Wordmaster

Saturday 10th of March 2007 07:53:21 PM

All about Urdu Verbs, In Parts: All about Urdu Verbs, In Parts
All about Urdu Verbs Part I
Introduction Nouns
50 Example Verbs
25 Example Causative Verbs
25 Example Imperative Verbs
Special Cases; Hona, Dena and Lena
Present Tense
Past Tense
Respect Levels
The Na Particle
Integrated Verbs

Ok! Im going to write all I know about Urdu verbs here and I hope this will help you folks grasp one
of the most difficult aspects of the Urdu language. I originally wanted to write it in one go, but seeing
how theres so much to tell, Ill have to divide this into parts. This article is long and exhaustive, so I
hope you have some time on your hands.
Firstly, some quick introductions. Urdu verbs have different forms. The way these forms are
conjugated is pretty much the same and youll have no problem memorizing that I hope. The bad
news is, there are different forms depending on gender and plurality of the subject, and also on how
respectfully you wish to talk. In short, you will have to memorize. The good news is, once the ordeal is
over, you would be halfway over with the hard part of learning a language, which is, learning the
system. After that, its just piecing in vocabulary and building fluency and naturalizing with use.
Ok, to begin, if youre a complete beginner, then, firstly you need to know the basics. The most basic
fact about Urdu is that, unlike English, all Urdu nouns have genders, which spells headache for
learners. Not only do you have to memorize words, but their genders as well. Luckily, there is a
general (but not very strict) rule to this. Most verbs ending in an aa sound are masculine. Most ending
in ii are feminine.
English words can be imported in Urdu with ease. They sound natural. (However the reverse is not
true! Urdu words used in English speech sound extremely annoying!) Make special note of this fact. All
you learners who currently have a weak vocabulary can use English words to fill in the holes for Urdu
words you dont know yet. English words when used in Urdu will have the same gender as their Urdu
translations do. Example, Tree although ends with the ii sound, is masculine in Urdu, because
in Urdu Darakht (Tree) is masculine.
Ok, now onto verbs. All Urdu verbs have different forms as I said before. The most basic of these
forms, is the -na form. Any verb in this form basically means the same as the act of doing that verb.
For example Khana means (to eat) or (the act of eating).
A list of verbs will follow; (Dena is pronounced They-na), (All e are to be pronounced as ey as
in They, all u are to be pronounced as u in put)
50 verbs

Khana To Eat
Kholna To Open
Pina To Drink
Padna To Read
Aana To Come
Hutna To Move Aside
Jaana To Go
Bunna To Form/ To be created
Hona To Be
Hasna To Laugh
Lena To Take
Muskurana To Smile
Dena To Give
Khona To Lose (something)
Karna To Do
Jeetna To Wins
Rehna To Stay
Harna To Lose (a match)
Kehna To Say
Kampna To Shiver
Sochna To Think
Bhonkna To Bark
Sona To Sleep
Utthna To Get Up
Poochna To Ask
Girna To Fall
Samajna To Understand
Pukna To Get Cooked
Jaanna To Know
Bhaagna To Run
Chalna To walk
Lootna To Rob
Chalna To run as in (cars, or computers)
Chootna To Escape
Lana To Bring
Chodna To Let Go
Betthna To Sit
Pakadna To Grab
Letna (Pr. Laytna) To Lie Down
Chadna To climb/to rise
Bolna To Speak
Utharna To descend
Rona To Cry
Khilna To Blossom
Dekhna To See
Ladna To Fight
Sunna To Hear
Marna To Kill/ To Beat
Soongna To Smell (something)
Ghoomna To roam around/ to revolve

These are the na forms of various verbs. Before we move to any other forms, lets consider how we
can make more -na forms from these -na forms. Only the first 25 will be used in the following table.
Causative Forms
Khana To Eat
Khilana To Feed
Pina To Drink
Pilana To make some drink
Aana To Come
N/A (Bulana (to call someone) is used)
Jaana To Go
N/A (Bhejna (to send) is used)
Hona To Be
N/A
Lena To Take
N/A
Dena To Give
Dilana Te get something for someone
Karna To Do
N/A
Rehna To Stay
N/A
Kehna To Say
N/A
Sochna To Think
N/A
Sona To Sleep
Sulana To put someone to sleep
Poochna To Ask
N/A
Samajna To Understand
Samjhaana To explain
Jaanna To Know
N/A
Chalna To walk

N/A
Chalna To run as in (cars, or computers)
Chalana To run something
Lana To Bring
N/A
Betthna To Sit
Bitthana To have someone sit, (to seat someone)
Letna (Pr. Laytna) To Lie Down
Litana To have someone lie down
Bolna To Speak
Bulana To Summon someone or to call someone (names)
Rona To Cry
Rulana To make someone cry
Dekhna To See
Dikhana To show
Sunna To Hear
Sunana To make someone hear, to tell
Soongna To Smell (something)
Soonghana To make someone smell something
I hope you can draw from this how the causative verbs of some verbs are formed. Now in even more
complex, Imperative form will be demonstrated. At this stage, try not to read into this too deeply,
this is just to demonstrate how certain deeper verbs are derived from simpler ones.
Imperative Forms
Khana To Eat
Khilwana To Make Someone Feed Someone
Pina To Drink
Pilwana To make someone make someone else drink
Aana To Come
N/A (Bulwana (to have someone call someone else) is used)
Jaana To Go
N/A (Bhijwana (to make someone send) is used)
Hona To Be
N/A
Lena To Take

N/A
Dena To Give
Dilwana Te get someone to get something for someone
Karna To Do
Karwana To make someone do something
Rehna To Stay
N/A
Kehna To Say
Kehwana To make someone say something
Sochna To Think
N/A
Sona To Sleep
Sulwana To make someone put someone else to sleep
Poochna To Ask
N/A
Samajna To Understand
N/A
Jaanna To Know
N/A
Chalna To walk
N/A
Chalna To run as in (cars, or computers)
Chalwana To make someone run something
Lana To Bring
N/A
Betthna To Sit
Bitthwana To get someone to have someone else sit, (to seat someone)
Letna (Pr. Laytna) To Lie Down
Litwana To have someone lie someone else down
Bolna To Speak
Bulwana To have someone Summon someone else
Rona To Cry
Rulwana To make someone make someone else cry
Dekhna To See

Dikhwana To make someone show something

Sunna To Hear
Sunwana To make someone make someone else hear
Soongna To Smell (something)
Soonghwana To make someone Make someone else smell something
This might just be too complicated for some beginners, so I advise you not concern your self too
deeply with this. If it helps, just memorize them as different independent verbs, although I wouldn t
suggest memorizing all of them.
Lastly, I have one more table to bore you with. This however, I suggest you do learn as this the
practical method with which verbs are used in Urdu speech.
In spoken Urdu, we rarely use verbs in there single-word forms. We use what I call Integrated
verbs. Basically and Integrated Verb is formed when any verb is joined with and integratable verb.
There are four integratable verbs, (Aana, Jaana, Lena and Dena).
Examples of Integrated verbs.
Khana + Lena = Kha Lena
Sona + Jaana = So Jana
Dekhna + Lena = Dekh Lena
To integrate verbs, drop the na of the first verb and then add them together to make one two
worded verb. Why exactly verbs are integrated, I will discuss later in this article.
Ok, now finally, we will begin with some conjugating. First, Ill point out the special cases. Hona, Lena
and Dena are special cases because the conjugate differently than others. Hona especially, has
additional forms. These forms are Hai, Hu, Ho and Hein. They all mean is . Which one of these you
use depends on the subject.
Hai Used for third person subjects
Hu Used when the speaker is the subject
Ho Used when the person being spoken to is the subject
Hein Used when the subject is plural
Armed with this knowledge, lets make our first, very simple sentences.
Mein Hu.
I am. (or It is I)
Tum Ho.
You are. (or Its you)
Wo Hai.
S/he is. (or Its him/her)
Hum Hein.
We Are. (or Its us)

It always feels good when you can use what you learn. Next time you re knocking at your Urdu
speaking acquaintances door and are asked who is this? you can proudly reply Mein Hu .
:D :D
Why Lena and Dena are special cases, Ill discuss later.
Now Ill move on to the next form. The fires tense taught to language learners, the present tense. The
present tense form of a verb is made by dropping the na and replacing it with a ta/ti/te. Examples,
Khana becomes Khata, Pina becomes Pita. Na is replaced by ta when the subject is masculine, ti when
feminine and te when plural.
Now with the use of the object Seyb, (Apple/s), and Pani (Water) lets try forming some sentences.
Seyb Khana.
To eat an Apple.
Mein Seyb Khata Hu.
I eat Apples. (I am a guy so I used ta)
If I was a girl Id say the same sentence like this;
Mein Seyb Khati Hu.
I eat Apples. (Spoke by a female.)
Hum Pani Pite Hein.
We drink Water.
Tum Pani Piti Ho.
You drink Water. (The person being spoken to is a girl)
Wo Seyb Khata Hai.
He eats Apples.
Wo Seyb Khati Hai.
She eats Apples.
Finally, hitting the sixth page in this document I'm typing, its finally paying off. I think with this much
information, youll be able to make many simple sentences.
Now that were here, ill introduce the similar past tense. :D :D
To form the past tense, you have to use the past forms of hu, ho, hai and hein, which are basically,
tha, thi and the. Tha is used when subject is masculine, thi when feminine and the when plural. I
believe the pattern with a, I and e should be evident by now. If not, that s fine.
Mein tha.
I Was. (Spoken by male.)
Wo thi.
It was her.

Wo the.
It was them.
Wo Seyb Khati Thi.
She ate Apples.
Hum Pani Pite The.
We drank water.
Mein Pani Pita tha.
I drank water.
Thats it now for the past tense. Well delve into these tenses again when we discuss the continuous
form the past and present tense later. For now, let me point out something important.
Urdu has respect levels, that is, the amount of respect you shoe for the person your are speaking
to or speaking of. Basically there are three levels.
Level 1 You show Disrespect = Abusive Style of Speech
Level 2 You do not show respect = used for people at the same level as you
Level 3 You show excessive respect = used to show people that you respect them
Level 1 - Is used by angry adults on children, or between very close friends or when someone is
fighting. It should not be understood as an intimate style of speaking, but as an abusive one.
Level 2 Is used between people who neither want to praise nor abuse the other person. It is used
between friends and by adults for children.
Level 3 Is used to show that you respect someone and consider them above yourself. It is used by
young people for their elders, for their teachers, used by strangers, used by wives for their husbands
and sometimes the other way around too, and is sometimes used by adults when speaking to children
to teach them how to speak respectfully.
The difference between these style of speeches are the words used. Examples:
Tu = Level 1 (You)
Tum = Level 2 (You)
Aap = Level 3 (You)
Some of the more knowledgeable will notice that Aap is also the same word used to address a group
in the second person. Aap = You (Plural).
Aap Pani Pite The.
You (guys) drank water. (I add the guys to add the plural touch in English)
Actually, the way to turn a Level 2 sentence to a Level 3 sentence, is to simply imagine that the your
subject (the one that you are giving respect too) is plural!!!
For example, speaking to ones father;

Tum Kab Sote Ho?

When do you sleep?
Would be correct grammatically, but would be horrendously impolite.
It would be much better to ask,
Aap Kab Sote Hein?
When do you sleep?
Be sure to speak respectfully if you are not sure which level of respect to use. Also, don t ever
pluralize yourself since giving respect to oneself in speech doesn t make sense and wouldn t be
understood.
Another difference is between the Level 1 and Level 2. In level two sentences.
Tum Pepsi Pite Ho.
You drink Pepsi. (Level 2)
Tu Pepsi Pita Hai.
You drink Pepsi. (Level 1)
The difference is that in Level one, the subject Tu is considered 3rd person, and therefore Hai is used,
and ta is used since Tu is male in the sentence, (ti would be used for female). In level 2, te is used for
second person masculine nouns instead of ta which is used in level 3.
Ok now, Ill move on to the next thing on the list. The Imperative form 2. This is the ask-to-do form.
For example, how do you ask some to drink water in Urdu? Simple! You use the ask-to-do form.
However, the respect level plays a part here.
Level 1: Drop na. What you are left with is the ask-to-do form level 1.
Pani Pi.
Drink water. (Impolite, like how one'd ask a slave to drink)
Level 2: Drop na and add o or yo(yo only for verbs that have an I before the na)
Pani Piyo.
Drink Water.
Seyb Khao.
Eat Apples.
Jaldi Soo.
Sleep quickly.
Level 3: As stated previously, pluralize to reach this level.
Pepsi Piyein.
Drink Pepsi.

Cake Khaein.
Eat cake.
Jaldi Aein.
Come quickly.
I hope that helps. :D
Now remember when I said, Lena and Dena are special cases? Its because they are the only verbs
that do not conjugate in the manner stated above. Their Level 1 and Level 3 are formed the same way
as other verbs. The Level 2 is formed differently. Lena, instead of becoming Leo, becomes Lo, and
Dena, instead of becoming Deo, becomes Do.
Pani Do.
Give (me) water.
Seyb Lo.
Take (these) Apples.
Here Ill introduce the particle na, which is not the same as the na in the na form of the verbs. Na
has many uses. Ill illustrate some here;
Hai na? (Commonly pronounce hena?)
Isnt it?
Tum the na?
It was you, wasnt it?
Mein Aam Khata hu na!
But I DO eat mangoes!
Pepsi de na.
Give (me) pepsi.
The last example is important in this lesson. Na, when used with the na-dropped form of a verb,
actually becomes a level 2 ask-to-do form! So, De Na, Kha Na and Pi Na are all level 2 ask-to-do
forms. They are Just as common as do, khao and piyo, if not more! They are certainly easier! That
counts!
Now Ill elaborate on Integrated verbs that I mentioned earlier. Integrated verbs are created by joining
any verb with Aana, Jaana, Lena and Dena.
Aana.
To Come.
Jaana
To Go.
Dena.
To Give

Lena.
To Take.
Verbs, when spoken alone, only give a superficial idea and feel. Like for example if you wanted to ask
someone to eat, youd say; (Khana = Food (noun))
Khana Khao.
Eat food.
This is rather impractical as it gives a forceful connotation, as if you were demanding someone to eat
food. The more practical approach would be;
Khana Kha Lo.
Eat Food.
Here, the verb Kha Lena is used instead of the verb Khana. Kha Lena and Khana both mean (to eat),
but by adding Lena to Khana, the meaning changes very slightly to signify that one will eat for
themselves. This is a difficult idea to grasp. Consider the following examples,
Homework Karna.
To do Homework.
Homework Karo.
Do Homework.
Homework Kar Lo.
Do (your) Homework.
Homework Kar Do.
Do (someones) Homework.
Homework Kar Ao.
Do Homework (and return).
Homework Kar Jao.
Do Homework (and leave).
Paise De Do.
Give money.
Seyb Le Lo.
Take Apples.
Aa Jao.
Come.
Kha Ao.
Eat (and come).
Betth Jao.

Sit Down.
Hum Pani Pite The.
We drank water.
Hum Pani Pi Lete The.
We used to drink water.
Of the last two, the last one is much more practical, although both are correct and natural.
Aa do and Ja do are never used.
This concludes Part I.
To be continued in Part II

giovy
Sunday 11th of March 2007 12:59:40 AM
Asslama o alikum to all: wow, MashALLAH dear, that is really helpful to all urdu learners :).
thanks a lott for your effort :)

Sandra
Sunday 11th of March 2007 01:26:35 AM
Very Bohut Shukrya for your effort! :)
It must have been a lot of work to write all this. And now we Urdu learners have some work to do too.
It is really helpful. :)

kisaamin
Sunday 11th of March 2007 04:26:33 AM
Thank you. This is such a great place to start!
P.S. At the top, when you give the vowel pronunciation...are "i"s (as in Pina) pronounced like "ee"
(Peena) or like "ih" (Pihna)
P.P.S. When my sister-in-law tells my niece or nephews to say something to me, she says something
like, "Thank you bilow" (that's what it sounds like for "Say 'thank you'") or "Happy Birthday bilow" for
"Say 'happy birthday'". I see that the verb you listed for "to say" is "Kehna". Do you know what she
might be saying? How is it written and translated?

zarxas
Sunday 11th of March 2007 11:07:40 AM
assalamo alaykom.
really that was very good,I was thinking about learning URDU and Kashmiri,I couldn't begin because I

was afraid to begin something I cannot finnish.

But I think now it's time to begin learning this beautiful language.
By the way what does mean:kuchi kuchi hota hai and kalhunaho.
Shukriya!

Wordmaster
Sunday 11th of March 2007 05:48:37 PM
You're all very welcome.
@Kisaamin
I think that what they are saying is "Thank you bolo". Bolna is "to speak", can also be used to say "to
say". Its mentioned in the list i gave. :D. Actually Im quite sure its "bolo". Thats exactly whatd i say to
someone, "Thank you bolo"
mein yun bolta hu :D (yun = like this)
I speak like that :D
In Pina, the sound is "ee", like (tr"ee"). :D
@zarxas
wasalam
You're welcome. Let me tll you this, new languages are the most difficult thing to learn, but at then
end youll see how good it feels to be part of more than one circle of people. :D :D
"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" literally means "Something happens" (Hona can mean "to be" or "to happen",
"Kuch" means something) It figuratively describes excitement, kind of like butterflies in the stomach, i
think this phrase evolved from "Peth mein kuch kuch hota hai" -> "Something happens in [my]
stomach], which refers to the butterflies in the stomach feeling that adrenaline produces in response
to excitement.
"Kal ho na ho", literally means (May tomorrow come or not)
It is kind of an idiom which refers to the uncertainity of the future, as "who knows, maybe tomorrow
will come, maybe it wont". Ho in this sentence comes from Hona (to be). From this you can learn a
useful sentenc conjecture! Consider!
Tum ao na ao
"Maybe you'll come, maybe you wont"
This could be said in response to someone offering to help you tomorrow instead of today. You'd say
"but who knows, you may not even come".
Mein aoon na aoon (Aana -> Aa -> Aaoon)
Tum ao na ao (Aana -> Aa -> Aao)
Wo aaye na aaye (Aana -> Aa -> Aaye)
Hum ayein na ayein (Aana -> Aa -> Aayein)
Yeh aaye na aaye (Aana -> Aa -> Aaye)

The above listed is the way to conjugate normal verbs to this sentence. This, BTW, is the future tense,
Ill discuss it later in another long post so dont look to deep into it now.
+, with Hona, regardless whether the subject is "tum, hum, woh or yeh", you use "ho" as in
Mein hu na hu
Tum ho na ho
Wo ho na ho
Hum ho na ho
Kal ho na ho
Hope you could make something out of this :D

zarxas
Monday 12th of March 2007 11:11:01 AM
Thank you so much Wordmaster.
That was very good and helpful,kuz it enclosed very precious informations about URDU language.
I don't know if URDU has something in common with arabic or no?
If u know tell me please.
May ALLAH reward my brother.

Wordmaster
Monday 12th of March 2007 05:28:15 PM
Your welcome bro.
I see you speak arabic. I know some arabic too :D :D
Keif haaluk ya akhi? Inte Bedk kalam lughat al urdu. InshAllah.
Haha, hope that made some sense.
Actually, Urdu is ALOT like Arabic. People who can speak arabic will have a much much easier time
learning Urdu than others. Thats because the Urdu language is a mesh of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and
some other languages. The first thing is that the urdu script contains all of the arabic letters, plus
some extra ones that we added :D. Urdu vocabulary is approxiamtely 20% borrowed from Arabic :D.
Goto Zahids A - Z words thread and youll see what I mean. :D :D. The similarity is the kind you'll see
between french and english, same script, and a host of similar words, except in Urdu and arabic's
case, the words that are shared are identical. The similarity is most prominent when it comes to
religious terminology. :D :D

kisaamin
Sunday 18th of March 2007 06:48:57 AM
Hi Wordmaster! I just wanted to thank you again for this post. Using it, I was finally able to start
forming sentences and, as a kind of bonus, understand the difference between raha hai, rahi hai, rahi
hu, etc. This was the push I needed to get over feeling overwhelmed. Shukria.

I was also wondering when the next installment is coming?! Also, I'm told that the past tense form
you've already discussed is the category that covers things one *used to do *(over a period of timeI
forgot the grammatical term for this form). Do you have plans to cover the simple past in the next
installment? Well anyway, I look forward to it.
:)

giovy
Thursday 22nd of March 2007 10:55:08 PM
Asslama o alikum and hello to all: Hello dear wordmaster, i just wanna ask you a litle question, i
saw the verb "To read" you wrote it like padna, that is another way to say parhna?, or parhna is
incorrect?. or perhaps the both words mean the same :).
thanks a lot for your all help and time you give us :)

Zahid
Sunday 25th of March 2007 11:39:49 AM
Walaikum salam: hello and Salam to All of You
the word "To read" should be "paRhna",but this is roman urdu, where every people explain their own
sound style.
but if my memory is clear so "To read"=parHna will be better
please correct me if i am wrong

giovy
Sunday 25th of March 2007 09:42:19 PM
Asslama o alikum and hello to all: Thanks a lot dear bahi, the most of the time the litles difereces
between words could be some confusing for me, thaks a los for your help. :)

Wordmaster
Wednesday 18th of April 2007 06:59:47 AM
All about Urdu Verbs, In Parts
All about Urdu Verbs Part II
Hey again fellows, I will bore you with yet more massive morsels of complications. Sorry to all you
guys for taking so long, and I thank you for being patient and appreciating what I do. Actually, I
didnt really want to overload you but wanted to provide a complete and exhaustive reference at the
same time, without of course overwhelming you or complicating your current perceptions further
(what an unenviable task I have eh?). But I wont try to make excuses, I am lazy. But anyway, here s
some more.
I highly recommend you to read the first part as this article makes the assumption that the reader has
at least read through the whole of part one at least once. References will be made to the first post so I
hope the material is still fresh in your minds. Finally, don t lose hope! I know the overwhelming, but

what you have yet to feel is the top-of-the-world feeling that comes when the dust settles and when
the task lays accomplished. If you keep learning, you ll have it all one day, just like I *almost* do.
So ok, thats enough pep talk. Heres what Ill teach this time.
Past Tense (pure form)
The Ne particle
Noun Verbs
The Ko particle
Ok so like you said, the past form/s I discussed earlier weren t perfect past forms.
They were;
Main Seyb Khata Tha.
I ate apples.
Well, it actually sounds more like, I used to eat apples, than I ate apples. . The reason I taught
this form first is because it uses Ta/Ti/Te just like the present form. The perfect past form (not sure if
thats what this one is called) is constructed using a/i/e or ya/yi/ye if the verb ends with vowel
before the -na. Wether to use a/i/e or depends on (like always) the OBJECT! Examples.
Mein ne Seyb Khaya tha.
I ate the apple.
Mein ne Seyb Khaye the.
I ate the apples.
Mein ne Pepsi Pii thi. (Pepsi is Fem. Noun)
I drank pespi.
Mein ne Pani Piya tha. (Pani is Mas. Noun)
Mein ne sawaal pucha tha. (Sawaal = question) (Puchna = to ask)
I asked a question.
Uss ne sorry bola (tha). (Bolna = to say/speak) (tha is always optional, because the verb itself
explains the past tense, and more or less a formality, it can be omitted)
S/he said sorry.
You could also just say Mein ne Seyb khaya or Mein ne Pepsi Pii . Its more natural for me but
either way is correct and natural.
BTW, some verbs, -ehna verbs to be precise, conjugate only very slightly differently.
There are three verbs that are ehna verbs.
Kehna.
To Speak.
Sehna.
To bear (pain/suffering).

Rehna.
To stay (thing)/reside(person).
Instead of becoming, Keha, Seha and Reha, they become, Kaha, Saha and Raha. Hmm raha, sound
familiar? Ill be discussing it a lot, later.
Also, the bad boys, lena (to take), dena (to give) hona (to be), karna (to do) and Jana (to go), also
conjugate differently. Instead of hoa, lea, dea, kara and jaya, they become, hua, liya, diya, kiya and
gaya.
Perhaps the most commonly used phrase in Urdu is Kya hua? My Arabic speaking friends picked it
up on their own and started using it (which is amazing because when I speak, I say kyawa??!!??
lol, nobody could ever learn Urdu speaking with me.) It literally means What happened? (Hona =
to be/ to happen)
Now you may ask why the ne is used. Ne is a subject marker, as opposed to Ko which is
the object marker. If you dont know how to use ko, ill discuss it later in this article. It is used in
almost every form except the present tense so thats probably why you haven t come across it yet.
BTW, there are no Na/Ni/Ne here, just NE, so YAY! (that rhymes)
Other conjugations with which ne is used;
Tum ne kaha tha ke tum ne pepsi pii thi.

Hats off to you if you can translate this. If not, this is what it means, You said that you drank
pespi. The only thing new in this sentence is the Ke which I m sure thought was the possessive
particle. Actually, Ke is a separate word that means that.
Ne is also used in an important other way. Ne, when used with the na form of a verb, makes the sort
of sentences which you say you have to do something. Observe,
Jana.
To go.
Mujhe jana hai.
I have to go/ I must go / I want to go. (Actually its a mesh of all three, something like, "I must go,
therefore I have to go, and therfore I want to as well")
Mujhe kuch kehna hai. (Haha old school dialouge)
I have to say something. (There is something I must say/I have something to say.)
In this for, mujhe (main and ko) is used. That is, you are the object of this sentence for some reason.
Mujhe pata hai meri explanations mushkil hein, magar zaroori bhi hein. (pata = know, mushkil = hard,
magar = however, zaroori = necessary, bhi = also).
Haha, figure that one out on your own! But if you cant, here s what it means,
I know my explanations are difficult, but they are also necessary.

Ok so now for those who dont know, verbs in Urdu can be made from nouns. We will call them the
noun-verbs (for lack of a better term or any imagination whatsoever on my part). Basically you pluck
a (event-based-)noun of your liking, add Hona or Karna and ~TADA! You get a verb that means, thatnoun-you-used-happens. Of course, your choices of nouns are limited to Pyaar, Pta, dard and a few
others. Ill illustrate with examples as always;
Pyaar.
Love.
Pyaar hona.
(For) love (to) happen.
Pyaar hua.
(For) love (to have) happened.
Mujhe pyaar hai.
Im in love.
Mujhe Pta hai.
I know.
Pta.
Knowledge (more like know-how, the better word for knowledge is Ilm)
Pta Karna.
To investigate.
Pta Lena.
To check up on someones well being. (Mostly used when one refers to going to visit the sick )
For reasons beyond my understanding and control, Pta hua is never used. Instead Pta Chala, from Pta
Chalna is used. Of course, this is a rare exception.
Mujhe pta chala ke tum US mein rehti ho!
If you can translate this then you are no beginner! If you cant, here s what it means.
I found out that you(, a female,) live in the US!
So basically, to know = pta hona, to have known = pta tha , to find out = pta chalna .
pta hai is actually very common in Urdu. It literally means, I know . Can be said in response
to anything, pretty useful when you dont feel like thinking up responses. :D
Dard hona.
(For) pain (to) happen.
Dard karna.
(For something) to (cause physical) hurt. Example, a loose tooth.

Sawaal.
Question.
Sawaal Karna.
To ask a question.
Jawaab.
Answer.
Jawaab dena.
To give an answer.
All nouns have their own ways of combining with some verbs (mostly the bad boys lena dena hona
and karna), becoming slightly different meaning verbs. I can only help with the rule, such things are
best learned by memorizing examples when you see them used and eventually getting a feel for them.
Now for those of you who dont know what the particle ko is, here is the explanation. Ko is the object
marker, it marks the object in a sentence, yet amazingly, we haven t seen it in any of the sentences
weve made so far. Why is that??? Selective omission I guess. Actually it is not always compulsory to
use it. First of all you should know that ko, like all other particles in Urdu always comes after what it
affects. BUT, ko can not be used with Mein (me). Mein ko, as such, is absolutely wrong! Instead we
use mujhe. The following table will show other such words,
Mein + ko = Mujh Ko = Mujhe
Tum + ko = Tujh Ko = Tujhe = Tumhe
Hum + ko = Humein
Iss + ko = Isse
Uss + ko = Usse
Inn + ko = Innhein (Inn is respective or plural form of Iss, see respect levels from part I)
Unn + ko = Unnhein (Unn is respective or plural form of Uss)
Aap ko doesnt have any merged form.
Tujh ko and Tujhe are slightly Level 1 respect, which is not good, use tumhe which is Level 2.
Out of all these, Mein ko is the only one that can never be used as it is wrong. All the rest are
interchangeable and correct.
Now for the Usage of ko. Ko as I said denotes the object. Something like the English word to .
I went to London.
Mein London ko gaya tha.
I said to him .
Mein ne usse (= uss ko) kaha . (Remember, ne is used in pure past tense!)
Usually, ko is not used with Khana and Pina, but would be used in cases where it was necessary to
make absolutely clear what the object is. Observe,
Auntie ne seyb khaya. (Auntie has been assimilated in Urdu).
Auntie ate an apple.

Seyb ne Auntie ko kha liya!

The apple ate Auntie!
Ok, hope that made some sense. Ko also sometimes denotes time.
Mein raath ko ghar aya. (Raath = night, ghar = home)
I came back (last) night.
Sab ko bata do ke mein kal raat ko aya tha. (Sab = all/everyone, batana = to tell, bata dena = to tell/
to let people know, kal = yesterday/tomorrow)
Tell everyone that I came last night.
Raat ko soo, din ko jago. (Sona = sleep, din = daytime, jagna = to be awake)
Sleep at night, (stay) awake at daytime. (Remember the o forms from the ask-to-do forms from last
time?)
Ok, so Aaj ke liye itna kaafi hai Although this sentence is beyond the scope of this article, I will
teach it to you because Ill be saying it a lot. It means, this much is enough for today.
Aaj = today, ke liye = for, itna = this much (utna = that much), kaafi = enough
From now on Ill be teaching only 4 different things per post in this thread. This will give you lesser
material to absorb at one time and will therefore allow me to post more material faster. So, the future
tense is left to the future, and the past one is now in the past, hehe. For now, make most of the
present.
This concludes part II
To be continued in part III

Sandra
Thursday 19th of April 2007 08:56:03 PM
Thanks a lot! This lesson is really helpfull. :) Some of the information is posted here and there and it
is great that the information is now combined in one clear overview together with the new
information. :)
And smaller pieces sound like a good idea too.
I'm still trying to memorise the verbs from the first lesson. :P

Ibbu
Friday 20th of April 2007 07:52:06 PM
Hi wordmaster,
I guess your following example is wrong.
Mein ne Seyb Khaye the.
I ate the apples.
I guess it should be

Mein ne Seyb khaya tha .

correct me if i am wrong.
thanks.

Wordmaster
Friday 20th of April 2007 11:13:30 PM
@ Ibbu,
I appreciate your pointing it out, but it is indeed correct.
That is because Seyb is both plural and singular for apple(s). You probably didnt know this fact.
Eik Seyb.
One Apple.
Do Seyb.
Two Apples.
Sau Seyb.
Hundred Apples.
Main ne Seyb Khaya Tha.
I ate an apple.
Main ne Seyb Khaye The.
I ate apples.
There are many words who have the same plural and singular form.
Seyb - Apple
Phal - Fruit
Log - People/Person
Din - Day/Daytime
Ghar - House
Sheher - City
Mulk - Country
Meyz - Table
Kaleen - Carpet
Dost - Friend
Dushman - Enemy
Daaku - Bandit
There are alot more, perhaps the majority of words dont need a seperate form for pluralization. Some
that do are,

Sabzi - Vegetable - Sabzian - Vegetables

Gadi - Car - Gadian - Cars
Machli - Fish - Machlian - Fishes

Ending with "i" becomes "ian"

Ladka - Boy - Ladke - Boys
Darwaza - Door - Darwaze - Doors
Khilona - Toy - Khilone - Toys
Ending with "a" become "e"
Raat - Night - Raatein - Nights
Diwaar - Wall - Diwarein - Walls
Zameen - Ground - Zameenein - Grounds
Others get "ein" added to the end.
Hope that helps.

Ibbu
Sunday 22nd of April 2007 06:51:15 PM
what i thought was khaya or khaye depends on singularity or plurality of the subject, not the object.
i mean,
for singular subject ( I )
meine ek seyb khaya tha.
meine das seyb khaya tha.
for plural subject ( we )
humne ek seyb khaye the.
humne das seyb khaye the.
Are my above sentences wrong?
thanks in advance.

Wordmaster
Sunday 22nd of April 2007 08:20:15 PM
The a/i/e depend on object. If you notice in the second part of my lecture just above the seyb
examples i had written,
Wether to use a/i/e or depends on (like always) the OBJECT!
So most of your sentencess are wrong. :(
for singular subject ( I )
meine ek seyb khaya tha. - correct
meine das seyb khaya tha. - meine das seyb khaye the
for plural subject ( we )

humne ek seyb khaye the. - humne eik seyb khaya tha

humne das seyb khaye the. - correct

Sandra
Friday 20th of July 2007 08:35:12 PM
Could you please give a short example sentence in the past tense for each of the following verbs from
your 50 verbs list?
Hutna - To Move Aside
Bunna - To Form/ To be created
Khona - To Lose (something)
Samajna - To Understand
Pukna - To Get Cooked
Chodna - To Let Go
Letna - To Lie Down
Chadna - To climb/to rise
Utharna - To descend
Khilna - To Blossom
Ghoomna - To roam around/ to revolve

Zahid
Sunday 22nd of July 2007 03:03:20 PM
Let me Try: Hutna - To Move Aside "HaTna"
I move aside when i saw the lion.
main SHeyr ko dekh ke hat gia.
I tried to move aside when i saw the train is coming.
mene jab reyl gaaRi ko atey dekha tu hatne ki koshish ki.

She had moved aside.

woh hatt chuki thi.

Khona - To Lose (something)

I lost my wallet when i was purshasing.
Mene sauda(purchase) karte waqt apna baTwah(wallet) kho dia.
I am sad after losing you.
main tumhain kho kar khaffa/Udas hon.
I have lost my beloved.
main apne mehboba ko kho chuka hon.
I had lost the way.
main raasta kho chuka tha(m)/chuki thi(F).

Samajna - To Understand
I understood your meaning.
main tumhara matlab samaj gia hon.
I was trying to understand
main samajne ki koshish kar raha tha(m)/rahi thi(f).
She couldnt understand me.
woh mujhe samaj na saki.
Pukna - To Get Cooked pakna would be better
I cooked the meal.
mene khana pakaya.
She has cooked the meal.
woh khana paka chuki hai.
ChhoRna-TO Let Go this is ChhoRna, not chodna.
I let her to go
mene usse Chhor dia/jane dia.
She did not let her son to go out.
usne Apne beyte ko baher nahi chhora.
Letna - To Lie Down
He did not agree to lay down.
Usne letne se ittefaaq nahi kia.

I was not found to lay down.

mujhe letne ka shoq nahi tha.
I had already lay down.
main pehle hi let chuka tha(m/chuki thi(f).
ChaRhna - To climb/to rise CHaRhna would be suitable instead chadna.
I was lover of mountain climbing when i was in my village.
main pahaaR (mountain) pe chaRhna shoqeen tha jab main gaon main tha.

uTarna - To descend

I was unable to descend from the mountain without anyhelp.

main kisy madad ke baGHaer pahaar se uTarne ke qabil nahi tha.

Khilna - To Blossom
The flower was blossoming.
phuul khil rahe thay.
He did not let the flowers to blossom.
usne phuulon ko khilne nahi dia.

Ghoomna - To roam around/ to revolve

revolve:v.t/i.chakkar kaaTna/gardiSH karna/ghuumna/palaT jaana/palaTna/phirna
She was revolving to a chair.
woh kursi ke gerd ghoom rahi thi.

Zahid
Monday 23rd of July 2007 12:32:19 AM
Simple Past:: Hutna - To Move Aside
he moved aside=woh hatt gia
Bunna - To Form/ To be created
i did not creat it.mene yeh buna/paeda nahi kia hai.
Khona - To Lose (something)
i lost everything=main sab kuch kho gia hon.
Samajna - To Understand
i understood the problem=main masle ko samaj gia hon
Pakna - To Get Cooked
she cooked the meal=usne khana pakayi
ChhoRna - To Let Go
He let me to go=usne mujhe Chhor dia
Letna - To Lie Down
I lay down=main leet gia hon:
ChaRhna - To climb/to rise
i did climb to tree=main darakht pe Charh gia/charha hon:
uTarna - To descend
i did not descend from the tree=main darakht se nahi uTra hon OR main darakht se uTra nahi hon:
Khilna - To Blossom
flowers did not bloom last month=pechle mahene phuul nahi khilay:
Ghoomna - To roam around/ to revolve
i did revolve for the 2nd time=main duusri martaba ghoom gia hon:

Sandra
Thursday 26th of July 2007 08:16:53 PM
Thanks a lot! :)

Zahid
Friday 27th of July 2007 01:08:21 AM
You com com

Sandra
Thursday 30th of August 2007 12:35:43 AM
Thanks again for all these sentences! :)

orignally posted by Zahid

I lost my wallet when i was purchasing.
Mene sauda(purchase) karte waqt apna baTwah(wallet) kho dia.
I am sad after losing you.
main tumhain kho kar khaffa/Udas hon.
I was not found to lay down.
mujhe letne ka shoq nahi tha.

I am somewhat confused with the different forms of main, meaning I.

I think I understand that main is used in combination with direct verbs, like aana (to come), and
jaana (to go)
And muhje is derived from main+ko and used in combination with indirect verbs, like pasand karna
(to like). When actions happen to the person.
But when is mene used?
What is the difference between mene, main and muhje?

Sandra
Thursday 30th of August 2007 11:57:33 PM
More questions:

originally posted by Wordmaster

I went to London.
Mein London ko gaya tha.

I said to him A.
Mein ne usse (= uss ko) kaha A. (Remember, ne is used in pure past tense!)

Why is in this example the subject marker ne not used in the first sentence?
Would the following be alright too, or would the meaning be different?
Mein ne London ko gaya tha.

snazzy
Saturday 08th of September 2007 05:54:11 PM
I thought when you wrote
Mein London ko gaya tha
that it meant that you used to go to London but that
Main ne London ko gaya tha
meant you went to London
Is that correct? If so, then how would you say something that you did (but not used to do) that
doesn't have an object? Do you say:
Mein ne khaya tha? (note there is no apple mentioned)
Thank you so much for Zahid and Wordmaster - I am slowly going through all of your posts and they
are a treasure trove for those of us trying to learn!!
Snazzy

Sandra
Sunday 09th of September 2007 08:42:16 PM
Do I understand the following correct?
Mein London ko gaya tha > is used for something that happened regularly in the past.
while
Main ne London ko gaya tha > is used for something that happened once in the past.
Is what I just wrote right?

snazzy
Wednesday 12th of September 2007 02:29:48 PM
Also, is dhona (to wash) a regular verb? I was wondering because I thought it would be

I washed = Mai ne dhoya (thi is understood)

(subtract the -na and the -ya because it ends in a vowel)
but a friend here says it should be:
Mai ne dho lia (pronouncing an L)
Are there other verbs that add an 'L' to the pronunciation in the past tense? or is my original
assumption wrong that if it ends in a vowel that you add a '-ya' for regular verbs.
Thanks in advance
Snazzy

snazzy
Wednesday 12th of September 2007 10:50:38 PM
Also, how do you give a command in the future tense?
can someone translate:
tomorrow, cook breakfast
Is it the same as in english where the stuff past the comma becomes a present tense?
kul, nashta banao (sorry for the horrid spelling)
Thanks in advance.
Snazzy