Punjabi grammar
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").
I do (masc./fem.)
ਮੈਂ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ / ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ
maiṅ kardā hāṅ / kardī hāṅ
The verb ending changes with the speaker's gender.
You (informal) do
ਤੂੰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ / ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈਂ
tūṅ kardā haiṅ / kardī haiṅ
Second person informal.
You (formal) do
ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੇ ਹੋ
tusīṅ karde ho
ਤੁਸੀਂ always takes the plural form, even for one person.
He/she does
ਉਹ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ / ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ
uh kardā hai / kardī hai
Third person singular.
We do
ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਾਂ
asīṅ karde hāṅ
First person plural.
They do
ਉਹ ਕਰਦੇ ਹਨ
uh karde han
Third person plural.
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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 negation with ਨਹੀਂ
ਨਹੀਂ (nahīṅ) is Punjabi's everyday negator, placed before the verb. In fast speech it is often shortened to "ni".
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".
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.