Pashto Verbs Master Chart

Pashto verbs may seem confusing, unruly, and intimidating to the outside learner. But in reality, once we get to know them, we see that they all follow one beautiful, simple structure. If we can understand this basic set of rules, all verbs will make perfect sense.

Over the course of this post we’ll do three things:

1. Introduce the idea of the two aspects in Pashto verbs
2. Give you the simple master formula for all verbs
3. Prove how this does work for all verbs

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

Two Aspects in Pashto Verbs

The first thing to realize in that in Pashto, every verb has two main roots, based on two different aspects.

In Pashto, all verbs are divided up into two different aspects: imperfective and perfective. We can think of the aspect as our angle or perspective on the action. Do we see the action from inside, as something ongoing or recurring? That’s the imperfective aspect. Do we see the action as a whole snapshot, completed and done? That’s the perfective aspect.

It might help to think of these two aspects as videos and photos of some event. When you see a video , you can see the action happening over time. You can be immersed in it. You can see the inner workings of an action as it’s ongoing or repeated. When you see a photo , you see the action from the outside, as a whole. You just know that it happened, that’s all.

With the imperfective aspect, we can see that an action progresses over time, or is repeated.

With the perfective aspect, we only see that an action happens. We just see it as simple event. All we know is that the action occurs.

In English we often use these two different aspects with the past tense:

For an excellent explanation of these aspects from a different perspective, see this video on how aspects are used in Maya.

In Pashto we also use these aspects not just for the past tense, but in all kinds of other ways as well. For example, in English we can only say “Eat palaaw!” but in Pashto you can have two very different kinds of commands, depending on the aspect that you use.

If we set up a little graph of reality like this…

…then we can draw some rough diagrams of what all the different verb forms are used for:

Imperfective	Perfective
Present Something that is happening, happens generally, or is definitely about to happen	Subjunctive Used for hypothetical statements about the desire, necessity, purpose, or possibility of something happening. Or for saying something should or shouldn't happen
Imperf. Future Saying something will happen, repeatedly or as an ongoing action	Perf. Future Saying something will happen as a one-time event - May also used when there is some doubt
Imperf. Imperative Commanding someone/people to do something repeatedly, or in general	Perf. Imperative Commanding someone/people to do something one time
Continuous Past Saying something was happening, or would happen	Simple Past Saying something happened.
Perfect Saying something happened and it affects the present

That’s nice, but when we speak Pashto, how do we actually make these different forms? What do we do to the verbs to make them fit into these different boxes?

Below is one simple formula for every different form. This is the master chart you came for. First have a look, and then we’ll see how this actually works with different verbs.

The Master Formula for Pashto Verbs

Behold the simplicity. All verbs follow this chart exactly. Yes, all of them. Exactly.

How this actually works for all verbs

Now let’s see how we can use this formula to make the forms of any kind of verb we want. Whatever verb we encounter, it will always follow these very simple rules. We just need to explain what these “stems” and “roots” that we mentioned are.

Regular Verbs

Here’s how you make the ingredients mentioned with regular verbs:

Imperfective root: That’s the infinitive, the base form of the verb. It comes in either a short or long form, with or without the ل on the end.

Imperfective stem: That’s the shorter form of the imperfective root, without the ل on the end.

Perfective root: To make the perfective root, you do two things:

1. Add a و - oo prefix on the front
2. Shift the accent/emphasis to the front

Perfective stem: This is the short form of the perfective root.

So let’t try that with the regular verbs لیکل - leekúl and وهل - wahúl…

Verbs with irregular stems

Other verbs have a special form in the present tense (imperfective stem). To make the perfective stem we just add a “و - oo/w” prefix on the front of this irregular stem form.

Here are a couple examples of verbs where the present / stem forms are irregular:

Regular intransitive verbs

For intransitive verbs that end in ېدل - edul, the imperfective stem changes from ېدل - edul to ېږـ - eG-.

Note: Many intransitive verbs can be said in a shorter form as well where the ېږ - eG is ommitted. For example "زه ګرځېږم" (I am walking around) or "زه ګرځم" (I am walking around - more common).

Verbs that can’t take the و - oo prefix

There are many words that begin with پرې - pre, کې - ke, بو - bo etc., and these words can’t take an و - oo prefix in front in the perfective aspect.

To make the perfective forms we can’t:

1. Add an و - oo prefix

But we still have to

2. Move the accent/emphasis to the front.

Notice the difference between the simple and continuous past. It’s just a shift in emphasis in the word but it makes a big difference in meaning!

Verbs with irregular everything

There’s a very small handful of verbs where multiple ingredients are irregular. But even these most unruly verbs dutifly and perfectly follow the formula.

NOTE: The لاړ in the perfective stem will inflect depending on the gender of the subject. For example, I woman will say, “زه لاړه شم?” while a man will say “زه لاړ شم?”. (subjunctive)

So far our formula is holding up well. it holds true for all kinds of different verbs. But will it work with compound verbs too? Yes, it will!

Special Auxillary Verbs

For compound verbs there’s a very important set of auxillary verbs. These are extremely common in Pashto, and yes, they continue to follow our formula. They are also the only words we see that have irregular past participles.

کول - kawul (to make)

کېدل - kedul (to become)

کول - kawul (to do)

کېدل - kedul (to happen)

NOTE: When not used before an ل, the کړ - kR and وکړ - óokR in the perfective stem and perfective roots is often shortened to ک - k and وک - óok.

Some see these as only two verbs (کېدل and کول), and not four, probably because in some forms they are homonyms. But it really is helpful to think of them as four different verbs. They have completely different meanings, they’re used differently in sentences, and they have diverging perfective roots and perfective stems.

Once we see these as four seperate verbs, so much confusion about when and why the و prefix is used completely dissapears. It is not random, and you don’t have to memorize it!

Some have talked about these verbs having ‘weak’ (کول) and ‘strong’ (کړل) forms. But we will see that it’s probably more accurate to think of these different roots and in the same categories as all other verbs: imperfective and perfective.

Transitive stative compounds with کول - to make

Intransitive stative compounds with کېدل - to become

Transitive dynamic compounds with کول - to do

Note: the masculine third person singular short form of the past tense is often idiosyncratic and has varients.

Notice how you will often hear people say, “دعا کوه!” (Pray for me!) This is an imperfective command meaning that they want you to pray for them, repeatedly, in general. If they just wanted you to make one prayer at one time, they would say “دعا وکړه!”

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

There’s more…

For the sake of simplicity, we’ve left out some verb forms. There are a number of other forms, but don’t worry, they all follow simple formulas as well.

Habitual Past

Imperfective	Perfective
Imperf. Habitual Past An action would happen over and over again, viewed as an ongoing event each time به + Continuous Past	Perf. Habitual Past An action would happen over and over again, viewed as a whole event each time به + Simple Past

For example, with the verb پخول (to cook):

Other forms of Perfect

There are a number of different variations on the perfect form that can be made by adjusting the tense of the equative.

Past Perfect Talking about events that had happened in the past, or had affected a past situation هغې ډوډۍ خوړلې وه haghé DoDúy khoRúle wa "She had eaten food" Past Participle + Past Equative

Present Perfect Talking about that something happened in the past and it affects the present هغې ډوډۍ خوړلې ده haghé DoDúy khoRúle da "She has eaten food" Past Participle + Present Equative

Future/Possible Perfect Talking about something that will have happened in the future, or guessing that the event will have occured presently هغې به ډوډۍ خوړلې وي haghé ba DoDúy khoRúle wee "She will have eaten food (future or uncertain)" Past Participle + Future Equative

Affirmational Perfect Affirming that an event will have taken place هغې به ډوډۍ خوړلې وه haghé ba DoDúy khoRúle wa "She'll have eaten food (affirmational)" به + Past Participle + Past Equative

Perfect Tenses and Equatives don’t fit!

It’s important to note that the Perfect tense is not the same thing as the Perfective aspect!

In fact, you will have noticed that the perfect forms don’t quite fit into our division of imperfective and perfective aspects. Perfect verbs can even be used with imperfective meaning.

Also, the equative verbs “I am, I was, I will be” (زه یم، زه وم، زه به یم) do not fit into this imperfective/perfective division. If you say someone was tired, you aren’t specifying if they were tired at one point or if this was an ongoing thing.

Equatives are just like an = sign. They’re just for saying something:

• was (past),
• is (present),
• or will be (future) something.

ie. He is hungry. He = hungry.

Equatives take the same endings as the other verbs, but in Pashto they do not have an infinitive, and they don’t have a perfective root. In fact, maybe we could say that they’re not even verbs. 🤔

Other forms not discussed:

In our master chart for Pashto verbs we have left out some forms for simplicity’s sake:

• ability (I can…, I was able to…) etc.
• passive forms of transitive verbs (The book is being written, the book was written) etc.
• unreal / wish / prayer (If only you came! If only you were coming! etc.)

We haven’t covered these forms, but don’t worry, they also follow very simple, universal formulas.

Here’s a final review of all the verb forms we have mentioned in this post, along with their formulas.

Imperfective	Perfective
Present Something that is happening, happens generally, or is definately about to happen imperfective stem + present ending	Subjunctive Used for hypothetical statements about the desire, necessity, purpose, or possibility of something happening. Or for saying something should or shouldn't happen perfective stem + present ending
Imperf. Future Saying something will happen, repeatedly or as an ongoing action به + present	Perf. Future Saying something will happen as a one-time event - May also used when there is some doubt به + subjunctive
Imperf. Imperative Commanding someone/people to do something repeatedly, or in general imperfective stem + imperative ending	Perf. Imperative Commanding someone/people to do something one time perfective stem + imperative ending
Continuous Past Saying something was happening, or would happen imperfective root + past ending	Simple Past Saying something happened. perfective root + past ending
Imperf. Habitual Past An action would happen over and over again, viewed as an ongoing event each time به + Continuous Past	Perf. Habitual Past An action would happen over and over again, viewed as a whole event each time به + Simple Past
Past Perfect Talking about events that had happened in the past, or had affected a past situation Past Participle + Past Equative
Present Perfect Talking about that something happened in the past and it affects the present Past Participle + Present Equative
Future/Possible Perfect Talking about something that will have happened in the future, or guessing that the event will have occured presently Past Participle + Future Equative
Affirmational Perfect Affirming that an event will have taken place به + Past Participle + Past Equative

Whatever the verb, you can easily conjugate it into all these different forms by following the formulas.

A little more weirdness…

The idiosyncratic 3rd person masculine singular

One last important detail is that the short forms of the masculine 3rd person past endings are often idiosyncratic, and you will see some weirdness and variation with these forms. Nevertheless, there are often patterns and predictability with these idiosyncrasies.

Verbs ending in ـول - -awul will end with an ـاوهٔ

With other verbs ending with a short a and then a consonant on the end, the short a will be lengthened to a long ا - aa. For instance, with the verb تړل - taRúl (to tie).

This is also why the third person masculine plural simple past form of کېدل is شو - sho, and in some dialects can even be شهٔ - shu.

Explore more

Explore more verbs in the LingDocs Pashto Dictionary which includes an interactive verb explorer.

Updated on Nov 4, 2020

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