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Punjabi grammar

Written by: authorship not independently recorded. Maintained by Prakash. Reviewed by: not recorded. Updated: 2026-10-03. Editorial policy and corrections.

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Punjabi word order, verbs, pronouns and the mistakes everyone makes — explained, not listed.

1. The verb goes last

Punjabi is subject–object–verb: ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ🔊🔊। (Main rotī khāndā hān.) — मैं रोटी खाता हूँ। — “I eat bread. (word order: I – bread – eat)”. Learn this once and every sentence parses.

2. Two genders, everywhere

Every noun is masculine or feminine, and verbs and adjectives agree with it. ਖਾਂਦਾ🔊🔊 (khāndā) is a man eating; ਖਾਂਦੀ🔊🔊 (khāndī) is a woman eating. ਨੀਲਾ ਘਰ🔊🔊 (blue house, m) but ਨੀਲੀ ਕਮੀਜ਼🔊🔊 (blue shirt, f). Citation forms in this course are masculine — the tables always show both.

3. Pronouns

4. Present tense — one full verb

“To eat” (ਖਾਣਾ🔊🔊) in the present. The present is stem + -ਦਾ🔊🔊 (m) / -ਦੀ🔊🔊 (f) + helper: ਹਾਂ🔊🔊 (I), ਹੈਂ🔊🔊 (tūn), ਹੈ🔊🔊 (is), ਹੋ🔊🔊 (tusīn — always plural!), ਹਨ🔊🔊 (they). So ਮੈਂ ਖਾਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ🔊🔊 (I eat, m), ਤੁਸੀਂ ਖਾਂਦੇ ਹੋ🔊🔊 (you eat, respectful), ਉਹ ਖਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ🔊🔊 (they eat).

5. Past and future (first steps)

6. Negation with ਨਹੀਂ🔊🔊 (nahīn)

ਨਹੀਂ🔊🔊 (nahīn) goes before the verb: ਮੈਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਖਾਂਦਾ🔊🔊 (I don't eat), ਉਹ ਨਹੀਂ ਆਇਆ🔊🔊 (he didn't come). For commands use ਨਾ🔊🔊 or ਮਤ🔊🔊: ਇੱਥੇ ਨਾ ਬੈਠੋ🔊🔊 (don't sit here).

7. Postpositions (not prepositions)

8. Counting words

Punjabi has no classifiers — put the number straight before the noun. But the noun itself goes plural: ਇੱਕ ਕਿਤਾਬ🔊🔊 (one book), ਦੋ ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ🔊🔊 (two books), ਤਿੰਨ ਰੁਪਏ🔊🔊 (three rupees).

The sentence ladder

Do not learn grammar as a list of rules. Learn it as a ladder with seven rungs, where every rung is something you can say out loud today.

1. Say what you are. Simple I-sentences with no verb change.
2. Say what you want. The same pattern with a noun from the common words list.
3. Say what you do. The present-tense table above, first person only.
4. Say what someone else does. The same table, third person — this is where the endings move.
5. Say what happened. Past tense, five sentences about yesterday.
6. Say what will happen. Future tense, five sentences about tomorrow.
7. Say what does not happen. Negative forms of five sentences you have already built.

Past and future, in five sentences each

Small words, big sentences

Two groups of small words turn correct sentences into natural ones: the little words that mean in, at or to, and the words used when counting things.

And the counting words:

More guides in this course

• Beginner's guide — PunjabiHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
• Alphabet, letter by letter — PunjabiEvery letter with the sound it makes.
• Phrases for travel — PunjabiStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
• Numbers 1 to 100 — PunjabiCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
• Most common words — PunjabiThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
• Common mistakes — PunjabiThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
• How to read the script — PunjabiA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
• vs Hindi — PunjabiWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
• Practise speaking alone — PunjabiShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.