Kurmanji Grammar Series — Lesson 05. A detailed English-language introduction to Kurdish verbs, with Kurmanji grammatical terminology, examples, comparison charts, exercises and answer key. Download the illustrated six-page PDF workbook.
Learning goals — Armancên fêrbûnê
Recognize infinitives; distinguish present and past stems; identify person/number endings, prefixes and negation; contrast transitive and intransitive verbs; understand the basics of past-tense alignment; and prepare for the separate tense and modal-verb lessons.
1. What is a verb? — Lêker çi ye?
A verb expresses an action, event, process or state. Kurmanji verbs can encode tense, aspect, mood, person and number. Compare Ez diçim. (I go / am going), Ew radizê. (He/she sleeps), and Em dixwînin. (We read / are reading). English tense and aspect translations are approximate.
2. Infinitives — Navdêrên lêkerî / Masdar
Dictionary verbs frequently end in -in or -în: kirin (do/make), xwarin (eat), nivîsîn (write), dîtin (see), çûn (go), hatin (come), xwendin (read/study), zanîn (know), and bûn (be/become). Infinitives are citation forms rather than ordinary finite present forms.
| Infinitive | English | Present stem | Past stem |
|---|---|---|---|
| kirin | do / make | k- | kir- |
| xwarin | eat | xw- | xwar- |
| dîtin | see | bîn- | dît- |
| çûn | go | ç- | çû- |
| xwendin | read/study | xwîn- | xwend- |
| nivîsîn | write | nivîs- | nivîsî- |
3. Two stems — Du rehên lêkerê
Many Kurmanji verbs have distinct present and past stems. The present stem cannot always be predicted by removing the infinitive ending. The forms in the table are simplified teaching representations; some verbs exhibit stem allomorphy and dialect variation.
4. A working verb dictionary — Ferhenga lêkeran
For each verb, record its infinitive, present stem, past stem, transitivity, and a full example sentence. This is more reliable than memorizing an English translation alone.
5. Person and number — Kes û hejmar
Finite verbs commonly show agreement. In a regular present-indicative paradigm, dixwînim (I read), dixwînî (you singular read), dixwîne (he/she reads), and dixwînin (we/you plural/they read) illustrate how endings encode person and number. Some plural endings coincide, so pronouns and context may clarify the subject.
6. Present indicative — Dema niha
A widespread present-indicative pattern is di- + present stem + agreement: Ez dixwînim., Tu dixwînî., Ew dixwîne., Em dixwînin. This is a teaching generalization, not a universal mechanical rule. Motion verbs, bûn, and certain prefixed verbs have special patterns. Lesson 06 covers present tense in depth.
7. Past forms — Reha dema borî
The past stem is central to many past forms. For intransitive çûn: Ez çûm. (I went), Tu çûyî. (You went), Ew çû. (He/she went). Compare the transitive past Min kitêb xwend. (I read a book). Past transitive agents typically appear in oblique case, unlike the direct-form agent in a typical present clause.
8. Transitive and intransitive verbs — Lêkerên gerguhêz û negerguhêz
Transitive verbs take a direct object: Ez kitêbê dixwînim. (I read the book). Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object in their basic frame: Ez diçim. (I go). This matters in the past: Ez çûm but Min ew dît. A verb can take other kinds of complements without being transitive.
9. Case alignment — Rewşa tewandî û ergatîvî
Compare Ez te dibînim (I see you) with Min tu dîtî (I saw you). In the present transitive construction, the agent is direct and the object oblique. In the canonical past transitive construction, the agent is oblique and the object direct; agreement follows the direct object. This is part of Kurmanji’s split alignment. Dialectal varieties can differ.
| Present transitive | Past transitive |
|---|---|
| Ez te dibînim. — I see you. | Min tu dîtî. — I saw you. |
10. Negation — Neyînî
Negation is construction-dependent. In a common present-indicative pattern, na- replaces di-: Ez dixwînim (I read) versus Ez naxwînim (I do not read). In a simple past form, ne- is common: Ez çûm versus Ez neçûm. Imperatives, subjunctives and some lexical items have other patterns.
11. Commands and subjunctive — Ferman û mercî
Commands and non-indicative forms often use a different prefix pattern. Compare Bixwîne! (Read! singular) and Bixwînin! (Read! plural). The prefix bi- is widespread in affirmative imperative/subjunctive forms, but not universal. Full treatment follows in a later lesson.
12. The verb bûn — Lêkera bûn
Bûn is frequent and irregular, with uses corresponding to “be” and “become” depending on construction. Present copular endings can attach to predicates: Ez xwendekar im. (I am a student), Tu xwendekar î. (You are a student), Ew xwendekar e. (He/she is a student), Em xwendekar in. (We are students). Distinguish bound copula endings from the independent infinitive.
13. Compound verbs — Lêkerên hevedudanî
Kurmanji often combines a nominal or adjectival component with a light verb such as kirin or bûn. For example, kar kirin means “to work.” The verbal element carries inflection, while the other part contributes lexical meaning. Learn common combinations as phrases.
14. Modal meanings — Wateyên modal
Ability, necessity, desire, permission and possibility are not all expressed by a uniform English-style modal auxiliary. Karîn is associated with ability, xwestin with wanting, and divê with necessity. Their complement structures and mood requirements differ. Lesson 10 will examine modal verbs and modal expressions independently.
15. Common errors — Çewtiyên gelemperî
Avoid assuming that all present stems are infinitives minus -in; using ez in every sentence translated “I”; using na- in every tense; omitting person endings; treating infinitives as finite verbs; and assuming English progressive forms map exactly to Kurmanji forms.
16. Dialogues — Axaftinên kurt
Daily activity: A: Tu çi dikî? (What are you doing?) B: Ez dixwînim. (I am reading.) A: Tu her roj dixwînî? (Do you read every day?) B: Erê, ez her roj dixwînim. (Yes, I read every day.)
Yesterday: A: Tu duh çûyî? (Did you go yesterday?) B: Erê, ez çûm. (Yes, I went.) A: Te kitêb xwend? (Did you read a book?) B: Erê, min kitêb xwend. (Yes, I read a book.)
17. Exercises — Rahênan
A. Identify infinitives: xwarin, dixwînim, çûn, dîtin, naxwîne, kirin.
B. Give present and past stems of kirin, dîtin, xwarin and çûn.
C. Translate: Ez dixwînim; Ez naxwînim; Ez çûm; Min ew dît.
D. Choose ez or min: ___ diçim; ___ ew dît; ___ te dibînim; ___ kitêb xwend.
E. Explain why “I” may correspond to ez or min.
F. Identify transitivity of çûn, dîtin and xwendin (“read a book”).
G. Negate Ez dixwînim.
H. Explain why divê, karîn and xwestin need separate grammatical analysis.
18. Answer key — Bersiv
A. xwarin, çûn, dîtin, kirin.
B. kirin: k-/kir-; dîtin: bîn-/dît-; xwarin: xw-/xwar-; çûn: ç-/çû- (simplified representations).
C. I read/am reading; I do not read; I went; I saw him/her.
D. ez; min; ez; min.
E. Split alignment: canonical past transitive agents are oblique.
F. çûn intransitive; dîtin transitive; xwendin transitive in this frame.
G. Ez naxwînim.
H. They have different meanings and grammatical behavior.
19. References — Çavkanî
Recommended reference works: Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin (2018), research overview of Kurdish; Geoffrey Haig (2018), Northern Kurdish (Kurmanjî): An Areal Perspective; and W. M. Thackston (2006), Kurmanji Kurdish: A Reference Grammar. The lesson is a pedagogical synthesis, and dialect-sensitive examples should be checked by a proficient Kurmanji editor.
20. What comes next? — Piştî vê dersê
Lesson 06: Present Tense; 07: Past Tense; 08: Future Tense; 09: Perfect and Compound Tenses; 10: Modal Verbs and Modal Expressions.
PDF resource: Download Lesson 05 — Verbs (Lêker).
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