This is a continuation of the explanatory style previous lesson, going over the various plural forms. In addition to the previous relatively simple forms, there is one form that is relatively harder which requires the internal modification of some words. This will happen when you come across certain masculine words which end in a consonants, where the final vowel is -ou or -o (both represented with a wāw).
To explain this I will use the word Päkhtoun (male Pashtun). The plural of this word is Päkhtānä. What happens here is that before adding the plural marker -ä, the word must be internally modified, changing the vowel ou or o to ā. The number of words with which this is required is relatively few compared to the other forms, so you will just learn to recognize them as and when you come across them. The same is also done with adjectives when the final vowel is ou or o. Just in case I forgot to mention it before, anything ending in ä, you should generally regard as masculine. Look at the following examples for MP3:
Day zoṟ Päkhtoun day. / دی زوړ پښتون دی۔
He is an old Pashtun.
Doy zāṟä Päkhtānä dī. / دوی زاړه پښتانه دي۔
They are old Pashtuns.
Hagha koun shpoun day. / هغه کون شپون دی۔
He is a deaf shepherd.
Hahoy kānä shpānä dī. / هغوی کانه شپانه دي۔
They are deaf shepherds.
Dagha mez dround day. / دغه مېز دروند دی۔
This table is heavy.
Dagha mezouna drānä dī. / دغه مېزونه درانه دي۔
These tables are heavy.
To get a bit more technical, as a general way of looking out for words in which this will happen, look out for final ou's and o's that are followed either an n or a retroflex consonant. There are of course many exceptions to this rule which you will learn to recognize with time.
There are two more plural forms left now that are very simple. The first one is used with masculine inanimate nouns which end in consonants (and also male family members; not sure what the reason for that is). It is simply formed by adding -ouna onto the end of the word, this is our MP4. The last one isn't really a form in itself, it is just used to compensate for when inanimate nouns don't end in consonants, but end in ou. As the usual plural in nouns like this would be -ān, we just need to put in an extra consonant to split the ou from the ā, making the plural -gān.
Hagha kor loy day. / هغه کور لوی دی۔
That house is big.
Hagha korouna loy dī. / هغه کورونه لوی دي۔
Those houses are big.
Dā khä kitāb day. / دا ښه کتاب دی۔
This is a good book.
Dā khä kitābouna dī. / دا ښه کتابونه دي۔
These are good books.
Dā ālou wrost day. / دا آلو وروست دی۔
This potato is rotten.
Dā ālougān wrāstä dī. / دا آلوګان وراسته دي۔
These potatoes are rotten.
Zmā trä khapa day. / زما تره خپه دی۔
My uncle is upset.
Zmā trouna khapa dī. / زما ترونه خپه دي۔
My uncles are upset.
Hagha khä plār day. / هغه ښه پلار دی۔
He is a good father.
Haghoy khä plarouna dī. / هغه ښه پلرونه دي۔
They are good fathers.
Stā wror ḏer takṟa day. / ستا ورور ډېر تکړه دی۔
Your brother is very strong.
Stā wrouna ḏer takṟa dī. / ستا ورونه ډېر تکړه دي۔
Your brothers are very strong.
There are a few more things I need to point out that I included in the above examples. Notice how adjectives that end in ä or a do not have plural forms, they function the same as adjectives that end in consonants. Look at the plural form of wrost; it is one of those ones that takes MP3 but doesn't show any sign of it. I included the 3 main male relations in the examples, notice how all the plural forms are irregular: the ä vowel of trä gets absorbed completely by the ou vowel in the plural suffix -ouna. The plural form of plār loses it's long vowel, and the -or in wror gets completely absorbed by the -ouna suffix.
So there we have it! These are the plural forms for masculine nouns and adjectives. I have summarized them below as a quick reference for you.
MP1 -ī
This is used for any masculine noun or adjective that ends in the marker -ay. In nouns it is found and used both for humans (saṟay, man) and non-humans (zmaray, lion). To inflect these nouns and adjectives to their plural forms, replace -ay with -ī: saṟay > saṟī, zmaray > zmarī.
MP2 -ān
This is used with any male masculine animate noun, both human (hāläk, boy) and non-human (mār, snake), which ends in a consonant. For example: hāläk > hāläkān, mār > mārān. It is also used with masculine animate nouns which end in long vowels, with the addition of -y to break up the vowels. For example: mullā > mullāyān, qāzī, qāziyān.
Remember, masculine adjectives that end in a consonant, a or ä are not inflected to plural forms, but retain their singular forms.
MP3 -ä
This is used with both masculine nouns and adjectives and is generally a bit unpredictable and irregular, however it will only occur in words that end in a consonant, with the final vowel being ou or o. It is formed by changing the ou or the o to an ā, and adding the suffix -ä to the end. For example: Päkhtoun > Päkhtānä, zoṟ > zāṟä, dround > drānä, wrost > wrāstä.
MP4 -ouna
This form is used for any masculine inanimate noun which ends in a consonant, and also for male relatives. Simply add the suffix onto the end of the word: kitāb > kitābouna, qalam > qalamouna (see above for irregular forms for male relatives).
MP5 -gān
This form is only used for masculine inanimate nouns which end in -ou: ālou > ālougān.
Let me know if anything isn't clear. The next lesson will be going back to the format of having a text or conversation (incorporating all of this, of course
) and working out what new things mean and how they are used.
) what the verb with the stem lar- is, and what it's infinitive form would be, and finally, give any observations on how you think the pre+postpositions (pä - ke ect.) work.
United States (United States)
Pakistan (پاکستان)
I can communicate with them in everyday matters fluently. I don't know how to write Pashto in the arabic script though. Their script has different characters from the one used for Urdu, which I speak at home.