Learn Punjabi Lesson One
Learn Punjabi Lesson One
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Exercise One 22
Position Words 26
Indirect Objects 26
Oblique Nouns 28
LESSON ONE VOCABULARY 29
LESSON TWO WORKSHEET 30
HOW POSTPOSITIONS CHANGE PRONOUNS 31
HOW POSTPOSITIONS CHANGE MASCULINE NOUNS 32
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 33
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 34
Connecting Words 38
Descriptive Sentences 39
Negative Sentences 39
Ability 40
LESSON THREE VOCABULARY 42
LESSON THREE WORKSHEET 43
PRESENT TENSE CHART 44
VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH KANNA 44
PRESENT TENSE CHART 45
VERB ROOTS ENDING IN OTHER VOWELS 45
IRREGULAR VERBS - PRESENT TENSE 46
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 47
VERB ROOTS ENDING IN KANNA 47
VERB ROOTS ENDING IN OTHER VOWELS 47
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 48
Verbals as Subjects 52
Subjunctive Mood 54
Future Tense 64
Passive Sentences 64
Strong Obligation 65
Time of Day 67
LESSON FIVE VOCABULARY 69
LESSON FIVE WORKSHEET 70
FUTURE TENSE CHART 71
VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS 71
FUTURE TENSE CHART 72
VERB ROOTS ENDING IN OTHER VOWELS 72
IRREGULAR VERBS - FUTURE TENSE 73
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 74
Past Tense 78
A Special Postposition 79
Adjectives 81
Possessive Adjectives 82
The Apostrophe 83
83
LESSON SIX VOCABULARY 84
LESSON SIX WORKSHEET 85
PAST TENSE CHART 86
VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS 86
PAST TENSE CHART 87
VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH VOWELS 87
IRREGULAR VERBS - PAST TENSE 88
IRREGULAR VERBS - PAST TENSE 89
GENDER REVIEW 90
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 91
Continuous Tense 95
Conjunct Verbs 96
Asking Questions 99
Our Goal
This course is a step by step guide for learning simple, clear and correct Punjabi. It
is comprised of seven lessons which are designed specifically for English speaking
people. No prior knowledge of the Punjabi language is necessary to benefit from this
book.
A Unique Approach
This course approaches learning Punjabi from the standpoint of an English speaking
background. Comparisons are made between English and Punjabi to explain
concepts.
The main focus throughout the course is word order. It is vital for an English speaking
person who wants to learn Punjabi to focus not only on pronunciation and vocabulary
but also on learning how to arrange those new words into a sentence. To understand
why word order is so vital, notice how confusing it is to see English words in the
Punjabi word order:
The first lesson explains how to form a basic sentence and the following six lessons
gradually explain how to build larger sentences.
Daily practice exercises are included with each lesson so that you can immediately
apply what you are learning. The accompanying practice calendar is for tracking
your progress for a month, so it is recommended to spend sufficient time practicing
each lesson before moving on to the next lesson. Remember, the goal of this course
is not simply to learn grammar but to start speaking Punjabi by putting theory into
practice.
There is no answer sheet provided for the daily practice exercises. This encourages
you to go back to the lesson and its accompanying charts for confirmation. The
daily exercises can be done either individually or with a partner.
observed, that as the length of time between practice sessions gradually increases,
the strength of the memory increases. In effect, gradually reducing the frequency of
practicing something will move it into your long term memory.
Although this provides a means to get started quickly, we highly recommend taking
the time to learn to read the Punjabi script. To assist you with this, follow this link
to our website (http://howtolearnpunjabi.com/learn-punjabi-alphabet.php) to
download a copy of Punjabi alphabet flashcards.
You will notice that each card includes image mnemonics. This means that each
letter is associated with a picture that an English speaking person would be familiar
with which approximates the sound of the letter. Each time you see the letter
you recall the picture and thus can easily remember what the letter is. Using this
method, it is not uncommon to learn the entire Punjabi alphabet in a few weeks.
Doing so will aid greatly both with proper pronunciation and speaking the language
fluently.
“The course fantastically analyzed the difference between the sentence structure in
English and Punjabi which I have often struggled with.”
— Hasdeep, United Kingdom
“This course is very unique from the other courses I’ve seen and thanks to its
simplicity, I can now write simple Punjabi sentences and even speak them. I’m very
grateful! Thank you for making this gem for us who want to learn Punjabi.”
— Yvonnie, Philippines
“I try to teach my children the Punjabi language but it is difficult teaching children
who’s first language is English. I like the way it is explained simply and broken down
step by step, I feel more confident in teaching the language.”
— Manjinder, United Kingdom
“I enjoyed learning through the systematic and simple approach. The emphasis on
word order was a feature that I had never seen elsewhere and it was helpful.”
— Raghbir, The United Kingdom
“I liked the way of teaching with fundamental and rich vocabulary and exercises.”
— Ranjeet, India
“I love the way the comparison is made to the way English is taught.”
— Jasminder, Indonesia
“It was concise and easy to follow and understand. Everything you needed was
provided. The learner was kept in mind at all times.”
— Ravinder, England
LESSON ONE
When an English speaking person is learning Punjabi, they need to give special
attention to the word order in Punjabi because it is different than the word order in
English. Arranging words in the proper order is vital to being understood.
For example: “Nick sends letters” would become “Nick letters sends”
The subject, direct object and verb are the main parts of a sentence. These three
parts of a sentence are like boxes. You can put one or more words into each box. To
determine which box to put a word into, ask the following questions:
TIP: Always identify the verb first. If you start by identifying the VERB then you will never
get your subject and object confused.
14 LEARN PUNJABI: SENTENCE STRUCTURE MADE EASY
TIP: Punjabi does not use the words “a” or “the”. So ignore these words when you
translate into English.
In Punjabi, a similar thing happens. The verb changes in order to match the subject.
In Punjabi, the verb changes depending on whether the subject is:
First: Find the stem (or root) of the verb. In Punjabi, this means simply
removing the ਨਾ nā or ਣਾ ṇā ending.
For example: “to send” ਭੇਜਣਾ bhejṇā (the stem is ਭੇਜ bhej)
REMEMBER: The verb must match the subject. In our example sentence, “Nick” is a
masculine singular subject, so we add the masculine singular ending ਦਾ dā to the
stem.
If you are using a pronoun (I, we, you, he, she, they) then use the corresponding
ending from the “Present Tense Chart” on page 20. In this chart the verb root is
shaded in gray and the verb endings are highlighted in red.
NOTE: The plural form of ‘you’ is used for respect and ALWAYS uses the masculine
ending. The pronouns ‘we’ and ‘they’ most often use the masculine ending because
even if only one in the group is masculine then the masculine ending should be
used. Wherever possible, the chart shows the ending that is most commonly used.
Now, let’s discuss the last column (highlighted in yellow) on the “Present Tense
Chart” which is called “Aux. Verb”.
Most commonly, the verb “to be” is used as the auxiliary verb. In English, the verb “to
be” can be expressed using the words: am, is & are. These words must match the
16 LEARN PUNJABI: SENTENCE STRUCTURE MADE EASY
subject. For example, singular subjects use ‘is’ and plural subjects use ‘are.’ If the
subject is a pronoun, it has a matching pair.
For example: I am You are We are He/She is They are
In Punjabi, the verb ਹੋਣਾ hoṇā (to be) can be expressed using the words: ਹੈ hai, ਹਾਂ hāṇ,
ਹੋ ho & ਹਨ han
ਮੈ ਂ ਹਾਂ maiṇ hāṇ ਤੁਸੀ ਂ ਹੋ tusīṇ ho ਅਸੀ ਂ ਹਾਂ āsīṇ hāṇ ਉਹ ਹੈ uh hai ਉਹ ਹਨ uh han
I am You are We are He/She is They are
The auxiliary verb is put into the verb box after the main verb. Notice our example
sentence one last time: “Nick sends letters” Nick is masculine singular so we use the
auxiliary verb ਹੈ hai
Using the “Present Tense Chart” on page 20 you can now complete steps 5 – 6
on the worksheet. All the necessary vocabulary is at the bottom of the page. After
completing the worksheet, you can use the answer sheet to check your sentences.
Each lesson has an answer sheet for the worksheet on the last page of the lesson.
LESSON ONE: THE BASIC SENTENCE 17
The daily practice exercises use the ‘think and speak’ method. Rather than writing
out the answers, you will be asked to think about the answer and then say it out
loud. It can be said that to learn to read, you need to practice reading. To learn
to write, you need to practice writing. But to learn to speak, you need to practice
speaking.
There is no answer sheet provided for the daily practice exercises. This encourages
you to go back to the lesson and its accompanying charts for confirmation. The
daily exercises can be done either individually or with a partner.
he/she/they/that I is
ਉਹ uh ਮੈ ਂ maiṇ ਹੈ hai
we to write you
ਅਸੀ ਂ āsīṇ ਿਲਖਣਾ likhṇā ਤੁਸੀ ਂ tusīṇ
LESSON ONE WORKSHEET 19
Step one: Ask what is being done? (Write “V” for verb above the word)
Step two: Ask who is doing it? (Write “S” for subject above the word)
Step three: Ask …what? (Write “D.O” for direct object above the word)
Step four: Write the English words in the Punjabi word order on the first line
Step five: Write the Punjabi words underneath on the second line.
Step six: Add the appropriate verb ending and auxiliary verb.
1. I learn Punjabi.
2. We ask a question.
3. I speak English.
Vocabulary: am/are ਹਾਂ | answer ਜਵਾਬ | are ਹੋ or ਹਨ | to ask ਪੁੱਛਣਾ | English ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ
he ਉਹ | I ਮੈ ਂ | is ਹੈ | to learn ਿਸੱਖਣਾ | picture ਤਸਵੀਰ | Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | question ਸਵਾਲ
to see ਦੇਖਣਾ | to speak ਬੋਲਣਾ | we ਅਸੀ ਂ | to write ਿਲਖਣਾ | you ਤੁਸੀ ਂ
20 PRESENT TENSE CHART
VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS
SUBJECT + VERB ROOT + ENDING + AUX.VERB
I ਮੈ ਂ ਹਾਂ
ਬੋਲਦਾ ਬੋਲਦੀ
He/She ਉਹ ਹੈ
(Singular)
We ਅਸੀ ਂ ਹਾਂ
ਬੋਲਦੇ
You ਤੁਸੀ ਂ ਹੋ
NOTE: If the subject is NOT a pronoun then determine its gender and number. The
same endings for (He/She) are used for singular subjects. The same endings for
What if I get stuck? Look at the reference charts for help. The goal is NOT to
‘memorize’ the sentences but to LEARN A METHOD to construct your own sentences.
Exercise One
Say each sentence OUT LOUD.
TIP: For this exercise, we will use English words for our objects. Starting in lesson two,
we will use Punjabi words for our objects.
Box 1: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise one and then ü check box 1
Box 2: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise two and then ü check box 2
Box 3: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise three and then ü check box 3
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Monday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Tuesday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Wednesday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Thursday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Friday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Saturday
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Sunday
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 25
Step one: Ask what is being done? (Write “V” for verb above the word)
Step two: Ask who is doing it? (Write “S” for subject above the word)
Step three: Ask …what? (Write “D.O” for direct object above the word)
Step four: Write the English words in the Punjabi word order on the first line
Step five: Write the Punjabi words underneath on the second line.
Step six: Add the appropriate verb ending and auxiliary verb.
S V D.O.
1. I learn Punjabi. I Punjabi learn
ਮੈ ਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਿਸੱਖਦਾ ਹਾਂ (masculine subject)
ਮੈ ਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਿਸੱਖਦੀ ਹਾਂ (feminine subject)
S V D.O.
2. We ask a question. We questions ask
ਉਹ ਜਵਾਬ ਿਲਖਦਾ ਹੈ
S V D.O.
5. You see the picture. You picture see
Vocabulary: am/are ਹਾਂ | answer ਜਵਾਬ | are ਹੋ or ਹਨ | to ask ਪੁੱਛਣਾ | English ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ
he ਉਹ | I ਮੈ ਂ | is ਹੈ | to learn ਿਸੱਖਣਾ | picture ਤਸਵੀਰ | Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ | question ਸਵਾਲ
to see ਦੇਖਣਾ | to speak ਬੋਲਣਾ | we ਅਸੀ ਂ | to write ਿਲਖਣਾ | you ਤੁਸੀ ਂ