Pashto is an S-O-V language with split ergativity. Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for gender (masc./fem.), number (sing./plur.), and case (direct, oblique, ablative and vocative). The verb system is very intricate with the following tenses: Present; simple past; past progressive; present perfect; and past perfect. In any of the past tenses (simple past, past progressive, present perfect, past perfect), Pashto is an ergative language; i.e., transitive verbs in any of the past tenses agree with the object of the sentence. The dialects show some non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms.
In the following article stress is represented by the following markers over vowels: ә́, á, ā́, ú, ó, í and é.
Pronouns
Note: هغه as a demonstrative pronoun (that) has initial stress [háğa] whereas the personal pronoun (he, she, it) has final stress [hağá].
Personal pronouns Person & Number English Direct Indirect 1st person Singular I زهza ماma Plural we موږmuzhمونږmung/mang (in Peshawari/ Northern Dialect) ماma 2nd person Singular you (sing.) تهta تاtaa Plural you (plur.) تاسوتاسېtaaso/taase Лебедев К. А. Афганистан: Язык, литература, этнография. — Москва : "Муравей", 2003. Pashto Language: Solving the Mysteries of the Past Tense تاtaa 3rd person Visible Singular Masc. he دیday/(Da in Peshawari /Northern Dialect) دهda Fem. she داdaa دېde Plural they دویdoi/(Dwi in Peshawari Dialect) دای dai (Northern dialect) دویdoi/Dwi/dai Invisible Singular Masc. he (invis.) هغهhaghā هغہhagha Fem. she (invis.) هغهhaghā هغېhaghé Plural they (invis.) هغویhaghui/(haghwi in Peshawari Dialect) هغویhaghui/haghwi
Demonstrative pronouns
+ دغه dağha (this) Direct دغهdáğha Indirect دېde
+ هغه háğha (that) SingularPlural Masc. Fem. Direct هغهháğha Indirect هغۀháğhә هغېháğhe هغوháğho
Possessive pronouns There is no plural form with nouns.
+ Independent forms Singular Plural 1st person زماzma زموږzamuzhزمونږzamunzh/(Zmung/Zmang in Peshawari Dialect) 2nd person ستاsta ستاسوstaaso 3rd person Visible Masc. د دهda da د دویda doi/Dwi Fem. د دېda de Invisible Masc. د هغہda hagha د هغویda haghui/Haghwi Fem. د هغېda haghe
+ Enclitic forms Singular Plural 1st person مېme موmo, mu 2nd person دېde, di موmo, mu 3rd person يېye
Interrogative pronouns whowhichwhich [ord. numbers]
Literarywhich [ord. numbers]
Yusapzaiwhathow manyhow muchhowDirectMasc.څوکtsokکوم komڅووم tsowə́mڅويم swajə́mڅه tsəڅومره tsómraڅونه tsónaڅنګه tsə́ngaFem.کومه kómaڅوومه tsowə́maڅويمه swaimaObliqueMasc.چاčhāکوم komڅووم tsowə́mڅويم swajə́mFem.کومې kómeڅوومې tsowə́meڅويمې swaime
Indefinite
In order to distinguish sentences with indefinites from questions, یو /yaw/ 'one' may be added, to yield یو څوک /yaw ʦok/ 'someone' and یو څه /yaw ʦə/ 'something'. When هر /har, ar/ 'every' precedes the indefinite pronouns, the combination can mean everyone [هر څوک], everything [هر څه], each one [هر یو]
Nouns Case and gender Pashto inflects nouns into four grammatical cases: direct, oblique, ablative (also known as oblique II) and vocative. The oblique case is used as prepositional case as well as in the past tense as the subject of transitive verbs (i.e. in ergative construction), and the ablative case is used with certain prepositions and with some numerals.
There are two genders: masculine and feminine. Gender of a noun is indicated by its ending. Animate nouns' gender agrees with biological gender regardless of the ending. Masculine NounsFeminine NounsEnding PhonemeEnding PhonemeEnds in diphthong oɪEnds in diphthong əiزوی zoysonهوسۍ hosә́ideerEnds in diphthong ɑiEnds in eځای dzā́yplaceملګرې malgә́refriend [female]Ends in unstressed aɪEnds in unstressed a ګاډی gā́ḍaycarژبه žә́batongue, languageEnds in stressed aɪEnds in oسړی saṛáymanپيشو pišhócatEnds in stressed a [few nouns]Ends in stressed a [most nouns]ګېنډه genḍárhinoمېله meláa fairEnds in ə ورارۀ wrārә́brother's sonEnds in consonant [most nouns]Ends in consonant [few nouns]تنور tanúrovenمېچن mečhә́nhandmillEnds in uڅانډو tsānḍúhusband of a wife's sisterEnds in diphthong awEnds in əw پلو paláwsideکټو kaṭә́wcooking potEnd in i [only for professions]End in i [most nouns]دوبي dobíwashermanبدي badíhostilityEnds in ɑ [few nouns]Ends in ɑ [most nouns]ماما māmā́maternal uncleرڼا raṇā́light
Pashto has no definite article. But when necessary, definiteness may be indicated by other means such as demonstratives. Likewise, it may be contraindicated by use of the word for "one", يو; as in "يو روغتون" – "a hospital".
Class 1 Masculine nouns Generally, animate masculine nouns take ان -ā́n in plural, and inanimate ones take ونه -úna. Masculine nouns ending in ۀ -ә lose it when attaching the suffixes. The grammatical animacy usually corresponds with physical animacy, but there are some exceptions, like مېړۀ meṛә́ "husband" is inanimate grammatically with plural مېړونه meṛúna, and پل pul "bridge" is animate — پلان pulā́n.
The nouns ending in -i, -ā (these are always animate) or -u (these can be both animate and inanimate) take ان with -g-, -y- or -w- inserted between vowels.
Words ending in -āCә́ pattern (like وادۀ wādә́ "wedding") have short -a- in plural.
+ Ending in a consonant(animate) SingularPluralDirect ان ā́nOblique انوā́noAblative ه aVocative + Ending in a consonant(inanimate) SingularPluralDirect ونه únaOblique ونو únoAblative ه aVocative + Ending in -ә́(animate)SingularPluralDirect ۀ ә́ان ā́nOblique انو ā́noAblativeVocative + Ending in -ә́(inanimate)SingularPluralDirect ۀ ә́ونه únaOblique ونو únoAblativeVocative
+ Ending in -iSingularPluralDirectي iيان yā́nOblique یانو yā́noAblativeVocative + Ending in -āSingularPlural 1Plural 2Directا āايان āyā́nاګان āgā́nOblique ايانو āyā́noاګانو āgā́noAblativeVocative + Ending in -uSingularPlural 1Plural 2Direct و uوان wā́nګان gā́nObliqueوانو wā́noګانو gā́noAblativeVocative
Examples + پلار "father" SingularPluralDirect پلارplār پلرونه plərunəOblique پلرونوplərunoAblative پلاره plā́raVocative + غوږ "ear" SingularPluralDirect غوږ ğhwəg غوږونه ğhwəgúnaOblique غوږونو ğhwəgúnoAblative غوږه ğhwə́gaVocative + لېوۀ "wolf" SingularPluralDirectلېوۀ lewә́لېوان lewā́nOblique لېوانو lewā́noAblativeVocative + زړۀ "heart" SingularPluralDirectزړۀ zṛә́زړونه zṛúnaObliqueزړونو zṛúnoAblativeVocative + وادۀ "wedding" SingularPluralDirectوادۀ wādә́ودونه wadúnaObliqueودونو wadúnoAblativeVocative
+ درزي "tailor" SingularPluralDirectدرزي darzíدرزيان darzyā́nOblique درزیانو darzyā́noAblativeVocative + باچا "king" SingularPluralDirectباچا bāčā́باچايان bāčāyā́nOblique باچايانو bāčāyā́noAblativeVocative + ماما "(maternal) uncle" SingularPluralDirectماما māmā́ماماګان māmāgā́nOblique ماماګانو māmāgā́noAblativeVocative + غٙل"thife" SingularPluralDirectغٙل ġalغٙلان ġalā́nOblique غٙلونا ġalúnā AblativeVocative + الو "potato" SingularPluralDirectالو alúالوګان alugā́nOblique الوګانو alugā́noAblativeVocative
Feminine nouns Feminine nouns generally have final -a. They change it to -e in the oblique cases and direct plural and to -o in oblique plural, independently of their animacy. A few feminine nouns end in a consonant, they still take the same endings.
In Southern Pashto, the final -e is pronounced -i when unstressed. For example, the plural of سترګه stә́rga "eye" and لار lār "way" would be سترګې stә́rge and لارې lā́re in the North, but سترګي stә́rgi and لاري lā́ri in the South, while مڼه maṇá "apple" and تخته taxtá "board" would be مڼې maṇé and تختې taxté in both dialect groups.
There are also feminine nouns ending in other vowels, particularly -e (they take یانې -yā́ne in the plural) and -ā or -o (they take either ګانې -gā́ne or وې -we). In Southern Pashto they are یاني -yā́ni, ګاني -gā́ni and وي -wi (the last one is not as common as in Northern Pashto and is mostly restricted to a few nouns).
+ Ending in -aSingularPluralDirectه aې eObliqueې eو oAblativeVocative + Ending in a consonant SingularPluralDirectې eObliqueې eو oAblativeVocative + Ending in -eSingularPluralDirectې eیانې
yā́neObliqueیانو yā́noAblativeVocative + Ending in -ā and -oSingularPluralDirectګانې or وې gā́ne or weObliqueګانو or وو gā́no or woAblativeVocative
Examples
+ اسپه "horse, mare" SingularPluralDirectاسپه áspaاسپې áspeObliqueاسپې áspeاسپو áspoAblativeVocative + مياشت "month" SingularPluralDirectمياشت myā́šhtمياشتې myā́šhteObliqueمياشتې myā́šhteمياشتو myā́šhtoAblativeVocative
+ خواښې "mother-in-law" SingularPluralDirectخواښې xwā́x̌eخواښیانې xwax̌yā́neObliqueخواښیانو xwax̌yā́noAblativeVocative + رڼا "light"SingularPluralDirectرڼا raṇā́رڼاوې or رڼاګانې raṇā́we or raṇāgā́neObliqueرڼاوو or رڼاګانو raṇā́wo or raṇāgā́noAblativeVocative + بیزو "monkey" SingularPluralDirectبیزو bizóبیزوګانې or بیزووې bizogā́ne or bizóweObliqueبیزوګانو or بیزوو bizogā́no or bizówoAblativeVocative
Class 2 In class 2 there's only masculine nouns, both animate and inanimate. They are subject to various alterations inside the stems. The take -ə́ in the plural and oblique forms.
Nouns with -ú- or -ó- in the last syllable change them to -ā-. Some nouns like تنور tanúr "oven" belong to the mixed conjugation, they form their oblique forms as Class 2 nouns, but their plurals are derived according to Class 1 pattern (but the -ú/ó- may be reduced to -a- in Southern dialects or -ə- in Northern dialects). The word پالېز paléz "kitchen garden" is often cited as an example of a noun that belongs to class 2, but doesn't undergo any stem changes.
There are some animate masculine nouns ending in -á (مېلمه melma "guest", اسبه asba "(horse) shepherd", غوبه ğoba "(cow) shepherd", کوربه korba "owner of the house" etc.), they also belong to Class 2.
Monosyllabic nouns with -a- lose it and take -ə in the oblique and plural forms. There several exceptions here: غر ğar "mountain", ور war "door", ګز gaz "gaz (unit of length)", من man "man (unit of weight)", ټغر ṭağar "rug" take ونه -úna in the plural form (غرونه ğrúna, ورونه warúna/wrúna etc).
Nouns with -á- in the last syllable change it to -ə́-. Most of them are mixed in their conjugation: they can take (or not take) -ā́n or -úna in the plural form. A lot of inanimate nouns in this class can take both suffixes. The only exception here is سخر sxar "stone", which is always sxə́r in plural. This subclass also contains words suffixed with ګر, ور, ن, زن.
+ With -ú/ó-SingularPluralDirectúC, óCāCə́ObliqueāCə́aCóAblativeúCa, óCaVocative + Mixed SingularPluralDirectúC, óCuCúna, oCúna or əCúnaObliqueuCə́, óCə́uCúno, oCúno or əCúnoAblativeúCa, óCaVocative
Examples
+ پښتون "Pashtun"SingularPluralDirectپښتون pəx̌túnپښتانه pəx̌tānə́Obliqueپښتانه pəx̌tānə́پښتنو pəx̌tanóAblativeپښتونه pəx̌túnaVocative + شپون "shepherd" SingularPluralDirectشپون špúnښپانۀ špānə́Obliqueښپانۀ špānə́شپنو španóAblativeشپونه špúnaVocative + سکور "coal" SingularPluralDirectسکور skórسکارۀ skārə́Obliqueسکارۀ skārə́سکرو skaróAblativeسکوره skóraVocative + تنور "oven"SingularPluralDirectتنور tanúrتنرونه or تنورونه tanərúna or tanurúnaObliqueتناره tanārə́تنرونو or تنورونو tanərúno or tanurúnoAblativeتنوره tanúraVocative + تول "weight"SingularPluralDirectتول tolتولونه tolúnaObliqueتالۀ tālə́تولونو tolúnoAblativeتوله tólaVocative + مېلمه "guest"SingularPluralDirectمېلمه melmáمېلمانه or مېلمه melmānə́ or melmə́Obliqueمېلمانه or مېلمه melmānə́ or melmə́مېلمنو or مېلمو melmanó or melmóAblativeمېلمه melmáVocative
+ غل "thief" SingularPluralDirectغل ğalغله ğləObliqueغله ğləغلو ğloAblativeغله ğhálaVocative + غر "mountain"(exception) SingularPluralDirect غر ğhar غرونه or (rare) غرۀ ğhrúna or ğhrəOblique غرونو ğhrúnoAblative غره ğhára
ğhrəVocative + دښمن "enemy" SingularPluralDirectدښمن dux̌mánدښمن or دښمنان dux̌mə́n or dux̌mənā́nObliqueدښمن dux̌mə́nدښمنو or دښمنانو dux̌mə́no or dux̌mənā́noAblativeدښمنه dux̌mánaVocative + پالېز "kitchen garden"SingularPluralDirectپالېز palézپلېزونه palezúnaObliqueپالېزۀ or پالېز palezə́ or palézپلېزونو palezúnoAblativeپلېزه palézaVocative
Class 3 Nouns in Class 3 are related to adjectives ending in -ay, -əy, -e.