A sentence is a unit of speech which serves as the means of conveying a thought. Sentences can be simple, compound (consisting of two or more clauses coordinated with each other), or complex (consisting of a principal clause and one or more subordinate clauses). See Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, and Complex Sentences for more details.
In a sentence, we distinguish between the principal and secondary parts. The principal parts of a sentence are the subject (which denotes a living being, a thing, or an idea) and the predicate (which describes an action). The secondary parts are the attributes (which qualefy nouns, pronouns, and so on), the objects (which complete or restrict the meaning of verbs or, more rarely, adjectives and nouns) and the adverbial modifiers (which modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs).
The subject of a sentence can be a noun, a pronoun, or a pronoun enclitic.
"I am a pupil." - زٌه شاگٌرْد یم.
The predicate of a sentence can consist of various types of words. Some of the common types of predicates are listed below.
a) Simple verbal predicates are expressed by a verb:
"He sleeps." - دی خوب کوى .
b) Nominal verbal predicates are expressed by a noun and a verb:
"The name of this boy is Ahmad." - دا هَلٌک اَحْمَد نُومېږى .
c) Complex verbal predicates are expressed by a modal verb and another verb:
"I want to read a book." - زٌه غْواړٌم کِتاب وُلْوَلٌم.
d) Compound nominal predicates consist of a linking verb with a noun, pronoun, adjective, or numeral functioning as the predicative or nominal part of the compound:
"This man is a worker." - دا سَړَی کارِگَر دئ .
The attributes of a sentence are expressed by adjectives, pronouns, or nouns:
"I like the red flower." - زْما سُور گُل خْوَښ دئ .
An apposition is a special kind of attribute. It is expressed by a noun, and explains the word modified by giving that person or thing another name:
"My friend Zalmay lives in a village." - زْما مَلْگٌرَی زَلْمَی پٌه کٌلى کی اُوسى.
Some sentences have direct objects, which denote a person or thing directly affected by the action of the verb. A direct object can be expressed by a noun in the direct or indirect case, a pronoun in the direct or indirect case, or a pronoun enclitic:
"He writes an article." - دَی مَقالَه لیکى.
Some sentences may also have indirect objects, which denote a thing or a living being to whom the action of the verb is directed:
"Give me an apple." - مَڼَه ما تَه راکْړَه .
The adverbial modifiers in a sentence can be various types of adverbs and adverbial clauses. There are clauses of place and direction (which indicate a location or the direction of an action), clauses of time (which indicate the time of an action), clauses of degree and measure (which indicate the degree or intensity of an action).
Words in a sentence can be connected in different ways by prepositions and postpositions, by conjunctions, by the use of the indirect case, or by word order.
The word order within Pashto sentences is fixed:
Subject + Direct object + Indirect object + Predicate.
Adverbial modifiers can be added before or after the subject. For example:
"I'll give you the medicine now." - اُوس بٌه زٌه تا تَه دَرْمَل دَرْکْړٌم.
Sentences can be grouped into various types, depending on the purpose of the utterance:
a) Declarative sentences state facts:
"Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan." - کابُل دٌ افْغانِسْتان پایتَخْت دئ .
b) Interrogative sentences ask questions. Questions are formed using interrogative pronouns and intonation. The word order is not changed the way it is in English:
"What time is it now?" - اُوس څُو بَجې دى ؟
c) Exclamatory sentences express emotions or feelings:
"Look, brother!" - ! وْرُورَه ، وُگُورَه
Depending on the type of connections between the subject, the predicate, and the direct object, there are two main forms of sentence construction: the nominal and the ergative. (See Nominal Construction and Ergative Construction for details.)
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