Adding the postpositions nū(n) (to), to(n) (from), and nē (did) to pronouns specifies if someone is sending, receiving, or doing some action. The pronoun and the postposition are often joined into one word and used very commonly.
nū(n) (to): Adding nū(n) to a pronoun indicates the pronoun is receiving the action.
Person | Number | Punjabi | English |
First | Singular | mae(n)nū(n) | To me |
Plural | sānū(n) | To us | |
Second | Singular, informal | taenū(n) | To you (singular, informal) |
Plural / respectful | tuhānū(n) | To you (plural, respectful) | |
Third (near) | Singular & plural | ihanū(n) | To him, her, this, them |
Third (far) | Singular & plural | uhanū(n) | To him, her, this, them |
maenū(n) bahut vadhīā laggiā sī
It seemed very good to me
mae(n) (I, me) is receiving the action laggiā (seemed) so it becomes maenū(n) (to me)
sānū(n) is gall dā pūrā yakīn hae
We have full trust on this point (lit. To us, this point is fully trusted)
In this case, asī(n) (we, us) is receiving the action hae (is) as in “to us, this is…” so sānū(n) (to us) is used. It is not possible to translate the meaning of the Punjabi sentence word-for-word and so the translation of sānū(n) (to us) in context will not always be literally “to us”
mae(n) taenū(n) laeṇ āī ā(n)
I came to get you
tū(n) (you) is taenū(n) (to you) because “you” is the one receiving the action laeṇ (take). Again, It is not possible to translate a sentence word-for-word and so the translation of taenū(n) (to you) in context will not always literally be “to you”
to(n) (from): Adding to(n) to a pronoun indicates the action originated from the pronoun. There are a few different ways to write this from some pronouns.
Person | Number | Punjabi | English |
First | Singular | maetho(n) mērē to(n) | From me |
Plural | sātho(n) sāḍē to(n) | From us | |
Second | Singular, informal | tatho(n) tērē to(n) | From you (singular, informal) |
Plural / respectful | tusāḍē to(n) | From you (plural, respectful) | |
Third (near) | Singular & plural | ihadē to(n) is to(n) | From he, her, this |
Third (far) | Singular & plural | uhadē to(n) us to(n) | From him, her, that |
uhanē maetho(n) kucchh pucchhiā nahī(n)
He/she didn’t ask anything from me
The action pucchhiā (asked) would originate from mae(n) (me) so maetho(n) (from me) is used
sātho(n) kī chāhīdā hae?
What is needed from us?
The action chāhīdā (needed) would originate from asī(n) (we, us) so sātho(n) (from us) is used
mae(n) tuhāḍē to(n) kitāb laī sī
I got a book from you (respectful)
The action laī (got) originated from tusī(n) (you - respectful) so tuhāḍē to(n) (from you - respectful) is used
nē (did): The postposition nē has no equivalent in English, but roughly means “did” as it indicates the pronoun is the doer of an action. In Punjabi, this is generally implied for first and second person since it is implied, but adding it is not incorrect.
Person | Number | Punjabi | English |
Third (near) | Singular & plural | ihanē is nē | He, she, this (did) |
Third (far) | Singular & plural | uhanē us nē | He, she, that (did) |
ihanē bahut mihanat kītī hae
He/she (did) work very hard
ih (he, she) is the doer of mihanat (hard work) and so ihanē (he/she did) is used
uhanē tērē nāl kī gall kītī sī?
What did he/she discuss with you?
uh (he, she) is the doer of gall (discussion) and so uhahanē (he/she did) is used
As with every other concept, after practicing and seeing many examples, this will become intuitive.