The Meaning and Usage of Causal Verbs in Urdu and Panjabi

Extract

The causal of an intransitive verb means to cause someone or something to perform the action which the intr. verb indicates: calnā “ function ”, calānā “ cause something to function ”. About this there is no debate. The question of causals of tr. verbs is not so easy. It is important to be entirely practical, and if we cannot get universal rules we must try to make general rules helpful to both students and scholars. To this end we must, as far as possible, use well-known words, and use them in their ordinary sense. New grammatical terms or old ones with new meanings are, worse than useless. A student says: “ How am I to express ‘; make him sleep, make him do it ’ ? May I say usko sulāo, usko karāo ? If not, tell me what to say, and give me a rule for it which I can easily follow.” He is entitled to a reply; more than that, he is entitled to a reply which will be. of real use to him.