
obә́
water:N:F:DIR
me
I:SG:WK
rā́waste
bring:AOR:PST:3:F:PL
obә́ me rā́waste
water:N:F:DIR I:SG:WK bring:AOR:PST:3:F:PL
I brought the water
Explanation: Here the water is being brought by the speaker as he/she has caused its bringing e.g. has made a canal/channel from the river bringing about the water
Intangible Objects
For intangible object راوستل /rāwastә́l/ is better suited; as the object or concepts comes by its own motion.
ex:
پرمختګ يې راوست
parmәxtág
development:N:M:DIR
ye
3:WK
rā́wast
bring:AOR:PST:3:M:SG
parmәxtág ye rā́wast
development:N:M:DIR 3:WK bring:AOR:PST:3:M:SG
He/she/they brought development
But for bringing "news", "omens/luck" or "diseases" راوړل /rāwṛә́l/ is used – perhaps as the subject is implied to carry it.
As noted by Ghaza Noor, the choice of an adjective suffix can also have a change on the meaning.[44]
Example: اغېز – ağéz – effect [noun.masc.sing and plural]
Adjective
Trannsliteration
Meaning
Nuance
Example Sentence
اغېزمن
ağezmán
affected
to describe the subject or object being influenced
زه له تا څخه اغېزمن شوم
zə stā na ağezmán šwəm
I am affected by you
اغېزناک
ağeznā́k
effective
to describe the subject or object having the effective influence
ته اغېزناکه وينه کوې
tə ağeznā́ka waina kawé
You talk effectively
Slang
Pashto also has rich slang language. Examples:
Slang
Literary
Meaning
Notes
بمبه راخوشې که
bambá rā́ xwǝše ka
بمبه ولګوه
bambá wə́ lagawa
Turn on the faucet/tap
خوشې (xwǝ́še) means "set free/loose";
so a literal translation would be "Let loose the tap!"
غوړي مې په کټوۍ کې ور وويشتل
ğwaṛí me pə kaṭwə́i ke war wə́ wištəl
غوړي مې په کټوۍ کښې ور واچول
ğwaṛí me pə kaṭwə́i kx̌e war wə́ wištəl
I have put the oil in the cooking pot
ويشتل (wištǝ́l) means "to shoot [e.g a gun";
so a literal translation would be "I flung the oil in the cooking pot"
Syntax
Pashto has subject-object-verb (SOV) word order as opposed to English subject-verb-object (SVO) word order. In intransitive sentences where there is no object Pashto and English both have subject-verb (SV) word order.[45]
In Pashto, however, all modifiers precede the verb whereas in English most of the verbal modifiers follow the verb.[46]
Phrasal syntax
Pashto exhibits strong head-final order in noun phrases and verb phrases.[32]
Noun phrases
Pashto noun phrases generally exhibit the internal order determiner – quantifier – adjective – noun.[32]
Adpositional phrases
The salient exception to the head-final principle can be found in adpositional phrases, given the existence of prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.[47]
Verb phrases
Generally, head-final order is found also in the verb phrase, with the verb, if any, as the final element. Relative clauses and sentence-level modifiers may appear in postclausal position.[48]
Light verb constructions
Pashto has a robust system of light verb constructions (LVC), two-word expressions that are semantically interpretable as a single predicate. Only one of the two canonical types—those of the form noun/adjective + verb (N-V).[48]
As verbs are a closed class in Pashto, the LVC is the only means of creating new verbal forms in the language; it is also used as a way of importing loanwords, with the borrowed word filling the complement slot.[48]
The inventory of light verbs in Pashto should not surprise anyone familiar with LVCs. In addition to the verbs کېدل /kedəl/ 'to become' and کول /kawəl/ 'to make; to do', which we refer to as the intransitive and transitive verbalisers when they act as light verbs, Pashto uses the verbs اخیستل /axistəl/ 'to take', وهل /wahəl/ 'to beat', نيول /niwəl/ 'to seize; to grasp', and ایستل /istəl/ 'to throw out' as light verbs.
Adjective complements of N-V LVCs always show agreement with the undergoer of the action of the verb, which is in turn marked in accordance with Pashto's system of split ergativity. Nominal complements are usually treated as the direct object of the verb, and are therefore also case-marked according to split-ergative alignment. The undergoer of the action, on the other hand, cannot be a direct object, as the verb can have at most two arguments; it is instead indicated by an adposition and accordingly case-marked oblique.[49]
Elements in the verbal group
The verbal group in general Pashto
Certain particles can be inserted between:
The perfective prefix و /wə/́and its verb.
A prefix or pseudo-prefix and its verb. (This includes both the a-initial complex verbs and second conjugation, or prefixed, verbs.)
The complement of a denominal verb and its verbalizer.[49]
The particles that interact with verbs in this way are:
The modal clitics به /bə/ and دې /de/
The weak personal pronouns, or pronominal clitics مې /me/, دې /de/, یې /ye/, and مو /mo/
The adverbial clitics خو /xo/ and نو /no/
The negatives نه /ná/ and مه /má/
Modals, weak personal pronouns, and adverbials are all second-position clitics. They also obey strict rules of ordering relative to each other. Tegey (1977) reports the following ordering of enclitics between verbal components: خو /xo/> به /bə/> { مو /mo/| مې /me/| دې /de/| یې /ye/} > نو /no/. If the first syllable of the verb does not carry stress (that is, if it is an imperfective form), the negative precedes the verb, and the clitics follow the negative. Also, if a perfective form is negated, the negative marker—not the initial syllable of the verb—takes the stress.[50]
Negative placement in the perfective verb phrase
The negative particle نه /ná/ nearly always precedes the verb and is placed as close to the verb stem as possible. In perfective constructions, it therefore follows the perfective marker و /wə/ for simplex verbs, and either initial /a/, the prefix, or the light verb complement for complex verbs. Because it carries an inherent stress, it takes the main stress in a perfective verb phrase.[13]
1.^ په بارې کښې [pə bâre ke] is also used but this is a word-for-word borrowing from Hindi/Urdu के बारे में/کے بارے میں [kē bārē mēⁿ]. The Hindi word bārē [बारे/بارے] is itself from Persian در بارهٔ [dar bāraye\dar bāreye]
2.^ Pashto has a rich number of dialects due to which the language has been spelled several ways in English: Pashto, Pakhto, Pukhto.[52]
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