Language/Tajik/Grammar/Negation

Tajik Grammar - Negation

Hi Tajik learners! 😊

In this lesson, we will focus on Tajik negation. We will learn how to negate verbs, adjectives, and pronouns using the negative particle "на," as well as some other negative expressions.

Take a moment to explore these relevant pages as you conclude this lesson: Give your Opinion, Nouns, Using Conjunctions & How to Use Be.

Negating verbs

In Tajik, we negate verbs by using the negative particle "на" before the verb. For example, let's take the verb "гап задан" (to speak):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
гап мезанад	gap mezana:d	(he/she) speaks
на+гап мезанад	na-gap mezana:d	(he/she) doesn't speak

As you can see, we simply add "на" before the verb "гап мезанад" to negate it.

Here is another example with the verb "кушоҳандан" (to eat):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
ман кӯб кӯдӣ кардам	man ku:b ku:di: kardam	I ate a lot
ман на+кушоҳандам	man na-kushohandam	I didn't eat

Again, we add "на" before the verb "кушоҳандам" to negate it.

Now let's see how to negate present and past tense verbs in the negative imperative form.

We use the negative particle "на" after the imperative verb to make it negative. Here is an example with the verb "бефарма" (to do):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
бефарма!	befarma!	(do it)!
бефармана!	befarma:na!	don't do it!

For past tense, we use the negative particle "на" before the past participle of the verb. For example, with the verb "кушоҳандан" (to eat):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
ман нан oхир кӯштам	man nan okhir ku:shtam	I ate bread at last
ман нан oхир на+хӯрок кӯшта ҳастам	man nan okhir na-khu:rok ku:sta hastam	I didn't eat anything except bread

We use "на" before the past participle "хӯрок кӯшта" to make it negative.

Negating adjectives

In Tajik, we negate adjectives by using the negative particle "на" before the adjective. For example:

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
хуб	khub	good
на+хуб	na-khub	not good

Here is another example with the adjective "зиёд" (much):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
онҳо зиёд медонанд	onho zi:yod medonand	they know a lot
онҳо на+зиёд медонанд	onho na-zi:yod medonand	they don't know much

As you can see, we simply add "на" before the adjective to negate it.

Negating pronouns

In Tajik, we negate pronouns by using the negative particle "на" before the pronoun. For example:

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
ман	man	I
на+ман	na-man	not I (not me)

Here is another example with the pronoun "ун" (he/she):

Tajik	Pronunciation	English
ба он рафт	ba on raft	he/she went
ба на+он рафт	ba na-on raft	he/she didn't go

As you can see, we simply add "на" before the pronoun to negate it.

Other negative expressions

In Tajik, we can also use other expressions to convey negation. The most common ones are:

• "ҳеҷ" (nothing, none)
• "ҳеҷ чиз" (nothing, none)
• "кор накарда" (not done, undone)

Here are some examples:

• "Ҳеҷ пӯш мехоранд." (They don't eat anything.)
• "Ҳеҷ чиз чашмон машинӣ надоранд." (They don't have anything, not even a car.)
• "Вай кори молоҳедаро кор накарда." (He didn't do the work of his employers.)

Always remember that in Tajik, we use the negative particle "на" before the verb, adjective, pronoun or expression to make it negative.

Let's practice a little bit with a dialogue:

• Person 1: Ту бо ман сӯҳбат мекунеш? (Do you talk to me?)
• Person 2: На, ман бо ту сӯҳбат намекунам. (No, I don't talk to you.)

Summary

In this lesson, we learned how to negate verbs, adjectives, pronouns, and expressions in Tajik using the negative particle "на." We also learned some other negative expressions like "ҳеҷ" and "кор накарда." Remember to practice and ask native speakers any questions you may have.

To improve your Tajik Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Learn Tajik - Grammar and Vocabulary
• Tajik Grammar | LEARN101.ORG
• WALS Online - Language Tajik

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Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• How to Use Be
• Pronouns
• Gender
• Adjectives
• Give your Opinion
• Conditional Mood
• Plurals
• Nouns