Auxiliary Verb
In Punjabi, there are two auxiliary verbs – ਹੈ hai for present tense and ਸੀ sī for past tense. All the forms of these two auxiliary verbs can equally be used for both the genders. For future tense in sentences, EGA form of main verb is used and in those sentences auxiliary verb is thus not used. There are two Punjabi auxiliary verbs, ਹੈਗਾ haigā and ਸੀਗਾ sīgā, which change forms with gender. ਹੈਗਾ haigā and ਹੈਗੀ haigī are present tense forms for masculine and feminine gender respectively. Corresponding forms for past tense are ਸੀਗਾ sīgā and ਸੀਗੀ sīgī.
Grammatical categories
Auxiliary verbs change forms with number and person.
Number
There are two numbers – singular and plural.
Person
There are three persons – first, second, and third, for which Punjabi auxiliary verbs change forms.
Various forms of present tense auxiliary ਹੈ hai are ਹਾਂ hāṃ (first person form for singular and plural numbers), ਹੈਂ haiṃ (singular second person), ਹੋ hō (plural second person), ਹੈ hai (singular third person), and ਹਨ han (plural third person). There are two infrequent forms of ਹੈ hai – ਹਓ haō (plural second person) and ਹੈਣ haiṇ (plural third person).
Various forms of past tense auxiliary ਸੀ sī are ਸੀ sī (applicable for all three persons and both the numbers), ਸਾਂ sāṃ (singular and plural numbers for first person), ਸਨ san (plural third person), ਸੋ sō (plural second person), ਸੈਂ saiṃ (singular second person). Some less frequently used forms of ਸੀ sī are ਸਓ saō, ਸਾਓ sāō, and ਸਉ sau. These three forms are used with second person plural subjects in sentences.
ਹੈਸੀ haisī and ਹੈਸਣ haisaṇ are two past tense auxiliary verbs used respectively with singular and plural forms of third persons. These forms, like the forms of ਹੈ hai and ਸੀ sī, can be used with both the genders.
Some colloquial present tense auxiliaries are used in place of the corresponding forms of ਹੈ hai. These colloquial forms are more prominent in informal speech than writing. ਆਂ āṃ (singular first person and plural second person), ਏਂ ēṃ (singular first person), ਓ ō (plural second person), ਏ ē (singular first person), and ਨੇ nē (plural second person) constitute these colloquial forms applicable for both the genders.
Different forms of gender specific auxiliary verbs are ਹੈਗਾ haigā (masculine, present tense) – ਹੈਗਾ haigā (singular), ਹੈਗੇ haigē (plural); ਹੈਗੀ haigī (feminine present tense) – ਹੈਗੀ haigī (singular), ਹੈਗੀਆਂ haigīāṃ (plural); ਸੀਗਾ sīgā (masculine past tense) – ਸੀਗਾ sīgā (singular), ਸੀਗੇ sīgē (plural); ਸੀਗੀ sīgī(feminine past tense) – ਸੀਗੀ sīgī (singular), ਸੀਗੀਆਂ sīgīāṃ (plural). All these forms are applicable for all the three persons.