-ਆਂ

Punjabi Etymology 1 The plural cases for feminine nouns appear to be cognate with hi -इयाँ and ultimately pa sa -इकाः 1, the nominative plural of sa -इका. However, Hindi declensions of hi -ई stems shorten the vowel to hi -इ for plural oblique and vocative cases, which does not occur in related cases in Punjabi. The plural cases for masculine unextended nouns are likely pa inc-apa -आनं -āṇaṃ 1, a plural genitive case for masculine inc-apa -अ stems. Given their different ending compared to similar stems in Hindi, and their different usage compared to feminine nouns (see usage notes), they are probably influenced by the Persian plural suffixes fa ـان -ân, fa ـیان -yân, which have Persian grammar#Plural similar usage rules. Although the suffix is unlikely to be borrowed outright, such a sound change would not be unprecedented: see Persian fa میان miyân to Punjabi pa ਮੀਆਂ, or Persian fa کاروان kârvân to Punjabi pa ਕਾਰਵਾਂ. Suffix pa suffix case ending for masculine unextended nouns: plural direct case (see usage notes) plural oblique case pa ਘਰ ਘਰਾਂ case ending for feminine nouns: plural direct case plural oblique case Usage notes For masculine unextended nouns only, the suffix is used in the plural direct case when it's otherwise unclear that the noun is plural. In any other case where the plurality of the noun is clear, it is excluded. Due to this fluid usage, this suffix is excluded from the plural direct case on noun declension tables for masculine unextended nouns. This does not apply to the plural oblique case, which is always suffixed. Here are some common cases where the suffix is excluded from a masculine unextended noun in the plural direct case: The plural noun is preceded by a numeral or a counting adjective such as pa ਕੋਈ some or pa ਕਈ many which indicates multiplicity. The plural noun is adjacent to another noun marked by the genitive case postposition pa ਦੇ, which is inflected for plural number and masculine gender and thus Agreement (linguistics) agrees with the head noun. For example, the name of pa ਵਾਰਿਸ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ Waris Punjab De Heir[s] of Punjab, which can also be written as pa ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵਾਰਿਸ. Notice that pa ਵਾਰਿਸ is missing the suffix despite being plural, as the postposition's inflection already indicates that information. The plural noun is the subject of a verb which is conjugated to indicate a plural number, so by Grammatical conjugation#Verbal agreement subject-verb agreement, the noun is understood to be plural. The above notes do not hold for feminine nouns in general. For example, in the name of pa ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਾਰਾਂ Varan Bhai Gurdas The Ballads of Bhai Gurdas, both the feminine head noun pa ਵਾਰ and the genitive postposition pa ਦੀ of the other noun, which Agreement (linguistics) agree with each other, Suffixaufnahme have this suffix. For masculine extended nouns ending in pa -ਆ, the singular oblique case pa -ਏ shortens to pa -ਇ when suffixed with pa -ਆਂ to form pa -ਇਆਂ. Etymology 2 pa Suffix pa suffix Marks the first-person singular and plural subjunctive. pa -ਊਂ dialectal first-person singular subjunctive pa ਕਰ do verb stem ਕਰਾਂ