I can make polite requests and say “don't” — with sen, with siz, and to several people — and ask for and give directions: straight, right, left, as far as the intersection.
Requests and directions: kel, keling, kelinglar
Requests and directions: kel, keling, kelinglar
Requests, advice, and directions use the imperative (the command form). English commands have no “you”, but Uzbek picks the form by who you're talking to. To one person you call sen, say just the stem — the dictionary form without -moq: kel “come”, yoz “write”, ishla “work”.
With siz — and with anyone you call aka, opa, or xola — add an ending to the stem:
• after a vowel -ng: ishlang, uxlang
• after a consonant -ing: keling, yuring, yozing
To several people at once: -nglar or -inglar: ishlanglar, kelinglar.
You already know such forms: tanishing “meet…”, sogʻ boʻling “take care”. The words iltimos (when you ask) and marhamat (when you invite) add politeness: Marhamat, keling.
In class you'll hear four requests: oʻqing “read”, yozing “write”, tinglang “listen”, takrorlang “repeat”.
Directions take three words: toʻgʻriga “straight ahead”, oʻngga “to the right”, chapga “to the left” (oʻng and chap with the “where to” ending).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Dilnoza opa, kel” → Dilnoza opa, keling
• NOT “ishlaing” → ishlang
• NOT “kelng” → keling
Requests: to one person with sen, to one person with siz, to several people
After a vowel -ng, after a consonant -ing.
| Verb | sen | siz | to several people |
|---|---|---|---|
| kelmoq | kel | keling | kelinglar |
| yurmoq | yur | yuring | yuringlar |
| yozmoq | yoz | yozing | yozinglar |
| ishlamoq | ishla | ishlang | ishlanglar |
| uxlamoq | uxla | uxlang | uxlanglar |
How to give directions
| In Uzbek | In English |
|---|---|
| toʻgʻriga yuring | go straight |
| oʻngga buriling | turn right |
| chapga buriling | turn left |
| …, keyin … | …, then … |
| chorrahagacha | as far as the intersection |
| koʻchadan oʻting | cross the street |
| svetoforga qarang | look at the traffic light |
| shu yerda toʻxtang | stop here |
Lesson notes
Requests and directions: kel, keling, kelinglar
Requests, advice, and directions use the imperative (the command form). English commands have no “you”, but Uzbek picks the form by who you're talking to. To one person you call sen, say just the stem — the dictionary form without -moq: kel “come”, yoz “write”, ishla “work”.
With siz — and with anyone you call aka, opa, or xola — add an ending to the stem:
• after a vowel -ng: ishlang, uxlang
• after a consonant -ing: keling, yuring, yozing
To several people at once: -nglar or -inglar: ishlanglar, kelinglar.
You already know such forms: tanishing “meet…”, sogʻ boʻling “take care”. The words iltimos (when you ask) and marhamat (when you invite) add politeness: Marhamat, keling.
In class you'll hear four requests: oʻqing “read”, yozing “write”, tinglang “listen”, takrorlang “repeat”.
Directions take three words: toʻgʻriga “straight ahead”, oʻngga “to the right”, chapga “to the left” (oʻng and chap with the “where to” ending).
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Dilnoza opa, kel” → Dilnoza opa, keling
• NOT “ishlaing” → ishlang
• NOT “kelng” → keling
Saying “don't”: -ma
To say “don't do it”, put -ma after the stem — the same negative as in tushunmayman. With sen nothing else is needed: kelma “don't come”, yozma “don't write”. With siz, -ng follows -ma: kelmang, yozmang. To several people: kelmanglar.
There is no separate word for “don't”: the negative is inside the verb. The stress doesn't fall on -ma.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “keling emas” → kelmang
• NOT “yoʻq keling” → kelmang
• NOT “kelmaing” → kelmang