Appendix:Urdu verbal derivation
Urdu has a productive verbal derivation process that is applied to both inherited and borrowed verbs. It is characterised by the use of certain suffixes as well as vowel gradation (ablaut).
Intransitive
[edit]Intransitive verbal derivations usually treat the subject as the lexical-semantic patient or theme of the verb, i.e. they are passive forms of the verb they are derived from; the subject is the one upon whom the verb acts.
These generally take the full grade of their internal vowel. In case where the stem ends in a vowel, a -l- is inserted between the stem and ending for the passivized form.
| Vowel change | Original | New |
|---|---|---|
| ā→a | جاگنا (jāgnā, “to awaken”) | جگنا (jagnā, “to wake up”) (less agentive) |
| ī→i | چِیرنا (cīrnā, “to split, rend”) | چِرنا (cirnā, “to be split”) |
| ū→u | چُوسنا (cūsnā, “to suck”) | چُسنا (cusnā, “to be sucked”) |
| e→i | چھیڑنا (cheṛnā, “to tease, annoy”) | چِھڑنا (chiṛnā, “to be teased, annoyed”) |
| ai→i | ||
| o→u | گھولنا (gholnā, “to melt, cause to melt”) | گُھلنا (ghulnā, “to be melted, to melt by itself”) |
| دھونا (dhonā, “to wash”) | دُھلنا (dhulnā, “to be washed”) | |
| au→u |
Transitive
[edit]These take either the lengthened grade or the suffix ـانا (-ānā).
Causative
[edit]These take either the suffix ـانا (-ānā) on the intransitive form or their stems are augmented by وا (vā).
Second causative
[edit]Their stems are augmented by وا (vā). Not every verb has one. Their meaning is of the form "to cause x to make y do something (to z)". The y is an animate, agentive instrument.