ham ... ham

Both ... and

Level 3

ham A, ham B = both A and B: ham arzon, ham sifatli (both cheap and good quality).

How It Works

1. Joining actions
U ham oʻqiydi, ham ishlaydi. (She both studies and works.)

2. Joining descriptions
Bu kurtka ham arzon, ham sifatli. (This jacket is both cheap and good quality.)

3. Joining nouns
With nouns, ham often comes after each one: Bayramga Anvar ham, Dilnoza ham keldi. (Both Anvar and Dilnoza came to the party.) Before each noun is also fine: Uyda ham choy, ham qahva bor. (We have both tea and coffee at home.)

4. More than two items
Keep adding ham: olma ham, oʻrik ham, shaftoli ham (apples, apricots and peaches alike).

5. Neither ... nor
For a negative, keep the two ham words and make the verb negative: Choy ham, qahva ham ichmayman. (I drink neither tea nor coffee.) Uzbek also has Neither ... Nor.

6. One ham means also
A single Also, Too means also or too: Men ham. (Me too.) To join two items plainly, use And. For not only ... but also, see Not Only ... But Also.

Examples (6)

  1. U ham oʻqiydi, ham ishlaydi.

    She both studies and works.

    Word by Word: she both studies, and works

  2. Bu kurtka ham arzon, ham sifatli.

    This jacket is both cheap and good quality.

  3. Men ham oʻzbekcha, ham ruscha gapiraman.

    I speak both Uzbek and Russian.

  4. Bayramga Anvar ham, Dilnoza ham keldi.

    Both Anvar and Dilnoza came to the party.

    Here ham comes after each name. Both orders are correct.

  5. Uyda ham choy, ham qahva bor.

    We have both tea and coffee at home.

  6. Kecha yomgʻir ham yogʻdi, qor ham yogʻdi.

    Yesterday it both rained and snowed.

Common Mistakes

  • Using ham ... ham with a positive verb to mean neither ... nor.

    Ham choy, ham qahva ichaman.
    Choy ham, qahva ham ichmayman.

    The speaker means I drink neither tea nor coffee. The incorrect sentence says I drink both. For a negative meaning, the verb must be negative.

  • Leaving out the comma between the two parts in writing.

    U ham oʻqiydi ham ishlaydi.
    U ham oʻqiydi, ham ishlaydi.

    Uzbek punctuation separates the parts joined by a repeated ham with a comma.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ham ... hamLevel 3Both ... and

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Builds on Also, Too.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ham