Grammar

 

Basic morphosyntax

 

Nouns

Balochi has no gender distinctions in the noun system. The case forms in Balochi are direct case, oblique case, genitive case, object case, and vocative case. Direct case is used for subjects of intransitive verbs and for transitive verbs in the present-future tense as well as for all direct objects in the past tense and for indefinite direct objects in the present-future tense as well. Oblique case is used for definite direct and indirect objects in the present-future tense, subjects of transitive verbs in the past tense, and objects of prepositions. Object case is used for indirect objects in the past tense. Gentive case is used for genitive attributes and objects of postpositions. Vocative case is used for direct address.

 

Singular Plural
Direct case mát ‘mother’ مات mát مات
Oblique case mátá ماتا mátán ماتان
Object case mátárá ماتارا mátáná ماتانا
Genitive case mátay ماتئے mátáni ماتانی
Vocative case mát مات mátán ماتان

 

The basic form of a noun denotes either a generic or a definite concept. To denote a singular indefinite, often specific entity the specificity clitic =é is added to the noun.

 

mát > máté مات < ماتے mother > a mother
shap > shapé شپ < شپے night > a night

 

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives in Balochi have two forms, the basic form and the attributive form. Most adjectives add the suffix -én to the basic form when they stand in attributive position. Adverbs can occasionally take the attributive suffix -én.

 

Basic form Attributive form English gloss
warná ورنا warnáén ورناێن ‘young’
pir پیر pirén پیرێن ‘old’
ráhat راهت ráhatén راهتێن ‘comfortable’
mazan مزن mazanén مزنێن ‘big’
kasán کسان kasánén کسانێن ‘small’

 

The comparative form of adjectives and adverbs is formed by adding -ter to the basic form. The attributive comparative form adds -én to the comparative form. It is also used as the superlative form.

 

Basic form Comparative form Attributive comparative form

Superlative form
warná ورنا warnáter ورناتر warnáterén ورناترێن
pir پیر pirter پیرتر pirterén پیرترێن
mazan مزن master مستر masterén مسترێن
kasán کسان kaster کستر kasterén کسترێن

 

Pronouns

The pronominal system in Balochi consists of personal pronouns for the 1st and 2nd persons and demonstrative pronouns of proximal and distal deixis that function as personal pronouns for the 3rd person. In the 1st person plural Balochi has two pronouns, one which is commonly used as the default pronoun and one inclusive which is used when the emphasis is on the fact that both the speaker(s) and the addressee(s) are included. The 3rd person demonstrative pronouns can also be used as demonstrative determiners.

The conjunction of the personal pronouns and demonstrative pronouns is slightly different from each other. In the 1st and 2nd persons, direct/oblique case form is used for all subjects and objects of prepositions. Object case is used for direct and indirect objects and gentive case is used for genitive attributes and objects of postpositions.  In the 3rd person, the case forms are used in the same way as the case forms of nouns.

 

Person Direct/oblique Object Genitive
1SG man من maná منا mani منی
2SG taw تئو tará ترا tai تئیی
1PL com. má ما márá مارا may مئے
1PL incl. máshomá ماشما máshomárá ماشمارا mayshomay مئیشمئے
2PL shomá شما shomárá شمارا shomay شمئے

 

 

Person Direct Oblique Object Genitive
3SG prox. é اے eshiá اِشیا eshiárá اِشیارا eshiay اِشیئے
3SG dist. á آ áiá آییا áiárá آییارا áiay آییئے
3PL prox. é اے eshán اِشان eshiárá اِشیارا eshiay اِشیئے
3PL dist. á آ áyán آیان áyáná آیانا áyáni آیانی

 

Balochi has enclitic pronouns, which attach to one of the other constituents in the clause, normally to the first non-subject element in the clause. They can function as subject of transitive verbs in the past tense, direct and indirect objects in the present-future tense, genitive attributes and objects of postpostions.

 

Person Latin script Arabic script
1SG =on =ُن
SG =et =ِت
3SG =i =ی
1PL =en =ِن
2PL =ó =ۆ
3PL =esh =ِش

 

The reflexive pronoun is wat and it functions in all persons. There are two interrogative pronouns in Balochi, kay ‘who’ (declined) denoting a person and ché ‘what’ (not declined) denoting a thing. The indefinite pronouns in Balochi that refer to persons are harkas ‘everybody, all’, hechkas/kass ‘nobody’, and dega ‘someone else, another one’.

 

Adpositions

In Balochi there are both prepositions and postpositions. Objects of prepositions take the oblique case and objects of postpositions take the genitive case. The most common ones are pa ‘for’, gón ‘with’, cha ‘from, than’, and mán ‘in’. There is a large number of postpositions in Balochi. They are originally nouns in the oblique case, which show location or direction, and they therefore end in the oblique case ending -á.

 

Balochi Latin Balochi Arabic Gloss
tahá تها ‘in, into’
tóká تۆکا ‘in, into’
talá تلا ‘in, inside’
poshtá پُشتا ‘behind, after’
démá دێما ‘in front of, against’
chérá چێرا ‘under’
kerrá کرّا ‘beside, at the side of’
nyámá نیاما ‘between, among’
sará سرا ‘on’

 

Numeral

The cardinal numerals are as follows:

0 sepr سِپر 30 si سی
1 yak یک 31 si o yak سی و یک
2 do دو 32 si o do سی و دو
3 say سئے 40 chel چِل
4 chár چار 50 panjáh پنجاه
5 panch پنچ 60 shast شست
6 shash شش 70 haptád هپتاد
7 hapt هپت 80 hashtád هشتاد
8 hasht هشت 90 nawad نئود
9 noh نه 100 yaksad, sad یکسد، سد
10 dah ده 101 sad o yak سد و یک
11 yázdah یازده 110 sad o dah سد و ده
12 dwázdah دوازده 120 sad o bist سد و بیست
13 sézdah سێزده 200 dosad دوسد
14 chárdah چارده 300 sésad سێسد
15 pánzdah پانزده 400 chársad چارسد
16 shánzdah شانزده 500 panchsad پنچسد
17 habdah هبده 600 shashsad ششسد
18 hazhdah هژده 700 haptsad هپتسد
19 nózdah نۆزده 800 hashtsad هشتسد
20 bist بیست 900 nohsad نهسد
21 bist o yak بیست و یک 1 000 hazár هزار
22 bist o do بیست و دو 2 000 do hazár دو هزار
23 bist o say بیست و سئے 5 000 panch hazár پنچ هزار
24 bist o char بیست و چار 10 000 dah hazár ده هزار
25 bist o panch بیست و پنچ 100 000 yak lakk یک لکّ
26 bist o shash بیست و شش 1 000 000 yak milyun یک میلیون
27 bist o hapt بیست و هپت 10 000 000 yak korórh یک کرۆڑ

Ordinal numerals add the suffix -(o)mi to the cardinal numeral. Only the first ordinal numeral is irregular. Some consonants are geminated when the ending -omi is added.

1st awali ائولی 20th bistomi بیستمی
2nd domi دومی 21st bist o yakkomi بیست و یکّمی
3rd saymi سئیمی 22nd bist o domi بیست و دومی
4th cháromi چارمی 30th siomi سیمی
5th panchomi پنچمی 40th chellomi چلّمی
6th shashomi ششمی 50th panjáhomi پنجاهمی
7th haptomi هپتمی 60th shastomi شستمی
8th hashtomi هشتمی 70th haptádomi هپتادمی
9th nohomi نهمی 80th hashtádomi هشتادمی
10th dahomi دهمی 90th nawadomi نئودمی
11th yázdahomi یازدهمی 100th sadomi سدمی
12th dwázdahomi دوازدهمی 1 000th hazáromi هزارمی