Punjabi grammar, step by step

The habitual participle agrees with the subject's gender. The suffix -ਦਾ marks masculine and -ਦੀ marks feminine, added to the stem. A separate auxiliary then shows person.

Punjabi word order is Subject–Object–Verb: the verb always closes the sentence. The object sits between the subject and the verb.

Punjabi has three lexical tones that arise from historical consonants. Voiced aspirated stops (ਘ, ਝ, ਢ, ਧ, ਭ) trigger a high falling tone on the following vowel; the murmur consonant ਹ in certain positions triggers a low rising tone; all other syllables carry the level (mid) tone.

The oblique form signals that a postposition follows. Masculine singular nouns ending in -ਾ change to -ੇ in the oblique; most other nouns remain unchanged.

Punjabi uses postpositions — they follow the noun, which usually takes the oblique form. The possessive postposition ਦਾ/ਦੀ/ਦੇ also agrees in gender with the thing possessed.

Adjectives ending in -ਾ agree with the gender and case of the noun they describe. They use the same -ਾ/-ੀ/-ੇ pattern as habitual verb participles.

Tense is built from a participle or suffix attached to the stem, followed by an auxiliary. All three tenses also agree with the subject's gender.

The main negative word ਨਹੀਂ (nahī) comes directly before the verb participle. In the habitual present, the auxiliary is typically dropped after ਨਹੀਂ. The imperative negative uses ਨਾ (nā).

Yes/no questions use rising intonation or an optional ਕੀ (kī) particle at the start of the sentence. Question words like ਕੌਣ, ਕਿੱਥੇ, and ਕਦੋਂ stay in their normal position in the sentence — they do not move to the front.

Punjabi has two main levels of "you": ਤੂੰ (tūṃ) is intimate and can sound rude with strangers or elders, while ਤੁਸੀਂ (tusīṃ) is the standard polite form used with most adults. ਤੁਸੀਂ is the safe default.

Specific or animate objects take the postposition ਨੂੰ after them. Generic or indefinite objects appear bare, without ਨੂੰ.

In completed transitive sentences the subject takes the postposition ਨੇ and becomes the ergative agent; the verb then shifts to agree with the object instead of the subject. This is the ergative split — past transitive agreement flips from subject to object.

Punjabi aspect is expressed by inserting a marker between the verb stem and the auxiliary. ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ/ਰਹੇ signals an ongoing action; ਚੁੱਕਾ/ਚੁੱਕੀ/ਚੁੱਕੇ signals a completed action. Both markers agree with the subject's gender.

The infinitive is formed by adding -ਣਾ to the stem. Modal verbs (want, can, must) follow the SOV pattern — the infinitive sits before the modal, and the modal agrees with subject gender or takes a special dative construction for "must".

A single complex sentence can layer SOV order, progressive aspect, negation, and gender agreement all at once — the patterns combine naturally.