Journal of Namibian Studies, 33 S3 (2023): 5283-5303 ISSN: 2197-5523 (online)

Urdu and English Verb Phrases: A Syntactic

Analysis of Sub-Categories and
Verb-Agreement Relationship

Behzad Anwar1, Asma Iqbal Kayani2, Waseem Hassan Malik3,

Shamshad Rasool4

1. Associate Professor, Department of English,

University of Gujrat, Pakistan.
2. Assistant Professor, Department of English, Mirpur
University of Science and Technology, Mirpur, AJK.
3. Assistant Professor, Institute of English Language and
Literature, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan.
4. Lecturer, Department of English, University of Gujrat, Pakistan.

ABSTRACT
Living in a global world interconnected linguistically results in
bilingualism and multilingualism. It is need of the hour to analyze
the structure of different languages. This study aims to
investigate the structure of Urdu Verb Phrase by identifying its
subcategories and highlighting verb-argument relationship
through a comparison with those of English where needed.
Urdu, a national and official language of Pakistan, is taught and
read at different levels in Pakistan along with English, the other
official language of Pakistan. The study is expected to assist the
students working on the sentence structure of both languages
with a focus on VPs. Based on the Minimalist Program the study
is descriptive as it utilizes qualitative research approach. The
data are collected through observation method where the
native speakers of the Urdu language are observed to collect
data through purposive sampling. The findings indicate that
Urdu VPs show all the sub-categories as suggested by Carnie
(2007) for English VPs. Moreover, Urdu VPs carry more
agreement relationships to show person, number and gender.

Keywords: Argument, Minimalist Program, Subcategories, Urdu

VP, Person, Number, Gender.

1. INTRODUCTION
Every language is built up of sentences and the sentences are
generated under certain rules. Each language has its sentence
structure. Sentence structure for English is SVO but for Urdu, it is
SOV. A sentence is formed by combining words, and it consists of

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a subject and verb. Verbs are the most vital component of any
sentence that tell about the action, state or situation of the
subject. Even a single verb can stand alone to give a complete
meaning like a sentence. This study intends to investigate the
structure of Urdu Verb Phrase, that is, to analyze the syntax of VPs
in Urdu and it also tries to find out the agreement of verb with
person, gender and number of its arguments. The study aims to:

• Find out different subcategories of Urdu VPs keeping in view

the one that Carnie developed for English Verbs.

• Investigate the agreement of Urdu verbs with the person,

gender, and/or number of its arguments, such as its subject,
or object.

In accordance with these objectives, the following questions are

formulated to guide this study:

1. What are the different sub-categories of Urdu VPs in

comparison to English VPs as given by Carnie (2007)?
2. How does an Urdu VP differ from an English VP as far as the
agreement with its arguments is concerned?
To find out the answer of the questions, the study utilizes The
Minimalist Program (MP) to describe the Urdu Verb phrase and its
constituents. Based on Chomsky's (1995) ideas, this study is
influenced by the Principles and Parameters Theory which started
in 1993.Minimalism follows the principle of economy which
suggests that in the representation and creation of structures, the
linguistic system needs to be economical. In other words, only the
required elements should be there while giving a syntactic
structure (Carnie, 2007).

The present study by analyzing Urdu VPs for sub-categories and

verb-argument relationship is expected to help the students of
syntax to develop an understanding of how to analyze Urdu VPs
through gloss and tree diagrams.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The study of how language works is called the science of
linguistics. A language works at different levels; it can be studied
from different perspectives. Carnie (2007) considers syntax as the
level of linguistic organization that mediates between sounds and
meaning. According to him, the focus of syntax is how sentences
are structured. He further considers syntax a cognitive science
because it helps to develop an understanding of how human
beings interact with each other. Tallerman (2005) asserts that
syntax means sentence construction: how words combine to make

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phrases and sentences. The term syntax also refers to the study of
the syntactic properties of language. The dominant theory of
syntax is Generative Grammar which has had many different
names through its development like TG, TGG, Standard Theory,
Extended Standard Theory, GB, P & P approach, and MP. UG is
based on principles, not on rules. These principles are the base and
similar in all the languages; however, the rules differ.

1. All languages are structure dependent. For example, the

basic English word order is SVO, while in Urdu, it is SOV.
2. The principle of projection asserts that every lexical item
projects its properties onto the sentence structure.
There are two parameters about the phrase structure of all
the languages, Head left and Head right.

In English, we have the Head word right and Complement left,

while in Urdu, we have Head word left and Complement right.

Urdu has an SOV structure, but this word order is flexible. The
subject can come at different positions as given in (i):

(i). a ). ‫املسےنارکموکداھکی‬
/əsləm ne əkrəm kɔː dkhə/
Aslam- ERG Akram- ACC see-PST.
Aslam saw Akram.
b). ‫ارکموکاملسےنداھکی‬
/ əkrəm kɔː əsləm ne dkhə/
Akram-ACC Aslam-ERG see-PST

Akram was seen by Aslam.

Moreover, in Urdu, the phrases within a sentence can change

order arbitrarily, means Urdu has a free phrase order. To
determine what role a phrase is playing in a sentence, we have to
consider the case markers (CM) which are treated as separate
words in Urdu. Mohanan (1990) has given the case marking
system of Urdu. Urdu subject exhibits different cases which are
given in the following table with the clitics and their function
(following Butt, 1995 & Bukhari, 2009).

Table 1: Urdu Case Markers and Their Functions

Case Marker Case Function

Φ Nominative Subject/Object

-ne Ergative Subject/ Agentive

-ko Accusative Object/ Patient

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-ko Dative Subject/Object/Goal

-me?/par/ Locative Subject/Oblique
-ka/ki/ke Genitive S/ Object/ Possessor
-se Instrumental Subject/Oblique

Phrases come after the word level. The nodes in a syntactic tree
above the word level represent phrases. Phrase is a string of words
that functions as a unit. Every phrase has to have at least one
constituent. This constituent is called the head of the phrase. It
consists of a head and complement. The head determines the
phrase's function, behavior and category. Some Basic phrase types
are Noun Phrases (NP), Verb Phrases (VP), Prepositional Phrases
(PP) and Adjective Phrases (AP). Basic Phrase Structure Rule is:

XP → X

VP → V

Verb phrases can be categorized in different ways. Carnie (2007)

claims that one way to divide verbs is along the lines of
tense/finiteness and the other is to divide them in terms of the
number of noun phrases and PPs or CPS they require. This second
division is called argument structure. By argument, he means the
entities participating in the relation, and it is the predicate (verb)
that defines the relationship between these arguments. For
example:

Gwen hit the baseball.

Argument Argument

Predicate

It is the predicate that determines the number of arguments,

while the number of arguments that a predicate can take
determines the sub category of the verb. Carnie (2007) gives the
following chart in which he summarizes all the sub categories of
verbs.

Table 2: Subcategories of verbs (suggested by Carnie, 2007)

Subcategory Example

V [NP ] (intransitive) Leave

V [NP NP] (transitive type 1) Hit
V [NP {NP/CP}] (transitive type 2) Ask
V [NP NP NP] (ditransitive type 1) Spare

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V [NP NP PP] (ditransitive type 2) Put

V [NP NP {NP/PP}] (ditransitive type 3) Give
V [NP NP {NP/PP/CP}] (ditransitive type 4) Tell

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is conducted following a qualitative approach.
Qualitative research, according to Cresswell (2007), is based on a
descriptive approach. The data have been collected through
personal observations of the native speakers of Urdu, and the
sentences from daily life have been taken. The data are analyzed
where each example is transcribed and translated into English.
Glosses are provided for each example, and the analysis is
strengthened with the help of tree diagrams as well. The study is
delimited to an analysis of Urdu VPs in relation to their
subcategories. For this purpose, only simple Urdu verbs as used in
declarative sentences are the focus of this study. Moreover, again
the agreement patterns of simple Urdu verbs are analyzed with a
focus on person, number and gender. For a focused analysis Urdu
verb ‫[ اجنا‬/dʒɑːnə/=go] is selected to see Urdu verb agreement
patterns.

4. DATA ANALYSIS
Like many other languages verbs have an important function to
play in Urdu. VP is the head of a sentence and licenses the number
as well as the role of the other phrases in a sentence.

Urdu VPs

Simple VP Complex VP

Conjunct VP Compound VP

V+AUX+VBT Nominal+ V V+V

4.1. Developing a Chart for Sub-Categories of Urdu VP

Verbs are categorized as transitive, intransitive and di-transitive

depending upon the valency of the verb. Valency means the
number of arguments that a verb can take. Depending upon the
valency of Urdu verbs, the following analysis is done to develop an
Urdu VP chart.

4.1.1. Intransitive Verb Phrase: V [NP ] (intransitive)

These verbs require a single NP subject. The Urdu Verb [ ‫ ] رونا‬is an
example of Intransitive verb.
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i. ‫رونا‬
‫وہ ا‬
/wɒ rəʊjə/

NP-SUB VP

He wept

TP

N` V`

N case V ASP

wɒ SUB rəʊjə PERF

4.1.2. Transitive Verb Phrase

A verb phrase that takes a direct object is called a transitive verb

phrase. This direct object makes the listeners aware of when,
where, and how the action happened. Moreover, transitive verbs
may be used in both active and passive forms. These verbs are
more common in the English language than in other languages
(Angell, 2009). In Urdu, such verbs are found which require an
object to give a complete meaning. These transitive verb phrases
in Urdu appear in the following forms:

4.1.2.1. V [NP NP ] (transitive type 1)

Such verbs require an NP object along with an NP subject. The

Urdu VP [‫ ]انھکل‬in the following sentence shows that it takes both
NP-SUB (she) and NP-OBJ(letter).
ii. ‫اسےنطخاھکل‬
/ʌs neɪ khat likha/

NP-SUB NP-OBJ V

She ERG letter wrote

She wrote a letter.

TP

N` V`

N` Case N` V`

N ERG N V ASP

Us ne khat likha PERF

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Likewise, Urdu verb [‫ ]اتبنا‬in the following sentence takes both the
NP-SUB and NP-OBJ.

iii. ‫ابا ااتباان‬

‫ےن وج ا‬
‫ڑلکا ا‬
‫ا‬

lɜːki: ne dʒawab btaja.

NP- SUB NP-OBJ V

The girl-ERG the answer told

The girl told the answer.

TP

N` V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N V ASP

lɜːki ne dʒawab btaja PERF

4.1.2.2. V [NP CP] (transitive type 2)

The data have shown that transitive VPs in Urdu also allow a CP
object. For example, the VP [‫ ]اتبنا‬as used in the following example
shows this case:

iv. ‫ہ‬
‫تن ا‬
‫کےن ااتباناہکوہوجاباج ا‬
‫ڑل ا‬

/larki: neɪ btaya k wəʊ dʒawab dʒanti hɑː/

NP-SUB V CP-OBJ

The girl told that she answer know be.

The girl told that she knew the answer.

TP

N` V`

N` case V` CP

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N` case V` CP

N ERG V ASP C TP
larki: neɪ btaya PERF k

N` V`

N N` V`

wəʊ N V AUX
dʒawab
V ASP be
dʒanti Imperf PRES

hɑː

4.1.3. Ditransitive Verb

The verbs that require three arguments fall under this category.
The data have given four patterns for this category of Urdu VPs.

4.1.3.1. V [NP NP NP ] (ditransitive type 1)

The first pattern shows the use of two NPs as objects where the
first is required as an indirect object and the second as a direct
object (example v). Such verbs in Urdu take two NPs but do not
allow the use of a combination of NP and PP. For example, it is
incorrect to say ‫اعہشئےنقبسوکںیمہڑپاھ اان‬.

v. ‫ںیمہقبسڑپ ااھ ان‬

‫اعہشئےن ا‬
/ aɪʃə neɪ hmain sabak parhajə/
NP(SUB) ERG NP(I.O) NP(D.O) V
Ayesha us lesson taught

Ayesha taught us the lesson.

TP

N` V`

N` case N` V`

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N` case N` V`

N ERG N` N` V`

aɪʃə neɪ hmain

N V ASP

sabak parhajə PERF

4.1.3.2. V [NP NP PP ] (ditransitive type 2)

This pattern requires an NP as a subject and takes two more
phrases where one is again an NP while the other is PP.

vi. ‫رھک‬
‫یم ارپ ا‬
‫ب ا‬‫تک ا‬
‫ےن ا‬
‫ڑلک ا‬
‫ا ا‬
/l ɜː ki: neɪ kitab maiz pɜː rakhi:/

NP ERG NP PP V

The girl book table on put

The girl put the book on the table.

TP

N` V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` pp V`
l ɜːki: neɪ

N N P V ASP
kitab maiz pɜː rakhi: PERF

4.1.3.3. V [NP NP {NP/PP} ] (ditransitive type 3)

The verbs that are a combination of ditransitive type 1 and 2 and
allow either NP or PP in the second position.

vii. ‫ئ‬
‫نانس ا‬
‫امںےناےساہک ا‬
/ma: neɪ usay kahani: su:naɪ:/
NP ERG NP NP V
Mother him story told

The mother told him a story.

TP

N` V`

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N` V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` N` V`
ma: ne

N N V` ASP
usay kahani

sunae PERF
viii. ‫ئ‬
‫ںرپانس ا‬
‫ن ارپ ای ا‬
‫امںےناہک ا‬
/ ma: neɪ kahani: parju: pɜː sunaɪ/

NP ERG NP PP V

The mother story fairies on narrated

The mother narrated a story on fairies.

TP

N` V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` P` V`
ma: ne

N N` P` V` ASP
kahani

N P sunae PERF

parju: pɜː

4.1.3.4. V [NP NP {NP/PP/CP} ] (ditransitive type 4)

Ditransitive type 4 shows the use of verbs with two NPs where
these may appear either with an NP, a PP or CP. The following
Urdu examples taken from the data are analyzed where each
example is transcribed and translated into English. Glosses are

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provided for each example and the analysis is strengthened with

the help of tree diagrams as well.

‫ت‬
ix. ‫اہک‬
‫ںیمہدوس ا‬
‫اعمصےن ا‬
/ɑːsɪm neɪ hmeɪn dɔːst kəhɑː/

NP ERG NP NP V

Asim us friends called

Asim called us his friends

TP

N V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` N` V`
ɑːsɪm neɪ hmeɪn

N V ASP
dɔːst kəhɑː PERF

x. ‫اسےنےھجماجےنوکاہک‬

/ʌs ne mudʒe dʒɑːne kɔː kaha/

NP ERG NP PP V

He me go to asked

He asked me to go.

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TP

N V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` P` V`
ʌs ne mudʒay

N P V ASP
dʒanay kɔː kaha PERF

xi. ‫تلیھکہ‬
‫اسےنےھجماہکہکوہ ا‬

/ʌs ne mudʒe kaha k wo kheltə hɑː/

NP ERG NP V CP

He me told that he play

He told me that he played.

TP

N V`

N` case N` V`

N ERG N` V` CP
ʌs ne mudʒay kaha
C TP
K

N` V`

N V AUX
Wo kheltə PRES
hɑː

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Table 3: Sub-categories of Urdu VPs

VPs Subcategories Urdu VPs Examples

V [NP ] (intransitive) ‫رونا‬

‫وہ ا‬
/wɒ rəʊjə/
NP-sub VP
V [NP NP ] (transitive type 1) ‫اھکل‬
‫اسےنطخ ا‬
/ʌs neɪ khat likha/

NP-SUB NP-OBJ V

‫ہ‬
‫تن ا‬
‫ڑلکےن ااتباناہکوہوجاباج ا‬
‫ا‬
V [NP CP] (transitive type 2) /larki: neɪ btaya k wəʊ dʒawab dʒanti hɑː/
NP-SUB V CP-OBJ

V [NP NPNP ] (ditransitive type 1)

‫اھ انا‬
‫ںیمہقبسڑپ ا‬
‫اعہشئےن ا‬
/ aɪʃə neɪ hmain sabak parhajə/
NP(SUB) ERG NP(I.O) NP(D.O) V

V [NP NP PP ] (ditransitive type 2)

‫ھک‬
‫یمرپر ا‬
‫ڑلکےنتکب ا‬
‫ا‬
/larki: neɪ kitab maiz pɜː rakhi:/

NP ERG NP PP V
V [NP NP {NP/PP} ] (ditransitive type 3) ‫ئ‬
‫نانس ا‬
‫امںےناےساہک ا‬
/ma: neɪ usay kahani: su:naɪ:/
NP ERG NP NP V

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V [NP NP{NP/PP/CP} ](ditransitive type 4) ‫ت‬

‫اہک‬
‫اعمصےنںیمہادوس ا‬
/ɑːsɪm neɪ hmeɪn dɔːst kəhɑː/
NP ERG NP NP V
‫اہک‬
‫اسےنےھجماجےنوک ا‬
/ʌs ne mudʒe dʒɑːne kɔː kaha/
NP ERG NP PP V
‫ہ‬
‫تلیھک ا‬
‫اسےنےھجماہکہکوہ ا‬
/ʌs ne mudʒe kaha k wo kheltə hɑː/
NP ERG NP V CP

4.2. Verb-Agreement Relationships

This section answers research question 2 by comparing Urdu Verb

agreement with English Verb agreement. The present study covers
an analysis of only simple declarative Urdu sentences where the
agreement of a verb with nominative case of pronouns is
examined. To make the study more systematic, one Urdu verb [‫اجنا‬
/dʒɑːnə/=go] in the indefinite tense form is selected for analysis.

4.2.1. 1st Person and Verb Agreement

In English, the same form of the verb "go" for present, "went" for
past and "shall go" for future are used for both singular and plural,
masculine and feminine but the Urdu verb ["‫”اجنا‬
/dʒɑːnə/=go]takes different forms depending upon person,
gender, number and tense. For example, in English verb “go”
when used with first person singular as in ‘ I go' does not indicate
the gender of the person but in Urdu, the verb "go" has two
‫ت‬
variants i.e. "‫”اجنا‬/ dʒɑːtə/ and “‫ ”اجیت‬/ dʒɑːtiː/ to refer to
masculine and feminine gender respectively(Table 4). Likewise,
the verb "go" used with first person plural "we" in English does not
hint at the gender or number of the persons but in Urdu, the use
of the verb “‫ [”اجنا‬/dʒɑːnə/=go] with first person plural “‫”مہ‬
determines both the gender of the persons. Table 4 shows how
“‫ ”مہا‬/hʌm/when referring to a feminine takes the verb "‫ ”اجیت‬/
dʒɑːtiː/ while it takes the masculine form "‫ ”اجےت‬/dʒɑːte/ when
referring to masculine.

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Table 4: 1st Person and Comparison of English & Urdu Verb Agreement

Language Person Number Example VPs & Gender Present Past Future
Singular I Same VP for I go. I went. I shall go.
English 1st both M+F
Plural We Same VP for We go. We went. We shall go.
both M+F
Singular ‫ںیم‬ Different VPs ‫ت‬
‫اجنوہںا‬
‫ںیم ا‬ ‫ایگںیم‬ ‫ںیماجؤںاگ‬
/main/ for M+F /main dʒɑːtə hu:n/ M /main geə/ M /main dʒəʊn gɑː/ M
Urdu 1st
‫ںیماجیتوہںا‬ ‫یئگںیم‬ ‫گ‬
‫ںیماجؤں ا‬
/main dʒəʊn giː/ F
/main dʒɑːti: hu:n/ F /main geɪ/ F

Plural ‫مہ‬ Different VPs for ‫مہ اجےتںیہ‬

‫ا‬ ‫مہےئگ‬ ‫یئےگ‬
‫مہاج ا‬
/hʌm/ M+F
/hʌm dʒɑːte hæn/ M hʌm gaɪ M /hʌm dʒaɪn ge/ M

‫یتںیہ‬
‫مہاج ا‬ ‫مہںیئگ‬
‫یئگ‬
‫مہاج ا‬
/hʌm dʒɑːti: hæn/ F /hʌm geɪn/ F /hʌm dʒaɪn giː/ F

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4.2.2. 2nd Person and Verb Agreement

Like 1st person pronouns, the verbs used with 2nd person
pronouns in Urdu show a different attitude when compared to
those of the pronouns used in English. There is only one 2nd
person pronoun in English i.e., “you" which is used for both
singular and plural numbers. Moreover, the chosen verb "go"
shows no agreement with this pronoun for gender as well. Table 5
indicates how the verb 'go' changes its form for tense like 'went'
for past and "shall go" for future but it does not indicate the
gender. In comparison to this in Urdu, there is more than one
term to refer to 2nd person like “‫[“ تا‬/tʊm/=you], “‫[ ”وت‬/tu/=you]
for singular number while “‫ ”آپ‬/ɑːp/=you] for plural number.The
verb agrees with these three forms of 2nd Person pronoun to
indicate both number and gender. As given in Table 5, the data
shows that the Urdu verb "‫ [ ”اجناا‬/dʒɑːnə/=go] has variant forms.
For example, the two variant forms of this verb ‫ اجےت‬/dʒɑːte/ and
‫ اجیت‬/ dʒɑːtiː/are used when“‫[“ تا‬/tʊm/=you] is used to refer to a
singular masculine and singular feminine respectively to show
present time. For past time Urdu verb “‫”اجنا‬takes two different
forms to show gender differences i.e., “‫ ”ےئگا‬and “‫ ”یئگا‬for
masculine and feminine respectively. Another person used to
refer to 2nd Person in Urdu is “‫[ ”وتا‬/tu/ =you] which is an informal
way of addressing someone. But in English, we have only 'you'
which does not indicate the level of formality. As far as the 2nd
person plural pronoun is concerned, in English, we have 'you'
again but in Urdu, the term “‫[ ”آپ‬/ɑːp/=you] is used for plural
number and the verb shows an agreement with this term as given
in Table 5.

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Table 5: 2ndPerson and Comparison of English & Urdu Verb Agreement

Language Person Number Examples Gender Present Past Future

Singular You Same VP for both M+F You go. You went. You will go.
English 2nd Plural You Same VP for both M+F You go. You went. You will go.

Singular ‫ت‬
‫ا‬ Different VPs for M+F ‫تاجےتوہ‬ ‫تےئگ‬ ‫تاجؤےگ‬
/tʊm/ / tʊm dʒɑːte hɔː M /tʊm gaɪ/ M /tʊm dʒaʊ ge/ M
Urdu 2nd ‫یتوہ‬
‫تاج ا‬ ‫تیئگ‬ ‫تاجؤگ‬
F
tʊm dʒɑːti: hɔː F /tʊm geɪ/ F /tʊm dʒaʊ gi:/
‫ت‬
‫وت‬ ‫اجنہ‬
‫وت ا‬ ‫ایگ‬
‫وت ا‬ ‫وتاجےئاگ‬
/tu/* /tu: dʒɑːtɑː hæ/ M /tu: geə/ M /tu: dʒaɪ g ɑː/ M
‫یتہ‬
‫وتاج ا‬ ‫گ‬
‫وت ا‬ ‫وتاجےئگ‬
F
tu dʒɑːtiː hæ F /tu: geɪ/ F /tu: dʒaɪ gi:/
Plural ‫آپا‬ Different VPs for M+F ‫آپاجےتںیہ‬ ‫آپےئگ‬ ‫آپاجیئےگ‬
/ɑːp dʒɑːte hæn/ M / ɑːp gaɪ/ M /ɑːp dʒaɪn ge / M
/ɑːp/**
‫ںیہ‬
‫آپاجیت ا‬ ‫آپںیئگ‬ ‫گ‬
‫آپاجیئ ا‬
ɑːp dʒɑːti: hæn F / ɑːp geɪn/ F /ɑːp dʒaɪn gi:/ F
*In Urdu the term “‫”وت‬/tu/ is used to address a singular second person and it shows a level of informality,
inequality or even disrespect.

** In Urdu the term “‫ ”آپ‬/ɑːp/ is used to refer to the plural second person but it can also be used to address
a person to show respect or formality. For example, ‫[ آپاجےتوہ‬/ɑːp dʒɑːte hɔ/ .

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4.2.3. 3rd Person and Verb Agreement

Contrary to 1st and 2nd person pronouns, English has more terms to refer to 3rd person when compared to 3rd Person
pronouns used in Urdu. In English third person singular pronouns “he”, “she” and “it” are used to refer to masculine,
feminine and neutral gender respectively while the third person plural “they” is used to refer to both the masculine
and feminine genders. However, in Urdu the pronoun “‫ ”وہ‬/w ɔː/ is used for both numbers and genders. But the
difference lies where Urdu VPs agree with the pronouns to show number as well as gender. In English gender is
indicated by the pronouns "he" and "she" and not by the VPs. But in Urdu, gender is indicated through VPs. For
example, the verbs like “go”, “went” and “will go” appearing with the English 3rd Person pronoun ‘they’ though show
plural number but it does not give any idea about gender. In comparison to this, the Urdu VPs used with pronoun
“‫ ”وہ‬/w ɔː/ in different examples (Table 6) show an agreement of both number and gender.

Table 6: 3rd Person and Comparison of English & Urdu Verb Agreement

Language Person Numbe Examples Gender Present Past Future

r
Singular He Masculine He goes. (M) He went. (M) He will go. (M)
English 3rd She (Same VP)
Feminine She goes. (F) She went. (F) She will go. (F)
(Same VP)
Plural They Same VP for They go. (M & F) They went. (M They will go. (M/ F)
both M+F /F)

singular Different VPs ‫ت‬

‫وہ‬ ‫ہ‬
‫اجن ا‬
‫وہ ا‬ ‫وہایگ‬ ‫وہاجےئاگ‬
/wɔː/ for M+F /wɔ: dʒɑːtɑː hæ/ M /wɔ: geə/ M /wɔ: dʒaɪ g ɑː/ M
Urdu 3rd
‫وہیئگا‬ ‫گ‬
‫وہاجےئ ا‬
‫ہ‬
‫وہاجیت ا‬ /wɔ: geɪ/ F /wɔ: dʒaɪ giː/ F
/ wɔ: dʒɑːtiː hæ / F

Plural ‫وہ‬ Different VPs ‫وہاجےتںیہ‬ ‫وہےئگ‬ ‫وہاجیئےگ‬

/wɔː/ for M+F / wɔ: dʒɑːte hæn/ M / wɔ: gaɪ/ M
/ wɔ: dʒaɪn ge /
M
‫وہںیئگ‬
‫وہاجیتںیہ‬ / wɔ: geɪn/ F ‫گ‬
‫وہاجیئ ا‬
/ wɔ: dʒɑːti: hæn/ F / wɔ: dʒaɪn gi: / F

4.3. Some other Patterns of Verb Agreement

Other than the agreement of verb to indicate person, number and

gender as discussed in the previous section, Urdu VPs also show
agreement patterns of simple verbs concerning the subject and
object of the verb. The study has found three patterns as discussed
below:

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4.3.1. Urdu VPs agree with the subject when the subject is not
marked by a case marker (ergative etc.).
‫ت‬
‫ہ‬
‫اھکن ا‬
‫ڑلاکھکر ا‬
lɜːkə kʰiː kʰɑːtə hæ
S-M.Sg O-F.Sg V-IMPERF,M.sg AUX-PRES
The boy kheer eat AUX-PRES

The boy eats kheer.

4.3.2. Urdu VPs agree with the object when the subject is
marked by a case marker and the object is unmarked.
‫ڑلےکےنھکراھکئ‬
lɜːke ne kʰiː kʰ aɪ
S-M.Sg ERG O-F.Sg V –PERF F.Sg
The boy ERG Kheer ate
The boy ate kheer.

4.3.3. Urdu VPs take a masculine singular gender when both

the subject and the object are marked by case markers.

‫ااتسدےنشارگدوکڑپاھ انا‬
uːstɑːd ne ʃægɜːd kɒ pərhɑːjə
S-M.Sg ERG O-F.Sg ACC V –PERF M.Sg
The teacher ERGstudent ACC taught
The teacher taught the student.

5. CONCLUSION

This study has investigated the subcategories of Urdu VPs based

on the division of English VPs proposed by Carnie (2007). The study
has found that similar to English, Urdu also has all three categories
of transitive, intransitive, and ditransitive verbs. Urdu VPs are
categorized as transitive, intransitive and di-transitive depending
upon the valency of a verb. The difference lies where in English
first NP i.e. the subject is immediately followed by VP while in
Urdu, a VP can follow two NPs. Moreover, Urdu verbs are the
indicators of the person, number and gender of the arguments but
English verbs are not the indicators except for the third person
singular which shows the number and person with no indication
of gender. Urdu verbs are much under the influence of the
arguments as far as person, number and gender agreement is
concerned, but English verbs do not show it to that extent. The
study concludes that the relation between Urdu VPs and
arguments is a circular one i.e. verbs determine the number of
arguments and the arguments determine the person, number and
gender of the verbs.

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References

Angell, C. A (2009).Language Development and Disorders: A Case Study

Approach. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Bukhari, N. (2009). The syntax of serial verbs in Gojri (Unpublished

Doctoral Dissertation). University of Newcastle-upon-tyne, Newcastle,
UK.

Butt, M. (1995). The structure of complex predicates in Urdu. Stanford:

CSLI Publications.

Carnie, A. (2007). Syntax: A generative introduction. New York: Blackwell

Publishing Ltd.

Chomsky, N. (1995). The minimalist program MIT Press. Cambridge, MA.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and

mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mohanan, T. (1990). Arguments in Hindi (Unpublished Doctoral

Dissertation). Stanford University, California, USA.

Tallerman, M. (2005). Understanding syntax. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Appendix A

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACC Accusative case

ASP Aspect
AUX Auxiliary
CP Complementizer phrase
CPS Complementizer phrases
CM Case marker
D.O Direct object
ERG Ergative case
F.SG Feminine singular person
GB Government & binding theory
IMPERF Imperfective
I.O Indirect object
M&F Masculine and feminine
MP Minimalism
M.Sg Masculine singular
NOM Nominative case
NP Noun phrase
O Object
PERF Perfective
PP Preposition phrase

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PPS Preposition phrases

P&P Principles & parameters approach
PST Past
S Subject
SUB Subject
SOV Subject object verb
SVO Subject verb object
TG Transformational Grammar
TGG Transformational Generative
Grammar
UG Universal Grammar
VP Verb phrase
VPS Verb phrases
VBT Verb tense marker

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