The past, and why it’s kita and not kiti

Went, came, sat: the verb follows the person

For verbs where nothing is done to anything, like going, coming, sitting and sleeping, the past agrees with the person, just like an adjective: a man says ਮੈਂ ਗਿਆ (main gaya), a woman ਮੈਂ ਗਈ (main gayi), and a group ਅਸੀਂ ਗਏ (asi gaye).

• ਮੈਂ ਘਰ ਗਿਆ

  Main ghar gaya

  I went home (a man speaking)

• ਮੈਂ ਘਰ ਗਈ

  Main ghar gayi

  I went home (a woman speaking)

• ਉਹ ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਆਇਆ

  Oh kal aaya

  He came yesterday

• ਉਹ ਬੈਠ ਗਈ

  Oh baith gayi

  She sat down

• ਅਸੀਂ ਥੱਕ ਗਏ

  Asi thakk gaye

  We got tired

Did, ate, made: the verb follows the thing

For verbs that do something to something, like eating, making, saying and seeing, Punjabi flips it: the past verb agrees with the thing, not the person. ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਧੀ (main roti khadhi): roti is feminine, so khadhi. ਮੈਂ ਅੰਬ ਖਾਧਾ (main amb khadha): a mango is masculine, so khadha. Who ate doesn’t matter.

That answers one of the most common learner questions: why kita and not kiti? ਮੈਂ ਕੰਮ ਕੀਤਾ (main kamm kita), because ਕੰਮ, work, is masculine. ਮੈਂ ਗੱਲ ਕੀਤੀ (main gall kiti), because ਗੱਲ, a talk, is feminine.

• ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਧੀ

  Main roti khadhi

  I ate (roti)

  ਰੋਟੀ is feminine, so ਖਾਧੀ.

• ਮੈਂ ਅੰਬ ਖਾਧਾ

  Main amb khadha

  I ate a mango

  ਅੰਬ is masculine, so ਖਾਧਾ.

• ਮੈਂ ਕੰਮ ਕੀਤਾ

  Main kamm kita

  I did the work

• ਮੈਂ ਗੱਲ ਕੀਤੀ

  Main gall kiti

  I had a talk

  ਗੱਲ is feminine.

• ਮੈਂ ਫ਼ਿਲਮ ਦੇਖੀ

  Main film dekhi

  I watched a film

  ਫ਼ਿਲਮ is feminine.

ਨੇ (ne): who did it

With those same verbs, a person named by a noun, or by he, she or they, takes ਨੇ (ne): ਮੰਮੀ ਨੇ, ਉਸ ਨੇ, ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ. Since the verb is busy agreeing with the thing, ne is what tells you who did it.

I, you and we don’t take ne in Punjabi: it is ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਧੀ, never ਮੈਂ ਨੇ. If you have heard “maine” in Hindi, leave it there.

• ਮੰਮੀ ਨੇ ਦਾਲ ਬਣਾਈ

  Mummy ne daal banayi

  Mom made daal

• ਪਾਪਾ ਨੇ ਚਾਹ ਬਣਾਈ

  Papa ne chaa banayi

  Dad made tea

• ਉਸ ਨੇ ਕਿਤਾਬ ਪੜ੍ਹੀ

  Us ne kitaab parhi

  He (or she) read the book

• ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਕੀ ਕਿਹਾ?

  Unhan ne ki kiha?

  What did they say?

Tip: Whenever you hear ne, the verb after it matches the thing, not the person. If the thing has ਨੂੰ after it, the verb stays -a: ਉਸ ਨੇ ਕੁੜੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੇਖਿਆ (us ne kurhi nu dekhia), he or she saw the girl.

The everyday irregular pasts, and si

A few everyday verbs have past forms of their own. They are most of what you will say, so they are worth learning as words. Add ਸੀ (si) for a further past: ਮੈਂ ਗਿਆ ਸੀ, I had gone.

• ਕੀਤਾ

  kita

  did, from karna

• ਦਿੱਤਾ

  ditta

  gave, from dena

• ਲਿਆ

  lia

  took, from laina

• ਖਾਧਾ

  khadha

  ate, from khana

• ਪੀਤਾ

  pita

  drank, from pina

  Romanized like ਪਿਤਾ (pita, father). The Gurmukhi tells them apart.

• ਕਿਹਾ

  kiha

  said, from kehna

• ਆਇਆ

  aaya

  came, from auna

• ਗਿਆ

  gaya

  went, from jana

• ਹੋਇਆ

  hoya

  happened, became, from hona