Divêtî · What needs to happen
Say what someone must or should do.
By the end of this lessonBuild necessity statements with divê and distinguish negative action from lack of necessity.
The idea
Use divê + subject + subjunctive verb: Divê ez bixwînim. Divê stays unchanged; the action verb agrees with its subject. For the regular verbs here, use bi- + present stem + person ending. Gereke can also introduce necessity.
See it in a sentence
Divê tu neçî means you must not / should not go. It does not mean you do not have to go. This lesson practices present necessity, not past obligation or every dialectal variant.
Build it step by step
- Decide whether you are describing an action, a wish or a requirement. Dixwînim describes reading; dixwazim bixwînim expresses wanting; divê ez bixwînim expresses necessity.
- Keep divê fixed and name the person who needs to act. Build the following verb in the subjunctive; its ending belongs to that person, not to divê.
- For a requirement not to act, negate the action: Divê tu nexwînî. The requirement remains; only reading is negative. This is not the same as permission to skip reading.
| Subject | Need to read | Need not to read |
|---|---|---|
| ez | divê ez bixwînim | divê ez nexwînim |
| tu | divê tu bixwînî | divê tu nexwînî |
| ew (singular) | divê ew bixwîne | divê ew nexwîne |
| em / hûn | divê em / hûn bixwînin | divê em / hûn nexwînin |
Take a sentence apart
necessity marker: unchanged
the people who need to act
subjunctive with plural agreement
English often puts “must” after the subject and leaves the next verb uninflected. In this Kurmanji pattern, divê is fixed but the action verb carries a person ending.
A common trap
Incorrect: Divê em dixwînin.
Correct: Divê em bixwînin.
Divê takes a subjunctive complement here. Change di- to bi- while keeping the plural -in.
Grammar reference: Thackston, § 16.1 · Subjunctive after necessity expressions