DOClIHSlfZ RESUHE

ED 399 PL 024258
825
Tegey , ilab i bul 1th ; Robs on , Barbara
AUTHOR A hef erenc e Grammar of Pash I o .
TITLE
INST T TUTIOx Cen I er I or App1 red Li ngui s I i cs , 8ash i rift on , D. C.
SPOtiS AGENC7 Depart ment o I Educa I i on , l4as h ing t on , DC .
PUB DxTE .6
COHTRAC T P017n50047-95
NOTE 243 p .
PUB TYPE ReI erenc e Hat er i a 1s Gene ra l ( 130)
LANGIIAGE Eng 1 i sh ; Pasht o

EDRS PB ICE HrO1/.°C 10 P ins Postage •

DESCR IPTORS Adj ect ives ; Alpha bet s ; Di ac hr on i c Li ngu i s t i cs ; Form
CI o ss es (Languages) ; *Grammar ; *Languag e Pat t e rn s ;
Language Usage ; Lin8u i st i c Borr out i rig; 1. i I erat ure ,
Ho rpho1 ogy (Languages) ; Nouns ; Ora I Language ;
*Pas h t o ; Phoneme Graphenc Co rra s pondenc e ; Phono logy;
Prepos i t i ons ; P ronouns ; Pune t ua t i on ; R e £e rence
Ha t er i a1s ; Snc ond Languages ; Sent cue e S t met ter e:
Synta x. "Unc ouinon ly Taught Languages ; Verbs ; Air i t I en
Langu a8e

AB‹'5TRACT
Th i s granaia r of Pas hto ua5 des i gned t o ac c ompany a
set oI begi nn ing — and inte rmed i at e- 1 eve 1 i ns t rue t i onal xia t er i a 1s I or
t each i rig the Pas ht o 1 anguage t o Eng 1 i sh s peah er s , bu t can be used
sepa ra I e1 y as a r ef er enc e by r cader s who a re no t 1 ea rn i ng t he
1 anguage . Int roduc t ory s ec t i ons i n Eng 1 i sh and Pash I o des er i
be the c ont en t and organ i zat i on . The f i rst chap ter gi res bac k ground
i n I orma t i on on I he peop1 e who speak i I and on t he 1 unguage (hi s t ory ,
soc i a1 st at us , dia 1 ec t s , s I aridard izat i on , and h i s t ory of i t s s t udy) .
Subs equeri t chap t ers addres s grazmat i ca 1 I o rms and us es i n t he
1anguage , i nc 1ud i rig: phono logy and pronunc ia t i on ; Pash t o Pro rd s t oc8
and the i r or i 8 in s , borr or i rigs Iron Pe re ian , Arab i c , Urdu , Eng 1 i s h ,
and hue s i an and oI her 1 anguage8 ; the Arab i c-bas cd ori t i rig s ys t em ,
or i t t en 1 i t era t ure , a 1 phabet , and punc t uat i or. : nouns ; pronouns ;
ad j ect i yes ; verb I orais and verb uses ; prepos i t i one ; s i mp 1 e sen tenc e
s I rue I ure ; con junc t i on ; and subor di nat e c 1 aus e st rue t u re. Cont ent s
are i ride x elf . (nSE)
ED 399
825

, Center for Applied Linguistics

3EST COPY AVAILA8LE

2
 Habibullah Tegey
Barbara Robson

Ğeriłer /nø applied Ling uisłics

 Thl s Reference Grammar of Pasnto has been developed with f undtng from Grant .
No. PO 17A50047-95 from the Int ernat tonal Research and Studies Program of the U.S.
Department of E ducati on. \Ye are gratef ul to that office for Its conta nut ng support of our
meteriat s de ve1opment projects for Pashto and other languages.

The ffirammar I s the fln aI component o f a set of mater\ als teaching the Pashto
ł ąnguage to EngI ł sh speakers, al I devel op ed at the C enter for App1ł ed Lingu1st I cs. The
other components are:
8eginning Paah to (textb ook, w orkbook, tapescript s, taachsrs' m anua1)
im ermeaiete Paaht o (textbook, workbook, teachers' manuał)
Pas/łto eea0er (textbook, art gin al s, passages in trans crł ptł on)
Pash to Conversatlon (tapescri pts, workbook)
Pashto-English ffilossary for the RAL Pas/ito Naterials

AII components are ava\ 1 ab1e I n microfiche or hard copy through the ERIC
Document Reproduc tt on Servl ce. For orders ng inf armat \ on, please contact EDR5 at I -
800-443-ERIC. For informat \ on on ERIC and the Pashto materials, please cali the ERIC
Clearn nghouse on L angu ages and Lingui sti cs at I -80 0 -276-9834, or contact them
through their w eb site at h ttp:// ww w.caI,org/eri cc11. Further informa tion on t he Pash t a
ma tert als c‘an be found at the Cente r f or App li ed L1nguI stt cs' web site at
http://www.caLorg.

We are grat ef u1 to Dr. Fazel Nur, for hi s ongoing serve ce to the proj ect as a
'second opl nton” on the Pashto exampl es and anal gses.

\Ye are especi a\ 1 g indebted to Taylor Roberts, graduate student T n I ingut sti cs at
Nassachusett s InstI tute of Technology, whose caref u1 reading and extensi ve, detat led
comments have i mproved the grammar •.xponentt ally In accuracy, conststencg and
readabi1i t g.

4
‹i+
Acknowledgements ..... ...... . ...... . .. . . . ... .......... ..... ..... . .. ..
To the English-speaking Reader ............ .. ......................................... .
Note ut•¿............................................................................................................ xiii

Chapter I: Pashto and the Fashtuns.............................................................................................1

A. The People Who Speak Pashto...................................................................................1
B. The Language...............................................................................................................4
Its name..................................................................................................................4
Its ancestry.............................................................................................................5
Its social status.......................................................................................................6
Its dialects..............................................................................................................6
Its standardization..................................................................................................7
History of its study.................................................................................................8

Chapter 2: Pronunciation............................................................................................................11
A. Introduction.................................................................................................................11
B. Consonants................................................................................................................11
Technical description of consonants...................................................................13
Non-native Pashto consonants...........................................................................15
The dental consonants........................................................................................16
The retroflex consonants.....................................................................................16
C. Vowels........................................................................................................................16
Technical descñption of vowels..........................................................................17
Notes on the vowels............................................................................................18
Diphthongs ,.........,.......,.,....,.............................................................................18
D. Syllable Structure.......................................................................................................19
Two-consonant Clusters.....................................................................................19
Three-consonant Clusters...................................................................................23
Consonant Clusters at the ends of syllables......................................................23
E. Stress and Intonation.................................................................................................24
Basic word stress.................................................................................................24
Stress in affixes...................................................................................................26
Secondary stresses.............................................................................................27
Intonation ..........,..........................,...................................................................27
F. Major Dialectal Differences........................................................................................28
G. Other Analyses .........,......,...........,..,........................................................................29

Chapter 3: Pashto Words............................................................................................................30

A. Introduction.................................................................................................................30
B. Pashto's Basic Word Stock and Persian Cognates...................................................30
C. Borrowings from and through Persian.......................................................................31
D. Borrowings Directly from Arabic.................................................................................33
E. Borrowlngs from Urdu and English.............................................................................34
F. Recent Borrowings from English and Russian..........................................................35
G. International Words in Pashto....................................................................................36

Chapter 4: The Writing System...................................................................................................37

A. Pashto's Arabic-based Writing System......................................................................37
The Arabic alphabet.............................................................................................37
Letters pecullar to Pa8hto...................................................................................38
Chapter 4: The Writing System (Cont.)
B. Handwritten, Printed, and Computerized Pashto...................................................... 38
C. Pashto Written Literature...............................................................................................39
D. The Letters in the Pashto Alphabet...................................................................3e
E. Punctuation............................................................................................................43
F. Relationship between Spoken and Written Pashto.....................................................43

Chapter 5: Nouns............................................................................................................... 46
A. Introduction.................................................................................................................46
B. Masculine and Feminine Noun Classes.....................................................................46
C Masculine Nouns................................................................................................47
M1 nouns..................................................................................................... 47
rI2 nouns..........................................................................................49
M3 nouns. ........................................................................................................, 5t
u4 nouns..........................................................................................s3
D. Feminine Nouns ................................ ..........................................................,............s4
FI nouns...................................................................................................... s4
F2 nouns..................................................................................................... 55
F3 nouns..................................................................................................... 56
E. Irregular Nouns.................................................................................................56
Arabic borrowings. ................................................... .....„.........................57
Kinship terms.............................................................................................. 57
Other old irregular words............................................................................59
F. Regularization..................................................................................................... 56
Gender and class assignment of borrowed nouns. ........,...........................60
G. Singulars and Plurals ................ ................................................,...............................so
Mass nouns................................................................................................. 60
Numerical plurals........................................................................................61
H. Uses of the Cases..............................................................................................61
Uses of the direct forms of nouns................................................................62
Uses of the oblique forms of nouns.............................................................62
I. Other Analyses .....................................,............................................................63

Chapter 6: Pronouns .............................................,....,.....................................................65

A. Introduction ....................,................................................................................65
B. Weak Pronouns .........................................,..............................................................6.6
Form............................................................................................................ 6S
Occurrence ...t...................................................................................................g,6
Other characteristics of weak pronouns......................................................68
C. Strong Pronouns............................................................................................... 68
D. Demonstrative Pronouns ......,...,.......................................................................70
E. Other Pronouns.................................................................................................. 72
Interrogative /indefinte pronouns.................................................................72
Note on (khpal] ..,..................,.............................................................73
F. Other Analyses ................................................................,.,.............................74

Chapter 7: Adjectives........................................................................................................ 75
A. Introduction........................................................................................................ 75
B. Adjective Classes.............................................................................................. 75
Adj 1 ....,....................,...............................................................................75
Adj 2........................................................................................................be
Ad] 3 .....................................................,........,...........................................77
Adj 4 ............„.,.......................................................................................... 79
Chapter 7: Adjectlves (Cont.)
C. Irregular Adjectives
D. Numbers ................................. ..............
Number symbo!• ..-..-............................................... . . 80
Numbers as adjectives .....................................,...,. .................80
Ordinal numbers ......,..............................,.......83
E.
Vocative Forms of Adjectives............................................................................85
F.
Uses of Adjectives............................................................................................. 85
G.
Comparison of Adjeca\’as ....,.........................................................................87
H. Variation ........................................ 87
I. Adjectives and Adverbs......................................................................................87
J. Other Analyses.................................................................................................. 88

Chapter 0: Verb Forms ........................................................................................................,... 89

A. Introduction.................................................................................................................89
B. Personal Endings.......................................................................................................90
Present tense endings.........................................................................................90a
Past tense endings......................................................................................91
C. Tense and Mpect...............................................................................................91
D. The Verb be....................................................................................................... 92
E. Auxiliaries ...t.t............t...........................................................................................95
The intransitlve aux liary..............................................................................95
The transitive auxiliary.........................................................................................96
F. Simple Verbs ...................................................................................................,.............98
Ordinary simple verb formations..........................................................................98
Simple intransitive wrbs ending in [ eg-I - - .........................,.,...........100
Simple verbs ending in I-aw-I -y- ......................,.......,.............................102
Simple irregular verbs.......................................................................................102
Simple Varbs beginning with [a] - i............................................................105
G. Derivative Verbs..............................................................................................105
H. Doubly Irregular Verbs.....................................................................................114
I. Participles ..................,...............t.........................................................................118
Formation of impertective participles................................................................118
Formation of perfective participles....................................................................119
Idiosyncratic participles.....................................................................................120
J. Other Analyses ................,.........,................................,............................................121

Chapter 9: Verb Uses .......................,.............................................................................122

A. Introduction...............................................................................................................122
B. Present Time Expressions.......................................................................................123
as.............................................................................................................. 123
The present imperfe?ive tense..................................................................123
Negative present imperfective constructions....................................................124
The present perfective tense.............................................................................126
C. Futuro Time Expressions.........................................................................................126
Future Statements with dg ,.....................................................................126
|ba] with the present perfective tense........................................................127
Negative future expressions..............................................................................127
Pr+sent imparfective tense with futue time phrases.........................................129
Contrastive future axpreasions..........................................................................130
Chapter u: Verb Uses (Cont.)
D. Commands.................................................................................................................... 100
Commands with be...................................................................................130
Positive commands..........................................................................................131
Commands with Iwardz-] - yy ( i and tr6dz-] - aI, \ ip).........133
Negative commands.........................................................................................13S
Intensive commands.........................................................................................t34
E. Past Time Expressions............................................................................................13S
Past time exp'e°s!°’s with be.................................................................., 135
The pastimperfective tense......................................................................136
The past perfective tense.........................................................................138
“Perfect" expressions ..,..........................................................................136
F. Expressions with Infinitives.............................................................................142
Citation forms............................................................................................ 14S
Infinitives as nouns...................................................................................143
Passives................................................................................................... 144
G. Expressions of Ability .............................................................,.....,................144
'can/be able to’......................................................................................... 144
’might be able'.......................................................................................... 147
H. Expressions of Obligation..............................................................................148
Constructions with ’must‘ ldel ‹................................................................148
Constructions with 'should' [bâyâd] in L..................................................149
I. Summary: Forms and Uses............................................................................149
J. Other Analyses ....................................................................,.........................151

Chapter 10: Prepositions................................................................................................ 153

A. Introduction .............................................................................................,...........153
B. Pre-positions................................................................................................... 153
C. Post-positions.................................................................................................154
D. Pre-post-positicns........................................................................................... 154
Deleted elemonts.....................................................................................155
E. Special Cases................................................................................................. 156
'from’ II a ... nal ... d...............................................................................156
ltarl................................................................................................ 157
Phrases with 'houso' [korl ...............................................................,...,......157
Pro forms ..............t................................................................................157
F. Noun Cases with Prepositions........................................................................158
G. Prepositions in Phrases..................................................................................158
H. Uses of Prepositional Phrases........................................................................161
Indirect objects......................................................................................... 161
Comparatives .........,.......,...,...,.........,..............................................,...„.........162
Superlatives.............................................................................................. 163
I. Other Analyses................................................................................................. 164

Chapter 11: Simple Sentence Structure.........................................................................165

A. Introduction..................................................................................................... 165
B. Basic Word Order........................................................................................... 165
SOV order ..................................................,.......-....................................165
Deletion of subjects and objects...............................................................166
Word order In questions .....................................„......,............,......,.............,. 168
Chapter 11: Simple Sentence Structure (Cont.)
C. Noun Phrases ...............................................................................,.....,.....................170
Order of elements ..................„..........................................................,.,.. .,.......170
Order of modlflers In noun phrases...............................................................171
D. Verb Phrases........................................................................................................172
Order of elements in verb phrases ....................................................„..,........172
Order in negative verb phrases.....................................................................173
E. Particles................................................................................................................173
The particles..................................................................................................173
The first stressed element in a sentence .........................................,...............173
Order of particles among themselves............................................................175
F. Order of Modifiers in Sentences...........................................................................176
Tlme phrases .......................................................................,............................177
G. Agreement .................t.........................................................................................180
H. The Ergative ConstrucGon....................................................................................181
I. Two Unusual Constructions ....................................................,................................1B4
Verbs that require possessive subjects ..............,........................................184
Impersonal transltive’ verbs .............................................................,..„.,..,. 188
K. Other Analyses ..............................................................................,..........................189

Chapter 12: Conjunctlon ......................,..„..............................................................................191

A. Introduction...........................................................................................................191
B. Conjoined Nouns and Nouns Phrases.......................................................................19t
Adjective agreement with conjoined nouns.........................................................192
Agreement off verbs with conjoined subjects......................................................192
C. Double Conjunctions..................................................................................................194
D. Con¡oinad Sentences ........................,...,.....,............................................................195
E. Cther Analyses.............................................................................................. 198

Chapter t3: Subordinata Clause Structure.............................................................................199

A. Introduction................................................................................................... 199
B. Noun Clpuses .............................................,........................................................199
Noun clauses as subjects..............................................................................199
Noun clauses as direct objects ....................,....................,.....................,........200
Reported speech............................................................................................202
Tense restrictions with sorre common verbs.................................................203
Noun ctauses as complements......................................................................204
Noun clauses as objects of prepositions ................,........................ ......,....204
C. Relative Clauses ......................................... ....,...................................................206
D. ,§dyerbial CIX.uges.....................................................................................................209
Time clauses..........................................................................................209
Consequgnce clauses .....................................,..,...............................................210
Purpose clauses.............................................................................................211
Causal i3lauses and (dz6k a| ................................,......................................212
Clauses afier idiomatic expressions....................................................................215
E. Conditionals and Counterfactuals .,..............................................................215
Conditional sentences.........................................................................................216
Counterfactuals..............................................................................................2t7
Prasent unreal conditionals ..........................................................,.................218
Present unreal condition, result in the present ........................,.,.................218
Piesent unreal condition, result in the past....................................................219
 Chapter 11: Subordinate Clause Structure (Cont.)
E. Conditionals and Counterfactuals (Cont.)
Past unreal conditionals...................................................................................219
Past unreal condltlon, present resuit................................................................220
Past unreal condition, past result.....................................................................221
Conditional sentences expressing ability.........................................................222
F. Other Analyses................................................................................................ 223

index ........,...........................................................................................225

• 10
 T» th« Ne«d«»
As a component of the Center for Applied Ltngutstlcs‘ Pashto teaching materials,
this grammar ts \ntanded to accompany, organize and amplify the prasentattons of
grammar tn Beginning and Intermediate Pashto. It can also be used Independent 1g by
readers who are not \ earntng to speak the language, As is appi”oprtate wtth a reference
grammar, the Table of Contents and Index are designed so that tha raadar can fund the
pages in whtcri specific toplcs are descr1beo. The chapters can also be read through tn
order, for en overall picture of Pashto grammar.

Charts of forms and and other such t n formattun are given In boxes, for examole:

’student’ OS . [shagárdl a PP : lsh8gardMn) I fr

ni dS : (shbgárdl a I-à OP : lshBgardMnol Io Là

which shows the different forms that an n t noun can occur \n. Abbreviations used \n
the tabies are given at the beginnings of chapters.

Exampl e words are presented I n Pashto script, transcrt pts on, and gl oss
(= translation tnto English) In presenting words and short phrases, the fo1iowing format

’g109S' ltranscrlptton) Pash to script

for example:
‘Pashto’ [paxtól

In presentlng \ onger phrases an,d sentences, a worü-for-word gl osa ts gl ven, and

the foll owlng format \s used:

ltranscrlptton] Pashto script

word-for-word glass 'I diomatl c translat ian“

for
example:

[ggxt0 def d g0 Z§9 g0f R Zâbd dd.) • o4 w, a '4•u g J

Pashto vary with heart lika language is 'Pashto Is an nterestt ng 1an guage.'

The word-for-word gloss inc1udes grammatlcal informatlon !f necessary or usefuJ, for

example:

hungry be2s 'Are gou hungry7'

At tempts have been mada to kaep each w ord \ n the w ord-for-word gross direct1g
under IIs Pashto e9ufvalent, but unavoi dab1 e vagsr1es in the fonts and word process I
ng program frequentl y crowd the word-for-word glosses to the left.

We have taken steps to stmpl I fg the presentation ef exampl es for tho reade r 'v•“.s
\ s not working with Beginning and Intarme0lata Pashto, bq keeping tha appearance of
new vocabulary to a mlnimum. The same people and objects appear from examp I e to
example, and when posse ble, the same sentences appear from section IO section w1th
appropr\ ate changes in tense, number, etc., to II!ustrate the points being n’,sde.

The rea0er is urged to remember tha* tht s grammar, and o\ her grammars of
P ashto, are much mar.• tentative than are grammars of Engll sh or other languages
with 1 ong grammat I ca1 trade t1ons. As we mention tn Chapter i , Pashtc grammatl
cal studi es are in their infancy, and such simp\ e matters as the number of noun
classes or names of
the tenses are bg no means def In1tel g agreed on, a s they are for languages that have
been s tudted for a long II me. We hope that thts grammar corrects and reft nes prevl
ous st vdtes Of Pashto (\nclud1ng some of the ana\ gses In beginning and Int ermea1ale
Pashto!), and at the same t1me fully expect that subsequent study es of Pashto grammar
w1l1 correct and refine our work.

as we have deve\ sped the grammar, we have ccme to respect more and more
the work of Herbert Penz1, whose 195i5 gramm ar of Pashto was deYeloped under
far more d1f I lcult practt cal circumstances, and w tt?lin a much more 'restrictive'
grammatlCa1 framework, than ours. we dedicate tht s grammar to h\ s memorg.

Habibul1ah Tegey
Barbara Rnbson

12
°”’ 13
 Pashto i s a prt ncipal language In Afghanistan and Paki stan. I t i s spoken nat1veI y
by over hat f the population of Afghanistan, an est lmated 7,50o,o00, and by about 908 of
the #opul ation in the Northwest Frantler Prove nce of Paki stan, an est I mated T
4,000,000 Pashto i s a1 so spoken nativel y in Bal ucht stan, the prove nce of Paki stan
direc t1y south of central A fghani stan; there i s a communtt g of about two m\ \ T ton who
speak Pashto natively in K arachl; and there are about 50,00o nattve speakers I n Iran.

(Utbek, Turk
(Farsi)

AFGHANISTAN
t(Dari) hawar

(8eluohi)

PAKISTAN

•..' Pashto Speaking Area

(Language nam•J Other language spoken

14
 The maJ art tg of Pashto speakers accupg a s\ ngle geograph1Cal area whlch
consti tutes roughly the southern part of Afghanistan and the northeastern part or
Pakistan. This predominantly Pashtun area is bordered bg Dari speakers in the north;
Dari ts a dlalect of Persian, and is the other maj or I anguage in Afghanistan. The areas to
th8 northeast are adjacent to Uzbek- and Turkmen- speaking areas in AI ghanl stan, which
themselves borne r Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Pashto-speaking area ”is bordered
on the southeast bg urdu speakers, and bg Be1uchi speakers directs g south. Pasht0
speakers and these other ethnic groups have been 1 iving s\ de by side for centurtes, and
share many cul tura1 and economic characteristics.
The peopi e who speak Pashto call themselves Pashtuns (pronounced lpasht5ny)t 1
In Pakistan and India, they are referred to as P athans; (pronounced [pat dnzl) by non-
P ashtuns. Dther ethnic groups, inc1uding westerners, have tra0iti onall y called Pashtuns
a fghans; when Ki ng Ahmad Shah estab1 ished a political state in the 1700’s, he called i I
Afghanistan - the tcuntrg of the Afghans, i.e., Pashtuns. it Is onlg in the 1ast fi ftp gears
or so that the term Afghan has come to refer to ang rest dent of Afghar.is tan, regardless ”
of ethnic background. Now, the term Pashtun seems to have been adopted bg westerners
(al though Pashtuns In P ak1 stan are sttll called Pathans). When the not1on I s discussed of
an i ndependent Pashtun state, for exampl e, the state I s usuatl g ca1Ied P ashtunistan.
Pasht uns f I pure prominently in the history of the Brt ti sh Empire in India. They
occupied and dominated the Northwest Frontl er area, which was then the northernmost
boundary of the British ha1di ngs In India. The Br1tlsh spent years trglng not very
successf u1I g to bring the "Afghans" Into some sort of governabi e order. Fi1 neteenth
century Brtttsh at t1 tudes towar ds Pashtuns are reflected 1 n a number of books,
grammars and government eport s, and alternate between extreme exasperation and
red uct and adm1 ratton and affection. An examp1a of the axasperatl on can ba saen in an
\ 06 I art1cT e in the Army and Navy Gazet te! ”Afghan chi efs were able to talk treason in
Pashto before the noses of our generals, whiIe assuring them of their ftdeltt§ In ..
P arsian." An exampl e of the admlration can be seen In the f1rst sentences of the
Introduction to Si r Of af Carae‘s The Pathans:
"There ts a strange fascination in living among the Pathans...One secret of the
hot d of the horth-\*/est Fronts er ts to be sought In the tremendous scenic canvas

words In square brackets represent transcrl ptlons of pronunciation. There I s a

detaI1ed exp1anat ion a I the transcrlption system used t n th1s Grammar In Chapter 2. I
n Engl tsh spells ng, Peshtun would be approximately pahshtaan, and Pathan would be
approxim atelg paht ahn. The stress I s on the l ast sg1labI e 1n both words.
 aga nsc wh1 ch the Pathan plags out his 1 i Ie, a canvas brought into v1 vld red ief bb
sharp, crue1 changes of c1 innate. Sometimes the assault on the spirtt i s that of
s tark uglI ness and dt scomf art - appa11 ing heat, a dust-storm across the Peshawar
pl ain, the eroded foot-hill s of Khaibar or Wazi ri stan; more often it Is an
Impressi on of beautg tndescrt babl e tn its ct ari tg and contrast wt th the barren
emptlness that went before. The weft and warp of the s tapestry I s woven into the
soul s and body es of the men who move before i t...“ (p. xv)
Pashtun soc1 ety I s Oasicel I # tribaL There are welI over a hundred tribes, each
wi th its own name and lineaga, the 1 at ter usuall g traced to a m#thica1 ancestor. Fri
bes are l ocated and/or have power in particu1 ar areas--British records frequentl g
refar to one or the other of the try bes providing opposition to Brett sh ambitions in an
area. Nost Pashtuns are h1 ghl § conscious of their tribal affiliation, although mang who
›aave migrated to Kabul and Herat have become “detri bat i zed", having iost their tl es
to their tri bes. rlany of these ethnic Pashtuns no longer speak Pashto, a1 though theg
identi fg themsel ves as Pashtuns. Such Pashtuns in AI ghani stan speak Oari, those In
Paktstan speak Urdu or 9e1 uchi.
Pashtun society I s characters zed bg what westerners call the Pashtunwaii, an
unwri tten but nonetheless powerful code of ethics which emphast zes hospi ta1 I tg,
revenge, and honor. OverlKing the PashtunwaT i is I slam: Pashtuns in general are among
the more conservative Sunni Moslems, and since the Soviat occupation in the T 980's. the
Is1 amic I undamental i st movement that has established itself in other Islamic countries
has gained a strong foothol d among the Pashtuns as we1 l.
Tradi tional I §, such education as Pashtuns received was provided bg mosques, and
was conflnew to teaching of the fora.. (in Arabs c) and red ated subj ects. In the years
before the Sovl et occupat1on of Afghans stan, var1 ous governments had started a basi c
publ tc education system. and at least prtmarg education graduall g became avall able to
rural as well as urban Pashtuns. P•sgr•se wae brought to a hait, however, b# response
to the Soviet attempts to ”Sovietiz‹'" the educational sgstem, and whatever was l eft of it
was completely 4estroged 0# ft ghtt ng among the factions strugg1ing for control after the
Soviets left Afghanistan In l989.
The 1i terac# rate among Afghan Peshtuns has aIwags Baan very low (about
5x according to the best avallable rstamates), and the destructt on of the educattonaI
system wt I l undoubtedT g resul t In even l ower rates for the foreseeable future.
Bet ow are It sted the most extensive general descrtpt\ons of the Pashtuns and of
Af ghantstan. f¥at bona/ Geographic art1 ct ea on Afghant stan and P ak\stan are also

1fi
recommended as vivid in\rortuc tI ons to the people and the 1 and they 0çCupy. For a
more ext enslve bibllographg of works on A f ghanł stan, see thB üFtiçle 'A f ghanl stan”
on pp. 25- 36 of Vo1. I ñ, The Encyclopedia ari tannica ( 15th edl tt on, 1994›.

Caroe, Sit O1af The Pathans ss0 8.C. - A.D. 1 957. with an eynașus en Russia by lhe
u thou. Karachi. Oxford University P re ss, I 9ü3.

Dup rae, Louis. A i’ghanis tan. Princeton, NJ P rlnce ton Uni versł tg Press, 1980.

Nyrop, Ri chart F. and Donal d N. Seeki ns, A/'ghaf›istan, A country st uäy, SU ed

Washt ngton, D C.: U S. Government Printi ng Offl ce, 1903.

”ïi. The Lnn9«=9e

its more. For a variety of reasons, the name of the Pashto language has been
spelled in several ways. 0ns reason is that thR middle consonBnt (the lshl) is
a found that di hers from one dialeek to the other. A s will be discussed ł n Chapter 2,
speakers of the Kandahar dia1ect pr0nounce the word wi th a lshÌ-i1ke ml ddT e
consonant, and speakers of the Central and eastern di alects pronounce it with a sound
st ml1ar to Cerman ch or ßreek x.
The second reason for the vari ate in rendering of the word Par/tto I s that
ther“e rnas never been a standards zed trans\1teratton sts tern for rendert ng the
language In a roman al phabet, and so writers dealing with the \ anguage are free to
transiiterate as they choose. In the \r/est, the Pasfito spel ì1ng seems to have taken
hold (the Voice of America has a pąsftto service, and the B8C has a Pașhtp
Programs at though Push tu \ s a commonl g seen vari 8nt.
A I ook at earli er books and reports an the P ashtuns shows more d\versitg in
the representat1on of the name. H. \/. Bet few's i 867 grammar of Pashto, for example, i
s ca1i ed A grammar af the Pu g/Sta or Pufififit a Language (the under11ntng i s Bellew's),and
Bel 1ew speI1s the \ anguage as Pu j tt a throughout, wtth the kkh underlined,
presumabl g to show that t I \s a multiple-letter rendt tion of a si ngle sound, or maybe to

show that It

' The. term tranB li I are t ion refers to the w rt t1ng of one alphabet n the characters 0f
another, and I s dt fferent from transcript ion, wilt clv refers to the representatl on a I the
sounds of a 1an guage by means of written symbols. Str1ctl g speaks ng, the transllteration
of the Pashto spel1lng of Pashto tnto roman characters woul d be some the ng II ke pxts (the
alphabet does n0t spet I out many of the vowels): the transcrtptton of the word Past to \ s,
In the system used tn UI s Grammar, (paxtól.

4
I
w as a non-Engl ish sound. In D. L. R. Lorimer's grammar, publl shad fiftg yeers 1aher,
the I anguage name I s spel led Pas/?tu .

its ancestry. Pashto bel on9• t0 the Irant an branch of the Indo-European fami
lg a I 1anguages. I ts c1osest major relatives are Persl an, <urdt sh, Belucht, TaJ ik, and
osseti an, a1I languages are spoken i n the area around AIghanlstan.
As an Indo-European 1an9< d9^. • a • h * 0 i s dl st d nt tg re1ated to Engli sh, as can
be seen In the Y o1low tng di agram, which i nc ludes the ma)or branches of the fami I y
and one or two well -known l anguages be1onging to each branch:

Germanic Hellenic Indie

(Welsh) (English, (Italian, (Greek) (Latvian. (Russian, (Hindi, (Persian,
German) French) Lithuanian) Polish) Urdu) Pashto)

Oesplte the fact that I t i s written wt th a variant of the Arabf c alphabet and uses a
number of Arabic words, Pashto is not re1ated to Arabi c. It is also not rel ated to the
Turkl c languages, two of wh1ch (Uzbek and Turkmsn) are spoken t n Afghanistan.
Pashto appears to be the most conservati ve of the Iranian languages, in that i I has
p reserved archalc el ements that the other I anguages have 1ost. One of these elements i s
the dl stinct1ve ergati ve construct on described in Chap•.er 1 \ , which has been I ost to a
great extentin the other iranian languages. Another Btement retained byPashto
is a gender sgstem In nouns: Pashto has masculine and feminine nouns, whereas nouns in
the other Iranian anguages are not def ferenti ated by gender.
Besides reta\n1ng archaic elements of the Irant an languages, Pashto shares some
c harac terist\cs with the lndt c I anguages spoken to the south, most notab1y the retrof lex
consonants, whtch are present In the Indie but not in the I rank an 1anguages.
Pashto shares great numbers of words with Dart, not onJg because the I anguages
are ref ated, but a1 so because Pashtuns and Dar1 speakers have been neighbors for
c enturies, and more recent \y have been citizens of the same country. Both Pashto and
Dart al so have numbers of words 1n c0mmon whl ch have been borrowed from A rab1c.

5
16
Gh=picr1. W•• hr••• d h«P=sh*••.•

Els social status. Wh1ie Pashto is a national 1anguage of Afghanistan, i t is

second In socia! prestige to Darl, which as we mentioned above is a dfa\ect of
Persian. Before the Soviet occupation, there were at tempts to “equalize" Pashto:
oari-speaking children were required to study Pashto in the pub1Ic scho01s, and Dari-
speaking government officials were requ1red to take Pasnto classes. These attempts
d1d Fl0t result in much change, h0wever; now, gS before, ang educated Pashtun in
Afghanistan speaks Darl, but very few Dari speakers speak Pasht0.
In Pakistan, Pashto has no off total status: Pathans who receive education do so
in Urdu and/or English As a result of the British presence In the Nor\hwest Frontl er
Provi ce, however, there are more publtsh1ng houses In Pakistan, ano, consequently, more
Pashto books are publ \sheo in Peshawar than tn Afghan\stan.

its «|ialects. There are d1aI ect s and sub-dt a1ects of Pashto, as there are of ang
I anguag @ 2, Theae dla1ects have not been c\ asslfteü or 9tud\ ed to -eat extent bg
an,d
western grammarlans, and most Pashtuns themse1ves are sensi tlve ont g to the obvious
dif ferances in pronunctatton and vocabu1ary.
There are three maj or dTaT ects of Pasht0: the Kandahar or western dt a\ ect,
the Kabul or central di al ect, and the NTngrahar or eastern dial ect*. Speakers of the
Kandahar didl9Ct i Ï V9 M09fl g irt Southwest A fghani stan and I n Beluchi stan. The Khat tak t ri be
I ivt ng in üuhat - the tribe that effecti velg sstablished the Pashto II terarg tradt te 0I1
- speaks Kandahar P ashto, and the neighbori ng Wazl ris have some of the
Kandahar characters st\cs tn thelr dialect, notablg the same set of retroflex
consonants. Speakers of the central, or Kabul, di al ect, i we most I g tn the Kabul,
Logar, Ghazni and Parwan provinces. Speakere of the eastern, or Ningrahar dta\ect,
ltve t n the northeast sactions of Afghanistan, and i n the Northwast Frontler Provlnce
of Pakistan.
DT f ferences among these d\a1ects are largelg In pronunciation, the detail s of
which will be dtscussed In Chapter 2. The Kandahar and Kabul d1a1ects (spoken in

2 \ge are ustng the term ”dialect' In Its technl cat cense, i.e. to refer to vary at] Ons of the
I anguege that arose mostly through geographtca\ or hlstorl eel Isolation. Note that in
this sense, no one di al ecu of another 1s considered to be 'better‘ \n some absolute
sense, although it ts often the case that one dl al ect may carry mo 'e s0cfr. prestigB
than another.

You will frequently encounter the adjectival formc of the cltg names--Kandaharl,
Kabull, and N1ngrahar1-- In referring to the inhabt tanta of tha ctt\es, and In such
phrases as 'the Kandaharf dialect’ or 'Kabull customs'.

b
1 fi
Afghani sI an) a re ma st 1ik eI g t a borrow vocabulary f rom P ers i an, wherea s the Eas tern
di alect (spoken mas t1y in Pakl stan) I s more li kal y t a borrow vocabulary from Urdu and
EngI I sh. So phs sti cated Pashtuns have 1arge passt ve vocabularies a f w ords from other
dialect*, i.e. they know a good many words on hearing them, but do no t use them in thei r
ow n spe ech.
The diaiec ta1 d\ ff erences am ong these maj or di alect groups of P a sht a are
red ati ve1y mtnor: speakers of most d\ al ects of Pashto are readt 1g understood bg almost
all speakers of other d1a1ects, except for Pashtuns located in i so dated areas who m1ght
have trouble understanding and betng understood by Pashtuns from dt stant areas. Two of
these I sob ated dt alects have a t trac ted at tentt on and some study: t he \'/ azt r1 dt a\ ect
spoken on the border between Af ghantstan and Pakistan, and the W arda’x ii al ect sp0ken
in Kabul pro vince, h ave been observed to dt fler markedi y from the other dl a1 ec t s.
By and I arge, ea ch P ashtun const ders his own dtalec t t‘o be the ’normal‘ w ay
to speak P ashto, alt hough the Kand ahar di aleCt fij G¿6 th most prest i ge tat 1e as t
among the K anda haris), and serves as the basi s for the writing system. However, as
the T 9th-
century Bri ttsh so1dter and grammari an D. L. R. Lord mer observed:
'.. nans an Afrtdi or Shi nwari [tribes then located i n the Northwest Fran rl er
Provincel phrase or pronuncl ati on wl II tncur the contempt of the Peshawar nunshi
[a Pashtun teacher of the Brttish troops in Peshawar) as a soiect sm or a
boort shnes s. wnile t a t he countrgm an the Nunshl's speech wi l1 s em fore tgn,
womanTsh, and mi ncing.’
lt is highly pF0bable tnat one tribes opinion ot mothers Oiatect ot Pashto retlected,
and
sti 11 ref Iec ts, the t r be's genera I op ini on 0f the other.

its standaediza+ion. Pashto I s not standardized \ n the wag that Eng1 t sh or

most of the European I anguages are. There t s, in other words, no unt versal agreement
among Pashto speakers as to what consti totes ”correct' Pasht a, ei ther oral or wrl tten.
Standards zatl on art ses from a n1gh I evel of 1i teracg or from a 1 ong -standing grammati
ca1 tradit\ on, neither of whi ch Pashto has. Engl i sh speakers, for example, are
accustomed to the noti on that there are universal1 g-accepted rul es for spe111ng and
punc tuat ton, and consi der that wri ters who do not fall ow these rul es are uneducated.
Pashto speakers, on the other hand, have no set of rul es to go bg, and m ang of them (\n
Pak Ts tan especi a I yJ have never had formal Ins true tI on T n P ashto.
One of the resut t s of the s \ ack of standards z atl on Is that T nd1v1dual Pash tun
wry ters vary w idety in speii Ing and punc tuat T on. Words are f request I # spel led
rliI ferent I g, not onlg from one wri ter ió another, but of ten by the same writer, and even
withtn th• same aocument. Even such mat tars as spacing between woros are not
consłstent. Th1s varł atton does not pose much of a problem to natłve speakers (highl g
1Iterat e Pashtuns are so accustomad to dealing wi th the var i ation that they do not even
noti ce it) but i t ł s a maj or chał T engs to learners of the language and non-nati ve speakt
ng readers. it is important to remember that al though many Pashto texts ąre bg wri fers
who have on1 y a few gears of format school1ng, 1ack of cons1 stency in speł ltng and
punctuation does not ał'rrags refT ect I ack of educat I on or soehistlcati on on the part of
the wri ten it I s as of ten a reflect1on f the lack of standardization in the T anguage
Another challenge to \earners of the 1 anguage is that Pashtc wr1 ting in
new spapers and magazinas is frequentlg wriI ten bg non-naIT ve speakers, and is 11 aole to
contain 'real’ errors, similar in kind to such errors as He are here \ n Engllsh. AI so,
Pashto newspaper and magazlne artt c1es are 1Ikel g to be transl ated from Dari or Urdu,
and the tr<nsI ated sentances of ten bBar more resambl anca to the origina1 i anguage than
they do to Pashto. F1nBlI y, tgpeset ters are usuali g not nat1ve Pashto speakers, and
therefore cannot verifg the correctnes s of thei r own tgpesetttng.
In the years before the Russi an invasion in 1979, there attempts to establł sh
standards for Pashto. For example, the Pashto Academg was establlshed in Kabu\ in the
1930‘s ug K1 ng Zaher. in an effort to devetop Pasńto so that II coul d be used •s the
medium of łns tructt on in schao1 s and the language spoken in government office s.
Nembers of the Pashto Academg engaged in a variety of actt vttl es: theg devel oped
dictionartes, prfnted the works of Pashtun poets, conducted research in the socł a1
sciences, and trans1ated works (mostly from Arabic, urdu, and Engt ish). TFieg al so
developed recommendatt ons for spel ł mg and punctuat don, mang of which are now
fol ł owed bg Pashtun wri ters. An exampl e of one of these recommendations is the
spel1ł ng of retrof1 ex In] as rather than .
A para1lel Pashto Acaosmg began in Peshawar in tF e 1950's, for tha purposes of
oeveioping the Pashto spoken in Paktstan. engaging I n and pubJ ł shlng researEh on the
I anguage, and transl ating I mportant and interesting works in to Pashto. Recent1g, the
publlcat\ ons of the Peshawar academg have ref1 ected the standard1zations recomm. nded
bg the Kabul academy, a1 though in general, wrT I ten Pakist ani Pashto t ends to reflect
t nf1 uences from English and Urdu.

}-Iistory at its study. As we mentioned above, Pashto does not have a

grammar Ical tradltl on. Such traditions are a result of Interest on the part af a

21
I anguage's speal‹ers in grammar In general, and the grammar or structure of their
1 anguage in particu1ar. Engl i sh and the maj or European I anguages have 1 ong
grammat Ical tradit tons, as doea Arabic. and such traditions have g1elded widespread
agreement on matters 1t Ke the number of noun c)asses, the names of tenses, and
even whether a set of verbs is merelu irregular or constitutes a speck al class. These
agreamant s have been arr1ved at through arts ct es and booKs that have proposed anal
gses, arguments against the proposed anal gses, re-analyses and continue ng arguments
until eventuall g a consensus is reached. Pashto grammatical studl es are stt1I in theI r
inf ance, and consensus has not been reached on any but the most obvl ous el
ements of Pashto grammar.
Oespite a long 1 tterarg tradit i on, Pashtuns themselves have not been widely
interested In the grammar of the'r language. Ours ng the ntneteenth century, however,
when Russia and Great Britain both had poll t1cal and terrt tort a1 Interest s in the
Pashto- speak ing area, soldiers and administrators on both st des found \ t necessary
to deal with Pashtuns and to 1 earn Pashto. There are, corresponds ngly, a number of
grammars of Pashto wrtt ten In Russian and Engli sh dating from this pariod. These
vary great \g 1n quality and accuracy, depends ng on the amount of Pashto 1 earned bg
the1r authors, theI r authors' general educationa1 ano li nguist \ c baEKgrounds, and
the sophistication of the
Pashtuns who served as the authors' consultant s on the language. The most
Interesting of the Pashto grammars in Eng1I sh 1 s Lori mer's Pesh tu. Part /4 (a
sentence from I ts
preface Is quoted above), which describes the spoKen I anguage. Lorimer's analyses are
remind scent of Lath n grammar, but are sts1l va1uabl e: ht s transcrt ptt on system
accurately refs ects the pronunciation of his Pashtun consultants, and hts ang\ gses
show great inst ght Into the 1 anguage.
After ›ndla's independence and the end of the riva1ry between 8ri tain and
Russia, pol ttical interest In the Pashtuns waned. Vtth It the need for f oretgners to
speak Pashto lessened, and western interest in jrammaticat aspects ot the
language diminished At the same time, the academies ment toned above focused their li
mt ted resources on matters more cructal than grammat tual study, In partI cular tssues of
spallt ng stendard!zation and dictionary development. Atter the Russian invz$lon of
Afjhantstan, there was rene wad po\1t tual I ntereat In the Pashtuns on the part of
western powers, and therefore a resumpt hon of Interest tn P asnt o. Included tn the results
of that Int erest are several Pashto -Russt an dl ctl onarl es and grammat teat sketches,
and the reference grammar gou are hol dt ng tn gour hands

^ Part 2 was unfortunately never completed.

 BeI ow are I i sted the most readl l y avail ab) e a r in ie re s! i ng general gramm att
c al studies a f P ashto in Engl tsh. No st a f I he sarlg °ri ti sh grammars have been repre
nted, and are a val1abl e I n b ookst ores in Paki sfan.

Lortmar, D. L. R. 19 15. Pash tu Part I. Syntax aI •›ula I Pash t u, with chap t ers on tile
Persian and indian e lement s in the moasrn I anguaye. Oxfo rd: Clarendon Press.

Penzl, Herbert. 1955. A grammar or Pashto: A descript lie s tudq a I the aiaiec t ar
Kandahar, A fghanis tan. Program in Ori entat Languages, Pullleafs ons Series 8 - Aids
- Number 2. Washi ngton, D.C.: American Counci l of Learned s0cl etiss.

nackenz\ a, D.N. I 9B7. 'Pashto'. In The \•/orId’s N• i •• Languages, Bernard Comr1e, ed.
New York: Oxf ord Uni verst tg Press.

Shafeev, D. A. 1964. A Sfio t mammal ical Oul line of hashto. Translated from the
Russian bg Herbert H. Paper. The Hague. Nouton & Co.

23
 I n thi s chapter, we w11I descri be the consonants and vowal s of tha central dialect,
and the wags tn wh\ch these sounds may comblne to form words. \fe w11I also descrl be
the wags that the Kandahar and NIngrahar di al ects of Pashto df fler from the central
dtal ect. Each example I s given with I ts Pashto sped I ing, lis transcription in square
brackets, and its English translation or gloss, in single quote marks, as in the foi bowing
example: ’grandfather‘ (bâbMi LL.
The trenscrtpt I on shows the stress In words of more than one sgI1 abla, by means
of tha symbol ' placea over the vowe1 of the stressed ag]lable. The roman symbois that
are used to represent the Pashto sounds I n the transcriptions have been chosen to make
them uast er for the Engel sh-speaking student of Pashto to remember. Although most
symbol s represent one and only one Pashto sound, sometimes a double symbol
represents a single sound (for example Ichl, [dz], {ts], and (shl) in order to mind mlze the
use of unfami1 lar s #mboI s. because the Engl1 sh spe1 ling system has only five vowel
symbol s, and Pashto has nine vowels, represgntati on of the vowet system regut res the
use of unfamtl ier sgmbo\s lai, [z), [BI, and {v] tn addi tion to the faml1\ar lal, [el, (iI, [a],
and [u].

we will ftrat discuss the consonants of Pashto from the point of vl ew of the
Engl\ sh speaker, and after that discuss theI r phenol oglcal characterl stl cs in more
technical terms.
There are thirtg-two consonants i n tha Can tral d alect. They are grouped below
according to their resemb\ance to Engllsh consonants, w lth the retrof 1ex consonants
listed separately.

(h] as in gay, cojt : 'other‘ lbal] , ’grandfather' [babMl UL

lchl as \n lurch tea er . 'where' (chdral • . ’left’ (chap! •
[dzl as In dadz, adge : 'self’ (dz6nl JUL, 'place' ldzBy] Lfi
lfl as \ n fire, If : 'break' lta. .II , 'pronunctat1on’ [talaf\Jz]

24
Ig) as \n gg, j‹/g 'taii” tJagl , , 'f \oeer' Igwalj
[hl as In Caf, öe§ave : 'ntne’ [näha| @, 'also' [haml
I) \ ss \ n )u j;tge , e4ge.' ’good' Ij 0l•l , ” yr ar' (jangl
(kl as 1 n par, yale. ‘work' Ikar] , 'house' |kor)
(ml as in /9oJIL oz/zgp: 'mo ther (mori , ‘heuo“ Isat äml C

[pl as tn gie, agg/a: 'curtain’ [pardäl ao , '1 eft' (chap] .

[sl as in ya, yity. 'hand' il asl V, ’red' lsurl

[shl as in s/toe, pus/t : 'six' lshpagl , . 'twentg’ [shal]
(tsl as In cuj , gul g //: ‘how mang' [tso) , 'ha\v' ItsSngaÎ
wl as in gai t, kiki . 'sag' lwäwügal •u• lyg, ‘open' (wäza] ‹¿Ig
[g] as in ,ges, ôoy: ’one' Il aw) , 'God' lkhwdägl I
[z] as In as, zero. 'son' lzoç] g¿, 'i ton' lzmaräyi ¿

tt1: ‘thank' Itashakùrl , ’etght' (atà] •6 I

[dl: 'this' [da] I a, ’three‘ [drel a
(I|: 'hand' [Iâs] Ü, 'here’ [dd1 tal
o (nm 'not' (na] 6 , "fi
e1 d“ [karw andà) a tg

fghi: 'Afghan‘ [afghdnl I, ‘that' [aghäl •ua

If¡1: 'narch-Aprll' Ifiamé1) , 'dear' l8ab1bl _,-
(khl: 'time' lwakh ti .- , 'God lkhw day] I
(ql: 'trunk‘ lsandùql -› 'mtnute' IaaqIqé1 a
[r]: 'where' [chéral' ‹ , 'thank' ltashakvr]
(xT: ‘good’ [xel , , ‘Pasht0’ tpaxtdl
[fl: ”wlsdom‘ I 7àqa1I , 'without study‘ [be Pamälal .
 [țJ: ’aII’ [țolI J , 'car [moț érI
(ql: 'very' lğer] pa, 'bread' Iğoğágl 0y 0
(nl: 'daughters’ [I únel , 'appl e' [meçś]
(r): ‘t1red' Is tárag! Ş , ‘chl łdren” [wãrá] »g ip

Technical Desoripfion at consonants. The chart below presents the

consonants in a format fami1iar to phonetlcl sts end lIngu1 sts. The terms aeros s the top
of the ¢hart - b\ labial, denta!, velar, etc. - refer to the place in the mouth where the
sound is made. The terms down the 1 eft side of the chart - stops, tr\camres, etc. - refer
to the type of sound 1 The cAart 1s f ol1uwed bg ą technical descript \ on of each
consonant.

Bïlabi al Dental PaJøtaJ ŁroŁI ey Ye\ar Uvular Pharunaaal

voiceless p t
Voi ced b d

n ng

¿ricątjves
Voieeless f s kh
Voi ced gn

Af frtcştas.
Voiceles s ts ch
Voiced dz j

Voiceless 1
Vo1ced r

Far an axp1 ination of the terms used here, see a general tntroduct\on to phonat\cs
or phonology such as Peter L adefoged's A Course In Phanet Ics. Chl cago: Un\versttg of
Chicago Press, 1975.
ID): VOC c9l 8ss bt I abİd\ S t0D-
(bl v0i ced bł!abiał stop.
It I: vol cel ess dent al
stop. Id]: voiced dental
stop.
Iț I: voiceless retrofl ex stop.
Iąl voiced retroft ex stop.
İk]: votcei ess velar stop.
Ig]: voiced ve1 ar stop. Some Central dia1ect lg]'s - those spnlIed with the letter
py - are pronounced di fferentlg in other dt alects.
(qj: votced ãS 1T6\eö uvular stop, Iike lq] ¿ in Arabi c. Iqi infłuenc es the sound
quali tg of vowel s comfng before or after I t. [ql Occurs one g \n borrowed
words.
I•]: g1ottat stop.
[ml: vo1 ced bii abi a1 nasal.
InI: voi ced den tal nasal.
(n): voiced retroflex nasal. Iç] does not occur at the beginnlngs of words.
[ngl: voice d vel ar nasal, as in Engli sh ßadgarbut not rlgqer.
[II: voiceless labi a-dental f r\ca\\ ve. (f] occurs on1 g In borrowed words, and is
frequent1 § rep!aced bg {pl \ n informal or uneducated speech. The
abł litg to pronounce III t s a mark of erudition among Pashtuns. Educated
Pasht0 speakers therefore occastonałl g ’hgpercorrect’, pronounce ng even
ordinary Ip] as (f].
(sl: voice1ess dental fr cat1ve.
(z): vat cea aental frt cat Ave. Some central dT a1ect IzI's - thosg that are spellad
wl th the letter - are pronounced dl fferentlg In other cashto dt alect s.
[shl: voiceless pal etal In cative.
lxl: wł ce less pal atau or front vel ar) fr1cattve. Othèr dialects have di fferent
sounds where the central dta1ect has [xl.
[khl: volc elesa ve1ar fri cattve, s1mt I ar to German ch. lkhl also occurs in
Persian and Arabic.
lghl: voiced vet ar frt cative, ł ike Persian or Arabic (ghl.
Ihi: vow ceiess giottel Ir\ cats»e. Ih] Occurs only at the beginnings of words or
sy1Tables.
fiț: voIce\ese pharyngeal frt catlve, occurring In borrowed words onty.
['2I: voiced phargngeal fr1catlvs, occurl ng \n borrowed words and y.
 [ts]: vat celeas den tal af frt cat e.
[dz]: vo1ced den ta1 af f rt cate.
{ch]: vo1cel ess pal a tal a ff rt cate.
Ij I: volced pal a tal affrt cat e.
I\]: voIced dental I at eral.
(rj: voiced dental tap or tri T I.
[rl: voiced retrof 1ex f I ap.
[w]: voi ced bi1abl at semi -vow el, the consonanta1 form of lu].
Iy|: vat ced pala ta1 sem1-vo weI, the consonantal form of II].

The sounds [fl, [q|, (fi] and [0 I are not native

Pa shto s ounds. Theg occur i n words borrowed mostly f rom Arab i c and Persian, but al so
i n wcrds borrow e d from o ther 1anguages as wel L I n the i nf ormal speech of a due
ated
Pa sht uns. and in formal and inf orma1 spee ch of uneducated Pa shtuns, [f] is pronounced as
(p], [q] is p ronounc ed as lk] (a1though Pashtuns growi ng up in areas where there i s
ex tensiva intarac ti on w1th Dari speakers wi11 often have I g] exclust ve1g in the rel evant
words), and [fi) and [Al are orop ped a1toget he r. Some examp1es:

Educatad. formal Uneaucatea, informal

pronurlcialio ri”
Ifl: 'crop' lfdsall [pâsall
Farsi' Li |f ärs1] [p 6rsf]
'di f f erence' lfarg] [pargl

[q] 'uni tg' LA I lt tifäg| [i t ipäk]

'progress’ lt araql] [tarakf ]

'demand‘ (tagäzâl Itak Mzal

[fÎ]: 'even' [fÎätä] |âtâI
'govern raient‘ - - lfiuk um ät] luI<umâ t]

‘sI aughterad' J W hal ä1awäl I (al äJ awäl]

}fl: 'publc l7àml läm]

'A rab’ II arâbl larâbl

‘modern‘ II asr1J lastI
[aläoäl

1'i
 Th• a otal couso a Is. Sounds that are slightly different from thelr English
counterparts I nc\ude the dental consonants III. Idl, ml, (tsl, and (dz). These sounds
are pr0nounced wi th the tongue touching the back of the front teeth (hence the name
'dental’), as opposed to thalr Engli sh counterpar\s whl ch are pronounces wi th the
tongue touching the at veolar r\ dge (the roof of the mouth just behind the front
teeth). nang
I anguages have dental rather than alveolar segmanf s, i nc1uding Spanish and Turki sh.

Tk• set o{!ex consouaufs. The retrof I ex sonsonants tn Pashto are particul arl g
interesting to linguist s, maTn1 g because Pashto I s the one y one of the lrani an
languages
to have retr0f 1ex consonants, and because Pashto has these sounds In common w I th
neighbors ng but onlg dietantly related languages spoken to tha south, mainly Urdu.
Retrofl ex consonants are pronounsed with the tongue curled up and back from i ts
usual posi tion in tha mouth tretro maans 'bask' and flax means 'bend' or ”curve’).
Rs\rof\ ex sonsonant s are common t n the South As lan 1anguages; It ts masts g the
pronuncf ation of Engl ish [I] and [dl as thel r retrof 1ex counterparts that makes Indian
Engl i sh readl1g i denti ft ab1e as sush.
Speakers of these I anguages hear Engll sh Itl, (d) and a\A8r a1yeoI ar
consonants as ' closer to \ñe\ r retroflex than to their dental consonants, and as s
consequence Engl ish
borrow1ngs wt th aiveoT ar consonants are pronounced wlth retrof\ex consonants. Hence
tha axtstenca tn Pashto of:
'roao' \ro0.\ o ’aoiiar' trai zr] /1 J
'mare doctor " [dâkțărl I ‘deputg' Igepț1l
t

C. Vowels
The central dl at ect of Pashto ‘has n1ne vowel s. Below T s a 1I st with Engl tsh
eguivelents
lal as in gsk, g/gsr , or c! oss to Nidwestern Engl\sh got, Oox: 'la’ [daț »a,
'pronuncl at1on' (talafvzl
(al as in azzruf, c gpht : 'hand” llasl 5, ‘you' ltsaai IN
lal aa in ago, yyi1ow :'\b\ s‘ \he\ a, me' Irne1
[z1 as In syt, rlft : 'repeat‘ (tzkrMrT yl , 'spell' Ispzll
(I] as In gggt, Fggt : 'go' ldzi] , 'are' ldll a
(ol as T n oggt, eg : 'Pashto' lpaxtdl , 'loan’ [por|

4b
 [u] as i n oggt, fgg/ : ’street' [kut ski IQ, 'hands' (Iis una) fi
\ (ul a s I n pyt, ogga' please [butI an] ,
gut a t [Chupl,

la] as i n dyt, just : 'not' [na] <i, 'tal1' [)agl

1• k ical description a( vowels. In the chart be1ow, the vowel s are

present ed t n a forma t famt\i ar to phonet1cl sts and 1t nguists. The terms across the
top of the chart refer to the posl tion of the tongue from front to baok in the mouth; the
terms down the left sT de refer to the post tt on of the tongue from top to bottom and
the post tt on of the upper and I ower jaws ( closer together for the ht gher vowel s,
farther apart for the lower vowel s). The categories 'rounded' and 'unrounded’ refer to
the
pos I t\ on of the \ tps.
Front tucrounded) Central (unrounded) Back
(rounded)
High i
I

Mid

LOW a

II]: h1gh front t ense unrounded vow el .

[z]: hi gh front \ ax unrounded vowel.
lel: mi d front unrounded vowel.
[al m1d centra1 T ax unrounded vowe1 (the sgmbol is called 'schwa').
[al: to w central unrounded vowel.
[al: low back rounded vowel.
[ol: mid back rounded vowel.
[ul: h\ gh back tense rounded vowe1
[ul: ht gh back 1ax rounded vowel.
Ckcip+ex 2:

W•ie• •• ih• vowels. Not all of the vowel s occur everywhere in worde. [il , [ol,
[e] and (\Jl do noI oc cur at the be ginning s of nat i ve Pa sh to words, but at I he beg1nn i n gs of
bo rrowa d wo rds on1g, f o r examp I e 'agency' [ey j ansé gj I.

The vowel la| i s oft•.n pronounced as [al i n unstressed sgTl abl es.
In alI dt ai acts, but parti cut arly the w.•s t ern di aiect, (el and [o] f requentl g become
(il and [ul rsspec tivel g i f a fo1lowing vowa\ i s ti] or !u] , for example 'I do‘ lkégam]
as opposed to 'he does‘ [kégI] or [kfgt] .

Diphih mgs. Some of the vowel s I i sted above occur I ol towed b§ [w] or [y]. In
mang languages (1i ke Engl I sh), such combinations are c all ed diphthongs, and
function 1ice vowel s. In Pashto, however, it is simpler to consider [y) and [w] as
consonants. The more f requentl g-occurring vowel + [yl/[w] combinations are 1i
stea bel ow.
fell: as I n Engl ish p/gg, spel led wl th the 1e tter
'placke t' [greywânl I
'peg‘ [maykhl

‘sigh' laswegléy] I
lay]: no param I el in most dialects of Amert can Engl Ish. Grammat I cal
endings invol ving [agl are speI1ed v/ I th the I etters and . [ag|
occurs o.nI y at
the ends of words
'edge' [zagl

'gou all are' [y8st ay]

[ayl: 1ike Engl I sh Ojte, rig.

buyer' [akhist6nkag]
I ’summer'
lwârayl /yI
‘mirror‘ [ayné] I
'success' (Oargalaytdbl L•
‘pt ant' [b0tay]
[Zy]. no Engl tsh egul va1ent.
'God' |khwd8y] I
 ckoptee s- Prof nci tion

(url:tke fngtsh pn 8 .
’smzt' (bump

'nature' Ikhuy]
'theg, tham‘ ldug] gJ
[awl 1ike Eng1ish #gjg, Br Eqn
’taste’ [zawq| ys

’dig' |ghawchawdl) J
'army’ lpawdz]
'November-December' [qaws]
'natton' Iqawml

Pashto sgI1abIes consist of at least a vowel, wtth as many as threa

consonants be fora, and up to two consonants after. using the symbol C to represent
a consonant, and V to represent a vowel, the following syll able structures are
posslble in pr1nc1p1e:
v VC VCC
CV CVC CVCC
CCV CCVC CCVCC
CCCV CCCVC CCCVCC

As tn all I anguages, there are restrietc ons as t0 Which consonants and vowels
can oc cur in vart ous types of Pasht0 sg1)ab1es. The consonant lhl, f0r example, occurs
one g at
the beginnl ngs of sqlI ab\es; retrof \ ex ill, the d1phthong layl , and the sounds
represented bg the I etter y occur ontg at the ends of syllables.

*Cwo-c:ousoucxnt Cl‹•s*ers. Pashto 1 s remarkable for the number cf 4i

ffarent consonant clusters that can begin sgt\ables, English, for example, has about
thirtg-five allowable comb\nations of consonants; Pashto has close to a hundred.

-» 3Z
 The most common of these cons0nünt clusters are given below, in Eng1ish
aT phabeticał order.
(br): ”glory’ (braml , 'attack” íbr1d] , 'seems' (bréxt
I (bsl: 'quilt' Ibçastánl , ‘pouting' fbçusl y
(bgl: 'then’ lbgäl , ’takes' [b§ãgi] , 'sc I ssors’ (byàt1I W,
ldrl: ‘right?' Idrast?I * •- o, ’respect‘ (dranáxt; - ; 1y ø,
'falsehood [droghj yy ø

fawl: ’both’ Idwăra] egIp o, 'two' [dwal »yø, ”prag\ ng (dwal lps
tdzghl: “0 erates” Idzgha ł aw1] , 'endurance'

ldzghamál I Idzml: 'farm‘ (dzmákal , 'our' ldzmungl

(dzwl: 'young‘ [dzwlnl I , 'hanging' (dzwarándl 1 , ”si ape‘ [dzw
arl (grl: '1nf1at I an' tgran1) IQ, 'dear' [grãnl I
, ‘Ptacket' (gregwănl I lgrl: ’fast' lgrandág] If
, ‘mucus’ lgrangl “ , 'roar’ [grazM] lȘ
tgwl: 'finger’ [gwátaj •t3 , ”brown sugar“ lgwáral ‹ , 'gather' IgwándZal
[gu› I: 'theft’ lghl ãl , 'th1ef (feminine)' (gh1ai <D
[kil: 'hard' (klakl , 'strtng“ lk\echI

[kr]. 'clutch (In a car)’ (krachl , ’bent’ |kçupl y

[kw): “pt1ed' lkw áțal @
Ikhpl: 'own’ (khpall
"spread‘ lkhporl
lkhwl 'direct I on' (khwal If,
'MOVe’ (khwadzég1I
[1ml. 'respect‘ [lmândzá1I
, 'widow' lkwánğal e,Jú
, '1ndependence' lkhpałwãkfi I ,
'load' (khwărál a IQ,
Lal, ‘sun' IT mar] yC

|1w]: ’high’ [l w ar] , ‘I s studyt ng' II wólt I

[mg;. 'month' (mgzst I - * , ‘Nikhel (tr1be)' lmyâkhéll

2 Remember th8t ltsl, [dzl, (ch], lsh], zhl, (ghl and ikh] are considered single consnna› Is:
{shkh], for example, 1s a cìustar of just two consonants. Remember a1so that [g) and [w]
are consl dared c0nsonants.

3ù
(mr): 'pepper' [mrach] , 'help' (mr .: al
[mr]: 'faded’ \mr6 rr aqì gl , 'death' (rtirï nal

Ing]. 'daughter-i n-1aw' [ngorl , '\ i mp' (nguxedál]

J [ngh). 'roils up' [nghăçl) IU, 'burner' [ngharăgl
(nml: 'the East' [nmar khãtá] s3 , 'grandson' [nmaságl
Intl. ‘grandmother' [ngã] , 'popul ar' [nyãzmfnl , ’intent ion' (ngat] - _ú
[plI. 'father' lps ar) C, ‘wJ de‘ (plán] , 'bridges' (•xI únal Ü
[pr!. 'except’ lprátal •3 , 'unf ams I I ar" (pradágl o ,
'i y1ng (on)' lprot I y [pr]: 'tiger' [prăngl Ip,
spreaa out‘ [pçBl‹hI Ip
(pgl: ’on foot‘ lpgadăl » o , 'on1on' \pgàzI ș W, 'cup’ (pgã1ãl <J
[II I. ‘went' ltláJ) , ’anniversarg’ (tlin] Ğ
[url. 'str0ng' Itrațál <p , 'aunt' {tror] yg , 'bi tter’ {trikhl
(skl: 'charcoal' (skorl , 'pinch' (skunğá\ i J
[skh). '\ ight‘ lskháral a
Isp]: 'sol d1er ' (spăg1| , 'insult' [spakãwágl y , whtt e lspinl

(srl. 'red (feminine)‘ [sral « , ‘glue' [srix]

tstI: 'star ' [stórag) , 'ț \ red' tstäray] , "great” I star)
[sw]: ’burns' Iswadzégil , ’ri de’ [swarégl] tyyy
[shk]: 'pz cks' [shk awf I , 'basket' lshkorl , 'break’ lshkedá1) J
Ishpl. 'sł x' lshp agl t , ”night' [shpał , 'fl ute' lshpel ág]
Ixkl: 'down‘ [xkäta] . , 'hunt ing' txzari . , 'appearance' Ixkãrä] »y ,
[wl': 'curl s“ [wlúna] Ü y, 'wash’ (wta]I y, ‘went' [w1ar] 1y
lwr]. 'doors‘ [wrúna] Üyyy, 'nephew‘ lwrürá] ‹ql yy, 'weddi ng party' (wra] Iyy
[wçl: 'aheaa’ (wrănde] If I y, ’bef Orehand' Iwrunbág] y y, ’carrg' [wral] J y

”lzgl . 'moan' lzgerw ãgl y , Ș, 'sew' Izgerá1I ¿

Izghl: 'courage‘ (zgharąl o ¿, 'to1erance' [zghaml ¿
lzm]: '1i0n' [zmarăg) Ș, 'mg' (zma) Ğ Ș. 'faded' [zmol) ¿
(zrl: 'brave‘ (zçawărl yy Ș, ‘heart' [zçai all
(zgl: 'much‘ Izgat] Ș Ș, 'ef form’ lzgärl yȘ Ș, ‘hsrm' [zgãn] Ș¿

s^ 34
 lzhml: 'promo se' [zhmânal , ‘comb' [zhmandz]
lzhwl: 'Ii fe‘ [z hw andùn] ¿y 1y'j, Iile” [zhw äk1 1 Içi

Other cT us ters appeer, apparent i y, tn am y one or two words, but these words are
widespread and bast c to P ashta, ana so the f ollowIng clusters are added to the list.
[bu 'pr•gnant' [bi 6rbal 1.

(dg]: ’the rte en' [dgärl asl yÿ o

(I‹hy]: handsome [I‹hgal f]

[mll: 'wai st’ [mli) W, 'friend‘ (m1 al1

ln j j: 'gt ri‘ |nj a\ ä§I

[rghl: ’roi1 s around‘ (rghäriI

[shI‹hl: 'dt spute’ [shkhäral «

lshm]. ’number' lshmerl ,

(t w]. 'abe il ty' [tw an] lg

[tsk]: 'drinl‹ing‘ (tsk äk] JJ

[tsw]: ‘fourteen [t sw6rT asl yl

[zb]. ‘sucks' Izbéxi I

lzd I: 's t ted y!‘ [z d6 I‹¿al • •a¿

(zr]: ‘mi l1‘ [zrändal +

¿ [zwl: ‘Ii fe’ lz w and] Jiji

Thare are yet other c1 usters who ch apparent Ty appear one g in onomatopoat i c
words, i.e. words who ch represent particu1 ar sounds. Some exampl es:
ll¢hr]: slappi ng sound (khrapl

ltçl: gunshot horse Itra9l JJ

A final note on c\ usters t s that they are freguentlg broken up wi th epenthetic

vowel s, possibly because they are dtf f icu1 t to articulate. The wor0 for ”foot', for
examp1e - lpxa] ; - ls a1 so pronounced lpaxäl, wi th an epenthetl c [al breal¢lng up the
consonant c1 uster.
 Thera are some three-consonant clusters at the
beginnings 0 f shit ab1ea. Li ke aome of the two-consonant club ters, these appear i n a
handful of words at most.
[khwl|: ‘mout h' |khwIal US
[khwdl. 'G0d' !k hwdMg] I

[ndr]: 's1ster-in-I aw' !ndrorl yyy 1

Iskwl: ‘shear' (skwal â1l
I skh w]: ’bul1' }skhwandér| IQ

Is hkhw I: 'c hew ing‘ (shkhw and) IQ

lxkwl: 'prettg' [xkwdlagi , 'k isses Ixkwal awfl

onsor‹zzint l utx\ z• ra ext tk• ends o/ syllables. As men\foned above, sqllabl es

can end in up to two consonants. There are mang fewer sgI1able-f1na\ cl vsters i n
Pashto than there are sgllabl e-tnl tlal, and most of the flnat ones are In borrowed words,
lor
example{nklin'bank’ loankl „ ThsrnO5ttOtm0n clusters appearlnjtnnative Peshto
words are the fat a w I ng:
|khtI! ‘fortune' lbakhtI - ;, 'busg' lbokhI] - • , ’capi tal' (pâgt§kht]---------y

(ndl: ’blind person' [rundj 1y , 'stack' [dârmandl a

”0bV 10US' (tsarg dndi

[nd): 'round‘ Ighw and] , 'sh0rt' (tafid]

\rg\: ’death' tmarg) , 'roaster‘ lchargl

Irkhl: ’aspect” (a¿khl All
[Skj. ’smt IIng‘ [masl‹l
lstl: ”right?‘ (drvs UI 1 o, 'skin' lpost] , 'month’ lmgzstl •- “-
txtl: 'age’ [zardxtl - ;- ¿, 'crop' lkaxtl , ‘forty' It salwgxtl •- ; ¿
'ganerat1on' lpuxtl------•

Other clusters appearing in borrowed words are the fo\\owing:

[bzi: 'green' [sar sâbzl
[fz/wz]: ‘promise' [1afzi /Ilawzl

3S
 lkhsl: ’pergon’ (shakhs)
lmpl: ‘refugee camp‘ (kampl
lmz1: 'secret Iramzl
lndzl: ‘prayer' (mundz] , 'mtddl e' fmandzl
[nj I ‘corner' [kwanj]
[nk I: ’bank‘ [bänkj

(nsl. 'agencg' lazhänsl I

Al [nzl: 'comb” Igumänzl g ty
lgshl: 'palnting' Inacsh]
lrdl: ”student' lshzgärdj a LX, ’courage’ [zghardl o ¿, 'eain‘ [dard] ay o
Irghl. 'turkeg’ (pi1mïJrghl
[rm]: 'farm” lfarml Li
trnl: 'century' (qarnl ¿
(rgl: 'east' [sharql , 'dl f ferenEe' [farql , 'el entric1t g'
fbarg) lrül. ’lesson' ldars] o
lrtl: 'condl tlon’ [shartl & , 'thought'
lchVrtl lrzl: ’pet1tt on' larzl , 'type” [tarz]
lshql: 'love’ llshql
(sht): 'dest tng' lsarnawtshtl • *
:s¢1

0D

ø
:s

Basic wo••«! s+••ess. In every word of more than ane sgllable, one of the
sqlI abl es begrs h8avg stress: It is pronounced with more emphas1s and or0babl g w1th
slightly higher pitch than sqllabl es wk th weaker strnss. Pashto ts stmil er to Engl i sh in
this respect: i n the prevl ous clause, for example, the stresses on the English words are
as follows (heavg stress i s marked wi th the s§mbo\ over the vowe1):
P6shto s\mlIar Engl lsh respéct
The I ocatton of the heavy stress (whether on the I ast sg11ab1e, the next-to-1ast,
or one of the earl ter sgllabl es) 1s not predl ctabie in Pashto, and the spel ting system does
not mar1‹ strese at al1. To ascertatn where the heavy stress 1s tn a Pashto word, the non-

*‘ 3T
 Akopter 2' Pronunciation

nątt Ye speaker must ask a native speaker how to pronounce the ward, and then 1 \sten for
Łha stressed s gl tabI e.
The stress in nativa Pashto words i s generally on tha last syllable I f the s§1labla
ends ‘n a consonant, and on the next -IO-1ast (penultimate) sy\table I f the I ast sg11abI e
ends i n a vowel, for example:
's1ck’ (mascull ne form) lrandzúrl
'sl ck' (femlnine f arm I (randzáral •y

There are probaöl y as many exceptions to the run e gi ven above as țhere are words
whł ch fol T ow i t, however, lnclud!ng Cha word for the language: 'Pashto' lpaxtó] .
0ne of the sourc as for the exceptl ons i s the number of borrowl ngs \ n the language.
Pashto has borrowed thousands of words from a number of I anguages, and In mang ca ses
the ' orös h ava been borrowe d wi th the stress patterns of the T anguage from who ch theg
have been borro wed. F0r exaitnl e, mang words endt ng I n l6] that have been borrowed from
Persi an are stressed on the I ast sqlI abl e as theg are \ n Perst an, for example:
'daddg' [aü6l I

“ei ghty' (atgă] I

'bus s top' lzst6 dgă] ‹ o I

'friend' (ashnă] I

There are as mang words ending in [aI borrowed from Arabt c, however, which are noł
stressed on the l ast sgt lable, for exampl e:
’However‘ Iámal ĞI
‘monster' fbúbalã] 1,
‘even' lfiătãl

The number of borrowings and other factors have resu1ted in Pashto‘s having a
number 0f pa\rs ol words which are exact ty al ike except for stress:
'pear tree' (țãngal vs. 'cart' lțBngäl Ú
’marø’ łdspal 1
vs. ‘spotted f e'ver' [aspăl
’I ootl' [g6røl »y
I ve.
'divel’ lghuțăl <Ș
‘fa1r-skinned' [gordI »y
'Barr' [jcrá) •g vs. 'knot' (gh5ța] •Ç
vs. ’we\1 (femlntne)' Ij éraI »
, vs. 'ha sat' [kénastal
'he's sitting'
Ikenastál
2s
38
 \cxyter i : t“ro•sunciof ion

Ot ess in x ixes. Another source of exceptions to the rule gt ven above is that
some affixes automst tea]1g c arrg he avg stress. Pashto has a number of aIll xes -
pref txes, sufflxes, and I nf1xes that carrg (usually) grammatl cal inf ormatl on, such as
tense, number, gender, and so on. Nany of those affixes alwags cnrrg heavg stress: a
word wi th one of these all txes wiif be pronounced wlth the stress on the affix rather
than on the root of the word. For exampl e, I dna] up-, one of the mascu1One plural
markers, carries heavy stress; words with this suffix are always strassed on the [ul of
t I\e sufft x!
'Invasion' [garghtl] ’invas1ons’ [yargha\únaI ü
”song' lsurûdl oy ‘songs' [surudünal fiyoy
'charm' lafsûnl I 'charms' lafsunúnal ú I
'pomagranate‘ [anMrl Ûl ’pomegranates' [angrúna] •úyyÜl
'neck' (ormégl yyl 'necks' (ormegúnal • y ty yyl

Someti mes the adde tt on of an all ix (i \ k e I dnal <ç- ) resul ts In a word that continues to

fol1ow the baste rule, but this is not always th• case. An example is the suffix I-ég-I
-; - that converts nouns and adjectives to verbs, and carries heavy strass, result1ng tn
forms that break the basic rule:
’I'm startT ng out' lrawânégaml ty lyy
'you'ra startlng out' [rawânégayl .y lyy

In fallowlng chapters in which affT xes are presented and descrl bad, those that carrg
f'•av§ stress will at w’ags Include the stre ss mark In the transcription.
In addl tton to word stress, there are stress patterns in sentences as well , whi ch
often have the effett of shifting the heavy stresa off a word that wouT d ordtnar1ly
recal va I t. The negative partI c1e Intl <, for example, always carries heavy stress in the
sentence. For example:
'Ha's eating’ [khyrr1]
'He's not eating’ lnä khwrtl ù
The perfective partl cle [wäl a\ so carri es heavg stress. and when b0th [näl < and (wäl
occur, theg bath seem to recelve heavy stress
'I was standing’ Idaredäm\ a 'I wasn't standing’ [nädaredaml -x•,y o fi
'I stooa' lwädaredami oy 'I ü1dn’t stand' Iw4nädaredaml 1y

*^ 39
 '2ecoudory s+resses. Stress patterns 1n po\gs/l1 abe c words and \ n phrases and
sentences have not been studied to ang greaI exlent, other than to note part ie1e s and
af ft xes I ik e [né| u and (wâ] , and to comment that there seem to be secondary stresse s
in Pash to as welI as primang stresses. In the ‘I stood’ example above, for example, the
sgI1ab1e I-ed-) - y- has a heavier stress than the final syll abie [-aml p-, nut not s»
heavy as the prt mary -stressed sg1labl e [•ăl .
There 8re probably pet terns at #rtmery and secondary stresses In multi -
syllabic words as wet I . The f irst syll abl e of t he mul tt -sg1l abtc 'Buyer' [akhts t
unkayl I,
for ex ampl e, seem s t o hsve heavi er st re ss than etthar the second or fourth sg11ab1es.

Ur +or‹a+ior . I nt onat ton - the al tertng of the pl tch at whl ch v0wel s are
pronounceo - L1ear l# pt ags an f undament a1 part i n at least one aspect of Pashto , Dut,
1i ke stress, has not bee» studled. ( stiues o f stress and pttch requtre extensi ve f\eld
work, and tg vic aT \ y take pl ac e af ter mare fundament. I rese arch on the 1 anguage has b
een carriad out.) It appears that in general, heevi I y stressed sylI ab1es are pronounced wt
th hi gher pi tch than weakly stressed sy11ao1 es.
An aspect o f Pashto in whi ch 1nt onat t on p latjs a major role i s i n questi on
f armat ton. The onl y dt f ference setwe en Pashto statements and thetr corresponoi ng
ges/no questi ons t s that in the statement the ptt ch goes down at the end of a sentence,
whereas in the que st ian the pi tch goe s up. Eng1ish h as a paral1e î w ag of formă ng des/no
que9ti ons, but i t i s an a I ternate to tha usual questi on Î ormati on whi ch i nvol ves s#ifts in
word order as wel \ as the rt se t n pT tc h at the end of the questi on, for examp1e:
Statement: ‘Patang \ s a doctor.‘ (6 )
8orma\ questi on: 'I s Patang a doctor†’ ( e )
Al ternate form: 'Patang I s a doctor’?' ( e)

AT I Pashto yes/no questl ons are formeo entiral y bg shl ft ing the Unt onali
on pattern
Statement: ’Patang ts a d octor‘ [pat6ng țakțăr da 4 I . > a - I J
guestl on: ‘I s Patang a doctori' [#at6ng d6kțâr da g'I * +a ”I+

St at ement: 'He's not ea tl ng.‘ [nă knwrl 4 I . fi

Questt on: 'I sn't ha eatlng’?' [n4 khwr1 g'] * fi

27
 . ,/Vto)oi Dialectol Di eneuces
As w a mentiI3 rted In Chapter I , not much 1s know n i n detaiI abou t the
pronuncl ation dtf fsrences among the various d1a1ects of Pashto. Oxcept for maj Or
phonological correspondences bet wean the western (Kandahar), central (Kabul) and
eastern (Ningrahar) df a1ect groues. Thesa major correspond-•nces are shown in the
tab\e bel ow. ((zh’”I Is a voiced pa1a*.e1 f ricati ve with tha tongua cur1ed back as the
sound Ts pronounEed [Shr I ts a volceless pa\a tax fr\cst1ve wl th the tongue curled
back a a the sound is pron0unced.)

Central Western Eastem

j3rOFtqgC|ät|O{} Pronunciation
(Z} (zh] IjI
|g] (retrofTex) (zh’l lgl
(retroftex) (sh’] [kh]

Exampl
as:
Cerilfal We«tejrl
'moon' [Sp• 9•*r ! lspozh’mägl
'Sh t YeFS' yJ Iregdégil Irezh’dézh’Il lregdégi}
’Pashto’ [#axtdI [pash’tbl lpakhtd]

’branE h’ lxäkh] [sh’äkh] (khâkh]

'truth' lr1xtgä) (rish’tgM] (rikhtgäl

”deep' yy$ (zawàri lzh’awâr] Ijaw8r|
lrazhézh’1l [rajégil

The only other correspondence among the ma)or dT alects that Is descr1bad In
the literature on Pashto pronunciation 1 s that described bg flacKenz1a ( 1987), which
involves the pronuncia*.ion of the final dt phthongs:

1 ong Îel taçl

 Penzl ( 1955) and at flier earn I ar de scripti ons group some of the vowel s i n pa\ra Of
short and long vowels, a s f01I OWS:
Long: [i] [â] lu|
Short: (z] la] [V]
The se de scrtptT ons are posse b1g based on those of Pashtun wrt ters who, fall owing
the I ead of grammarians dascribing Arabi c‘s short/long vowe1 system. analyzed
Pashto vowel s as short and I ang.
Nackenzl e ( i 9d7) describes the Pashto sounds from a historical perfect ive,
and i nE ludes notes on di alec tal a1ternations. His list of sounds, and that of Shafeev
( 1964) do not differ s\ gni ficantiy from the one g1ven here.
There exists a elativelg detailed descri ptlon (but not analysis) of Pashto stress:
diri Beck a's A Study in Pashto Stress (Prague: Drtental Institute In Academia,
Publl shlng House of the Czechos1ovak Acaaemy of Sciences, 1969). Becka di scusses
stress in the context of the iranian I anguages, and gives numerous exampl es of
words and phrases.
 Ch«yter Z. josh+o Words

Pashto i s 11ke other I anguages in that ł ts sp eak ers use wa rds that are naI i ve
P ashto, whi1e a1s o using yr ords that hąve óeen borrowad from ot her languages.
The nat1ve Pashto words are the most h1gh-frequencg, and tand to denote ’baslc”
human ob Ject s and actions, ł ike terms for fam11g and tribe members, words denotlng
ordinary human activities IIke eating and workłng and moving around, pl ants and animals,
words having tD do w it h f armł ng and hunti ng, and words descr1bing cther areas of
tradltłonal Kultura.
Borrowed words are usuall g associated with aspects of Pasfitun life that have
arisen from contacts with speakers of other I anguages: the most obvl ous of thess are
words re1ated to Is1am, which entered Pashto elther through Perst an, or directlg from
Arab1c.
The maj or sources of borrowed vocabu1arg in Pashto are P»rtir g. includlng natl
ve Persi an words and words that Perslan Itself sorrowad from other I anguages; Urdu.
from the Pashtuns' rel ations w) th Urdu speakers in Pax1stan; and Mg¿tga, from their on
ginał 1nvolvemer I with the British in the 19th centurg, and from tha current widespread use
of Eng11 sh in the N'orthwest Front1er Provtnce. Other I anguages that have contrtbuted
words to Pashto are the Turki c and Dardi c 1 anguages spokan In ne1ghboring areas, or in
smalI
pockets in Afghanistan and Pak1stan.

As we mentl oned n Chapter 1, Pashto and P erslan are rel ated, and both are
dascended (along with the other Iranlan languages) from the anc lent 1 anguage call ed
I ran\ an bg hi storical 1I nguists. The basic native words In both T anguages have evolved
in paral 1et from a singłe stock of words in lranian. The common ancestr§ of words in
moder i Persian and PashtD mag be seen bg compar1ng the words from each 1anguage
that denote the same b astc el emant s. SuEh patrs of words are called cognates: not
on1g do cognątes show re1al lonships among languages, they a1so reveal the wags In
wh1ch the
I anguages have changed. No te, for exampłe, In the words bal ow, that Pashto I requen\ \ y
has an |1) In words where Perstan has a (d]:
 a›\uy e• 3. -’ shio woras

Pashto: 'hand’ l1âs] d Pashto: father' [p18r] W

Persi an: ’han d’ [dastl o PersJ an. ’f at tier‘ lpadă rl

Pasht0 'mother' (mor) P as hto. 'stster' lkh0rl

Persi an: 'm0ther' [madăr] oL P erst an: ”sister‘ [khwârl I

Pashto: ”twa' (owal »ga Pas hto: ‘s leeve (1astdnagl

P erst an: ’two' ldu] y o Persi an: 'sJ eeve' last\nI

Pashto: 'd ay' lwradz1 yy P 'f1ve' lp1ndzăl •c

PB rS1an ‘dag’ [roz] Șyy asht0: ’live’ (panj]
Persl
an:

OI^FOWIM@S i^Okr\ tk\ t f^Oc4g ei^fiî iOP\

Besides Pashto/Persi an cognates, there are numbers of words I n Pashto that have
clearlg been borrowed from Persian, l.e. Pers) an words have been learned bg Pashto
speakers and adapted f or use in Pashto. Borrow T ng 1s a proce•s that goes on constantlg:
ang tourtst who br\ nas home a souvenir and calls I t bg its name in anothar 1anguaga has
borrowed a term. Some borrowings become widespread, and become p art ol the word
stock of the I anguage; others fals into dl suse.
When a yr or6 f s borrowed from one \ anguage into ana are r, its pronunciatt on mag be
restructured to fi t the pronunciation patterns of the borrowing I anguage. The Pasht0
word for car, \mot âr\ , lor examp1e, I s borrowed from Eng1I sh, and Its
pronunc1at1on
has gradual1 y been restructured to resembJ e nate ve Pashto words: the stress has shl fted
from the first sg11abI a t0 the 1ast, and the Engl \sh (tl \ s pronounced with Pashto sound
percei ved to be closest to t t, the retrofl ex [țl.
C1ear borrow1ngs can sometl mes be dtstinguished fr0m Cognat9s bg checkt ng thet
r resemb1Bnces: in general , t f the word in quest1on is pronounced vere s1mJtarJy to its
pronunci ati on i n the 1anguage being borrowed from, and i f i t red ers to a cultural item
or acti0n thBt is !: e\g to have been transmi tted from one cui ture t0 the Other, linguists conc\
ude that the word tias been borrowed.
The Pashto words be1ow ara clear borrowi ngs from Pers1an:

31
44
 Pashto: 'k1tchen' |äshpazkh5nt] •6 I Pashto:
Persi an: 'kl tchen‘ lash3azkhan6] fi 1 I Perst an

Pashto: 'servant' lmuzddr] yy Pashto: 'clerk’ Imlrzä) l¿ c\

o Persi an: 'servant‘ Ïmazddrl yy Perst erk' [mzrz äl I¿
a an:

Pashto: 'garden' (gwaIzstgn| pl - .I

Pashto. 'cucumber' [b6dréng] * o
Pers ian: ‘garden' IgulzstGnl Persian! ‘cucumber' tb86râng] yob,

Pashto: 'chair’ Itsawkägl Pashto: ’sgrup' (sharb âtl ,

Persian: “Ehair’ [chawk\] Persi an: ‘syrup' (sharb6tj

I f the speakers of two rel ated I anguagea have Interacted for a I ong ti me, it
is of ten di f fi cut t to tell whether semiI ar wards t n the languages are true
cognates, l.e.
descended from a stngle word in the ancestor language, or borrowed from ohe I
anguage to the Other and restructured. This I s the case wlth Pashto and Persian, and
there t s corresponding1g no wag to tel T whether pairs \ ike the fo11owing are true
cognates or examples of borrowing from one language into the other:

Pashto.
'ax’ [täbar) Pashto: 'sttck' lkot8kl
Persian:
'ax’ ltabdr) Persi an: 'stick’ Ikvt6k]

Pashto: 'I emp' [tslrâghl Pashto: ’rope'

pli Pers ian: [rasäy] Perstan: ’rope’
’1amp‘ IchzrMgh] lrzsmMn)
I

Pashto. 'bush' lbGtagl Pasl *o rd lsul

Permian: 'bush' lbutäi Perslan: 'red’ lsurkh.]
a

No st of the non-natl ve words In Afghan Pashto ere frum Persian, ref!ecting the fact that
speakers of the two 1anguaga6 have bean neighbors or countrymen for centuries.
Pashto has al so borrowed words from Persian that Persian I tsei f had borrowed
from somB a ther language. I1ost of the Pashto words parta1nlng to educatl on, for
exampl e, were borrowed from Arabic through Persian. Sama examples are gtven be\
ow:
 CI op*ar 3i @ouftFo Words

Pashto: 'school' lmaktäbl -f

araDtc tnr0ugh Peral an: school Imaxt zal -S

Pashto: ’book' (k1 tsb]

Arabic through Persian: 'bo0k' (kztäo]

Pashto: ”director‘ lmud\rij

Arablc through Persinn: 'director’ lmvd1rl in

Pashto: ”secretarg’ lmunshT]

arabT E through Persl 'secretarg’ lmvnshfl
an:

some words and phrases conEerni ng l sla TI have been borrowed dtrectl g Into
Pashto from Arabtc, usua1\g wl th thet r spellIng Intact. These words and phrases have
a vary e tg of pronunciatl ons, depends ng on the speaker's f amiliaritg with Arabic (ei
ther from devotion to l9Iam a r from extensive education). Some example phrases are:

’great sod' [a1IMh f8l6I • I

‘Peace be with gou' tasaläm al äykvm] II
’God knows' [wall ähu a'2 I éml, lwaIawa1dmI I Alg

Sonnet imee, e ven the Arab ic plural \ s borrowed, as In the fotl ow Ing:

b0nus timtlyMzl All [imtitazttl l¿ I [tmtlt/6zunal a ¿ I

crttIE1SM IlntiqMdl o - I ItntiqadMt] Io I t1nttqad4nal fiyo I
estab]ishment Itashk\\l {tashk1I ät] I\ashkl1ünal S
dign1tg, (täz1m) [taztmMtl Itäzlmdnal
The use of an Arab1c plural Indicates that the speaker knows Arab Jc, a mark of educa It on
paraliel to an Engl tsh speaker’s use of a Lattn plurai \ lie f'oci, as opposed to the regu\ ar
Engl ash plura\ /'ocoses.

33
4F
 T he Pashto spoken \ n Pal‹\ s tan contal ns m ore borr0w ings from Urdu and Engl i sh
than does Afghan Pa sh£o. The Engl t sh borrow1ngs are through Urdu, which has hundreds
of Engt i sir borrowings as a resul t o f the Brl t ish presenc e there t n the 19th and earl g Z0th
centuries.
A charac Ieri stIc of Engl f sh borro wi ngs i n both urdu and Pashto i s that Eng1i sh [t]
and [d) have been restructured as re tro fl ex lțj and ldl. A s was menti oned be fore, thi s has
to do wi th the phonetic charac tert stics of EngT ish [tl and [dl; whj ch are phonet1cai I g
haI fwag between the retro f1e x [ț I and [d) of Urdu and Pasl\t o and the i r non -re trof I ex Pt J
and [dl, and are percei ved as the ret ro fl ex rather than the n0n-retrofl°-x [t) and ldl. Bei ow
are ex ampl es o f borrow t ngs from the•e two I anguages:

Pashto: 'truck' [1arăg) gV

Englisn: forrg

Pasht0: 'hos pi ta1' I aspaț 61]

J EngI I sh: hospi t al

Pasht o: ‘machine‘ [mâshfn] L+

EngI1sh: machine

Pashto. 'j eep' [j1pl . Ț

Engl lsh: jee#

Pashto: vest [w8sl‹ăt] ly

Engi iert: ais‹co•i

Pashto: 'cassette' [kasttl

Eng]jsh: ¢esset te

Pashto 'glove compartment” ltulbâks] J

Engl lsh: too I box

Pashto: ’dr1ver's apprentT ce” (ki1t nărl ' _

Engl1sh: eleanor (\ .e. one wh0se )ob 1 s to waeh the car)
 ChQp+er 3: @csÈ$to WOrdB

Pashto: 'videotape' Iweąe#öI ø y

Engl I sh: video

Pashto: kind of candy (mitayłi

Urdu k1nd 0 f candg [mi tãg i]

Pashto: kind of sauce [Ehaknfl

Urdu: 'chutney' [chatn1]

Pashto: 'cord ander” [dangM] A

\Jrdu: 'corl ander” (dangá] o

Pashto: 'fence' !*•!a rál ‹y

Urdu: ‘gel lery' tkatzfiirâ\ »

The Russian Occupation of Afghanistan, the rgs\stance to it, and the format1an of
refugee camps in Paklstan with th9ir intemattQhül SUgerv\sio0, all have supplied yi'ords
borrowed from Russian and En9›‹sh i nto Pashto, but th9 0¢¢Upati0h WSs too recant to
predict whether the words wiI] remain in the language. S0me examp\es are:

Pashto: 'rifle' [kalzshinkóvl IQ

Russl an: Kalishnikav ttgpe of nil ed

Pashto: ‘mechtne gun' [dashakMi I

ø Russi an: Oas/ia/ca (machine gun)

Pashto: [r"ashónl I
English: rat ior

Pashto: 'launcher' [rakzt l6nchăr) V Ip

Engt I sh: rockel launshør

Pashto: 'mlsslie' [stzngárl

Eng1Ish! St Inter (ground- to-atr musr feJ

' 48
 Anothe r sourc e of wo ras in Pa shto s the \ nterna ti onal commun \ tg, who c h p row des
words fer modern phenomena tha t ar+ so w i despread I t is of ten imp ossibI e to tel I which
language they or1g\ nated from A few examples, wi th their Eng11sh transt ations. are:

'rad1o' Íradydl mlj

’t9l9Yl SiOn' [tü

1weZ§dn| 'soci alism’

[sosyal1zml
'pro fes sor' [pro f agsdr] y

poli ce‘ [po1fs) ,

'p i z z a' [pi ts é]

 . bos\his r bi -b edWni{ing Sys{enn

Tk• A rabia alphabet. Pashto 1s written with a van ation of the Persian
alphabet, which is in turn a van ati0n of the Arabic alphabet. Pashto shares the
character1st lcs of all Arabic-based alphabets:
- II is writ t9n from ri ght to 1sft, a1 though numbers are written from 1ett to right
as theg are in roman-alphabet systems, e.g., SOOO \ s written o• • • rather than • • • o.
- T here Is no upper/I oy/er case di stincII on among letters.
- V owel s other than [a], [u) , li) (and lol in P8shto) are not represented in w
riting, and even tho se s ound s are not const stentlg represented. (The sgs tern of di
asrtti cal
ma rks, whl sh i s use d I a represent Arabi c vowels i n the Koran and for other purposes,
i s nof used in P asht o.)
- The shapa of an indi vi dual \ etter varies slI ghtl g depending on whether 1t 1s in
the beginning, m\ ddle or final post II on I n the word, and whe ther the I etter precede ng
II t s one that conner* s w ith lollowing letters to the teft. For exampl e, the letter
represent ing the sound lb] ( ) I s one of the letters that connects wi th fo11ow Ing
1et ters. I t has the f o1bowing shapes:
when i I occurs independent1 g, as I n the preceding paragraph, or at the end
f a w ord fol1owing a 1et ter that does not connect to the I eft;
t hen it oc cure at the bsgtnning of a w ord, or af ter a letter that do ed not
connect to the left;
when it occurs after a T etter• that connects to the left, and before another

1etter; and
when I t occurs at tha end of a word, after a better that connects to the left.

in contrast, the letter represent ing the sound [ ]-- --i s one of the I etters that does not
connect to the left. I ts forms ara:
o when It occurs Independent ly, or fog owing a letter that does not connect to
the left, end
a when it fol1ow s a letter that connects to the I eft.
 I-eHePs pec••I iar +o Pashto. The aiIf erence between the Pashto and Arabic
alpha be t s ma1nl g 1nvoJ v es the the modi fi cati on aI ex istt ng Arab i E \ e\ \ ers to
represent sounds wht ch exi st in Pashto but not Arab1c. The Pashto alphabet includes Set
ters from
the P.•rsi an alphabet (representing sounds I n that exist in Persian but not Arabic, for
example (pl and (chl ) and adattionaJ letters representing sounds that exist In Pashto
but not Persi an or Arabl c. These e xtra l e \ hers are:

. or written, Piste on ampale ice as to

Pashtuns share with other users of Arabic alphabet s an a yr areness of the beautg
of the at phabe I, and beautifu1 handwrl ting (for formal o ccasions) Is a cheri shed
accomp11 shment. inf ormal handwri ting, on the other hand, \s usua1Iy very dlff icut t
for the foret gner to decipher.
The Pasht0 in books and magazines that have been offset-printed is frequents g
handwri hen; in such cases, the handw rtter takes particu1 ar care that his handwrt ting i s
not on1 g readabl e, but e I egant. Handwritten, offset-pry nted Pashto is more frequently
publi shed in Pakistan than Afghanistan, refs eating both the greater avai1abi11 tg of offset
prJnting In Pakistan and the fact that Pashto's status as a national language I n
Afghanistan guarantees that printing houses wi II have the capabl \l tg to typeset Pa.shto.
In modern times, Arabic alphabets have been computerl zed, and several sor tware
programs are avait able in tha United States for word-processing in Arablc and Perl\an.
Nost of these programs do not have fonts which contaln the additional characters needea
to represent Pashto, buI at least one private company sells a sat of Pashto fonts. The
computer systems \n the U.S. government agencies that dea1 wl th Afghanl stan and
Paklstan are a1 so capable of product ng Pashto: the Volc e of America's Pashto service,
for exampl e, produces documents !:i Pashto wlth I ts Xarox computer sgstem.
Books ent1reI g In Pashto are constructed exactly opposl ta from books In roman
a1 phabet s. The are read wl th theI r bound edges to the rtght rather than to the I ef I; pages
are turned I rom left to right, and are numberea accor0\ ngly; tnd the cover, tl tl e pages,
and other lntroduc tory materia1 are tn what would be the back of a roman sl phabet book,

a8 ,-
u1
 CÀ Qptee 4i T,İr\a \'\mating Ğ yş+em

although occasional i g the taò le ct contents 1s at tha end of the ò ook rather than after the
t itle noon.

. Pashto kPiHes likeørxțure

The earliest known example of written Pashto is a mul tiI ingual book of rein gious
verses. The text, in Pashto and Arabic, dates from the end of the ł bth C enturg, and was
wri tten bg Bagaz1d Rushan Ansar1, presumably a Pashtun, who founded a sect of I siam
and who wrote the book in order to maka rellgtous wn ti ng avałiab\ e to peop\ e in that r
own \ anguage. The Pashto In that text \s a stłltad, anna‹ura\ sort of rhgmed prdae thaŁ
reflects a style of Arablc found In th8 X’ora/i.
The earliest Pashto iitereture was written bg the Khattak clan (the foremost
wri ter of which was the pre-em1 nent \ 6th-century Pashtun poet Kh0shal Khan Khattak),
whr- e adaptations of the Persian alphabet laid thB fQlJhdattons for tha modern Pashto
spelKing system. The Khattaks spoka the Kandafiar diatect of Pashto, and the spelling
sgstem stt II refs ects the Kandahar dia\ect more thsn t t doas the central or eastern

Tùe letters of the Pashto a\phatiet are listad In order in the following chart.
After each letter ia its neme tn Łi-anscr1ption, the forms It takes (thoae letters with
ontg two forms are the ones that do not connect to the left; the letters w1th three forms
are those that do connect to the left), the sound or sounds \t represents, and numbers
referring to c0mmentg I mm8dlat9lg foIIo'N\hg the chart.

I |ă laf] I I’ (al
(bel > (b]

(țJ
(ał’
. I)Im| Ijł
Üknpter 4• Bl\« \\!rifing Myste.••s

(gel, ihel rv rv lfil, lh)+

[the J U • lkhl

ldze] Idz]
Idä1]
ldl

[rel
ri
(rel

[zha] tzh] , (z], [jl^

Igel, I zhe] |zh] , (g]4
lstni Isl
[shi nl [uh]

IskhwBt] [s|'
(skhwätl (zl*
(tkhwe) lt]’
(zghwel [zl’
IWgnl, fagnl II, not pronounced+
[ghagn] (gh|

(k)

(iam) 1 J• lu
lmim] • lml

**
 ,¿, Inun]

lnunl av Ir)
y [Wèw]
> a lwl, lul, (nl
a [he]
< , a (hl, (al at ends of words
wel, ¿ [yJ, (i]
[marufa yei7

lmajhul a 9el° lel

p layj at ends nl words

[agl at ands of words

Ide tazk1r

E omments:
' This sgmboi frequent ig occurs wlth addlt ional ñ’acrtt1cs In borrowe'1 yrorBs.
I = lal in woros borrowed from Persian: ,ux1d\I grill freaoom', and mang
citg names, e.g., [\ slâmlb8dl aL• I W 1.
I = lanl in words borrowed from Arabic: [am4manl 'usua1lg' or
’exactl g‘ (âgnan]

Another 1etter of t*is same basic share that occasionalTg oc¢urs in educated
Pasht0 wrlI Ing ts , called a hamza . It’occurs onlg in words borrower
directly from Arable,
and 1s oronounced as a g1otta1 stop (the sound \n the m\ddIa of Eng1 tsh ofi-oft/ ),
I f i t i s pronounced at all.

^ these symbol s represent sounds that exist in Arable but not T n Pashto. They are used
in the spel ling of words borrowed from Arabl c, but are pronounced tn t nf ormal speeEh
with the ct osest Pashto equ* valent of the Arabic sound. Ae gou can »ee in the ch ar›,
the
resulI of this maintenance of Arabs c spellIng is that there are three letters representing
the [sl sound. and four \ etters representing the (z] sound. Educated Pashtuns wt I1 1n
formal or caref u1 speech pronounce the letters (especial tg mostlg g and y) as they are in
Arabl c, much tja wag that English speakers wll) pronounca Franch worls Ih Engl1eh wk th

41
u4
them r French pronunciation. The "educated" pronunciation of those I et ters, T f there I s
nna, js given f1rst, and the normal Pashto pronunc1ati on second.

° These three Nett ers are pron0 unced di fferenttg in th9 Maj0r dialects of Pashto, as was
mentioned In Chapter 2:

Etstern

retrof lex tzhr] {g]

retroflex [sft ]
f"
Ikh]

^ J fall owed by I is normally represented as V (a combination of two letters, which Is

cal ed a \\gature), J for towed bg I s a1 so represented by a I\ gature [. Arabic
and Persian have other Ilgatures which Pasht0 does not use. This is sometimes
pr¢bl emati c i n computerized fonts for Pashto, whtch are typically devel sped
bg non-Pashto speakers from bas1c Arabs c or Persian fonts. developers
assume that Pash to empl ogs all tha I igaturer that Arabs c and Persi an do,
and t he resulting Pashto word processing programs do not allow for the
"undoing" of the unused iigaturas.

^ Sometimes the letter has the dots in final form, e.g., and

The different variatt ons of the 1ett er arise from a felt necessity to represent the
Pashto vowel (e] when It occurs at the ends of words (It 1 s one of the frequently
occurring grammat Ical endingsln fem\ntne nouns and In verDs), and to represent
the grammattcat end1ng [agl in nouns, adDec tives and varbs. The names of the
letters translate as fo1Jows:
lmar¢if a ye] 'known g' (probabl g because \s the normal symbol)

(ma)hula ye) 'unknown y’ (proizably because i s a symbol occurrt ng

only In Pashto)

[de tânls ee0l4qel 'heavy fem0ntn q’

(de tazkl r sa4t \â yel 'heavy mBscul1na y‘

 Cku pter ii W Weitirtg /yslem

To the westerner, the most obvious i ndicati on of the lack of standard1zat1 on

of Pashto discussed fn the previous chapter Is tha w1de variation in punctuation
among wri ters of Pashto. rl rst, the convent ion or I eaving spaces between yr or0s is
not
consi stentlg observed, espec i aI1y in hand-wry tten documents. Readers use other
clues to distinguish one word from another, such as \he\r knowledge of letter
shapes, grammat i cal endings, and Pashto vocabulary, For native speakers of the 1
anguage, this presents little probl em, just asthissentencecanbedecipheredref
ativelyeasi1gbg Engl‹ sh spaakars.
Periods, commas, questt on and quotatl on marks appear i n Pashto, but ara usad
dl f ferent1§ from wry ter to w ri ter. (Commas and ques tion marks are the m1rror
Images of those used in roman alphabets: S anJ ‹ .) In general. Pashtuns who know a
western
language wel ten0 to adopt punctuation conventtonsfromthewestern languaQs.
Often, however, punc tuati0n marks are used di ff erentt y from conventional western
precti cs: Commas, for exampl e, are often used to indicate the ends of sentences, and
quotation marks ere used for a variety of purp0ses, from indicating emphasis to setting off
parenthetic a1 remarks.

i. elnflons%ip befvveem Spoken om rbem lDs fo

From a I tngulstic point of v iew, a writing sgstem is consi dered opttmBl If there is
one and am g one sgmbol representing each distinct Ive sound in the I anguage.
Pashto is both over-representationa1--there is more than one sgmbol represent I ng the
sound bsl, for exampT e-- and under-representat: onal--there are some vowels lor which
there are no s§mbo1s In the wry tJng system, and stress 1s not marked at all.
In the charts on the foI1owing pages, the vo we i and consonant s0unds are 1i sted
wl th the letters used to represent them.
Vowel
it o Pashto
|etter
fa] Int tl a11g
l
(aJ fi nail y

la| meai alt g

[a] in al I posi tions

(e] I ni tt al I g

|8] med1 al I g, fl na1 I y

li I I ni t1allg
ii I med\ a1I g, f inal I y
[r] t nt tt al I g I
Sri medl all g, finall y no sgmbol

lol I niti at1g

[o) fi nal 1 §

[o I medial i y, no sgm bol

g
[u] medi al T y, I tnaT 1g no sgmbol

{u] I n al1 pos1ti ons

lal II nal ly no sum bol

la] e I sewhere

layl f inallg (nouns, adj s)

|a gl f I nail g (verbs)
Consonant Paghto
Consonant Pashto
transcr/Ption izanr

(bl ml
[chl
A9l
Id)
(pl
[d]
Iql
ldzl
ml
lfl

lg hl
1s hl
[h1
11

IU
Iml
zl
 Nouns in Pashto have gender (masculme and femini ne), number (singul ar and
p lura1), and case (ca1led here dtrect and obji que). WI thin each gender, there are c1as
ses, membershi p in which is based on the form of the p lurat endi ngs: in this ana1ggt s,
there are four classes of mascul lne nouns, three of feml nine nouns. In addl tion, there are
i rregul ar masculine and feminine nouns, the endi ngs of which are id1osgncra ttc.
In the 9ec tions bed ow, we wi\1 first descri be the forms of different classes of
nouns. Then we wit I describe and gtve examples of the uses of the def ferent forms in the
class es, \ nclud1ng descriptions of the di rect and ob1\ que cases, the singular, pl ural,
vocative and other forms.
The grammatical studg of Pashto has not progressed to the point where there is
wt despread agreemen t on such bas1c top I cs as the number of noun classes. In the case
of more heavi I y studied languages, scjo\ are have 1ong ago arrtve 0 at agreement: at 1
anal yses agree, for exampt e, on the number and characterist lcs of the noun classes in
Latin. In Pashto, however, wri ters di fler in their anas yses, and use d1f ferent cm term a fa r
choosing the number and character1 sti cs of classes. In the absence of extensive
dtc tionarl es and word counts, the dist tnct t on between a noun class or sub-cl ass with
very few members and a set of irregut ar nouns that happen to behave the same way i s a
very arbit rare ona.

The most bas1c dtvi sion of nouns is into two maj or classes, call ed masct//ine and
/’sminine, in line wlth tradlttonal anat gses of such c\ asses In the Indo-European
1anguages. Each noun has one or the other gender, and the gender of the noun determtnis
agreement within the noun phrasa, and w1thl n the sentence or cl ause. In particu1ar, the
gender of a noun determines who ch endl ngs will occur on any of I ts modi hers:
add ect1ves, for examp\e, will occur wl th masculine or fern\nl ne endings depend!ng on the
gender of the noun they modl fy. And the gender of the noun \n the subject post I i on In a
sentence (or in past tense transit I ve sentences, the 0b jsct) determines whether the
verti wlI I have mascu\ me or f emlnlne ends ngs.

fi9
 chapfeø 5: /‘Joans

The masculine and femt nine classes are d\v)ded into sub-cl asses, ca1\e’t n I , N2,
F ł , F2, and so on. I n thJ s anal gsJ s, membership in a sub-class depends on the plural
and
obl tque case endings that occur on the noun: aiI ri2 nouns, for exąma ie, form thefr direct
p1ural s bg adding the sufflx (-únal up- to the dT rect s)ngu\ ar form, and \ be\ r obt I que
plurał s bg add1ng the suffix [-úno] - to the d1rect singul ar form. In the sects ons
below , we 1ist the masculine and ferninine sub-ct asse s, wt th their general
charac teristfcs, examples, and discussions of except tonal members or the class. Tha
f o11ow ing ebbr evi ati Ons are usad'
Genders: Numbers: Cases:
N = masculine ã = singul ar D = dtrect
F « feminine P = pt ural 0=
and exampl es of nouns with all their forms are given Tn boxes. oblique

words denoting alI man e animal s and paople are mascui tne, for examp1e
'land0wner' [kh8n) ,;, , ” g0-between" [ragb.url q , and 'male camel’ (w uxl I . In
addłti on, how ever, most mascull ne nouns refer to objects, qual I tles. and tdeas that have
no natural gender. Some exampl es: ’surprise' (fİagrã I] a , ’blink' (rapl ç, and 'thorn'
Ikhãr] pt.

/V\1 mo•+ns. Nouns tn the N 1 class f arm they r plurals by addïng the sufflx
(-ănl ¿I- to the direct singular farm. N \ nouns ordinarily denote peopl e 0r animal s, and
ordinari \g end ł n consonants. The ab1ique singu1ar f9rm 0f an N1 noun is usual1§ tha
same as the direct form, and the obj t que plural is r ormad by addlng the 9ufflx I- ol - to
the ai reef rl ura1 form,

'student‘ DS : (shügárd] o Lù DP' . lshägardăn] Io

N1 0S : \ s fiiãgâr0} o Lš SIP : IshägardMnol Io I-ć

Other exampl ee of n I nouns are:

’sir’ (săyzbÎ 'contract or‘ ¡I J Sradårì I o »y I
'poet’ (shafr) LV ’ht storIan' (târlkh póh] « yĞ
'deg laborer' laj1rl I 'fundamenta1lst' lzkhwânăgl lb I
’Uzbekt’ (uzsák) .Al 'professor, barber' (ustMd] o I
Chapte• 5› /"Jouus

There are mang nouns that form their pl ural s and obltques a1ong tha s
tankard N 1 pa ttern. but do not fol Iow the pattern strict1 §.
The fol lowing are examples of inanlmate ra ther than animate N T nouns:
'thing' Ishagl 'f ingernai1' [nuk] Um
mul berry tree' (tut] ‘flower' lgwal j
‘cloth' [tuk är]

There 1 s also a group of animate nouns, not ending in consonant s buI endi
ng in [-al I- instead, whose pT urals are formed wt th the N T suffix (-6n] ¿I-. Nang
of these
woros denote peopl e i n occupations or professions. s l0I i s arced tietween the
[â] I- of the stem and the (a] I- of the suff I x. An example:

'pasha' DS : lpächäl W1 DP : (p8ch8g8n] ¿L

oe : Ipachs#an0I

Other exampl es:

’frl end, lover‘ [ashn8l 'mulI ah' [mw 8) W
l 'cl erk' [mlrzM] lig
'prophet‘ [peshwäl I
,
'guide' [rahnamäl “

Another I arge group of atypical N1 nouns end in [-i] -. These nouns denote
most1g an\mates, \1ke the group described just above. In the plural and obli que
forms, the f ina1 I-il - changes to [g].

'foreigner' DS . [khärej1] DP : lkhare j gMn| L

V
n1 05 : [khärej\ | 1 0P . [khärej y6nol LV

Other exampTes:
’hash smoker' [bang1I ‘rebel' lya$hfl L•_
. 'parrot' [to th
'assassT n (k huni] ‘judge' [9 az1l I-s
'drummer [fl0l chf I yg
aboe seller' t aba 1)
'cupbe arer” [s 6 9f I L•
'antagonl st' (modgg\] rv
'SOP d) 9 r' [6p8§\ I
 Yet another group of atypical N 1 nouns \ s a group or most I g ant mate nouns that
end tn stressed I—a] —. The [— a] — drops when the p I ural I—8n],I- i s added.

’sol r‘ DE : llewél e DP : [IewänJI

D1 OU : l lewäl • OP : |1ew6no]I

no re exampl es:
'b i rd' (marghä]
'hai r' [wextä] ,y ‘crow‘ lk8rghä]1

Another group of N I nouns ends ng in a vowel i e a group ending in stressed I-ul t-.
The lu] changes to [wj when the I-ân] I- endi ngs ere added:

’pumpl‹in‘DS : (kadû]y DP : [kadwMn|Ig

N 1OSlkadûl y OP . lkadw 6nolIg

Other ex ampl e s:
‘c lag grain bin‘ [k andû] y
'piece of manure‘ [ladul g/

A ft na1 group of non-tip ic at N 1 nouns is a group that adds the suffixes as usual,
but adds or changes vowel s in the roo t, for examp1e:

‘stepfather“OS. Ipl andârl• L•, DP. (pl andaränl ¿lg

n ioS. (pj andérl g Jud_• 0P. Ip1andarÉnollg

Other ex amp les:

'animal’ ldzant wà rt 'shrinekeeper‘ [mznjawärl
yy

/Vtg costs. N2 nouns are those masculine nouns that form the I r p1ural s bg
add1ng the suff ix (-dna] <y- to the Oirec t singul ar form. N2 nouns ords nan I g denote
T nam mate ob Jects, or \ deas or charac terlst tes. The ob1 I que st ngular form of an n2 noun
\ s usua1 lg the same as the dT rect form. The ob1 \ que pIura1 \s formed bg addT ng tha
suff1x [-úno] - to the dt rect al ngu)ar, For examp\e:
Exampl es Of Other N2 nouns a re:
'hospita)” lroghtúnl yy 'CI aSsFO0izl' (Su fi

'dance’ latànl I "gueas’ [a{kà1 I I

’pomEgranate‘ íanbr] ÚI ’dream' tkhobl w

There are mang nouns that form their p\u at s and obliques a1ang the standard L\2
pattern, but do not foI1ow the pattern st‹: t1g.
some n2 nouns have an alternative oblique plural I arm which is formed by adding
the suff\ x (ol -, rather than the suffi x [-8no| -, to the direct stem, for exampl e
'house‘, which has both [koró] and lkorüno) as possible obli que plural forms.
Some animate nouns are n2 In form, for example:
‘horse‘ la si I ’father' (pl3rI W

Thera is a group of N2 nouns that add the plural end objique p!ural endings as
usual, but add a I-él ›- to the obiique singular form.

'kitchen garden' DS. [paléz] on. (paiezóna] ay

N2 0S. [palezà] ‹
0P. lpalezúnol y

There I s a targer group that adds a I-âl ›- t0 the 0b1ique singular form, but changes
the vowel s i n the stem as well.

'elacks, pants’ 0s, lpat1ún] DP. Ipatlanúna]

n2 0S. lpatlün4l Ü 0P. Ipatlanúnol

Other exemples
'thlgh' (wrun) yyy 'I íver' I\açm0nl ¿
”(Afghan) pants" Ipartügl 'knee” lzangúnl ¿
S“ 'oven' (tanürj

, 65
Another set of N2 nouns changes la| to (aj in the p1 ural and oblique forms:

'offi ce‘ DS. td ai t à rl z DP. [daftarû na] fiy a

f12 OS. (daf tä ri o OP. (daf tarû nol <iy
a

Other examples:
'ocean' [samand 6rl ‘shroud’ [kaf6nl
'street’ ls ardk] J
'country‘ [watdnl y

Another group of n2 nouns end in stressed (-al. These appear to be words of great
ant1qui tg in the I anguags, and include oath animate and inanimate nouns. The IT na1 I-al
drops in the pl ural I arms:

'husband‘ DP. [merû nal fiy

n2 OP. [merû noly

Some other nouns in the s group:

’sheep’ [pasâ l 'heart' Izra] ‹
'grandfather‘ [nikâ ] ’uncle' Itral ‹
'w edd1ng’ (wâ ddj ‹ sly (the Iâ ] changes to (al in the oblique forms)

vet another group of m2 nouns de le te the fina1 vowel [al of their stems when the I-
û naj y- and I-6no] - endlngs are added:

‘mountaf n’ DS. Igharl OP. tghr0nal <sy

n2 0S. Igharl
OP. [ghrù nol y

Other nouns In this group Inc1 ude:

’0 00 T’ [W dfil yy
‘unit of wei ght' [manl
‘rug‘ l{aghä r) un tt of 1ength' Igazl

Th e dJ rect singular f orm of an NF n oun ends I n la yl . T he dl rect

ptural and obl Aqua sl ngul ar forms 0f an N3 noun are the same, and are formed by replacing
the (ayl wl th Ill (The Pashto spel I I ng aoes not changa, however.) The oblique pt ural of

51 S4
 an n:s noun is formed bg repl aElng the (ayl of the direct singular wl th fold-. n:s nouns
denote both animate beings and inanimate objects, Ideas or characteristics.
Some NZ nouns are stressed on the next-to-final sgl1ab1e:

’friend‘ oS.[malgárag] DP:lmal ęă rl 1

N3 05.małgär1] 0P:lmalgárol y

Other n3 nouns w'ith stress on the next-\o-last sylI abl e are:

’summer ' Iwóçajl gyl 'scabbard' (tékagl
'el der' [sping\rag] ty ’monument' Itsál ayl

T he stress in many n3 nouns \ s on the fina1 vowet:

'turban' 0s. (pațkáyl

NZ 0S. lpațkf I

Other exampl es Of N3 with stress on the f1nal sglTable are:

nouns man' lsaräyl
'sprlng' lpasarT ágI
'cal f” [kriusáyl
'Abdal a\' labdãl I in,I
ág|
“AfrTdai' lapridáy]
'p1antl ng bed' lpațăyl
'cookl ng' [pakhl ág]
'Ahmadza1 [ahmadzáyJ ¿ I
'Achak zat' la tsakzágț I
I

As can be seen in the ex ampl es above, mang of the P ashtun tribe names are N3
nouns with \ ast sytlable sf ress.
A p an \cv\ sr character1st ic Of the N3 I ast-sql I abl e stressed nouns is that they
have alternate [- ãn) l.-, [-ãno] L- and (-agol - plurals. For exampl e:

‘man' DP :

0P
 'Gha1 zat' PS. IghalüzÉyl DP:[ghal oz1ly
í9hal dzgMn] ¿

0S: lghal dz1j 0P. [9hal dzül /

[ghal dzgMno) [gha1dz and]
/

/v't4 costs. The direct singu1 ar form of an N4 noun or4inartly ends in IB] I- or
[â] +-; N4 nouns generaII y refer to anlmatee. The otrect and ob1 ique singul ar forms of an
N4 noun are the same. The direct p 1 ural is formed bg adding tha suffix I- gânl pit- to the
direct singular form, and the oblique p1 ural ie formed bg adding the suffix I-ol y- to the
direct plural form.

‘uncle' OM: [mam6l L+ L+ 0P.- |mgmÉgMn]/L+ L+

M4 05: (mama] L+ L+
0P: [mZmBg6no] fi “ G G

Examp1 as of Other N4 nouns are

’muslcian' (sazandàl > 1¿ 'chll0’ lbandAl ›.r:;
'representat ive' [namüytndàl » Ha-.ara (azaràl ag I
'grandfather (ti t Ta)' lb8b§] Ü L

There I s a I arge group of N4 nouns ending In [-uly -

'scarf” OS. [salúl 0P. (sü1 ugsn]Z/La

M4 05. lsü\úlL 0P. [saluggno]

Other exampl es of N4 nouns endt ng tn (-ujy - are:

'toy' l1 atul V 'sailor' [mänü] L+
'knife’ lchaqul Lp 'churn‘ lmand8nül I - •
‘weav\ ng tool' [m8kûl L• ‘sugar beet' I1 ablab0|
’snake charmer‘ lp8rûly
 . fiewhniae oms
Words ref err\ng tc a]1 femal e animals and paople are feminine, f or exampl e
'girl' lp6ghlai , 'female nurse' lparastâraj »y =• ,, and ’woman whose son has died'
Tbúral . Feminine no uns al s0 denote obj ects, quali ttas and ideas that hava no
natural gender, for examp1e 'shoe' (papá] ,, ’tear‘ [wóxka] , pt,
and 'thirst' lt ándal • .

it F 1 nouns form theIr direct p lural and Obltgue singul ar forms

bg replacing the final vowel of the dtrect singular f0rm with the sufflx I-e) -.
The direct singular form can end in unstressed (-a]/[-a} ›- or [-e] -. The oblique
p1uraI is formed by replacing the flnal vowel of the direct singular form with the suffi x [-
ol y-.

‘womsn' DL . I zè0 zaI •* ; DP : [xàdze]

Fi OS: (n6dZeJ 0P -. Ixàdzol

’Ira end’ DS .‘ [ma\gàrel 0P : [malgdre}

F\ DS : Anna\q5reI 0P . (malgàrol y

Other examples of F I n
ouns: 'nurse‘ 'counct I’ (jargàl
[parast6ral «y
'student (f)' (shàgàrdal «a Lfi
’dormi torg' II agl igài
'fl ag’ [jandd] »
”rent' Ifi j àrà\ ‹y

A subc1d5S 0f F 1 nouns appaar t0 have dropped the fi nal [-a] »- in the direct
s\ ngul ar farm, ana as such ere the only f emIn1ne nouns that end with a consonant
other than the irregular klnshtp terms described in the next section. For example:

'da \J' DS: (wràdz]çg DP.- [wràdzel yy

FI 0s. (wrddze)yy 0P: lwràdzol gy

Other examp1es:
’sklrt’ Il amdnl ’month' lmyMst) •- “-
'bogom' fgheg) ty 'e1bow' Itsangdll

•• 6T
 Ghapte•5'

F I nouns appe ar to be rel a ie d to N l n ouns, gi men several pai rs \

ik e '(m) nurse‘ [parast 9r] '(f) nurse (p ara st âraJ +y

'(m) student' IshagärdI o L2 '(f)s tuden t’ [sh àgä rdaI + o LX

P* noons. The direct and oDl lque st ngul ar forms of ordtnarg F2 nouns end I n
[- all -. Note that the letter i s used on1g to represent the [—âyl endtng. F2
nouns
have al ternatt ve dt rect p1ura1 forms: the stem plus the suffix [-ganel Z -, the
(-agl of the stem changed to [gl and the suffix [-anel pt- added, or a form identical
to the singu1ar. Trie o01\ que p1ural rorm has simi1 ar alternative rorms that end I
n I-ol t-.

’famiI y’ DS: (koranä§] OP: [koranägl /

[koranaygMne] /“ /

Ikorany6nel LJy

F2 DS: [koranäyl 0P: lkorana9oi /

[koranaygänol /

[koran§äno]

Other exampl es of F2 noun9:

'skul Icap' lkhWal äg] chai r' ItsaWkäyl
'sanda1’ [tsapl ägl
’cradle’ [dzold9l

There gre a number of a0stract F2 nouns, the d:rect stnguJ ars of which
end in I-il y- rather than. [-all-.

'f rtendshl p'OS:ldostf I yo OP: ldostä0l ga

F2OS:ldost ägl y1 OP: | dost ägo]

Other F2 nouns ending i n 1-11 y- are:

tricklness' lch81âkfl U 'heat' (garmll
hurry” lchat ak1l 'act of rultng, governing’ [wzkdarf) gI fly
‘b ad deed' |b gdfl m, ’goo d deed' [nak1]

BESTCOPYAVAILABLE
ss C6
 F2 nouns appear to be red ated to N3 nouns: there are mang palrs f0r wh\ch the
masculine is an NO n0un and the feminine is an F2. For example:
’inn) dog’ lspayl '(f) dog' ispag]
'(m) I amb’ Iwurógl gl '(f) la'rtb’ lwur5gl yl

E3 ua -ns. The direct s1ngu1ar form of F3 nouns usualig enda In stressed (-àl
‹- Or I-g] I-, but there are also F3 nouns that end in (-ól (spell ed a number of wags) and
|- il . r3 rouns form their direEt pIura\s bg addlng the suffix I-we) y- or the suffix
I- g6nel C- to the dlrect singular form. The obl i que singular form is fha same as
the direct singular. The oblique p1uraT ia formed by adding the suff1x (-wo] yy- or the
suffix I-gMnoI ph- t0 the direct form.

'sat ary’ 0s [tankhMl 0P:

(tankh$we]
F3 Itankhag6ne]UE
0P.(tankhMwo| yy
0S.I tankh8l
[tankhEgMnolLÜ

Examples of other F3 nouns:

'Pashtun homeland’ Ipaxtunkhwâ) I 'crue\ty' ljaf8l ,

'ml stake' [kható) 'praise' [sanMl ÚS

'beg1nnlng’ (shuról y 'toplc' [mawzól
'request'larzól y¿ I 'pred1etc on' lpeshbT n1]
”enmttg’ (duxmanll o

Llke tute other Indo-European languages, Pashto has a number of trregu\ar

nouns Irregular nouns tn Pashto are c learty masculine or feminine, \n that ang given
noun w1II consistently occur wlth adjectives and verb endings of one gender or the
other. Bagond that, however, thalr oblique and p1ural forms are varied enough that
these nouns cannot readily bg grouped tnto any of tha more ragular noun classes that
are descrlbad above.
 • bic borrowings. 0n8 Of the I argest groups of irregui ar nouns are
borrowings from Arabic. I n many cases (and depend Ing on the erudi tion of the
speaker) the Arabic plural of a noun has been borroweo Into Pashto a\ ong wlth Its
singular. Fraquenl I y, a re u\ ar Pashto plural wi If exist sl de by sl de wl th the Arabic
plura1, especially if tha noun has come into wi de usage In Pashto. A frequent ty
encountered irregu\ 6r noun borrowe d I rom Arabic \s:

OP: (us51I J I
A irreq. 0s. [6sall I

Nang of the b orrowi ngs tram Arablc occur w\ th the Arabic plural \- 6tl L-, wh1ch i s tha
regu1ar Arabic feminine plural. All such words borrowed into Pashto, however, are
mnscu\ me, probably because they end in consonants. For examp\e:

‘am mal' DS: [hagwMnl Ip OP: lhaywangtlU Ip

N i.-reg. OS: IhagwMn] Ip
DP. (h aywânMto] DU

A good many of the words ending in I- Mtl at- are Arable borrow1ngs that exi st one y in
p lural form one y as mass nouns; these are discussed i n Section G bed ow.

Kinship te»ms• A Verg obvious group of irregular nouns are the kinship terms,
which are a\ 1 nat1ve words of great antiquity. nang are members of c1asses or
subclasses and have been \ is ted above; we are \ I sts ng them here saparatel y, wi th
their piura1 and ob\ique forms.

’brother'

'uncl a‘ OS:lakh I I OP: lakaggnl(bCl

OS:lokél Al DP.
(akMg6no] III

'paternal uncl e' DS:ltml+J

os:(troJ»J
‘mo\her‘ DS.[morl gP.
OS:lmorl 0P.

‘sister' BS.tkhorj DP:

0s.lkhor) 0P:

[khwra§6nol

‘son‘ DP. [zamdnl J

0P.' [zamdnol
It

'brother‘ DP:
0P:

‘aunt‘ OS. Ítrorl yy DP:

05: 0P:
ltror1 y

‘daughter’ OS.’(lur] DP:

0s:llurl 0P:

‘husbend‘s brother‘DS. |1ewtrl DP.

0s: |lewrdj ay

'daughter-tn- I aw’05.[ngorl DP:lng4qndel

05:Ingorl 0P:

”bi-O ther'S Oon' DS.(WFlrà) sy lyy DP:

OS:[wrzr9l ‹ylyg 0P:
 Besides the I<inshlp terms, there are other
i rregul ar nouns that seem to have been in the \ anguage for a I ong time. Some samples
(grouped bg s\ mt\ art ty of plural an4 obI\ que f ormat ton):

'Pashtun' Ds:tpaxtunl DP:[paxtanä](“ •

N irreg. 0S. [paxtänä] fi I - ; 0P:(paxt andl

Other exampl e: 'a.at, anthi11’ (megat0n] ,y

‘rug er‘ DS: [wäkmênl • It DP: [wäkmänl - I

k
n irreg. OS: [wäkmgn] ly 0P: [wükmäno] ly

Other ex ampI es:

‘enemg‘ [dux män] o 'sensitive one' [dardmlnl oy o

Irregul ar nouns vary wideTg from dialect to dialect, from speaker to speaker, and
even withtn the same speaker at different times. For the most part, this variation arises
when 1 rregul ar nouns become regul art zed, or 1 ose thetr I rregu1 arity and conform to
one or the other of the regu\ ar Cl aS0e0.
Observations of the ways In which forms 'regul art ze', and of the assl gnment of
class and gender to newly borrowed words from other 1 anguages, show that
regul arizatIon appears to 0e move ng towards the fallowing norms:
a: Nouns anding in consonants are mascullne. Animate masculIne nouns are NI ;
inanimate nouns are 112.
b. couns ending 1 n an unstressed vowe1 are F 1.
c Nouns endtng 1 n stressed vowel s are et ther N4 or F3.

An example of regulartzatton can be seen in the word 'horse‘ IasI I , which ts N2

in the central d1a1ec t. and as such violates the 'rule‘ tf:at animate nouns are NI ; In the
K andahar dialec t, however, the word occurs with both N2 and NI end1 nge. Other
sxampIes are NI nouns denoting inanimates, 1 I ke ‘ftngsrnaN’ [nukl Ip an4
’tht ng” [shagl , who ch frequent1 y occur we th n2 endlngs.
 Bert Ìe*‘ aricl class assignment o/ borrowed riouos. Nouns borrowed Into
Pashto from othar 1anguages are asstgned a genaar an0 a cl ass: for exampT e, a
borrowing mom Eng I ish, whi ch does not have gender and Ea9e among nouns, T s
converted into a masculine or femłntne noun of -° or the other of the classes. II appears
that the
c I ass1f 1catt on, whl ch T s remarkably consistent from speaker to speaker, Is based aimost
entire1g on the phonological shape of the noun and usual tg conforms to the n0rms 1i
sted above. Even words like ‘antmaJ’ [haywãnl ,;,l , borrowed from Arabl c, which
has Its own
gender sgstem, ignore the Arabic gender classes and are reel asst fi ed in Pashto
accords ng to their shape.) Animate nouns ending in consonants are usually assigned to
the rt I
c\ ass, for example 'off Icer' \aI sá real. and 'doctor' (d,ãkțărl i+. inanimate noune
ending in Eonsonants are usually assigned to the N2 class, › or example 'address’ ladrăsl,
‹i , 'bJ cgcJe' [bMgsik1l] Ș, and ’branch (of a business, bank, etc.)' [brânch] Ip.
Nouns ending Tn unstressed vowel s are usual] g assigned to the F I c1ass, for exampl e
'Bra tab n' [brł țMngel u. . although 'America' has emerged in Pashto as the F3 [amrlkM]
i. l,another English borrowing ending1n(ilhas eecome an F2 noun: 'agency’(eq)ans4 l
jl. and a borrowing mom French ending in a stressed (oi has emerged as an FS:
'painti ng' [tãbłól to.

The uees of singular and pTura\ I arm s in Pashto are similar to tłte uses of
slngul ars and p]urals in Engl ish. Nouns denoting one object are singu\ ar; those
denoting more than one are plurat. There are di fferences from w ord to word: for
examp\ e, the Engl ish word ‘pants' is p\urea, whereas tha word for Afghan pants--[part
Sql Sq -- i s
si nguiar.

/v’\ass comes. There are a number of Pa shto nouns that function in ways simil
er to English mass nouns \ Ika chalk, ¢hneзe, ’n' heat, and so on: in Eng11sh, these
mass nouns regularly occur only In the s1nguI ar. In Pashto, ho wever, such words
occur either am g 1n s1ngul ar or one § I n plurał. These nouns tend to danote such
things as grab n, food, l\ quid, or othe• elements that are not pract1ca1Iy countable.
Some axampîe a of a1wags-sl ngular mass nouns are names for Afghan
food: '(cooked) rłca‘ (chal ãwl ‘keüob' lkabMbl
’pI1afT’ [paláwl ’soup' (xurwál løy
and some examptes of always -plural mass nouns are:
'f I our' (wral • yl ' rr ater' [wobgl «a,yl
'wine' IsharMbl I 'I entils' Idall JI o
'food’ [khw8çàl » I

Note that the al wags-plural designatJon of these mass nouns I s not based on their
d1rect form, which appears to be miss'ng a p\ ural endlng, but on the fact that their
obi1que forms are always w I th fhe ob1 ique p1 ural (-a] - ending, and theg al wags occur
wT th plural adjectlves and verbs. The fol]owing sentences t\ lustrate this:

lwoba khwóge dl.I

water aweetFP ’a3P 'The water is sweet.'

(za khwage wobà tskam.I

I sweetFP water drink 'I'm drtnking the sweat yra\er.’

nany Arabtc borrowings ending in the Arabic [-atl at- plural are always-plural
mass nouns, for exampl e:
'equlpment ' IzkmZ1Mtj 'raIafionshIp(s) '
'universe’ lk6gnMt] II (mun8szbMtl 'publlcattons'
’conveni ences’ ltas-hllMtl •z• [nashargt] I

numerical p(ueols. A peculiar characteristic of mascu\ ine nouns ends ng in

consonants \ s that when they occur in phrases modt fied bg numbers, they end In [-al ›
Instead of the expected [-únai <y- or \\ -\ - :
'three houaas' ldre kóra] ey o
’f1ve off1ces' Ipindzá deft áral » o
'two streets” Idwa sarákal «yo

Pashto nouns functl on In sentences as they do i n ofher languages: as subjects,

ob) ects, obj ects of preposl t1ons, and as vacate vee.
”
Chapter žî: /‘Jouns

Uses o/ the direct /orn«s a( comes. The direct singular and plural 'łorms of
nouns are used in 9ub] ect post It on in present tense sentences and c Causes:

IggAțJjg pa kabál ke wosI.I

Bagb1ga in Kabul in lives
”The Pąsqtqn 1\ves In Kabul.'
Îpąxt§qț pa kâbáł ke
wasI.I
'7he ptar‹ons live in Kabul.’
Pss§tyns in Kabul in live

They a re al so used in in direc I object poslII on in present tense sentences:

lahmad pąxtûg w\ni.ț

Ahmad Pashtun sees 'Ahmad i s saaing the Pasht on '

lahm ad paqtğná wfni.]

Ahmad Pashtuns sees 'Ahmad t s seeìng the ggtttgttg.'

Uses o/ the oblique poems o/ nouns. The obll que sIngu1ar and plural forms of
n0uns are used as obj ects of preposit I ons:

Ide paytMná zoo pa kübá1 ke w6si I . I Ш ¿ a a

of Pashtun son in Kabul lives ’T he Pg htun's son I i ves In Kabul.'

Ice eau xnr zaman pa kãbál wóst.] . pt ø

ke
of Pashtuns sons in Kabul live ’T he PQ' sons I lve I n Kabul.'

and in subj ects of past tense trans1tt ve sentences (these obt ique forms ace pen of the
'very dist tnct i ve Pashto srgative construction described In detail In Chapter t I ).

(ggzțggz topak răwor.]

' JJ!J “ * “ :Ș
Pashtun rlfle brought 'Thg Pashtun brought the ri fte '

[gąjtțągg topak rMwor.I

Paahlunc nhe brought 'The Pashtuns brought the r\ fte.’
These forms are al so usad as vocali ves, far
examp1e:

[ey ghwgll (F3, 05)

'Y'OU CO w!'

te# ntk9ll (n 1rreg, osl

'Grandfather!'
O grandfather

(ey mgm5ggno!j (N4, DP)

'Uncles!'
O unclos

[eg x9dzo!) (F f , 0P)

’W omenl'
O women

There are regul ar except1ons to the rul e gl ven above that the obltgue forms of
nouns are used in vocati ves. Hascul ine nouns ending in cons0nants (the (g) Of NO
nouns counts as a consonant) form the vocatt ve bg sddtng the suffix (-a] ‹- to the o\
red \
singular form, for exampt e:
*b0g!' [a1dkaIl ! (II I )
'f r1endI' (ma1g§rgal] !w (N3)

and femt nine nouns endt ng tn consonants form thetr vocatlves by adding the suffix I-el
to the direct singular. for exampl e (the ill In the feminine endtng I-ag| - does n0t count as
a consonant):
'motheri’ lmóre!l ! (F 1rreg.)
'famll gt' (koranàyl) ! (r3, OS i orm›

NacKenzta ( \ 9d7) desert bes the different classes from a h1stortcat polnt of
vlew, and bases membership in a class on the ehape of the direct stngutar form, He
posits three man n masculine stem types: those ending in a consonant (our n 1 and f42),
those ending In s\res se d ldgl (Our N3 wl th fl nal stress) and those endtng \ n
unstressed (ay] (our I•l3 wJ fh next-to- final-syil abl e stress); and three maln femtnl ne
atern tgpes: thOse ending wT th unstrsss•d (-al (our F I), those ending I n streesed [-agl
(our F2), and those
endI ng In unstressed I- e] (a subclass of our F 1 ). la ckenz1e p osi ts four cases: dire ct,
oblt que, vocat i ve, and preposI t i ona I .
Shafeev T 964) groups nouns on the basi s of theI r gender and the endI ng vowel or
consonant of the dt rect singul ar form, then describes the formation of femtnt ne nouns
from mascul Ine ones, the f armat Ton of plural s, the cases, which he call s absol ute and
obl i que, vocatt ves, and the Pashto constructions corresponding to tha geniti ve, dat ive,
tnst rumentai and prepos1t tona1 cases.
Penzl ( T 955) di vtdes nouns Into ft ve mascu1I ne and si x feminine subcT asses, and
describes and glues exampies of each cl ass. He post ts four cases: d1rec t, obll 4ue T ,
ob1I que 2. and vocatibe, and di scusses their uses. He brt efly describes word I ormati on
and the den vat ionai suf f txes. Many of the dl f f erences between Penzl's analyses and
ours can oe traceo to the differences between the central dialect our analysis
is 0ase0
on, and the western or K andahar d\alec t Penz\’s I s based on.
I n the f o1Iow i ng chart are the correspondences (some of them not exact) between
the analyse s in thts chapter, and those of Penzl, Mackenzie and Shaf eev.

Shqfeev
Ml M2 classes Nose. 1,
M2 NI not Nasc. i
n3 M3, M4 given ‘ Nasc 2, 5
n4 M2 N asc. 4
n irregulars NS and Nasc. 3
grouped
FI F I, F2 Fern. 1, 4, 5, 7
F2 F4 add ec tlve Fern. 3, 6
F3 F3, FS cfsssss Fern. 2
F i rregu1ars F6
 There are several different tgpes of pronouns In Pashto: weak pronouns
paraMel to Engl1sn ordinary personal pronouns; strong pronouns parallel to the Engll
sh personal pronouns In emphatic post tions; demonstratl ve pronoun/adject1ves
para1\el to Engel sh this/that/fhese/those ; and other interrogative and lndefint ie
pronouns param] e1 to Engl i sh who, wfiat, etc.

form. The Pashto weak pronouns are parallel to the Eng\I sh personal pronouns / ,
you, he, she, It, se, t/tey; and are much the same in meaning, al though tnere are great
differences between the Engli sh ana Pashto pronouns in terms of form, posl tton, and
occurrence in sentences. There are two f. .ae for each weak pron0un, which correspond
ctoselg but not exactly to the direct and oblique forms of nouns. The weak pronoun
forms are as fol I ows:

P«•»n/fit#mber la-cawPoss4.ssi.?» #li«e”7t#J of Pr»P I

/s. ('I', ‘mg', ‘ma') lmel ma] ip
US. (’you',’gour','gou')
3S. ('he/she', 'hls/'her', 'hlm/har'i [del o Idarl o
(ge]
Iwar] yy
iP. ( we . 'our', ’Lis ) lmol /'[am] I [ra) Ip

2P. (‘you-aN'."your',’you') lmol 7[am] I (darl yo

3P. ('theg‘, ’thetr', ‘them‘) (ge] Iwar] yy

Occ ••erce. weak pron0uns are dropped entlrel y ‹n subj ect posltl on In present
tense and past tense Intranet t1ve sentences. Thag are also dropped I n object position In
past tense transl t1ve sentences. In the examples beiow, the post tion of the dropped
pronoun Is lnd\catsd wtth
[ahm ad gadég1.] . yg
Ahmad dances
'Ahmad Is dancing.‘

(gagégLl
d•nces 'He I s darict ng.’

[gadégam.)
(1) dance ’I am dancing.'

(ahmad me maChaw\.]
Ahmad me kisses 'Ahmad is k\ sst ng me.‘

[machawl me.j
kisses me 'He i s ki ss ing me.‘

|ahmad gadedâ.I
Ahmad danced ‘Ahmad was dancing.‘

'He was dancing.'

(he) danced

Igaqed9m.]
'I was dancing.'
(I) danced

[ahmad k1 tab I wa
stâ.I I
’Ahmad was reeds ng the b0ok.‘
Ahmad book read

[ahmad I w astâi.)
’Ahmad w as readIng It.”
Ahmad read (II)
 lahmad khpa\ a xä dza machawä l a.]
Ahmad oyrn wifa kissed
’Ahmad was k1 sslng ht s wife.‘

(ahmad mach•wâ 1am.¡

Ahmad kissed (me) ’Ahmad was kl ssiiig me.'

[machawä l am
ye.I kiesed (mej 'He was k1sst ng me.’
he

The diract forms of weak pronouns ara used in severer waye. Flrst, they are used
when the pronoun is the object of the verb In present tense sentences, and when the
pronoun i s the subject of tha sentence 'n past tense transitive sentences.

[ahm ad me mach aw1.I

Ahmad ma kis9es
'Ahmad 1s kl sslng me.'

(machawä lam ge.I

kissed (me) he 'Hs was kiss1ng ms.'

The direc I forms are al so used i n posB93sive construct tons:

[kt tä b mel
book my 'mq book’

[ki t8b tel

book his 'hl s book"

Th e obji que forms of lhe weak pronouns are uaed wlth pre - and post-post t1ons:

lasad as râ te dkhlL]
Asad hoee me to buys 'Asad i6 Jglng a horse for me.'

[1ayIM war ta wäwele.1

Layla tham to told ’La9le toI d them '

d7
Û0
””'
lftapter d: Pronouns

(an an nâ yrar sara

dz1.) 'Aman isn‘t gal ng with him.’
Annan not hlm with goes

lda dar p6re kh8ndl.1

she you at laughs

(F0r further d1scussl on of the behavior of weak pronouns wt th certain

pr"ep oS I t: on9, See Ch ap tef” 1 0, Pf”ep0si I IorIS.)

0 h•• k •oc te nistics u weal< pronouns. I1ang of the sentences above

il lustrat e that the posi tian of weak pronouns i s not canst stent. The ru1es bg which the
posi tl on of weak pronouns (and other part ie Yes) are posi ttoned In a sentence are gl ven
In detail in Chapter I \ , SImple Sentence struc ture. Bri elm, however, the weak pronoun
follows the fi rst stressed phrase tn the sentence, regardless of Its functi on in the
sent ence. The stressed phf ase can be the subs ect or object phrase, an ent1re
prepositi Anal phrase, a verb, or an ad e rb.
Weak pronouns are never stressed In sentences. A weak possessive pronoun Is
often written attached to the word I I follows. for example for lkitâb yel. The (§] in
feel i s often not pranouncad: is aften pronounced Ski tsbel.
L fi

>0
x

Strong pronouns are used when the speaker wants to amphasi ze the pronoun, e.g.

(za ahmaq nâ Ham: add ahmaq da i • > ! ' ! •¿

I stupid not am he stupid ia 'Lm not s tup\ d; jog \ s.’

Strong pronouns function like nouns in sentences, but In the singular there are
three rather than two possible forms: one set of forms 1s used In subject position;
another In dlrect object posttlon; and the third In ob)ect of preposition positions
tlncludtng the possessive construction). In the plural, there ts only one form per
person, used tn all positions In the sentence.
The third person »!>9U\ar strong pronouns are differentiated tnto two samantJ c
groups: those ueed when the person or object referral to 1s In sight of the. speaker;
the others used when the referent Is out of sight, Pastitun writers differ In raferrlng to a

d8
person or ob)uct alreadg ment ioned: some use the ”in-sigh t' forms, ana o\fiie re use t he
'out-of -si ght’ forms.
The the rd person 'out-a f-s ight' s trong pronouns a re stressed on the flna) sql tab'e,
11 1s s\ reas al one that di ff erent I at es them I rom the demonstrati ve pronouns to be
di scussed bel ow.
The strong pronoun f arms are as foll ows:

si.*ig ›ar f orms. /¿{g . 0b) of Prep.

f S. ('I‘, 'me”) (ma] L [mal L

3s. (in sigh I)

m. ('he', 'hlm') (day]o

/. (’sh e', 'ńer’) Ida] I o (dgl I J (delo

3S. (oul of sight/ .

v. (’he', 'him’) laghól laghźl VAT |aghfi] •u A
F. (‘she‘, 'her’) [aghsl <As lagh8] [ągh§|

Plur#i r»rfns

3P. (in s łgh t) (’theg’, them’)

TP. t'out of slghtJ f’theg', 'th,•-m‘)

Possessi ve phrases wl th strong pronouns take the form of ord1narg prep ost t1onal
phrases wi th the prepostt1on (del ‹. Thure 1s dl alecta1 vanatI on in theIr pronunci ati on,

and the spell mg sgs terri f av ors I he Kandahar dtal ec t‘s pronunc I at1on.

82
 £enlrał ł0lher Pash I
up a
r
IS [di mMi [zmã]
2S [di tMl [sti]
SSt1 (in slghl J [dl dáÏ ldi dál
SSF (in sighl) [dl dél [dT dé]

SS N (aul of sighl) So -” (oul af s[de

ighagh
I) IPá] [de agh é] [di
(d8múng]
agháJ[dlIde
tăsel
eghé] lzmung] [stăse| [de dúyl
[de diy]
IP [de aghúy I lde aghûy|
SP NSF (in sigh IN
SP NO F (out of shh I)

Demons tratIve pronouns In Pashto correspond to the Eng1i sh demons t rative

p ronouns this, Ihat, these and I hose, and, li ke such form s I n EngI I sh, a ra used bo th as
pronouns and as ad)ectT ves. Pashto demcnstrati ves, 1ik. loans, are mascul ine or
femtnł ne, a\ ngu\ ar or 0 \ ura\, d1rect or obj!due.
In add1tT on, there i s a three-way contrast i n Pashto demonst ratł ves, ca11 ed here
cl ose, mT dd1e, and far. (Engl ish has onI g close - lh la /lhese - and f ar - tßaUI hose.) The
'mlddl e' ąemonstrat I ve s transl ate tnto Engl Ash sometl mes as tfils/tfiese’, and somattmes
a s 'that/tho se'.

7O 63
 clos» DSI t[dal I Jzdäghz) ‹a ‹ DP: \ä ä} I o/ dägha]o
('this/thèse') 0P: [ddgho)o
05 :[de] o/(d5ghaI <c o

DS. |äghal OP: lâghaj SAS

OP. [âghoj

rar DS: [ûgha] <û DP. [ûgha] tg

('that/those') 0S. ïûgfiial tg OP: (ügho|

clone DS: ldal I a/[dägha| o DP (dzl I o /ldäghel o

t'this/thèse') o o
05: (del o/IdSghel 0P: (del o/[däghol

m ddfe OP: [8ghe]

0P. (ägho|

far os. Iûgha) <c

(’t hat/t h 0s o") 0S. (dghs]
OP: (ûgho]

The on1g d1 f f erence between the two-syll abT e demon yt.ra t lve pronouns and the
s Imt1ar1y -spell ed strong pranouns ts tnat the demonstrat Ives are pronounced wtth
stress on the syl I abta, whereas tha strong pronouns are ctressad on tha }ggt
6gt 1 BDT 6:

|àgha] = ’this/that (N)’ laghäl SAS = 'he/she (out of st ght)'

|6gha) = ’thl a/that (F)’ (aghdl = 'her‘

The maecul1ne/ famlnlne o1stt nctlon 1 s meln tab ned not only wlth ma1as and
I emalea, but a\ao corrasponda to Cha grammatical gender cf whatavar Is balng raf arrsd

:4
 m Card: rOnOmns

llgha ta g6ral]
that at look 'Look at that (m)! ‘ {ref erri ng to a man, book, etc.)

for example, contrasts w: th

(âghe ta g6ra!]
that at lonk ’L00k 0t thht (f)!’ (ref err‘ ng to a w oman, chat r. ete.)

Pash to has 1 n terroga II ve pronouns

paral I e1 to Eng I i sh \s'ho? and 'ha t?. [tsok] Ip transl ates as 'who†', and has th e
alternative ob1 ique form [chij W when I t occurs as object of a preposi ti on or sub ject of a
past tense transitive sentence. 8oth (tsak) end tch8) i cBrrg heBvj stress One
quest I on

[ts6k rfighag† I
who came ‘Who came7‘

lthM ta w6ge†]
who to talk-2s 'WhO aFe you talking to†'

(chM râwor /)
who brought it '\'/ho brought it7‘

Tha word |tsal a t s paral le1 to Englt sh 'what7’. I I is invarl ant in form, and carries
heavy stress tn a quas’. Ion:

what will happen 'What wII1 happen†'

whal say (you) 'What are you sa§tng†’

’What d1d you aay†’

 flhopteœd: nonomns

Both [tsokl ? / [chã] and [tsa| <ż are used as indefl ni te pronouns para1le1
to English romaona and same thing . Combl ned wl th the adj ectłve 'everg' (arl theg are
paral tel to everyone, every lh1ng. When used as 1ndef ini tes, they are unstressed.

[I sok rig ń8q.Ì

someone came
'someone came.'

(artsok răgh1ai.I
everyone came 'E vergone came.’

IkltBb chä ta wärka,l

book who tn give 'GI ve lhe book to someone.'

something I not have 'I haven't done angthlng (w rang).'

done

lárt sa me karl dl.]

1 havB Oone eYergthiog
everything I
have done
Itsok) ć / (chz] and its a] are para11el t0 English whoever and whatever
when combt ned wł th lhe cl ause marker (tsel , as shown in Chapter 13. some examp1es.

(tsok tse dzzn nä pazanl khwdğg ná pezanl.I ,} Ü L«t J

who that self not know•3s G‹xI not know . •ú I
1x
'Whoever does not know htmsel f does not know God.

what tfiat she æy I it accept I accapt what evgr she say a.'

joke on [khpał I . Enol I sh doe s not dł f ferentI ate among pronoun references,
In tha sentence Kahn brought h1s book, for exampt e, the fiils can refer to John, ł.e.
John brought h1s own book, or II can refer to someone else prevł0uslg ment tonad bg
not in the same sentence. Paah to does make a diettnct‹on: In tile latter meant ng, the
ordinary
add eEtive (khpal I appears, whereas I n the first maantng, a weak or strong
p0c 0e aa t V8 p ra ßolz II I s u Be
d.

BESTŒIPY AVAI@BLE
 [ahm ad khpal kl tgb rMwor.]
. I I
Ahmad own book brought
'Ahmad brought his (own) book.”

(ahmad g9 kttâb rMwor.l

Ahmad his book brought ’A hmad gF0Ught his (some one eI se's) book.‘

Treatment of the weak pronouns varfes w1deIg, depending on the author's

perceptlons of reiationships between the we. pronouns trâl ly, (dari y« and lwar] yy
and the dlrectianal adverbs ‘towards the speaker‘ lral Iy, 'towards the hearer” (dar] y«,
and ’towards the one spoken about' lwarl The analysis on which the discussion of
pronouns ab0ve is based considers the pronouns and d1recti anal advertis es separate
categories, although there 1s undoubtedly a historical reasan f0r thetr havtng the same
phonetic shape.
Shafeev ( 1964) calls tha subject7object forms weak pronouns, but differentiates
tha oblique forms (râ] Iy, fdarl , «, and lwarl yp as 'directive pronouns'. He comments that
the weak pronouns function as subjects In past tense transitive sentences, and obj ects
in other contexts, but doBs not discuss the fact that the pr0nouns do not appear at all In
the converse environments.
Penzl (I 955) call s the weak pronouns particles, and groups them with other
parties es that behave similar1y wi th respect to them r varying post tions in sentences,
as wiI1 I ikewi se bs done here In Chapter \ \ , He identt lies (me] , Idel «, (mol
and [yel
as pronomi nan part I ct es, saparatas out \r6) ip, \0arI y» and (war) as pref fxes wi th
prepos1II anal part ieIes. He l i sts the strong pronouns, cal1lng tham pronouns, aiid whiIB
he mentt ons that thag can drop when the verbal to rm s express person In their endings, he
does not give the cont exts In whl ch theg drop. He a] so ments ons that the pronouns (our
s I rang pronouns) and particles (our weak pronouns) a1ternate, but does not indicate that
I he at ternat I on has angthtng to do wlth meaning.
NacKenz1e ( 1987) calls the weak pronoune enclltlcs, and asserts tltat they behave
like pr0nouns In oblique posl tlons (I.e. as subjects of past tense Intrans1t1ve verbn,
and as objects In other co ntaxts), except wlth prepost tions. He I dent if les (râi Iy,
ldar] ‹,
and (war] yy ac d\ racttonal adverbs that act as psauda-pronouns.

-
u
 Adjectl ves can be grouped Into c\ asses I ike the nouns, al though each adj
ecttve has masculine and feminine at ternatives whereas nouns are elthar masculine or
femint ne, but not both. The reason for this is that the gender of a noun determ nes the
gentler of the adj ecti ves thet mod1fy it. so any one adjacttve m1ght agree with a
masculine noun at one po1nt and a femini ne noun at another point, for exampl e the
forms of the adjective for 'hungry' I n the fo11owIng phrases:

'hungry bog' Iwagay al tik] aha tyy 'hungry gir1' [wage p6ghlal tyy

There ara four classes of adj ectf vas, two of wh1Ch have sub-cT asses.
There
are al so a verg few I rregu\ar adjectives.
The anal gsis here dl ffers from that tn Beginning and /ntermedfafe Pashto. aq
asst gning all the adJ ect eves e:idtng tn (agito the same ct ass, and grouping together
a1I adject eves with (al endings Tn the mascu1ine forms, the
njJrfiber of classes i s reduced
from s1x to four, and the overall anal gs1s I s 1ess redundant.

. /Jcc†ive glosses
•/j 1. Ad jectives in this c la ss hava forms that are s’ mewhat paralI e1 to the N2
and F ! noun cless forms. The masculine direct singu\ ar form ands tn a consonant; the
mascul me dlrect ptural and obt I que stngu\ar formc are the same es the direct stngu\
ar; and tha obll que plural ends tn the usual (-ol -. 1he famtnlne forms 1 oak exactly
1lke F I
nouns: the direr.I st ngular łs formed by aedf ng [-al <- to the masc'i11ne slngul ar form;
Łhe direct plural and obl14ue s1ngular end tn [-el - rather than I-al <-; and the obl tque
pIura1 enda in I-o) -.
Cha]ote 7’: @dyecfives

Other adJeC tI ves In th1 s class include:

‘wide' [prikhl I 'Si ffi Cul t‘ ls akht] ' -

'strong' [pat wändl 1 'whol e, enti re' AtolI J
”narrow' | ’tous1 ed' [j ar]
tang] 'rea0q' ’gut et‘ (chfîol -
[tag6r]

c|j Û. Ad JeC ti ves in tht s class dave mascu1ine forms whi ch end in I-ag] y-
There are two subc\ asses oI Adj 2's: those In which the stress is on other than the last
sgT l abT e, and thuse in whl ch the stress is on the 1 ast syliable.
, The masculme direct stngu1ar form of nonf inal stress
Ad) 2s ends in unstressed [-ay] y-; the masculine direct p1 ural and ob1 tgue si ngu1ar
forms end in [-i I y-; and the obs i que plura \ form ends in [-o] t-. The direct and ob1 t gue
slngutar forms of the femintne end inl-elu- and the oMique plural form ends in l-olj-

'thirsty' In. DS: ltägagl

Non-fina1 OS. [tägi] ,yS >
stress F. OS: [tägel
Adj 2 05: [tägel ¿S

Other adjec ttves 1 n th1 s class include

'hungry' [wâgayl yy 'beautI fui' [xkw4layl

'f1am\ ng' [sàwayl 'new' [näway]

’quiet, careful’ [gh¢1ayl ‘complex’ lpechàlayl

I-ayl ts the sufft x that forms parttcîpl os from varb0. Nost o f the non-f1 na1 stress 2's,
then, are p0ly-syl1 abt c, and are transparent ly re1 ated to vsrb s. For exampl e:

'threatening‘ (darawdnkayl yy I g from ‘threaten’ lq6raw-] - yy I g

'schedul ed‘ tp käl all from 'de termine' lt8k-I -É

7b
 Ghapter 7‹ @djcctívcs

rinrl «rr«s Aüj 2 Ad]ectIves In thls cless m1mtc N3 and F2 nouns, and In
Beginning and Intarmedla ie Pashto are called Adj 6. The masculine a\ rec si ngu1ar
form ends tn z\res ae0 \- âq) -; the ob1 iqua singular end 6\ rect plural forms end In [-1l -
or {—àyl -; the obl1 que pl ural ends In [-ó] y- or (-hai -. The femtnt ne forms have
end1ngs 1ike those of F2 nouns.

‘th1n‘ /°/: DS: [naróyl DP : (nar1I /[naràyI

Final 0S: lnar1] /(naràyI 0P : lnardl y /(naràçoI
stress i--. OS: [naràg] PP : [naràyl
Ad] 2 OS: lnaràg] 0P [naràyol

Other adj ectIves in this class include:

'patr1 archal' lpl aranéyl 'round' t ga r0 àq\ z

'goung’ [tankâyl 'prtmarg' (I umranóg]
”mountainous' (gharan6gi '1 ase.' twrust ày) yyy

@j g. Adjectives n th1s cl ass are glml1ar to those In the Adj t c\ ass. The
mascui ine direct slngui ar ends in a consonant; tha marcultne dt rect plural and ob1 iqua
singular forms end in stressed ial <-; and the ob1ique plural ends \ n stressed [dl y-. The
feminine forms a re 1 tke F 1 nouns. There are a number of subclasses 0f AdJ 3, the
simp1est of wh1 ch appears to be tha smal lest:

rouh'
Ad) 3
F:

Other adject t ves paral1e1 t0 [*!9l >• _, are

'1 Ong' (Ugdl oyy I

'setèled‘ lmlshtl •
'grzsn.wnrlgo' 1um1 gl

77
 An equal Iy small subcl ass is composed of ad jec tIves that end i n [a) ‹-, of whi ch
[x a| is I he commonest member:

'gO Dd‘ P: (xaj •.

0P: (xol
Adj 3 DP: \xe]•
OP: (xol

Other adjer tives in this subclass Include:

'asl eep' [udâl » ”gray” [spe •â] »

sql
’sharp lter51 a

A much i arger s ubc1ass of the Adj 3's are adj ec ttves ends ng tn a consonant, with
6teM V0Wei fol or lui - -. (Adjec tIves 1n th1s subcl ass are cat] ed Adj 5 In 6aginning and
lnterme0iate Pashto. ) Except for the masculine direct slngul ar, the form endings Tn thl s
subclass are identical t0 those above, but tute stem vowel changes to Iâl I 1n the forms
ends ng In [al », and to lal in the other forms !:

’smal I AdJ 3

Other ad}e cti Ye s I n (hi s subc1as s inc I ude

'prone, lying' lprotl y 'bllnd’ lrundl 1y ‘soft' Ipostl

cooked, r1pe” (pokh) ‘cold' lsogl 'old' lzorl y
'full, satlsfteo‘ [mark ’curved‘ (kogl t ‘dear‘ (kun]
’spread’ fkhporl ’rotten lwrostl yyy 'wet' [Mundi IQ
‘mounted, rld1ng’ \spnr\ 'heavy’ [drund) lyya 'brtght' (ruy| yy

These particular stem changes oscur elsewhare tn the 1anguage as wel1, The genarall ty
appears to be that thera \a a tendency for stem vowels (ol, lul, and [aj to c»ange to tBl I I
the following ayl I abla contains a final [al, and to change to or remain ae (aj If the
folI ow1ng g§1I able conteina any othar vowel but [al.
 Chap+er T: s|jectives

Other adj ec tives in the cl ass have idiosgncrat ic stem vowal changes or delat1 ans.
The exampl es we have are ttsted below.

EnglJ th EDI Stefy of other {o.rmy

'red' [surl |sr-] -

'green/b1 ue’ [shin] lshn-l -

'swaet' [khogl ty [khwâg-I - tyl /lkhwag-I - ty

Adj 4. Adjec t1 ves in thi s cl ass end in stressed vowe1 s, and have only one form,
a1though some of them ending in (Z1 or lal have alternate obll que plural I arms end1ng
in I-awal yL- (or [-ol y- tn tha Kandahar dialect. These adjectIves come 'rom a var\e\g of
s0urces, includlng Arabi c and Persian.

'pret tp’ I't: DS: lxâ qst 61

OS. lxñ 9st dl •-y
OPdxâysgl /
[X9§St/ \YOt pp

Other adj ecttv es In this cl ass include:

‘social‘ (ijtimBgll ,I ’emergency' lizter$rf) yl I

”basic, essential' (asasl) I 'outstanding‘ IalMl I

’lstami c’ |zsT Bmfl C I ’mythical' (afsanaw\l I
’real, original’ [aslll I 'Afghan' (at gh8ni1 /lawqh8nll ti3 I

If the ad)ect1 vee wl th ctem vowa1 changes ara I ncluded as a sub-c1 ass of Ad] 3,
there arg varg few Irregui ar add ects vss In our word 1I st. One of If\em 1s a group of
adjact tves the masculine atngular forms of wh1ch end 1 n the syJ1abI e I-arl y-, for examp \ e

79
'sk Inng’ \dangârl , which are I t ke Adj \'s except that the stems of at I the forms except
the mascul me 6 \ rack singular end in (-ar-I, for example \dangér-I • q. Other ad ject i
ves in this group a re 'observant' lstargawérl , 'brave' Izrawtrlyyy¿, and 'fortunate’
[oakhtawarl
The one g other Trregul ar adject\ ve is ‘lively' (mastânt} < , which appears in some
dialects to be i n mi d-shi ft from an Adj 4 to and Adj I . The mascuJ 1ne forms are alt the same -
[mastandl <l - - - and the femin\ne forms are Mke Adj 1.

cubes symbols. Paehto numbers are represented with the f0llowing

numeral s, w h1ch are those used in all 1anguages wr1I ten In Arabic alphabet s:

2 TTS 7 v
3 o 8 A
4
5

0 •

The wri tten orde r of symbol s in numbers higher than 9 i s the s ame as the order t n
Engl ish, i.e., f rom 1eft to ri ght. For examole:
15 \o 47 I t.'' 1

20 T• ,OOO I•• •

r‹••sbcr.• •c.• adjectives. PaShto numbers are all adj ecttves, and except for
’one' l§aw) , wnich as an Adj 1 has the alternate faml n1na form lyawt] ‹ , theg have

just one form (and theref ore are c] ass 4 adjectives).

Numbers between and t 00 are unusua1lg Irregular. In the It st bed ow of the
numbers from to 30, note that the 'ones' numbers dt ffer in the teens and the twenties,
espacl aT1g the eguivaTenta of ’two', three', 'four', and ‘sl x’. Note also that the equlval ent
of ‘-teen' drops the III J tn the equivalents of ’sixteen' and ”n1neteen‘.
 Ckapfer 7: cljcctives

Roman Pashto Pashto tvor¢ Roman Pashto @g§}}tO. yyof¢j

1 l Jô II [shpárasl
2 T (dwal «y a 17 \v lwálas] «pl
3 Y ldre) o 18 \A [atálas) Í
4 S It sa1ór] ig ›'\ lnúnasl
5 0 (pindzà] 20 Y• lshaT)
6 1 fshpagÏ t 21 Y1 [gáw)stl - •;y
7 V [wa] »yl 22 YY ldwáw1stl ¿y ‹yo
8 A Iatál•CI 23 YY (ddrwist] - ¿yy o
9 fi lnáhal 24 YS [tsal6r1 st] -
TO 1• llas]

1t \\ (gawdlasj y

12 \T lddlasl yyo
l3 \T (dgárjasl yLj o
14 \t ltswárlas] yl
i5 \o Iplndzálas]

The numbers between thlrtg and sixtg-nt ne are cons'stent among themse\v es. Note
that In thls series the equl vat ents of ‘two” and 'three' are dll f erent from the 'two' and
'three' In the twentl es. tens and anes.

3] T\ [g6w dersl a 36 TV [shpàg dersi at

32 TY [dC dersl o yo 37 Tv lwé dersl o ‹yl
33 TT [dr\ ders) a yo 3B TA íatà ders) a •Dl
34 T8 Itsa1dr dersl . oy 39 T"\ [néha ders] o

35 To lpindz6 dersl o

81
 The numbers for ?orty, fl fty, and sixty are as fotl owed

40 S•
(tsalwéx\] - •
5o o•
fpandzósl
60 1• (shpetál

In fhe seventtes, •* 2hties, and ninelies, the 'Ones' are identical to the stngle-
digit numbers except for the equivalent of 'six”, which is pronounced w1th a (al rather
than an [al. Here are the seventies:

70 V•
75 vo lQndzá awga pl
7t V\ 76 Vi [shpág awg8] gl

T7 VV
7Z vT ldr4 awqal h l
a 70 V$

74 VS (tsalór awga) yly 79 V&

The Bqu1Uai9¢itS í0P ”álghty' and 'ninety’ are:

00 A (atg6l I and 90 '\ • (naw1]

The word for 100 is [sal] , whtch has the Irregular plural (séwal » used
In numbers Involving more than one hundred. The word 'and' lawl gl is usual1g
Inserted af ter lsal) or [sdwa) ‹ ; i ts
pronuncl ation, however, is contracted fa ls11 a] or
Iséwa wl For axamp\e

Numbers above ane hundred are regul ar\y forme d. tome axamples:

555 ooo lpindzá serva w plnazá pandzosl yl »

@40 AS• (atá sewa w tsaIw§xt) '- • /I 4 I
923 1YY ln4ha serva w oárwtstl - * ygyo gl ‹

ss
 Tha worü for \ ooo i s (zarJ ¿ . wt th the a1 ternate form [zára) +m¿. An ”ano” (awl i
i s sometimes added alter the [zarl m¿, or [záraJ +m¿ ano pronounced lzár o] or lzára wl;
most of the time, h0wevar, there ts a pause al ter the (zar) m¿ or [záral .m¿. Numbers over
a thousand are wrl tten wi th n0 comma or pariod. Some axampl es:

3,6B3

24,56 t Tt0T 1

[tsaTéri st zara, pl ndzá serva w gtw shpetal

320,987 T T • "\ A
’v
tira sew a w sh6l *are, núha sew õ w W á at9 ãl

In numbers w i th 100 or 1000, the lyawl 1s f requently dropped:

[ éw e$l o pindz4 gvndzosl

or ;r"lr “> J'

lsál o pt nózé pandzos I

I n dates, 'and' lawJ ml i s dropped and the date pronounced es though there were hyphens
r-or example:

199ô
(gáw zar - náha serva - shpág naw ij

1347 \T1'V

D cliuol numL'ers. Ordi nal numbera (correspondlng to Eng1Ish ’fourth‘,

twentg-third‘, etc.) are formed from the cardl nan numbers descrl bed above ay andf ng the
suffix I-dm)/[-ém] /- to the cardinal form. The reeul ting ad] ecttvo has the f ollowing
forme whan tha card! ral ande i ri a conaonant

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

 kiaptze 7i djec:tives

'fourth'is: irreg. OS. ltsaIorá.el DP: [tsa1oráml 0P.' Itsaloráms]

” ““ DP: ltsa1orámel
ad]. 05. [tsaloráml 0P: [tsal orám0|
0s: (tsa1orámal w
F. Ds: [tsalorámel

OU er numbers which foil ow th1s pattern are

'st xth’ [shpagdm] t

’tenth' I1as6rnl
h'ndredth' [salami 'thousandth‘ [zarâml y¿

The foi towing forms are used when the cardina1 ends in a vowel:

'seventh' N: DP:[waml Sql

irreg. 0P: [w§m0)yl
OP. lwémelyl
adj. F. of: Iwr+«II

Other »umbers which folt ow thts pattern are:

'nine' [nâhal

Thera are some irregul artt1es in the stems of ordi nais corresponding to
'second' and 'I hard, as foil ows:

'two' ldwal »yo 'second‘ Ido§émI yo

'three' (drel o 'thfrd’ [dreydm) a
and the ordi na1 para11eJ to 'flrst‘ is a differ+n\ adjective altogether

'One‘ lyawl

There Is no conven\taneI wag to rapresant ordt nat numbers with number symbols;
they are aiwags wrl tten In words,

/
 I\apter 7t adjectives

Vocatlve phrases occasional Ig include ad)actives, and sometimes comprise

adj 'ti ves used as nouns. The endings of adjectl ves in vocative constructions ara
essen. ally t dent1cal to those of nouns: the oblique forms are used exEept when the
adjec\. ve ends in a consonant, i n which case (always mascu1me: the [§] of the femini ne
lagl ending does not count as a consonant) an (-a] -i s added. The ant y except hon I s
tha
non fina\ stress Ad) 2"s like 'hungry' (wdgay) y , the masculine votatives of which end
i n (-e) In the central dialect. Some exampl es of vocative phrases wlth adj ectives:

“hungry bog!'
'hungrg bogs!'
'hungry glrll'
'hungry girl s!'

'little onel'
’\itt1e ones!'

N. Uses c› djeoi ives

Ad jectlves modify «ouns tn wags parallel to Engl ish. A descrl ption of the position
and order of adject1ves in noun phrases is given in Chapter 11, but In brief, adj ect:ves
occur before the nouns they modif g. r or examp1e:

(loy khânj
bIgM khan 'as Important khan”

[pindza xkw ate péghl

el
'ft ve prettg g1rl s’
five prattyF girls

Adj ect\v es agree wi th the nouns theg modifg in gendar, number, and ca se:

N0s. ltaggq §]ah wobâ ghwBrT.]

water want35 ’T he wants water.'

85
 ‘The t fi r ty boys want water.’

I 0S: [de {gqj_§}ąg khwł a wdcha wa.I

of liyrs\y boy mouth dry was
'Ths tplr stq poq’s mouth was dry.'

NOP. (de taqo ąlakąqo khwle wżiche we.) . y y o

of tt\łrsty boyn mouths dry wore ‘The th1rsty ooq$' were dry.'
mouths

FDS. \ wob5 ghwZri.I

. I , I
thirsty qi# wałer want3s
'The wants water.'

+aP. (taqe aegh1e wobd ghwari.)

thłr«tY gił p wator want3P
'The tgirsty głr ma I water.‘

FOS: [de tage pegljig khw1a a9cha

wa.I
of łbt£ggLgid mouth dry was
'The tr ir«v si r]'p mouth was drg.'

FOP: lde taqo pegttl o khwl s wfiche

we.I 'The thlr t8 eIr| s’ mouths were dry.'
of jt¿tsg gids mouths dry were

Adjectives at so occur in predicates, as theg do in Engli sh, with the

Pashto equivalents of 'be' and with other predl cafes II ke ’become‘ [keg-I -
and
'seem' (xkar-I . . These predicate adjectives agree with them r subj ects \ n gender,
number, and case (which I s at wags d1rect, because pr’edIcate adJect tves al ways occur in
i nt ransi tive constructions). In the examp1es above, the agreement can ba seen with the
noun ’mouth' [khwla] d wh1ch Is F 1, and the adj ect Ive 'dry' [wach] cy which ts Adj I .
rtost adjectives can be used as nouns, In ways parallel to the Eng1ish adjective
poor in “The poor ye atways have with you' but more extensively than in EngItsh. (In
many Cases, the Pashto adjective-as-noun translates as ‘the — one’, as can be seen
in the examples be1ow.) In some rI1a1ects adjectives-as-nouns occur wlth adjective
endings, but Others occur with noun endings; in the central dtalact, however, any
adjective that
can be used as a noun takes on the endings of the noun class most sIm1lar to the
adjective. In the example below, the AdJ 4 'InJ ured, hurt' lzakhmi I ¿ I s used as an
NI
noun, dtrect plura\ form:
 Ch•p4ar 7• @cljectives

tzakhmigMn roght ûn ta
rägrlal.I
the injurad (onss) came to the hospJ ta1'
injured hospilal to came.

and in the next exampl e, the Adj 3 ”mounted, on horseback‘ (sporl i s used as an F
1 noun, d1rect plural fcrm:

(spare w8dä ta räghle.]

mounjed wedding to came. 'The mounted anes (f) (Le. horsewomen)
cama ta the wedding.‘

Pashto forms comparative statements like 'Ahmad is taller than nassoud' by

means of prepositional phrases wh1ch do not involve special adjective suffixes 1i ke
Engll sh comparative -er or superl atlve -est suffl xes. The comparative and
superlative constructions are described in Chapter 10, Prepositions.

Like the nouns, there is a great deal of var\atton from dialect to dialect in terms
of adjective forms, especl ally in cases where the stem changes or the adjective is
otrterwlse idiosyncratic. The Adj 1 's, however, are the norm, and most var\ation Is
towards that norm.

Several aajec tives do double dutg as adverbs, mode fging other adj ecti ves
or sentences. The most common of these are:

’g 00d/ we1I' [xal , (A dj S) ’pretty/verg' lx8ystäl 1, (Adv 4)

'mang/verg' Idar) y (Adj 1 ) ‘heavg/man§' Iz§ät) (Adj 1)

When I.h‹se ad) ecttve/advents mod1fg other adjecti ves, theg agree w Ith the
adject1be; when they modi fg seMences, they agrea wi th the dl rect Object i f thare ts
ona, and otherwi Se wlth the subrect. Exampl”es:

87
 well(m) dances (m) 'He dances w el1.'

well (f) dances (f} 'She dance s wet I.’

(dâ pegh1a ki tab0na xâ I walt.]

that girl books (m) well(m) reads 'That g \ r\ rea ds bo oks wet I .'

{dii peghl a ki I abchg xg 1 wali

I that girl notebooks(f) weli(I) reads ’T hat gi r\ rea de note barks w
e11

P enzl ( 1955› d evoI es a chapte r to adj ec tives, and pa s1 ts I i ve cl as ses,

defined on the basi s of the feminine forms. nackenzia ( I 9u7) al so posit s f1ve c1asses. bu
t bases theI r membership on di fferenI charac terlsti cs. Sha fnev ( 1964) p osi ts seven c 1
asses.
The c Pass as of these anal gses correI ate wlth on9 ar.other and wlth the on e gi ven above as
f 0l 10W S:

hztckenzle’s

2, f inal stress
2, n0nfina1 stress 3 6
3 2 addlI I Anal 7
ct ass
3, C°, o/u st em 'v some 2 2
3, C”, var1ous stem some 2 3 3,4
4 (at I forms same) 5 addlt I onal add1ttonal
CI d 99 c1ass

j 01.
 PashI a verb s are compl ex both in I arm and in use, so we have di vi ded their
des cripti on int a I wo chapters. In thl s chapter, we w III describe the v arl ous “arms that
Pashto verbs can assume, includtng:
- the personal endings by which verbs agree wl th subjects or obj ects;
- the form s of the v erb par at le1 to ‘be';
- the auxl I1ar1es 'become' [medal I J and ‘make, do‘ [kawdl l J ;

- t he f our basl c tense/aspect combinations (present/past and

\ mperf ecti ve/perf ect ive);
- I he three tgpes of Serbs, (sl mp1e verbs. den v at1v e verbs, and doubl g 1rregul ar
verbs); and
- the form at ion of part Icipl es.
In Chapter 9, we will descri be the use of these f arms \ n construct I ons whi ch occu ° in
s impl e sent ences. I n Ch apter 13, we wi 1I describe adds t1onal constructs ons whi ch appear
and y in c I ause s, f or example t ha vartous verb construct tons associated wi th condlI:onaI
sentences.
Throughout the di scuss1on, we rcrer to verbs as their present imperfect1ve stems,
for exampl e 'put’ [gd-I - ‹y, rather than the trade It anal inf inlt1 ves, wht ch are formed witii
* he past t mperfec tI ve pl us the (-a\ I J- past tense marker, for example ’put' tkexodâl I
J‹ ; . WhlIe some Pashtun readers have obj ected to thts departure from tradttion, and

correc II y pointed out that the present 1mgerfec t1ve stems are someII mes
unpronounceable, we cont lnue to use the present I mperf ect lve to keep in accord with
Beginning Push to and Intermediate Pashto and the accompanying glossary. In boxed
model s and exampl es below, however, wa test the inf1n1t Ive form in Pashto script (In
parentheses) for the convenience of those accust omed to the tradt It anal cl tatlon form
In thfs chapter, Engl1sh glosses are not g1ven In the caseg where theg are
I mposstbl e to formulate or do not make much sense. The lack of di stTnc t1on tn Engl
ish between imperfectl ve and perf ectt va makes It df fficul t to refs ect the dl stinct1on
in Pashto, especl allg In desltng wlth the equT valent of 'be' and w1th the Pashto eux1l
I aries

I 0£
’\*

‹-i ..p u, «.u "..•

Whenever possi 3Ia, int ransi tl ve verb s are used as exampl es, s0 that t“e point s
being m ade are not obscured bg camp I i cations of the ergaIt ve construct ion, whi ch I s
not discussed in detaiI unt1l Chapter t 1.
F fnalig, we use the I ol1ow\ ng abbrev i atl ons 1n chart s ana 11st s aI
forms: I = fl rst person, i.e. 'I', me’, 'we', 'us”
2 = sacond person, i.e. ’ygu'
3 = third person, i.e. 'he', 'him', ’she', ”her', 'I I', 'theg'. 'them‘

S = s angular n = masculine
P = pI ura I F = feminine

pres=present imp - imperf acII ve

pst: past perl perlec tive

part = partiE ipl e

Verbs agree T n person and number with either the obj ects or the subj etts of
sentences, depending an the tense and parti cul ar construction. Agreement is ndl cated
with personal endings, l.e. suffixes following the vero stem which Indicate person and
number.

D ‘esent teuse ckt@ikt@g, The ending s for verbs i n pra sent tens a construe II
ons are a s fat l Ows.

IS: I-aml- 'I’m .“anc1ng’ 'you’re danc1ng’

lgaqégaml
’he/she
¿t is dancing' '/re' re dancing'
25: I-el- 'gou-all are dance ng' (gadégal [gadégll
tt
US. I-I]- 'theg”re dancing' tyy
i P:

(-u] y- (gadégu| y tyy

[gadégag] tyy
lgagegll tyy

90
3 0.1
 Ckiap+er B' Verb Por•ns

Note that the second per90n plural ending is spelled with (the unIqu• use Of thl
s
] etter) and that the tfttrd person endings are the sa:'ie fc:‘ singular and plural.

osf feaøe endings, In past tense constructi0ns, the personal endings are the
same as the present tensg endings, excep I for the tńtrd person endings, which agree with
the subj ect or ob Ject in gender as well as number, as can be seen in the examples
below, (The verb 'dance’ has the past tense stem Igaąad-I - J, and wt I I be
exp1a1ned In the
section on s1mpl e v erbs below.)

ZS. I-eI - ‘You were dancing' tgagedél

3SO. I-al <- 'He was dancing‘ [gadedä] ‹ ”
3SF: I-al < - 'úhe was dancing' [gațedál ‹
IP: [-uj y- 'We were dancing' (gagedûl y
2P I-agl - 'You-all were dancing’ tgadedáyl
3PN . I-al <- ’They (m) were dancing' lgadedáial’ •I
3PF: I-e] - 'They (r› wer8 dancing’ gațedłl

The class1ficatton of verbs is baned on two Int eracttng verbal "states": tanse
{ei ther present and past) and aspact (eit her T mperfec tl v e and perfectiv e). AII verb
cons tructł ons therefore t nvol ve one a r the other of th e f01lo wing four verb forms
Present /mperrect/ve Present Perfect we
Past Imperfect ive Pest Perfec tive
Verbs mag be c I assi f led acc0rdlng to the way I n wh1ch their four f0l ms are
cons trusted, In the 9ame way that nouns or adJec t Ives can be grouped into classe s on the
bast s Of thelr vart ous endings. There are three ct asses of verbs In P ashto, ceTIed i n tht s
anal ysJ s simple verbs, derlvat1ve verbs, and doubt g i rregul er verbs. We uee the term
'łrregu\ ar' I o descri be verbs whose preeent and p a st stems a re dl ff erent, and the term

I The presence of the I-al-I -J-. will be exp\atned bei ow In the sects orI Oh S1mp\ a verbs.

104
'doubl § irregu1ar' to describe verbs whose present and past stoms and imperfect1ve and
perf ect1ve stems are diff erent.
Each verb class is dascribed in detail below, after the presentat1on of the verb öe
and the auxl1I ar les.
Aspect. or the I mperfective/perfecttvs dl stlnct ton, i s a central character1att c of
the 'herb sgstem. Pashto aspett is dif f1cult I or non-nattve speakers to undarstand in
semantt c terms, but the d1 fference between the perf ec ttve and the I mperfect t ve
sppaars to rel ate to whether the actl on dznotea b# a verb I s completed (= perfected, ar
perf ec tt ver or not complètes (= i mperfectlve). Th1s semanttc dtst lnction is not
consistent, however (in the next chapter, for exemple, tt Y. \11 be shawn that post tt va
commands use trie perf ect\ ve, wriereas tr - corresp0nding negative commands use the
imperfecttve), and it seems best to consider the imperfective-perfective distlnc tion as
one of grammat1ca1 form onlg. Raaders are caut1oned that a paral1e1 should mot be
made between the Pashto perf ecttve and the Eng1ish perlec\ tenses, i.e. the present
perfect (/ have gone), past perfect ( I had gone) and future perfect (I si// have gone).

O. 3îh• Verb be
Like most of the other Indo-European languages including English, P ashto's
equi valent of the verb 6e is irregu1ar. Al so like other Indo-European languages, the
Pashto #e verbs may occur as matn verbs in sentences param e1 to 'I am hungrg' or
‘He is an t mportant krian” and also as components of verb constructi ons, as will ba
seen in th8 next chaos er. The be verb Ts un1que among Pashto verbs In that it does
not have an inf1nl tive form; we will cont lnue to label it as de in English.'

Pçesen\ l mperf pct}ye.f oçpjs of öe

ls: ’\ am' (gam) iP. 'we are‘ lgul
2S: ** 'lou a!! are'
CS. 'gou are' lgel IP: ’theg are' (r* tayl .
'he is”|da] ld1ja
o
ao
’she is'(d8]

dSz’P: 'he/she/it is; theg are'(wily

3S7'P: ’there 1s/are‘(stsl <z- .

I 0ü
 opfcr Bi Verb T*••’oemy

Presrn› eerf ecti t forms of #g

Is: 'I am' lsaml fP. 'we are' lsu)
2.5. ‘you are” lse| IP. “you al \ ara' [sagl
US command form. \
saI US. 'he/she is (sil IP. ”tneg are'

The 3rd singu1ar masculine present tmperfectl ve form ‹ 1 s pronounced ldayl in

the Kandaher dial ect, and ldagl in some of the eastern dialects. It is pronounced ldayl
in reading and formal spaech. The spelling of the perl ec tive forms with lsh) -a ref 1eel
the
pronunciatl on of the Kandahar dT a1ect; they are pronounced wlth (sh] in formal
speech I n '’e central dtaTect.
Among \ h\ r4 person forms, (wi) y is used when an assumption or g\ ven fact t s
being discussed, whereas tdal ›‹ and ldc I ‹ are used when reports ng an observa t1on, The
contrast 1 s c!e ar, for example, in the fallowing sentences ref errlng to a publI c pi cnTc
taole:

[khalak da\ta nMst wi.I

peopte here sittlng ds3S 'People e it here. (We can use th1s table.)'

[Ithalak dalta ng0t d\ .)

peopie here sitting 'Peopl e are si ttlng here. (We can 9ee them.)'
de3S

As may be seen in the glosses, tnis contrast paraI1e1s the contrast \n English
between the simpl e present tense (‘Peopl e sit here‘) and the present continuous
('People are
si tting hare').
Tha other 3rd singular present tense form listed tn the chart -
lsta} functions tl ke Engl1sh 'there i s'. An exampl e:

Ipa for ke wora sta.I

in house in llour ‹ yl
‘There's fl our In the hous8.”
thera•is
Sentences and questions wi th (stal are commonly used over the te,l ephone, f
or exampl e:

I 0F
 Asad there-is‘7 'Is A sad there?‘

lasad násta I
Asad not•theæ•is 'A s ad Isn't hare.'

yes, tnaæ-is 'Yes, he's here.”

I'sst (mper/0sțİ ve IO/!uIs I fiP

İ '' Ì W ü 5‘ÎWóM)

2S. ’gou were lwelş

ZSS: 'he was (wa }
ZSF.' 'she was |wal

Pąsț perf-eçtiy e forms oț pe

is: 'I was' lswaml h;v4lonfl

2S: 'gon were‘ (swel [s;vál s1

3Ë: ”he waG' [swa] ‹

’she was' [swai « Iswá1 a] •d

/P. 'we were‘

2P. ‘you all were'
3P. ’they were'
[swăial •J/lswalI

The suffłx I- á1-I -J- I s the regu1ar past tense suffi x, and i s opti Anal for verbs
hav1ng 0\(leront present and past stems. (The tense of the verb can be seen 1 n thi s
dl f f erence, just as the Eng1l sh present/past verb d1 stlnct ton can be sean in pairs like
run/ran .)
In the de verbs as well as others . the (-á1-I -J- must not appear In thg thl rd
s1ngul ar mascult ne form, but must appear \n the Chi rd plural masculine form. In the
1 atter, however, the personal ending can drop.

10?
 . u‹xiliaøies
The part that auxi1l aries play in the formation of verbs and constructs ons is
described In Section G below, and throughout Ehapter 9, Verb C0nstruc It ons. There
are two auxll tart as, dssc rtbeą sa0ara\ely below.

I he irttrortsitive ur‹x iIi‹ ry. (keg-I - ( ) i s the in trans tive aux ill arg

wh1ch when used 8s a fuh verb has the mean1ng become’. As an auxiliarg, it tranuI ates
in a numbgr of ways, so we have I e ft gl asses out of the following chart.

fS. (saml lsej

25. [9İl
YS:

The present imperf ectlve 3rd person form \s al wags pronounced tklg\) In the
K andahar di alect, and frequent1g in other dialects as well. This pronurici ation is a
reflection oí tha phonol og1cal process described in Chapter 2.
The present perfect1va forms are pronounced wi th (shl rather than [sl in r,•ading
and formal speech.
 wi thout I-áł-I -I- witft {-á} -] -J-
[kedáml (kešálaml

3”SN:
[kedäl »
[kedú] ę
I P.

[kedál all
/'(kedálal •J lkedál ej
[kedál) J
(kedél

Pąst pe.rt ect¡ ye

vi.fh Já1] -›sv I fi» (swáłaml
I S.’ 2S. SSN. 3SF. IP.- [swál el
xP: 3P /•f:
3PT.

lswá! ag]
/ íswáial J
tswali

Again, the past tense suff ix lá1i -/- is opt tonal In verbs (except In 3rd sf ngular
mascut I ne forms, where It must ggț appear} whose present and past tense stems are
di fferent, us this one is.
The int t1aT -a in past parfect1ve forms 1s pronoUnE9d (Sh) in raadt ng and formal
speech.

thu transitive n ‹xí(iory. The trans1t1ve aux111ary ts Îk8w-I - ( ł, which

when used as a full verb has the meaning 'do‘ or 'make‘.

100
 Present perk ec tive
I S: IP:

The lr] y- in the perf ec t i ve forms i s pronounced in some di al ects, and bg a\ I

speakers in reading and speaking for -oilg.

e¡th [-é]-] -J- [kawé1 am]

[ka w4lel JJ
/ S.-
2S:

3SF: (kaw awal 'd

I P. [k aw é1u]
2P-
3PN.'
(kawâ 1) /[kaw6l a] US
[kaw4l e]

V7
 Not e, t n the 3rd singular mas culi ne pa s t i mp erf ecti ve form, the [â] - L- in b0th

spelling and pronunciation. Thls is a reflection of a general process,

mentioned i n Chapter 2, in which an (al becomes Iâl when the foIIow1ng final
sgI1abJe ends In la].

The following secti09S Oescrtbe howthe formation of the present/past and

imp erfective/perfective stems of the three di f ferent types of verbs (slmpl e, derivati ve.
and doubl g I rregu. ar). The personal endings described above are attached to these
stems, and theq are combined with the form@ of Oe and the auxMiariesin various
constructions that will be descr\bed 1n detail in the next chapter.

ecfi•t<xry simple verb /orwotion». SImp1e verbs form thelr perf ecII ve sterns
bg adding the prefix [w6-) -y to the imperf ectlve stem, and their past stems by adding
tha suffix T-â1-] -J -, for example:
 Rres. imp.
Pres. perd'.
(wätar- I —y

(wâtaçal-] -Jy

As:
2S.
3SN:
3SF. I P: 2P.'
3PN.
3PF.

[tarälay (tatzla] Irita s\]

ltarâ\s|

2| n thus chart and elsewhere, a s\ress mark over a hyphen indicates that the stress
occurs on the personal end1ng.

j y BEST COPY AVAILABLE

2
'“
Nla•ipte r ti' Ve i•h' Fur•ns

Exampl es of other st mple verbs are:

'drink' [tsk-I •'2 ( ) ’throw, toss'(shind-] - of (J )

'have' [1ar-I - IU ) write'(Ink-I ( )

'consider‘ [gan'l - { ) 'keep' (sat') - ( C)
'send’ [leg-] - yy („j „,y) 'm•ke, do‘ (kaw-] -,I ( „j,I)

Note that it 15 fI0t 05Stbl 9 t0 drop the [-a1-l -J- sufflx in past tenses of simp1e
verbs; doIng so would make the past tense forms 1dentica\ to the present tense forms.
Note a\ so the presence of lal t in the bra singular masculine f arms in the past
tenses In the paradigm of ltar-I - ‹J I abova. Tht s is another exempl i f I cat1on of th9

rul e that changes |al to [BI when the lollowing fl na1 syl Table ends in la). The verbs
above that have lal as the vowel of the stem, a\ so have UI L as stem Yowel in the 3rd
singul ar
masculine forms.

Simple intPousitive vePbs encling in I- eg-] - -. The present stems of all

intranst tt ve sl mp]e verbs end In the common \ ntrans1tlve marker (-eg-I - pyy- whl ch is
si m\ \ ar to the fntranslII ve auxilJ ary descrT bed above. The past stems of thesa verbs
predictably and in [-ed(dl)-] - NJ I -. (Parentheses around an element indd cate that tha
el8meBt lQ 0 tt0nall

1 11
 aance [gadég-I- Pres.
• Imp.
J,4Prea. perr.
Pet. Imp.
Pst. pen'.
[wá gadeg-I - øyø
Igajedtá )-I -‹J › w,

lwá gațed(a I) -I - I J ø

In a pattern tha t was seen in the auxiliarg forms above, and wilI be seen
throughout ths description of verõs,the pasttense marker {-él-l -I- is optional when

the past stem dtf f ers from the present stem, except in the 3rd masculine form s. The
loll owlng al ternat1ves are all co rrect

r or rrl lS' 2S
JSM
[gağedá1 am]
[gü ğ9dál e]W,

lgağ edă] a [gadedá \ a] <J w,

[gağedû] y in, [gadedá i ul
/ P:
2P:
JPM: [gaąedáyl -/ [gağedál ayj in,
{gaged4l$lüp
[gağ edál] J '
lgağedálel

[gațedé I w,

Note the pecułi ari to of the 3rd mascul tne forms encountered before: In the
s i nguTar, the past tense suffi x mus t appear. In the pl ural, the suffix jgggț appear, but
the personal endI ng ts oDt1onal.
Examp łes of othe r si mpl e verbs endIng In I-eg-I ș/- are:
'stop' [darég-I -Tyøø (J øo) 'reach' [raség-I - yø (J ø)
”It ve’ [waseg-I - I (j I) walk' igardzég-I - (j )

'bia w' | i»gég -| - . (j )

101

jÏ4
 Simple verbs enc:ling in (-aw-i -y-. In paral fat to Erie I ntrans1tive verbs
endtng in I-eg-I-,yy- described Just above, th•re are al so a number of simpl e verbs that
end in the common transiI lve or causative sufft x I-aw -] - - whiCh I s simi far ie the transi t
ve
auxf I i arg. These are ordInarg slmpln verbs whose form s are parall el to those of 'ti e'
[tar-I - i › des cr1be d above, and should not be confused wi th the Class of transt II ve

derl vatlve verbs described below. Some exampl es (again, the stress mark over the
hgphen indicates that the stress is on the personal endIngs):
’transport‘ (rasaw'i - (J y) 'putt, push' [chalaw -] - (J )
”plac' lghagaw'l -y. î ( y î) 'thro w Ighordzaw'I - (J )

‘grt nd, k nock’ I ț akuw'] -

Simple i regc let ae bs. There i s a great numbr If verbs that form their
perfect tve stems with [wâ-I - . but whose past tense stems di fler from their present
stems. These verbs are simi lar to Engl ish Irregular verbs (1ike think with its past tense
though t rather than the regular thinked}, and ara tharefore calle d si mpl e i rregul ar verbs
in thi s analgsi s.

Pst. imp. frgh axt-I - [rghaxt ăi -]

[w4 rghaxt-I -yy [wărghaxt al-] -
yy

Th9 fol 1owing past tense I mper fectt ve forms of the verb ‘rolI around' (rghar-I - are

all correct:
 [rghaxtáml (rghaxt á\am)
lrgfiaxtdl [rghaxt á\e)

lrghaxtá]
UF: lrghaxt ál
(rghaxtálal ‹J - • ? g
l P. lrghaxtfii
lrghaxtálul
2P: (rghaxtágl
JP ff: (rghaxtãl aql p
(rghaxtála] z’
[rghaxtáll [rgfiaxtálel

A 1engthg Of Incompl et e list of simple irreguJ ar verbs Is gt ven bel ow.

lig/yy/j Present s[e/jj Pgs step

'bug'
(dkhI-]- I [akhtst(61)-]-(1)•- I
’wear'
[âghund-] - 13 I (aghust(dl)-I - it) - - !
’buzz'
ism•-i -;yi iai•t‹*i›-i -‹.!›:yi
'pass'
is•:-i -/,i t uxt«i›-i -‹1i«.».,i/
(some dialects) IBwred(sI›-I -I 1\ I
'roI1
low:-I-p,l IawuxtTâi)-I-‹1›==.,i

consider” lból-I -J [bał(ół)-] -(1)a

’know' (pdzan-I -ń lpezand(91)-I -(1)1
’explode' i*hw-i -,», icxawd‹ś»-I -(L›•,t.¿
'want”
[ghwM:-] -,l,« [ghuxt(»)-] -(‹) . ,«
'suck' art -i - irud(łi› I -‹1) ‹
'slit '
(k ag -I - .y lxk(á1)-| - f 1 t ,
”show'

'see”
(kat(ál)-l -TCU

1t$3
 ’re.ad’ [1wân -] -/ Ilwist(âi)-I - 1).- -/
'see ' swan-I - [l •«1›-I -UI
'catch‘ ln1s-I - [niwfâiJ-I -t1\
'ralI up lnghgr-] -PLM [nghaxt(ai)-I -IU ;

’sag' lw5y -I -ply (way(â1)-] -(1 \ y[wé\ -I -

‘seem’ (îjf0 -I [yes»d(â1)-I -(1) I

’kt 1 I' lw‹zn -] -: [waz‹si›-I -(1)

‘shoot' Uw äi -) -Jy lwisht(äl›-I -(1J- •

Four verg comm on and very ol d simp1e 1rregul ar verbs listed bed ow have
i ii osgncra ti c third person masculine singu1ar and plural forms \ n the past tenses.

i ook ‹ › igor- I - [kat‹ä1)-I - [kot] = [kits] <• U

'c1i mb'( ) (khédz -) - (I¢hat(ä 1)-]- Ï - - (khot] y . [hh Ztä] •D

A fui 1 paraüigm of the past t mperfecti vs forms of ’get out' [waz-I -¿y ( y) is
giv en be1ow, wi th the i di os yncrati c f orms double -under Iined.

Forfn
/ S.

2S.

3S N.”

3S P:
lwat1i al y
I P,-
[watäl ul y
2 P.'
[watäïay) y

3P F.

104
 5 =pIe Serbs È eg i•uina w‹*k íBl - I The Herr ectt ve stems of simal e verbs
beg1 nn1ng w I th [a] - I, whether regul ar or irregul ar, foilow the pattern shown below, tn
whl ch the [wa•a-] 1s pronounced lwä-I:

Wren. lmp. I•res. part. Pst. Amp.

[ăchaw-I -I
Psi. perl. [wăchaw-I -ply

[aChawä1-) - J I
[w6chawal -I -J ip

Other sl mple verbs startt ng w ith (al - I inch ude

’bug' lákhl-I -Al f1g'
’hear‘ láwr-I -yyl 'wear’ Iághund-I -1 I
'turn over' lăraw-] -y I ‘roll around' [ãwr-ț - yl
’send' lástaw-] - I 'cltmb over’ [áwaxt-I - , yl

čî. Deøivałive teøbs

Derivati ve verbs arg formed, or öer\'v eo, from adjectIves or nouns. Theg
consti tute the I argest and most open mass of verbs: ang noun or ad]ect1ve can be maoe in\
o a varb, aJ though of course in practl ce some nouns and ed jectives do not make sense as
verbs.
Derl vatfve verbs may have transi tive and/or intransTti ve forms: the intransTtî ve
ones reflect a state oI betng or a passI ve s\tuatIan, far exampl e, the intransi ti ve 'be
so1 d' or ’be on sale' Ikhartség-I - . The transitive ones, on the other hand, tend to
be c ausati ve, for example 'seI1’ or 'caus e to be so\d') lkhartsaw- I - .
A derivative verb const sts of a noun or adject1ve plus etther the IntransltT ve
[kag-) - (J ) or transi tlve (kaw-) - ‹Ş › auxt liarg. The persona1 end\ngs ara
attached to the auxiłt any. If the f1 rst component of the verb is an adjective, the
adj ecttve agrees with the subject or ob] act In number and gender.

1Gú
 In I he ca se Of I rregul ar adject t vec, I t I s often the fernmine f Orm wht ch I s used i i
a en vat I ve verbs. For exampl e (as wi I1 be e xp1ained in more det a1I below, the [k- I -5 o

the auxi1iarg drops when aff i xea to a wo a endI ng in a vowel):

'warm' Itodl a

'cold' lsor]
curved’ (kogl
ty ’ripe, cooked' lpokhj

I f the noun or aaj ecti ve ends In a vowe1, the auxi II arg is a separate word,
and ha forms as i is ted In Sectl on E above. The adjective ‘prettg' lxâyst â] ‹-_ , far
example,
becomes the intransitlve derlvatl ve verb 'become prettg' [xaysta kég-I - py ‹_ , wi
f 0FFN 6 dS f0110 W 5:

HS.’
2!S:
is:
›P. Ixâysta kégil
2P.
3P:

pres4qt A«rfecltye

"‘ I lS
 lxãqsta kedáml Ixêysta kedél [xlgsta kedá) » [xâgsta
[xãgsta kedá] a (xzgsta keüGJ g
kedá1am]
[lxãgsta kedágl lxãgs\a kedále]

[xãgsta kedá la] •ul [xüysta k eüá1u) [xagsta kedá1ayl lxâg9ta k

[xlgsta kedá1| J
lxãgsta kedá1eI

[xag sta kedél

I s: lxãystá swam]
2s: CSN 3SF-: IP: lxãystá swel
2P: [xãqstá swzlel
CPF.

_ (xãystá swala] • I
fxagstá swalul
[xagstd swat ag)
(x6ysté swala] Ü
(xãys tã swal]

The forms for the transi t1ve deri vatJve varb w I th 'prettg' lxa#stal ‹-

y are as fo1lows:

aO7
2P. Ixãysta kawáy]

25: [xagstă ke]

tP. Ixagstá kul ş

108

121
 Pos t perf ect lye
wi thoul !-a]-) - J-
f fi [xâgstâ kral am]
Ixagsta kraT sj

Ixatsts krai al ‹Jj 4“

{xagsté kra1u] lxägstà kçal agl txägstä kral al Un
lxägstà kçai] J
2P: Ixägstà kralel
VPN.

HPF: [xägsta krei 4”

The imparf ective forms of a darivatl ve verb are s\ ightly different when the noun
or adj ecttve ends wlth a consonant. The [k-) -S is dropped, and the rest of the auxiT iarg
is added to the noun or ad Jec t1ve to form a single word Note that the imperfect i ve
forms of these ve rbs are indistinguishable from the imperfec It ve I arm s of simple verbs
ending tn (-eg-I - - or (-aw -I -y-.
Ali the forms for the trans1ti ve and intransi t ive verbs derived from the adjective
inj ired' {zobal I ¿ (I z0bél] has the feminine form [zdble).. ) are given bel ow. All
forms are masculine (except the obvious 3rd person feminine forms) In order to simpli fg
the presentation; the 'v 8r\ ous masculine and feminine possib i! i t1es are given later in the

P¿eseqt lmperf ec tiYg

is:
zs:
JS:
IP 2P:
(zob1ég1lp¿

1OV
 IS.
lzdbal sel g/
lzdbal si] y

›Pn.

(zob1edà1u) yg
(zob1edàlag] lzob\edà1l
y
lzohled4 l gj
y /
[zob\ edé1a| •Ü y

3PF.- [zob1edél y§ / [zobl edàlel y¿

 Cuptar 8: Vot Wor••sa

Past perf ecti yg

i s:
lzóbal swaiaml yg
2s: "'°°'••°'e' yo= J•›‹
¥SN:
3S -:[zBbla swzlz) •d*Lgj /
IP.’
2P.’
3PN.’

3PF:

The form for tha transl tive equivaT em of (zob\/ig-] -y ¿ is 'injure, hurt'
Izobl aw-I - ¿ ( ¿ ). I ts various forms are gtven be)ow; again, all forms are

masculí ne exEBQt th9 the obvi ous 3rd person f eminlne forms, in order ta simplt fg
presentat10n.

n w
Present Imperfectlve

lzoblawégl gj

3The |r| is oronouncad \ n other dialecte, and In raadlng and careful pronunciat Tan
111
 Ptşt l merfec t› Ye
S:[z0bi awá laml g iP: [z0b1awá I u]/ g

3PN' (zobl awá ›] Jy‹:›

lzoblawá lal Ü y
(zoblawá 1 e]yȚ
NSF: lzobl awá lal •Ü yȘ 3PF:

Iu ro
Pąst serf ect f yę

IS,
25:
3SJ*f: Msm I P:
ZP:
VPN.

3PF:

when the derivatI ve verb Is formed from an adj ective, the adjecI ival part of the
verb agrees, in alI tenses, in number and gen öer with the object Of the verb In transt ttve
sentences, and wi fh the subj ect of the verb otherw i se. This is ref]ected In the forms
above, and act possible forms of the adjective are shown be1 ow with the past perl ective
forms of the in transitive derivative verb formed from the adject1ve 'wet' (lund] a/, an
irregu1 ar ad] ec t1ve wl th the fol I owtng forms:

DS: II undl IQ DP. [IZnd1á ] s Ñ

os (lan1dăl • DP.’ (1 annal ø

F.'
V
DS.’ (I andál + Jul

DS: (I andśl •Ù

112
 'geI w et' (past perfects ve) II und swal-] -J
'I (m) got w et‘ [) und swâlam)

'I (f) got wet' [1anda swé4 a Tel

’You (m) got wet' aml (lund
”Y ou (f) got wet' swâl el » Tel
{Ianda sw âlel
‘He got w et‘ (I und s âl IQ

'She got w e t' [landa swam a] <J » all

‘We (m) goI w et' ii anda swdJ ul a añ1

’We (I) got wet' [I ande sw dlu]

“You (m) all got wet' (landa sws1a/] « V

'vou all (I) got wet‘ [I ande sw â1agl

‘Theg (m) got wet' [tanda swâla] < ‹TJ

l
'They (I) got wet' (\anae swâ1el goal

As mentioned at the beginning of the secti on, the cl ass of derivative verbs is
open, in that almost and noun or adjective can be changed into a deri vati ve 'verb bg adding
the appropriate auxiliarg. Hers i s a sample

Derj vep frorrj poup$

From 'change' (bada1 j J in, (N 1 ): From 'w ind' [bad) o (N 1 )
'b eco me changed into’ {badI ég -I - .y in,
‘be wl nnowed” [baoég-] - .y o
”ch ange i nto’ [b adI aw'] - m. 'wi nnow’ (baoaw'I -y oL.

r
From 'c1ean' (pâkl US(ad j 1)- From 'bla cked' (ad j I ):
‘become cl can' [p6kdg-1 - .y 'b 9 b10 C ked'[bah dég- I - ¿{ ,
‘cl can’ lpahaw -I - 'block‘ lbandaw -] -y .

From ‘stra1ght, › avel‘ (awgr] Ill (ad) \ ) From 'obl i gated' [arI \ (add 1).
'be st ra\ ght ened' [awarég -] - tyy 'be In need‘ [arég-I - tyy I
yl gl
'force' leraw-I -All
’stral ghten, level out' Iewgraw-I -yy Ill

113
F r0m 'I ong' lugd] otyyl (ad j I rreg.): From 'free' lazadl mil (adj T ):
’become long' [ugdég- I - yt ‘become free' [azadég-I -y¿ellI
oytpl 'Iength en" (ugdaw-I - 'set free'(azadaw-]- y olil
Jt I

The doubly irregu1ar verbs - there are relat1velg few of them - are th0se wh0se
perfecti ve and imperfect:ve stems dJ ffer as welI as thelr present and past stems. The
vel b ’taka', for exampl e, has the foilowing forms:

P eS imic [bvav-) - Pat imp: [b0w(a1)-]-(J)

Pres parla (b6 -I- Psl p»rf. (rótl(al)-i-(Un

In all the douolg-irregular verbs, the difference between perfective and

imparfectiYe is carried bg stress (and is not reflected in the spelling at a'I). In the
perfective forms, stress is on the first part of the verb, and tn the imperfectJve forms on
the last or next-to-1ast syllable, as can bé seen In the stress marks over the hyphens in
the exampl e above. in mang of the doubt g I rregu1ar verbs, the shift of stress is the gg{g
difference between imperf ec t1ve and perfective, for sxampl e ‘pt ant' |kenaw'l -
(J ) which has the foI1ow ing forms:

Pres imp: lkanaw-I - ', “ Ps I /mp: lkenawàl -I -J ", “

Pres perf. lkdnaw -I - “ Pst perf: (kénawai -] -J ,

All doubly Irregular verbs are capable of be1ng spilt irlt0 two parts: 1n mang
constructs one, for exampl e the negative, a part icJe i s insert ed between the fl rst and
second part, as w II1 be described I n Chapter 9. In most doublg Irregular verbs, the I irst
p art 1s easg to tdenti fg, for example:
’give (to gou)’ (dar•kawd)I J o
’glve (to me) ' (rü•kawall Iy

In some doub1y i rregular verbs, however, the parts are not so easi lg broken onto
sgl hab es, for axampe
'si t dow n’ [ke • n'l - ( )

1 14
 Other doublg I rregul ar verbs have I diosgncratic 3rd person forms in the past
forms. parallel \o the i di asgncra ti c forms of the simp1e irreguł ar verbs de scribed above.
Here is a ł ł st of ali the aoub1g irregui ar verbs we are aware of. The t dT asg ncrąttc
third person forms arellsted when they exist, with no stress marked, as the
stress wll be on the final sył tabl e in the imperfective, and on the fi rst sgT 1abl e in the
perf ecti ve

Pres iinp. tbayi-ł -C L. Pres imp: [prewaz-] -

Pres perf. (b8g1-] -E b. Pres perf.- [pr4waz-) -
Pst imp: (blglod(żil)-]- o h, Pst imp: [prewat'I -1
rst perr. (b8yioofaij-I -J o L, Pst perf. [pr4wat(aI)-I -3
3SN: [prawot] y
SPD: (prewgtal I

Pres Imp: lprekaw-] - Pres imp: [darka w'] - a

Pres perf: [prśkr'] - [ddrkr-I - o
Pres perf.
Pst imp. (prekawdt-I-JĄ Ps I fmp: (darkawfn -) -J o
Pst perf. lpr4kr(-ał)l -JĄ Pst per/’: ldsrkr(a1)-] -J o

Pres img: (preml ndz-l- Pres rmp:

Pres perf: [prémindz-]- Pres perf. (l0r s-1 - ¥

Pst Imp: (premindzäl-I- , / Pst imp: lt Id(1)-1 -
a
[prewôt -I-Jy , Pst perf:
Pet perd': [prémindzat-I- /

Iprifwoll JW-z-',

115
 teivz to me) ' Ira*zr/alI j ÇI
Pres imp: (ràkaw'I — Iy

Pres perf. \ràkr-\ - ly

[r§tl(ét )-I - I P8 I imp: (rükBw(a1)-I -J I
[r6ghl(a1)-I - JJú I Psl perf: tràkr(al)-I -J Iy
3SN: fr§ ghay] ly

nburl n

Pres imp.- Irawr-i - yly Pres /mp: [ràwast-] - yl

Pres perf. lr1wr-] - yly Pres per/’: [rZwast-] - yly
Ps I mp: (rawr(-à1)- I-J gyly Pst ïmp: {r6was t§1-I - yly

Ps I perf: lrgwr(al)-I -J yly Ps I perf: [rgwas tal -] - yly

Pres imp: [g d-I - a.y Pres imp:

Pras perf: [k égd-I - o ,y Pres per f:
Ps I mp. [k9xod(a1)'}-3 o • Psl i”mp

Psl p#rf. [kéxod(a1)- I-J o ; Pst pert

Pres lmp: lpraniU z-] - I

Pres imp. [pregd-| - a¿¿
Pras psr/’. [prüni z-] - I
Pres perr: Iprégd-I-
Pst imp: (pranastt-si›-i - I
Pst i p. Iprexod(z1) -I-J ‹
Pst perr.” Iprànast(-al)-I- I
Pst perr. [préxod(a\) -I-J o

Pres imp: Pres 1mp: (p6tség-] -,y

Pras perf: [bbz -]- Pres psrr: [p6t“,eg-] - ty
Ps t imp. Ps I imp: [p8tsed(-dl)-| —J
Ps t perr. Pel perf› [p8tsed(-a1)-I -J

11/s
 r\ i
ares imp: (zekäg-) - Peas imp: [nanawdz-] -1
Pres parf lkgkäg-I - .y Rres perf: [nânawz-] -If
Pst imp. lkexkodta i)‹I - ‹ ; Psi imp. (nanawat(9J)-|-1
Pst perf (kéxkoo(al)-I - o •, Ps I perf: nânawat(a1) -| -,
SSN: Inanawot I g
PIN: (nanawatal •D If

e
Pres imp. [w ardz-I -1 yy Pres Imp: lwarkaw-] - yy

Pres perf: [wärs-I -.ñ yy Près peur. [w6rkr-] - yy

Pst imp: lwart1(ai)-I -U yy Ps t i ñp: Iwarkawä1-T -J

Ps t perf. (wàrghl(al)-|- yy u ‹rr 1•«r•;(»i1-1 -/y£
ASN. I wäraghay] yy

Pres tmp: Pres Imp:

Prec perf: Pres Cerf.
Ps t imp: PS t i ITIL.'

Ps t perd. Pst perf:

Pres imp. IkhatZwaz'] -ÿy Pres imp: [khatâbZs-I -

Pres perf. IkhatSwz-I -ÿg Prparf: Ikhatgbâs-] - b,
Psi imp Ikhatüwat(al)'l -fi L Pst imp. |khatayest(aI)'] - I- , I-
Pst perr: [khat6watta11-I -J•ql - Psi perf: lkhatgyest(a1)l -.I - I-

3SN. [khat üwot) y

VPN (khat 3wZta| •C içi

117
Pres i mp: [k en*l -
Pros imp.’ [ken aw'] - ,
Pres perk. [kén-1 -
Cres perk. [kénaw-I - ' ;
Ps I imp. [kenast(aI)'l - -
Ps I imp. lkenaw él -] -J , •
Ps t perf. (kénâ st(a I ) -] - -
Psi perf. Ikénaw ai -| -J , ;

Pashto parti ci pT es - adjec t Ives formed from the past stems of verbs - are used in
several f reguent I g-occurring construc t i ons. There are two types of partic i ples: ona
formed wi th the past i mperf ec ti ve stems of verbs, the other fcrmed wi th the past
oerf ec ti ve stems. W hi 1 e the different types of participles are c1early perf ect \ ve or
i mparf ec t i ve in form, the semantic base of the imperf ec ti ve/perfective di st1nc ti on 1s
usual not evident In the actual constructions
While participl es take the form of adjecti ves, theg d\ ffer from adjec tives in
having alternate perl ec tive and imperfective forms. They al so dT ffer from adjectives i
n that i n some construct tons they #o not agree with subJect or ob]ect.

No+•rrtation o/ impe/ective pa+’pici ples. The pas t 1mperf ec tiv e form of verbs i s
used to form i mperf ec ttve partic iples: tf\e parti cip1a1 endIng [-ay} -y \ s added to the
p ast i mpe rfec tt ve fa rrr. o f the verb pI us the p ast tense suf ft x |-â I -I -1 - (1.e. the

i nf ini ti ve), and the resu1ting word i s a regul ar ct ass 2 adj ectl ve. The tmperf ec ti ve
parti c1ple for the verb 'go” [dz-I -a tfieref ore has t he f o11ow1ng forms:

F. DS. [t1 â lel

OS: [tl â l a]

Examples of i mperfec ttve part1 ciples are:

 nt1p]t y de I mperf ec tlv9

Stmple.
'dance (gadeg-) - tçy¿É
'send'
04Plvative. lleg-l - Ileg §l ag
”be bud I t'
’bui I d'
(joreg-I - tyy
[joraw -I -y
tjorawá 1I Jy

Ooub fy irregu lar:

'sit'[k en-| - [kenastá t j lkenastálag)
'pI ant’lkenaw -) Ikenaw d1] J•; [kenawé4 ag|• , ;

go’ fdz-1 -1 [tisil Itiziafí

‘take i ,a,-i -y taowl I,$, k••àiaai,y,

No••wof ion o/ peleolive poeTiciples. Tha p art1ci pl al ending I- agl - i s al so

added to the past per(ectI ve form of the verb to form the perfects ve particip1 e, which is
also a cT ass 2 add ec tive Some exampl es:

9 erb P«r‹ ect jye part{c]pJe

Simple.
‘d ance’
'send‘
oarivative: [wá 1 eq al ag1¿ y
'be bui!t'fJoré9-I - , ç

aoubiy irregular.
'sit aown'[ken-I “
'pl ant'[k É naw- I - ”;
tkénawaIay-1
 The I-a1-i - 1- sufftx may be dropped in part1clples, again consistent1g with the
general rul e that If something else about the form indicates that it is a past tenae
construe I ton, the past tense aufflx can drop. In this case, the participtal ending I-ayI -
i ndicates that the form is past tense.

I mperfect1ve parŁtctpl e I mperfect 1 ve part iciple

(gadedá aglin,US“
l1egál ay]

i: r°°'i°°i U+væ

idiosyncratic porłiciyles. Two verbs are 1diosyncrsti c wİti\ i egard to participles

in the central dlalec I: they have only the i mperfecti ve pant cinle form, whtch i s used
in all partJciple construc ti ons.

verp 'go'
’put lt1ál agl/[tlagl
[ixodálag]‹I /l1xat]I

T he part i ciples for I he auxi i iaries are a] so i d1osgncr at I c:

Auxlliąry Imperf ect1ve Perfect I ve

pąf"J.I AlpJ e Ikedátagl rzr ticip].e
inlransl I I ve Íkeg -I - ty Ikedáyl (sáwagl
/

Frans if ive [kaw-I - (kawäla/] /

1S!O
 Analyses of verb f ormatlon vary wi dal g from writer to writer on Pashto
grammar. n xe zie ‹ i ga 7› posits a four-way system stml far to the one g1vefi
here, i.e. based on present/past, I mperfec tt ve/ perfective. He equates the doubly
irregu\ ar verbs wi th the st mpl e verbs, postt\ ng the fi rst parts of the former as
preverbs which precl ude the Iwâl preftx but attract the stress in the.perfects ve forms,
and classy fles the remalning verbs as irregular. The derivative verbs are cal led
denominative verbs tn his ana1gsis.
Shafeev ( 1967) es tab!ishes the perfec tive/imperfect1ve aspect, but posits three
tenses (present, past, future), rather than two. He identifies two types of verbs—-simple
and 4erl vatJve ana divides the derivative verbs into three tgpes: prefixed,
denomlnattve, ana comp ound. Hi s prefixed verbs are doubly lrregu\ ar verbs wi th
recognizabl e ft rst part s; hl s denomlnat t ve verbs are the deri vatlve veros that end in
consonants, and his compound verbs are the derJvati ve verbs that end In vow el s.
Penzl (1955) observes that Afghan grammarians alt clearl y estabM sh a
distr nction between the perf ective and imperfective aspect. He posi ts f our classes of
veros. Cl ass I verbs are those wl th the same present and past stem (simpte verbs),
C1ass l l verbs are those whose pas I stems are predic tab1e (sample verbs ending In l-
eg-I), Cl ass III verbs are those whose past and present stems aFe different (s\mp\e
Irregular verbs), and CI ass IV verbs are those th'at have dlff eren t present and past,
perfect tve and imperfect Ive forms (some of the doublg irregu1ar verbs). Verbs which
differentiate aspect by stress shi fting alone rorm subgroups of CJ asses I - I II
 In thi s chspI er. we des cru b e h o w the verb fo rms present e d in the last ch ap ter are
used in construït i ans and phrases. The thapter I s or 9• n ‹• ed r oughl g according to
meaning: present tl me expressà ans are descrl bed, then future expresstons. thsn past
expressions, th en construí ti ans and expressions that are used tn alI three ti me frames.
After the presentat i on of cons truc t fons, there I s a surnmary of them, organi zed
ac cording t o the form of the verb (pre sent i mp erf ecti ve, present p erf e ct iv e, pa st
imperf ectiv e, past perrec Nve, and part› c pl es) used I n each cors truc ti on; thl s
organi zat ion corresponds t o the present a t1on of verb forms i n Chapt er B.
To m ake the exampl e sentence s ea sier to un derst and, the exampl es wi I I,
wheneve r po ssi bl e, conta in one o f the foll ow I ng v erbs:
Slmple verbs
/ntransi f/de: 'd ance’ lgaçég-I -y y (J m, )
Transl t i ve: 'send' [I eg-I - y/ ( y/)
Beginnlng w’i th la] : 'buy' -] - I ( I)
Oeri vat ive verbs (0er\ ue0 f rom the c la ss 1 ad j ective 'h eal thg, constructed' lj or) ç )

lnt ransi I i ve: ’get better, be sewn, be ball t‘ I)orgg-I - t•ç (J ç )

Transl I Ive: ‘bui Td, make heal thy, sew' lj opsw'l - yç (Jyç )

Ooubly Irregular verba

lntransi I i •• ’9 ' [‹^-/ ( )
Pr. imp. [dz-I -1 Pr. perí. El éç s-1 — y
Pel. m Otto(i)-I - Ro›a S Pst. perí. El è ç-I — p S
Trans i tl've: ‘take' (0ygy-I -¿ (/ )

Pr.Imp. [byay-I -¿ Pr. pert. (boz-] -

P»t.Imp. [bow(a1)'l -(J) Pst. Herr. (bóti(al)-] -(1)1•
 be. The st mple forms of Pas hto be are used I n construe t1ons paraI1el to Engl ish
‘am, ‘I s', and 'are‘, al though di s t inct ions are made between perf ect i ve and i mperf e ct ive
forms that are not made i n Engl 1sh.
The presenI Amp erf ecI i ve I arm s of be are used i n constr uct i ons and sentences
parall e1 to Engl t sh sen tenc es with ‘am’, 'is', and 'are'. For examp I e:

(dukând6r gam.I
shopkeaper be is
”I am a shopkeeper.‘

lwégag ye†)
hungry 6a2S ‘Are gou hungrg?'

[I a mar s ara nâs ta d a.I

with mother with sitting 0e3S 'She's st tting wi th her mother.'

Pashtuns be IP 'We are Pash tuns.'

Itâse muhtarâm kha1 ak g 6s

tag.]
’‘fou (al T ) are respect ed peop1 e.'
you-all respected people be2P

[dug apr(di dI .]
'They are AfrT dt s.'
they Afridi de3P

The W esen+ Wmpe/ec+ive Tease. Expresst ons p aral1 eI to the

En91Ish s mple present ('I go’) or present cont lnuous ('I am g a \ ng‘) are f armed by
adding the present tens a person aI endings to t he pre sen t i mperf ec ti ve st8m of
the v arb, for examp I e:
 I dance/am dane ing'
'gou dance/are dancing‘ 'he/she/ i I dances/ts dancing’ 'we danE e/ are dane I ng
'gou ai1 dance/are dancing‘
'they dance/are dancing'

5 ome examp I es of sent ences us1ng thi s t ense are:

(sara to1 pa mel 6 ke gaqégi

I - •éf“
’The men all dance at pi¢ni cs.'
men all at picntc at dance3P

li ayl a khpa e koranâq ta paysé

legs.i
Layla own family to money send3S
'Lagl a sends moneg to mer fami tg '

(ts ap1 äy pa pexa v/ âr de j orégl.]

‘5andaTs are made In Peshawar '
sandal in Peshawar in are made3P

[majät j oçawi.I
'Theg are buiI d1ng a masque.‘
mosqua they build3P

[pohantûn ta dzu.I
We go to the university.
university to we No IP

[tâse asûna bazar ta bg§gay?]

‘ère you all are tak1ng the
you•aIl horses bazaar to take5P horses to the market?’

/"Jegcxfive p Pesent impe ective cor‹stPuCtious. T he negatt ve of the present

Imperf ecttve t ense t s f ormed by pi acing the negat ive part1cle lnél belore the verb for
axampl e:

3?
 Copts 9i Werb Uses

Pr
‘I'm not danc1ng/don't dance‘ 'you’re not dancłng/don’t dance' @; •ü
1n# ga9egaml
'he/ shell t i sn't dancing/4oesn’t dance‘ 'we aren‘t dancing/don’t dance”
G
!n4gadegel.øy lná gagegll ln4 gagegul
'gou alI aren’t dancing/don't dance'
'n' gadega l; „ •ü
'they aren't dance ng/don’t dance’ •ü
y
.ü ú

lnégadegi),øy

In present imperfect I ve negative constructions with verbs starting with (a] I,

the lal • of the negate ve particle drops, the |n) T s attached to the verb stem, and
the [a] changes to [ã]. ( This change of [aJ * [a] = [ãJ I a\ so occurs when the perfec
ti ve [wa] ø i s
attached to these verbs.)

present tr0pgrfectJve negątjye gf '0#v” IáXhl-I -1s.!

’I’m not buglng/don’t bug [nãkhl aml Ú
’you're not buying/don't buy’ lnMkhle I Ú
’he/ she/ it isn’t buys ng/ doesn’t InăkhI I] Ú
buy' ”we aren‘t buging/don't bug' [nä khlul Ú
”you alI aren”t buging/don't buy' năkh1 ay] Ú
”they aren t bugtng/don‘t Ouy‘ [nãkhł i ] Ú

Some examp1es of the negative present imperf ective

are:

[mung pa wădúno ke ná
gadegu.]
'\*/e don’t dance at weddl ngs
we at weddings at r›eg dance IP

Ił ayla pa cé myãst ke llk kor ta ná I egI.I - - z

Layla in this monlh in letter home lo nag sønd35 › ,y ' Ğ
’Layla isn’t sendt ng a letter home thl s month.’

(wa tán pa khabáro ná )oregI ]

country wllh worde napbulld5S 'A country I en't but I t wtth Words '

4S5
 fza khpale jBme nä
)orawam.I
'I don’t serv my own cloches.”
I own cloches nag sew îS

Imung wäd6 t a nà dzu.I

'We're not going to the wedding.’
we wsdding to nepgo II'

[dag khpa\a koran9g pBklstfln ta n6 byaył.I a

he own tamily pakisłan lo neptake3S •6 •fi
"He lsn't taking his famiT# to Pakistan.'

Ipl ar me bâgh näkhil.]

father my orchard nep buyJS ”Ng father is not buying the orchard.‘

Th• •s• I d efective lease. The present perfective tense 1 s learned bg

adding the p•rsonal endings fo the present perfective stem of the verb. In pres 'nt—time
axpressJons. th]s tense occurs only in clauses, and Its use tn such clausas Is described
fu\1y in Chapter 13. An example occurs in the naxt sectlon, however, in the
f1rst clauae of tha sentence ’Asad will be a teacher when he finishes scho0l '

rttut»e totewenfs wi+k be . Expressions correspondTng to English staternent s

lake 'I'll be late’ or 'We're golng to be there In an hour' are formed wlfh the parfectlve
forms of de and the future marker [ba] .. The third person form (wil y is used in future
contexts to express ce r\ain\\ es. Isl | I s used to sxprsas possibi Int ias.
Some exampl es:

you /uf soon thlrsty 'You all m1ght be the rstg soon.’
6e2P

fday ba jäg wl.I

’He w1I1 be tall.'
he g/fteIl de3S

QSd

J 3S
 epte• @t \ e••@ Lgscs

(asad eha tttak t ab khI ds k1, Maa I ém b a fii.] I

asad when school finishes teacher /ur6e3S . w,
’As ad wi II be a teacher when he fT ntshes school.'

[baj with the Present @e ective Tense. N0st future expressions are formed
with the future particle Iba] and the present perfective tense, which Combines the
present perf ective stem of tha verb wlth the present personal endings. [ba] . occurs,
along with the weak pron0uns and some other garb i c\ es. in fixed order in sent ences (see
Chapter t 1 for a description and exampl es); thl s character1sttc has impact on the
formation of negat1ve future statements as can be seen be1ow.
Some examples of future constructions with the present perfect lve are:

fahmaü ba pa wäd3 ke wägadegi.I . ¿y y ‹old rv, I

Ahmad /ur at wedding at dance3S, pres parf 'Ahmad wi l1 danEe at the weddt
ng.'

(pl6r sa me pagsé b6Ta hafta wdl egI.I

father /úfmy money next wesk send5S, pras porf
‘Ny f athe. will send money next week.'

[laQa0a@p si1
Layla lut improve aux3S. prefi perf 'Lari a w‹i1 get bett er '

(asad ba dewa\ jóç ki.i

Asad dut wall build 8ux3S, piec ’Asad wil I bulld a wal l.‘
port

ltor ba IMr s\.I

'Tor w\ II go.'
tor fut go aux8S, pres peit

(tor ba ye bóz1.I
for w11\ take h1m.‘
for Air him take3s, pres perf

y"'jegotive t'uture expressions • Negatt ve future expressions invol ve thg

negate ve part \cte |na] u, the future particle (bal y , and tha 9 resen\ parf ectlva form of tha
verb wl th the appropri ate personal endlng.
197
;qq BEST C0PYAVAlyygyy
 W1th simpla verbs, the partł cles appe sr \ n ttie foT1ow I ng
orders: II ‹here • s s\łFj emu sr object”
• [wśl y • ln4l ć • present vero stem • ending
Examp ta:
lahm so na wa nń gaflegi.1
Ahmad /ut pe‹f nep dance3S 'Ahmad w111 noI dance.'

II tijerp te boŁh a sup;ect ąnq opJect”

sub)ec I • lbaj w, • object • [wa] «y + lnal ć + present veró stem • e»orng
Exampe:
lasad ba tik wanó legil . ty fi y +. I
Asad /bf lener perf nep send3S ’Asad wi T1 not send the ietter.'

! f there is jjei ther subj pct kar object:

(wal y lbaI <•. * lnal fi + present verb slem + ending
E xample:

peft fut nag dance0S 'He w on'I dance.'

with simp1e verbs beginning with [al l. the perfectl ve [wal and the lal i of tha
verb combine:
(wfil Ig + lnal - ć + rest o I the verb,
as i n the followtng exampł e w1t h the verb 'b tu' lakhł -I -1s. I ( I):

(b8gh ba w8 nflkh1i.I
orchard /bf perf neg- buy2S 'He won’t bug the orchard.'

Futura negative constructions with derivat lve varbs are somewhat simpler
than those wi th simp1e verbs: the negative partt cle (nil Is inserted between
the adjective
o r noun and the auxi1i art, for examp1e:

Layla lut improve n4p aux,36, pras pod 'Lag1a won't get better.'

larad ba d8w9l j or ni k1.}

’U”V'1”."
Asad fuf wall build neg aux. 3S, pies ’Asad wonn build a watl '
po‹f

1f28
I 4j
 optee• 9'• VerÎs Ltses

Future negative construct lans with doub\g Irregular verbs \nvo1ve placement of
the negative (nâ] between the first and second parts of the verb. For example:

'si t' [ken-j ( ) Post flye '(I) st t” (kdnaml

Neqatj ye ‘not si t' [ke nă nam]

Posj tj ye '(we) take’ Ibdzu] y¿

Neqqt.lua 'not take‘ Ibo nă zu] y¿ ă

Examples of I u\ ure nega tive construct I ons i rtvol ving doubly \ rre gui ar verbs In sentences

las ba bâzăr ta bo nă z\.I

horse fut market to take neg take3J,prBs
perf
'He won't take the horsn to mari et.’

{pâki stân ta ba 1gr n ă su I

‘\Ye woh't go to Pak1stan.'
Pakistan to lut go nag go3S, pres pe/f

lasad ba amăn t a moțăr war năkril •D I w. I

Asad /t/t Aman to car give nsg-give3S, pres perl yy

”Asad wt l1 not give Amgn the car.'

Present U tpe ective tense with Fulu re time 9k• • s. Just as t n

English, the present I mperf ec tive tense descrl bed in the pre'v\ous section may be used in
future contexts, especl a1Iy 1 f a future marker I Ake 'tomorrow' or 'naxt week' ts present

/t/t next winter in Pakiatan In be IS

'I’m (to be) f n Pakt stan next wl nter.’

12P

? 4?
 Ipl âr me payse bila halt a 1 égi.I . ty <z,L <L W
father my money nexl week send3S 'Mfg father Is sending moneg next week.'

Ccnteostive Wulu e Exp sessions. As was described )ust abov e, ordtnarg

future constructions are formed wlth the present perfects ve form of the verb preceded
bg the part1ci e lba,l . The same constructs on wlth the \ mperlact we stem, however,
fields rough e9uI val ents to the Engl lsh future progreasi ve (e.g. 'I wl i I be wrtttng
Ie t ters'). In actual use, however, the constructi on implies con trast between one action
and another, for example:

(za ba dzâm, ta ba pate kége.]

I lut go I S pres in" you lut stay aux2S, pres imp

'I ‘II be going, gou'll b e staylng.‘

Ita ba gaqége, za ba darégam.I >¿ ‹ tyy w.

you f¢/f dance2S, pees imp fut stand IS, pres imp • ,y a
'You'l1 be dancing, l’I1 be standing.’

[ta ba tsâ ka we?]

you fut what do/S, pres imp 'What wi I i t/Ag be doing?”

towards witk be. The present perfect i ve forms a1 2nd person be fcrms--
(sal and [sag] --are used in comm ands, and are made neg at I ve 8g t nserttng
the
partial e lmai w. Examples:

lzrawâr sall
brave da/S 'Be brave.”

(sabâr say.I
patient be2P

lsada ma sa.I
naive nag ’Don”t be na lv e.”
bezs

3 4 iJ
 Another kfnd of command that translates rovgh\g as English ’Nay gou ...' invol ves
th0 use of [sel rather than lsai a . The familiar Pashto greetings are examo\ es of this
construc t ion:

fstaray ma se I
tired neg ds/S
‘flag g0u not be t lred.'
Ikhwâr md se.)
miserable neg be2S
'Nag you not be mi sarab I e.'

lzrawdr se!l
brave de2S ’mzq you be brave!'

Positive mrnaktcls. Ordf Marg ’gosl ti ve commands are f0rmed wi th the present
perf ec\t be stem of the v arb, plus the verb endI ng [-a] »- (s1ngu\ ar) or [ ag) (pl urai).

The ad jec ti ve c omponen t of derl vatlve verb s agrees wJ th the direct obj ect, 1I there 1s
one, and wi th the subjec t i f there i sn't an ob j ect; the aux i \i arg agreas wi th the 0 ub j ec t.
some examples:

’dance‘ (to one person) ’dance" (to more than one)

To one person:

'buil d (t t F)’
'bulld (them II)" ’build (them r)’

131

'44
Addi t i ona I exampi es a I post t\ ve commands.

fkor j6 r ka.1
house (M) build d£fx25, @fB4 @6/f
’Build the house.’

chair (F} build aUx2S, pres pen

'Bui T d the cha ir.'

[bazar ta r6 sara I 6r sa.1

bazaar to me with go aux2’S, pesperf 'Isa to the bazaar wt th me.'

[wâ gade g ag.I

danoe2P, pFe• [serf 'Oance (everyone).’

|mZshumân dar sara bdza.I

ci ildren you with take/5, pres perf 'T ake the chl 1 dren wl th gou.'

132
doudTy lrreguT ar verds are except I anas in tnat tneir post ti ve commands are formeo wi
th the tmperf ec t \ ve rather than the perf ec ti ve stem (recal1 that these are doubl y
Irregular verbs, and so I mperf ec tive forms carry stress on the finai sylI able). Examplas:

lrädz6 che dzu.I

come6S, pras imp that we go
C’mon, lets go '

l'a'ardz âq.]
ga2S, prer imp ”Go there.'

/'Jegc +ive Commands. Negat t ve commands are formed with the par ttc Ie [ma],
the present i mperfec t we stem of tha verb (not the perf ec t \ ve as In post tive commands),
and the same 2nd person endings as pos I tive commands-- [-a] (singul ar) and (-ay1

meg <‹.i.Ye c Ornm and f Orms of 'otnc8' lgtgëg-I-. , (.g FJ

'don't dance' (to one pers on) [ma gaqega] y <+

‘don't dance' (to more tfian one) [mä gadegay] y <+

Neg at i ve command forms of 'go' Idz-] -Ñ ( )

”don*t go' (to one pers on) (ma dza] al <•

'don't go' (to more than one) (ma dzay] <+

E xamp\ es of negat iv e commands are:

[maktub was mä I ega.]

” °ÿ/ WJ!
ieiter now nep sendzs 'Don't send the better now.'

[kor sarak ta ntzde mé joraw ag.] . yy <• o '-Ip

house road to close nep buildzP ‘0on't build the house so ci ose to the road.'

[was ma dza.I
. <+ yI
now nep go2S 'non't go now.'
 (Iaglä kor ta m3 byayag.I
Layla house to nsg
take2P 'Don't take Lagl a home ye t,’

(bügh mÉkhl a.I

'Don't buy tha orchard.'
orchard nep buy2S

In th1s 1ast exampl e, i I can be seen that the fa| of the negative particle, followed
by the beginning [a] of the verb, again resul \s in (âl

intensive Commands. As described above, ordinary post ti ve commands

require the present perfec I ive s tern a f verbs. There are other comm ands which In vol
ve I he i mperfectl ve stem In most cases, the 1mperf scII va command conveys a sense
of urgency:

|pätséga tse gharq swe!I ! aye

get up2S, pres imp that doomed you are 'Get uD before you're doomed!' ft.e.,
(he snake i s about to bl te gou)

The greater sensa of urgency which the imperf ec t iv e command carrtes can be seen In the

Îwäkhwça|
eat2S, pres pefif ’Eat.' (normal invitation)

as opposer to

Ikhwr8! m5 ta mägora!l
est2S, pues imp me fi› don't watch ’Eat! Don't wai t for mel'
OF
Ikhwrt ye cha dzu.]
eat2S, pæs ïmp a that we•go 'Flnish eatl^9 it so we can go.'

(khwrâ ge che
saçeg1.] eat25, pæs irrp it that get- 'Eat T t, tt's getttng col d.’
cold

134
Another contrast:

Irã spór sa.] , <,

here mount2S, pres perr ‘Get on (behlnd me on a h0rse)” (normal command)

üS O 8Q 0S9d IO

IrB sparéga!l
here mount£S, pres imp 'Get on (so we can gem out of here)l'

In some cases, th8 imparf ect íve command conveys a sense of repeatea action, for
examp1e:

\6ar wakht che za rMsam, daréga.]

every time that I come stand up/5, pres imp

“Every t1me I Come, stand up.”

and a contrast1 ve examp1 e:

(ta dzã; za dar dzam.I

you go2,S pres iinp 1 there am-going ’Keep going; I'II catch up.'

as opposed to

(ta Igç sa; za ba sabá dãrsam.I

you go2S, pres perf I lul tomorrow go•thure
'Go; I'l1 go tomorrow,'

last Time ix paessious witk 0•. The past tmperf ectlve forms of se are used
in ways param I el to English ’was' and 'were”, for example:

tired deIS, psf imp 'I was tlred.’

 (za kh9n wam.]
I khan dels, gsr imp I wa s a khan.’

Iduq khapd wa.]

they unhappy Oa3P, psf imp ’T heg 'se re unhappy.'

II ay I a stare nà w a?I
Layla tired neg be3SE, pel imp Wasn't Lag16 t1red?"

When past pe rf ect tve I arms a f d9 are used, they I ransl ate as 'be came', a s can be
S ea f\ I ft t he f 01I Owl II g:

Istàray swam.I
tired be II. pst però
'I be came tired.'

|za khgn swam.)

I khan 6e15, pat pel' 'I became a kha n.*

Iduy khapé swa.)

they unhappy ór 3P, pst pe/f 'T heg became ui›!1appg.’

[1ayt a stare nà swa?]

Layla tired nep be8SF, pst pert '01ün't Lag1a get \ \ re0?'

The last lope ective "Cease. The past 1mperfecti ve tense constst s of the
past imper1’ectl ve form of tha verb plus the past tense personal ends ngs. Th1s tense
paral1eT s the present \mperf ect we, in that and given construc It on t s ambiguous, and
can be translated as the Eng1tsh past cont tnuous, e.g. 'I wae studying’, or as a past habi
tual, e.g., ”i used to stuag’. For example:

(savi to1 pa melü ke gadedaLl

men all at picnic at dancepsf imp3P

fransl ates best as 'The men were all dancing at the picnic’ If the context t s a
descrlpt ton, say, of a social event that the speaker attended, tnd translates bast as

13d

í4S
“The men a\1 used to dance at p1cn1cs', if the context 1s a discussf on of Pashtun cul ture.
Qther exampl es are gl ven oei ow, wl to tha m08t natural trsnslatt ons given the I ack
of context. Note that in the transi tive sentences, the verb agrees with tha obj ect ratiJer
than the subj ect of the verb, and the subj ect i s i n the oblique case; this Is the ergativa
construc ti on which i s desert bed in detai I in chapter I I . In the exampl es below, the
nouns the verbs agree with are shown with grammatl cat cftarac teri stics in the word-bg-
word glosses.

Il aglâ khpa I e ksranäg ta passé I egäle ]

Layla own family to moneyFP send2FP, pst imp . ,y C

’Lagl a wa s Lending moi.eq to her f ami I g.'

[t sa pl ag pa oey8w ar ku j o reaâ I e.I

sandalsFP in Pashawar in be made3FP, psr imp •
’Sandal s used to be made in Peshawar.’

[mzj at ye j orawä )
masque YS they build2AfS, pat imp 'They were üulI dt ng a mosqua.’

Ipohan tûn ta t1alu.)

university to go IP, pet Imp 'we were going to the unlvsrsi ty.'

[tâ se asuna bà z ar ta bowäl ?]

you-eli horsesMP bazaar to take3ÑfP, pet 'were gou ait taking the
imp horses to the market†‘

lmung pa wddtino ke nä gagedu.) .g fi y ay ty•

we fP at weddings at neg dance fP, puf ïm ’we weren't danc1ng at weddtngs.”

[1ayIa pa de myäst ke 1ik kor ta nä Vega I

Layla in this month in lelter/\IS home to neg send3ÎçfS, per imp

’LagI a wasn’t sena1ng a J et ter home thi s month.'

Im8 khpale j ame nä j orawale.I

I own clothesFP ney sew3FP, psf 'I wasn't servi ng mg own c1othes.‘
injp

137
 lmung wäda ta nä tl u.I
. •6 •C e alg ;
we IP redding to neg goIP. psr
imp
'We weren't going to the
redding.'

Ida khpa1a koranag päki stan ta nä bowa.) >o

he own familyFS Pakistan to ney take3SF, pst imp

'He wasn’t Eakt ng hi s f amy t § to P aki stan.'

Ipv ar me bè gh n6kht st.I .' - Ü W

father my omhardMS neg buy3 IS, per imp 'Ny father w asn't bug1ng the orchard.‘

1k• 9as+ @e/ective tense. The construction whi ch parall e1 s English simpl e
last tense, e.g., 'I went'. he saw 1t', etc., is the past perfecti ve tense, which I s formed
b# adding the past tense personal endings to the past perfective stem of the verb.
Again, (he personal endings agrea with the obJacts of trans 1tT va santances, and tha
subj ects of intransi tive sentences. Examples of positives:

(I aye ä khp ale karanäg ta pagse wät ega1e.I

Layla ow family to moneyFP send3FP, pst perf • y,•Jy 'D
'LagI a sent m one g to her famt t g.'

womeni“P recover anx3i=P, pst ped 'The w amen recovered.'

Imä j md ge jér kr.I

mosqueAfS they build aux3MS, pat ped 'Theg buil t a mosque.'

[po han tun ta I a gu.]

university to go IP. pst pert 'We went to the unIvers\ ty.’

[tas e asuna béz ar ta b0t1a‘7I

you-all horseaUP bazaar to \ak+ MP, pst ped 'DJ d you all take
the horses to the
market†”

n38

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

Examp1es of negati vas:

(ahmad wa ná gaqedá.I
Ahmad prf neg dance3łUS. pst perl
’A hma ü dl dn't dance.’

[asad I1k wa ná 1ega.I

Asad letterAfS prf nep send3ßfS, 'A sad d\ dn't send the 1et ter.’
pstpen

Iwa na gadeda.I
'He didn't dane e.'
pi/ nee dance3SłU, psf #e/f

Ibagh ge wa ná khl sta.I

'He di dn't bug the orchard.'
orchardßfS he prf net buy 3SAf, pet
pet

\08 \ a q\ õ m or java ná swa.] . a Ü a

o of Layla motherFS healthy reg aux3FS. pst ped \•aq\ a's mother
dt dn't get better.'

(asad dewâl jaç ná kça.]

Aaad waIIMS build neg aux3MS,
pstpe/f 'A sad d1dn't but1d a wal1.”

tas qe b6z6r \a bo ná ta.I

horseMS he market to take neg-take3AfS, pst pert
'He dl dn‘t take the horse to market.“

(pakistan ta 1br ná swu.]

Pakistan lo go neg aux IP. pet pen 'W e dt dn't go to Pak I
stan.‘

la sad aM gn ta mo țar war há ka.I . û yy •C I I

Asad Annan to ca MS give neg giчe3SM, pst pørf
'As ad di dn‘t g1ve A mgn the car '

"Reject" Expressions. Pasht D has construe I I ons whl ch nearlg exact1g

correspond I o the English "peruse t" tenses, e.g.. "I have gone', 'I had gone', and 'i w1l1
hava gone.' (In ang reference to the Engl lsh "perfect" tenses, the word "perfect" I s 1n quoI es
to remtnd the reader that there T s no relatl onsh1p betw een the Eng11sh "perfect" tenses
and the Pasht0 perf ective rorms.\ the9•, very common P achto construe I ł ons are
f0rmad wl th the tmperf ec II va part lctple of slmpla varbg, and the perfect Iva parttcłpla
of the

139
deri vative and doubl g 1rregular verbs, and the imperrectt ve forms of de . Be1ow, a futl
para0 i gm of the present and past la rm s is given with a simple vero

'dance’ [9a§ eg-Ity•( J 'I have dane) ed‘

'gou have dane ed' ’he/she has dance d' 'we have danced’ 'you-aI1 have danced'
’theg have danced' {gadsd4la gaml x,

[gaded6t2g da| a o in
lQadedél qu1 i,

[9.^<edâlI d1.] o

’I ha d danced’ 'gou had danced' ”he had danced' ’she had danced“ 'we had danced'
'you-ai T had danced' ’they (m) had danc ed'
'they (f) had danred’

The Pasht0 equt vaient of the English future perfect is rendered in a constructs on
comprl sl ng the future part\cIe [bal , the partIc1p1e, and the present i mperlecL i ve forms of
be (wl th the 3rd person Iwl] g):

’I w1Il have danced' ”you w1ll have

[za
danced’
ba gadedd1ag
’he w11l yarns
have danced'
lta ba gaqedd1ay
'we wt IIin,have
ye] danced’
w. »¿
’gou-all will have danced' ldag ba ga§edâl ag wi] Imung ba gadedâl1 §u] w,
”they w11I have have danced' [tâse ba gadeddl 1 g6stagl
[duy ba gadedâl1 w1I y w. a
u,
w, tys
w. t3
ya
y in,

140
 Ckaptc• 9• Ve rb t'tses

Tha fol towing examp1 es ill us trate the "present perfect" and "past ąerl ec\"
constructi one. Theg al so -- by using a derivative verb I armed from an adrect Ive --show
how the di I I erent e1ement s of the parti cipt e construct ion agree with the obj ect. (’house'
(korl t s masculine; ’chair‘ ltsawk áçl is feminine). Al i these "perfect”‘ tense
constructions are past tense construct1 ons, and therefore thg verb of transitive
sentences agrees with the obj ect. Note that both the adjective segment, fi.e., Ij or]
p )
and the participT e fi.e., [kára§I ) agree.

P•r ‹e rt țye parti i I» • Present tasse ğy

[tar kor jar kárag da.I

Tor houseAfS buildMS pa/12AfS de3S T or has bui1t a house.'

[tar koruna j or kári df .]

Tor housesłUP buildAfP part3MP be3P 'Tor has bulII houses.'

ltor tsawkay j oça káre da.I

Tor chairFS buildFS part3FS be8S ’Tor has hullt a chair'

I for tsawka§ j are kar\ dł.]

Tor chaifsFP buildFP part8T'"•P öe3P

PerfectJ ve 9ąrt icțp] e • pgşt tensq pe

lter for jor kâ ra9 wa.]

Tor houseßfS buildAfS pa/13AfS 6e3S ’Tor ha0 bultt a house'

If or koruna j Or kári wa.)

Tor housesAfP buil0MP paft3MP beSP ”Tor had buiII housas.’

ltor tsawkay j Oça káçe wü ] • eg egg

Tor chair '•S buiłdFS pa t3FS be3S 'Tor had built a chair.'

(tar I sawkay )ore káre we.]

Tor chairsFP buildFP part8FP be3P 'Tor had bullt chat rs.'

154
orcx «nav a\/Aii Ri r
 Tor fut houseMS buildMS parOMS de6S 'To r wi 1] have buiI I a house.'

[to r ba koruna j or kari wi.I . y ,

Tor Mf house95fP build5fP port3MP 6a3 'Tar wi I I have Dui1t houses.'

i \ ar ba Is awkay joga ka ¿e wa,] . éy é 4a,

Tor fut ct afi'FS buildFS parf3FS 6a3S 'Tor will have buiII a chair.’

I for ba tsbwkay jore kare we.I . y w,

Tor fUf OhairsFP buildFP part8FP be3P 'Tar wi II have but it chairs.'

In negat lve construct T ons, the nagat1ve particle precedes the form or oa, ana the
participle t s moved to the end of the pfiira9e:

I tor I s awkag nd da ) ora kare.I

Tor chair nep ba build aux. part ”Tar hasn’t bui I t a chat r.'

[as ad me dw a wradze nâ dag I I da1ag.I . J fi yy ey a I

Asad I two days neg be see, part 'I haven't seen As ad f0r two dags.'

. xp»essonsvv%hJ #MWves
Inf mill ves are formed bg add1ng the past tense sufftx I-d1l J- to the past
imperfect ive form of I he vero, for example:

’dance' [gaqég-) -¿y

'send’ II eg-] - ,y

'bug' lakhl -) - I
‘ge I better‘ \)o.rig-\ - .yyyy

’but1d' Ij oraw‹i - g

‘take’ IbyZg- I -¿ (bow â1l

14S
 lop0cr9 Verh Uses

Inf I nt t\ ves are ma sculI ne pluraI nouns, and have obj \ que f arms with the usu al p l ural
ob1I que [- a] y- endI ng.

Citation boers. The in ft ni ti v e I s used a s the ci tat i on form for verbs In

tradi tional Pashto grammatic a1 studi es, and therefore the form used when Pashtuns talk
about particular verbs. In the examp 1 e bel ow, the inf i ni tive i s g1o ssed as t he Eng li sh
inf1niII va wi th to.

[§oy/aT der gr8n f1i day.]

to lake very ditficult verb is ’basal \ s a verg di ffi cult verb.”

In/iuitives as ,/"Jouns. Another common use of info nt tl ve construct1ons I s

as nouns, simi) any to theI r use In Engli sh. In the examples bet ow. the Info n\
ttves are again gl ossed as the Eng1ish inf Initive with to. Note how the verbs are 9T
ura1 in agreement
w\ th the subject infant tives.

Tee gidere ozݴat grin ai.)

of fox catchinf difiicult be8P ‘it Ts dtfft cult to catch a fox.'

[de \ all a kAIaI saray w âzhni.]

of Layla look/nf man kill3P 'Lajlas gaze klls e man'

Dylan me stâray k a wi.I

goinf me tired aux3P. 'Trave II ng makes me t \ re d.'

I te ye mâgora, â ta ge gora I ‹ +y <• 'G y

talk inf to his don't look actinf to his look . ay '

’Don’t I a ok at hl s words, l oak at hi s actt ons

[w a§ aT nâ ghwaram, kawâI ghw aram.]

• j-I! ' @J! .I
taikinf neg I want, doinf I want I don't want words, I want ac t ion.’

443
 Wussivcs. Thp in find tive is al so used wi th the i ntranslt Ive aux1l tark Ikeg -] - .y
in constructions that translate almost perf ec t1g as Eng1i sh passl v9s. For examp \ e:

I day wazal kégl,j

he kill/nfat/xJS, pras imp
'He's got ng to be ki I I ed.'

las mal gâri ta baxal kegi.I

horse friend to give/nf aux3S. prea imp
'[One's j h orse i s giv en (on1gl t a ml en 0
s.'

Ipa pex aw âr ke n june t a xt awa1 kégi .]

in Peshawar in girls kidnapinf aux3P, pres
imp
'GIrl s are k1dnaoec I n Pe shaw ar.'

[I al mi pa pesar11 ke karal kégi.I . t w

wheal in spring in plantinf aux3S, pras /mp 'Wheat Is p1 an ted 1n the sprT ng.'

(sarag pa bada wradz ke p e zandal k égi I • •.

man on bad day on know//jf aUx5S, pros imp . J1
‘A true man makes h1mse1I know n \ n dt fft culI IN me s.‘(a proverb)

Nano tradl tJ onaI grammar tcal analyses 0f Pashto concluded that the past tense
transi tive sentences, i n whl ch the verb agrees wl th the object rather than the subject.
are pass1 ves, and so the ext sterice of an unequivocal passt ve construc tion provtdes
evidence for considering the past tense Irans W've construc t tons as somatht ng Othar than
passi ves.

'can/be able to’. One of the most common uses of the perf ects ve and
t mperfec t1ve part tct p1 es t s In construc t1ons w1th the present and past part ecu \ be
forms of 6e. These constr"uct Tons are paralI el in meaning to Engii sh 'can/be able to',
’wl11 be ab1e to' and ”coul d/was eble to'.
Tha tense of 6e de termt ne s t ts agre emen t. In construe I 1ons wI th prese nt tense #e
forms, the construct ton 1 s consl dered to be in the present tense, so the da form agraae

144
 capter @i Vert t,'tsas

w i th the subject. In the cons truc t1ons w tth past tense de forms, the de form agrees
with the o0ject if there is one, f0ll0wing the usual pattern for past tsnse constructions.
Note that the parttcipia1 form is unchanging! i I does not agree wi th Either subject
0r 0b ject, and in the case of deri vBtive verbs derived from aoj ectives, the ad jecti vat
part does not agree eit her.
Statements expressing abi li tq in the present tense consist of the tmperf ec tive
part Iciple, for towed bg the present perfective form of be. Some exampl es:

[asad xa gadedäl ag si.I

Asad well dancepau 6a3S
‘A sad c an dance verg well.'

I1ay1â wos lik legä1ag st.I

Layla now letter sendparf 'Layla can sand tha T et ter now.'
ös3S

[mung pa bâgh ke hâr chera kenâstâl ag su.]

we in omhard in wherever sitpan as e

'We can sit angwhere In the orchard.'

{korta meùowMagseM
home to me takepa/t C an gou tak e me home?
be25

In negatl ve constructions, the participle must come at the end of the verb phrase.
Examples:

(pohantun ta nä sal Il aT ay.]

university to nsp öe gopaft ’You can't go to the uni versi tg '

(b ädrang I a nawroz na pa khw a nä say karala§.I •û ÿyy •d a

t• cucumber from Nawroz before neg oe plantqart . uI

'Y ou-all can’t pl ant cucumbers bef ore fJawroz

[kor aj ta nä se j orawalag.I
house theæ ney öe buildpart ’vou csn't bul Id a house there.'

165
 Statements about future abl I its are formed wi th the future partic la (bat w„ the
perfective participTe and the present perfective forms of de. Note the order of
elements in the negative constructtons. Some examples:

[as ad ba xa w âgaged al ay s
. <,. I
i.I
‘As ad wt1) be abl e to dance very well.'
Asad fut well dancepart be3S

(Iaylâ ba I ik sabM ta wa nâ si T egalay.I

Layla fut letter tomorrow pe‹t neg beUS sendpa/f . ty y

'Lab I a won't be abI e to s and the i after tomo rrow '

[a1 la ba kor jor nâ se karay. I . ñ w,

there /uf house build nag 0e2S aux, part
‘Ycu won’t be abl a to build a hous a thera.'

(mung ba pa bâgh ke har dzâg kéngstalag su.I L

we /ñr in orchard in any place sitpa/t aelP
’We will be ab1e to sit anywhere in the orchard '

Itase ba wrusta T a nawroza 1 alml wa nd say karalay.)

you-all /uf after from Nawroz wheat neg de plant part

'You-all won't be abl e fa pl ant wheat after Nawroz.'

(kor ta ba me bdt1a§ se?l

house to fut me take part beJ?S 'W111 gou be ab1e to take me home?'

Ordinary past tense ’could'/'was ab1e to' construe t Ions C0ns1st of the perfective
participt e plus the past perf ectl ve forms of be. These statements carry the tmpl ination
that the acti on that could be carried out ac tuallg carried out. Exampi es:

(da asad pJ ar pakhwa her xa wâgagedag sa.I

of Asad father earlier very good dancepart be3MS
. I C I o
‘A sad’s father was abl e to dance very well years •9•

14d
 [1 ayl ä I i k wälegalag sa.1
Layla IetterMS sendpart ôe3AfS ‘Lagl s could send the \ ett er.’

[mung nan sahar pa bâgh ke har chera kénästaTag swu.I

we today morning in orchard in any where sitpazt belP

'We could si t angw here in the orchard thi s morni ng, and did.'

Iza wa nt swam gageda1ag.I

I prf nog bels dancepa/t
'I cour dn't danca.’

Some examp1es of nagat Yves:

lpohantun ta nä sway tlalag.)

university t› neg öe2P goparr 'You-alt cour dn't go to the uni verso tg.’

(bâdrang I a nawroz na pakhwa wa nä swal karalay.]

cucumber5fP from Naw/oz from before perf neg besMP plantparf

’vou-all coul dn”t pI ant cucumbers öefore Nawroz.'

[mung pa bBgh ke her chera nä swü kenèstäIag.I

wa in orchard in any whera neg belP sitpart

’we weren‘t able to stt angwhere f n the orch ard.”

‘›••‹gk be able'. There are constructs ons using the Past lms r« sti ye part \cipt e
and the present and past perf ectlve forms of #e which translate rough1y as 'ml ght be
abt e’ or ’might have been ab1e‘. (Note that the combination of imperf ecti ve pdrt1c1pl e
and present perfactlvs form of be Is unambt guousl y a daflnita 'csn' statement, as
âescrioaa above; a parallel construction with the perfectl ve part1 c1p1e Is : at
used.)
Thts construc II on with tha imperfect lve partJclple usuall y occurs tn conjunction wl th a
condiI I anal cl ause (often \ mph ed), and wll \ ba described in detatl tn Chapter t3; br1ef\y,
however, the dlClarence tietween It and the construe It on d9sErlbed above I s that the

J 60
Chapte.• 9: V••L t(ses

Imperf ec I i ve parts ctple + past perf ecI t ve 6e construct ion does not carrg the I
mpl1catI on trial the acts on \ s probable or was carried out Contrast tne fall owing
sentences:

(Iagl â ba )1k sabg la w élegal ag si.I <s I - u

Layla tut letter tomorrow send, pe/fpa/t de3S . y

'Lara w i I I be abl e to send the lBtter tomorrow.'

[I aglâ ba I ik s abg la legal ag si.] fi I - w

Layla tut letter tomorrow send, imp pex deJS “ .

'Lag1a m1gh t be abl e to send the letter tomorro w (i f the p ost of lice i s open).'

Imung ter a haf ta )wir w ékaraTag swa.]

we last week corn plantperfpa/t 6e9S .> y
'we were able to pl ant the corn 1ast week (and did).’

Imung tera halt a jwâr karâlag swa.I gIp • y*

we last week com plantimp part be8fi ••
'We m1ght have been abl e to plant the corn last week
III you had brought the seeds).'

• •• i••• with 'must’ (del >. Expressions parallel to Eng1ish expressl

ons with 'must‘ are formea w\ th the parti cle 'must’ [del >, followed by the present
i mperf ec t i ve tense a f the verb. Some examp I es:
lasad de yaw a ba)a râdzLl . Ip . + _ o I
Asad must one o'clock come3S, pres fmp ’As ad must be here at one.'

l ag a de kor ta nâ azi.1
Mya must house to neg go3S, pres imp 'Lagl a must not go home.'

(t a de pa de p6we.)
you must about this knowJS, pres imp 'You must know the s.’

1€8
 Constnuzztions will ’should' [bà§àdl L. The parttcle‘shou1ö” loayddl L.
lot 1owed bg a verb I n the present perfect Ive tensa combl nes in a construc t\ on param \
a\ in meaning to Engll sh ’should'. Note that lbayadlL. carries the same ambiguity tftat
Engl i sh ’sh0uI d' do es. e.g., ‘You should (II's good for you] brush gour teeth everg dag' as
oppo sed to 'Asad should [w i l1 probablgl be ñ e re any minute.' Exampl es:

[asad bä§ad § awa baba ra si .]

Asad should one o'clock come35, pres ’Asad should be here at one.'/
peel
’Asad wi1I probabl y be here at one.’

Il aglä bayad kor ta Iâra nä si.I

‘Layl a shou) dn't go home '
Layla should house to go neg go3S, pres
peel

Ita b6gad pa de po se.I 'You shoula know thi s.'

you should about this know aux2S, pres perd

Bel ow are summarized, b§ verb stern, the constructions dsscri bed in precious
sectl ons of thl s chapter. AI so I ncJ uded 1n the summary are characteristic Engl lsh
gros ses for each constructi on, and the components of each constructl on tn itali es
si nr1 o coçstruct |qns ('I ami i was/i be ame/I will be/be!/Nag you be)
Verlaus tanse t'arms at' be
Cop›‹r vç t jpq5 ruth the Ire ‹nt in zrf ctjye §tetjj
Present I mperf ec t1ve ten se (‘I am golng/I go.')
pres. imp. s t em + pres. personae endings
Ordinarg negati ve commands (’Don't go.')
(ma] + pres. imp. s tem + :2S/2P endlngs
Future statements w1th time phrases ('I'm going tomorrow')
t ime phrases + pret. imp. s tem + pres. Personal eaöings
C ontrast t ve future (Wi 1l gpg be going‘7’)
|ba] + pres. imp. s t em + persanal endings
lntensl ve pose t i ve commands f'Gol’)
pres. imp. s tem • 2S/:2H command endlngs
Repeated action commands t'xeep going’)
pret. îm#, stern • £s/2P command 8ndlnga
 Obl I gati on expres si ons (’I must go')
ldel + pres. imp. s tern + personal endings
MtavGłl IIIs 'ill th I.he pies n\ parf ••tÍ y• s \ hl‘
Ordinary positive commands ('Go.')
pres. pan. s I em • 2SZ2P tammand endings
CqpstrMcł i.i ns *ț I.h the pręşznt.Herr ctl ye SțelTł (cqnt )
Future expreset ons ('l'11 go.’)
Iba] • pres. perf. stem + personal endings
'shout d' (“I shou1 d go’)
[bagad) + pees. perf. stem • pres. personal endfnps

Dșt r «ctioqs v.İ th t he jjąşt jțyper(ectjye ştpm

Past imperf ect tve tense: ‹'I was çoing/I used to go')
pst. imp. s tern • (at | +ps t. pars0nał endings
Inf ini t i ves (’to go‘)
psi. fmp. ctem + [-all
Passl ves ('It was bult I’)
inf Init We + avs [keg-I in all tenses

T»n#ru | o wi hthegąst nØ f« 4 x»
PasI perfee t I ve tense (’I went’)
pst. perl. s tern • pc t. persanal endings

Copțtruct lgps \y.i h perf a \i » reti ir«

"Present perfect” (’I have gone')
perl. part. • pres. imp. forms a f be
”'Past perl ec I" (‘I had gone”)
pen’. parț. + ps t. imp, ł’orms a/' 0e
"Fu turg perfect“ {'I wi II haYe go ng')
\ba\ + perl. part. • pres. Imp. farmc a f be
St a femgnt s of fu Surg ab i I i Łg (”I w! I1 be able to go‘)
ícsì • pen’. part. • pros. purr. rorms o f be
Statements of past ab11 ltg {'I w as abł e fo go')
perf. part. • pet. perl. farms a f be

15O
î 6ù
 Statements of present abi litg (’I can go‘)
Amp. part. + pres. perf. forms o f be
'mt ght be abie to' statements ('i ml ght be able to go''
(bal • imp. parf. + pres. perf, formr of de
'mtght have been able to' ('I mtght have been able to go')
imp. part. + pst. perf. forms aI be

. #hOP x=vk\&l OOU

Analyses of Pashto verb constructions ‘/« y widel g from one another. At \
analyses agree on the simple lenses (a1though they are ca1I ed bg dt f ferent names) --the
present Tr»perfective and perfective tenses, and the past imperf ec tive and perfsc tive
tenses --but there are di f f erant analgsee of what ts here called the perfective/
imperf ectiva d1stT ncti on. nuch of the ^.lfference revolves ar0und the ana\gsi s of the
partied pl es. This book posits a simpl e form--the participl e--whfch i s used in a variety
of constructions, whereas other anal gsts combine descr1ptTons of forms and
construc tions, resu\ \i na In more tenses, moods, etc., than the anas yst s here. Moreo'ver,
the pai“tl cle fba] w, besides functioning as the ordinary future marker, al so occurs with
nearly all of the tenss/aspact combinations, and other analyses assign different
grammatical names to the result Ing meanings.
Shafeev ( 1964) post Is two aspects (parfecttve and lmperfec tive) six moods
(indicate ve, imperat\ve, sub)unctlve, reprehenslve, conditional -optattve, anP
conj actural), two voices (active and passive) , and three basic tenses (present, past, and
f utura). Th9 di f ferellt MQ0ds corre\aLe wlth the analyst s hera as fallows:
ind\cati ve: present and future tenses, 9ast tenses, "per fect" tenses with
parttcl ples + imperfectlve be forms
reprehensl ve; ’gQ' c p articip] g c pggt lmperf ectt vebe, descri hed In
\C0ap\er 13)
sub junctlve: part\c1ple • perfective de forms
conditional/optatlve' parttcfpla constructions wt th condt t I anas
s,
descrt bed in (Chapter 13)
conj ectura1: lba) y + particTple • I mperfect lve de
 P enzl ( 1955) postts 1wo base s tepses - present and past - and suggests that these
san be m ade I u\ure wi th the partI see [bad .. He dt stt ngui shes indic atl ve, i mperati ve, and

optatl ve moods, the \ a\ her a\ I betng c0nstruct10ns wi th the parti stple. He also
distinguishes perfect Ne and I mperf ectlve.
t1ackenzie's ( I 9e7) analysis is f-am a hl st orlcisl point of view. He d\stingu1siies
two basi c tense stems (present and past) 3nd a series of derl ved construstions with the
particip\e. He posi ts two stems for every verb sorresponding to the perfective and
impsrfective stems or this analysis.

Us
 Thl s chap ter óescr\ bes Pashto prepos I tl ons a ›a preposlII onal phra ses, whł ch are
phrases c0ntatning a preposition and a noun object of a preposition, as in English
phrases 1ike ’ł n the house', 'of mg cousin', and ‘towards the o rEhard'. Pashto has
pre-positions: prepositions 1 ike English prep ositions which occur b.efore the
noun In the phrase;
post-posi tions, whi ch oEur ąf\er the noun in I he phrase; and
p<e-po st positions or ambiposit ons, whi ch consi st of two or more element s, the
fi rst of w h1 ch occurs be{oge the noun In the phrase, and the 1atter of which
occurs ą{$gg the noun in the phrase.
In th1 s anal gsis and 1 n other chapters we cat I ali of these “prepositi ons“ except when
d1SEUssing the dl fferent order\ nąs among the pre-, p ost-, and pre-post-pasa tl ons.
In the discusst on below, the di fferent tgpes of prepost ti ons just menttoned will
be presented. The noun cases that occur with preposit1 ons will then be discussed, and
then same special cases, and soms common phrases which ut111ze d1f ferent prepost
t10I1s.
The section on uses of preposłti ons I ncl udes same constructłons, notebl g the
comparati ve and superlatJ ve, in whłch prepositions pl ag a maj or part.

There are onl g two pre -positions, but these are verg frequently occurring words.
One of them I s 'of' [del a: phrases wlth Odel ‹ are the onlg wag to exprese possession
wi th nouns or strong pronouns.

|de as8d)
of Aead ’4sad's'

(de asaą pl gr}

of Asad falher 'Asad's father'

[de asad lgs)

of Asad hand 'Asad’s hand‘
In the cen\ra\ dlalect ‹ 1s pronounced ldls be f ore strong pronouns, e.g. (di ma) L ‹ In the
w estern diat ect and others,‹ before pronouns i s s pe I ed and pronounced [z], for e xampi e
Izmal L ¿.
T he other pre-pos i ti on 1 s [pal , which has several meanl ngs. one of the
meani ngs i s the instrum en tal ’by means a f', or ”w i th'

(pa chârâl
with knife ‘w i th/bg means of a knife‘

[as ad parag pa ch âra prékar.I

Asad rope with knife cut

lpal is als o used wi th number as ’aI‘ In tt me expresst ons.

Ipa yawé bajai

at one o'clock ‘at rims o'c 1 OGk‘

Yet another meaning of lpal 1 s ‘at, on, I n”, and i s descrl bed bel ow In the dl scusston of
the pre-post -position (pa .. bândel - t•.. .

There i s onlg one common post -pos ition that we know of: the dative post-
posiINon 'to" I . tal

lbâzMr ta] I"

markst to 'to the mar”ke I'

fdâz9r ta dzâm.I
market to I'm going 'i'm got ng to the marke t.'

. me-post-posions
nost prepostt I ons have two elements, wl th the noun object positioned betw een
thg el ement s. The flrat element Of these pre-post-pos1tlons 1s one or the o ther of Ipal ,

154
IIa| a , or I tar) . Tha sacond element of a pre-post-posi\ion is I1kelg to be one of the
fo1I0w Eng words:
Incl •i

Isarâl » Ike]

Here are some of the commonest pre-post-positions:

Pre-Ij0st-p0Si I i oq’ E89mpl e

‘in, at” Mpa ... kel .. ’in Kabul‘ Ipa kâbal kel
'after‘ Ipa ... pase] ... ‘after class‘ lpa ddrs pasél o

'on/to' Mpa b6nde] . 'on the brtdge’ [pa pit b9ndel ML, W

'with‘ (la ... saral ay ... • I 'with Asad' (la as§d sar6] ‹ I <I

”from” (la . nal •6 ,.. <) “from Lara' [la IagIM na] <l

'under' [la ... Iândel IV . ’under the bridge’ Isa plâ IândeI V <l
<l 'under‘ luar ... IMndej TJ . 'under the table' ltar méz lMndel V
’from‘ (\a ... tsâkha] . <l 'from Logar' [la logdr tsâkhal <i

’Up tO' (tar ... a porel <... ‘Unti 1 m arm kg' \\ar s6ñâr6 p6re) éy

Delefecl elewenfs. One or the other element of a pre-post-posl ti on - most often

the li rs t - may be deleted. Phrases with (I a ... na] a ... d, for examp1e, can al so appear
wi th just l... nal .
(kitab me la as6d na wgkhIsta.I
. If •6 I <J
book I from Asad from took.
'l took the book from As ad.‘

(kl tab me asdd na wMkhl sta.]

book I Asad from took
'I took the boox from As ad.'
and phrases wl th II a . sari} ... a are al so poss t bl e with just [... Para| •

II ag\â la amMn sara nâsta da ) .« - -u . u i u «¿

Layla wlth Aman with Is alttlng ‘Lay1 a Is st ttlng w\ th Annan.'

1's5
 liagla amMn sara ngsta da.I
Layle Annan with is sit'tmg 'Layia is sitting with Aman.'

I n tha case . ..ie prs-post-p ask tion 'anlt a” (pa ... bandel au, ... , the second
element is dropped more often than the first, resulting tn phrases which superf tetap lg
T oak 11ke the phrases wt th the I nstrumentat pre-posi tion Ipa] , for exampl e:

Ik1tab pa méz bMnde g1xag

da.I
’The book \ s on the tabl e.'
book on table on placad Is

" › '•r' "

'The b00k i s on the table.'
book on table placed is

One context in 'which the f1rst e1ement of a pre-post-position fzigst drop is when
the obj sct of the preposition 1s a weak pronoun, as can be seen in the following
exampl es:

lasad paxawâr ta w4.r sara dzl.I . •3 • I

Asad Peehawar to him with is goirtg 'Asad I s going to Peshawar wlth hlm.’

Ikltab me der nq wMkhista.I

book I you from took 'I £0ok the book from gou.'

Ik1t8b y/»r raa4e !»v fe I the b00k i5 08 it.’

book it on placed Is

i. lpeoiolGoses
'fr0m' [la „. nal u ... <J. When the noun in a phrase with 'from' (Ia ... fia| u ... <I
ends In a c0nsonant, the In-] - of the second el ement is frequentl y dropped, and the
remal n1ng lal › \ s attached to the precept ng noun. The exampl e sentgn¢e gJ ven
above has
thg fol \ow1ng al ternatt ve:

tkl tab me I a aod da w6khl s ta.}

book I from Aaad mom took.
'I took the book from A sad.'

15d
BEST ¢0PYAVA1ILABLE
 dhapl•e flO: Prepositions

ICarl . When the object of a pre-postposl tion whose first e1ement is (terl
endsin aconsonant,an (al › mustbe attachedtotAat n0un. (If the nounendsin a vowel
there is no attache›d [al .) Hara are examples with the pre-post-position ‘up to‘, “untll’
I tar ..(-a) pore) ( -). . and t•.e object 'ITlorning’ ISahâ rl ›y which ends in a
consonant. and ’tomorrow' IsabB) which ends In a vowe1.

liar sahgra pore rg sara pMte sa.I . u » ip »y

until morning until us with stay ’St ag wi th us until rnorni ng.'

ltar sabg pore râ sara p8te sa.I . » ip

untii tomorrow until us with stay ”Stag wl th us unt1\ tomorrow.”

vk••••s with 'house' Ikorl . The word 'house' (korly has a special al tered
form-- [k6ral › --that mag repl ace the entire prepositi anal phrase 'to the house' (kor
ta] , but onl g if the possessor of the house is either understood fr0m the cont ext
or
overtly mentioned.

(de 1a§1g kara dzâ m.I

of Layla to-house I go ”I”m going to Lay1 a's house.'

Dro {arms. 6er\a\« preposition • 'him/hermit' |ge] combinations are always

replaced wt th pro forms. S0me exampl es: 'with him/her/it’ ”(pa yel never occurs,
but I s al ways replaced bg the pro form ’wlth htm/her/\t' (pel :

Istarge §e pe tore kre.]

eyes she with•it bIacI‹ened ’she mascaraed flier eyes with it.'

and 'from It/hI m/her’ ”[1 a ge tsakhal d also never occurs, but 1s al wags
replaced by the pro form ’from iI/him/her’ lte) or [tre]

Ikl tab me tre wBkht

st.|
’I took the book from him.'
book i from-him took

157
A thtrd pro form 1 s [pa ke} , which replaces the phrase *Ipa ye ke] :

[agha der Idy kor da, tsok pa ke wosi7l

that vary big housa is who in-it liva
'That's a huge house. Who 11 ves in i t?‘

The nouns that occur tn prepasi tional phrases are ord1nart T y I n the obl tque case.
In the follow t ng sentence, the object of the prepost tt on: I s the F I noun 'bawl' [i‹as8l w U,
in i ts obi1 que singul ar form [kzsél U:

in bowlos in water is ‘Thare‘s water In the boyrl.'

In some 1 i terarg or formal usages, however, nouns that end I n [-a) <- (i e. the feminine
nouns I I ke 'bow1' II‹asalJ may occur In direct case wt th some of the preposi t ions, mostl g
‘wi th‘ (pa] and ‘I n‘ Mpa ... kel .. ¿

[pa kasâ ke wobâ sta I w.y I w

in bowlos in water ig ‘There‘s water In the b ow I '

A number of common phrases translate Into EnglI sh prepositl anas phrases, whl ch
In Pashto transparent1 g consist of combs nations of prepost tIona1 phrases and addl t1
onal words. Some of them are It sted bed ow, wlth examp\ e sentences.

'before‘ l1 a ... na paI‹hwgl I '6 ... <J

(= ’from’ [1 a . na] fi . <J • 'before (pakhwMl I
)
. I I fi ñ )
(I a tit na pakhw8 rzghay.)
He go t here be fore you.‘
from you from befora he-came

1 °i8
 Chu p*er 1O: Prc puuitions

'outslde' (ta . . na oahbrl H

(= ”from ha . nal fi . <J • 'out sioe’ |bahdrl .)
(T a k aI ä na badar wl är wa.I
from kala from outsida standing
was ‘He was standt ng outsi de the kan a.”

'after’ lwrusta la ./. tna)l fi ... <J yyy

(- ‘after' [wrusta) ygy + ’from [la .. nu] fi <J)
Iwrusta i a ma na räghag.I , Ig •d
after from me from he came ’He got here after me..”
or
Iwrusta I a mä räghay.I
after from me he came 'He g at nere after me..’

'wi thcut' [be la .’. nal 6 . •d ,

(- 'without‘ [be] , • ’from’ (la na| ...

<J) [be la tM na me guzara nâ kegi .I

without from you from I can't get along.

I can't get al ong wl thout you.'

’except for' [prata la ... nal •d...

(= ‘except‘ lprata) •D + 'from‘ II a . . n3) •6 . •d)

[prata la tä na tsok nå pezanam.I

except lor you no one not I know 'E xcept for gou I don’t k now angone.’

In the phrases ber ow that start with the possesslve phrase Ide] ‹ plus noun, the
possessive phrase can be substituted for with a weak possessive pronoun, whtch i s
I ocated In the sentence accordl ng to the ru1es for parti cle placement wh1ch are
discussed in Chapter 1 I . The fl rst two phrases below g\ ve exampl es wlth waak
pronouns
Chopfe< 10. Era puaitlns

'0Ver/On t0p O f' [ de ... I a p6s B] w •d ... J

(= 'of' (de ...I a + ’from top‘ Ita pMsal w ell
tmargha de bâgh 1a pâsa tér sa.I , w <J L, g st
bird of garden over passed 'The bird passed over the garden.'

lmargha ge 1 a pasa fer sa.\

bird its over passad ”The bird passed Over 1I

'about' 1de .'. pa bgrg kel »y ... o

(= 'of’ (de ...I o • 'on subj ect' Ipa b6ra kel •y L•

Ide asad pa bard ke ghagegam.I . tyytyú
of Asad on subject en I'm talking l'm talkingaoout As8d'

(pa bard xe ye ghagégam.I

on subject on his I’m talking 'I'm \alklng about hi m.‘

aGout' (de ... pa b8bI L, ... o

(= O f’ [dO ...I J * ‘On subj eCI‘ [9 a bMD] L¿ )

[de asad aw tarisg pa bMb tsf waye†l

of Asad and Theresa on subject what you say

’What do you think about Asad and Theresa†

”instead of’ Ide ... pa dzBg) L z

(- ”of” (de ...) o + 'i u pl ace' lpa dz?iyl CIA w)

Iam8n de asdd pa dzag rügh91a § dag.] . a I LI I o L• I

Aman ol Asad in place has come "Annan has come inste ad of
Asad.‘

”in f ront o f' |de ... p a mäk h kel ... 1

(= 'of' lde . I a • ’tn fac•“ [pa mäka r.e) )

[ds duk an pa m4kh I‹e wl Mr w.a .ÿ Vy yJ J
ol ahop in face In he waa Olariding 'Ne wa s standt ng In front of the ehop '
 C g*ee 10t Are posifions

'because of‘ lde ... i a amài al I <J .. ‹

(= 'of' [de...] A + 'wi th cause' [I a amg1a] I <J)

. | <; <1., I <j Lj g

of you with cause not he<omes
'He‘s not comi ng because o f gou.’

’I1ke' lde ... pa shMn) . LV

(= '0 f” (de ...| 4 • 'wi th fa shi on’ (pa shMn) )

lyâr me de gwâJ pa shân dag.} . o Lñ o L,

love my of flower with fashion is. ‘Ny I ove I s 11ke a ft ower.'

'I owards' [ de .. pa 1 órly

(= ‘of’ [de ...I o • ’wi th dt rec ti on’ [p a 1ór) )

[de 1ogdr pa I or w9khwadzed.I . y o
of Logar with direction he•start»“•nut 'He started out towards Logsr.'

'1i ke' I de ... pa I serl ... o

(= ’of' Ide ...] o + ‘wl th sort' Ip¥ tsarl w)

Iday di t5 pa tser day.1

he of you with sol is

In Pashto, prapos1 tions are used as mo0il \ era of noun phrases, verb phrases
and whoI e sentancas. Bel ow, we desc‹ ibe some cases where Pasht 0 differs fr0M Engl t
sh in usi ng preposl t1onal phrases where Engl1 sh uses same other construction,

Mr\Die I objects. In P8sht o, there Is no g1 f f erence between an jndtrec I object

para11e\ to 'John’ \n tha Eng1l sh sentence ’I gave John tha book' and a phrase wl th the
prepoe Iti on ’to', e.g., 'I gave the book to John.‘ At I such phrases are rendered I n Pash to
w I th the preposl II on ’to' [Is] and the approqr\ ate obj ect. Examples:

1d1
 [mã ł‹itãb ąsțğ tą rãw a r.\
. /JJIJ “ ! '-r'“
book Asad to brought
I brought A sad the book.'

letter him to read

Read him thg I eI ter.‘

Comparatives. Eomparati ve statements in Pashto parall el to Engl ish

comąara\\Yes l ire “A saw is taIter than Am an” are formed wtth the preposi\\on 'from' (1a
nal a ... <I Unl\re English, the relevant adjective has no special form, except for two
words borro yY e ö from Persian--’better’ [betărl and 'worse' (batárl --wh1ch are
o\ rect \ q equi valent to thei r Engl ish transt ations and are the am g words in the I
anguage speci fi c to compari sons. some examples of comparisons:

[as ad la amân na jäg aag.I

Asad from Aman from tall is ’A sad is taller than Am an.'

Ipexawar a kabál na log day. I

Peshawar from Kabul from big is. ‘Peshawar 1s bigger than Kabul.’

II a bekăr1 na kär xá da.]

from without-work from work good is 'To work is better than to be idl e.'

(ta 1a má na batbra qe.I

you from me mom worse are ”You’re worse than I am.‘

Comparisons with nouns para11eI to English compare sons 1 ike 'A man bugs mora
books than A sad’ are also formed with the preposition 'from' [la ... na] u . J , and
tgptcal ły Include the word ’more' lzgatl ¿ or 'Iess/few' (lagi Examp1es:

Ide am8n p\ãr de asãa 1 a p far ne l ag bãghuna

larl.) of Aman father al Asad from father!rum few orchards
has
W - ;a > >0
’Amsn s father has l e yrer orchards than Asad’s fathar."

<dS
 lamün I a asád na der zyBt kł tBbúna ákh1I.I
Annan from Asad mom many many books buys
.„ț»i ‹„t=f »u,; „‹ « i u øL i
’Annan buge a lot more soaks than As ad.'

Ÿuperlotives. There are three wags to make superiattve statements part \ \ ei to

English statements IIke 'Khoshal I s the taI1est bog in class The first possibi 11ty i s a
comparat łva statement wtth [ta .. nal u ... d in wh1ch the obj ect of thg preposft ion i s
al1-
j nCl USł Ve, f0I" exüMp 1e:

lkhoshã1 pa slnf ke 1 a țols a1øxăno na )ág day.I <J - á in J

Khoshał In dass in from all boy0 from tall is . I •6

'Kho0 hal 1s taller than all the bags In the c\ass .'

Ide tdr as de țo1 kali Ia asuno na chațák dag,I

of Tor horse of whole village ffom horses from fast is

'Tar's horse is raster than a›I the horses I n the vłttage.'

laag ae pexawar ł • ł° 1o ltkwãlMno ng masfihúr gay.I

he of Peshawar from all writers from famous is

'He ł s better known than a]1 the writers In Peshawar.'

A sacond wag to express supert atl ves is to t nc\ ude the adverb 'verg' l
ğerl ‹
before the aaj ective in question. Such sentences are ambiguous. F or examp\ e:

lkh0shfil pø sinf ke ąer i ag alâk flag.1

Khoshal In class In very tall boy is
'Khoshat ts a v erg tall bOg I II Cl QSS.' 0f”
'Khrshal \s the ta1iest bog In c\ es s.'

lde tdr as pa țo1 käl) ke ğer chațak ás dag.) J I o

of Tor horse in village in very fasł horse is • I I J

’Tar's horse ts me fastest horse In the vi IIagg.' or

'Tar's horse t s a very fast horse \ n the village.'

1is3
 1L’• e€ p'usitiurts

(dag pa pexawdr ke ger mashhur 1ikw6i day.i g ¿

he in Peshawar in very famous writer is . o JI
'He is ’.ha most well-known writer in Peshawar.‘ or
He Is a verg well-known writer in Peshawar.’

To disamb\ guate the type of sentence above, the sub Ject can be moved out of
posit ton to just before the verb. Such senten-.es are unambiguously super1ati ve.

Apa sinf l‹e dăr jag alak khoshMl day.I

in class in very tall boy tthoshal is . ya
'tthoshsl 1s the tall est bog in cl ass.'

[pa kali ke qgr chațal‹ as de tor ăs dag.I I g

in village in very fast horse of Tor horse ls . o I a
”Tor's horse 1s the fastest horse In the v1\T age.'

(pa pexawar ke qer mashhur I Ikw6l ddy dayl y ;

in Peshawar in very famous writer he Is . o o JI
'He is the most wel I -known wrtter \ n Peshawar.’

U. tS'ther ncilpsos
Penzl ( 1955) lists some of the preposl tions, grouping them wlth particles. HI s
1ists are slmiI ar to the ones here, wlth minor differences probably attributable to
dial ectaJ variation, Penzi postulates a second oblique case in nouns, whi ch occurs only
.'ith 0b Jects of the preposit1ons (la) a and (terl , and only when the noun in question
ends in a consonant.
Shafeev 11964) dl vides the preposl tl ons tnto pre- and post -posi tions, and I I sts
some preposJt t ons and their Russ\an counterparts.
f1ackenzie ( 1907) does not discuss preposl tl ons.
 This chapter describes the structure of s1mp1e sentences, i.e. sentences with on1g
one verb. F1rst, the order of major eT aments In sentences and questions I s descrtbad,
and the condl ti ons under whirh some of these e1ements are dat eted. Then, the structure
of noun phrases i s described, including nouns, pron0uns, and adjective and prepos\ tional
phrase modi fiers. Naxt, the order oY verbs and their modellers In posits ve and negative
verb phrases t s described, then the Paghto particles or cli tics, along wi th their
placement in sentences and their tnterna\ Order. Then, the order of modlfi ers in
sentences 1s shown, and the construction and use of II ma phrases. A summary of
agreement rul es 1s presentaa next, then a di scusslon of the Pashto ergative
construct ion. The chapter conc1udes with a presuntatlon of some unusual construct Ions.

MOV u•de». Tha basic word order of a Pashto sentence is subject - object -
verb (S0v), as opposed to English, In wh1ch the basic order 1s subject - verb -
object (SVO). Some examp\as are glvan below, with th4 bBsic elamenta identJfled:

S O V
Aaad lexer send 'Asad i s sendi ng the T at tar.“

S O V
father my a big orchard Is buying 'n9 I ather is bu9ing a big orchard.’

you whal work do ‘What work do ygg do7’

rtang sentences, of coursa, are I ntransttlve anc do not hava objects. In thts
case tn bofh Psshto and Eng)1ah the ordar la subject (5) -verb (V). Note, howgYsr,
that In
Pasht a all mo 0i I\ era precede I he verb (mak i ng the be ro the last element In the sen I enc e)
whereas In Engl1 sh most of the verbal modif i ers rollow the v erb, for e xample:

{ pz kab4l key.)

S modifier V
of Annan family in Kabul in lives ’A man's fami y \ i ves i n KsbuL’

Ahmad tut tomorrow of Logar in direction staM ’A hmad wl II sI ar\

I or Logar I omorrow.’

The verb i s al $jj the I as I e tement i n sentences wl fh be. As tn all I ndo-European

languages, Pashto sentences w1 \h de verbs are intransi tive. Phrases that fallow the oe
vsrb are complements,notdirect objects. (Complements are phrases thatfuther
Qefine the subj ect, and can be noun phrases, ad} ectl ves or question words.) some examples
of
ba sen tences, w1 th the compl emenf s I aballe d:

IU\¿tg de amân xâdza gg.]

S complement V
Layla of Annan wife be3FS
’Lays a 1 s Aman's wife.'

S complement V
Khoshal very unhappy #e3uS
‘Kh0shal I s very unhappy.'

[ chéra §p’?]
S complement V
mother my where ba3FS
‘where is my mother's‘

Deletiona subjects and objects. Under predl ctable clrcumstances, subj ects
and ooj ects ara det sted. One of those ctrcums tances is tn Imperative santenCgg - th0se
whosa vgrbs end In the 1 mperatl ve I-al ›- or I-ayl ¿-. In Imperat i va sentences, the
predl ctab1 e second person sIngu1 ar or plurnl 'you' subjaCt i e deleted, as I t I e in Engl ish.
Examples:

’Wait!

O modifiers V
car until tomorrow until don’t
'0on't bug the car until tomorrow.”
buy

Another preaic table circumstance under whtch subj ects or obj ects are del eted t s
in tne case of we ak pronouns. In present tense sent enc.e s and pa st tense 1ntrans t tt v e
sen tenc es, w e ak p ronoun sub ject s are deI eted (unI es s they are f ocussed on, In who ch
case st rong pronouns whi ch do n't delete are used) T he inf ormat \ on c arm ed bg the weaI‹
pronoun (i.e. the person and number of tne pronoun) i s to a greater a r lesser ex tent
carried by the verb endI ngs. Examples:
Ikl tzb âkh1am ]
O V
book buy IS

[kor ta dz1 I
modifi F *
DOUBT tO go3S ‘He’s going home

[tar sahMra pore wégadedam.I

until morning until dauced /G ’I dancad unto 1 morning ’

In past tense transt tt ve sentences, weak pronoun ob) ect s delete; In th1s case as wel I, the
i aentt ty of the pronoun I s recoverable from the verb enzltng. Past tense transi tt ve
sentences are desc r lbed In det at l In Sec t ton H be1ow

lasad parun wâkatal u I

”Aeed aaw ue #esterdey.'

1d7
 modifier S Y
at market at we bought itJAfS 'We bought it dt the Market.’

Work ue‹3er in questions. There I* no dt If erence tn word order between

s tatemen ts and guests ons. Yes-no que std ons (Those that can be answered bg a si mple
‘Yes” or 'no‘) are di f f erenti ated from statements so1e\ y by the ri se of the voice at the end
of the sentence, dl rect1 y paral I el to the way the Engl i sh statement "John‘s a poet™ can be
made i nto the guesti on "John's a poet? (I'd never have Rei I eved i tT™. \Yhereas Engl i sh
gues ti ons I i be these are used to express supri se or get cTarl f T cation, in Pashto i I i s the
onlg wag to form ye s-no quests ons. Exampl ee:

lamân shafr day.I

Aman poet is
'Annan 1s e poet.'

lamân sham
day†l
'! s Am an a poe I’m'
Annan poet is?

guest I on-word questions {those wl th words paraI1 e1 to Engl Ash 'who', ’what',
'when', ’where, 'whlcn”, 'why’ and 'how”) are dl f f erent i ated 'rom statements ay
posi t loning the appropriate 4uesti on word i n i ts ordi nary posi tion I n the sentence. The
I nt on at for s tays the same as for statements. In the examp1es be1ow, a sentence wi th a
noun or other word i n one posl t I on or another, I all owed by e parai let question In whi ch
the noun has been repl aced with a guests on word. The phrases and the I r question -word
repl acemen ts are under I I ned In the transcrt ptl on:

[as ad k awt
.I
'Asad i s work I ng.'
Asad work does

lasad Igf xaw I?’)

'Wh at I s A aad dolng7’
A8ad what doea
 C 'ap*c• 11: Simple lcnfønce 5łeucfiHre

(JggJÃ Chat áw pakhaw1.Î

Layla rI¢e cooks 'Lag1a is cooking the rice.'

[tçğk cha1aw pakhaw i?]

who rice c0oks ’\•/ ho I s cooking the rl cet '
[ó g ha de k1 tdb 0 ßq.
] That's Layla's book.'
that of Luyla hook is

(ágha de stt k1tlb da 7] 'Wh0Se b00k İ s tha t7‘

that of who book is

marł‹et lo he goas
’he’s going to the market.‘
(sõźra/Ghért4 1z *I
wheæ he goes 'Where i s he goi ng?’

[ğg]ją m0țar akhI i.]

that car he buys 'He‘s butt ng that car.'

IQ m0țar akhl i?ț
which car he buys 'Wht Ch car I s h9 D uy1n 9*'

[pj§ qąpj r5gh ay.]

ahemœn he arńved 'He arrived et dusk '

( raghayt.I
what time he arrived 'When d1d he arm v e‘7‘

{’C ł Ock [b aj ál I s ürl F I łs0Un)

(ghwanï• pa t=a baie e=ura ••gt.I ø ,/ä g‹>^ y»« y>« ș ° ø>
meeyng at 8 aoci‹a elarł thg megting ctartt It eight '

1dg

BźŃT £ßPY AVAII.ARLF ‹ 8z

 lghwanqa pa baj o shuro kegt?I

meeting at how many clocks stan

'W hat fi me do es the meeting start?'

Or her a elements. Noun phrases compri se a noun or a pronoun, to gether w i th

modt fi ers that may be ad] ecti ves, o repos i I i anal Ofiirases, a r whole sentences (1.e.,
re1at Eve c1auses, which ars described tn Chapter 13). For exampl e, the followlng noun
phrase consists of the noun 'car” (moțar] wi th two modi f1ers: the preposi ti
onal phrase 'of Asad’ (de asadl wl «, and the adj ect ive 'new' lnawagl
:

(de asad nă wag moțarl

of Asad new car 'Asad"a new car‘

AdJect Ive and prepos1t I on a1 phrase modt II ers gen0ratly precede the noun
thGg mode fy. As wt If be seen in Section E be1ow, however, weak possessive
pronouns may
ei ther precede or follow the nouns theg modifg, and their poslt1on . s determ: and by rul es
which work on the entire sentence.)
Noun phrases funct I on as subjects, comp1ements, objects, or objects of
prepos\ I Ions:

I țer grăn dag I

of Asad new car very' expenBive is

’As ad's new c ar t s vere expenst v e.'

Ihat white car of asad new car ig . 4

'That whlta car Is Asao naw car.’

Layl» of Asad new car hera brought 'Layla brougftt Aead'e new cer.'

17c/
 Clr\•tp› - • : 5i•^pla Eentertce Etr••c£••re

’We're golng T n asad“s new car.'

of Asad in new car in wa go

Note, In this 1ast ex ample, that the possessive phrase with lde]‹ precedes the
prepositional phrase In whi ch it is embedded. Examples wi th other preposit1ons I nclude:

Ide asad Ia năw i moț6r naI

of Asad from car from
'from Asad’s new c ar’

lde asad pa chbqu]

o Asad with knife ’w ith A sa d's knl fa'

[de asad tar băgha porel g <fi Ș I o

of Asad up to garden up 'up to Asad's garden“
to

0 de ot modi(ie•s ix sora phroses. 0rd1naril y, ang possessi ve phrasa wi

th (del ‹ 1s the first e1 ement \ n a s \r\ng of modlfters. The possessiva phrase I s fol I owed
by ang demonstrative (e.g., ‘that' l6gha] <a , ‘thls‘ ldg] I‹, etc.), then any quant1 f1 er (e.g.. a
number - including 'one' (bawl, which frequentl y functJ ons Itke the Engl1sh indeflni
te artlcl s 'a' - or a eor0 I1ke some' (bl2el Or 'a few' (gaw tsdl1 ), then
descrl ptive adjectives li ke ’b1g’ flail or 'pret ti'' fxlystal ‹- , then the noun.
Adverbs that modify add ect1ves, e.g. 'very' [der] #, Occur Immediately before the
ad)ectI ves they mod1fu This order mag be via1 ated when the 9p ea her wi shes to focus On
One or the other of tha mod\ I t ers: the emphasl zed el ement tends to come first.
Here are some exampl e phrases dIsp1a§tng moo: ft er order:

Ide asăa agha ptndză nor gar I og k1tgbunal I o

of A6ad th@e five other very big bookg •6 a
’those othsr fl ve vere big books of Asad s’

[de asad de pIMr t sal dr qere xBgstg tușe] J W o I .3

o xxad o fBhe lou vey pmRy dwgMwa

'Asad’s fathgr'g four very prett§ daughtars'

î84
"tt»pte r 1 1: /im$zle ent< nr-*• /tr«<tot re

(pa ka)l ke de tor de tar\kh de xowdnkl de mäshar wror xagsta zorg

in village in of Tor of history of teacher of older brother beautiful house
“ 1 " Ü 1 " 4
‘Tar’s history \eacfiier"s ol der brother's beauty ful house in the viIlage'

[de maktab de shâgardáno de dárs de dawre de wákht I a khwaxay na qdka yaduna]

of school of students of study of period of time from happiness from full memofies
@/ J <i +- 4 4 A A J A • J - +
'memories fun1 of happiness of the time period of students’ study\ ng at school’

Noun phrases within preposit lonal phrases contaln elements tn the same order as
sub)eCt or ob)ect noun phrases, with the exceptl on of possessive phrases wl th [del «,
which apoaar before the yrhoi a preposT t1ona\ phrase:

Ide asád de p1Mr 1a tsaloro dero x6gsta \úço sara]

of Aaad of father with tour veiy pretty daughters with

'wtth Asad's father‘s four verg prettg daughters'

D. herb Phrases
Owner at elements in verb phrases. The usual ordar of e1ements tn a verb
phrase (which Include9 evergthi ng In the sentence except the subject) \ s It me phrase -
complement 7obj ect - p\ ace ohrase - othar modtf\ ers - verb. Nota that if t he object
of a preposi tton 1 s a yreak pronoun, the prenositional phrases I s almost al ways
positioned just before the verb. Exampl es:

(parun me 1a mai garo sara pa raaturgn ke kabäb wakhwr.]

yeeterday I with fñends with in restaurant in kabob atn
' „/U '-r' ¿/!J J ^W .I z^ 1JW
’I ate kebab at the restaurant wl th my frt ands yesterday'

(parun me pa rastur5n ke kabäb war sara wakhwr.)

yesterday I in restaurant In kabob them with ate
, " » w 'I " w •
'I ete kabob at tha rastaurent with them gtatarda§'

BEST 30PY AVAILA8LE

17î2
”
•p*^r 81+ i*•tpl4 cnfencc /t*•ucfirsre

Order in negative verb pk»oses. The order of negat1ve e1ements in the verb
ohrase ts described tn aetalt Chapter 9. In summary, the negat1 ve particle Inal < nccurs
be lore the verb Tn the tmperf ect1ve tense9. In perfects ve tanses it occurs wl th simple
verbs between the perf ective marker twal y and the verb stem; with derivative verbs
just before the auxi11 arg; and with doublg irrsguT ar verbs between the fi rst el ement
and the rest of the verb. Some examp1es of negative p en ecu\ ver:

[z a ba 1I k w a n âlegam.]
\ but letter prf neg I send I won't send the 1et ter.’

Iza ba cha1aw pokh nâ kram

I I fut rice cook neg I 'be' I won‘t cook trie rice.'

[za ba dal ta ke
ndnam.I I fut here sit 'l *un't sit here/
neg I sit

The ycarti les. next to the ergative constructs on, parts cles and their oroer are
probabl g the most famous--or infamous--aspect of Pashto grammar. The part.tc\es,
sonnet innes caI1ed cll tics, are the fol law ing:
'but, wbll, then, at I esst, mBybe’ Ikho]
Future marker (bal u.
Weak pronouns ’my/me‘ |mel , 'your/you' Ide] o, 'hts/ht m.her, I ts/it”(yeI ,
’our/us' lam] , [mo]
‘must' [de] o
These part ieies are Invarlab1y postt1oned I mmedt atelg after the f I rst
stressed el ement tn a sentence or clause, and when the re I s more than one partIcle
In a sentence or clause, they must ag pear In a fl xed order. Yhese two factors In
many cases re5ulI In
tha separatl on of a mod1f\ er from the mod1f led element, In other cases In the "vT ol
all on" of the usua1 s0V order In sentences, and Tn many other cases In ambiguous
sentences.

“Cue /i st stressed steam in a sentence. Yhe f lrst stressed element I n e

esntenca mty be ona of a numbar of grammatical el ements, reng1ng from the first pgrt
of

173
 Top+er 11 /T vplu /Wntenc W trt•ctuPW

a doubl g I rregular verb to a c0ns tructi On a f sev eral words. The sentences be1ow
t I \ ust ra t e tht s po int, us ing the weąk pronoun ”my' (mel as a possesśt ve in tha bast c
phrase 'mg father' Ipl ãr me] ø C, or in object poet tion. Note how tha position of
fmel is determined not by its function in the sentence. but bg its having to fo1Iow
the
first stressed element

[khoshal k hán me p16r day.I

Khosnal Khan my father Is Khosha\ Khan I s m§ father.'

[de pl ar kală me pa logár ke da.] . •o W o

of father kala my in Logar in is 'Ng f ather's kala Is In Logar.‘

[as ãd me I a p) Mr sara gorLl

Asad my with father with sees 'A sad 1 s vl sittng with m§ father,'

Direct pøJect as fï rsțytresseț

aL4JTle.rtt [ptãr ma byăyam.]
father my I bring 'I am bringing my fatner.'

(de pl ar b ägh me äkh1i.] . I L. W ø

of father orchard my he
'He I s buyl ng my father's orchard.'
buys

[I a pl Mr sa ra me nMst I am sitting wtth m§ father.”

yarn.I with father with my
sitting I am.
He arrt ved Bfter my father.'
(wrusta 1 a pllr na me räghag.]
after father from my he arrived

sometimee my father America \o comes 50MBtîîTlee my father come4

to America.”

ln4n me meIM ta b§agl.I

\oöay ma picnic to he ‘Today he's tailing me t0 a pl0nl c.'
takee
174
'8T
 (nă me pd zanł.]
not me he knows
'He doesn‘I know me.”

[rälega me.]
sent it here they
I was sending it hørø.’

kept it
'I was keeps ng it.'

Part I very is ftrst streşseą ejețT\ j:

(wá me pezânda.I
. ‹1 lș y
perl I knew him
'I recognl ze d hl m.'

l6 me khi st â.I

’1 wore i t.'
Ibăy me 1 odá.I
I iost it

0 de a[ pa Icles among themselves. As ment1 ones abova, another

charac teristi c of the p articles is that when there is more than ona oT ther In the some
sentence, there I s a strict Internal order among them which overr ł des thet r grammatical
post tlcning In the sentence. The order \ s as fcl 1ows:

lkho) + {ba| + • (mel /(mol

The In temal order Of pBrtiCles, and the amb\guI ty that arl ses fr0m the rig1d
ordering, I s shown by the I gl omatł c translat lans of the following sentenEa:

\ą1tr me de I égt
)
'rtg fath8r I s sanding you.' or
father me/my? you/your? send
'Your father I x sendl ng me.'

17šî
 Two ocEurrences of words which are pronounced I dent1cal I g are not possi bl
e, even I f the w ords have dI f ferent meanings (as they do in the case of the woro lde]
‹, wh1Ch
may be Interpreted as e1ther the partt cle ’must” or the weak pronoun 'your/gou‘). The
f ol1 owtng sentence Is therefore ungrammatical:

^[p16r me de de w3I egI.I . y 4 4 •

father me/my must your/you send
‘Mtg I after must send you'
or ‘Your father must send
me.'

The onl g way to express these meanings i s bg ust ng st rong pronouns:

IplMr me de ta wâl egl.I

father my must you send ‘r1g I after must send you.’

of you fathar me must send

Your I a\Aer must sena me.'

Tue amb1gui t§ that stems from the rl gid order of particles is sel dom a problem,
as the cnnext \ n which mu1 tuple particles appeer nearlg al wags contaln enough
Information to convey the meaning unambiguous i y. In those cases where ambigui tg is
a grab\ e m, it is reso1ved with the use cf a strong pronoun.

— P et^ D a i ier•S iW er\ten\Yes

As descri bad \n previous sect tons, there t s a normal order of ma)or element s
in a sentsnC e (SOV), a normal ordar withIn the noun and verb phrases In a sentence as
web1, and an eternal order among parti c1es which occas1onall g ovsrr1das the other
orders. As in Engll sh and othar i anguages, how a ver, it Is poss1b\ e for a Paehto speaker
to emphase ze 0r pt ace I ocus on one el ement of a sentence or another, by place ng It oJt
of order. The
I olI owing sentence, f0r exampt e, I s In normal order, and no one el errtent t s focused on
ovar another

(ahmad sabzta 1 aglz \ ogâr \a bgtgl.I . D •Ci I

Ahmad tomorrow Layla Logar to Iskm
’A hm ad I s takt ng Lay1a to Lo gar tomorrow.'

17d
 Ckopłar 1'g ‹ Ulmpła Eantance trucłunc

If context requires that the time be focused On, i I can be brought to the tieg1nn1ng of the
sentenc•:

Isabgt a ahmad lay 19 ł0gar t a bgagt.] . W, •D ' J I <;;

lomorrow Ahmaa Layla Logar to łakes
'TomOrrO w, A hm8d I s taking Layta to Lo gar.'

The movament of a modI fl ar up to the begs nnl ng of a sentence for focus appears
to be a common device amo ^9 ^^«*•^. Trte fal l owing 1l1ustratl ve sentences are taken from
pieces of modern prose (the pre-p0sed modi fl ers are underT ined in the transcr1ption):

(ąjyiddg#ą wągh.t za de yaw3ze pa mafi nM pó shwam.I

mat tima I of "alone' with maaning understood

'AI thaI IT me, I understood the meani ng of “at ona".’

fa• here In.e rr6tra.kt kar sac•y dz n ta “baw z«" ' 0 ian •r‹.I
in very many people in aiso man seli to 'alone' can say

In a great crowd of people, a man tan say that he te "a\one".'

(} a I §cjj$g6q ge de no ro f} âq 1 t f'I o pa t s ér st ml ast dzmay$ $gd yy§ f a k r g j2

with desperation he of other settlers like immediately eaM dug hola

'In desperat ton, he I Ike tfle other setII ers I mmedl ately dU9 ^ x°›9 i rl \h8
98f"th.’ fpa ger t zK0f. mo wux khl as kagag shu.I
with much dłfflculty we camal have freed

'Wlt h a lat of troubie, we freed the cam el.'

"Ciwe pl^tuases. Time phrases mag take the form of nouns, adverbs, or
prapostt1onal phraasa.

! Thl s sentence and the one betow are f rom the essay ‘Al one’ lyaw Mzal ¿ł by Ullat. a
wel\-known modarn PaBhto wr1ter. Tha essay has oeen reprinted a number of tl mas.
2 Thl s tent»nca end the one bal ow are from ’The Le gs of the Ceme\' Ida wux taxa)
gl «. an ertlcla bg N. Pasanag that appeared Tn the November, 1905 lasue of
S#eda, 'op. 9 l -2).
'177
 Frequent iy occurrlhg noun phrase s are Erie days of the week. The terms for ai I tne
aays except Friday (which i s an Arabi c borrowing) are transparent ly ?ormed I rom the
Parel an w ord for 'dag' and the Pers1an numbers. The terms for Nondag, Tuesday and
Wednesday are wr1I ten as two words In Pashto.
’Saturday' (shambé]
'Sunday‘ lgakshambél

'Nondag' ldu sh ambél

'Tuesday' Use shambé]
”\*/ednesday' Ichâr shambél

'Thursday’ (panshambél
'Fridag‘ ljumg]

The day w0rds may occur a1one, for exampl e:

I mung shambé meI é I a dzu.I

wa octurdsy picnic to go ’we'ra go1ng on a picnic Saturd ay.‘

rlore frequent Iq they a re combined wi th the word for day tn general, lwradzl , as
fall ows:

[mung de shambé pa wradz mel é ta dzu.I

v•a of Saturday on day picnic to go

'W e're going on a pJ cnic 5a turdag.'

178
 Pashto has a ser1ea of words to refer to trade E1onal times of dag.

‘morning' Isah8rl
'1at• morn ng' ltssxt/tzsxt mahall - 1 /.-
'n00n' lghârm6l w
'afternoon' lmI\spax1nl
'late afternoon' [r âzdl gérl o
}1 ‘dusk' Imâxâml

’late evening [maskhutMnl

'midnight' ln1ma shpa]

These woras may occur as modi fiers:

Imung mBspaxJn malé ts dzu.i

we aftefrioori piar ic to go '\ye’re god ng en a pi cnic this

afternoon.' or they mag be c0mbtnad w1th the aay words.

(mung de shambé pa mZspax1n meld ta dzu.I o _,.'

we of Saturday on aternoon picnic to go . C«
"/fe“re gotng on a pfcnlc Sunday afternoon.'

Pashto expresses Wastem ttma-£eIt\ng with tha preposltlonal phrasa

Ear.s1sttng Of ”One at' lpa) , the wora
'hour' or ’t1ock‘ (ha)g1 . as lha Ohject Of Ipel , preceaad by
a
number, and otrer word-and-numöer comblnatlone to express 'before' and ‘after‘. Some
examples mat show the systam are gl ven bet ow:

lpa tsaloro baj dl

al touw hours ‘at four c'clock'

(pa pt ndza bznde tsal oro b ajo]

al five after four houra 'at f we minuten af Eer
four'
(py paw btnde tsaloro baj ol
et qual1er aflar Paul houts
’at guarter after four’

17g
 Ipa tsalor n\mo baj of
at tour half hours
'at four thirtg'

Ipa paw k6m pJndzo bajol

at quarter lacking five hours 'at quarter to five'

Ipa plndza k6m pindzo bajol

at five lacking five hours 'at f I ve ml nutes to five'

Some exampl es show Ing I ime phrases in compl ete sentences ar•:

tde 1 ayt a mal gore pa tsalor n1m0 baj a râdz1.I o

of Layla friend at four half o'clod‹ comes . Ip

'Layl a’s friend is coming here at four thtrty.'

las ad saba safii6r pa ata nfmo ba) a maydMn ta dzi.I

Asad tomorrow morning at eight half o’dock airport to goes

'As ad 1s gal ng to the airport tomorrow morning a*. eight thirty.'

fkBnfarâns de jumd pa wradz de safiiâr pa nâho bajo pagl kdgi.I

conference of Frlday on day of morning at nine o'clock starts

'The conference starts Friday morning at nine.'

Agreement between verbs and subj ects/ob)ecte was dl scussed extensively in

Chapters 8 and 9. Agreement between adJec tives end n0uns wae expl aknee tn Chapter 7.
The following \s e summary.
Adj ect1ves and demonstrative pronouns agree w\ th the nouns theg modtfg in
gender (mascu1ine or f emlnine), number (singular or pt ural), and case (direct or ob1ique)
Th1s agreement takes the f arm Of suffixes attached to the ad]ectt ve or demonstrat Ave

In tntrans III v9 sentences and In present tense transe t1ve sentences, varbs
agrea wl th the subject In pers on (ft rst, second or thlrd), and number (s1nyu\ar or pl
ural). In

18G
7?3
th1rd person past tense sentences, the verb agrees wlth the subject or obj ect In gender
(mascuTi ne or femt nine) as well..
In the Case of 0er\ Jat\ be varbs whose f1rst element is an adject we: the
adjective agrees wi th tha object the verb if there I s one, and wl th the subject if
there is no
ob) ect, in number (sings’ r or plural) and gender (mascull ne or I emlnine).
In the "perfest“ tanses formac with the partlcfpl e: the particip\ e agrees wlth the
Object of the sentenca I f there is one, and with the subj ect if there i s no objest, \ n
gender (masculine or f eminine) and number (singular or pt ural).
In past tense transt tive sentences (dissussed in detalt tn sha folI0w ing
sectianj, tha verb agrees with the ob)ect of the sentence in person (first, second or
thlrd), number (slngu\ar 0r plural), and in the third person forms, gender (mascui1ne or
feminine).
I f the noun phrase to be agreed with sonsist s of both MasEul1ne and
fem\nJne genders, the agreeing verb or adjec ttva wlll bc mascu\tne. (Such
compounds are described I n Chapter 12 below.)

As has been mentioned severa] times in preseding chapters, past tense

transitive sentences are sonstructed differently from a.' other sentences:
- the subj eel of the sentence ts in the oblique case;
- the obj ect of the sentence 1s in the direct case; and
- the verb agrses in person, number and (tn the third pereon) gender
with the direct obj est rather than the subject.
Thi s combination of agreement and else occurrence I S EBl1ed tha "ergatl ve’
construction. ‘Ergative’ was original1g the nama of what is now caI)ed the agenti ve
case. The term has recently been expanded to refer to J anguages I n whtch objects in
transit t ve sentences take on the grammatical charactertsttcs of subjects of intransltl
ve sentences. Pashto is an Ergative language, but on\§ tn past tanses; Basque and
s0M9 of the languages spoken I n the Caucasus are ergattve languages tn that
objects Of all
transl tive sentences have the charactertstice of subjects of intransitive sentences.
Historical linguists hgpothestze that af one time al I the Iranian languages ml ght have
been ergat1ve languages, and that eash has lost ergatt ve elements at dt fferent
speeds; now, only Pashto, 8eIuchl, and Kurdish retain ergatl ve elements.

194
Ch. p+er 1 1: 5i•• p1e Ñenłвnca Ñłrtscture

Tha weak pronouns are ai so invol vad in ergative constructions: In past

tense manes \\ ve sentences, weak obj ect pron0uns drop, afłd weak subj ect pronouns
are 1n obl łque rather than dtrect forms.
Simple sentence pairs are presented bel ow, the second of each pan r being the
past tense equ1 valent oI the ffrst. in comparing them, note, ft rst, how the verb endings
di I ier, in agreement with the subj ects of the present tense sentences ana the objects
of the past tense counterparts. In sentences w1th weak pronouns, note how subject
pronouns
do not appear tn t he present tense sentences, and object pronouns do not appear in
the past tense counterparts. And finally, observe that the subj ects of past tense
sentences are in the oblique case.

Noun sqbj eat ąną obj ecL

Isaçag maná khwri.}
men appleF eats 'The man is eating the appl e.'
V S.

Ísąç1 maça khwaçál a.)

man apple was eating 'The man was eating the appl e.‘

(xadza țï krag ákh1i.I . I

woman scarfU bu\ø ‘The woman Is buying the scarf.'
V S.

[xadze țIkrag ákhi sta.ł

woman scarf was buying ‘The woman was buging Ehe scarf.‘

weąy pron0urt sulzj ect gout objset

[mața khwrám.I
apple I eat I'm eating the apple.'

Imaça me
khwaçála.] apple I 'I was eats ng the appl e.'
wa6 eabng

[sabag mel ma
kawú.I man we 'we're inviting the man.'
vs. invite
 \sarag mo melmá ka.)
man wa were inviting
’We were 1nvi ting the man.'

las ad ge ákhl i.I

Asad itM buys ’Asaa is buytng i t.’
vs.
laeaü ákhi sta.]
’Asad was buging it:
Asad wae buying

. yly
Izmarag de rüwai1]
'Zmaray is bre ngtng i t.'
Zmaray itF brings
VS.
'Zm aras was bre n gi ng i t.'
Izmari rewastá lo.]
Zmaray was bringing

'I am wt nnlng I t.‘

I win itF 'I was wlnn1ng ft.‘

9 S.

win I

‘We were selllng i t

lI‹harts awü ge.I
se seh itl=

Ikhartsawála mo I
were selling we

J 3fi
 Verbs that require possessive subjects. There 1s a smac \ group of frequently-
occurring t•erbs the I ogl ca1 subj ects of whi ch must be possessl ve construc t1ons. T hi s
group 1nciudes phrases I or express1ng I I kes and di sl ikes. and for f ee\Ings 11ke hot or
cold. Tha iogi cal ob) ects of the transitive zero s In this group are sonnet tmes expressed via
prepos1 t lonal phrases, and some t1mes as ordinary d1rect objects; the vc• b agree s wl th
the grammatica1 obj ects. These verbs are 1l sted bel ow, with their grammatical
pecul i ari ti es and examples.

Sub jacI: p osse ssive phrase

obj ect: In prep osi ti on a1 rhra se wi th 'from' II a ...naI ,.. J
Agreement: verb i 6 alwags tfii'rd person pturaT. Ibadi a, remains unchanged.

II a do day na de rix tag ham bed râdzi Al

from bread from your really bad go3P

'Do you real t § d1s1i ke breed†'

Ide as ad de klmyg 1a dars na béd râghl al.I

of Asad of ehemlstry from class from bad wam3PM
. I m. fi o <J a Io
'As ad didn’t 1lke hi s chemt strg clas
s.'

a - - i w
Sub rect possessive phrase
Obj ec t: as usual
Agreement:
agree wi th obj ect
E xamples:
lde har châ I ayTg xd gJ
st.I
of everyone Layla Iike35
'E vergone I lkes Layl a.'

Ide tolo khalko layld xé geseda.I

of all people Layla llked3SF ‘AII the people I tked Lag1a.'
 CkapÏer 11i iez9plg aWtaWce trwcfiusre

Ide taris6 ta1 awghzni dodag xa yesedàle da I I o

of Theresa always Afghan food has Iiked3PF . aa \ , g g

'Th9rusa has a1wags I Jked Afghan food-’

Subject: possessT va phrase

Ob)eEt: as usual
Agreement. verb and ‘b ad’ (badl a. agree with the object.
Examples:
Ide I aytü mera ge b8ü gisi.I
of Layla huaband his don't IIke3S 'He doesn't like Lag1a's husband.'

.\kimgâ me bada nd gesada, de mg1zm pa khabdro na pohedam.I

chemistry my bad nog Iike3SF of teacher with words not I undaratood IS

‘I d1dn't dislike chemistry, I didn't underst-<nd the teacher.’

Subj ect- pas sessive

phrase Object: as usual
Agreement. verb agrees wl th the obJect
Exampl es:

(dl ma al ghün\ dogdg khwaxégi.I

of me Afghan food en¡oy3PF ‘I enj ag Afghan f ood.'

Idi mz afghan! aodây khwdxa swa I .» . 4y 4 UTI ¿

of me Afghan food enjoy3PF ”I enjoyed Afghan food.'

(di da za khwàxa swam.]

of him me liked fSF

[di da za khwtx sWam.I

of him me liked fSà4 'Ole l1kad me (m).'

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185
ï 98
subject: p0Sses5iV8 wt th 'haart' (zça] »y¿, e.g. 'mg heart' (= 'I') lzrá me] ›ș
ßbj ect. 1 n prepositi ona1 phrase with 'to' [... tai <s ... (if ob)ect is a cl ause, It appears
after (keg-I - and thare is no prepos1tton)
Agreement: varb agrees w I th lzrai ›y¿

Ipałăw ta me zça kég1.I

pilaf to my heart become3S 'I feel Iike [hav ing someI pi laf.'

lde a sad pa wãdä ke natsM ta z kégt.I D›J e sly I o

of Asad at wedding at danÒng to heart become3S › ty e •C
'èsad feels 1i ke dance ng at weddings.’

(zra me kźgT che kór I a I ãr sam,]

heart my beœme3S that home to go fS

'I feel 1I ke goi ng home.’

(zça ma kedä che kandză wart a wakram, kho tsa me wa ná wel e.]
heart my becamø3SFthai ourso to-him do łS but anything I not said

'I fel t ] łke cursł ng him, but I kep t qułe t.'

'haat' (garm1] , ’coi d' (sãráj • and fever' (tába] are femlnf ne nouns.

The construct I ons below involve these nouns, and can ba anal gzed as having tham
as subjects, wl th the verbs agreełng as usua1 with them, I f so, they can translate more
or I ess as ‘X‘s heat exi sts.' 'X’s cold exi sts', or 1's fever exists.'

Subj ect: passes sT ve of ’heat' (garm1)

Object: none
Agreement: verb agrees with ¡garm\\ fl
Exampl es:

í dl t8 garml kegi?1
of you heat become3S ’Dn gau feel hot‘7'
 [de khoshzl garmJ keg1, aera manae ga w ahâ1a dj .j
of Khoshal heat becoma 3S veiy running he has beaten

‘Khoshal feels h0t because he has been runn\ng.'

Ide a sad 5armf keda, wobé ye wât skale.] ‹» I o

of Asad heat became3SF water he drank . y •u,yl
’Asad felt hot so he drank some water.‘

Ide nj aI âg, wrus \e T a de che pa b 9gh ke ge w âzangal. garm1 waswa.I

of girths after from that that in orchard n they swung heat became

’The girls felt hot .after sw inglng in the orchard.’

Obj ect: none

Agreement: verb agrees with ’cold' lsârél ›y1
Examples:
[s8ra de ka kégi lungag me wâghunda.I
cold your if become3S shawl my put on
'i you feel col d pu“. on mq show1.'

Isahâr sabg sârâ me kégi

early morning cold my become
râ bznde w6chaw a I ungag dwâra lasdna.I
me around put shawl both hands

'I I's eari § morning and I'm cot d

Put gour shawl and both arms around me.’ (I andag)

subj ec I: possessl ve of 'fever’ ttabal

Odject: none
Agreement: uerb agrees wlth 'feYer' [taba]
 Ităba ge da.]
fever his is3SF 'He has a fever.’

{har w a...:t ba me che tâba swa, mar ba me pa k8t ke Mchaw a1 am.]

every tim › would my that fever was, mother would my in bed in put me

’Whenever I had a fever, mg mother put me to bed '

' vpensonol tPor‹sitive' ve bs. There Is a smal\ group of \ ntransi t1 ve verbs--

most af them denoting sounds made bg animal s and peopT e, I or example 'sneeze' [prinj-]
- and 'ne \ gh‘ [sht shn-] - • • --that behave 1d\ osgncratI callg In past tense sentences.
Theg are ceI1 ed ’false transit tves‘ or 'impersonal transi tives’, and I nc\ude tha following
verbs:
'brag’ [hang-I - 'cry' [zar-I - yIQ 'dance’ [nâts-] -fi ñ
'bark' [ghap-I -pt ’sneeze' [prinJ-] - 'swtng' [zing-] - l¿
”whinng' [shlshn-) -.“ • •- ’cough’ [țukh-] -1 ' swim [1âmb-I - V
'laugh' [khănd-] -1 'Jump’ [dang-I - o
In the pest tenses, the sub jec ts of these verbs are \n the able que case, even
though the verbs are tntransi t1ve. The verbs alw ags and onlg take a third person
mascul Ine pl ural verbal ending I n past tense s, regardless of the person of the subJec t,
and the [-a \l - suffi x of that endI ng ( which in other contex ts I s optional) never drops.
A final t dlosgncrasg is that the present tanse stem vowel [a) I in some of the verbs
becomes Tal i n past tenses, for ettample '1 augh' wtth tts present stem [Kh6na-I - 1 and
its past stem lxhand-I Some examp1 es of thes e verbs tn sentences:

[khMndam.]
I am laughing 'I am 1 aughi ng.'

[ma xhandă1/khandăI al . •J u• / u• L•
I (obl) laughed3PM I w as I augh1ng.'

[khandă I /I‹handă I a
me.ț
'I was Iaugh\ ng.’
Iaughed3PM

N88
 [khanüäl1 me dl,I
laughparf I ôo3P
I dave I aughed.’

(khandâl ag sam.|
swimpart be IS I can \ augh.'

(1agl8 pa s1nd ke wälambaLl

Layla in river in swam3PM ’Lagia sv/am in the river.’

(begä shpa de ahmad spi d ér wäghapal I

last night of Ahmad dog vefy barked3Pñf

'Ahmad’s dog barked a T at 1 ast night.*

our analgsts of the partici es is based on Tegeg‘s the Grammar of cii t ice,
pub1ished I n 197B bg the I ntarnational Centre for Pashto stud\es tn Kabul. The focus of
that treatment I s the demonstratlon tftat the occurrences of the parti cles in var1ous
places in the sentence can be explained bg the singie rule that thn§ accur just after the
fl rst stressed element in the sentence.
Our prasentation of the ergatlve Eonsti”tJEtj on 1s based on Tegey’s ’Ergatt vi tg in
Pushto (Afghan)' who ch appeared in L inguis tic Nethod: Essays in Honor o f Herbert
Penzl, edit ed bg Irmengard Rauch and Gerald F. barr and publ ished bg Nouton In \ 979.
This artic\ e demonstrates that tha Pashto past tense transitlve sentences contain tha
characteristlcs of ergati ve constructions in other languages.
Penzl ( \ 955) notes the SOV orôer and gi ves de tai \ s of th9 Order of m0dl
fiers. He anal gzes bastc sentence components to all ow for sub jectl ess sentences, to
account for Imperat\ve sentences and those t n which the weak pronoun aub)ect {or
obj ect) ts
dt"0 ed. He anatyzes the occurrence of parttcl es as several spectaT cases of ordering.
His grammar preceded the Work that was done on ergatlve construct\ ons, and he
therefore rel aies the objects of past tense transl tive sentences wl th the subj ects of al t
o \Aer sentences aB foll ows:
 In past tense transi t1ve sentences.
I n other transt t1ve sentences:
Agent
Subj ect
Gael
Object

The sketches of s9ntax i n Nackenz is t 1987) and Shaf eev 119641 do not dl ffer I
n bes i cs from the enal9s is given here

190
203
 ›/ ›
J i

Ü.aȚfeø 12, ‹ź?or jur›efior›

. rtłøoÓucłion
The s chapter describes how words, phrases and sentences are con) olned bg st mple
con]unct1ons 1ike 'and’ [awl yl, 'or' Tal Ș, and 'but' [khol and the mttre compl ex
conjunctl ins 1 ike ‘both ... and' [ham ... haml .. , ’neither ... nor' [na .. nal < ... u. The
i nt nrac tion of word and phFüS9 E0n junctl on and agreement Is also described.

. onjoine omnsom own roses

Nouns are conj oined in Pashto most stmplg bg means of the conjunctions
'and' [aw) yi or 'or’ (Tal Ș:

tarn ăn aw \ ayl ăi
Annan and Layla 'Annan and LagI a'

[amän gä 1agI ă] L•, L• I

Annan or Layla ‘Annan or Lag1a’

[ambn, l all b sw kh nshå l]

Annan Layla and Khosfial 'Annan, LagI a and Kh oshal

(amă n, 1aglg gã khOshăl Ğ ‹ ‹ (-+ I

ț
'Amąn, Lagl a or Khoshal
Annan. Layla or Khoshal

w hen one aI the el ements I s a pronoun, the pronoun ordinariI y appe ars fi rst:

I and Lnyla 'Lay1 a and I

(tá , as å d az.• de asad p

l6rl
’gou, A g ad. and A sad’s father'
you, Asad and oí Aøad
lather

ü04
 @jectivc n¿•e+ i=e›a+ w‹th co* jam eb nc••‹ns, \•/hen n0uns ccnj o1ned wi th ”*nd’
la wl yi or ” -” (gâl are t*e sarae genoer, aojec t ve•. rned lying bath nouns agrec wi th them
in whatever the gen0er i s, and are v ‹uro \:
[xkwale nja!fg aw x äù za)
'pret tg ‹Xml and wnrn au‘

[xi‹wale njaJ âg g8 xäüzal

prettyFP giflFS or womanFS 'pr°tty girl er wom an'

Izrawar aläk -aw sardy)

bravoMP boyMS and man.CS '3rave ôoy and m an‘

¥/hen the nouns are of ö1 I I erent genders, th• adj9Et t ve must be repeated, wi’.I: end1rgs
in agreement with each. ncuri:

'brave woman and man’

lzçawära xädza yâ zçawär sar6yl

braveFS wcmanFS or braveMS manA*:0 'brave woman or man'

gaeewent o/ ve»bs with con;ioined subject». Verbs 1n sentences with

conj oined subj ects tar obj ects, in the case 0f •rgative construct ions) connected with
'and' lawl II are plural. as theg are in English. When the nouns to be agreed wtth a re all
one gender, the verb agree s w ith that gender, for exampie

I amgn as îld aw l<h0shM1 m el é ta laçat.j J yI‹ I‹ I

Aman, Asad and Khosha! picntc to ment 3MP .J Ñ •t3

’Arùan, Asad, and Khoshal went on the pi cni E.‘

vze Aman. Asad snd Khouhal saw 3MP . y

'We saw Aman, Asad and Khor,hal
.‘
 Itay1M. rabgg aw kawtâra melé ta care.j ‹ yl W. Ip ,
Layla, Rabya and Kawtara picnic to went RFP . U •D
'Lagla, R abg6, and Kawtera went on the p1cnt c.’

[ITlUf1 9 1aglM râbgM aw ka wtâra wâl\ de.I + gI I ‹ W .y;

we Layla, Rabya and Kawtara sa'n 3FP .

y ’We
saw Lagla, Rabgâ, and K awtara.‘

When the nouns are of different 9•nders, the verb is masculine. There has
apparently been a prescript tve tradi tion in the language that the verb agrees with the
1 ast oY a con)oined set of subjects or objects, but I n the central dialect, at least, the
rule seems to be that if the conjoined set is mixed in gender, the verb Is mascu\me.

IamMn I aux 8 aw khoshM\ melé ta 1aga1.I J yl ‹ ‹ I

Annan, Layle and Khoshal picnic to went JgfP .J •C

’Aman, Layla and Khosha1 went on the p1cni c.'

Imung amMn I age M aw khoshMl walidal.]

we Aman Layla and Khoshal saw JMP

’We saw Annan, Legla and Khoshal.‘

[amgn khosrMl aw 18yiM m«lé ta larai.I I J ‹ ¿L I

Aman Khoshal and Layla picnlc to'xent 3MP .J V •C
'Aman, Khoshal, and Layla went on the ptcnic.'

Imung amgn kho9hMl aw ]aytg w aiidal.]

we Aman Khoshal and Layla sew JMP

’we saw Aman, Khoshal, and L agla.’

‘a/hen one of the subjects or obj ects is a pronoun, the verb agrees with the
comb1nat1on, t,e. the verb In a sentence which Includes 'I’ Izal ›¿ or ’we‘ (mungl as
one of the gubj ects wt l1 be ftrst person plura).

I Aman and Layla picnic to w'ant IP ‘Aman, Lay1 a, and I went on I he ptcnic

193
 (tã zä asád aw lags M wálidu.]
you me, Asad and Layla saw IP ’vou saw As ad, Layl a, and me.'

Ita amán aw I all M be de asád pa moțár ka 1Mr say.I

you Annan and Layla will of Asad in car in go2P

< -
'You, Aman, and Lags a wi I I go In A sad’s car

lmung tá, amMn aw I ablM wáłldag.] . Wy yl ĞI ‹ .y;

we you Annan and Layla sa'aZP '¥/ e saw you. Annan, and Lag]
a.’

Y/hen nouns are Eonnected bg 'or' [gzl Ș, the verb agrees with the noun closest to i t. For
exampl e:

lamãn gã 1ag\ä
wágağeda.I
'Amen or Layła danced.‘
Aman or Layla dancad3FS

(łaglã ga amăn wagaąeda.i

’Lara ør Annan danced.’
Layla or Aman danced 3MS

Words and phrases may be con joined with dous\e con junctI ons, as thej may
be in English. Common doubl e conjunctions are ’either - Or‘ (gã ... gã] L. . L, ,
'ne1ther ... nor'
ma ... nal a, ...a and 'both - and' (I.am ... aw haml I .. . Note the position of the
verb in thg fo)low1ng sentences ( If conjunction is thought of as the combining
gf sentences and the delet hon of common elements In those sentences, these
sentences sh0w that It is the second verb that is dropped):
{amãn ham tãrikh póh day aw ham l1kwál.] 4 « yt3 I
Annan both hi6tortan is and both wntar
'Annan i s both a historian and a writer.'

(amãn hmm ngu gérk ta 0zl, aw hamzhikagd taJ G iyL ALU

Annan both New York lo goos and both Chicago to . 43 yl
’Annan \ s going both to Naw Yor1‹ and to Chicago.'
 faman na ngu gMrk ta üzt na shfkagó ta.I •D Jy WI

Aman neither New York to goes nor Chlcagn to .< ;

'Annan is going nei tr.er to Ne w York nor to Chi cago..‘

[amän ba §ã nyu gárl‹ ta 1ãr sl gâ shlkag6 ta.I Ğ ĞyĞ w, JI

Annan łut eitheNew York to go auxorChicago to . •t3 Ü
’Annan wtiI go either to New York or to Chicago.’

Iza ham pa wãdá ke wágağadam a'N ham l a wãdä na wrústa.I

both at wedding ał danced and both from wedding fram after

'I danced both at tha wedding and after the wedding,”

(na me üshák tsakáll na sãbá.]

neither I aushak tasted nor vegetables 'I tasted neither the aushak
nor the vegetables.’

fna ash6 x6 üa, na gwäl a; dug de wákhwri yaw tar báł a!

l neither Asha good is nor Gwela: they may eat one
toward other

’Neither Asha nor Gwe1a is good; may they destroy each other!' (proverb)

it appears to be tmposslbta to conJotn Pashto verba or vgrb phrases tn the same

wag that noun phrases can be con)olned. For example. a Pashto equivalent f0r the
Eng1ish sentence In wh1ch one sub Jec I has two vetS, !!ke 'I will go to the clty and bug
a car' does not exist; its one y possibIl\tg in Pashto ts the fo’1owing:

(xar ta ba 1aç sam (aw) moțar ba wäkhlam.I I Al ł Ü w, •úî

, city to Mr go auxfs (and) car /¢fr I buy
1 ip •t¿
’I wil ł go to the city and I w11I bug a car.’

whl ch foilows the rul es for the conj o1n1ng of sentences.

The maj or characters stl c of sentence con) at n1ng I s that the can
junction ’and' (awl yl 1s optional , and most of the time I s dropped.
 Ixar ta lMram (aw) motdr me wékhlst.1
city to I-went (and) car I bought

'I w ent to the c itg and bought a car.‘

f0azMr ta 1âram (aw) Ia dukMncMr sara wâghagedam.]

bazaar to I-went (and) with shopkeeper with I-talked

'I went to the bazaer and tab ked to the shopkeeper.“

lqodag me wMkhis I a (aw) kor ta 1Mram.I ( yl ) s - ip gg g

bread I bought (and) house to I-went

'I boughI some bread and went home.‘

Igaw tsa pagsé me badéle kre (aw) larva qâl1na me wgkhista.I

one sane money I change at/x (and) ofI6 9 bOught

“ 'I changed some money and bought a

rug.' ’and' lawi yl may occur with 'or' (yâl L (the equtvalent of Eng1tsh 'or’ is
[aw gal ¿ yl, or, with lawl yl dropped, just [gal u..

(dag ba rMsI (aw) gâ be râ nâ si.]

he fUtcome-here (and) or fuf here not come . <J I w.
'Ei ther he’ll gat here or he won”\.'

As wi th conj oined nouns, a double lgâ ... ga) ... L randers the eaul valent of ’either... or’

lgâ tsa shag wMkhla (aw) gâ \ a duk an na wawza.I I yl I ip w

either 6ome thing buy (and) or from shop from leave • a yy •6 y4 •!

'Either bug something or leave tha shop.'

'but' lkhoj does not occur wlth 'and' [awl yl, but funct\ons as tts Engl I sh
counterpart does. Note that the conJunct ton [kh0] 1s dl fferent from the part1c\ e
[kho] .
 (ahmad kór ta dzi kho khpala xtidza ni gary.| <3 I
Ahmad housa togoesbut own wife not sees . <} ,
'Ahmad goes home, but doasn't see his w) f e.'

lstdrag warn kho byâ ham w ggaqadam.]

tired I-was but again also I danced

I w as tt red but I cancad anywag.'

when the sequence of events is not apparent frorr'. the meanings of the verbs, it
can be signal led bg means of adverbs I lke 'then‘ lbgai , w1th or without bawl l. In the
lot I owing examples of varl ous combt nations of sentences, the deietabl e 'and' [awl yl i s
shown in parenthases.

tahmad awal gadégi taw) bgá dodág khwri] ( pl «• •* J•

Ahmad first dances (and) then bread eats . gy g
‘Ahmad first dances and then eats.‘

[ahmad pa bágh k8 wágardzad (aw) gwalán ge td\ kral.)

Ahmad in garden in way.ed (and) flowers he pick aux

'Ahmad walked in the garden and plcked I\ o’rr era.‘

lahma d pa b Mgh ke wágardzad (aw) bga xár t a

1zç.I Ahmad in garden in walked (and) then city to
he went

“Ahmad wa1ked t n the garden and then went to the ci tg

' IT agIB qer xa angur tagMr kral, kho awal w Sgagedu (aw) byâ mo wâkhwra

I.]
Layla vary good pears fixed but first yerfdanced and then we ate (them)

”Lag1a fixed some v8rg good pears. but wa danced first and then we ata them.“

i97
 Shafeev ( 1964) notes that sentences can be c on joined wi th or wi th0ut
'and' lawl yl, and dl scusses the agreement between verb and compound sub;ects.
Mackenzie ( 1977) does not discuss con junct ton.
Penzl ( 1955) groups together sentence conjunction and sentence subordina•.ton.
 ntr•o uctiort
Th1 s chapter discusses the structure of subord\nata clauses, i.a. noun cl auses,
red ati ve clauses, adverbial ciauses wl fh various cl ause markers, and conditional clauses
beginning wlth 'Tf' (ka] C. The anal yses are based on the assumption that subordt nate
clauses are essentt allg sentences that function as nouna (tn the case of noun c1auses) or
adject1ves (1 n the case of re] ate ve c1auses, which are sometimes cat I ed ad jectt ve
c Causes), or adverbs (in the case of adverbial clauses which may be analyzea as
modifying verbs or sentences).

Noun cCauses are sentences that function as noun phrases; theg mag appear as
subj ects, d1rect obj ects, comp1ements, or obj ects of preposttlons. Every 1 anguage has
noun clauses, and the extent to which the orlgtnal sentence is modified or al tered to
functl on as a noun cl ause di ffers greatly from language to language. In Pasnto,
moatf icat1 on of the sentence is minimal: a noun ctause Is identica1 to a corresponding
independent sentence except that II I s usuallg preceded bg tha clausa marker 'that‘ ltsel
or [chel . For agreement purposes, noun clauses are masculine plural.

/ oun classes as subjects. The Engli sh sentence 'That you arr1vad earl g was
good' has a noun cl ause as Its subject. I ts Pashto equtval em is:

[che wakhta rMgh1e xâ shwa1.]

Ihat earty you cama good da3P 'That gou arr1 ved earlg w as good.'

and 1s just as awkward st i istically as the Eng1 ish. (Pashto appears to avoid starting a
sentence wlth 'that‘ lchel .) Both languages haye a proces.n by which such noun clause
subjects are moved to the end of the sentence:

1x4 shwal tse wdkhta rbghle.I

good ba3P that early you came 'It was good that you arrl ved earn y.'
and bothtanguages tend to move noun clause sub)ectsto ths end more often then not in
Eng1› sh, a word IIk e ‘i t‘ must oc cur in the sub j ect po sit I on when the clause ! s mo ved; I n
Pashto, a demonstrat1ve pronoun (usua.1t g féminine s ingul ar) can occur i n the subj ect
pl ace. (The dem0nstrat i ve pronoun appears to agree wi th a noun 1l kP ‘fact' lkhabära] ›
thaI I s then de i et ed, suggest i ng that other words I ike (khabdra] • but mas cult ne also

trigger agreement.) Some examp les

[dâ xé shwa tse wgkhta râghl e.I . I y , Ia

Ihat good be3FS that early you came 'II w ss good that you arrlv ed earl g.

(dä mohäma Ja *.se wäkhta râse.I . Ig y »o I

o that important be3SF that early you arrive
It's Imp ortant that gou get here earl y.'

[da ra ta malUma shwa che pa hero gano khalkc ke ham sarag dzan ta “yaw gze"
that me to known 6e3SF that in very many people in also manself to ’alone’

wa§alag shi.I
say be

• -J Û “ *-’
'I reali zed that a man c an sag to himself 'I am alone' In a great crowd of
peopl e.' (UT f at)

,/"'Jo«n c la•‹srs as bir‘e.at ob'jects. The mo st frequent use of noun ct auses i s as

the objects of sentences. Note In the f allow ing examples that the past tense verbs are
masculine plural, in order to agree wl th their obj ec t cl auses

[wâgi ise üe asad pl èr xS sarag d ay.I

say that of Asad Falher good man is
'Theg sag that asad's f ather s a goo d man.

[m ä ka täT che a sa d rd
ghag.]
'I s aw that as ad ha d arr1ved.’
I sae3P that Asad came.

DUO

ÜîÛ
 [mung ganâ\ che IayI a ba wâdâ kâray wi.]
we thought3P thot Layle but married auc 6e

”We (hought that Lags a was probably married.’

[mung flkt r kawu Eh9 1ag\M ba r6sI.) › ! •ta, t

we idea do that Layla fut. come '\'/ e think that I-alla w1l \ come here.'

[châ 1a ma na puxt4na wakha sha ta yaw8ze ge aw ka tsdk dar. sara shtâ‘rI

who from me from asked that you alone ara or someone you with is

'Someone asked me i I I was a1one or i f someone was with me.' (Ulf at)

The two exampl es just above ara similar, in that their m“1n verbs appear to be
phrases with direct objects (‘questl on' [puxtlna) , and 'idea' [liking) built in.
Note that the verb end1ng of tha I ast examp1e ta ferns nine Btngular to agree wtth the
feminine ’question' Ipuxt5nal ===. ,, wfitch suggests that, strictlg speaking, the Iche]
clauses in both exampl es are n0t dlrect obj ects but s0me kind of apposl tl ves parallel
to Engl fsh 'The question, "Are gou alone?", is a dl ff icult one to answer.'

A ftnaI example invo1ves tha common wag to express knowledge, wlth the verb
'kn0W' lpoheg- I - , which ts \ntrans1tiva. In sentences l1ke 'I know the story', the
'known' fact is the ob)ect of the preposi tiona1 phrase ‘wl th/b§ maans Of' {pal w:

Iza pa grea pohegam.I

I with story know 'I know the storg,'

but when what J s known is expressed in a clause, the preposi ti on can be present wi\h a
demonstrative pronoun:

[asad pa dé pohegt .che ta n8 wardze.I C <p ty o A•• (

Asad wart this knows that you nag go
'A sad knows you‘re not g0tng there '

901
?14
C-luty•trr 13 t>•‹Li<•r l‹n•yte cy‹tmu G

or the whole prepositional phrase can be dropped:

(aaad pohegi che ta na wardze,l

Asad knowa that you ney go 'A sad kno \nu‘re not going there.'

wlth the resul ting structure mlnicking thg structure of direct obj ect (Che) clauses

Resorted speech. one of tha most common noun clause object constructions is
reported speech, corresponding to Engl i sh sentences like 'Aman said that he woul a
go Pakistan next month,’ which 1s a rend1fion of the direct quote 'Aman said, “I'1I go to
Pakistan next month." '
There Is onlg one wag in Pashto to express reported speech, and It is much c1ossr
to a d\ rect quote, as can be seen in the following example. Note the tunderlined) f1rsf
person verb endtng tn the clause:

laman wdwagal tse ba\a mgMst ba pak\stMn ta \ $g sam )

Aman said3P that naxt month /’vf Pakistan to go be IS

'Am6n said that he would go to Pakistan next month.'

In present lense sentences, ’say' lway-I -yy agrees wlth the subject; in past tense
sentences, the verb 1s masculine p1ural. {The pronunciation of ‘sai d' (wéwagall yy
varies from dialect to dl a] ect. Iwâwele] Is a common pronuncTatton 1n the central
I act, but [wâwel is also heard.) nore axamp!as of reported speech:

II ag18 Amin I a wâwele che meTé ta ba 6shak w gsam.I

Layla Aman to said3P tñat picnic tort aushak take IS

'Lagl a tol d Aman tha I she wout d take aushak to tha p1cnic.'

lamin I age â la w3wele che wror de stnam6 ta dzt.I

Aman Layla to said3P that brother your movie to goes

'Aman told Layla that her brother was go1ng to a movla.'

?1fi
 Iwradzpána wayJ che tBl lbăn kãbál ta raseaál i
di.) newspaper ssyas thai Caliban Kabul to have
reached

'The newspaper says that the Taliban have reached K abul.'

[mã wäwaya1, ná zą yaw6ze yarn.I

I said no I alone am ”I sald no, I was alona.'
(U1fat)

lease øestøictions with sorr o sensor verbs. Another rommon use of muii
c\ ause obj ects is with verbs I ike 'want' (ghwàr-I - up, and ‘\rq‘ lkosh1sh kaw-| -
, which in Engl ish are often fo1\owed by infini t1ves. The noun clause objects of
these Pashto verbs, however, must be in the present perfect1ve tense. In present
tenses, the verb in t»c .‹iatn cl ause agrees with the subject. In paet tensgs, the verb is
mascu1ine pIura1 to agree with the noun clause. Some examples are:

[de a sad pt ãr ghwár tse yaw T ay băgh w 6kh1i.] IQ W I o.

of Asad father want3S that one big omhard he buypørf . ip l•.
'Asaa’s father wants to buy a 1arge orchard.'

Ide asad p’ãr ghuxtál tse yaw 1og bãgh w6khT i. I

of Asad father wanted3P that one big orchard he
buyperf

‘Asaa’s father wantea to buy a 1arge orchard.'

Ide a sad plãr ghuxtáli dT tse gaw ł OU *ã9 h w 6kłilI.I

of Asad father wanted be3P that ono big orct’ard buyperf

'As a a’s father has wanted to buy a 1arge

orchard.' (tart sã kosh\sh wakra tse ashak pãkhá krt.j

Theresa aßempt make3P \hat aushak cook at/x
'Theresa țr\ ed to cook aushak. '

(za ham ghwMram tse

wărsam.I I also wanł IS that 'I want to go too.”
I goperf
 apfer 13 i ¿§'•‹borc{ancsfe llausee

java clot ses c s cowplewenfs. Noun c1auses ¢an function as complements.

Usual Ig, the noun ¢\ ause is positioned after the 'be’ verb. Some examples are:

(am 6d day che sól a ba rasi.I

hope is that peace /'ur come here 'The hope is triat peace wl 11 rome.'

tpa paxtand ke da zarur nd da che mel ma wâbal at si.|

in Pashtuns in this necessity nsp is that guestbe lnvlted

'Among Pashtuns it i s not necessary that a guest be inv1ted.‘

(saba me ngàt day cne zhw anddg ye xakhawàm-a. I

tomorrow my Intention is that aiive him I bury

'ng I ntenti on tomorrow i s that I w ill bury h1m al tve.'(second II ne of tanday)

Frequentl g, a demonstrati ve pronoun appears : mmedl a tel y before the verb in

complement post tion, for example:

tm8n5. ye d8’da tse khor wr6r ta wàrta wi.] soIo

meaning its this is that sister brother lo similar is • y <• yy •C yy yy

'l t s meanI ng i s tht s, tha t s1sters are stmtl er to brothers.'

••• ! • •* •• • j• *• t Pne Positions. Noun clauses can also funct i0n as

obj ects of prepos1t\ ons in Pashto (although In Engli sh such clausas are not possible; as
w1I1 be seen In the exampl es, such objects are gerund phrases I ike 'gour working wi th
me') . The c I ause i s postponed to the end of the prepost tional phrase for sometimes to
the end of the sentence), and a femlni ne singular demonstrative pronoun Is Inserted
where the ob)ect of the prepostt ton would occur. In the foII ow1ng exampT e, the noun
cI ause I s the ob] ect of the preposi ti on 'of' Idel ‹ In the phrase equivalent to Engll sh:
’about' or on the sub Jec t of' (de . pa bara kel yl• ... ‹:
 I mung dl dé p z bârâ ke che ta k ar rM sara wakra wâghagedu.I
we or thls on subject on that you work mB Wlth do we talked

’We la I ked about gour workt ng wi th ma.'

Dther pre posi t\ ons that frequently oc cur wi th noun cT ause objects are:

Idi dé pa dz§y che Ta ahmad sara kâr wakre, mM sara ge wakra.I

of thls in place that wlth Ahmed wlth work you do, me wlth it do.

‘I nstead of dot ng the work wtth Ahmad, do i t wi th me.'

'»fqre" Isa kh\v4 I a I <J

(mung pa khwé la de che kâr sara 'vakru yaw bat pézanda.]
we in front mom thie that work together we did each other we knew.

'¥/e knew aach other before we w orked together.'

Iwrusta 1a dé che ashak mo w âkhwaral, w4gaqedu.I

altar that that aushak we ate we danced
" •* ! “,/• “ JaJ
'After we a te the aushak, we d
anoed.‘

(zar mâ râdza pa de che 1ag1â ngwékh la radz I.I

quick nag come wilh this that Layla late

‘Don't come qui cklg because Layl a's Comtng 1 at9.”

This I ast expresst on is the most nat ural wag to express reasons i n the cent ra1 dialect,
Jther than juxtaposing the clauses, as will be described be1ow tn the d1scussl on of
'because' Idzakal W. The fol \ owtng ordering Is al so possible:

[zar pa de che IaylB n6wâkhta râdz1, md râdza.I

quick wilh fhis that Layla late comas neg come

'Oor\'I come gut ckl g b eceuse LagI a‘s cv mt Mfg ate '

505
i?18
 op*ae fl3i #uDrr#nota uweeo

1. elo6ve b!ouse•
Red at i ve cl auses, or ad jective clauses, are s•ntences that function as adj ec tives
(i.e. theg mod‹fy nouns). again, at1 languages have relative clauses, but the ext ent to
w hich rel ative clauses differ from corresponding Independent sentences vanes from
language to I a»guage.
!n Pashto, retati ve clausu•s dl ffer minimal y from their corresp0ndtng tndependent
sentences. The relat1ve clause follows tr:e noun 1t mod1?Tes, and \s Introduced by the
t1 ause marker (chel or itse] , which translates as 'they’, 'who', 'whom' or 'which'.
wl thi n the origlnal sentence that becomes the rel attve clause, there i s a Tw ays a
i:ot›n i0er*.:caI to the noun that the clause modi fi es; however, that noun has been changed
to a weak pronoun and foot ows w.Oak pronoun rules ‹^ 9.› f a subject, iI drops T n
present tense sentences; if a subj ect in a transi tive past tense sentence, it remains,
e tc.)
These processes are sh0wn step by step below w\ th the lollowing sentence:

[agha njalâg t sa kamls akh1I de rabya khdr da.I

that girl wr•o dress bu’/s at Rabya sistar is

'Ths g1r1 who i s buying the dress is Râby?¡'s sister.'

The re1 ate ve cl ause 'who is bu\¡ing thG dress' Icha kam\s akhlt) I mo d\

fies
“girl’ lnjal ayi , the subject of the main sentance. The rs\ attve cl ause has the
fallout ng as I ts corr'esponJlng independent sentence:

!.nj alây kamls akhTT I

girl dress buys ’The girl Is buglng the dress."

In c onvert ing the sentenra to a rel ati ve cl ause, the Identical noun 'gi ri' Inc at agl is

c hanged I a a wear pronoun, '/rhi ch i s omitted because it is the subject of the sentence

lkam1s akhlt]
dress buys 'sha is buying the dress”

The cl ause marker 'thaI' [chel •.p i s added:

that dress buys 'who/ that I s buytng the dregs'

20d
“’ *
and the c1ause has been positl oned after 'g)rl |nja1agl , the noun It modt ft ss, and
the modifi ed noun is preceded by the demonstrative 'that' laghai .
In the following examp1es, the mai n clause

agha nja1ây de rabyâ khdr da.I

that girl of Rabya sister is the gtr\ i s Rabya's sister'

remains constant, while the subject 'gtrl' lnjalagj , is modified by d)f ferent relative
c1auses.

(agh a njalâg tse kami s ge w§khf sta de râbyâ khdr

da.I that girl who dress she bought
of Rabya sistar is
- , .
’The girl who bought the di ess i s RâbgZ’s s1ste r.'

lagha njaiâg tse me\mastgâ la râghâ1e wa de râbya khdr da.I

that girl that party to had corrie of Rabya sister is.

’The girl who came to the party \s Rabyâ‘s“sl

ster." (agha njat 6y tse pa met mâstga ke me wâlida de râby8 khdr da.]
that girl who at party at I saw of Rabya sister is

the gi r1 that I saw at the partg 1s RMbgM's

s1ster.’ lagha njal âg tse war s8ra n6st warn da râbyg khdr da.I
that girl that her with sibing I was of Rabya sister is

'The girl with whom I was s1tt\ ng 1s RBbga's sist er.”

In tha foilowtng enampl e, the relative c\ ause modifies the ob)ect of the
prepositl on ’wi th' [\ a ... saral › ... <l. note how the cl ause 'that Lay\a doesn't
know' (tse Iay\a ge na pezcnil , M is placed after the enttre preposttlona\ phrase,
rather than directly after the noun that the relative clauses modIf1es.

(asad I a aghe nja\dg sara tse Iag1M ye nâ pezant,

gadegl.I Asad with that girl with that Layla her not know
dancec

’Asad lc dancing wlth a glr] that Lay\a doesn't know.'

207
 When a noun and I t s re1att ve clause appear at the end of a sentence
(i.e., jus t before the verb in tha main ciause) , the clause can be placed after the
maln verb.
Western anal ysts specul ale that the juxtaposi tion of 'verb s that resui ts wrten the
re\ a\\'ve clause modif1es the direct object of a sentence (the verb of the re1ative
clause appears immedl atelg baf are the verb in the main clause) is grammatica\ ig
awkward, and is avoided by mov\ng the relative c1ause. (Thl s might be a dia1ecta\
character1stic: Penzl f] 955), in rlescri bing the Kandahar dtalect, comrnents on the
juxtaposl ti on of verbs, but does not mentt on that the cf ause mal be moved. HI s
discussion of clause structure i s brief, however, so he simplg might not have presented
exampl es.) When the clause has not been m0ved t0 the end of the sentence, many
Pashtun wri ters punctuate the e»d of the re\attve clause wi th a comma. The f0lIowing
sentences ill ustrate the point made above:

lamân agh a xadza ni ps zani tse I ag1M sara ghagdgi.I

Aman that woman not knows that Layla with talks

'Am6n doesn't know the w0man who I s tai k1ng wl th Lag1ä.'

lamln agha xädza tse I all â sara ghagégi nä pezani.)

Aman that woman that Layla with talks not knows

'Aman doesn’t kn w the woman who es talking with Lay\ä,’

Another exampl e of a cf ause that has been moved to the end of the sentence is:

Îdâ de agha sart ki tMb ddg Ehe pa pohantûn ke Oârs warkawi.|

that of that man book is who at university at lesson give

'That 1s the book (authored by] the man who teaches at the un1versi tg.‘

Engl Ash relatl ve clauses wlth ’where', 'In which', 'to who ch', and ’whose'
are relatl ve c1auses In Pashio as well, for example:

lagha kor tse koranag me pake wosedâ, kharts säwag dag.]

that house that family my in lt Ilvad has been æld

’The house In wht ch/where mg fam1\ g was I ‹v\ ng has been s o1d.'
 [k um bMgh I a che mung w ardzd de a sad de pI8r
dag.) some gardan to which we go lhera of Asad of
father Is

'The garden t0 w hich w e're go i ng bet ongs I a Asad’s

father.' Ida agh a s arâg day che motâr me ye wgkhl st.]

that that man is who car I his bought

'That's the man whose car I bought.’

(This 1ast exampl e Is one of the sentences desert bed 1n Chapter 1 1 1 n the discuss
ion Of particles, which is ambiguous out of context. An alternative meani ng is 'That’s the
man who bought mg car.‘)
Two final types of re1atl ve clauses invot ve ’whenever' {har wakhtl and
‘as much’ I tsumral › a s t'.e modi f ted nouns

lh6r w akht che I ag1a ma wâwi nl râta maségi.I '2 _J w - y

every time that Layla me sees me to
smilas . ty Ip gy
Whenever Layla sees me she sml1es.”

Itsumra che ghwgri w 6r ye ka.I

as much as he wants to him it
give

Adverbial clauses ara sentances that modify verb phrases or other sentences.
Pashto has several tgpes of adverbial clauses, descr1bsd be1ow.

time classes. Among the most common adverb1at clauses in both Engl ish and
Pashto are ct auses that indl cate wheri s0mething has happened or wt1 \ happen, e g.
clauses that 1n EnglI sh start wi th clause markers I ike ‘when', 'untl T’, 'while' and sa on.
the Pashto equivalents of these clauses are straightforward, and involve such clause
markers as 'when‘ lkal a c hel W, or sometimes s implg [chel <p,
‘until', (tar tso che] and 'as soon as' It sanga tse] <p .

'**’ ‹ r•
 Apparently there are no clause markers in Pashto param Tel to English 'before‘
and ’after. Pashto expresses such nOtl0FlS bg means of noun c\ ause obj ects of
preposi tions, examples of wntch are presented in Section B above.
Time clauses tgf › cniig occur fi rst in the sentence. and the clause marker
(especl all g if it i s Ichel w bg itsel f ) Is frequent Ig placea after the first stressed
element tn the clause.

IkaI a tse layJM de asad pa aksident khabéra swa samdast1 roght ún ta

11ra.I when Layla of Asad with accident haard immiediaiely hospital to
went

.Æ <3
'When Lay1a heard about Asad's accident, she immed\ate\ g went to the hospt tal

(tsanga che kâr ta Iäç se, war sara wäghageg a.] V6

as soon as city to you go hlm with talk . »tyÿt g » yy
'Talk to htm as soon as you go to the ci tg.’

ltar tso che asad náwag matar ékhli , de ámMn mat ár gardzawál ag
st.I until Asad new car buys of Aman car he can usa

'Unts I Asad buys a new car, he can use Aman’s.’

[]ayt a tse rgghTa qsr wakht war sara kénastam.I

Layia when she cama very time har with I sat

'¥/hen Lay1a came I spent a lot of time with her.'

ortsec|uertcc clczuses. S0me ct auses that begin w I th the clause

marker (chel report consequences. These c1auses fallow the
verb In the main clause, and
frequentt y Occur w\ th adverbe T ik8 'so’ [dumral › ‹. ;

f210
 Ckop+er 13:

lasad dumra stéray wa tse 1a ddrs na wrésta dasti kor ta iIr.|

Asad so tired wae that from class from after immediately house to he-went

’Asad was so t ired he w em home \ mmedl atei g after c1ass.‘

(kala kaia dúmra zgata wawra worégt che sarakúna btkhj bandégt.I
sometimes 0o much heavy snow falls that streels completety blocx

'Sometimes i I snows so much that the streets are completely bl ock e d.‘

[dü düse kt tsb dag che lwastal ye gr6n d1 I

lhis such book is that to read It difflcult ara
o * o I-4 y« uI•=J •« o• =!=* g=I • I•
“Thi s book i s such thet i 1 1s hard ta read.'

C•‹•'pose classes. A nother group of c lauses W i th [Cha] convegs purpos e;

triese purpose cl auses are al waya in the present perf ec ttve tense, and are param el to
noun cl auses with 'want’ lghw âr-] -up and 'trg' (koshl sh kaw-] - , described

above, bath ) n trieir st fuE ture and In that theg translate as i nfini t1ves In Engl1 sh
tsabà ba asad w9legu che xa log pasa wMkh1i.!
tomorrow /'ur Asad we send so that good big lamb ha buys

’Tomorrow we"l1 send Asad to buy a good, big i amb.”

[parun mo asad wàiega che xa I ag pasa wókhl I.I

yester¢iay we Asad sent that good big lamb he buys

'Yesterdty we sent Asad to bug a good, big I amb.‘

(za db kttòb khpal wr0r ta warkawàm che wà ge lwati.)

I this book own brother to give so that prf It he reads
Ç JJ “ JJJJ ” 1 " * ^"
’l'm gT ving this book to my brother to read.”

IdB kttab me khpal wrdr ta wór kra che wà ye Iwa\t.]

I Ihis book own brother to gave so that prf 'n he reads
ad ’-’ JJad , '-r' "
'I gave thl s book to my brother to read.'

g11

ü24
 c sol classes any (dz bkal . The central di alect ordinari I y expresses

rea son s and causal re1at1onships si mpIg bg ordering sentences one after the other and
all owing the context to show what is causing what, for example:
(dzakal W 'because/therefore';

Ilayt5 da1ta nà radzi , khapà da.]

Layla hare nag coma upsat is
'Lagla isn”t comtng here [becausel she's upset.'

Iday bura nà khwri, tawàn warta kawi.I lyÚ ‹ ó +y J

he sugar not eat loss him to does . •C yy

'He doesn‘I eat s ugar Ibecausel it's not good for hi m.'

Ide asad garm\ keda, wobà ge watskal e.) w,El ‹ « I o

of Asad heat became watar he drank
’Asad fel t hot (sol he arank some water.‘

Wht1e there appears to be nc word param lel to Eng1 ish 'because', the c1ause
marker ’then' or 'so’ Incl ¿, which often occurs as the Pashto equivalent of 'then' i n condt ti
onat
('I I - then‘) sentancas, ts often used to introduce a result c\ ause, I n which case it
parall e1s Engl Ash ”therefore' or 'so'. The example above mai appear with 'so’ (nol
!

Ide asad garm1 keda no wobà ge watska1e.j

of Asad heat became so water he drank

”Asad fe1I hot, so he drank some ' afer.'

in Pashto wrTtlng In general (and presumab1y in spokan Kandahari Pashto), the

clause marker lazakal or (dzaka chel w frequently appears in cause-and-effect
c on texts, and depending on the context trensl ales aa therefore' or 'because'. The
f oli owing patterns seem to obtaln!

'theref ara’, 'so’: Idzaka no] or [no dzaka) or

ldzakal 'because': Idzaka chel or (dzakal W
The dropping of mo] Of" [Ehe| <p han the resu\ t that .a. akal , bg ltsetf, can translate
as either ’because’ or its opposite ’therefore', which can lead to confusion on the part of
the f orelgn reader/hearer of Pashto, if not nati ve speakers,
Some examples from wri tten Pasht a are given below, wl th (dzakal and Its
transTati or.s double-underl ined. The first three are from 'é True story' tyawa ri
xtyânag qisal t„= › bg UI fat, a speaker of the N1ngrahar dt a\ect, who seems
cons1stently to use (dzakal to mean 'therefore' and ldzaka Chel to mean
'because‘

Idl aa topal‹ ger xkwél ag aw der bâwar\ wa.dzaka ge 1a chz na wera nâ keda.I
of him rifle very beautiful and very sure was therefore he from who from afraid not was
° «› = “ - “ » u‹›!• « >’ uu:.+ »« “» °•

’His rifle was verg beautl ful and trustworthg, he was not afrai d of angone.‘

I...pa mâkh ke ge I a noro l‹a\d na nor khal aq râ wâwataI aw day pdh shu
in face in his from other village from other people cama and he understood

che dw a khwâ jang nâs hi k awaia y, dzaka ye de yawa khwér pa ghâ ra

that Iwo side fight he couldn’t do thersfoe he of one creek at edge

y awa k MI â ta panM war wra aw de dzMn de hemaygt ghuxtdna ye wakra.]

one house to asylum look and of body of protection asked he did

° - •u” *r u ° - J W’ ' *. °*’ 'ï’

.0 “ •- L C Al Dij Dig
’Other pe0ple came towards htm from another vil \age, and he real T zed that ha
couldn‘t fl ght on tw o fronts ät 0flEg, he t00k a 5yIum Ï n a hause
on the edge of a creek and asked for protect i on.'

lt0se nos dé ta tsa zqan néshaq rasiwala9 dzaka che dey zma porowdra9 day aw
you all now him to any harm nap can bring because that he my debtor 1s and

ma ta ye panMn räwrl da.I

me to he asylum brought

'None of gou can harm hl m because he owes me and came to me for asylum.’
 hOp*er 1Üt ubo•din•¥tc a•tses

Another exampl e, from Ulfat's essay 'Of H\ dden \it or0s' lde par0é khabärel ‹ ‹:

ltar tsé che da xadzo makhuna pit wt khab9re ba ham pa pardd ke wl

as long as of women faces covered be information fut alao in curtain in 6e

y_zaka che pa pax to ke khabâra ham mu?andsa da.)

because in Pashtuns in information also feminine ie

•• •z* eJ-*• « r' ‘“* '*== *• "=, =*=

• < -—-----•-
'As I ong as as women's faces are covered, inf ormation is hldden, because in Pashto
information is femlnine.”

Here is an exemple of ”therefore‘ [no dzaka) tram the essay 'Na1aIa‘ lmalaïal •I x• o9
Samandar de Ba Jrasho:

[kho kâ1a kala musulmanMn dg sabaq hér kri, no dzaka pre

wâr but sometimes Moslems this
lesson forget theretore them

khatayt ghalabâ
wakçi.] panic
overcome

'But sometimes Moslems forget this I es on, so panl c overcomes them.'

The idzaka] in the phrase ‘because' ldzak a chel I s somett mes ptaced

before the verb In the previous clause, as in the examp1es bel ow from the short
story 'The Grave' Iqabarl bg Nt r NIhdt Shah NIhdl:

Ida tapus me dzâka wakra che hagha ba de gabâr na qer zyat weredd.I
this question I because did that he would from grave kom very heavy fear
. of “ <J ” o u• <ña w
•
” • " Ia

I
'I asked this question because he was terri fied of graves.'

[bar a xadza za dzâka na kawam che byâ ba me dâ I dr w8hl...)

another ‹•‘ife I because not I do that then will my this daughter beat...

‘I don't want another wlfe because she would beat this dau 9ht er of mlne ..'
 IaL's5CS CI €'.P' İ iOWOł i^ “* P^£ŁSsİo Ns. Å f maI group a f c1 auses wi th [che] <p

occur wl th I dt omat I c express i Ans. Some examp1es:

’beep se J'ń’al cue.1

lasad wa n á gağeda w am tse nâjora wa.I
Asad prf not danced why Ihat 6ick was.

’As ad didn‘t dane e because he w as sick.'

[I anqa d6 che misaf ár aw mel mé fărq sara 1ari.I

short this that traveler and guest difference wilh have

'In sh0rt, t he re I s a di fference bet w gen gues I s ąnd travel ars.'

[laka Che ta ná ghw8re tse met mastgă ta I ăç se.1

like that you not want that party to you go

' It looks T lke gou don’t want to go to the party.”

[xÉgi Ehe kâbá1 byü abád si.|

possible that Kabul again prosperous is
'II's poss ib1e that Kabu1 w 111 be buiIt agatn.‘

Pashto, ltke mang other Indo-European 1anguages, hąs special tense and clause
combinat1ons to express conditionals---sentences like ‘II 1t rains. we'll stag home‘ and
countertactuals--sentences like 'f you had asked, l would have told qou:
Pashto emp1ogs parti ct pi a1 cons I ruEI ions and di f f erent tenses to exp ress these, a1ong
w I th the c I ause m arker Ika] C. whiç h translate s as ’i f', and r D I i on at I Ç the cl ause marke r
'then' [no) ¿.

S1?
 traditional sentences. Conditional sentences reflect raal condl tf0ns or
poss1bi\\ ties and their consequences in the future, for exampl e, the Eng1ish, 'I f he fi
nds some money, he wil I spend it immediately.’
Pashto future condi tt ona\s are expressed bg means of sentences with two
c iauses. The first clause starts with 'Tf' lkai C; the verb in tht s clause 1s in the present
ar past perfect the tense. although the tense difference does not reflect a
difference in meaning. The second clause, which expresses the resul t. contains the
normal future construc If on wl th [bad ••. and tha verb In the present perfec tive tense.
Note, In the
examples below, the same conait iona\ sentence wl th different termes in the 'if' lkal S
clause:

[ka dég payse pay dâ ki , sam dast1 tia ya w âIa9•< ' !

if he money finds immediately /utit he spend

I f he finde some money, he w111 spend \t immedt atelg.'

(ka dä payse paydM kre, samdast1 ba ye wàl agawi.I

if he morte, found immedlately ft/tit ha spend

'If he ftnds some money, he wt1T spend it immedtatelg.’

(ka asad rgshi, za ba ye wägoram.I . y w, et ‹ I I

if Asad come I fut'fiim see ’I f AS üd cornes, i wtlt see him '

(ka asad rMghag, za ba ge wägoram.I . y •u. •ÿ ‹ lg I

If Aead came I futé\m see 'I f Asad cornes, I wil \ see him '

Ika za bägh wMkhl am de asad p\ ar ba khosh8l a shl ]

if I orchard buy of Aæd father fut pleased ls

'I f I buy the orchard, Asad‘s father will be p1eased.'

 [ka mg bggh wMkhista, de asad p Iâr ba khoshlla sht.i
if \ orehurd bought of Asad father ft/tpleased is

’I f I bug the orchard, Asad’s father wt II be pleased.'

[k a sab â I a haw â xâ wi , m 'é ta ba I âr shu.I

il tomorrow weather good is picnie to fut we go

I f the weather is good tomorrow, we wit I go on a plcnic.’

(ka saba ta haw a x6 wa, melé ta ba 16r shu.]

if tomorrow weather good was pienic to fut we go

'e v “. “ . ‘ •u “. >° *
If tfie weather is good tomorrow, we wiII go on a picnic.’

Countertactuc|s. An unreal condition, or counterf actual, describes a si tuat

ion that aoes not ex1st, for example Engl1sh ’If I 'Fr ere gou ...', ‘I f there were peace
in Afghani st an...' “I f pi gs had w ings...’ and so on. (Note that In Engll sh the non-
reat I t§ aI the phrase 1 s signal ted bg the verb's be1ng in the past rather than the
present tense: contrast 'I f thare were peace in Afghanistan ..’ wlth If there i s peace
in Afghani stan.. '). unreal condi tionai statements usually {in most uf tha Indo-Europa
an l anguages) consist
of a c1ause stating the contrary-to-fact si tuatlon, and c clause deacri bing a resul t.
The condtt1ona1 clause mey describe an unreal situation in the present te.g., English 'I
f there were peace tn Afghanistan...'J or tn the past (e.g., 'If thera had been peace In
Afghant stan...'). The result clause may al so be in the present (‘I f there 'care peace tn
Afghans stan, the government wout d be establishing an education sgstem now’), or past (If
there were peace in Afghanistan, the government wouT d have established an educate on
system gears ago‘) .
Pashto unrea1 cond1 ttonals are formed in the usual Indo-European pattern
involving 'if' [ka] C c1auses and particu1ar verb tenses. Such constructions comprl se a
c1ause starting with I f’ (kal C, which describes a counter-to-fact sltuat ton, and a
following clause that describes the result. The tenses of both the 'if' [ka) C cl ause
and
the result cl ause are expressed wl th var1ous combl natl ons of the imoerfectlve particl o1e
and other tense markers.

217
7 IJ
 Pros••nt unneuI couÜitimncls. I f the [k al C ct ause relers to an unreal cond1t ion
i n the present, 1 t s v erb i s an i mp erfect iv e parti c I p le tha t do es no t agree wt
th th a subJect/obJect. (I f tha verb i s ”be”, the form i s [way] y/.7 Same exampies of
such

clauses are

(k a ma dijmra der k8r nä I aralay...I •ü 4 ya

if we so much work not have I f rv e didn't have s o much rv ork

|ka Aman s w I ay16 kor ta rat Isi a y...) I a M I ¿L I C

if Aman and Layla house to came ’I f A m an and Layl a came to the house
...'

[ka tart sa paxtang way.. I

if Theresa Pashtana wera 'I f Theresa were a Paaht an a...'

Wreseut r‹n ‘ecil vom i+ion, result in the P"esent. I f the re au1t c I aus+ I s i n the
present, i t s herb i s in the past i mperf ec t1ve tense. I f the verb is se t1.e . i I i I T s parai1 e1
to Eng i I sh ‘would be'). i t comprises the partI cue lba] <. p\ us the verb [way] yy . Some

e x amp I e s:

[ka ma dumra de r kär né 1 aral ag, was kor la tT II u.]

if wu so much work not have now home to we-were-going

‘I f we dl dn't have so mu ch work, rv e woul d go home now '

Ika amän aw laylä vor ta rät lälag pasä ma akh1sta.I

if Aman and Layla house io Home lamb we were-buying

‘I f Am an and Lagl a cama to the house, We would but a 1 amb.'

[ka t ari sa pax tän/i rv ag rv as ba rv ädé

way.] if Theresa Pashtana were now fut
married was

I f There sa rv e re a Pash tana, she rv ould ba marrt ed bg now.‘

’ 1’ ü3l
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
 Present t nPeczl co ric|itiou, result in *he pcist. I f the result clause Is in the
past, 1 tg verb constructi0n consl sts of the parti ¢l e [bad , the Imperfacti ve part I cJ pt e,
and de (wagl The p art Icip1e agrees wi th the subj ect/object; lwag| does not.

(k a mung üûmra ğer kâr na I araI ag, tara hafta b a x9r ta u6l i w ay.]
if ce so much work not have last week /uf city to gone baen

' I f we didn't have so much work, we w ouId hav e gone to tf.e city I ast we ek.’

Ika amin aw 1ag1M har wakht kor ta rMt1flag kilJ ba mo wark5rs way.]
If Aman and Layla evefy time house to œme key ft/twe would h8Ve given

I f Aman end Lay1a o ft en came to t:'e houge, we would have given them a keg.‘

tke tar1aâ paxt ânâ wag mar ow plâr ba ge d‹!r pakhwâ merâ ta warkâre wag.]
if Theresa Pashtana were mother and father futher very long-time husband lo given been
e I * w C I -

'I f Theresa were a Pashtana, her motner and f ather would have found her a
husband gears ago.”

W st un e. al cooJitiouols. A past tt me unreal condl tion or counterfac tual in

Eng1 ish takes a form 1ike 'If I had been gou.. or 'If the Soviets had not establl shed a
communi s I government tn Afghanistan...‘. In Pashto, e past unreal ¢ondl tional ci
auee starts wlth ’If’ [kal J, and contains ar lmperf ective part tciple p\us (wayl y.
Tha
partclpls agrees withthesuo}ect/ob]ectas usuM,out the[waqlpp Ooes notchange
These ¢l auses are i n the past tense, and so fo1\ow the ru1es for ergative constructions.
Some examples nf such 'if’ lka] C clauses:

Ika mz dumra der kar nä way 1aral

ay...I if I 6o much work rteg
öa have

I f I hadn't had so much work...'

û 32
 Ike mung dumra qei- kär nä wag 1 aralay ...I
if we so much work neg be have

‘I f we hadn‘t had so much work. .'

(ka amän aw lage M kor la räg0é\ i wag. I

if Aman and Layla house to came öe

'I f A man and Layla h ad come to t he house...'

I f the verb in the 'i f' [kal C cJ ause is #e (i.e., if I I is para lel to Engl 1sh ’had bee n )
there t s no part lc1pIe; the verb i s j ust SwagI y. The d1stinc I ion between presen I and

gä st uhFeal condi ti on therefore dae sn‘t e xis t in P as0to when the verb in the Ch ause i s
’i f' ll‹al :

[ka sub tgn mahm6d paxtGn wag...I

if Sultan Mahmud Pashtun öe 'If Sul ten nahmud had been a Pashtun...' or
'If Sun tan t1ahmud rere a Pashtun. .'

yresent result. If the result is in the present time,

the verb n the resul t cl ause i s in t he past i mperf ec tive tense.

Ika me ddmra der Wär nä way lara1ay was da dumra stäray nä wann.I
if I so rr’.uch work nog 6e had now /ur so tired nep I-was

'I f I hadn't had so much rv ork, I woul dn't be s o t i re d now '

Ika za pardn nZr6gha nä way nan s1nf ta II al ann.]

if yesterday si'-k neg os today class tn I-went

I f nadn't been st ck ges terdag, I would go to c1ass t0day

ü3‘J
 [ka shora w Nano pa afghâni s tgn garghal nd wag karag pa he wad k e ba w os der
if Soviete to Afghanistan invasion not de done in count y in fut now many

m aktabûna wa #.]
schools öe

I f the S ovi ets had n0t invaded A f ghani stan, there wou\ d be mang school s
in the co un try non'.'

Ika ta w é1e w ay kenäs t3lam.i

if you asked öe I-was•sitting ”I f you had asked, I woul d st t dow n.'

test cereal conjitiou, past • esult. II the resul I I s I n the past ti me, I he
res u1t clause 1nc1udes the part1c1a lba) , the i mp erfacI i ve parti cip1e, and #e [w agl y.
T he parti c i p1e agree s w it h t he subj ect/obj e ct, but the [wag) I s i nvari able.

tka ma dûmra der kär nä way la ral ag mdr ba me 11 dä1e wag.]

if I so much work neg öe have mother /ùt I see be

'i f I hadn't had so much work, I woul d have v t c i t ed mg mother '

Ika z a oarun narogha nt way sinf ta ba Il ä lag way.I

if yesterday sick nep ös class to fof going been

’I f I hadn’t been 0I ck gest erday, I W0Ul d have gone to c1as s.’

Ika ta wél e way kenast ä1e ba way.I . y u. y y Ù

if you asked been sittlngF fui 6e
I f gou had asked, I would have sat do wn.”(I emale s peak er)

?f1
 lla sul tan mahmud p axtun way paxt anb ta ba ye der kär käray wag}
it Sultan Mahmud Pashtun öe Pastuns to luo he much work do öe

I f Sul t an Aahmud h ad be en a P ashtun, he w oul d hav e worI‹ed hard for the

P ashtuns.'

[I‹a shora wyâno pa af ghini st6n yerghal né wag karag no dâI‹h1Ii” J ang ba né w ay
if Soviets to Afghanistan invasion neg be do then civil war fut neg 6e

pex sa wag.]
happened

'I f the Soviets had not invaded Afghanistan, a ci vi1 w ar wou\d

not have happened.'

Condifiouol sentences expressing abili+y. A frequently-occurring

combina ti on of condi ti ons and results involves cons t rue tt ons that express abiI tty, for
examp1 e in Engl i sh. ‘I f we bug a car, we can go to thB c\ tg a I at,' or an unreal condi tional
' I f we bought a car, we could go to the cl t§ a lot.' Note how, in the fol 1owing examp 1es,
the 'can' structure wi th the perf ec ti ve form of the de verb \s constant; If the
i mper fee ti ve *arm of de were used, the construc t ton woul d not carrg the 'can’ meant ng.

lua mung moțăr w6khtu no x6r ta zăr zar tl ă1ay su.]

if we car buy then city :o otten go can
* : ' ” W •W
'lf we bud a car, we can go to the city a I ot '

(Ka mo moțăr 1 arăt ag, no xar ta zăr zar tlă1ay swu.]

if we car had then city to often go could

‘If we had a car, we caut d o to tha citg a 1ot '

 (ka mo mot ar akh fstag wag no zâr zar ba xar ta tlâlay swu.]
if we car bought be often fuf city to go could

'I f we had bought a ca r, we coul d have gone to the ci t g a I ot.'

I n convert ation, the ‘can‘ or 'coul d' statement s YrI th the imperfect I ve partt ct pte
ana the perf ecti ve #e of ten occur bg themselves, but nevertheless implg s condit lonal ,
i.e., the sentence below might imp1 g a cond1 tional 1 ike ‘if he wantad to' or 'if he had his
car.

(as dd kor ta bo 81ag swam.]

' s!JE “ !
Asad home to oould take, imp 'As ad could take me home.”

Such sentences contrast with their counterparts having perf ec tive parties
ples, in that the i mperfec tive participle sentences make no statement as to whether
the action was carrieQ out ornot, whereas tWe perfectlve participle sentences impl
that the action was indeed complet ed. Contrast the sentence above wi th i ts counterpart
wi th a
perf ec t I ve parti ct pl e:

[asśd kor t a b ótI ay s w am.i

Asad home to could take, pe/f
'Asad coul d take mc home (and did).'

Aaot her exarnp Ie:

[as ad do dag kh war8I ag s wa.I

Asad food aat (imp) be 'Asad coul d eat the food' (magbe he dt d,
magbe he dldn t)

(asad go aag w8klnw a ralag

swa.]
'As ad could eat the food' (and he dtd).
Asad food eat (perf) ba

Shaf eev ( 1964) descrt b es subord1nat e cl ause s accordt ng to tha part they pt ag
w I th regard to mam sentences (much I Ike t he anałgsT s here), but further dI v des the
a dverbT aT cl auses I n terms of the meanł ngs of the CI ause mąrkers, e.g. t emp0 ra1 c1ause s
(with 'when', ‘untiI', etc.), causal clauses (wi th 'because’, ‘since', etc.), purpose c\ auses
(with 'for the purpose of” [la para chel, etc.). He di st Ingui shes [dzaka] as 'therefore’
from (dzaka chel as 'because'.

nackenzl e ( 1987) refers to complex structures and y tn passing, but discusses the
placement of partirIes in sentences with relative clauses.
Penzl ( 1955) it sts the adverbs a1 clause markers, mentions the occurrence of
perf eE t1ves in subordinate c1autes, and gives a few exampl es of rel aft ve clauses. He
discusses the f ormation of conditionals in his chapter on verb forms. He 1f sts [dzaka
chel - as a con junc t1on meaning 'beEause'.

SSL
:?3 ›
Al the end o f the I ndex, there is a i I st of Pashto words that hąve mostl g gramma tical
functi ons, al phabeti zed by transcri pti on.

Adjectt ve compart san 87, 162

punc tuati on 43
AdjectJ ves speC i a] Pashto I etters 36
Ad] 1 7S sgmb ol for f eminine [ag 1 42
Adj I examples 76 sgmbo1 fcr [ag I verb endi ng 42
Adj t forms, ch art 75 sgmbol s in bo rrowsd Pr o rds 41
Adj 2 76 Bas ic SOV word order \ 65
Adj 2 exampl es 76, 77 be
Adj 2 forms, chart 77 in coun terf actual s 220
AO] 3 77 In future ex presstons t 26
Adj 3 exampłes 77, 7B, 79 in past I: me expressJ ons 135
Adj 5 forms, chart 76 in pre sent t ime exoressi ons 123
A0)479 w I th noun cl ause compl ements 204
Adj 4 exampl es 79 Beck a, JtrT
Adj 4 forms, chart 79 studg of Pashto stress 29
agreement s5 Be1 Iew, H. W. 4
agreement with conjoined Barro w ed words 30
nouns 192 Arabic pturals ]],
as adverbs B7 57 as AdJ 4”s 79
as nouns 86 from Arabic 33
as predlcates 06 from English 34
c1asses75 from Persian 3 I
gender75 f rom Russian 35
irregulars 79 from Urdu 35
order 85 gender and class asst gnment 60
other c iassif ic ations OO internals anal words 36
stress in AdJ 2 76. 77 Caroa, Sir Olaf 2
vocatt ve forms 85 Cause and effect examples 2 T 2
Adverbia1 Cl auses 209 Cause and effect expressions 205
agreement summary i B0 Commands
A1 phabet axampl es 132
charac terl stlcs 37 exampl es of negaNves i 33
dta]ect dtf I erences 42 neg att ves 133
etter names 39 negate ves, chart of forms 133
I etters and transcriptt ons 39
person a1 endtngs i 31
I tgaturas 42 unusua1 verb¢ 133
number symbol s BO w I th be 130

?39
Commands (cont.) wl th (bal . and present imperfec-
wt I h pre sent 1mperf ect I ve 13 ct
tive tense 13o
Complements with be 166 with tbal q and the present perfec-
Cond1tl ona1 sentences
expressing ti ve tense 127
abt I T tg 222 Imperf ectJve parties pt e
Conditional s in statements of patents at
defy nl tion 2 15 abMtt 147
future, tenses In 2 T 6 imperfec t1ve partlci pt
Conjol ned sentences es f armat ton 119
195 Consequence cl “perfect“ tenses 141
auses 2 T 0 Consonants I statements of abilt ty 1 45
I summary I 5o
ciusters 20 Indirect objects 16 1
non-nat1ve 15 I nfl nl t\ ves 1 42
retrof i ex 13, 16, 34 as c\tat on forms ! 43
technt EaJ description as nouns 143
i n passive construc tions 144
13
Counterfactuals intonation
daf1n1 tl on 2 17 questf ons 27, 168
present 2 17 sentences 27
Khoshal Khan Khattak is
resulI structure 2 IB, 2 i 9
Lorimer, D. L. R. 5, s,
res ul ts 220, 22 1
10
s truct ure 2 18, 2 \ 9
Oags of the week 178 Mackenzie, D. N. 10, 28. 29, 64, 74.
D. al ect dlIf erences BB, 12 I , 152, 164, 190,
consonant s 28 t 98, 224
pronunci ation of possessives 154 NIhd1 214
pronunc I at ton of Iwagâ1I y 202 Noun clauses 203
as direct obj ects 200
p ronunc i ation of y2 95
as direct obj ects, exampl es 20
spe11t ng sgstem 39. 42 1 as obj ects of preposi tions
vowe1s 28 204, 205
Dropping af past tense suff ix [-al-] - as subjects 199
J- as subj ects, examples 200
94, 98, 1 00, 10 I , 1 02. 1 04, as subjects, order 199
1 oz, i og, i i o, i i i , i i 2, 120 c1ause marker tche] 109
DU| TB 6, L OU19 4 def1nIIt on 199
Ergati ve construct1on 62, I d t English inflnlIt ve parell ei s
Ergati ve cnnstruc t1on. 203, 2 11
examples reported speech 202
I B2, 183 Noun clauses as compl ements
Future exprasslons 204 Noun comparison 162
examples 1 27, 1 28
negat1ves 12 7
order of eiements in negatl ver 1 28
wl th present T mper1'ect1 ve ?3â
tense 129
Noun phrases number 46
f urctIans In sentences 170 numerl cal pI ural of mascul lne s 6 I
modl f1 ers 170 otfter cl assif icat1ons ó4
order of elements T 70 regul arizstion of forms 59
order of madi fi 8rs 17 1 uses of direct f orms 62
couns uses of obl i que form s 62
abbreviations used 47 vocattve forms 63
as objects sz Nouns. femt nt ne 54
as ob jec ts of preposi ti ons 62 Numbers
as sub jects 62 charts 80, 8 I , ü2
case 46 grammatical charactert sti es so, ez
cl asses of borrowed words 60 order 80
F 1 54 orcJnals 83
F 1 examples 54 ordlnals, chart ü4
F 1 forms, chart 54 símbols 80
F I unusual 54 Obl tgatlon expres si ans
F2 55 wt th 'mf'st' (de] a 1 48
F2 examp1es 55
wi th 'should'[bZyà dl L 149
F2 forms, chart 51
F 3 1ó Order of sentence modi fiers 176
F3 examples S6 Order of time phrases in
F3 forms, Chart 56 sentences 177
gender 46, 47, 54 Parts clple construct I ans
"perfect tenses" 140
ender of borrow e d words 6o
1 fJ ergative construct
ions 62 "perfect tenses", chart of
I rregul ar 56, 59 forms 140
klnsht p terms, chart 57 "perfect tenses", exampl es 14
N1 47 "perfect tenses", negatives 1 42
N1 exampJ es 4Y s tatements of ab t1i tg 144
n I forms, chart 47 s tatements of abi Itty. exampl es
N i unusual 48 I 4S, 1 46
N2 49 s tatement s of abt \ I ty, negaIt ve
exampesl47
N2 examples 50
N2 f0rms, chart 50 statemant s of ablI tty, negati ves
n2 unusual 50
N3 51 st atements of future abl \ I tg I 4ó
S t 6 t9fTlBflt S Of 0 tgFlt T a1 abl 1 I tg
N3 examples 52
n3 forms, chart 52, 53 1 48, 222, 223
N4 53 Parts cles
I nternal ordert ng 175
t14 forms, chart s3 order In sentences t73
mase 60 Pashto
academies ana standardtzatl on 8
Pas ht0 (cont.)
(-at wlth certa1n prepoeit1ons 157
ancestry 5
[al-init\ al verbs \ 05
di aSects 6
Post-posltl0ns l53, 154
form of examples I I
Pre-positions 153, T 54
grammars 10
Pre-p05t-p OCttlOnS i 53, 15 i
$rsmme\\ cat study B PreposttTons 153
In publications 39
as indirect objects \ 61
language name 4
dr0pping of element s T
\\ \e raLure 39
51
numbers of speakers 1 in adjactlva comparison \ 62
standardization 7
\n noun comparison 62
vocabulary 5
phrases with, )1st 158
whera spok en I possessive (de] «, order In
Pashto and Dari 2, 6, B noun
cognates 3 I
phrases 172
Pashto greeting s \rucL are 13 1
speci al forms
Pashtun eduEation and I i teracy
157
3 Pashtun society 3
Pashtun tribes 3. 7. 52 usa of noun cases I SB
Pash tunwali 3
with noun clause objects 2o5
with superlatl ves 163
Passive construc tton 144
wlth weak pr0nouns 156
Past expressions
Present imperfective stem
p ast imperf ec ti ve exampT es
summary of uses i 50
137 past perfective exampl es
Present imperfective tense 123
13B With the past tmperf ec tive
thart of forms 124
136 with tha pa st parf ect \v e
c0ar\ of negative forms 125
136
examp1es 124
Past tmperf ac tive stem
in expressions of 0b1lgati on T
summary of uses
4B In negat1va commands 133
150
negative examples 125
Past perf ecttve stem
negative statements 124
summary of uses
Present perf ect\ve stem
110
Summary of uses i
Pathans 2
50 Present perf ectlve
Penz1, Herbert IO, 29, 64, 74, BB,
tense
12 I , 152, 164, t B9, \ 90,
In commands 13 I
224
in expressions of obligation 149
Perf ec tive participles
In future st etements 127
formation 119
use In clauses 12s, 203
statements of abt J1tg
Pron0uns 70
145 summary t 5o
demonstrat tve forms, chart 7 I
Phono1 ogt Eat procasses
demonstratlves 70
derivative verb I erm t t I on 109
demonstrat \ves wt th
stress In doubl g ”.-reg» i ar
noun c)auses 204
v8rbs I \ 4
$en0er 72
lal to !5] 90. 100
Indeflnttes 72

’*^ ?41
Pronouns (cont.) Superlat lve expressł one 163
int errogat\ ves 72
or0er \ n compounds Ig i of doublg irreguł ar verbs t 14
stresc of weak pronouns 6ü structure 19
strong óa Time clauses 209
strong pronoun forms, chart exampl es 2 i 0
69 use of strong pronouns Tlmg-telling, modarn 179
176 Times ot oak, traditional
weak pronoun internal ordering 17g Transcri ption 4
175 wgak pronoun placement in Transcrlotion and letter
sentences s8, i 73 correspondences
weak pronouns 65 consonants 4s
weak pr0nouns dropped 66, 67, I vowels 44
B2 weak pronouns, chart ó5 Transcr1pt\on system described i I
weak pronouns, direct” forms 67 Transiiteraf Ion 4
weak pronouns, dropped t67 UI fat 2 3, 2 14
Pronuncl ation verb phrases
i arge numbers 68 order of e1ements 172
of 1ntransitłva auxi i iarg 96 order of negatives \n 173
of possessłves 154 verbs
PUrp0 Se CI aU969. 1 1 1 abbreviations usea go
RaTatłve Clauses 206 agreement wT tfi conjo\ ned
definition 2o6 subjects 192
examples 207 aspect s i. sø
format Ion 206 auxi liar1es 95
order 20a auxł\ Ian parttcipløs 120
Samandar de Baürasho 2 14 6e 92
Sha fe ev, D. A. 1 0, 64, 7 4, 8g, 12 1, be, past forms, chart 94
T 5 I , 164, lg0, ' 9ü, 224 #e, present forms, chart 92, 93
Squ are brackets, use uf daft n\ tton of ł rreguTar 92
4 strass der1vatl ve 105
tn Ad) 2 76, 77 derl vatlve, agreement 112
ï n affł xes 26 derivative, agreement, chart i
In borrowings 25 3 der1vatl ve, chart of I
in demonstrative and strong ntrans1tive
pronouns 7 1 forms 106, ł 07, 10. 11 0, 11 I
in doublg Irregular verbs 114 derivative, chart of transitive
In N3 nouns 52 forms 10B, 100, 111, \ 12
In sentences 26 der1vatl ve, forms \ 0ó
In weak pronouns 6O derIvat\ ve, from nouns and
in words 24 ad)9Ct) v es 113
representatl on I I doublg lrregul ar ł 14
Subject and obj ect de\etlon t ó6 doubl d trrugu\ar, \ I sc 119, I I ó, 117

"’ Ë4Z
Veros (cont.) [-äl-] -J- past tense marker 94
idf osgncrattc part c ip I es 120 (aw) pl ’an0’ 191
intransittve auxiiiary, chart 95, 96
(che] ‘that’ 206, 2 10, 2 T 5
c ther anas yses 12 I
partIcipl e formatl on T \ 8, 119 [chéral › , ’where?’ 169
partlEl t9S 118 (dzaka] 'becausa/there fore' 2 12
participles, examples 119
[ham ... ham] ,.. 'bath ... and'
personal end\ngs 90, 9 I
personal endings (past), chart 9 I 191, 194
personal endings (pra sent), chart lkaw—I - (j ) transitive auxiTiarg s7
90 present 1mperfec tive as ci tatton (kal ’i f' 2 f 6, 2 17. 2 19
form 89 (keg-] - ( ) intransl ti
simple 9B, 105, 125
ve auxlliarg 95
sImp1e beginning w\ th tal - I
[thol 'but 191. 196
12R simple beginning wi th (al -
{khpal) (possesslve)73
1 134
Ikum] ’whicht' 169
simp\a 1ntransitive, chart of
Una ... na) o ... u ”net ther ... nor‘
form z 101
s1mpIe irregular 102 19 I , 194
slmple Irregul ar, 3rd person lstal ’there i s’ 93
f0l•ms f 04 [tar tso chel <p 'until' 209
simple trregu! ar, chart 101 (tsokl J 'who?, whoever' 71, 169
simple irregular, \Ist 103, 104
\tsanga tsel <p 'as soon as'
stmple, chart of forms 99, 100
simple, exemples i oo 209 ftsa] 'whatt,
simple, intransl t\ve examples 10 something' 72, i 6ü (wagl
T stmpl e, transt tive examples T
In counterfactuaJs 2zo
02 summary of f0rms and uses
149 tense 9 t lwt] t3rd person form of de) 93
trsnsi tl ve auxlf lary 96 [wäl perfective marker 99
verbs with possessive subjects I B4 [ga ... yül ... ¿ 'e1ther - or’ I94
verbs, 'impersonal transi t1ve” 186
|gg) k 'or’ 19 \ , t 94

adjectlves BS
nouns 63
VoWel s 1 6
dlphthongs 1B
techno cal descrlpt1on
17 Word order 1n questt
ons 168

rio Û 4 7