Pashto grammar explained

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 the following article stress is represented by the following markers over vowels: ә́, á, ā́, ú, ó, í and é.

Pronouns

• Note: هغه as a demonstrative pronoun (that) has initial stress ['''há'''ğa] whereas the personal pronoun (he, she, it) has final stress [ha'''ğá'''].^[1]

Personal pronouns

				(English)	Direct	Indirect
1st person	singular			I	زه zə	ما mā
	plural			we	موږ\مونږ muẓ̌/munẓ̌
2nd person	singular			you (sing.)	ته tə	تا tā
	plural			you (plur.)	تاسو\تاسې tā́so/tā́se^[2] ^[3]
3rd person	visible	singular	masc.	he	دی day	دۀ də
			fem.	she	دا dā	دې de
		plural		they	دوی dui
	invisible	singular	masc.	he (invis.)	هغه hağá	هغۀ hağә́
			fem.	she (invis.)		هغې hağé
		plural		they (invis.)	هغوی hağúi

Demonstrative pronouns

دغه dağa (this)

Direct	دغه dáğa
Indirect	دې de

هغه háğa (that)

	Singular		Plural
	Masc.	Fem.
Direct	هغه háğa
Indirect	هغۀ háğә	هغې háğe	هغو háğo

Possessive pronouns

There is no plural form with nouns.

Independent forms

			Singular	Plural
1st person			زما zmā	زموږ\زمونږ zamuẓ̌/zamung
2nd person			ستا stā	ستاسو stā́so
3rd person	visible	masc.	د دۀ də də	د دوی də dúi
		fem.	د دې də de
	invis.	masc.	د هغۀ də hağә́	د هغوی də hağúi
		fem.	د هغې də hağé

Enclitic forms

	Singular	Plural
1st person	مې me	مو mo, mu
2nd person	دې de, di	مو mo, mu
3rd person	يې ye

Interrogative pronouns

		who	which	which [ord. numbers] Literary	which[ord. numbers] Yusapzai	what	how many	how much	how
Direct	Masc.	څوک tsok	کومkom	څوومtsowə́m	څويمswajə́m	څهtsə	څومرهtsómra	څونهtsóna	څنګهtsə́nga
	Fem.		کومهkóma	څوومه tsowə́ma	څويمهswaima
Oblique	Masc.	چا čā	کومkom	څوومtsowə́m	څويمswajə́m
	Fem.		کومېkóme	څوومېtsowə́me	څويمېswaime

Indefinite

• 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]

Masculine Nouns				Feminine Nouns
	Ending Phoneme				Ending Phoneme
	Ends in diphthong oɪ				Ends in diphthong əi
	زویzoy	son			هوسۍhosә́i	deer
	Ends in diphthong ɑi				Ends in e
	ځایdzā́y	place			ملګرېmalgә́re	friend [female]
	Ends in unstressed aɪ
	ګاډیgā́ḍay	car			ژبهžә́ba	tongue, language
	Ends in stressed aɪ				Ends in o
	سړیsaṛáy	man			پيشوpišó	cat
	Ends in stressed a [few nouns]				Ends in stressed a [most nouns]
	ګېنډهgenḍá	rhino			مېلهmelá	a fair
	ورارۀwrārә́	brother's son
	Ends in consonant [most nouns]				Ends in consonant [few nouns]
	تنورtanúr	oven			مېچنmečә́n	handmill
	Ends in u
	څانډوtsānḍú	husband of a wife's sister
	Ends in diphthong aw				Ends in əw
	پلوpaláw	side			کټوkaṭә́w	cooking pot
	End in i [only for professions]				End in i [most nouns]
	دوبيdobí	washerman			بديbadí	hostility
	Ends in ɑ [few nouns]				Ends in ɑ [most nouns]
	ماماmāmā́	maternal uncle			رڼاraṇā́	light

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.

Ending in a consonant
(animate)! !!Singular!!Plural

Direct		ان ā́n
Oblique		انو ā́no
Ablative	هa
Vocative

Ending in a consonant
(inanimate)! !!Singular!!Plural

Direct		ونه úna
Oblique		ونو úno
Ablative	هa
Vocative

Ending in -ә́
(animate)!!Singular!Plural

Direct	ۀ ә́	انā́n
Oblique		انوā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -ә́
(inanimate)!!Singular!Plural

Direct	ۀ ә́	ونهúna
Oblique		ونوúno
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -i!!Singular!Plural

Direct	يi	يانyā́n
Oblique		یانوyā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -ā!!Singular!Plural 1!Plural 2

Direct	اā	ايانāyā́n	اګانāgā́n
Oblique		ايانوāyā́no	اګانوāgā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -u!!Singular!Plural 1!Plural 2

Direct	وu	وانwā́n	ګانgā́n
Oblique		وانوwā́no	ګانوgā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Examples

پلار "father" ! !!Singular!!Plural

Direct	پلار plār	پلرونه plərunə
Oblique		پلرونو pləruno
Ablative	پلارهplā́ra
Vocative

غوږ "ear"! !!Singular!!Plural

Direct	غوږğwəg	غوږونهğwəgúna
Oblique		غوږونوğwəgúno
Ablative	غوږهğwə́ga
Vocative

لېوۀ "wolf"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	لېوۀlewә́	لېوانlewā́n
Oblique		لېوانوlewā́no
Ablative
Vocative

زړۀ "heart"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	زړۀzṛә́	زړونهzṛúna
Oblique		زړونوzṛúno
Ablative
Vocative

وادۀ "wedding"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	وادۀwādә́	ودونهwadúna
Oblique		ودونوwadúno
Ablative
Vocative

درزي "tailor" ! !Singular!Plural

Direct	درزيdarzí	درزيانdarzyā́n
Oblique		درزیانوdarzyā́no
Ablative
Vocative

باچا "king"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	باچاbāčā́	باچايانbāčāyā́n
Oblique		باچايانوbāčāyā́no
Ablative
Vocative

ماما "(maternal) uncle"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	ماماmāmā́	ماماګانmāmāgā́n
Oblique		ماماګانوmāmāgā́no
Ablative
Vocative

ډاکو "bandit"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	ډاکوḍākú	ډاکوانḍākwā́n
Oblique		ډاکوانوḍākwā́no
Ablative
Vocative

الو "potato"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	الوalú	الوګانalugā́n
Oblique		الوګانوalugā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Feminine nouns

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).

Ending in -a!!Singular!Plural

Direct	هa	ېe
Oblique	ېe	وo
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in a consonant !!Singular!Plural

Direct		ېe
Oblique	ېe	وo
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -e!!Singular!Plural

Direct	ېe	یانې yā́ne
Oblique		یانوyā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -ā and -o!!Singular!Plural

Direct		ګانې or وېgā́ne or we
Oblique		ګانو or ووgā́no or wo
Ablative
Vocative

Examples

اسپه "horse, mare"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	اسپهáspa	اسپېáspe
Oblique	اسپېáspe	اسپوáspo
Ablative
Vocative

مياشت "month"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	مياشتmyā́št	مياشتېmyā́šte
Oblique	مياشتېmyā́šte	مياشتوmyā́što
Ablative
Vocative

خواښې "mother-in-law"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	خواښېxwā́x̌e	خواښیانېxwax̌yā́ne
Oblique		خواښیانوxwax̌yā́no
Ablative
Vocative

رڼا "light"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	رڼاraṇā́	رڼاوې or رڼاګانېraṇā́we or raṇāgā́ne
Oblique		رڼاوو or رڼاګانوraṇā́wo or raṇāgā́no
Ablative
Vocative

بیزو "monkey"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	بیزوbizó	بیزوګانې or بیزووېbizogā́ne or bizówe
Oblique		بیزوګانو or بیزووbizogā́no or bizówo
Ablative
Vocative

Class 2

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.

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.

With -ú/ó-!!Singular!Plural

Direct	úC, óC	āCə́
Oblique	āCə́	aCó
Ablative	úCa, óCa
Vocative

Mixed! !Singular!Plural

Direct	úC, óC	uCúna, oCúna or əCúna
Oblique	uCə́, óCə́	uCúno, oCúno or əCúno
Ablative	úCa, óCa
Vocative

Examples

پښتون "Pashtun"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	پښتونpəx̌tún	پښتانهpəx̌tānə́
Oblique	پښتانهpəx̌tānə́	پښتنوpəx̌tanó
Ablative	پښتونهpəx̌túna
Vocative

شپون "shepherd"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	شپونšpún	ښپانۀšpānə́
Oblique	ښپانۀšpānə́	شپنوšpanó
Ablative	شپونهšpúna
Vocative

سکور "coal"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	سکورskór	سکارۀskārə́
Oblique	سکارۀskārə́	سکروskaró
Ablative	سکورهskóra
Vocative

تنور "oven"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	تنورtanúr	تنرونه or تنورونهtanərúna or tanurúna
Oblique	تنارهtanārə́	تنرونو or تنورونوtanərúno or tanurúno
Ablative	تنورهtanúra
Vocative

تول "weight"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	تولtol	تولونهtolúna
Oblique	تالۀtālə́	تولونوtolúno
Ablative	تولهtóla
Vocative

مېلمه "guest"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	مېلمهmelmá	مېلمانه or مېلمهmelmānə́ or melmə́
Oblique	مېلمانه or مېلمهmelmānə́ or melmə́	مېلمنو or مېلمو melmanó or melmó
Ablative	مېلمهmelmá
Vocative

غل "thief"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	غلğal	غلهğlə
Oblique	غلهğlə	غلوğlo
Ablative	غلهğála
Vocative

غر "mountain"
(exception)! !!Singular!!Plural

Direct	غرğar	غرونه or (rare) غرۀğrúna or ğrə
Oblique		غرونوğrúno
Ablative	غره ğára ğrə
Vocative

دښمن "enemy"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	دښمنdux̌mán	دښمن or دښمنانdux̌mə́n or dux̌mənā́n
Oblique	دښمنdux̌mə́n	دښمنو or دښمنانوdux̌mə́no or dux̌mənā́no
Ablative	دښمنهdux̌mána
Vocative

پالېز "kitchen garden"!!Singular!Plural

Direct	پالېز paléz	پلېزونهpalezúna
Oblique	پالېزۀ or پالېزpalezə́ or paléz	پلېزونوpalezúno
Ablative	پلېزهpaléza
Vocative

Class 3

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.

Ending in -ay
(masculine)!!Singular!Plural 1!Plural 2

Direct	یay	يi	يانyā́n
Oblique	يí	و or یوo or әyo/iyo	يانوyā́no
Ablative	یهaya
Vocative

Ending in -e
(feminine)!!Singular!Plural

Direct	ې e	ې e
Oblique		و or یوo or әyo/iyo
Ablative
Vocative

Ending in -əy
(feminine)!!Singular!Plural 1!Plural 2!Plural 3

Direct	ۍ, يə́y, i	ۍə́y	یانېyā́ne	ګانېgā́ne
Oblique		وo	یانوyā́no	ګانوgā́no
Ablative
Vocative

Examples

سپی "dog"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	سپیspáy	سپي or سپیانspí or spiyā́n
Oblique	سپيspí	سپو or سپیو or سپیانوspó or spío or spiyā́no
Ablative	سپیهspáya
Vocative

سپۍ "she-dog"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	سپۍspə́i	سپۍ or سپیانې or سپۍګانېspə́y or spə́iyā́ne or spə́igā́ne
Oblique		سپیو or سپیانو or سپۍګانوspə́yo or spə́iyā́no or spə́igā́no
Ablative
Vocative

ملګری "male friend"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	ملګریmalgə́ray	ملګريmalgə́ri
Oblique	ملګريmalgə́ri	ملګرو or ملګریوmalgə́ro or malgə́ryo
Ablative	ملګریهmalgə́rya
Vocative

ملګرې "female friend"! !Singular!Plural

Direct	ملګرېmalgə́re	ملګرېmalgə́re
Oblique		ملګرو or ملګریوmalgə́ro or malgə́ryo
Ablative
Vocative

Uncountable nouns

They don't have plural forms. They take و -o in the oblique and ablative forms.

FeminineExamples include اوړه [oṛә́ – flour], اوبه [obә́ -water], پۍ [pə́i – milk] etc.

Example: اوبه – water

	Singular	Plural
Direct	اوبهobә́
Oblique	اوبوobó
Ablative
Vocative

Example: پۍ – milk

	Singular	Plural
Direct	پۍpə́i
Oblique	پيوpə́io
Ablative
Vocative

MasculineExamples include: ږدن [ẓ̌dәn -sorghum], دال [dāl -lentils], شراب [šarā́b – alcohol]

Example: دال – lentils

	Singular	Plural
Direct	دالdāl
Oblique	دالوdā́lo
Ablative
Vocative	دالهdā́la

Irregular nouns

These are limited to nouns denoting kinship.

Feminine – "or" stemThese include:

مور /mor/ 'mother'; plural stem /máynd-/

خور /xor/ 'sister'; plural stem /xwáynd-/

ترور /tror/ 'paternal aunt'; plural stem /tráynd-/

نګور /ngor/ 'daughter-in-law'; plural stem /ngáynd-/

Example:

	Singular	Plural
Direct	مورmor	مېندېmáynde
Oblique		مېندوmáyndo
Ablative	مورېmóre
Vocative

Brother and daughterورور= brother takes وڼه in direct plural

	Singular	Plural
Direct	ورورwror	وروڼهwrúṇa
Oblique		وروڼوwrúṇo
Ablative	ورورهwrorá
Vocative

لور= daughter takes وڼې in direct plural

	Singular	Plural
Direct	لورlur	لوڼېlúṇe
Oblique		لوڼوlúṇo
Ablative	لورېlúre
Vocative

Son

	Singular	Plural
Direct	زویzoy	زامنzāmə́n
Oblique		زامنوzāmə́no
Ablative	زویهzoya
Vocative

Adjectives

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	colspan=3	-	colspan=2	-ay
		Oblique II	rowspan="2" colspan=3	-a	rowspan="2"	-aya	-i
		Vocative	-e
		Oblique	rowspan=2	-	rowspan=2 colspan=2	-ə	-i
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	colspan=3	-o	-io/-o	-yo/-o
Feminine	Singular	Direct	rowspan=2 colspan=3	-a	rowspan=5	-əy	rowspan=5	-e
		Oblique II
		Vocative	rowspan=3 colspan=3	-e
		Oblique I
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	colspan=3	-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.

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct			ه pronounced as /ink/	ې pronounced as /ink/
Oblique		و pronounced as /ink/	ې pronounced as /ink/	و pronounced as /ink/
Ablative	ه pronounced as /ink/
Vocative

Stem allomorphy

In the Southern dialects, Class I adjectives with certain stem shapes will undergo mutation either:

1. Vowel harmony

or

1. 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.

Class I forms with stem allomorphy

Example 1 = سپک (light – in weight)

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	سپک spak spək (Southern)		سپک spak spək (Southern)		سپکه spákpronounced as /ink/ spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)		سپکې spákpronounced as /ink/ سپکي spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)
Oblique		سپکو spákpronounced as /ink/ spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern) spókpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)	سپکې spákpronounced as /ink/ سپکي spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)	سپکو spákpronounced as /ink/ spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern) spókpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)
Ablative	سپکه spákpronounced as /ink/ spə́kpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)
Vocative

The paradigm for the adjective سپک /spək/ 'light' in above shows the Southern dialect's Vowel harmony rule.

Example 2 = زړور (brave)

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	زړور zṛawár		زړور zṛawár zṛawə́r (Southern)		زړوره zṛawárpronounced as /ink/		زړورې zṛawárpronounced as /ink/ زړوري zṛawə́rpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)
Oblique		زړورو zṛawárpronounced as /ink/ zṛawə́rpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)	زړورې zṛawárpronounced as /ink/ زړوري zṛawə́rpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)	زړورو zṛawárpronounced as /ink/ zṛawə́rpronounced as /ink/ (Southern)
Ablative	زړوره zṛawár
Vocative

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:

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 areinherently 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.

Case-marking suffixes

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	style="border-right: none;"	-Ø	ۀ ə́	ه á	ې é
Oblique	ۀ ə́	و ó	ې é	و ó
Ablative	ه –
Vocative

Stem allomorphy

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:

1. Syncope I
2. Back vowel lowering
3. Monophthongization
4. Lengthening
5. Syncope II
6. 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/

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	تېرۀ terə́		تېرۀ terə́		تېره terá		تېرې teré
Oblique		تېرو teró	تېرې teré	تېرو teró
Ablative
Vocative

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.

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct		پوخ pox		پاخۀ pāxə́		پخه paxá		پخې paxé
Oblique		پاخۀ pāxə́	پخو paxó	پخې paxé	پخو paxó
Ablative	پوخه póxa
Vocative

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct		ړوند ṛund		ړاندۀ ṛāndə́		ړنده ṛandá		ړندې ṛandé
Oblique		ړاندۀ ṛāndə́	ړندو ṛandó	ړندې ṛandé	ړندو ṛandó
Ablative	ړوند ṛúnda
Vocative

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.

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct		تود tod		تاودۀ tāwdə́		توده tawdá		تودې tawdé
Oblique		تاودۀ tāwdə́	تودو tawdó	تودې tawdé	تودو tawdó
Ablative	توده tóda
Vocative

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.

Case-marking suffixes

Stressed

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	ی áy	ي í	ۍə́i	ۍə́i
Oblique	يí	وó یو ə́yo/ío		وó یو ə́yo/ío
Ablative	یه áya
Vocative

Unstressed

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	ی ay	ي i	ېe	ېe
Oblique	يi	وo		وo
Ablative
Vocative	یهya

Stressed

Example = زلمی (young/youth – the ی is stressed)

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct		زلمی zalmá y		زلمي zalmí	زلمۍ zalmə́i		زلمۍ zalmə́i
Oblique	زلمي zalmí	زلمو zalmó زلمیو zalmío (Southern) zalmə́yo (Northern)	زلمو zalmó زلمیو zalmío (Southern) zalmə́yo (Northern)
Ablative
Vocative				زلمیه zalmáya

Unstressed

Example = سوی (burnt- the ی is unstressed)

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct		سوی sə́waysə́wəy (South Western) sə́we (North Eastern)		سوي sə́wi		سوې sə́we		سوې sə́we
Oblique	سوي sə́wi	سویو sə́wyo (Northern) سوو sə́wo	سویې sə́wye (Northern) سوې sə́we	سویو sə́wyo (Northern) سوو sə́wo
Ablative
Vocative		سویه(Northern) sə́way سوې(Southern) sə́we		سوو sə́wo		سوې sə́we		سوو sə́wo

Class 4

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)

Example = شمالي (Southern Dialect)

	Masculine		Feminine
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	شمالي šamālí
Oblique	شمالي šamālí	شمالو šamāló	شماليšumālí	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	وړwaṛ	suitable	ناوړnāwáṛ	unsuitable
بې be	کورkor	home	بې کورهbe kóra [کور in the ablative case]	homeless
بيا byā	جوړولjoṛawә́l	to make	بيا جوړولbyā joṛawә́l	to remake
هم ham	[زولی [نارينه]، زولې [ښځينه zólay, zóle | age [classical Pashto] || همزولی، همزولېhamzólay, hamzól| coeval|-| ګڼ gaṇ||هېواديزhewādíz| national || ګڼ هېواديزgaṇhewādíz| multinational|-| دوه dwa|| اړخيزaṛxíz| aṛx= side, íz = adjective forming suffix || دوه اړخيزdwa 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 بربنډbarbə́nḍ nude بربنډتوبbarbənḍtób nudeness/nudity تیا tyā روغroğ healthy روغتياroğtyā́ health ي i ولس(w)ulə́s nation ولسي(w) uləsí national ي i ترکاڼtarkā́ṇ carpenter ترکاڼيtarkāṇí carpentry يز/يزه iz/iza لمرlmar sun لمريزlmaríz لمريزه lmaríza solar يز/يزه yiz/yiza وټهwáṭa economy وټه ييزwaṭayíz وټه ييزه waṭayíza economic من man لانجهlānjá problem لانجمنlānjamán lānjamə́n problematic جنjən کرکهkrә́ka repugnance کرکجنkrәjә́n someone who is repugnant to something ينin زرzar gold زرينzarín golden ور war ګټهgáṭa profit ګټورgaṭawár advantageous مam/əm اووهuwə́ seven اوومuwə́m seventh ښت əx̌t جوړjoṛ made/built جوړښتjoṛə́x̌t structure ګلوي galwi پلارplār father پلارګلويplār paternity والی wālay اوږدuẓ̌d long اوږدوالیuẓ̌dwā́lay length/height ولي wali ورورwror brother وروروليwrorwalí brotherhood ځی dzay ښوولx̌owə́l to teach ښونځیx̌owə́ndzay school نه əna غوښتلğox̌tə́l to demand غوښتنهğox̌tə́na demand ون un بدلولbadlawə́l to change بدلونbadlún change اک āk څښلtsx̌ə́l خوړل xwaṛə́l to drink to eat څښاکtsx̌āk خوراک xwaṛā́k drink food تون tun پوهنهpohə́na knowledge پوهنتونpohəntún university پال/پاله pal/pāla مېلمهmelmá guest مېلمه پالmelmapā́l مېلمه پاله melmapā́la host پالنه pālana مېلمهmelmá guest مېلمه پالنهmelmapālə́na hospitality واکي wāki پلارplār father پلارواکيplārwākí patriarchy وال wāl ليکlik writing ليکوالlikwā́l writer والهwālə غنمğanə́m wheat غنم والهğanəmwālə wheat-merchant ګر gər کوډهkóḍa magic کوډګرkoḍgə́r koḍgár magician چي chi توپtop cannon توپچيtopčí cannoneer ګوټی goṭay کتابkitā́b book کتاب ګوټیkitābgóṭay booklet وزمه wazma تورtor black تور وزمهtorwázma blackish نی(a)náy کالkāl year کالنیkālanáy annual یáy جاپانjāpā́n Japan جاپانیjāpānáy a Japanese male ۍə́i جاپانjāpā́n Japan جاپانۍjāpānə́i a Japanese female ګنۍ ganai پلارplār مور mor father mother پلارګنۍplārganə́i مورګنۍ morganə́i paternal-family maternal-family وړ/وړه waṛ/waṛa خنداxandā́ laughter خنداوړxandāwáṛ خنداوړه xandāwáṛa laughable يالۍ /يالی yālay/yālə́i ننګnang honor ننګيالیnangyāláy ننګيالۍ nangyālə́i honorable غاړې /غاړی ğāṛay/ğāṛe سندرهsandə́ra song سندرغاړیsandərğā́ṛay سندرغاړې sandərğā́ṛe singer چک cak سپينspin white سپين چکspinčák whitish ډله ḍala لوبlob root word of play لوبډلهlobḍála team (sports) هار hār پړکpṛak slap/clap پړکهارpṛakahā́r 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 غوğo ييزyíz غوييزğoyíz sex adjective-forming suffix sexual Infinitive This is called Kaṛnúmay [کړنومی] in Pashto that is "the name of a verb".^[5] It shows an infinite action or occurrence. It is used as a noun. It acquires the gender and number of a masculine plural noun. Example: وکړل [past perfective tense of the transitive verb کول – "to do"] shows agreement with masculine plural object that is the infinitive وهل. Double infinitives 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] 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 راrā towards 1st person راتللrā tlә́l to come درdər/dar towards 2nd person درتللdәr tlә́l to go towards you ورwər/war towards 3rd person ورکولwәr 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] کښېوتلkxewatә́l to drop into کې ke [Northern]ki [Southern] کېښودلkex̌awdә́l to put نن nəna ننوتلnənawatә́l to enter پورې pore پورې ايستلpore istә́l to traverse تېر ter تېروتلterwatә́l to get mistaken پرا prā پرانيستلprānistә́l to open پرې pre پرېوتلprewatә́l to lie down Example: پرېکول – to cut. The prefix [پرې] is separated from the verb stem [کول] by a second position clitic [يې] a-initial verbs 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. 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 Example: non-initial stress 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 ښخx̌ax adjective, singular, mas ښخولx̌awә́l buried to bury Exceptions There are also exceptions to this category. Example: سوچ کول etc. Word Verb formed سوچsoč noun, singular masculine سوچ کولsoč 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 ستړیstә́ṛay noun, sing. masc., class 3 ستړی کولstəṛay kawә́l tired to tire Verbs: conjugation classes These can be divided in reference to the verb categories as above:^[6] 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. 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. Tense The present tense either by the absence of this suffix (transitives), or by the suffix ېږ /ég/ (intransitives). 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: 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.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- -وتړلwә́ taṛ әl- -تړلtaṛә́l- تړلtaṛә́l تړtaṛ 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 رسras 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 -راوړrā́ wṛ- -راوړrā wṛ- -راوړلrā́ wṛә́l- -راوړلrā wṛә́l- راوړل rāwṛә́l راوړrā 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 These have two stems: present stem and a past stem. First Conjugation Class The stems can either share initial sounds as in example: Verb! rowspan="2" Present Stem Present Past Stem Past Perfective Imperfective Perfective Imperfect وژل wažә́l وژنwažən -و وژن wә́ wažən- -وژن wažən- وژ waž -(و وژ(ل wә́ waž(əl)- -(وژ(ل waž(ә́l)- Verb! rowspan="2" Present Stem Present Past Stem Past Perfective Imperfective Perfective Imperfect بلل balә́l بول bol -و بول wә́ bol- -بول bol- بلbal -(و بل(ل wә́ baləl- -(بل(ل bal(ә́l)- Verb! rowspan="2" Present Stem Present Past Stem Past Perfective Imperfective Perfective Imperfect ختل xatә́l خېژ xež -و خېژ wә́ xež- -خېژ xež- ختxat [or خوت xot] -(و خت(ل wә́ xat(əl)- -(خت(ل xat(ә́l)- Verb! rowspan="2" 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] In either case the same rules apply, as noted by Anna Boyle:^[7] 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. Example one: the verb پرېښودل [to leave] Notes: present imperfective base = present stem present perfective base: stressed prefix + present stem 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. 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:^[8] Examples: Observation: either three stemmed [ږد, کېږد, کېښود] or four stemmed [یښود ږد, کېږد, کېښود] Observation: Four stems Observation: Four Stems 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] Notes: • Present imperfective base = (present) imperfective stem • Present perfective base: initial-stressed present perfective stem • 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^[9] 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. کولkawә́l Imperfective Perfective Stem Base Stem Base Present کو kaw -کو kaw- ́ کړ k[ṛ] -وکړ wə́ k[ṛ]‑ Past -(کو(ل kaw(ə́l)- کړkṛ -(وکړ(ل wə́ kṛ(əl)- To the verb – to become کېدل kedә́l Imperfective Perfective Stem Base Stem Base Present کېږ kéẓ̌ -کېږkéẓ̌- ش š -وش wə́ š‑ Past کېد ked -(کېد(ل ked(ə́l)- شو šw -(و)شو(ل)wə́ šw(əl)- Notes^[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 Nuanance Completing the action [to eat]in the present moment Continuing the action [to eat]in the present moment Completion of the action [to eat] in the past Continuity of the action [to eat]in the past Stress See also: Pashto phonology. 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.^[11] 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/.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. Example: Aspect Perfective Imperfective Example: K['''x̌]enɑstə́l [to sit] کښېناستم کښېناستم Transliteration kénɑstəm kenɑstə́m Stress notes Stress shifts to the prefix ké Stress to the final verbal suffix ə́m Literal meaning sit [1st person past tense] sit [1st person past tense] English Equivalent I sat down I was sitting down Third conjugation 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: 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] English Equivalent The house got made The house is getting made Verbs: verbal suffixes Pashto utilises verbal suffixes [د کړ تاړي]. Personal suffixes Verbal suffixes in Pashto denote person, gender and number. Number Person Gender Verbal suffix Dialect variation Singular 1st person م əm Feminine مه əma 2nd person ې e 3rd person present ي i 3rd person past Masculine verb stem only [no suffix] or ۀ / ه ə و o – in Peshawar Dialect See below Feminine ه a Plural 1st person و u ي i – in Wazirwola and Dzadrani 2nd person ئ əɪ است āst – in South Western 3rd person present ي i 3rd person past Masculine ل əl Feminine ې e 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 الوتalwát والوتwā́lwat پرېوتلprewatә́l to fall پرېووتprewót پرېووتpréwot پوري وتلpori watә́l to cross پوري ووتpori wót پوري ووتpóri wot ننوتلnənawatә́l to enter ننوتnənawát ننوتnә́nawat وتلwatә́l to go out وتwát wót ووتwә́wat wә́wot تېروتلterwatә́l to be mistaken تېروتterwát تېروتtérwat تلل--tləl راتلل rā tlә́l to come ئəi راغئrāğә́i راغئrā́ğəi درتلل dar tlә́lto go [towards 2nd person] درغئdarğә́i درغئdárğәi ورتلل war tlә́l[towards 3rd person] ورغئwarğә́i ورغئwárğəi اروېدلto hear ۀə اروېدهarwedә́ وروېدهwárweda ایشېدلto boil ایشېدهišedә́ وایشېدهwә́ išedә́ برېښېدلto shine/appear برېښېدهbrex̌dә́ وبرېښېدهwә́ brex̌də درومېدلto march درومېدهdrumedә́ ودرومېدهwә́ drumedə زېږېدلto be born زېږېدهzeẓ̌edә́ وزېږېدهwә́ 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 الوتalwát والوتwā́lwat ووت← واتۀwot → wātə الوتهalwātә́ والواتهwā́lwātə پرېوتلprewatә́l to fall پرېووتprewót پرېووتpréwot پرېواتهprewātә́ پرېواتهpréwātә́ پوري وتلpori watә́l to cross پوري ووتpori wót پوري ووتpóri wot پوري واتهpori wātә́ پوري واتهpóri wātə ننوتلnənawatә́l to enter ننوتnənawát ننوتnә́nawat ننواتهnənawātә́ ننواتهnә́nawātə وتلwatә́l to go out وتwát wót ووتwә́wat wә́wot واتهwātә́ وواتهwә́wātə تېروتلterwatә́l to be mistaken تېروتterwát تېروتtérwat تېرواتهterwātә́ تېرواتهtérwātә́ 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 / وخړلهwә́xwṛa / wә́xwṛәla دوډۍḍoḍә́i سړيsaṛí eat food man past perfective stem – with3rd 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 خوريxwrí دوډۍḍoḍә́i سړیsaṛáy eat food man present imperfective stem – with3rd 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 واغوستېwā́ğoste جامېjāmé ماmā wear clothes I past perfective stem – with3rd person plural feminine verbal suffix noun – plural feminine direct case noun – singular, oblique case I wore the clothes Compare: Present Verb Object Subject اغوندمağundә́m جامېjāmé زهzә put-on clothes I present imperfective stem – with1st 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 كړيki پاکهpā́ka کوټه koṭá سړیsaṛáy do clean room man present perfective stem – with3rd 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 كولېkawә́le پاکېpāke کوټېkoṭé سړيsaṛí do clean rooms man past imperfective stem – with3rd 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. 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 یمrasedə́lay yəm رسېدلي یوrasedə́li yu Singular: I have reachedPlural: We have reached Feminine رسېدلې يمهrasedə́le yəmá رسېدلې یوrasedə́le yu 2nd person Masculine رسېدلی یېrasedə́lay ye رسېدلي یئrasedə́li yəy Singular: You have reachedPlural: You have reached Feminine رسېدلې یېrasedə́le ye رسېدلې یئrasedə́le yəy 3rd person Masculine رسېدلی دیrasedə́lay day رسېدلي ديrasedə́li di Singular masc: He has reachedSingular fem.: She has reached Plural: The has reached Feminine رسېدلې دهrasedə́le da رسېدلې ديrasedə́le di Future perfect Formed by به [future marker] +present perfect Singular Plural Translation 1st person Masculine به رسېدلی یم bə rasedə́lay yəm به رسېدلي یوbə rasedə́li yu Singular: I will have reachedPlural: We will have reached Feminine به رسېدلې يمهbə rasedə́le yəmá به رسېدلې یوbə rasedə́le yu 2nd person Masculine به رسېدلی یېbə rasedə́lay ye به رسېدلي یئbə rasedə́li yəy Singular: You will have reachedPlural: You will have reached Feminine به رسېدلې یېbə rasedə́le ye به رسېدلې یئbə rasedə́le yəy 3rd person Masculine به رسېدلی دیbə rasedə́lay day به رسېدلي ديbə rasedə́li di Singular masc: He will have reachedSingular fem.: She will have reached Plural: They will have reached Feminine به رسېدلې دهbə rasedə́le da به رسېدلې ديbə 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 ومrasedə́lay wəm رسېدلي ووrasedə́li wu Singular: I had reachedPlural: We had reached Feminine رسېدلی ومهrasedə́lay wəmá رسېدلې ووrasedə́le wu 2nd person Masculine رسېدلی وېrasedə́lay we رسېدلي وئrasedə́li wəy Singular: You had reachedPlural: You all had reached Feminine رسېدلې وېrasedə́le we رسېدلې وئrasedə́le wəy 3rd person Masculine رسېدلی وهrasedə́lay wə رسېدلي ووrasedə́li wu Singular masc.: He had reachedSingular fem.: She had Plural: They had reached Feminine رسېدلې وهrasedə́le wa رسېدلې وېrasedə́le 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 Example: Intransitive Category 2 verb پخېدل [to ripen, mature] Subject Past participle To be [present] To be past Grammar زه [masculine] پوخ شویpox šə́way يمyəm ومwəm 1st person, singular, masculine زه[feminine] پخه شوې paxa šə́we يمهyəmá ومهwəmá 1st person, singular, feminine موږ پاخه شوي pāxə šə́wi يو yu ووwu 1st person, plural, masculine موږ [all women] پخې شوېpaxe šə́we يوyu ووwu 1st person, plural, feminine ته [masculine] پوخ شویpox šə́way يېye وېwe 2nd person, singular, masculine ته [femine] پخه شوې paxa šə́we يېye وېwe 2nd person, singular, feminine تاسو پاخه شوي pāxə šə́wi يئyəi وئəi 2nd person, plural, masculine تاسو [all woment] پخې شوېpaxe šə́we يئyəi وئəi 2nd person, plural, feminine الو پوخ شویpox šə́way دیday وهwə 3rd person, singular, masculine الوګان پاخه شوي pāxə šə́wi ديdi ووwu 3rd person, plural, masculine مڼه پخه شوې paxa šə́we دهda وهwa 3rd person, singular, feminine مڼې پخې شوېpaxe šə́we ديdi وېwe 3rd person, plural, feminine Verbs: potential construction Optative The imperfective optative = past imperfective base of verb+ ای-āy [Southern Dialects], ی-ay [North Western Dialects], ې [North Eastern Dialects] The perfective optative = past perfective base of verb+ ای-āy [Southern Dialects], ی-ay [North Western Dialects], ې [North Eastern Dialects] Present potential Formed by: Imperfective optative + present perfective of کېدل Example: Singular Plural Translation 1st person رسېدلی شمrasedə́lay šəm رسېدی شم rasedáy šəm رسېدلی شوrasedə́lay šu رسېدی شو rasedáy šu I/We can reach 2nd person رسېدلی شېrasedə́lay še رسېدی شې rasedáy še رسېدلی شئrasedə́lay šəy رسېدی شئ rasedáy šəy You can reach 3rd person رسېدلی شيrasedə́lay ši رسېدی شي rasedáy ši He/She/They can reach Past potential Past potential 1 To indicate: Event did not take place: مونږ تېر کال جوار کرلی شوه [We might have been able to plant corn last year] Event carried out over extended period of time: مونږ ډرامې ليدلی شوې [We were able to watch TV-shows] Formed by: Imperfective optative + present perfective of کېدل Example: Singular Plural 1st person رسېدلی شو(ل)مrasedə́lay šw(əl)əm رسېدی شو(ل)م rasedáy šw(əl)əm رسېدلی شو(ل)وrasedə́lay šw(əl)u رسېدی شو(ل)و rasedáy šw(əl)u 2nd person رسېدلی شو(ل)ېrasedə́lay šw(əl)e رسېدی شو(ل)ې rasedáy šw(əl)e رسېدلی شو(ل)ئrasedə́lay šw(əl)əy رسېدی شو(ل)ئ rasedáy šw(əl)əy 3rd person رسېدلی شو(ل)هrasedə́lay šw(əl)e رسېدی شو(ل)ه rasedáy šw(əl)e Past potential 2 To indicate: Where the event was actually carried out e.g. تۀ هلته په وخت ورسېدلی شوې؟ [You were able to get there on time] Formed by: Perfective optative + past perfective of کېدل Singular Plural 1st person ورسېد(ل)ی شو(ل)مwə́rased(əl)ay šw(əl)əm ورسېد(ل)ی شو(ل)وwə́rased(əl)ay šw(əl)u 2nd person ورسېد(ل)ی شو(ل)ېwə́rased(əl)ay šw(əl)e رسېدلورسېد(ل)ی شو(ل)ئwə́rased(əl)ay šw(əl)əy 3rd person ورسېد(ل)ی شو(ل)هwə́rased(əl)ay šw(əl)ə Auxiliary: "to be" The verb "to be" is irregular in Pashto and does not have an infinitive form. Present imperfective Present imperfective tense of "to be": Person Singular Plural 1st زه يم zə yəm زه يمه zə yəma موږ يو muẓ̌ yū 2nd ته يې tə ye تاسو يئ \ ياست tā́so yəy (in Southern dialect – yāst)^[12] 3rd Masculine دی دی day day دوی دي duy di Feminine دا ده dā da Present perfective form Present perfective tense of "to be": Person Singular Plural 1st زه شم zə shəm موږ شو muẓ̌ shu 2nd ته شې tə she تاسو شئ tā́so šəy 3rd Masc. دی وي day wi دوی وي dui wi Fem. دا وي dā wi Past form Past tense of "to be": Person Singular Plural 1st زه وم zə wəm زه ومه zə wəma موږ وو muẓ̌ wu 2nd ته وې tə we تاسو وئ\واست tā́so wəy (in Southern dialect – wāst) 3rd Masc. دی ؤ day wə دوی وو\ول dui wu (in Southern dialect – wəl) 3rd Fem دا وه dā wa دوی وې dui we Future tense In Pashto the future tense [راتلونکی مهال]^[13] is the same as the present tense [اوسنی مهال]^[14] 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.^[15] Future tense of "to be": Person Singular Plural 1st به يمbə yəm به يوbə yu 2nd به يېbə ye به يئbə yəy 3rd Person Masculine به ويbə wi Feminine Imperative Form Also known as Command Form "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 lwastә́lto read -لول lwal- ‑ لوستlwast- لولول lwalawә́lto cause to read زنګلzangә́l to swing -زانګzāng- -زنګzang- زنګولzangawә́l to rock [e.g. in a cradle] الوتلalwatә́l to fly -الوزalwuz- -الوتalwat- الوزولalwuzawә́l to make fly; to explode something اغوستلaghustә́l to wear -اغوندaghund- -اغوستaghust- اغوندول/ اغوستولaghundawә́l/aghustawә́l to dress someone Example: خندل – original verb خندول – causative verb مه خاندهmá xānda مه (يې) خندوهmá (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: Number The two verbal suffixes are employed: Number Suffix Singular هa Plural ئəi Example: Verb Number Singular Plural راتلل rātlә́lto 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 beatwahә́l Imperfective Perfective وههwahá و وههwә́ 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: Compound verbs Transitive For compounds in the transitive, the nominal/adjective part of the verb agrees with the direct object. پاکول – to cleanpākawә́l Masculine object Feminine object کور کوټه ته کور پاک کړهtә kor pā́k ka ته کوټه پاکه کړهtә 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 cleanpākawә́l No object of the verb Masculine subject Feminine subject Said to a male Said to a female ته پاک کړهtә pā́k ka ته پاکه کړهtә 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 cleanpākedә́l Masculine subject Feminine subject ته پاک شهtә pā́k ša ته پاکه شهtә 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 beatwahә́l Imperfective -positive Negative command وههwahá مه وههmá 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: پرېStem: کول North Eastern Other مه پرېکوهmá pre kawa پرې مه کوهpre 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 کولtúra kawə́l sword to do to perform a brave act تڼۍ شلولtaṇә́i 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^[16] as a verbaliser [not a main verb]: Present Past Imperfective Perfective Imperfective Perfective Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural 1st Person کومkawə́m کووkawú کړمkəm kṛəm کړوku kṛu 1st Person کولمkawə́ləm کولوkawə́lu کړمkṛəm کړلم kṛə́ləm کړو kṛu کړلو kṛə́lu 2nd Person کوېkawé کوئkawə́y کړېke kṛe کړئkəy kṛəy 2nd Person کولېkawə́le کولئkawə́ləy کړېkṛe کړلې kṛə́le کړئkṛəy کړلئ kṛə́ləy 3rd Person کويkawí کړيki kṛi 3rd Person Masculine کوهkawə́ کاوه kāwə́ (کول(هkawə́l(ə) کړkəṛ که kə کړل kṛəl کړله kṛə́lə Feminine کولهkawə́la کوه kawá کولېkawə́le کوې kawé کړهkṛa که ka کړله kṛə́la کړلېkṛə́le 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.^[17] 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/.^[18] Kedə́l Here are the forms of Kedə́l^[19] as a verbaliser [not a main verb]: Present Past Imperfective Perfective Imperfective Perfective Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural 1st Person کېږمkéẓ̌əm کېږوkéẓ̌u شمšəm شوšu 1st Person کېد(ل)مked(ə́l)ə́m کېد(ل)وked(ə́l)ú شو(ل)مšw(ə́l)əm شو(ل)وšw(ə́l)u 2nd Person کېږېkéẓ̌e کېږئkéẓ̌əy شېše شئšəy 2nd Person کېد(ل)ېked(ə́l)é کېد(ل)ئked(ə́l)ə́y شو(ل)ېšw(ə́l)e شو(ل)ئšw(ə́l)əy 3rd Person کېږیkéẓ̌i شيši 3rd Person Masculine کېدهkedə́ کېدل(ه)kedə́l(ə́) شهšə شول(ه)šwə́l(ə́) Feminine کېد(ل)هked(ə́l)á کېد(ل)ېked(ə́l)é شو(ل)هšw(ə́l)á شو(ل)ېšw(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".^[20] Future Tense The future tense is formed with the addition of به /bә/; which has been defined by Tegey as a "future marker"^[21] and as a "modal clitic" by Boyle.^[22] Future Expression The clitic به /bә/ is added to the present perfective verb to convey future time event, speculation, or doubt. Verb Present Perfective Future وهلwahә́l to beat -ووهwә́ wah- -به ووهbə wә́wah- Example:1st Person Singular زه ووهم(zə) wә́ wahәm زه به ووهم(zə) bə wә́wahəm I beat [completed in present] I will beat With Present Imperfective Tense The clitic به /bә/ is added to the present imperfective verb to convey future event – but with. different nuances explained below. Verb Present Imperfective Future وهلwahә́l to beat -ووهwә́ wah- -به ووهbə wә́wah- Example:1st Person Singular زه وهم(zə) wahә́m زه به وهم(zə) bə wahә́m I am beating I will keep on beating To describe a future reference that is repeated or ongoing: Present Imperfective verb base is also used where future marker like "tomorrow", "next week" etc. is used:^[23] To contrast a future action with another future action:^[24] Negative Future Expressions With Present Perfect Base, negative future expressions can be created with the negative marker نه /nә/ and future marker به /bә/.^[25] First Conjugation Class Simple Verbs If there is a grammatical subject or object:^[26] Subject/Object + به /bә/ + و /wә́/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix If there is both a grammatical subject and object: Subject + به /bә/ + object+ و /wә́/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix If there is no grammatical subject nor grammatical object: و /wә́/ + به /bә/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix a-initial verbs The و /wә́/ changes to وا /wā́/. Thereby: If there is a grammatical subject or object: Subject/Object + به /bә/ + وا /wā́/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix Verb: اخستل [axstә́l] If there is both a grammatical subject and object: Subject + به /bә/ + object+ وا /wā́/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix Verb: استول [astawә́l] If there is no grammatical subject nor grammatical object: وا /wā́/ + به /bә/ + نه /nә/ + present verb stem + verbal suffix Verb: اچول [ačawә́l] Second Conjugation Class First: Between the prefix and the verb base نه /nә́/ is placed^[27] Second: به /bә/ can then be placed Before verb: Or before the object (likely where there is a subject) Third Conjugation Class With compound verbs: نه /nә/ is inserted between the verb element and the noun/adjective element. Example: روغېدل [roğedә́l] "Bә" With Past Imperfective Tense The marker به /bә/ is also used to convey habitual actions in the past.^[28] Verb Past Imperfective With به وهلwahә́l to beat -وهلwahә́l- -به وهلbə wahәl- Example:1st Person Singular وهلمwahә́lәm به وهلمbə wahә́lәm I was being beaten I would be beat Adverbs Adverbs that modify adjectives, verbs or verb phrases, and sentences; can be divided into the classes of time, place, manner, and degree.^[29] These adverbs can act alone or as part of an adpositional phrase. Acting alone: Acting as adipositional phrase: Adverbs of time These include adverbs with time reference and quantifier-like items. Common adverbs of time: Adverb Transliteration Meaning تل təl always هر کله har kә́la whenever هیڅ کله (نه) hits kә́la (na) never اوس os [some dialects: وس "was"] now نن nən today پرون parún yesterday ګانده gā́nda tomorrow سبا sabā́ وختي waxtí early وروسته wrústa later پس pas مخکښې mə́xkx̌e before لا lā yet Adverbs of place This informs us where something takes place. Common adverbs of time:^[30] Adverb Tranliteration Meaning پورته pórta above پاسه рā́sa دننه danə́na inside ننه nə́na دباندي dəbā́ndi outside بهر bahár باندې bā́nde on top لاندې lā́nde below نژدې nəždé near پوري póre around لرې lә́re far کښته kx̌ə́ta underneath هيچرې hičárta nowhere هيچرته hičáre Demonstrative pronouns These are both adverbs and demonstrative pronouns Adverb Tranliteration Meaning دلته də́lta here Waziri دېلېdéle دولتهdɔláta Other Dialects دلېdále هلته hálta there Other Dialects هلېhále Example sentence in Waziri: Adpositions Pashto has pre-positions, post-positions and pre-post-positions. Adpositions generally govern either oblique or ablative case assignment to their objects.^[31] Prepositions List of prepositions Preposition Dialect variation Meaning Uses دdə /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 لهlə دdə [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] بېbe 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 پهpə 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] ترtər 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] لکهlaká 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 تهtə to Denotes destination. The object appears in the oblique case form. Example کور ته ځم [I am going to the house] تهtə لهlə [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↓ ...دdə ... د...نهdə...na 'from' د ...لاندېdə...lā́nde 'under' د ... پسېdə...pəsé 'after' د ... پورېdə...póre 'up to, across' د...سرهdə...sará 'with' د...څخهdə...tsә́xa 'from' ...له lə ... له...نهlə...na 'from' له...لاندېlə...lā́nde 'under' له...سرهlə...sará 'with' له...څخهlə...tsә́xa 'from' ...پرpər ... په... کښېpə...ke 'in, at, on' په...باندېpə...bā́nde 'on top of, by means of' په...پسېpə...pəsé 'after, behind' پر ... پورېpər...póre 'with' په...سرهpə...sará 'with' ...په pə ... ...ترtər ... تر...لاندې tər...lā́nde 'under' تر...پورېtər...póre 'until, up to' تر ... وروستوtər...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 پخواله ... نه مخکې From + before before له...نه پسله...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 وړاندېdə ... pə wṛā́nde against/opposite د ... په پرتلهdə ... pə partalá in comparison to د ... له مخېdə ... lə mә́xe according to د ... په ځایdə ...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 ووېdə saṛí pə aṛá ye tsə wә́ we What did he/she say about the man زما په اړه يې څه ووېzmā pə aṛá ye tsə wә́ we What did he/she say about me د ... په شان د سپوږمۍ په شان ښځه غواړمdə spoẓ̌mә́i pa šān x̌ә́dza ğwāṛә́m I want a wife like the moon ستا په شان ښځه غواړمstā pa šān x̌ә́dza ğwāṛә́m I want a wife like you د ... په وړاندې د بلې ډلې په وړاندې يې وينه وکړهdə bә́le ḍále pə wṛā́nde ye wә́ina wә́ kṛa [They/He/She] talked against the other party ستا په وړاندې يې وينه وکړهstā pə wṛā́nde ye wә́ina wә́ kṛa [They/He/She] talked against you. د ... په پرتله د پيشوګانو په پرتله سپي زيات مينه ناک ويdə pišogā́no pə partalá spí zyāt minanā́k wi In comparison to cats, dogs are more affection زموږ په پرتله هغوی لټ ديzmuẓ̌ pə partalá hağúi laṭ di In comparison to us, they are lazy د ... له مخې د دې څېړنې له مخې دا ډېر ګټور دیdə de tseṛә́ne lə mә́xe dā ḍer gaṭawár day According to this research this is very beneficial ستا له مخې څنګه شانتې سړی دیstā 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 شهdə kābə́l pə dzāy kandahā́r tə lā́ṛ sha Instead of Kabul go to Kandahar زما په ځای بل کس ټاکل شوی دیzmā 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 Example: ما -oblique pronoun used with circumposition په...کښې Ablative case Used with: له /lə/ 'from'; and also د /də/ having the same meaning 'from' تر /tər/ 'from, originating from' Circumposition containing تر /tər/, له /lə/; except له ... نه /lə ... na/ 'from/ په /pə/ the instrumental usage only found in construction with an adjectival, rather than nominal, object Example: circumposition تر ... پورې With د /də/, having the object marked in the ablative case gives the sense of '(motion) away from': په /pə/ 'the instrumental usage + adjective: Mixed ablative case and oblique cases Other adpositions can assign either oblique or ablative case to the object, without a difference in meaning. Example: with سړی in oblique case Example: with سړی in ablative case Passive voice Pashto does not have a distinguishable morphological passive construction. The construction identified by some comprises a special case of denominal verbs.^[32] 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 auxiliary verb کېدل combined with the infinitive وهل: Active "Passive" Example: Present Past Imperfective Perfective Imperfective Perfective وهلwahә́l وهل کېدلwahә́l 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 This construction may modify a noun; like most noun modifiers, it precedes the head. 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".^[33] 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? نشتهná 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". چې pronounced as //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").^[34] Affirmative Question Example: Affirmative Statement Example: 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.^[35] 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.^[36] پکار دى "Pəkā́r day" [it is needed] is also used as deontic clause Emphatic خو The particle خو /xo/ appears in the second-position and denotes emphasis.^[37] 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]^[38] 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 Vocative The following vocatives have been noted: Vocactive Transliteration Meaning Example اي ai hey اي نجلۍai njlə́i hey girl اې e اې سړیهe saṛáya hey man آ ā آ ښځېā x̌ə́dze hey woman الۍ alə́i oh ! الۍ دا دې څه وکړهalə́i dā de tsə wə́ kṛə oh what did you do وئ^[39] wə́i darn it, ouch وئ خوږ شومwə́i xúẓ̌ šwəm Wish کاشکې 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.^[40] It can be used with an optative verb, to express a counterfactual wish. It can also be used with the present perfective verb, to express a polite request. Example, from Ghani Khan's poetry:^[41] 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".^[42] Tangible Objects Example راوړل: 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: 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. But for bringing "news", "omens/luck" or "diseases" راوړل /rāwṛә́l/ is used – perhaps as the subject is implied to carry it. Adjectives As noted by Ghaza Noor, the choice of an adjective suffix can also have a change on the meaning. 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 šwəmI am affected by you اغېزناک ağeznā́k effective to describe the subject or object having the effective influence ته اغېزناکه وينه کوې tə ağeznā́ka waina kawéYou talk effectively Slang Pashto also has rich slang language. Examples: Slang Literary Meaning Notes بمبه راخوشې کهbambá rā́ xwǝše ka بمبه ولګوهbambá 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 وويشتلğwaṛí me pə kaṭwə́i ke war wə́ wištəl غوړي مې په کټوۍ کښې ور واچولğwaṛí 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tegey|first1=Habibullah|last2=Robson|first2=Barbara|title=A Reference Grammar of Pashto|publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics|location=Washington|year=1996|page=178|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED399825.pdf}}</ref> In Pashto, however, all modifiers precede the verb whereas in English most of the verbal modifiers follow the verb.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tegey|first1=Habibullah|last2=Robson|first2=Barbara|title=A Reference Grammar of Pashto|publisher=Center for Applied Linguistics|location=Washington|year=1996|page=179|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED399825.pdf}}</ref> ===Phrasal syntax=== Pashto exhibits strong head-final order in noun phrases and verb phrases.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 399"/> ====Noun phrases==== Pashto noun phrases generally exhibit the internal order determiner – quantifier – adjective – noun.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 399"/> ====Adpositional phrases==== The salient exception to the head-final principle can be found in adpositional phrases, given the existence of prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.<ref>{{cite book|title= A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects|first= Anna B.|last= David|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2|year=2014|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=400}}</ref> ====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.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 401">{{cite book|title= A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects|first= Anna B.|last= David|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2|year=2014|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=401}}</ref> =====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).<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 401"/> 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.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 401"/> 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.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 403">{{cite book|title= A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects|first= Anna B.|last= David|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2|year=2014|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=403}}</ref> =====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.<ref name="Anna B. David 2014 403"/> 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.<ref>{{cite book|title= A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects|first= Anna B.|last= David|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2|year=2014|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|pages=403–404}}</ref> ======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.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|first=Anna B.|last=David|title=A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|year=2014|isbn=978-1-61451-303-2|page=192}}</ref> == Numbers == === Cardinal numbers === Direct case, masculine<ref name="Pashto Dictionary (Neologisms)">{{Cite book|author=M A Zyar|url=https://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/188250861?access_key=key-80o9wylhskfeade1a3l&allow_share=false&escape=false&show_recommendations=false&view_mode=scroll|title=Pashto Dictionary (Neologisms)|publisher=Danish Press|year=2012|edition=2|location=Peshawar|page=363|author-link=Mujawar Ahmad Zyar}}</ref> {| class="standard" !Pashto !Pronunciation ! |- |نشت |nasht |0 |- |- |یو |yaw, yo |1 |- |دوه |dwa |2 |- |درې |dre |3 |- |څلور |tsalor |4 |- |پنځه |pindzə |5 |- |شپږ |špəg/špəʐ |6 |- |اووه |owə |7 |- |اته |atə |8 |- |نه، نهه |nə, nəha |9 |- |لس |las |10 |- |یوولس |yawolas |11 |- |دوولس |dwolas |12 |- |دیرلس |dyārlas |13 |- |څوارلس، څورلس |tswarlas, tswārlas |14 |- |پنځلس |pindzəlas |15 |- |شپاړس |špāṛas |16 |- |اووه‌لس |owəlas |17 |- |اته‌لس |atəlas |18 |- |نونس, نورلس |nunas, nurlas |19 |- |شل |šəl |20 |- |یوویشت |yavwišt |21 |- |دوه‌ویشت |dwawišt |22 |- |درویشت |dərwišt, dreyšt |23 |- |څلېرویشت |tsalerwišt |24 |- |پنځه‌ویشت |pindzəwišt |25 |- |شپږویشت |špagwišt |26 |- |اوه‌ویشت |owəwišt |27 |- |اته‌ویشت |atəwišt |28 |- |نه‌ویشت |nəwišt |29 |- |دېرش |derš |30 |- |یودېرش |yawderš |31 |- |دودېرش |dwaderš |32 |- |دریدېرش |drederš |33 |- |څلوردېرش |tsalorderš |34 |- |پنځه‌دېرش |pindzəderš |35 |- |شپوږدېرش |špugderš |36 |- |اوه‌دېرش |owəderš |37 |- |اته‌دېرش |atəderš |38 |- |نه‌دېرش |nəderš |39 |- |څلوېښت |tsalvešt |40 |- |پنځوس |pindzos |50 |- |شپېته |špetə |60 |- |اویا |awyā |70 |- |اتیا |atya |80 |- |نوي |nwi, nəwi |90 |- |سل |səl |100 |- |یوسلویو |yaw səlo yav |101 |- |یوسلودوه |yaw səlo dwa |102 |- |یوسلوشل |yaw səlo šəl |120 |- |دوه‌سوه |dwa sawa |200 |- |دوه سوه او لس |dwa sawa aw las |210 |- |درې سوه |dre sawa |300 |- |زر |zər |1000 |- |یوزرویو |yaw zəro yaw |1001 |- |یوزرودوه‌سوه اوپنځه‌دېرش |yaw zəro dwa sawa aw pindzəderš |1235 |- |لک |lak |100 000 |- |ملیون |milyon |1 000 000 |- |کروړ |kroṛ |10 000 000 |- |ملیارد |milyard |1 000 000 000 |} === Ordinal numbers === Direct case, masc., sing. * 1st لومړی lumṛai [also ړومبی] 2nd دويم dwaim [also دوهم] 3rd درېيم drəyam 4th څلورم tsaloram 5th پنځم pindzam 6th شپږم špaẓ̌am 7th اووم uwam 8th اتم atam 9th نهم nəham 10th لسم lasam Notes 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.^[43] External links Anne Boyle David, "Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects" Habibullah Tegey & Barbara Robson Web site: A Reference Grammar of Pashto . (1996) Center for Applied Linguistics Herbert Penzl, A Grammar of Pashto: A Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan Georg Morgenstierne, "'AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧtō'", Encyclopaedia Iranica Longnow, Rosettaproject, Pashto, Southern Grammar Mohammad Abid Khan & Fatima-Tuz-Zuhra, "Towards the Computational treatment of the Pashto Verb" 18(1) Scientific Khyber pp. 123–141 (2005) Noor Ullah, "Pashto Grammar" (2011), M. Zyar, "ليک لارښود – Writing Guide" (2006)

Notes and References

1. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 126.
2. Лебедев К. А. Афганистан: Язык, литература, этнография. — Москва : "Муравей", 2003.
3. http://mklc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Pashto.pdf Pashto Language: Solving the Mysteries of the Past Tense
4. Book: Khan, Mohammad Abid. The Computational Morphology and Syntax of Pashto Language. Pashto Academy. 2020. 28–43.
5. Web site: Neologism Dictionary [M. A. Zeyar]].
6. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2.
7. Book: David, Anne. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2013-12-16. Walter de Gruyter. 978-1-61451-233-2.
8. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 219–224.
9. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 219.
10. Book: David, Anne. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects. 2013-12-12. Walter de Gruyter. 978-1-61451-231-8. 220.
11. Book: Ullah, Noor. Pashto Grammar. 2011. 978-1-4567-8007-4. 11.
12. http://learnpashtu.blogspot.ru/2010/12/short-summary-of-pashto-grammar.html Short Summary of Pashto Grammar
13. http://www.qamosona.com/G/index.php/term/,6f57ae9b61545aad9b9ea5adac585d.xhtml Pashto Garshod [M. S. Wakili]
14. http://qamosona.com/G/index.php/term/,6f57ae9b61545aad9b9ea5aea55f.xhtml Pashto Garshod [M. S. Wakili]
15. Book: Ullah, Noor. Pashto Grammar. 2011. AuthorHouse. 978-1-4567-8007-4. 67.
16. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 239–245.
17. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 242.
18. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 243.
19. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 234–239.
20. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 236.
21. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 126.
22. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 369.
23. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 129.
24. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 130.
25. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 127.
26. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 128.
27. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 129.
28. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 369, 371.
29. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 378.
30. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 381.
31. Book: David, Anna B.. A Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects. 978-1-61451-303-2. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 399.
32. Book: Ullah, Noor. Pashto Grammar. 2011. AuthorHouse. 978-1-4567-8007-4. 71.
33. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 367.
34. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 374.
35. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 148.
36. Book: Tegey, Habibullah. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. 1996. Center for Applied Linguistics. 162.
37. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 375.
38. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 373.
39. Web site: وئ – Daryab Pashto Glossary [Qalandar Momand]]. 2021-03-05. qamosona.com.
40. Book: David, Anne Boyle. Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and Its Dialects. 2014. De Gruyter Mouton. 978-1-61451-303-2. 347.
41. Web site: Meena (unplugged) Bilawal Sayed Ghani Khan – YouTube. 2021-02-06. www.youtube.com.
42. Web site: د (را وړل) او (را وستل) توپیر – YouTube. 2021-02-08. www.youtube.com.
43. Book: Tegey. Habibullah. Robson. Barbara. A Reference Grammar of Pashto. Center for Applied Linguistics. Washington. 1996. 4.