When to use it
Use it before paying in a shop or dhaba, when you are unsure cash is taken.
The sentence in English — “Can I pay in cash or only by card?”
In “Can I pay in cash or only by card?” two different prepositions appear, ‘in’ and ‘by’, and ‘only’ comes before ‘by’.
- Can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission; it opens the question
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- pay
- verbpay · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · main verb after "can"
- in
- prepositionpreposition
- cash
- noununcountable noun; money in notes and coins
- or
- coordinating conjunctioncoordinating conjunction
- only
- adverbadverb
- by
- prepositionpreposition
- card
- nounnoun; a bank card
The sentence in Punjabi — “ਕੀ ਨਕਦ ਭੁਗਤਾਨ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜਾਂ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਕਾਰਡ ਨਾਲ?”
In “ਕੀ ਨਕਦ ਭੁਗਤਾਨ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜਾਂ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਕਾਰਡ ਨਾਲ?” the subject is ‘ਭੁਗਤਾਨ’ (payment), so ‘ਸਕਦਾ’ (can) is masculine for it, not for the speaker. ‘ਕਾਰਡ ਨਾਲ’ (with a card) puts the postposition after the noun.
- ਕੀ
- particlequestion marker, about how to pay
- ਨਕਦ
- adjective'cash'
- ਭੁਗਤਾਨ
- nounmasculine 'payment'
- ਹੋ
- verbਹੋਣਾ · form: stem · ਭੁਗਤਾਨ ਹੋਣਾ = payment to take place
- ਸਕਦਾ
- auxiliary verbਸਕਣਾ · form: masculine singular · masculine for ਭੁਗਤਾਨ, not for the speaker
- ਹੈ
- auxiliary verbਹੋਣਾ · tense: present · ends the first half, before the comma
- ਜਾਂ
- coordinating conjunction'or'
- ਸਿਰਫ਼
- adverb'only'
- ਕਾਰਡ
- noun'card'
- ਨਾਲ
- preposition'with', by card
English × Punjabi — What changes from one language to the other
English says ‘I pay’; Punjabi asks whether a cash payment can happen, using just ‘ਨਾਲ’.
Example conversation
— ਕੀ ਨਕਦ ਭੁਗਤਾਨ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ, ਜਾਂ ਸਿਰਫ਼ ਕਾਰਡ ਨਾਲ?
— Can I pay in cash or only by card?
— ਨਕਦ ਵੀ ਚੱਲੇਗਾ, ਯੂਪੀਆਈ ਵੀ।
— Cash is fine, UPI too.