An Illustrated Guide to Compound Verbs in Pashto

We can think of compound verbs in Pashto as two kinds of machines

November 12, 2020
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About 70% of verbs in Pashto are compound verbs. Although they’re incredibly common, they can also be very confusing for language learners. This article aims to clear up some of the confusion by explaining compound verbs visually, as two kinds of simple machines.

What is a compound verb?

A compound verb is a verb that’s made by combining a verb and something else (a complement).

Complement
noun
adjective
adverb
+
Verb
=
Compound Verb

Here are a few of examples:

خفه
khufa
"sad"
+
کول
kawul
"to make"
=
خفه کول
khufa kawul
"to upset/make sad"
کار
kaar
"work"
+
کول
kawul
"to do"
=
کار کول
kaar kawul
"to work"
پوخ
pokh
"cooked"
+
کول
kawul
"to make"
=
پخول
pakhawul
"to cook"
لغته
laghata
"kick"
+
وهل
wahul
"to hit"
=
لغته وهل
laghata wahul
"to kick"

What’s confusing about compound verbs?

As soon as someone starts hearing or using these verbs, a number of questions come up.

  • Why do some of the verbs get glued together into one word, and some stay as two seperate words?
  • Why do some verbs with کول - kawul take a و - óo prefix and some don’t?
  • In the past tense, why does the conjugation on some verbs never change?
  • Why do some verbs take objects, and others only take indirect objects?

It can seem like these are just unexplainable idiosyncracies that have to be memorized for each verb, but that’s not the case!

All of these confusing questions melt away once we realize that there are basically two kinds of compound verbs.

If you find this article helpful you can find much more in the LingDocs Pashto Grammar and LingDocs Pashto Dictionary.

Get it on Google Play

The two types of compound verbs

1. Stative Compounds

Stative compounds are about “making” something something. You can think of these verbs as transformer machines. They take an object and do something that transforms it, or puts it in a different state.

transitive stative compound verb diagram

For example, the verb پخول - pakhawul (to cook):

pakhawul verb diagram

2. Dynamic Compounds

Dynamic compounds are about “doing” something. Think of these as an action machines. They have a built-in object which is an action or activity that they do.

transitive stative compound verb diagram

For example, the verb کار کول - kaar kawul (to work):

kaar kawul verb diagram

There are also intransitive versions of these, but we’ll get to that later.

Stative CompoundDynamic Compound
"Making" Compound"Doing" Compound
Transformer MachineAction Machine

From the diagrams and examples we can see that these two kinds of compounds behave quite differently. The most obvious difference is that:

  • stative compounds take an outside object
  • dynamic compounds have an object included inside them

We will see more differences when we look at each kind of compound in detail. Once we understand the unique behaviors of each type of machine, all the confusion about different compound verbs behaving differently will disappear.

How do the two kinds of compounds work?

1. Stative compounds

Stative compounds take the complement part of the verb and apply it to an object so that the object is changed or put in a different state.

Always use کول - kawul (to make)

Transitive stative compounds always use use the word کول - kawul (to make) to change an object, or put it in a different state. In other words, they take an object and “make it ____“.

The کول - kawul verb used by these compounds will never, ever, ever take a و - óo prefix.

Imperfective Stem
کوـ
kaw–
Perfective Stem
کړـ
kR–
Imperfective Root
کول
kawúl
Perfective Root
کړل
kRul
Past Participle
کړی
kúRey

The complement is often an adjective, as in the following example: خفه کول - khufa kawúl (to upset)

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه هغه خفه کوم
zu haghá khufa kawúm
"I'm making her sad..."
Subjunctive
زه هغه خفه کړم
zu haghá khufa kRum
long
short
"...so I'll make her sad..."
Imperf. Future
زه به هغه خفه کوم
zu ba haghá khufa kawum
"I will make her sad..."
Perf. Future
زه به هغه خفه کړم
zu ba haghá khufa kRum
long
short
"I will make her sad..."
Imperf. Imperative
هغه خفه کوه!
haghá khufa kawá!
"make her sad!"
Perf. Imperative
هغه خفه کړه!
haghá khufa kRá!
long
short
"make her sad!"
Continuous Past
ما هغه خفه کوله
maa haghá khufa kawúla
long
short
"I was making / would make her sad"
Simple Past
ما هغه خفه کړه
maa haghá khufa kRa
long
short
mini
"I made her sad"
Perfect
ما هغه خفه کړې ده
maa haghá khufa kúRe da
"I've made her sad (and now she's upset at me)"

If the adjective is inflectable, it will inflect based on the object

Let’s take a look at the verb ستړی کول - stúRey kawúl (to tire).

If we’re using a feminine object هغه - haghá (her), we need to inflect the complement/adjective ستړی - stúRey (tired) to ستړې - stúRe.

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه هغه ستړې کوم
zu haghá stúRe kawúm
"I'm making her tired..."
Subjunctive
زه هغه ستړې کړم
zu haghá stúRe kRum
long
short
"...so I'll make her tired..."
Imperf. Future
زه به هغه ستړې کوم
zu ba haghá stúRe kawum
"I will make her tired..."
Perf. Future
زه به ورک کړم
zu ba haghá stúRe kRum
long
short
"I will make her tired..."
Imperf. Imperative
هغه ستړې کوه!
haghá stúRe kawá!
"make her tired!"
Perf. Imperative
هغه ستړې کړه!
haghá stúRe kRá!
long
short
"make her tired!"
Continuous Past
ما هغه ستړې کوله
maa haghá stúRe kawúla
long
short
"I was making / would make her tired"
Simple Past
ما هغه ستړې کړه
maa haghá stúRe kRa
long
short
mini
"I made her tired"
Perfect
ما هغه ستړې کړې ده
maa haghá stúRe kúRe da
"I've made her tired (and now she's tired)"

When the complement ends in a consonant, it often fuses together with کول

Let’s have a look at the verb بندول - bandawúl (to close).

The adjective/complement بند - band (closed) ends in a consonant, so in the imperfective aspect, the ک - k from کول - kawul gets dropped and the two words get fused together.

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه دروازې بندوم
zu darwaaze bandawúm
"I'm closing the doors..."
Subjunctive
زه دروازې بندې کړم
zu darwaaze bande kRum
long
short
"...so I'll close the doors..."
Imperf. Future
زه به دروازې بندوم
zu ba darwaaze bandawum
"I will close the doors..."
Perf. Future
زه به بندې کړم
zu ba darwaaze bande kRum
long
short
"I will close the doors..."
Imperf. Imperative
دروازې بندوه!
darwaaze bandawá!
"close the doors!"
Perf. Imperative
دروازې بندې کړه!
darwaaze bande kRa!
long
short
"close the doors!"
Continuous Past
ما دروازې بندولې
maa darwaaze bandawúle
long
short
"I was closing the doors"
Simple Past
ما دروازې بندې کړې
maa darwaaze bande kRe
long
short
mini
"I closed the doors"
Perfect
ما دروازې بندې کړې دي
maa darwaaze bande kúRe dee
"I've closed the doors (and they're shut now)"

Notice how when the words are stuck together, it’s impossible to inflect the adjective.

In the perfective aspect and in the perfect tense however, the words always break apart and stay seperate. Then the adjective must be inflected according to the object if possible.

Some adjectives will get crunched when fusing with کول

Many adjectives get crunched into a shorter version when they fuse together with کول - kawúl (to make) in the imperfective forms.

For example if we use the irregular adjective پوخ - pokh (cooked), we know that the inflections are:

MasculineFeminine
Plain
پوخ
pokh
پخه
pakha
1st Inf.
پاخه
paakhu
پخې
pakhe
2nd Inf.
پخو
pakho
پخو
pakho

And when we combine this inflectable adjective with the verb they get fused together like this:

پوخ
pokh
"cooked"
+
کول
kawul
"to make"
=
پخول
pakhawul
"to cook"

If we are cooking الوګان - aloogaan (potatoes), then پوخ - pokh will inflect to پاخه - paakhu because potatoes are masculine plural.

pakhawul verb diagram
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه الوګان پخوم
zu aloogáan pakhawúm
"I'm cooking potatoes..."
Subjunctive
زه الوګان پاخه کړم
zu aloogáan paakhu kRum
long
short
"...so I'll cook potatoes..."
Imperf. Future
زه به الوګان پخوم
zu ba aloogáan pakhawum
"I will cook potatoes..."
Perf. Future
زه به پاخه کړم
zu ba aloogáan paakhu kRum
long
short
"I will cook potatoes..."
Imperf. Imperative
الوګان پخوه!
aloogáan pakhawá!
"cook potatoes!"
Perf. Imperative
الوګان پاخه کړه!
aloogáan paakhu kRa!
long
short
"cook potatoes!"
Continuous Past
ما الوګان پخول
maa aloogáan pakhawúl
"I was cooking potatoes"
Simple Past
ما الوګان پاخه کړل
maa aloogáan paakhu kRul
"I cooked potatoes"
Perfect
ما الوګان پاخه کړي دي
maa aloogáan paakhu kúRee dee
"I've cooked potatoes (and they're ready to eat now)"

The complement can also be an noun or adverb

It seems weird, but the complement in stative compounds can also be a noun or an adverb, and when it is it’s used sort of like an adjective.

For example the verb “to explain” is a combonation of:

بیان
bayáan
"explanation"
+
کول
kawul
"to make"
=
بیانول
bayaanawúl
"to explain/express"

It might seem illogical for us to say, “I made my story explanation,” but that’s exactly what Pashto does.

Note that when the complement is not an adjective, it doesn’t inflect.

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه خپله کیسه بیانوم
zu khpula keesá bayaanawúm
"I'm making story..."
Subjunctive
زه خپله کیسه بیان کړم
zu khpula keesá bayáan kRum
long
short
"...so I'll explain my story..."
Imperf. Future
زه به خپله کیسه بیانوم
zu ba khpula keesá bayaanawúm
"I will explain my story..."
Perf. Future
زه به خپله کیسه بیان کړم
zu ba khpula keesá bayáan kRum
long
short
"I will explain my story..."
Imperf. Imperative
خپله کیسه بیانوه!
khpula keesá bayaanawá!
"explain your story!"
Perf. Imperative
خپله کیسه بیان کړه!
khpula keesá bayáan kRá!
long
short
"explain your story!"
Continuous Past
ما خپله کیسه بیانوله
maa khpula keesá bayaanawúla
long
short
"I was explaining my story"
Simple Past
ما خپله کیسه بیان کړه
maa khpula keesá bayáan kRa
long
short
mini
"I explained my story"
Perfect
ما خپله کیسه بیان کړې ده
maa khpula keesá bayáan kúRe da
"I've explained my story"

Reviewing stative compounds

So far we’ve learned the inner workings of one type of machine: the “transformer machine” aka stative compound.

transitive stative compound verb diagram

To review all the behaviours of the stative compounds, we know that they:

  • Always use کول - kawul (to make) as the verb
  • The complement can be an adjective, noun, or adverb
  • If the complement is an adjective, it will inflect according to the object
  • Infinitive/imperfective forms (almost always) fuse together when the complement ends in a consonant

2. Dynamic compounds

Dynamic compounds are actually a lot easier. These “action machines” are much simpler, because they have less moving parts.

transitive dynamic compound verb diagram

The object is included in the compound

The most important thing to know about these verbs is that they don’t take any outside object. The object of the sentence is already included in the compound. The object will always be a noun, which will be some sort of action or activity to be done.

For instance, if you have a sentence or a clause with the verb کار کول - kaar kawúl (to work) then کار - kaar (work) will always be the object, and the only object. This makes things simpler especially when it comes to past tense.

They use کول - kawul (to do)

While stative compounds used کول - kawul (to make), dynamic compounds use کول - kawul (to do). These may look like the same verb, but they’re not! They mean different things, behave differently, and in the perfective forms they diverge.

Stative compounds
"transformer machines"
Dynamic compounds
"action machines"
use only
کول
kawúl
"to make ____ ____"
use
کول
kawúl
"to do ____"
and other verbs too
کول - kawúl (to make) never takes a و - óo (perfective prefix)کول - kawúl (to do) always takes a و - óo (perfective prefix)

Unlike کول - kawúl (to make), کول - kawúl (to do) does take a و - óo (perfective prefix) in the perfective forms.

Imperfective Stem
کوـ
kaw–
Perfective Stem
وکړـ
óokR–
Imperfective Root
کول
kawúl
Perfective Root
وکړل
óokRul
Past Participle
کړی
kúRey

Let’s look at the verb کار کول - kaar kawul (to work):

kaar kawul verb diagram
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه کار کوم
zu kaar kawúm
"I'm working..."
Subjunctive
زه کار وکړم
zu kaar óokRum
long
short
"...so I'll work..."
Imperf. Future
زه به کار کوم
zu ba kaar kawúm
"I will work..."
Perf. Future
زه به کار وکړم
zu ba kaar óokRum
long
short
"...I will work..."
Imperf. Imperative
کار کوه!
kaar kawá!
"work!"
Perf. Imperative
کار وکړه!
kaar óokRa!
long
short
"work!"
Continuous Past
ما کار کوله
maa kaar kawúlo
long
short
"I was working"
Simple Past
ما کار وکړو
maa kaar óokRo
long
short
mini
"I worked"
Perfect
ما کار کړی دی
maa kaar kúRey dey
"I have worked"

The words always stay seperate

With dynamic compounds, the complement and verb never ever get fused together. For example کار کول - kaar kawul can never get squished together to become کارول - kaarawul. In fact, کارول - kaarawul (to use) is actually a completely different non-compound verb.

There can’t be any other objects!

It’s important to remember that with dynamic compounds the object is inside the compound, so you can’t have a direct object anywhere else in the sentence or clause. But “indirect objects” are often exrpessed through words connected with prepositional phrases (sandwiches).

For example, in English we might say “I am serving my father.” Father is the direct object. But in Pashto we can say:

زه د پلار خدمت کوم
zu du plaar khidmat kawum
"I am doing my father's service"

Here خدمت - khidmat (service) is the direct object and پلار - plaar (father) is like an indirect object, related to the verb through a prepositional phrase د ... - du ....

Other verbs can be used

With dynamic compounds other verbs like وهل - wahul (to hit) or خوړل - khoRúl (to eat) can also be used as the verb in the “action machine”.

For example, the verb منډې وهل - múnDe wahúl (to run):

The object / complement in this verb is منډې - múnDe (runs), which is feminine plural. So, in the past tense the verb will always be conjugated 3rd person feminine plural.

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
زه منډې وهم
zu múnDe wahúm
"I'm running..."
Subjunctive
زه منډې ووهم
zu múnDe óowahum
"...so I'll run..."
Imperf. Future
زه به منډې وهم
zu ba múnDe wahúm
"I will run..."
Perf. Future
زه به منډې ووهم
zu ba múnDe óowahum
"...I will run..."
Imperf. Imperative
منډې وهه!
múnDe wahá!
"run! (repeatedly, in general)"
Perf. Imperative
منډې ووهه!
múnDe óowaha!
"run! (one time)"
Continuous Past
ما منډې وهلې
maa múnDe wahúle
long
short
"I was running"
Simple Past
ما منډې ووهلې
maa múnDe óowahule
long
short
"I ran"
Perfect
ما منډې وهلې دي
maa múnDe wahúle dee
"I have run"

If you find this article helpful you can find much more in the LingDocs Pashto Grammar and LingDocs Pashto Dictionary.

Get it on Google Play

Reviewing stative and dynamic compounds

Remember all those weird different behaviours that we mentioned at the beginning? Once we realize there are these two different types of compound verbs, represented by two different kinds of “machines,” we can see that each of the two has a distinct set of behaviours.

Stative CompoundDynamic Compound
Transformer MachineAction Machine
Takes an outside objectIncludes the object in the compound
Uses کول (to make), which never takes a و - óo (perfective prefix)Uses کول (to do), which does take a و - óo (perfective prefix), or other verbs
The complement can be an adjective, noun, or adverbThe complement can only be a noun
The complement gets applied to the objectThe complement is the object
Does something that changes the objectDoes an action or activity, which is the object
Often joins the two words together if the complement ends in a consonantThe two words never get joined together
If the complement is an adjective, it inflects according to the objectThe complement is the object, so it doesn't inflect

Some verbs can be both!

Some verbs can be used either as stative or dynamic compounds. For example, with استري کول - istree kawul (to iron), you could either use it as:

  • a stative compound
    • as in “to iron ____” (to make something ironed)
  • a dynamic compound
    • as in “to do ironing” (to do the activity of ironing)

Ironing with the stative version

If we say we are ironing a shirt (object):

ما قمیس استري کړو
maa qamees istree kRo
"I ironed a shirt"

In these sentences قمیس - qamees (shirt) is the object, so in the past tense the verb agrees with it (3rd person masc. singular). Also notice that the و - óo (perfective prefix) is not used.

Ironing with the dynamic version

If we just wanted to say that we did ironing (object):

ما استري وکړه
maa istree óokRa
"I did ironing"

In these sentences استري - istree (ironing) is the object, so in the past tense the verb agrees with it (3rd person fem. singular).

Also notice that the و - óo (perfective prefix) is used. It would be wrong to wrong to say ما استري کړه - maa istree kRa (I did ironing) ❌.

Stative Version
Verb agrees with the object getting ironed
Verb doesn't take و - óo
Dynamic Version
Verb agrees with the action (ironing)
Verb takes و - óo
ما برکه استري کړه ✔
maa bUrqa istree kRa ✔
"I ironed a burka"
ما استري وکړه ✔
maa istree óokRa ✔
"I did ironing"
ما برکه استري کړه ❌
maa bUrqa istree óokRa ❌
"I ironed a burka"
ما استري وکړه ❌
maa istree kRa ❌
"I did ironing"
ما قمیص استري کړو ✔
maa qamées istree kRo ✔
"I ironed a shirt"
ما استري وکړه ✔
maa istree óokRa ✔
"I did ironing"
ما قمیص استري کړه ❌
maa qamées istree kRa ❌
"I ironed a shirt"
ما استري وکړو ❌
maa istree óokRo ❌
"I did ironing"

قتل کول - qátil kawul is another example of a verb that can be used either statively or dynamically. (with or without an outside object)

Stative VersionDynamic Version
"To kill ____""To commit a murder"
هغهٔ لس کسان قتل کړل ✔
haghú las kasaan qatil kRul ✔
"He killed 10 people"
هغهٔ قتل وکړو ✔
haghú qatil óokRo ✔
"He committed a murder"
هغهٔ یوه ښځه قتل کړه ✔
haghú yuwa xudza qatil kRa ✔
"He killed a woman"
هغهٔ قتل وکړه ❌
haghú qatil óokRa ❌
"He committed a murder"

A few weird exceptions

There are a few verbs like:

  • چيغه کول - cheegha kawul (to scream)
  • منډه کول - múnDa kawul (to run)
  • نارې کول - naare kawul (to cry out)
  • غږ کول - ghuG kawul (to call out)

That can either be used as dynamic compounds or as stative compounds as if there was an implied complement.

Correct ✔Also correct ✔
ما چیغه کړه
maa chéegha kRa
"I yelled"
ما چیغه وکړه
maa chéegha óokRa
"I yelled"
ما نارې کړې
maa naaré kRe
"I cried out"
ما چیغه وکړې
maa naaré óokRe
"I cried out"
ما عږ کړو
maa ghuG kRo
"I called out"
ما غږ وکړو
maa ghuG óokRo
"I called out"

To think of it differently, they can basically function as dynamic compounds with or without the و - óo prefix. Well, it was almost all perfectly logical, sorry. Language can get weird. 🤷‍♂️

EDIT: Actually, I think I figured out what's happening here and it's very logical! 🤓 Will write more here soon!

Intransitive versions

So far we’ve only talked about the tranisitive version of these two types of compounds/machines.

There is also an intransitive version of these machines, for when you are just talking about:

  • something being transformed/changed (stative)
  • some action happening (dynamic)

…but are not mentioning the person or thing that’s doing the action.

Instransitive stative compounds

These follow all the same rules and behaviours as the transitive versions, except that there’s only a subject, and no object.

These verbs use the intranisitive equivalent to کول - kawúl (to make) which is کېدل - kedúl (to become).

Imperfective Stem
کېږـ
kéG–
Perfective Stem
شـ
sh–
Imperfective Root
کېدل
kedúl
Perfective Root
شول
shwul
Past Participle
شوی
shúwey

Notice how with this verb, just as with کول - kawúl (to make), there is no و - óo (perfective prefix).

All these compounds will have the same characteristics as the transitive “transformer machines” that we saw earlier. The only difference is that there’s no subject pressing the button and doing the action of transforming. There’s just a subject that goes through and is changed.

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
هغه خفه کېږي
haghá khufa kéGee
"She's getting sad..."
Subjunctive
هغه خفه شي
haghá khufa shee
"...so she'll get sad..."
Imperf. Future
هغه به خفه کېږي
haghá ba khufa kéGee
"She'll become sad..."
Perf. Future
هغه به خفه شي
haghá ba khufa shee
"She'll become sad..."
Imperf. Imperative
خفه کېږه!
khufa kéGa!
"become sad!"
Perf. Imperative
خفه شه!
khufa sha!
"become sad!"
Continuous Past
هغه خفه کېدله
haghá khufa kedúla
long
short
"She was becoming sad"
Simple Past
هغه خفه شوله
haghá khufa shwula
long
short
"I made her sad"
Perfect
هغه خفه شوې ده
haghá khufa shúwe da
"She's become upset"

For these intransitive transformer machines all the other behaviours apply:

  • There’s no و - óo (perfective prefix) used
  • If the complement is an adjective it will inflect (for the subject now)
  • Complements ending in a consonant will get joined together with the verb
  • Adjectives, nouns, and adverbs can be used as complements

Here are the intransitive versions of all the other examples above:

See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
هغه ستړې کېږي
haghá stúRe kéGee
"She's getting tired..."
Subjunctive
هغه ستړې شي
haghá stúRe shee
"...so she'll get tired..."
Imperf. Future
هغه به ستړې کېږي
haghá ba stúRe kéGee
"She'll become tired..."
Perf. Future
هغه به ستړې شي
haghá ba stúRe shee
"She'll become tired..."
Imperf. Imperative
ستړې کېږه!
stúRe kéGa!
"become tired!"
Perf. Imperative
ستړې شه!
stúRe sha!
"become tired!"
Continuous Past
هغه ستړې کېدله
haghá stúRe kedúla
long
short
"She was becoming tired"
Simple Past
هغه ستړې شوله
haghá stúRe shwula
long
short
"I made her tired"
Perfect
هغه ستړې شوې ده
haghá stúRe shúwe da
"She's become tired"
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
دروازې بندېږي
darwaaze bandéGee
"The doors are closing"
Subjunctive
دروازې بندې شي
darwaaze bande shee
"...so the doors'll close..."
Imperf. Future
دروازې به بندېږي
darwaaze ba bandéGee
"The doors will close"
Perf. Future
دروازې به بندې شي
darwaaze ba bande shee
"The doors will close"
Imperf. Imperative
بندېږئ!
bandeGeyy!
"close!"
Perf. Imperative
بندې شئ!
bande sheyy!
"close!"
Continuous Past
دروازې بندېدلې
darwaaze bandedúle
long
short
"The doors were closing"
Simple Past
دروازې بندې شولې
darwaaze bande shwule
long
short
"I closed the doors"
Perfect
دروازې بندې شوې دي
darwaaze bande shúwe dee
"The doors have closed (and they're shut now)"
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
الوګان پخېږي
aloogáan pakhéGee
"The potatoes are cooking"
Subjunctive
الوګان پاخه شي
aloogáan paakhu shee
"...so the potatoes'll cook..."
Imperf. Future
الوګان به پخېږي
aloogáan ba pakhéGee
"The potatoes will cook"
Perf. Future
الوګان به پاخه شي
aloogáan ba paakhu shee
"The potatoes will cook"
Imperf. Imperative
پخېږئ!
pakhéGeyy!
"cook!"
Perf. Imperative
پاخه شئ!
paakhu sheyy!
"cook!"
Continuous Past
الوګان پخېدل
aloogáan pakhedúl
"The potatoes were cooking"
Simple Past
الوګان پاخه شول
aloogáan paakhu shwul
long
short
"the potatoes cooked"
Perfect
الوګان پاخه شوي دي
aloogáan paakhu shúwee dee
"The potatoes have cooked (and they're ready to eat now)"
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
کیسه بیانېږي
keesa bayaanéGee
"the story is being explained"
Subjunctive
کیسه بیان شي
keesa bayaan shee
"...so the will be explained..."
Imperf. Future
کیسه به بیانېږي
keesá ba bayaanGee
"the story will be explained"
Perf. Future
کیسه به بیان شي
keesá ba bayaan shee
"the story will be explained"
Imperf. Imperative
بیانېږه!
bayaaneGa!
"be explained! (unnatural example)"
Perf. Imperative
بیان شه!
bayaan sha!
"be explained! (unnatural example)"
Continuous Past
کیسه بیانېدله
keesa bayaanedúla
long
short
"the story was getting explained"
Simple Past
کیسه بیان شوله
keesa bayaan shwula
long
short
"the story got explained"
Perfect
کیسه بیان شوې ده
keesa bayaan shúwe da
"the story has been explained (and it's known now)"

NOTE: These are not “passive forms” of verbs. That’s whole other form that we won’t deal with in this article.

Transitive
الوګان پخوم
aloogáan pakhawum
"I am cooking potatoes"
Intransitive
الوګان پخېږي
aloogáan pakhéGee
"Potatoes are cooking"
Passive form (from transitive)
الوګان پخول کېږي
aloogáan pakhawul kéGee
"Potatoes are being cooked"

Intransitive dynamic compounds

If a dynamic compound is made with کول - kawul (to do) then you can also make an intransitive version of it with کېدل - kedúl (to happen). This way you will be talking about an action happening, without mentioning who was doing it.

The verb used is کېدل - kedúl (to happen), which is the intransitive equivalent of کول - kawul (to do). It *does* take a و - óo (perfective prefix)

Imperfective Stem
کېږـ
kéG–
Perfective Stem
وشـ
óosh–
Imperfective Root
کېدل
kedúl
Perfective Root
وشول
óoshwul
Past Participle
شوی
shúwey
See conjugations
Imperfective Perfective
Present
کار کېږي
kaar kéGee
"work is happening"
Subjunctive
کار وشي
kaar óoshee
"...so work will happen..."
Imperf. Future
کار به کېږي
kaar ba kéGee
"Work will happen"
Perf. Future
کار به وشي
kaar ba óoshee
"Work will happen"
Continuous Past
کار کېدلو
kaar kedúlo
long
short
"Work was happening"
Simple Past
کار وشولو
kaar óoshwulo
long
short
"Work happened"
Present Perfect
کار شوی دی
khufa shúwey dey
"Work has happened (it's accomplished now)"


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