Pashto grammar

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Pashto is a 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 I, oblique II and vocative). The verb system is very intricate with the following tenses: present; subjunctive; 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 that are discarded by the literary language.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

	Singular						Plural
	1st	2nd	3rd (visible)		3rd (invis.)		1st	2nd	3rd (visible)	3rd (invis.)
			Masc.	Fem.	Masc.	Fem.
(English)	I	you (sing.)	he	she	he (invis.)	she (invis.)	we	you (plur.)	they	they (invis.)
Direct	زه zə	ته tə	دی dai	دا dā	هغه hağa		موږ\مونږ mūẓ̌/mūng	تاسو\تاسی tāsō/tase[1][2]	دوی dūy	هغوی hağūy
Indirect	ما mā	تا tā	دۀ də	دې dē	هغۀ hağə	هغې hağē

Demonstrative pronouns

دغه dağa (this)

Direct	دغه dağa
Indirect	دې dē

هغه hağa (that)

	Singular		Plural
	Masc.	Fem.
Direct	هغه hağa
Indirect	هغۀ hağə	هغې hağē	هغو hağō

Possessive pronouns

Independent forms

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زما zamā	زموږ\زمونږ zamūẓ̌/zamūng[1]
2nd	ستا stā	ستاسو stāsō
3rd (visible)	د دۀ da də (masc.) د دې da dē (fem.)	د دوی da dūy
3rd (invis.)	د هغۀ da hağə (masc.) د هغې da hağē (fem.)	د هغوی da hağūy

Enclitic forms

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	ـمې -mē, -mī	ـمو -mō, -mū
2nd	ـدې -dē, -dī	ـمو -mō, -mū[1]
3rd	ـیې -yē

Interrogative pronouns

(English)	who	whose
Direct	څوک t͡sōk	د چا da čā
Indirect	چا čā

Nouns

Case

Pashto inflects nouns into four grammatical cases: direct, oblique I, oblique II and vocative. The oblique I case is used as prepositional case as well as in the past tense as the subject of transitive verbs, and the oblique II case is used as ablative case.

The following table shows the declension of the masculine noun غر (ğar, meaning "mountain"):

	Singular	Plural
Direct	غر ğar	غرونه ğrūna
Oblique I	غرۀ ğrə	غرونو ğrūnō
Oblique II	غره ğara	غرونو ğrūnō
Vocative	غره ğra	غرونو ğrūnō

The following table shows the declension of سړی (saṛai, meaning "man"), a masculine noun with ending "ai":

	Singular	Plural
Direct	سړی saṛai	سړي saṛi
Oblique I	سړي saṛi	سړيو saṛəyō
Oblique II	سړيه saṛəya	سړيو saṛəyō
Vocative	سړيه saṛəya	سړيو saṛəyō

The following table shows the declension of ښځه (ṣ̌ədza, meaning "woman"), a feminine noun with ending "a":

	Singular	Plural
Direct	ښځه ṣ̌əd͡za	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē
Oblique I	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō
Oblique II	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō
Vocative	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō

The following table shows the declension of the feminine noun ورځ (wradz, meaning "day"):

	Singular	Plural
Direct	ورځ wrad͡z	ورځې wradzē
Oblique I	ورځ wrad͡z	ورځو wradzō
Oblique II	ورځه wrad͡za	ورځو wradzō
Vocative	ورځې wrad͡zē	ورځو wradzō

Gender

There are two genders: masculine and feminine.

Number

There are two numbers: singular and plural.

Definiteness

There is 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".

Adjectives

An adjective is called stāynūm in Pashto [ستاينوم]. The adjectives or stāynūmūna agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

			Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5
Masculine	Singular	Direct	-			-ay
		Oblique II	-a			-aya	-i
		Vocative					-e
		Oblique I	-	-ə		-i
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	-o			-io/-o	-yo/-o
Feminine	Singular	Direct	-a			-əy	-e
		Oblique II
		Vocative	-e
		Oblique I
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	-o			-əyo/-o	-yo/-o

Notes:

• In the plural, both obliques and the vocative merge into a single form.
• Singular Oblique I and plural Direct always merge into a single form.
• The above two conditions mean that there can be at most five distinct forms for masculine adjectives (but in fact, no class distinguishes more than four).
• For feminine adjectives, singular Oblique I and Vocative merge, while singular Direct and Oblique II merge; combined with mergers noted previously, there can be at most three distinct forms for feminine adjectives.
• Classes 2 and 3 have stem and stress alternations among different cases. Class 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). Class 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").

Affixes

In a Pashto an affix is called تاړی [tāṛay]. An affix isn addition to the base form or stem of a word in order to modify its meaning or create a new word.

Prefixes

These are attached at the beginning of words. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Prefix	Meaning
يبي	this has the same meaning as Latin super-. It means the new word is "above, over or superior" to the root
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
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 crowed 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
يبي ībī	اتل	hero	يبي اتل	superhero
نا nā	وړ	suitable	ناوړ	unsuitable
بې bē	کور	home	بې کوره	homeless
بيا byā	جوړول	to make	بيا جوړول	to remake
هم həm	[زولی [نارينه]، زولې [ښځينه	age	همزولی، همزولې	coeval
ګڼ gəṇ	هېواديز	national	ګڼ هېواديز	multinational
دوه dwə	نوږي پال	noẓ̌ī= gender, pāl = cherisher suffix	دوه نوږي پال	bisexual [masc. noun]

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.
من	suffix that forms nouns and adjectives that mean possessing a quality or object
ور	an adjective forming suffix to show endowment/possession.
ښت	this is affixed to root words to create masculine concept/abstract nouns.
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
ونکی [masculine] ونکې [feminine]	The verb's or the compound-verb's ل is dropped and this suffix is added to create an agent noun showing that the noun is the doer of the action [example: جوړول to make - جوړوونکی - maker].
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].
وال	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".
ګر	used to form an actor noun. Denoting maker, doer, worker etc of the root.
چي	a 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.
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 tōb	بربنډ	nude	بربنډتوب	nudeness/nudity
تیا tyā	روغ	healthy	روغتيا	health
ي ī	ولس	nation	ولسي	national
ي ī	ترکاڼ	carpenter	ترکاڼي	carpentry
يز/يزه īz/īza	وټه	economy	وټيز وټيزه	economic
من mən	ځاځ	anger	ځاځمن	angry
ور wər	ګټه	profit	ګټور	advantageous
ښت əx̌t	جوړ	made/built	جوړښت	structure
ګلوي gəlwī	پلار	father	پلارګلوي	paternity
والی wālay	اوږد	long	اوږدوالی	length/height
ولي walī	ورور	brother	ورورولي	brotherhood
ځی d͡zay	ښوول	to teach	ښونځی	school
نه əna	غوښتل	to demand	غوښتنه	demand
ون ūn	بدلول	to change	بدلون	change
ونکی /ونکې ūnkay/ūnkē	شنل	to analyse	شنونکی شنونکې	analyst
اک āk	څښل خوړل	to drink to eat	څښاک خوراک	drink food
تون tūn	پوهنه	knowledge	پوهنتون	university
پال/پاله pāl/pāla	مېلمه	guest	مېلمه پال مېلمه پاله	host
پالنه pāləna	هېواد	country	هېواد پالنه	nationalism
واکي wākī	خپل	self	خپلواکي	independence
واکي wākī	پلار	father	پلارواکي	patriarchy
وال wāl	ليک	writing	ليکوال	writer
ګر gər	کوډه	magic	کوډګر	magician
چي chī	توپ	cannon	توپچي	cannoneer
ګوټی goṭay	کتاب	book	کتاب ګوټی	booklet
وزمه wəzma	هګۍ	egg	هګۍ وزمه	ovate
ګنۍ gənai	پلار مور	father mother	پلارګنۍ مورګنۍ	paternal-family maternal-family
وړ/وړه wəṛ/wəṛa	غو	sex	غووړ غووړه	worthy of having sex with
وړ/وړه wəṛ/wəṛa	کار	work	کاروړ کاروړه	workable
يالۍ /يالی yālay/yālai	ننګ	honor	ننګيالی ننګيالۍ	honorable
غاړې /غاړی ğāṛay/ğāṛē	سندره	song	سندرغاړی سندرغاړې	singer
چک cək	سپين	white	سپين چک	whitish
ډله ḍəla	لوب	root word of play	لوبډله	team (sports)
هار hār	پړک	slap/clap	پړکهار	clapping/sounds of claps

Verbs

• Pashto has three tenses: Past, Present and the Future tense. 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 [همېشنی اړخ or نابشپړ اړخ]. The Perfective Aspect indicates completion of an action while the Imperfective Aspect indicates continuous or habitual action.
• Pashto Verbs can be classed as Simple Verbs, Irregular Verbs and Doubly Irregular Verbs.
• Verbs [کړۀ] agree in person and in number with either the objects or subjects of sentences, depending on tense and construction. Agreement is indicated with affixes following the verb stem which indicate person and number.

Verbal Suffixes

Pashto utilises verbal suffixes [د کړ تاړې]. It is easy to demonstrate these in Regular Verbs in the Imperfective.

Present Tense

Gəḍēẓ̌ is the present imperfective stem of the verb Gəḍēdəl [to dance].

Number	Person	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person	م əm	زه ګډېږم Zə Gəḍēẓ̌əm	I am dancing
	2nd Person	ې e	ته ګډېږې Tə Gəḍēẓ̌ē	You are dancing
	3rd Person	ي i	دی/دا ګډېږي Day/Dā Gəḍēẓ̌i	He/She is dancing
Plural	1st Person	و ū	موږ ګډېږو Mūnẓ̌/Mūng Gəḍēẓ̌ū	We are dancing
	2nd Person	ئ ai	تاسو ګډېږئ Tāso Gəḍēẓ̌ai	Your are dancing
	3rd Person	ي i	دوی/هغوی ګډېږي Dūi/Həğūi Gəḍēẓ̌i	They are dancing

Past Tense

Gəḍēd is the past stem of the verb Gəḍēdəl [to dance].

Number	Person	Gender	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person		م əm	زه ګډېدم Zə Gəḍēdəm	I was dancing
	2nd Person		ې ē	تۀ ګډېدې Tə Gəḍēdē	You were dancing
	3rd Person	Masculine	ۀ ə or و o	دی ګډېدۀ Day Gəḍēdə دی ګډېدو Day Gəḍēdo	He was dancing
		Feminine	ه a	دا ګډېده Dā Gəḍēda	She was dancing
Plural	1st Person		و ū	موږ ګډېدو Mūnẓ̌/Mūng Gəḍēdū	We were dancing
	2nd Person		ئ ai	تاسو ګډېدئ Tāso Gəḍēdai	Your were dancing
	3rd Person		ل əl	دوی/هغوی ګډېدل Dūi/Həɤūi Gəḍēdəl	They were dancing
		Feminine	ې e	دوی/هغوی ګډېدې Dūi/Həğūi Gəḍēdē	They were dancing

The Verb ""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 mūẓ̌ yū
2nd	ته يې tə yē	تاسو يئ \ ياست tāsō yəi (in Western dialect - yāst)[1][3]
3rd	دی دی day day[1] دا ده dā da	دوی دي dūy di

The word شته [shta] is also used; this is the third person singular and plural of the present tense of the verb to be.

Sentence	Literal Meaning	Meaning
پړنګ شته ؟	Tiger there-is/are (exists) ?	Is there a tiger ?
نشته	not-there-is/are	There isn't

Present Perfective form

Present Perfective tense of "to be

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه شم zə shəm	موږ شو mūẓ̌ yū
2nd	ته شې tə shē	تاسو شئ tāsō shai
2nd (command)	ته شه tə sha
3rd	دی شي day shi دا شي dā shi	دوی شي dūy shi

Past Imperfective form

Past Imperfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه وم zə wəm زه ومه zə wəma	موږ وو mūẓ̌ wū
2nd	ته وې tə wē	تاسو وئ\واست tāsō wəi (in Western dialect - wāst)[1]
3rd (masc.)	دی ؤ day wō	دوی وو\ول dūy wū (in Western dialect - wəl)[2][3]
3rd (fem.)	دا وه dā wa	دوی وې dūy wē

Past Perfective form

Past Perfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	شوم/شولم zə shwəm/shwələm	موږ شوو/شولو mūẓ̌ shwū/shwəlū
2nd	ته شوې/شوې tə shwē/shwəlē	تاسو شوئ/شولئ tāsō shwəi/shwələi
3rd (masc.)	دی شوۀ/شو day shwə (in Northeastern dialect - dē sho	دوی وو\ول dūy wū
3rd (fem.)	دا شوه dā shwa	دویشول dūy shwəl

Future Tense

In Pashto the Future Tense [ راتلونکی مهال] is the same as the Present Tense [اوسنی مهال] with the exception that in the future tense the marker به [bə] is added; به has a similar meaning to will/shall in English. In the Third Person Future Tense, also, irrespective of number or gender وي is used.

To Be in Future Tense

Future Tense	Present Tense	Pronoun
به يم	يم	زه
به يو	يو	موږ/مونږ
به يې	يې	ته
به يئ	يئ	تاسو/تاسی
به وي	دی	دی، هغۀ
به وي	ده	دا، هغه
به وي	دي	دوی، هغوی

Simple Irregular

These are verbs whose Past Stems differ from their Present Stems like english think vs thought,

a) where ل is replaced by ن in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
وژل wəžəl	to kill	-و وژن wə/wē wəžən-	-وژن wəžən-	-(و وژ(ل wə/wē wəž(əl)-	-(وژ(ل wəž(əl)-

b) where و is added in the middle in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
بلل bələl	to call	-و بول wə/o bol-	-بول bol-	-و بلل wə/o bələl-	-بلل bələl-

c) The verb ختل [to climb]:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
ختل xtəl	to climb	-و خېژ wə/o xēž-	-خېژ xēž-	-(و خت(ل wə/o xt(əl)-	-(خت(ل xt(əl)-

d) where دل is dropped in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
پېژندل pēžəndəl	to know	-و پېژن wə/o pēžən-	-پېژن pēžən-	-(و پېژند(ل wə/o pēžənd(əl)-	-(پېژند(ل pēžənd(əl)-
اوبدل obdəl	to weave	-و اوب wə ob-	-اوب ob-	-(و اوبد(ل wə ob(əl)-	-(اوبد(ل obd(əl)-

Doubly Irregular

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 whilst in imperfective the stress is on the last syllables.
Here is list of these verbs with their verbal stems [note without verbal suffix]:
a) ښودل, as a part of the verb.

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
کېښودل kēx̌odəl	to put	-کېږد kēẓ̌d-	-ږد ẓ̌d-	-(کېښود(ل kēx̌od(əl)-	-(کېښود(ل kēx̌od(əl)-
پرېښودل prēx̌odəl	to leave	-پرېږد prēẓ̌d-	-پرېږد prēẓ̌d-	-(پرېښود(ل prēx̌od(əl)-	-(پرېښود(ل prēx̌od(əl)-

b) The verb "to go":

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
تلل tləl	to go	-لاړ ش lāṛ sh-	-ځ d͡z-	-لاړ lāṛ-	-(تل(ل tl(əl)-

c) The verb "to take" [to a place]:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
بوتلل botləl	to take [to a place]	-بوځ bod͡z-	-بياي byāy-	-(بوتل(ل botl(əl)-

Idiosyncratic Third Person Form

Some doubly irregular verbs have idiosyncratic 3rd Person forms in the past forms, parallel to the idiosyncratic forms of the simple irregular verbs.

The list :

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past		3rd Person Sing. Masc.	3rd Person Plural. Masc.
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
راتلل rā tləl	to come (towards 1st Person)	-راش rā sh-	-راځ rā d͡z-	-راغل rā ğl-	-(راتل(ل rā tl(əl)-	راغی rā ğay
درتلل dər tləl	to go (towards 2nd Person)	-درش dər sh-	-درځ dər d͡z-	-درغل dər ğl-	-(درتل(ل dər tl(əl)-	درغی dər ğay
ورتلل wər tləl	to go (towards 2nd Person)	-ورش wər sh-	-ورځ wər d͡z-	-ورغل wər ğl-	-(ورتل(ل wər tl(əl)-	ورغی wər ğay
ننوتل nənəwətəl	to enter/get-in	-ننوځ nənəwəd͡z-	-ننوځ nənəwəd͡z-	-(ننوت(ل nənəwət(əl)-	-(ننوت(ل nənəwət(əl)-	ننوت nənəwət	ننواتۀ nənəwātə
پرېوتل prēwətəl	to fall or to lie-down	-پرېوځ prēwəd͡z-	-پرېوځ prēwəd͡z-	-(پرېوت(ل prēwət(əl)-	-(پرېوت(ل prēwət(əl)-	پرېوت prēwət	پرېواتۀ prēwātə
وړل wṛəl	to take	-يوس yos	-وړ wṛ-	-يووړ yowṛ-	-وړل wṛəl-	وې ووړ wewoṛ

Infinitive

This is called Kaṛnūmay [کړنومی] in Pashto that is “the name of a verb”. It shows an infinite action or occurrence. In Pashto the verb acquires the gender and number of a masculine plural noun. They are formed from the verbal root [کړريښه] and end with the verbal suffix: ل. Example:

The verb وکړل [past tense of verb کړل - perfective state of "to do"] shows agreement with masculine plural object that is the infinitive وهل.

Type of Infinitives

There are various types of infinitives.

Simple Infinitives

They are in there morpheme state. Examples: تلل [to go], وتل [to go out], ګرځېدل [to walk], ګرځول [to make someone/thing walk] etc.

Prefixed Infinitives

These are formed by attaching a prefix to the simple infinitive. These prefixes are usually directional/locative in nature. Examples:
1. را + تلل = راتلل
Rā [locative towards speaker] + Tləl [to go] = Rātləl [to come]
2. ور+ کول = ورکول
War [locative towards third party] + Kawal [to do] = Wərkəwəl [to give]

Compound Infinitives

There are two categories of compound infinitives. There are also some exceptions to these.

First Category

These are formed by adding ول [from کول] and ېدل [from کېدل] verbal-suffixes to nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The attaching noun, adjective and adverb should not end in a vowel. Example:
ښخ [buried, adjective] - ښخول [to bury, verb]

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:
1. پوښتنه [question, noun] - پوښتنه کول [to question, verb]
2. لېشه [seductive, adjective] - لېشه کېدل [to become seduced, verb]

Exceptions

There are also exception to the attachment of auxiliary verbs on the basis of vowel endings. Example: سوچ کول etc.

Phrasal Infinitives

This is done by adding words with infinitives to make a metaphoric meaning.

Examples	Literal	Meaning
توره کول	to do sword	to perform a brave act
تڼۍ شلول	to tear button(s)	to toil/endeavour

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/wallking]	راګرځېدل [to repass]	ګرځېدل راګرځېدل [walking about]

Or either 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]

Prepositions and Postpositions

Pashto has pre-positions, post-positions and pre-post-positions.

Prepositions

There are two Preposition in Pashto:
1. د [də] meaning "of"
2. په [pa] meaning "with" and "at"

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
د ابرهيم لاس	Də Ibrahim lās	Of Ibrahim hand	Ibrahim's hand
ابرهيم په چاړې پړی پرې کړ	Ibrahim pa cāṛe paṛay pre kaṛ [ko]	Ibrahim with knife rope cut [past-tense کړل]	Ibrahim cut the rope with a knife
په دوه بجې	Pa dwa baje	At 2 o'clock	At 2 o'clock

Postpositions

In Pashto there is the dative post-position: ته.

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
کور ته ځم	Kor ta d͡zam	House to (i) am-going	I am going to the house

Ambipositions

Pashto uses a significant amount of ambipositions (circumpositions). These usually have two elements, with the noun object positioned between the two elements.

The firs element is likely to be ones of these four elements:

Pashto	Transliteration
په	pə
له	lə
تر	tər

The second element is likely to be one of these words:

Pashto	Transliteration
لاندې	lāndē
پسې	pəsē
نه	na
پورې	porē
سره	səra
کې/کښې	kē/kx̌ē
باندې	bāndē
څخه	t͡səxa

Here is a list of the most common formations:

Pashto	Meaning	Example	Example's meaning
په ... کې	in, at	په سيند کې	in the river
په ... پسې	after	په ما پسې	after me
په ... باندې	on, upon	په مېز باندې	on the table
له ... سره	with	له ابرهيم سره	with Ibrahim
تر ... لاندې	under	تر مېز لاندې	under the table
له ... څخه	from	له ابرهيم څخه	from Ibrahim
له ... نه	from	له ابرهيم نه	from Ibrahim
د ... نه	from	د ابرهيم نه	from Ibrahim
تر ... پورې	till	تر پېښور پورې	till Peshawar
تر ... وروستو	after	تر خوراک وروستو	after food

Sometimes in colloquial Pashto, the word له is dropped from نه and سره.

Pashto	Colloquial Pashto
ابرهيم نه	له ابرهيم نه
ابرهيم سره	له ابرهيم سره

The first element must be dropped when the object of the pre-position is a weak pronoun. Examples:

Example Sentence	Meaning
ابرهيم ور سره ځي	Ibrahim is 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

Phrases

A number of common phrases translate into English prepositional phrases, which in Pashto consist of combinations of prepositional phrases and additional words.

Some Examples:

Components	Phrase	Meaning	Sentence	Meaning
له..نه + پخوا From+Before	له .. نه پخوا	before	له تا نه پخوا راغله	She came (here) before you
له...نه+ بهرر From+Outside	له ... نه بهر	outside	له ور نه بهر ولاړ و	He was standing outside the door

In phrases that start with the possessive phrase د [də] plus noun, the possessive phrase [də/د] can be substituted for with a weak possessive pronouns. Examples:

	Meaning	Sentence where د not dropped'	Meaning	Sentence with weak possessive pronouns	Meaning
د ... په اړه də pə aṛa	about[note 1]	د ابرهيم په اړه يې څه ووی	What did he say about Ibrahim	زما په اړه يې څه ووی	What did he say about me
د ... په شان də pə šān	like	د سپوږمۍ په شان ښځه غواړم	I want a wife like the moon	ستا په شان ښځه غواړم	I want a wife like you

Conjunctions

Pashto utilises conjunctions. These are used as adverbs. Example:

Conjunction	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	English Approximate
هيڅ کله نه	hīt͡s kəla na	nothing when no	never, at no time
که هر څنګه	kə hər t͡sənga	if ever how	howsoever, in whatever way
راځه چې	rād͡za chē	come that	(come) let's
تر اوسه پورې	tər osa porē	till now upto/till	so far, as yet, up till now
تر دغه پورې	tər dağa porē	till this till	as far as this
تر کله پورې	tər kala porē	till when till	till when?, how long?
تر کمه پورې	tər kəma porē	till where till	how far, to where

Pashto and Borrowings

Pashto speakers in contemporary times have borrowed a lot of Persian and Persianised-Arabic^[4] words although Pashto equivalents for these words do exist; seeing this there is a growing movement to use Soocha Pashto words instead of foreign borrowings to save the language.^[5][6]

Here is a small list of Pashto words and words used in daily speech that is not pure or Soocha Pashto:

Pashto	Persian	Arabic
هيله hīla	اميد umīd
اړتيا aṛtyā		ضرورت zarūrat
تود/توده tod/tawda	گرم garm
نړۍ nəṛai		دنيا dunyā

Borrowed Phonology

The sounds /q/, /f/ are non-native Pashto sounds borrowed from Arabic and Persian. The phonemes /q/, /f/ tend to be replaced by [k], [p].^[7]

Greeting Phrases

Greeting	Pashto	Transliteration	Literal Meaning
Hello	ستړې مه شې	stəṛe mə shē	May you not be tired
	ستړي مه شئ	stəṛī mə shai	May you not be tired [said to people]
Thank You	مننه	mənəna	Acceptance [from the verb منل]
Good Bye	په مخه دې ښه	pə məkha dē x̌ə	On your front be good
Good Bye	خدای پامان	xudai pāmān	From: خدای په امان [With/On God's mercy]
Hello	په خير راغلې	pə xəir rāğlē	With blessing (you) came

Numbers

Cardinal Numbers (direct case, masc.)^[8]

Pashto	Pronunciation
نشت	nasht	0
یو	yav, yo	1
دوه	dva	2
درې	dre	3
څلور	tsalor	4
پنځه	pindzə	5
شپږ	špəg	6
اووه	ovə	7
اته	atə	8
نه، نهه	nə, nəha	9
لس	las	10
یوولس	yavolas	11
دوولس	dvolas	12
دیرلس	dyārlas	13
څوارلس، څورلس	tsvarlas, tsvārlas	14
پنځلس	pindzəlas	15
شپاړس	špāṛas	16
اووه‌لس	ovəlas	17
اته‌لس	atəlas	18
نونس, نورلس	nunas, nurlas	19
شل	šəl	20
یوویشت	yavvišt	21
دوه‌ویشت	dvavišt	22
درویشت	dərvišt, dreyšt	23
څلېرویشت	tsalervišt	24
پنځه‌ویشت	pindzəvišt	25
شپږویشت	špagvišt	26
اوه‌ویشت	ovəvišt	27
اته‌ویشت	atəvišt	28
نه‌ویشت	nəvišt	29
دېرش	derš	30
یودېرش	yavderš	31
دودېرش	dvaderš	32
دریدېرش	drederš	33
څلوردېرش	tsalorderš	34
پنځه‌دېرش	pindzəderš	35
شپوږدېرش	špugderš	36
اوه‌دېرش	ovəderš	37
اته‌دېرش	atəderš	38
نه‌دېرش	nəderš	39
څلوېښت	tsalvešt	40
پنځوس	pindzos	50
شپېته	špetə	60
اویا	avya	70
اتیا	atya	80
نوي	nvi, nəvi	90
سل	səl	100
یوسلویو	yav səlo yav	101
یوسلودوه	yav səlo dva	102
یوسلوشل	yav səlo šəl	120
دوه‌سوه	dva sava	200
دوه سوه او لس	dva sava aw las	210
درې سوه	dre sava	300
زر	zər	1000
یوزرویو	yav zəro yav	1001
یوزرودوه‌سوه اوپنځه‌دېرش	yav zəro dva sava 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
• 2nd دويم dwaim
• 3rd دريم drəyam
• 4th څلورم t͡saloram
• 5th پنځم pind͡zam
• 6th شپږم špaẓ̌am
• 7th اووم ūwam
• 8th اتم atam
• 9th نهم nəham
• 10th لسم lasam

Notes

References

External links

• Habibullah Tegey & Barbara Robson "A Reference Grammar of Pashto" PDF (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 Pages: 123-141 (2005)
• Noor Ullah, "Pashto Grammar" (2011), ISBN 978-1-4567-8007-4
• M. Zyar, "ليک لارښود - Writing Guide" (2006)

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