Punjabi grammar
Punjabi postpositions
Like Hindi, Punjabi places small words after the noun instead of before it — but the words themselves differ: ਨੂੰ (nūṅ) instead of "ko", ਤੋਂ (toṅ) instead of "se".
in
ਵਿੱਚ
vich
e.g. ਘਰ ਵਿੱਚ (ghar vich) — "in the house."
to / (marks a definite object)
ਨੂੰ
nūṅ
e.g. ਮੈਨੂੰ (mainūṅ) — "to me."
from
ਤੋਂ
toṅ
e.g. ਘਰ ਤੋਂ (ghar toṅ) — "from the house."
with
ਨਾਲ
nāl
e.g. ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ (mere nāl) — "with me."
on
ਉੱਤੇ
utte
e.g. ਮੇਜ਼ ਉੱਤੇ (mez utte) — "on the table." Often shortened to 'ਤੇ (te).
of (possessive)
ਦਾ / ਦੀ / ਦੇ
dā / dī / de
Agrees with the thing possessed, e.g. ਰਾਮ ਦਾ ਘਰ (rām dā ghar) — "Ram's house."
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More Punjabi grammar lessons
Punjabi personal pronouns
Punjabi has two levels of "you" — ਤੂੰ (tūṅ) for intimates and ਤੁਸੀਂ (tusīṅ) for respect or plural. Unlike Hindi, there is no middle "tum" level.
Punjabi present tense verbs
Punjabi's habitual present adds -ਦਾ/-ਦੀ/-ਦੇ (-dā/-dī/-de, agreeing with gender and number) to the verb stem, followed by a form of ਹੈ (hai). Where Hindi says "kartā", Punjabi says "kardā". Conjugated here for ਕਰਨਾ (karnā, "to do").
Punjabi negation with ਨਹੀਂ
ਨਹੀਂ (nahīṅ) is Punjabi's everyday negator, placed before the verb. In fast speech it is often shortened to "ni".
Punjabi question words
Punjabi wh-questions use a fixed set of question words placed where the answer would go; ਕੀ (kī) at the start of a sentence also turns it into a yes/no question.
Punjabi sentence structure — building a basic sentence
Punjabi follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. Adjectives come before the noun, and postpositions come after it.
Punjabi numbers 1–10
The Punjabi numerals 1 through 10. Gurmukhi also has its own digits (੧ ੨ ੩ …), still seen in gurdwaras and on older signage.