Pronouns
Far Pronouns
These pronouns are used to reference people or things that are far.
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | زه zu I | مونږ moonG we |
| 2nd | ته tu you | تاسو táaso you |
| 3rd | هغه haghá he/she/it | هغوی haghwée they |
Near Pronouns
These pronouns are used to reference people or things that are close (either physically close or close in conversation).
Notice that only the third person pronouns are different from the far pronouns.
| Pers. | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | زه zu I | مونږ moonG we |
| 2nd | ته tu you | تاسو táaso you |
| 3rd m. | دی day he/it | دوی dwee they |
| 3rd f. | دا daa she/it | دوی dwee they |
Inflecting Pronouns
Since there are singular and plural versions of pronouns, pronouns will not inflect for being plural. But the singular pronouns will inflect for the other two reasons:
- being the subject of a past tense transitive verb
- being in a sandwich
⚠️ Inflecting 1st/2nd Person Pronouns ⚠️
Normally the object of transitive verbs never inflects. But 1st and 2nd person pronouns (I, you) are an exception. 1st and 2nd person pronouns (I, you) will inflect if they are the object of a present/future tense verb. The 3rd person pronouns, however, do NOT inflect as objects.
The only time you ever inflect an object in Pashto:
- The object is a 1st or 2nd person pronoun (not 3rd!)
- The verb is not past tense
This is tricky for English speakers to remember, because in English we inflect all 1st and 3rd person pronouns when they are objects. For example, we say "he sees me," and "I see him." In Pashto we have to say "he sees me" and "I see he."
When do you inflect an object in Pashto?
| object is a 1st/2nd pers. pronoun | object is anything else | |
|---|---|---|
| verb is past tense | ❌ | ❌ |
| verb is not past tense | ✅ | ❌ |