Pashto grammar

is a S-O-V language with split ergativity. Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for gender, number, and case. 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, Pashto is an ergative language; i.e., transitive verbs in any of the past tenses agree with the object of the sentence. The dialects show some non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms that are discarded by the literary language.
Pashto has a rich number of dialects due to which the language has been spelled several ways in English: Pashto, Pakhto, Pukhto.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns

دغه dağa
هغه hağa

Possessive pronouns

Independent forms

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زما zmâ	زموږ\زمونږ zamuẓ̌/zamung
2nd	ستا stâ	ستاسو stâso
3rd	د دۀ də də د دې də de	د دوی də dui
3rd	د هغۀ də hağə د هغې də hağe	د هغوی də hağui

Enclitic forms

Interrogative pronouns

Nouns

Case

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

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

The following table shows the declension of سړی, a masculine noun with ending "ai":

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

The following table shows the declension of ښځه, a feminine noun with ending "a":

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

The following table shows the declension of the feminine noun ورځ :

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

Gender

There are two genders: masculine and feminine.

Number

There are two numbers: singular and plural.

Definiteness

There is no definite article. But when necessary, definiteness may be indicated by other means such as demonstratives. Likewise, it may be contraindicated by use of the word for "one", يو; as in "يو روغتون" - "a hospital".

Adjectives

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

In the plural, both obliques and the vocative merge into a single form.
Singular Oblique I and plural Direct always merge into a single form.
The above two conditions mean that there can be at most five distinct forms for masculine adjectives.
For feminine adjectives, singular Oblique I and Vocative merge, while singular Direct and Oblique II merge; combined with mergers noted previously, there can be at most three distinct forms for feminine adjectives.
Classes 2 and 3 have stem and stress alternations among different cases. Class 3 has a basic distinction between the masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, with stem stress, and all other forms, with a different stem and with ending stress. Class 2 has the same stress alternation, but has three distinct stems, with stressed stem vowel 'o' or 'u' in masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, unstressed stem vowel 'ā' in masculine singular Oblique I and plural Direct, and unstressed stem vowel 'a' in all other forms.
Class 1

Case-marking suffixes

Class I adjectives are consonant-final in their citation form and keep the stress on the final syllable of the stem.

Stem allomorphy

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

Vowel harmony

Centralization

In other dialects these vowels do not mutate.

Vowel harmony

Class I adjectives with the stressed stem vowel /ə́/, such as دنګ /dəng/ ‘tall’, undergo regressive harmony in the feminine direct plural and in both oblique plural forms—when the suffix vowel is /o/.

Centralization

Class I adjectives for which the last syllable in the masculine direct singular form is ور /‑wár/, ګر /‑gár/, جن /‑ján/, or م ن /‑mán/, as well as ordinal numbers ending in م /‑ám/, undergo a different vowel alternation: the vowel /á/ of the final syllable centralizes to /ə́/ in feminine non-direct singulars and in all plural forms, irrespective of gender.

Class I forms with stem allomorphy

Example 1 = سپک
The paradigm for the adjective سپک /spək/ ‘light’ in above shows the Western dialect's Vowel harmony rule.
Example 2 = زړور
The paradigm for the adjective زړور /zṛawár/ 'brave' illustrates centralization rule for the Western dialect.

Animacy

When modifying animate nouns, some Class I adjectives may take the animate plural suffixes of Class I nouns example:
2=
مشران وروڼه
Məʃarɑn wruɳa
'Elder brothers'

Class 2

Class 2 adjectives can end in either a consonant or a stressed schwa. Except for the masculine singular ablative and vocative suffixes, the suffixes of Class II are
inherently stressed. These stressed suffixes are the chief difference between Class 1 and Class 2, although there are a few differences in suffix shape as well. Whether a consonant-final adjective belongs to Class 1 or Class II is a property of the lexeme and is not predictable.

Case-marking suffixes

Stem allomorphy

Some Class2 adjectives undergo stem allomorphy processes upon inflection, all of them stress-conditioned. The first, Syncope I, affects the final vowels of /ə́/-final Class 2 adjectives; the rest affect the stem vowels of consonant-final Class 2 adjectives. Lowering affects only back vowels, but not all of them. It is not possible to predict which rule, Back vowel lowering or Syncope II, applies to a given consonant-final adjective. The rules are:

Syncope I
Back vowel lowering
Monophthongization
Lengthening
Syncope II
Epenthesis
Syncope I

V2 → Ø/ V́1_
V́1 → Ø/ _V́2

If suffixation results in two adjacent vowels and only one is stressed, the unstressed vowel deletes. If both are stressed, the first vowel deletes. This rule applies to vowel-final adjectives.
Vowel-final adjectives that end stressed ه /‑ə́/ in their citation form include تېره /terə/́ ‘sharp’. These can be reliably identified from this citation form as belonging to Class 2; no other class has adjectives ending in /-ə́/. The final stem-vowel of these adjectives undergoes one or other of the morphophonemic rules of Syncope I.

Back vowel lowering

V-stress] / C_

Inmost Class 2 consonant-final adjectives with non-initial back vowels, و /o/, /u/ lowers to /a/ when unstressed.
In most consonant-final adjectives where the stem vowel is a back vowel, و /o/, /u/, it will undergo vowel lowering in unstressed position, followed by lengthening when the next syllable contains /ə́/ such as for the words, پو خ /pox/ ‘cooked, ripe’ and ړوند /ṛund/ ‘blind’, illustrated above.

Monophthongization

aw → V-high] → V-high] , those sequences simplify to /o/ when stressed.

Back vowel breaking: تود /tod/ ‘hot’; stem = /tawd/.

Lengthening

a → ā /_Cə́

Short /a/ lengthens to long /â/ when the syllable following it contains /ə́/. This rule affects those adjectives that undergo back vowel lowering, such as for پاخۀ → پوخ and ړاندۀ → ړوند and those that undergo monophthongization, such as تاودۀ → تود.

Lengthening

V → Ø

In a few consonant-final adjectives the stem vowel is deleted when not stressed.
Example = سور /sur/ - red

Epenthesis

Ø → a/C_CC or CC_C

If syncope results in a triple consonant cluster, an /a/ might be inserted after the first or second consonant.

Class 3

These adjectives end in the diphthong participial suffix, ی /‑ay/, in the masculine direct singular form/. This suffix may be stressed or unstressed.

Stressed

Example = زلمی

Unstressed

Example = سوی

Affixes

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

Prefixes

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

Prefix	Meaning
نا	a negative prefix to nouns or particles having the same meaning as English "un, in, dis, non" etc.
بې	this means "without". When prefixed to words it is equivalent to the English "dis, less" etc.
بيا	this means again. When prefixed to words it is equivalent to English "re"
هم	this means same, equivalent. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "co and homo"
ګڼ	this means crowded and numerous. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "multi"
دوه	this means two. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "bi"

A list of Examples:

	Word	English Meaning	Prefixed Word	English Meaning
نا nâ	وړ	suitable	ناوړ	unsuitable
بې be	کور	home	بې کوره	homeless
بيا byâ	جوړول	to make	بيا جوړول	to remake
هم ham	، زولې ښځينه	age	همزولی، همزولې	coeval
ګڼ gəṇ	هېواديز	national	ګڼ هېواديز	multinational
دوه dwə	اړخيز	aṛx= side, xíz = adjective forming suffix	دوه اړخيز	bilateral

Suffixes

These are attached at the end of a word. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Prefix	Meaning
توب	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
تیا	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ي	this is affixed to noun to make adjectives.
ي	a suffix also used to create nouns of profession.
يز يزه	adjectival suffix. Used to make adjectives from nouns. Becomes "yiz" if preceded by a vowel e.g. سوله=سوله ييز
من	suffix that forms nouns and adjectives that mean possessing a quality or object
ور	an adjective forming suffix to show endowment/possession.
ښت	this is affixed to adjectives to show a state of being
ګلوي	this is affixed to nouns to form feminine concept/abstract nouns mostly to do with association e.g. پیژند ګلوي, پلار ګلوي etc.
والی	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
ولي	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ځی	this makes nouns denoting place of the action
نه	this is the most common suffix used to makes nouns from verb. The new suffixed word has [feminine gender.
ون	less frequently used than نه. This also creates nouns from verbs
ونکی ونکې	The verb's or the compound-verb's ل is dropped and this suffix is added to create an agent noun showing that the noun is the doer of the action .
اک	this is used to make only two nouns denoting consumable noun. Like Japanese particle もの.
تون	used to create nouns of place. Meaning the " place of"
پال پاله	means someone is the cherisher/nourisher of the word attached. It is like Persian پرست but unlike پرست only used for agentive nouns not as an adjective.
پالنه	makes concept/abstract nouns showing the root's cherishing/fostering. Like Persian پرستي
واکي	makes nouns which signify "mastery of", "rule of" or "endowment with in quality" with the root word. Related to word واک .
وال	makes nouns showing that noun is a resident of that place, is engaged in the activity indicated in the root word, possessor of the root word. Like English suffix "er", "or" and "ist".
ګر	used to form an actor noun. Denoting maker, doer, worker etc. of the root.
چي	a agent-noun suffix borrowed from Ottoman Turkish. Only used with borrowed words.
ګوټی	a diminutive suffix. Example مېز - مېزګوټی .
وزمه	suffix to indicate something is like/similar to the root word but not that word. Also used to denote shades of colour.
ګنۍ	suffix for nouns expressing kinship/relationships
وړ وړه	this is used exactly as the English '. Forms adjectives meaning fit/able to be done or suitable to.
يالی يالۍ	forms adjectives from nouns. The adjective shows a quality that can be possessed.
غاړی غاړې	forms actor/agent nouns that have to do with an art/skill . Also used to create adjective/nouns related to the throat such as بوږغاړی
چک	an adjectival suffix showing that the new word is "somewhat" like the root word. Similar to "ish" suffix in English.
ډله	this means group. It can be used as suffix to denote team, group, company etc.
هار	according to Z. A. Pashtoon: "suffix used to form onomatopoeic words indicating the repetition or intensification of a sound". according to H. G. Raverty: a suffix "affixed to nouns signifying sound of any kind, in forming the plural".

A list of Examples:

	Word	English Meaning	Prefixed Word	English Meaning
توب tob	بربنډ	nude	بربنډتوب	nudeness/nudity
تیا tyâ	روغ	healthy	روغتيا	health
ي í	ولس	nation	ولسي	national
ي í	ترکاڼ	carpenter	ترکاڼي	carpentry
يز/يزه íz/íza	لمر	sun	لمريز لمريزه	solar
يز/يزه yíz/yíza	وټه	economy	وټه ييز وټه ييزه	economic
من man	ځاځ	anger	ځاځمن	angry
ور war	ګټه	profit	ګټور	advantageous
ښت əx̌t	جوړ	made/built	جوړښت	structure
ګلوي galwí	پلار	father	پلارګلوي	paternity
والی wâlay	اوږد	long	اوږدوالی	length/height
ولي walí	ورور	brother	ورورولي	brotherhood
ځی d͡zay	ښوول	to teach	ښونځی	school
نه əna	غوښتل	to demand	غوښتنه	demand
ون un	بدلول	to change	بدلون	change
ونکی /ونکې unkay/unka	شنل	to analyse	شنونکی شنونکې	analyst
اک âk	څښل خوړل	to drink to eat	څښاک خوراک	drink food
تون tun	پوهنه	knowledge	پوهنتون	university
پال/پاله pâl/pâla	مېلمه	guest	مېلمه پال مېلمه پاله	host
پالنه pâlana	مېلمه	guest	مېلمه پالنه	hospitality
واکي wâkí	پلار	father	پلارواکي	patriarchy
وال wâl	ليک	writing	ليکوال	writer
ګر gar	کوډه	magic	کوډګر	magician
چي chí	توپ	cannon	توپچي	cannoneer
ګوټی goṭay	کتاب	book	کتاب ګوټی	booklet
وزمه wazma	تور	black	تور وزمه	blackish
ګنۍ ganai	پلار مور	father mother	پلارګنۍ مورګنۍ	paternal-family maternal-family
وړ/وړه waṛ/waṛa	خندا	laughter	خنداوړ خنداوړه	laughable
يالۍ /يالی yâlay/yâlai	ننګ	honor	ننګيالی ننګيالۍ	honorable
غاړې /غاړی ğâṛay/ğâṛe	سندره	song	سندرغاړی سندرغاړې	singer
چک cək	سپين	white	سپين چک	whitish
ډله ḍala	لوب	root word of play	لوبډله	team
هار hâr'''	پړک	slap/clap	پړکهار	clapping/sounds of claps

Verbs

Pashto has three tenses: Past, present and future. The future tense is the same as present tense with the exception of markers.
Aspect: Pashto in every tense has perfective aspect and imperfective aspect . The perfective aspect indicates completion of an action while the imperfective aspect indicates continuous or habitual action.
Pashto verbs can be classed as simple verbs, irregular verbs and doubly irregular verbs.
Verbs agree in person and in number with either the objects or subjects of sentences, depending on tense and construction. Agreement is indicated with affixes following the verb stem which indicate person and number.
Verbal suffixes

Pashto utilises verbal suffixes . It is easy to demonstrate these in regular verbs in the imperfective.

Present tense

Gəḍēẓ̌ is the present imperfective stem of the verb gaḍedəl .

Number	Person	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person	م əm	زه ګډېږم Zə gaḍeẓ̌əm	I am dancing
Singular	2nd Person	ې e	ته ګډېږې Tə gaḍeẓ̌ē	You are dancing
Singular	3rd Person	ي i	دی/دا ګډېږي Day/Dā gaḍeẓ̌i	He/She is dancing
Plural	1st Person	و ū	موږ ګډېږو Muẓ̌ gaḍeẓ̌u	We are dancing
Plural	2nd Person	ئ ai	تاسو ګډېږئ Tâso gaḍeẓ̌ai	You are dancing
Plural	3rd Person	ي i	دوی/هغوی ګډېږي Dui/Hağui gaḍeẓ̌i	They are dancing

Past tense

Gəḍēd is the past stem of the verb gaḍēdəl .

Number	Person	Gender	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person		م əm	زه ګډېدم Zə gaḍedəm	I was dancing
Singular	2nd Person		ې ē	تۀ ګډېدې Tə gaḍede	You were dancing
Singular	3rd Person	Masculine	ۀ ə or و o	دی ګډېدۀ Day gaḍedə دی ګډېدو Day Gaḍedo	He was dancing
Singular	3rd Person	Feminine	ه a	دا ګډېده Dâ gaḍeda	She was dancing
Plural	1st Person		و ū	موږ ګډېدو Muẓ̌ gaḍedu	We were dancing
Plural	2nd Person		ئ ai	تاسو ګډېدئ Tâso gaḍedai	Your were dancing
Plural	3rd Person		ل əl	دوی/هغوی ګډېدل Dui/Hağui gaḍedəl	They were dancing
Plural	3rd Person	Feminine	ې e	دوی/هغوی ګډېدې Dui/Hağui gaḍede	They were dancing

The verb "to be"

The verb "to be" is irregular in Pashto and does not have an infinitive form.

Present Imperfective

Present Imperfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه يم zə yəm زه يمه zə yəma	موږ يو muẓ̌ yū
2nd	ته يې tə ye	تاسو يئ \ ياست tâso yai
3rd	دی دی day day دا ده dâ da	دوی دي dūy di

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

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

Present Perfective form

Present Perfective tense of "to be"
The present perfect tense and the present simple tense are two different tenses. It has analogous feature in one respect and different in other. We can't easily identify their use because it has similar structure like past simple tense. We can't precisely give an interpretation that what are the exact nature of these tenses? We can observe through structures that how the native speaker use it and what is the nature of doubly verb projection in Pashto.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	dey- دۍ zə dey Ma ما دا کار کړۍ دۍ.Ma da kaar kary de.	موږ دۍ muẓ̌ dey- Mung da kar kary dey. مونږ دا کار کړۍ دۍ
2nd	ته دۍ tə dey	تاسو دۍ tâso dey
2nd	ته دۍ tə dey
3rd	دی دۍ de dey. دا ده dâ dey	دوی دې dui dey

1) Ma da troor zwe sara meena kary da.
.
I have loved my cousin.
.ما د ترور زوی سره مینه کړې ده
2) Munʐ emtihan warkro.
.
we have given the exam.
.مونږ امتحان ورکړو
3) Ta khpal sabaq yaad kro.

you have learnt the lesson.
.تا خپل سبق یاد کړو
4) Taso khpala kamra paka kra.

you have cleaned your room.
. تاسو خپله کمره پاکه کړه
5) Hagha mar shawe de.

He has died.
.هغه مړ شوی دی
6) Haghe mra shawy da.

She has died.
. هغې مړه شوې ده
7) Haghwee da dalta na lar-al

.هغوی د دلته نه لاړل.

Present Perfective form

Present Perfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه شم zə shəm-can	موږ شو muẓ̌ shu-can
2nd	ته شې tə she	تاسو شئ-شو tâso shai-sho-can could
2nd	ته شه tə sha-can
3rd	دی شي day shi-can-masculine دا شي dâ shi-feminine	دوی شي-شو- dui shi

زه مکتب ته زم

Past Imperfective form

Past Imperfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه وم zə wəm زه ومه zə wəma	موږ وو muẓ̌ wu
2nd	ته وې tə we	تاسو وئ\واست tâso wai
3rd	دی ؤ day wo	دوی وو\ول dui wu
3rd	دا وه dâ wa	دوی وې dui we

Future Perfective form

Future Perfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	شوم/شولم zə shwəm/shwələm	موږ شوو/شولو muẓ̌ shwu/shwəlu
2nd	ته شوې/شوې tə shwe/shwəle	تاسو شوئ/شولئ tâso shwai/shwəlai
3rd	دی شوۀ/شو day shwə '''	دا شوه dâ shwa	دویشول dui shwəl

Future tense

In Pashto the future tense is the same as the present tense with the exception that in the future tense the marker به is added; به has a similar meaning to will/shall in English. In the Third Person Future Tense, also, irrespective of number or gender وي is used.
Future tense of "to be":

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

Simple Irregular

These are verbs whose past stems differ from their present stems like English think vs thought,
a) where ل is replaced by ن in the Present tense:
b) where و is added in the middle in the Present tense:
c) The verb ختل :
d) where دل is dropped in the Present tense:

Doubly Irregular

These are verbs whose imperfective and perfective stems differ as well as their present and past stems. The difference between perfective and imperfective is carried by stress; in perfective the stress is on the first part of the verb whereas in imperfective the stress is on the last syllables.

Here is list of these verbs with their verbal stems :

a) ښودل, as a part of the verb.
b) The verb "to go":
c) The verb "to take" :

Idiosyncratic 3rd Person form

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

Infinitive

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

هغوی په خپلو کې وهل وکړل
Hağui pa xpəlo ke wahəl wə-kṛəl
Literally: They in themselves in "to beat" done
Meaning: They have fought amongst themselves

The verb وکړل shows agreement with masculine plural object that is the infinitive وهل.

Type of Infinitives

There are various types of infinitives.

Simple Infinitives

They are in there morpheme state. Examples: تلل , وتل , ګرځېدل , ګرځول etc.

Prefixed Infinitives

These are formed by attaching a prefix to the simple infinitive. These prefixes are usually directional/locative in nature.
Examples:

1. را + تلل = راتلل

Râ + Tləl = Râtləl

2. ور+ کول = ورکول

War + Kawəl = Warkawəl

Compound Infinitives

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

First category

These are formed by adding ول and ېدل verbal-suffixes to nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The attaching noun, adjective and adverb should not end in a vowel. Example:

ښخ - ښخول

Second category

These are formed adding auxiliary verbs کول and کېدل to the noun and adjectives. The attaching noun and adjective end in a vowel.Examples:

1. پوښتنه - پوښتنه کول

2. لېشه - لېشه کېدل

Exceptions

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

Phrasal Infinitives

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

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

Double Infinitives

These are formed by combining two infinitives

-- either by combining a Simple Infinitive with a Prefixed Infinitive.

Simple Infinitive	Prefixed Infinitive	Double Infinitive
تلل	راتلل	تلل راتلل
ګرځېدل	راګرځېدل	ګرځېدل راګرځېدل

-- or by combining two Simple Infinitives:

Simple Infinitive 1	Simple Infinitive 2	Double Infinitive
خوړل	څښل	خوړل څښل
وهل	ټکول	وهل ټکول

Prepositions and Postpositions

Pashto has pre-positions, post-positions and pre-post-positions. Adpositions generally govern either oblique or ablative case
assignment to their objects.

Prepositions

There are two prepositions in Pashto:

1. د meaning "of"

2. په meaning "with" and "at"

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
د سړي لاس	Də saṛi las	Of man hand	A man's hand
سړي په چاړې پړی پرې کړ	Saṛi pa čäṛe paṛay pre kəṛ	man with knife rope cut	The man cut the rope with a knife
په يوه بجه	Pa yawa baje	At 1 O'clock	At 1 O'clock

Postpositions

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

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
کور ته ځم	Kor tə d͡zəm	House to am-going	I am going to the house

Ambipositions

Pashto uses a significant amount of ambipositions. These usually have two elements, with the noun object positioned between the two elements.
The first element is likely to be one of these four elements:
The second element is likely to be one of these words:

Pashto	Transliteration
لاندې	lânde
پسې	pasē
نه	na
پورې	pore
سره	sara
کې/کښې	ke/kx̌e
باندې	bande
څخه	t͡səxa

Here is a list of the most common formations:

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

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

Pashto	Colloquial Pashto
له سړي نه	سړي نه
له سړي سره	سړي سره

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

Example Sentence	Meaning
سړی ور سره ځي	A man is going with him/her
سړي ور سره ځي	Men are going with him/her
چاړه مې در نه واخس	I took the knife from you
ليک ور باندې ايښی دی	The letter is on it

Phrases

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

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

In phrases that start with the possessive phrase د plus noun, the possessive phrase can be substituted with a weak possessive pronoun.
Examples:

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

Conjunctions

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

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

Syntax

Pashto has subject-object-verb word order as opposed to English subject-verb-object word order. In intransitive sentences where there is no object Pashto and English both have subject-verb word order.
In Pashto, however, all modifiers precede the verb whereas in English most of the verbal modifiers follow the verb.

Phrasal syntax

Pashto exhibits strong head-final order in noun phrases and verb phrases.

Noun phrases

Pashto noun phrases generally exhibit the internal order Determiner - Quantifier - Adjective - Noun.

Adpositional phrases

The salient exception to the head-final principle can be found in adpositional phrases, given the existence of prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.

Verb phrases

Generally, head-final order is found also in the verb phrase, with the verb, if any, as the final element. Relative clauses and sentence-level modifiers may appear in postclausal position.

Light verb constructions

Pashto has a robust system of light verb constructions, two-word expressions that are semantically interpretable as a single predicate. Only one of the two canonical types—those of the form Noun/Adjective + Verb.
As verbs are a closed class in Pashto, the LVC is the only means of creating new verbal forms in the language; it is also used as a way of importing loanwords, with the borrowed word filling the complement slot.
The inventory of light verbs in Pashto should not surprise anyone familiar with LVCs. In addition to the verbs کېدل /kedəl/ ‘to become’ and کول /kawəl/ ‘to make; to do’, which we refer to as the intransitive and transitive verbalisers when they act as light verbs, Pashto uses the verbs اخیستل /axistəl/ ‘to take’, وهل /wahəl/ ‘to beat’, نيول /niwəl/ ‘to seize; to grasp’, and ایستل /istəl/ ‘to throw out’ as light verbs, as in the
following examples:

سا اخیستل - ‘to breathe’ < سا /sā/ ‘ breathing, respiration’
ټېل وهل - ‘to push, shove ’ < ټېل /ṭel/ ‘ push, shove’

Adjective complements of N-V LVCs always show agreement with the undergoer of the action of the verb, which is in turn marked in accordance with Pashto's system of split ergativity. Nominal complements are usually treated as the direct object of the verb, and are therefore also case-marked according to split-ergative alignment. The undergoer of the action, on the other hand, cannot be a direct object, as the verb can have at most two arguments; it is instead indicated by an adposition and accordingly case-marked oblique.

Elements in the verbal group

The verbal group in General Pashto

Certain particles can be inserted between:

The aorist prefix و /wə/́and its verb.
A prefix or pseudo-prefix and its verb.
The complement of a denominal verb and its verbalizer.

The particles that interact with verbs in this way are:

The modal clitics به /bə/ and دې /de/
The weak personal pronouns, or pronominal clitics مې /me/, دې /de/, یې /ye/, and مو /mo/
The adverbial clitics خو /xo/ and نو /no/
The negatives نه /ná/ and مه /má/

Modals, weak personal pronouns, and adverbials are all second-position clitics. They also obey strict rules of ordering relative to each other. Tegey reports the following ordering of enclitics between verbal components: خو /xo/> به /bə/> > نو /no/. If the first syllable of the verb does not carry stress, the negative precedes the verb, and the clitics follow the negative. Also, if an aorist form is negated, the negative marker—not the initial syllable of the verb—takes the stress.

Negative placement in the aorist verb phrase

The negative particle نه /ná/ nearly always precedes the verb and is placed as close to the verb stem as possible. In aorist constructions, it therefore follows the aorist marker و /wə/ for simplex verbs, and either initial /a/, the prefix, or the light verb complement for complex verbs. Because it carries an inherent stress, it takes the main stress in an aorist verb phrase.

Pashto and borrowings

Contemporary Pashto contains a lot of Persian and Persianized-Arabic words, although Pashto equivalents for these words often do exist.

"Pure" Pashto	Persian loan	Arabic loan	English translation
هيله híla	اميد umid		hope
اړتيا aṛtyâ		ضرورت zarurat	necessity
تود/توده tod/tawda	گرم garm		warm
نړۍ naṛai		دنيا dunyâ	world

Borrowed phonology

The sounds are non-native Pashto sounds borrowed from Arabic and Persian. The phonemes tend to be replaced by. So for instance, the Arabic word فرق would be pronounced as.

Greeting phrases

Numbers

Cardinal Numbers

Pashto	Pronunciation
نشت	nasht	0
یو	yaw, yo	1
دوه	dwa	2
درې	dre	3
څلور	tsalor	4
پنځه	pindzə	5
شپږ	špəg/špəʐ	6
اووه	owə	7
اته	atə	8
نه، نهه	nə, nəha	9
لس	las	10
یوولس	yawolas	11
دوولس	dwolas	12
دیرلس	dyārlas	13
څوارلس، څورلس	tswarlas, tswārlas	14
پنځلس	pindzəlas	15
شپاړس	špāṛas	16
اووه‌لس	owəlas	17
اته‌لس	atəlas	18
نونس, نورلس	nunas, nurlas	19
شل	šəl	20
یوویشت	yavwišt	21
دوه‌ویشت	dwawišt	22
درویشت	dərwišt, dreyšt	23
څلېرویشت	tsalerwišt	24
پنځه‌ویشت	pindzəwišt	25
شپږویشت	špagwišt	26
اوه‌ویشت	owəwišt	27
اته‌ویشت	atəwišt	28
نه‌ویشت	nəwišt	29
دېرش	derš	30
یودېرش	yawderš	31
دودېرش	dwaderš	32
دریدېرش	drederš	33
څلوردېرش	tsalorderš	34
پنځه‌دېرش	pindzəderš	35
شپوږدېرش	špugderš	36
اوه‌دېرش	owəderš	37
اته‌دېرش	atəderš	38
نه‌دېرش	nəderš	39
څلوېښت	tsalvešt	40
پنځوس	pindzos	50
شپېته	špetə	60
اویا	away	70
اتیا	atya	80
نوي	nwi, nəwi	90
سل	səl	100
یوسلویو	yaw səlo yav	101
یوسلودوه	yaw səlo dwa	102
یوسلوشل	yaw səlo šəl	120
دوه‌سوه	dwa sawa	200
دوه سوه او لس	dwa sawa aw las	210
درې سوه	dre sawa	300
زر	zər	1000
یوزرویو	yaw zəro yaw	1001
یوزرودوه‌سوه اوپنځه‌دېرش	yaw zəro dwa sawa aw pindzəderš	1235
لک	lak	100 000
ملیون	milyon	1 000 000
کروړ	kroṛ	10 000 000
ملیارد	milyard	1 000 000 000

Ordinal Numbers

1st لومړی lumṛai
2nd دويم dwaim
3rd درېيم drəyam
4th څلورم t͡saloram
5th پنځم pind͡zam
6th شپږم špaẓ̌am
7th اووم uwam
8th اتم atam
9th نهم nəham
10th لسم lasam
Colours

List of colours:

سور/ سره sur/sra - red
شين / شنه šin/šna - green
تور/ توره "tor/tora" - black
شين / شنه šin/šna - blue
- white
نسواري naswâri - brown
کینخي kinaxxi - purple
- yellow
خړ / خړه xëṛ/xëṛa - grey
چوڼيا čuṇyâ - violet

List of colours borrowed from neighbouring languages:

نارنجي nârënji - orange
ګلابي gulâbi - pink
نيلي nili - indigo

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Pashto grammar

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns

Possessive pronouns

Interrogative pronouns

Nouns

Case

Gender

Number

Definiteness

Adjectives

Class 1

Case-marking suffixes

Stem allomorphy

Vowel harmony

Centralization

Class I forms with stem allomorphy

Animacy

Class 2

Case-marking suffixes

Stem allomorphy

Syncope I

Back vowel lowering

Monophthongization

Lengthening

Lengthening

Epenthesis

Class 3

Stressed

Unstressed

Affixes

Prefixes

Suffixes

Verbs

Verbal suffixes

Present tense

Past tense

The verb "to be"

Present Imperfective

Present Perfective form

Present Perfective form

Past Imperfective form

Future Perfective form

Future tense

Simple Irregular

Doubly Irregular

Idiosyncratic 3rd Person form

Infinitive

Type of Infinitives

Simple Infinitives

Prefixed Infinitives

Compound Infinitives

First category

Second category

Exceptions

Phrasal Infinitives

Double Infinitives

Prepositions and Postpositions

Prepositions

Postpositions

Ambipositions

Phrases

Conjunctions

Syntax

Phrasal syntax

Noun phrases

Adpositional phrases

Verb phrases

Light verb constructions

Elements in the verbal group

The verbal group in General Pashto

Negative placement in the aorist verb phrase

Pashto and borrowings

Borrowed phonology

Greeting phrases

Numbers

Colours