ABSTRACT
Notice two things about these sentences. First, UrdulHindi, unlike English, has no separate fonns for 'he' and' she'. IT!:! can mean either. (in these sentences the fonn of the verb tells you which is meant-unlike English, where the form of the verb is the same regardless of whether the subject is male or female.) That is why very many South Asians, even those who speak English well, have trouble with our English 'he' and 'she' and are quite likely to use 'he' for both. You've already seen in Unit 1 that, similarly, X!l ka means both 'his' and 'her'. - Secondly, notice that the verb fonns used with 'you' and 'he/ she' -212 and J:J:h1-are both plural forms. (This too, you've already met) We don't usually notice it, but English 'you' is also really a plural fonn. (We don't say 'you lives'. We say 'You live'.) In Urdu the plural is regularly used for courtesy, and not only in the second person ('you') but in the third person ('she, he') as well. If
1. H. ye.
