-ਆਂ

The plural cases for feminine nouns appear to be cognate with Hindi -इयाँ (-iyā̃) and ultimately inherited from Sanskrit -इकाः (-ikāḥ), the nominative plural of -इका (-ikā). However, Hindi declensions of -ई (-ī) stems shorten the vowel to -इ (-i) for plural oblique and vocative cases, which does not occur in related cases in Punjabi.

The plural cases for masculine unextended nouns are likely inherited from Apabhramsa -आनं (-āṇaṃ), a plural genitive case for masculine -अ (-a) stems. Given their different ending compared to similar stems in Hindi, and their different usage compared to feminine nouns (see usage notes), they are probably influenced by the Persian plural suffixes ـان (-ân), ـیان (-yân), which have similar usage rules. Although the suffix is unlikely to be borrowed outright, such a sound change would not be unprecedented: see Persian میان (miyân) to Punjabi ਮੀਆਂ (mīā̃).

-ਆਂ • (-ā̃)

1. case ending for masculine unextended nouns:
   1. plural direct case (see usage notes)
   2. plural oblique case
2. case ending for feminine nouns:
   1. plural direct case
   2. plural oblique case

• For masculine unextended nouns only, the suffix is used in the plural direct case when it's otherwise unclear that the noun is plural. In any other case where the plurality of the noun is clear, it is excluded. Due to this fluid usage, this suffix is excluded from the plural direct case on noun declension tables for masculine unextended nouns. This does not apply to the plural oblique case, which is always suffixed. Here are some common cases where the suffix is excluded from a masculine unextended noun in the plural direct case:
  1. The plural noun is preceded by a numeral or a counting adjective such as ਕੋਈ (koī, “some”) or ਕਈ (kaī, “many”) which indicates multiplicity.
  2. The plural noun is adjacent to another noun marked by the genitive case postposition ਦੇ (de), which is inflected for plural number and masculine gender and thus agrees with the head noun. For example, the name of ਵਾਰਿਸ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ (vāris pañjāb de, “Heir[s] of Punjab”), which can also be written as ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਵਾਰਿਸ (pañjāb de vāris). Notice that ਵਾਰਿਸ (vāris) is missing the suffix despite being plural, as the postposition's inflection already indicates that information.
  3. The plural noun is the subject of a verb which is conjugated to indicate a plural number, so by subject-verb agreement, the noun is understood to be plural.
• The above notes do not hold for feminine nouns in general. For example, in the name of ਭਾਈ ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ਦੀਆਂ ਵਾਰਾਂ (bhāī gurdās dīā̃ vārā̃, “The Ballads of Bhai Gurdas”), both the feminine head noun ਵਾਰ (vār) and the genitive postposition ਦੀ (dī) of the other noun, which agree with each other, have this suffix.
• For masculine extended nouns ending in -ਆ (-ā), the singular oblique case -ਏ (-ē) shortens to -ਇ (-i) when suffixed with -ਆਂ (-ā̃) to form -ਇਆਂ (-iā̃).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

-ਆਂ • (-ā̃)

1. Marks the first-person singular and plural subjunctive.

   Synonym: -ਊਂ (-ū̃, dialectal first-person singular subjunctive)

   ‎ਕਰ (kar, “do”, verb stem) + ‎-ਆਂ (-ā̃) → ‎ਕਰਾਂ (karā̃)