The imperative, called ਆਗਿਆਵਾਚਕ ਰੂਪ (ਰੌੰ ) in Punjabi, is a verb mood which is used to
- give an order
- express a desire
- make a request
- offer advice
- recommend something
Unlike other French verb tenses and moods, the subject pronoun is not used with the imperative. Some examples of affirmative as well as negative affirmatives:
ਬੂਹਾ ਬੰਦ ਕਰ।
Close the door.
ਚੱਲੋ, ਖਾਈਏ!
Let's eat!
ਕਦੇ ਵੀ ਡਰੋ ਨਾ।
Never be afraid.
ਆਪਾਂ ਉਹਨੂੰ ਭੁੱਲੀਏ ਨਾ।
Let's not forget him.
Conjugation is relatively simple since there are only three grammatical persons that can be used with the imperative: ਤੂੰ (informal 'You'), ਅਸੀਂ (We) and ਤੁਸੀਂ (formal 'You'). Let's take some verbs and practise the concept further.
ਖੇਡਣਾ (to play)
(You) play. - (ਤੂੰ) ਖੇਡ।
(We) Let's play. - ਚੱਲੋ, (ਆਪਾਂ) ਖੇਡੀਏ।
(You) play. - (ਤੁਸੀਂ) ਖੇਡੋ।
The words in brackets are optional and, in most cases, superfluous in usage.
ਗਾਉਣਾ (to laugh)
Sing. - ਗਾ।
Let's sing. - ਚੱਲੋ, ਗਾਈਏ।
Sing. - ਗਾਓ।
ਖਾਣਾ (to eat)
Eat. - ਖਾ।
Let's eat. - ਚੱਲੋ, ਖਾਈਏ।
Eat. - ਖਾਓ।
Don't eat. - ਖਾ ਨਾ।
Let's not eat. - ਆਪਾਂ ਖਾਈਏ ਨਾ।
Don't eat. - ਖਾਓ ਨਾ।
I'm sure you have caught the main gist of conjugation by now. Let me write down some rules in any case.
ਹਾਂ-ਵਾਚਕ (Affirmative)
- For informal you (ਤੂੰ), just remove the -ਨਾ/ਣਾ ending from infinitive form and voila!, we have the conjugated imperative. For verbs ending in "-ਉਣਾ", remove the ਉ as well.. So ਨੱਚ (ਨੱਚਣਾ), ਖੇਡ (ਖੇਡਣਾ), ਗਾ (ਗਾਉਣਾ), ਨਹਾ (ਨਹਾਉਣਾ).
- For formal you (ਤੁਸੀਂ), simply add ਓ to the 'informal you' form. So ਨੱਚੋ (ਨੱਚਣਾ), ਖੇਡੋ (ਖੇਡਣਾ), ਗਾਓ (ਗਾਉਣਾ), ਨਹਾਓ (ਨਹਾਉਣਾ).
- For 'we' form, add 'ਚੱਲੋ'* in the front and make sure the word ends in "ਈਏ" sound. This implies that verbs ending in "-ਨਾ/-ਣਾ" have a "-ੀਏ" ending while verbs ending in "-ਉਣਾ" have a "-ਈਏ" ending in conjugation. So ਨੱਚੀਏ (ਨੱਚਣਾ), ਖੇਡੀਏ (ਖੇਡਣਾ), ਗਾਈਏ (ਗਾਉਣਾ), ਨਹਾਈਏ (ਨਹਾਉਣਾ).
The case of ਚੱਲੋ is curious. In Punjabi, ਚੱਲਣਾ is a verb meaning "to move" and it's almost always used with the affirmative imperative in case of 'we'.
ਨਾਂਹ-ਵਾਚਕ (Negative)
- For both the 'You's, place ਨਾ before or after the verb conjugated in the same manner as affirmative.
- For 'we' form, 'ਆਪਾਂ' is almost always used while no use of 'ਚੱਲੋ' here. Place ਨਾ before or after the conugated verb. ਨਾ is mostly placed after the verb in colloquial Punjabi.
