* Notes on Second Person ("You"):
a. Urdu has three different pronouns for "you":
polite (آپ), familiar (تم), and very familiar ( تو ).
b. The very familiar form تو should only be used with people who
are very close to you. It may also be used to address God. Using تو with strangers is considered insulting.
c. You should generally use آپ
with strangers or people you want to show respect for, and تمwith
friends or peers.
d. Like "you" in English, both the familiar تم and
the polite آپ are always grammatically plural. You can use them when
addressing one person as well as a group of people, but the verb agreement must be plural.
** Notes on Third Person
a. Urdu distinguishes between things and people nearby (in the room with you) and far away (or not present).
یہ refers to people or things nearby and
وہ refers to people or things further away.
b. Both third person pronouns are the same in singular and plural. Only the verb agreement shows whether the subject is singular or plural.
c. The third person pronouns likewise do not reflect gender. Again, the verb agreement will show whether the subject is feminine or masculine.
d. The third person pronouns can also function as demonstrative pronouns:
وہ ہار that necklace
یہ ٹماٹر these tomatoes
e. Thus یہ can mean he/she/it/this/they/these and وہ can mean he/she/it/that/they/those. |
