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Home FIRST PAGE Punjabi Lessons based on book: A START IN PUNJABI Video Lectures Dr. HARJIT SINGH GILL

Lesson 17

On the Farm – general dialogue, imperatives, pronouns.

17.1	Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਬ੍ਹੀਰੇ, ਜਾਹ ਲਿਆ, ਇਹਨਾਂ ਲਈ ਮੰਜਾ।	dalīp sĩ́g :bī̀re , jā́ liā, énā̃ laī mãjā.	Dalip Singh :Bhira, go and get a cot for him.
ਬ੍ਹੀਰਾ :ਲਿਆਇਆ, ਬਾਪੂ ਜੀ।	bī̀rā :liāiā, bāpū jī.	Bhira :I’m getting it, Father.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਆਓ ਜੀ, ਬੈਠੋ।	dalīp sĩ́g :āo jī, bɛṭho.	Dalip Singh :Come on, sit down.
ਜਾਨ :ਅੱਛਾ। ਅੱਜ ਪਾਣੀ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਲਾਇਆ ਏ?	jā́n :aččhā. aj paṇī kitthe lāiā e?	John :Thanks. Where is the water going today?
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਕਮਾਦ ਨੂੰ ਲਾਇਆ ਏ। ਮਕਈ ਦੀਆਂ ਛੱਲੀਆ ਖਾਓਗੇ?	dalīp sĩ́g :kamād nū̃ lāiā e. makaī dīā̃ čhallīā̃ khaoge?	Dalip Singh :To the sugarcane. Won't you have some corn?
ਜਾਨ :ਜੀ।	jā́n :jī.	John :Fine.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਬ੍ਹੀਰੇ, ਜਾਹ ਕੁਝ ਛੱਲੀਆਂ ਭੰਨ ਲਿਆ। ਚੰਗੀਆਂ ਚੰਗੀਆਂ ਲਿਆਈਂ।	dalīp sĩ́g :bī̀re, jā́ kúj čhallīā pã̀n liā. čãgīā̃ čãgīā̃ liāī̃.	Dalip Singh :Bhira, go and pick some corn. Make sure that they are good.
ਬ੍ਹੀਰਾ :ਅੱਛਾ ਜੀ।	bī̀rā :aččhā jī.	Bhira :Yes, sir.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਅੱਗ ਬਾਲ ਕੇ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਭੁੰਨ ਦੇ।	dalīp sĩ́g :ag bāḷ ke čãgī tarā̃ pū̃̀n de.	Dalip Singh :Make a fire and roast them well.
ਬ੍ਹੀਰਾ :ਕਿੰਨੀਆਂ ਭੁੰਨਾਂ?	bī̀rā :kī kī lāiā e?	Bhira :How many should I roast?
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਭੁੰਨ ਦੇ ਪੰਜ ਸੱਤ।	dalīp sĩ́g :pū̃̀n de pãj sat.	Dalip Singh :Roast about half a dozen.
ਜਾਨ :ਇਹ ਛੱਲੀਆਂ ਬੜੀਆਂ ਸੁਆਦ ਨੇ।	jā́n :é čhallīā̃ baṛīā̃ suād ne.	John :This corn is very delicious.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਹਾਂ ਜੀ। ਹੋਰ ਲਓ, ਇਹ ਸਭ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਲਈ ਨੇ। ਮੰਜੀ ਤੇ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਬੈਠ ਜਾਓ। ਬੜੀ ਥਾਂ ਪਈ ਏ।	dalīp sĩ́g :hā̃ jī. hor lͻ , é sáb tuā̀ḍe laī ne. mãjī te čãgī tarā̃ bɛṭh jāo. baṛī thā̃ paī e.	Dalip Singh :Thank you. Have some more. These are all for you. Make yourself comfortable on the cot. There’s lots of room.
ਜਾਨ :ਕੋਈ ਨਹੀਂ ਜੀ। ਮੈਂ ਠੀਕ ਆਂ।	jā́n :koī naī̃́ jī. mɛ̃ ṭhīk ā̃.	John :That’s O.K. I’m fine.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ :ਬ੍ਹੀਰੇ ਜਾਹ ਬਲ੍ਹਦਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹਿਕ ਆ। ਖਲੋ ਗਏ ਨੇ।	dalīp sĩ́g :bī̀re, jā́ báḷdā̃ nū̃ hik ā. khalo gae ne.	Dalip Singh :Bhira, go start the bullocks. They’ve stopped.
ਬ੍ਹੀਰਾ :ਮੈਂ ਜਾਨਾਂ, ਬਾਪੂ ਜੀ।	bī̀rā :mɛ̃ jānā̃, bāpū jī.	Bhira :I’m going, Father.

§ NOTES

17.2

During the crop season the men spend a great deal of time out in the fields away from the village centre where the houses are built close together. They often have a crude temporary hut near the /khū́/. But unless it is raining they sleep and visit in the open under the trees. There is usually a cot or two on which they sit.

Corn is commonly roasted as a snack between meals, especially when someone comes to visit during the season. It is not eaten as a part of regular meal.

Most of the farm work is done by bullock power. As the crops mature their chief employment is walking round and round operating the Persian wheel that lifts water out of the well into a ditch that leads it to the fields. It is commonly the responsibility of the small boys to watch the bullocks and keep them working. The boys are also sent on various small errands.

17.3

Sikh men generally bear names containing /sĩ́g/. These names are assumed when they become adult. Boys have shorter names. /bī̀rā/ will perhaps become /ragbī̀r sĩ́g/. Similar patterns are found in other communities. For example, a Hindu boy may be known as /rāmū/. Later he may become /rām lāl/, /rām čãdar/, or something of the sort. A Muslim boy known as /mī̀dā/ might assume /έmad/.

§ GRAMMAR

17.4

Punjabi has a singular and a plural imperative.The forms are as follows :

			singular		plural
Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਬੋਲ	bol	‘speak’	ਬੋਲ	bol	ਬੋਲੋ	bolo
ਪੀ	pī	‘drink’	ਪੀ	pī	ਪੀਓ	pīo
ਜਾ	jā	‘go’	ਜਾਹ	jā́	ਜਾਓ	jāo
ਲੈ	lɛ	‘take’	ਲੈ	lɛ	ਲੌ	lͻ

The singular impertaive is generally identical with the simple bare stem. In two common verbs, however, it takes high tone /jā́/ ‘go’ and /khā́/ ‘eat’. The plural always has high tone if the bare stem has normal or high tone. In addition, it has the ending /-o/. There are a number of forms like /lͻ/ which seem to be exceptions, but these are contractions from more regular forms /lawo/ ‘take’.

Much less frequent is another pair of forms which sometimes indicate a less immediate command.

			singular		plural
Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਬੋਲ	bol	‘speak’	ਬੋਲੀਂ	bolī̃	ਬੋਲਿਓ	bolio
ਜਾ	jā	‘go’	ਜਾਈਂ	jāī̃	ਜਾਇਓ	jāio

17.5

Commands, or perhaps better requests, can aslo be expressed by means of the infinitive, the stem plus the ending /- ṇā/(/-nā/ after /r/). These are less strong than commands using the imperative.

	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
	ਖੂਹ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਣਾ	khū́ nū̃ jāṇā.	‘Please go to the well’.

The strongest possible command is expressed by the infintive followed by the future form /pawegā/.

	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
	ਖੂਹ ਨੂੰ ਜਾਣਾ ਪਵੇਗਾ	khū́ nū̃ jāṇā pawegā	‘Go to the well, or else !’.

This form should be used very sparingly. It is extremely demanding, and would be quite impolite in most circumstances.

17.6

There is an alternative form of the present tense used only in the first person which is easily confused (by Americans !) with the infintive. In the last line of the dialogue :

	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
	ਮੈਂ ਜਾਨਾਂ, ਬਾਪੂ ਜੀ	mɛ̃ jānā̃, bāpū jī.	‘I am going, Father’.

Notice that this has the dental nasal, the infintive usually has the retroflex nasal.

17.7

Something akin to a command is expressed by the following forms : /bolīe/ ‘let's speak’, /jāīe/ ‘let's go’, /laīe/ ‘let's take’. /čallīe/ ‘let’s go’. etc.

17.8

The second person singular has restricted use. It includes such forms as the singular imperative /jā/ and such verb forms as /tū̃ jā̃dā ẽ/ ‘You are going’, and /tū̃ jāẽgā/ ‘you will go’. It also includes all uses of the pronouns /tū̃/ ‘you', /terā/ ’your’ etc. These forms are used in speaking to children, to servants, and to particularly close friends of long acquaintance. They are not used in addressing most adults. Instead the plural forms /jāo/ ‘go!’ /tusī̃ jā̃de o/ ‘you are going’, /tusī̃ jaoge/, /tuā̀ḍā/ ‘your’, etc. are used.

In the dialogue in this lesson, Dalip Singh uses singular forms to his son, Bhira, but plural forms to his visitor, John. This is the usual and only correct practice in such a situation.

17.9

Children, in addressing their elders, are expected to use /jī/ rather frequently. It cannot be translated directly in many cases, but its effect is much the same as the use of ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ in English. /jī/ is also used, but not quite so frequently, by one adult speaking to another. In this dialogue, both Dalip Singh and John use it. By itself, /jī/ is a polite way of expressing assent or agreement.

/jī/ cannot be used with second person singular forms. /ā jī/ seems very strange, even contradictory. /āo jī/ is just a little more polite than /āo/.

/jī/ is also appended to the names or titles of respected persons. /bāpū jī/ or /abbā jī/ (the latter chiefly among Muslims) is a respectful address to one's father, or to a respected elder in the village. Other senior kin are addressed in the same way : /čāčā jī/ ‘uncle’. A holy man or a religious teacher is called /gurū jī/ ‘master’. In Bharat, M.K.Gandhi is generally known as /gā̃́dī jī/ ; this shows a mixture of respect and affection.

17.10

In speaking of a third person, respect is shown by using the masculine plural. This is the case when speaking of either men or women. It is quite usual when referring to any one older than the speaker or anyone in any position of dignity. By courtesy the same usage is applied in speaking of most strangers.

17.11

The first and second person pronouns with their corresponding possessives are as follows :

	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
First singular	ਮੈਂ	mɛ̃	‘I’	ਮੇਰਾ	merā	‘my’
First plural	ਅਸੀਂ	asī̃	‘we’	ਸਾਡਾ	sāḍā	‘our’
Second singular	ਤੂੰ	tū̃	‘you’	ਤੇਰਾ	terā	‘your’
second plural	ਤੁਸੀਂ	tusī̃	‘you’	ਤੁਹਾਡਾ	tuā̀ḍā	‘your’

The possessives agree with nouns in the same way as adjectives :

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਮੇਰਾ ਸੰਤਰਾ	merā sãtrā	‘my orange’
ਮੇਰੀ ਨਾਰੰਗੀ	merī nārãgī	‘my orange’

17.12

All postpositions except /ne/, /nū̃/, and /tõ/ are used with the possessive forms of pronouns. The latter are generally masculine oblique.

	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation		Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
	ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ	mere nāḷ	‘with me’		ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ	sāḍe nāḷ	‘with us’

/ne/ is not used at all with first or second person. /nū̃/ and /tõ/ fuse with the pronouns to give special forms. For these see 17.14 and 17.15.

§ PATTERN PRACTICE

17.13

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਓਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ਼ ਖੂਹ ਨੂੰ ਗਿਆ।	ó mere nāḷ khū́ nū̃ giā.	He went with me to the well.
ਪਰੀਤਮ ਸਾਡੇ ਕੋਲ਼ ਬੈਠਾ ਸੀ।	parītam sāḍe koḷ bɛṭhā sī.	Pritam was sitting near us.
ਅਸੀਂ ਤੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ਼ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਚੱਲਾਂਗੇ।	asī̃ tere nāḷ šέr čallā̃ge.	We will go with you to the city.
ਰਾਮ ਨੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਕੋਲ਼ ਆਉਣਾ ਏ।	rām ne tuā̀ḍe koḷ ͻṇā e.	Ram will come to you.
ਬੇਗ ਓਹਨਾਂ ਵਿਚ ਸੀ।	beg ónā̃ wič sī.	Beg was among them.
ਮੈਂ ਫਿਰੋਜ਼ ਦੀਨ ਨਾਲ਼ ਸਾਂ।	mɛ̃ firoz dīn nāḷ sā̃.	I was with Firoz Din.

17.14

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਓਹਨੇ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਫਲ ਦਿੱਤੇ।	óne mɛnū̃ phal ditte.	He gave me fruit.
ਬਾਪੂ ਜੀ ਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਪੈਸੇ ਦਿੱਤੇ।	bāpū jī ne sānū̃ pɛse ditte.	Father gave us money.
ਮੈਂ ਤੇਨੂੰ ਦੁਧ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਸੀ।	mɛ̃ tenū̃ dúd dittā sī.	I did give you milk.
ਓਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਕੀ ਕਿਹਾ?	ónā̃ ne tuā̀nū̃ kī kiā́?	What did they say to you?
ਸਮੀਰਾ ਨੇ ਓਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਸੱਦਿਆ।	samīrā ne ónā̃ nū̃ saddiā.	Samira called them.
ਅਸੀਂ ਹਰਦਿਆਲ ਨੂੰ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਸੀ।	asī̃ hardiāl nū̃ dassiā sī.	We did tell Hardial.
ਮੈਂ ਓਹਨੂੰ ਕਿਹਾ।	mɛ̃ ónū̃ kiā́	I spoke to her.

17.15

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਓਹਨੇ ਮੈਥੋਂ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ।	óne mɛthõ puččhiā.	He asked me.
ਬਸ਼ੀਰ ਨੇ ਅਹਿਮਦ ਤੋਂ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ।	bašīr ne έmad tõ puččhiā.	Bashir asked Ahmad.
ਬ੍ਹੀਰੇ ਨੇ ਸਾਥੋਂ ਜੁਆਬ ਮੰਗਿਆ।	bī̀re ne sathõ juāb mãgiā.	Bhira wanted an answer from us.
ਬੇਗ ਨੇ ਤੈਥੋਂ ਕੀ ਮੰਗਿਆ ਸੀ?	beg ne tɛthõ kī mãgiā sī?	What did Beg want from you?
ਇਹਨੇ ਤੁਹਾਥੋਂ ਸੁਣਿਆ ਸੀ।	éne tuā̀thõ suṇiā sī.	He learned this from you.
ਮੈਂ ਓਹਦੇ ਤੋਂ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ।	mɛ̃ óde tõ puččhiā.	I asked him.
ਰਾਮ ਨੇ ਓਹਨਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਾਇਆ।	rām ne ónā tõ kãm karāiā.	Ram had them do it.

17.16

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਬਹੁਤ ਅੱਛਾ ਜੀ, ਅਸੀਂ ਜਾਨੇ ਆਂ।	bͻ́t aččhā jī, asī̃ jāne ā̃.	Very well, sir, we will go.
ਫਿਰ ਆਇਓ, ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਨਾਂ ਆਂ।	phir āio, mɛ̃ roṭī khānā̃ ā̃.	Come back again, I’m eating dinner.
ਫਿਰ ਆਇਓ, ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਣੀ ਏ।	phir āio, mɛ̃ roṭī khāṇī e.	Come back again,I have to eat.
ਮੈਂ ਬਲ੍ਹਦਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਹਿਕ ਆਉਨਾ।	mɛ̃ báḷdā̃ nū̃ hik ͻnā.	I am goading the bullocks.

Lesson Topics

lesson 1

lesson 2

lesson 3

lesson 4

lesson 5

lesson 6

lesson 7

lesson 8

lesson 9

lesson 10

lesson 11

lesson 12

lesson 13

lesson 14

lesson 15

lesson 16

lesson 17

lesson 18

lesson 19

lesson 20

Lesson 17