Words and Fundamental Parts of Speech
Source Images:
17.jpg,18.jpg(Book Pages: 17–18)
1. The Concept of a Word (لفظ — Lafz)
In Urdu grammar, any vocal sound produced by the human mouth by combining letters is termed a لفظ (Lafz) — Word. Words are classified into two broad categories based on whether they carry intrinsic meaning:
| Category | Urdu Script | Roman Urdu | Definition & Characteristics | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meaningful Word | کلمہ | Kalimah | Any articulate utterance that conveys an intelligible meaning. Human conversation is built entirely on Kalimat. | کتاب (Kitāb) — book, پانی (Pānī) — water |
| Echo Word | مہمل | Muhmal | An utterance that has no independent meaning of its own; typically used as colloquial rhyming or echo additions in informal speech. | وانی (Vānī in pānī-vānī), ووٹی (Woṭī in roṭī-woṭī) |
Explore how these pairs are formed in the lesson on echo words.
2. The Three Parts of Speech of کلمہ (Kalimah)
In the traditional classification used in this course, a meaningful word (Kalimah) belongs to one of three broad classes. In علی گھر میں پڑھتا ہے۔ (Alī ghar meñ paṛhtā hai.) — “Ali studies at home” — all three work together.
- اسم (Ism, noun or nominal). A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Here علی (Alī) names a person and گھر (ghar) — house or home names a place. Explore proper names and common and abstract nouns.
- فعل (Fe'l, verb). A verb expresses an action, occurrence, or state. Here پڑھتا ہے (paṛhtā hai) means “studies” and describes what Ali does regularly. Explore verb roots and classes.
- حرف (Harf, particle). A particle expresses a grammatical relationship or adds a particular meaning in context. Here میں (meñ) — in follows گھر to give the location. Explore postpositions and case markers and conjunctions.
3. How nouns are formed
Urdu nouns are classified into three types according to their structural origin and whether they derive from or yield other words:
┌───────────────────────────────┐
│ اسم (Ism) │
└───────────────┬───────────────┘
┌────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
اسم جامد اسم مصدر اسم مشتق
(Ism-e-Jāmid) (Ism-e-Masdar) (Ism-e-Mushtaq)
[Primitive Noun] [Infinitive / Root] [Derived Noun]
(a) Primitive / Simple Noun (اسم جامد — Ism-e-Jāmid)
A noun that is an original, primary word in itself. It is neither derived from any root word, nor is any other grammatical category (like a verb) derived from it.
Examples:
- چھتری (Chhatrī) — Umbrella
- گاڑی (Gāṛī) — Cart / Vehicle / Car
- گیند (Gend) — Ball
- درخت (Darakht) — Tree
Note: Ism-e-Jamid is further subdivided into two major classes:
- معرفہ (Ma'rifah) includes proper names and other definite expressions.
- نکرہ (Nakirah) includes common nouns.
(b) Infinitive / Verbal Noun (اسم مصدر — Ism-e-Masdar)
A verbal noun that names the action itself. It is not derived from any preceding word, but numerous verb conjugations, participles, and derived nouns originate from it. In Urdu, infinitives consistently end with the suffix نا (-nā).
Examples:
- آنا (Ānā) — To come / Coming
- جانا (Jānā) — To go / Going
- رونا (Ronā) — To weep / Crying
- پڑھنا (Paṛhnā) — to read or study
- کھیلنا (Khelnā) — To play / Playing
(c) Derived Noun (اسم مشتق — Ism-e-Mushtaq)
A noun formed systematically from an infinitive root (Masdar).
Examples:
- پڑھنے والا (Paṛhne wālā) — Student / Reader / One who studies (from پڑھنا)
- سونے والی (Sone wālī) — Sleeper (female) / One who sleeps (from سونا)
- کھیلنے والے (Khelne wāle) — Players / Those who play (from کھیلنا)