The Focus Of This Lesson Is Present Tense

علی، میرے بھائی کی منگنی کی تقریب اگلے ہفتے کے لئے مقرر کی گئی ہے. تم آ سکتے ہو نا؟
Ali, meray bhai ki mangni ki taqreeb aglay haftay ky liye muqarar ki gai hai. Tum aa saktay ho na?
"Ali, my brother's engagement ceremony has been fixed for next Saturday. You can come right?"

In this lesson, we will learn how to:

1. Use the present and future tense.
2. Use statement, negation, question with the present tense
3. Use the word meaning "like this," "such" + noun

1. Present Tense and Future Tense.

The present tense is the tense most commonly used in colloquial Urdu.

Each verb has to be conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject and to the grade of politeness of the speech.

Let's take a look at a verb used in the dialogue, which is شرکت کر رہا (shirkat ker raha), meaning "(he) is participating." This form is singular and masculine. If there are plural men, then the verb gets modified to شرکت کر رہے (shirkat ker rahay), meaning "are participating." If there is one woman, the verb gets modified as شرکت کر رہی (shirak ker rahi), meaning "(she) is participating." The same phrase is used if there are plural women. So here you can clearly see that the main verb شرکت کر (shirkat ker), meaning "to participate," remains the same for all the cases. The part after شرکت کر gets modified based on the gender and number of people.

So, you just take the stem of the verb, without the نا (-na) at the end. Urdu verbs always end with a na, so the stem of the verb in the sentence is always formed by removing the نا (na)*. Then you add the "-ing" part, رہا (raha), if referring to a man, and رہی (rahi), if referring to a woman. Finally you add the verb "to be":

*There are also some exceptions, like the verb in the dialogue آ, Aa, meaning "to come."  Aa is the verb, and it gets modified according to the gender and number of people. If there is a single man, you will use آ رہا (aa raha), meaning "he is coming." If it's plural men, you will use آ رہے (aa rahay) meaning "they are coming." If it's a single woman, you will use آ رہی (aa rahi) meaning "she is coming." If it's plural women, you will use آ رہیں(aa rahein) meaning "they have come."

Let's see now the future tense.

The following table represents an example of the verb from the future tense.

The example in the above table uses the verb کرنا (karna) "to do." The stem of the word kerna, which is کر (kar-), remains the same, while the ending (-ay / -ein / -na / -o) changes depending on the person. The particle (ga / gi / gay / gi ) changes according to the gender.

Personal endings table:

Particles for number, gender and level of politeness table:

Urdu

Romanization

Number

Gender

Level

گا

ga

singular

masculine

informal

گی

gi

singular

feminine

informal

گے

gay

plural

masculine

informal

singular

masculine

formal

گیں

gein

plural

feminine

informal

singular

feminine

formal

Examples:

1. میں دوپہر کا کھانا کھا رہا ہوں.
   Mei dopehar ka khana kha raha hun.
   "I am eating lunch." (masculine)
2. لڑکے ہاکی کھیل رہے ہیں.
   Larkay hockey khail rahay hain.
   "Boys are playing hockey."

2. Statement, negation, question with the present tense

In order to turn down an offer by someone or to simply say "no" to him/her, you can use the simple word نہیں (nahi), meaning "no." Similarly, in order to negate someone, you can also say the same word. In order to be more polite and formal, you can say نہیں ایسا نہیں ہے (nahi aisa nahi hai) "No, it's not like that." In this case, ایسا نہیں ہے (aisa nahi hai) is added after the word نہیں (nahi).

There are many ways to form question sentences, depending on the type of question and subject of the question. The most commonly used word is کیا (kia), meaning "what." It is added at the start of each question sentence. For example, if you want to ask a friend to watch a movie with you, you will say کیا تم میرے ساتھ فلم دیکھو گے؟ (kia tum meray sath film daikho gay?) "Would you like to watch movie with me?" The general sentence structure in question sentences is Question word (کیا) + Thing to be done + The sentence most probably ending with the Urdu word گے / گی / گیں. The word کیا (kia) remains the same in all the sentences, but the ending of the sentence can change depending on the gender and whether it's singular or plural.

Examples:

1. علی : آپ آج بیمار ہیں؟ عمر: نہیں /  نہیں ایسا نہیں ہے
   Ali: Aap aaj beemar hain? Umer: Nahi. / Nahi, aisa nahi hai.
   "Ali : Are you sick today?  Umer: No. / No, it's not like that."
2. کیا آپ پارٹی میں آئیں گے؟
   Kia aap party mei ayein gay?
   "Would you come to the party?"

3. "Like this," "such" + noun

The word ایسا (aisa) is used in two ways in Urdu language: either as an adjective or as an adverb. For example, ایسا شاندار موسم ہے (aisa shandar mosam hai) "such a wonderful weather." In this sentence, the word ایسا (aisa) is used as adjective. Here is the example where the word ایسا is used as adverb. For example, مجهے ایسی گاڑی چاہیے (mujhay aisi gari chahiye) "I want a car like this."

The word ایسا is used for singular masculine nouns. For plural masculine nouns, the word changes to ایسے (aisay). For singular and plural feminine nouns, it is ایسی (aisi).

Examples:

1. ایسا باکمال کهلاڑی ہے
   Aisa bakamal khilari hai.
   "Such a wonderful player."
2. یہ گھر اچھا ہے. مجهے ایسا ہی گھر چاہیے
   Yeh ghar acha hai. Mujhay aisa hi ghar chahiye.
   "This house is good. I want such a home. "

Examples from the Dialogue

1. ان کے رشتہ دار کراچی میں رہتے ہیں اس لیے سفر کرنے کے لئے فاصلہ بہت ذیاده ہے.
   Unn ky rishtadar karachi mei rehtay hain iss liye safar kernay ky liye fasla bohat ziada hai.
   "Their relatives live in Karachi, so the distance is too great to make the trip."
2. ٹھیک ہے. میں ضرور انهیں مبارکباد دینے جاؤں گا. تمہارے بھائی کی منگیتر کے رشتہ دار نہیں آ رہے ہیں؟
   Theek hai. Mei zarur inhein mubarak baad denay jao ga. Tumharay bhai ki mangetar ky rishta dar nahi aa rahay hain?
   "Okay. I will definitely go to congratulate him. Your brother's fiance's relatives aren't coming?"

Sample Sentences

1. آپ آ سکتی ہیں؟
   Aap aa sakti hain?
   "Can you come?"
2. آج کوئی بس نہیں آ ئے گی. ایسا کیوں ہے؟
   Aaj koi bus nahi ayay gi. Aisa kyun hai?
   "No bus will come today. Why is that?"
3. آپ کی سالگره کی تقریب میں کون شرکت کرے گی؟
   Aap ki salgirah ki taqreeb mei kaun shirkat keray gi?
   "Who will participate in your birthday party?"

منگنی
mangni
"engagement"

The word is used to indicate the engagement of a couple. It's used as a feminine noun in everyday discussion.

This word is used for a pre-marriage ceremony that marks the start of a relationship between a couple. Engagement before marriage is not necessary in Pakistan. Often people prefer to jump directly to marriage and skip the engagement ceremony.

For example:

1. آپ کی منگنی کب ہے؟
   Aap ki mangni kab hai?
   "When is your engagement?"

پڑوسی
parosi
"neighbor(s)"

This word means "neighbor" in English. The word is a masculine noun. It's also used both as singular and plural.

This word is used in the everyday discussions about neighbors. In Pakistan, neighbors are an important part of everyday life. They are invited to family functions, dishes are often exchanged with neighbors on special occasions, and people meet frequently with their neighbors.

"Neighbor" (Parosi) in Pakistan does not means people living next door. It means people living on the same street, same block, or often in same village.

For example:

1. میرے پڑوسی اچھے ہیں.
   Meray parosi achay hain.
   "My neighbors are good."

مبارکباد
mubarak baad
"congratulations, greetings"

This word is used as a masculine noun.

This word is used to congratulate someone on an achievement or occasion or on buying something new and expensive. In both cases, the motive is to congratulate. The verb that often gets paired with this noun is ہو (ho). So the phrase becomes مبارکباد ہو (Mubarak baad ho), meaning "congratulations." The word is used in formal and informal situations.

For example:

1. آپ کو شادی کی مبارک باد ہو.
   Aap ko shadi ki mubarak baad ho.
   "Congratulations on your wedding."

Families in Pakistan

Pakistani family structure is different from Western family structure. Parents live together with their children and their grandchildren. The combined family system is very prevalent in the villages. In the cities, even though the Western values are quickly being adopted, the combined family system is still present.

Families in Pakistan normally gather at all religious festivals celebrated throughout the year. Apart from religious festivals, weddings and funerals are the two occasions where not only immediate and extended families but friends and neighbors also participate. Apart from these events, on birthday parties, local festivals, and picnics are the events where families come together and enjoy.

Western cultures tend to have a nuclear family arrangement, where children only see their parents on rare occasions. But in Pakistan, the system is completely opposite. Even on small occasions, the whole family comes together. For foreigners, it might appear unusual to them, and they might feel uncomfortable as well. Private space is not readily available in families in Pakistan. So, foreigners should be patient and try to understand the family dynamics in Pakistan.

Useful expression

1. خاندان
   Khandan
   "Family"