{"id":5692,"date":"2017-01-10T20:33:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T20:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/?p=5692"},"modified":"2017-01-10T20:38:59","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T20:38:59","slug":"learning-past-tense-in-hindi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/learning-past-tense-in-hindi\/","title":{"rendered":"Tension Mat Lo, Bas Past Tense Sikho"},"content":{"rendered":"

The title of this blog, “Tension Mat Lo, Bas Past Tense Sikho”<\/strong> (“\u091f\u0947\u0902\u0936\u0928 \u092e\u0924 \u0932\u094b, \u092c\u0938 Past Tense\/\u092a\u093e\u0938\u094d\u091f \u091f\u0947\u0902\u0938 \u0938\u0940\u0916\u094b”)<\/strong>, means in “standard” Hinglish (a popular combination of Hindi and English used especially in North Indian cities today): “Don’t get tensed, just learn the past tense.”\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we move from one year to another and continue our journey learning Hindi or maybe even begin it, it seems fitting to discuss the simple past tense in Hindi. After all, you must first learn from the past before moving into the future. Although the past tense is formed slightly differently in Hindi as compared to English, with time and practice you’ll master this tense. Luckily, unlike English, Hindi has fairly straightforward and consistent grammatical rules. And, once you know these rules, there are very few exceptions. So, don’t get tensed, let’s learn Hindi’s (simple) past tense (\u0924\u094b, \u091f\u0947\u0902\u0936\u0928 \u092e\u0924 \u0932\u094b, \u0939\u092e \u0939\u093f\u0902\u0926\u0940 \u0915\u093e \u092a\u093e\u0938\u094d\u091f \u091f\u0947\u0902\u0938 \u0938\u0940\u0916 \u0932\u0947\u0902\/to, tension mat lo, hum Hindi ka past tense seekh le)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But, first, in true Bollywood fashion, let’s get some inspiration from a (educational) song and dance number (featuring the always lovely Nargis\/\u0928\u0930\u094d\u0917\u093f\u0938 in the 1955 film Shree 420<\/em>\/\u0936\u094d\u0930\u0940 \u096a\u0968\u0966<\/em>):<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PXxR1Fj-BQ0<\/a><\/p>\n

Simple Past Tense<\/h2>\n

What is known as “simple past tense” in the ever-enigmatic language known as “GrammarSpeak” is just a way of expressing an action that took place once and is over and done with. Some examples in English are as follows:<\/p>\n

I did my homework.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

He cooked dinner. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We swam in the stream. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

They went to the bazaar.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Hindi, those sentences would be translated as follows:<\/p>\n

\u092e\u0948\u0902\u0928\u0947 \u0905\u092a\u0928\u093e \u0939\u094b\u092e\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0915* \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0964<\/strong> Maine apnaa homework kiyaa.<\/em> I did my homework.<\/p>\n

*A rather formal word for “homework” that is from Sanskrit and not often used but that you might want to know anyway is “\u0917\u0943\u0939\u0915\u093e\u0930\u094d\u092f\/Grihkaarya” (masc. noun).<\/p>\n

\u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u093e\u0924 \u0915\u093e \u0916\u093e\u0928\u093e \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u093e \u0964<\/strong> Usne raat ka khaanaa pakaayaa.<\/em> He cooked dinner.<\/p>\n

\u0939\u092e \u0928\u0926\u0940 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0947\/\u0924\u0948\u0930\u0940\u0902 \u0964<\/strong> \u00a0Hum nadee me taire\/tairin.<\/em> We swam in the stream.<\/p>\n

\u0935\u0947\/\u0935\u094b* \u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 \u0917\u090f, \u0917\u092f\u0947 (alt. spelling)\/\u0917\u0908\u0902, \u0917\u092f\u0940\u0902** (alt. spelling) \u0964<\/strong> Ve\/voh bazaar gaye\/gayin.<\/em> They went to the bazaar.<\/p>\n

*While \u0935\u0947 (Ve) is technically the correct way of saying “they,” it is increasingly replaced by “\u0935\u094b” (Voh) in both casual writing and speech.<\/p>\n

**Jaanaa\/\u091c\u093e\u0928\u093e (to go) is irregular when conjugated in the simple past tense. A few other verbs in Hindi also have this irregularity. Fear not, I will go into this in my next blog.<\/p>\n

Now, you may have noticed something very important in the beginnings and endings of the above sentences:<\/p>\n

1. \u092e\u0948\u0902\u0928\u0947 ……\u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e, Maine kiyaa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947……\u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u093e, Usne pakaayaa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. \u0939\u092e……\u0924\u0948\u0930\u0947\/\u0924\u0948\u0930\u0940\u0902, Hum taire\/tairin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. \u0935\u0947\/\u0935\u094b…..\u0917\u090f, \u0917\u092f\u0947\/\u0917\u0908\u0902, \u0917\u092f\u0940\u0902, Voh\/ve gaye\/gayin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first two sentences, you have what we call in “GrammarSpeak” “transitive verbs,” which are verbs that take an object. The objects in the first two sentences are “homework” (\u0939\u094b\u092e\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0915) and “dinner,” (\u0930\u093e\u0924 \u0915\u093e \u0916\u093e\u0928\u093e\/raat ka khaanaa), respectively. When conjugating transitive verbs in the past tense, you must place the particle “\u0928\u0947” (Ne) after the subject (or person\/thing\/animal doing the action of the sentence) and conjugate the verb to agree in number (plural vs. singular) and gender with the object of the verb. The “\u0928\u0947” (Ne) basically acts as a roadblock between the subject and the verb, making it impossible for the verb to agree with the subject, so it is forced to agree with the object of the sentence. If there is no explicit object of the sentence, the verb is just conjugated as masculine singular (or “default”). You may have also noticed that “\u0928\u0947” (Ne) tends to change the pronoun that goes before it. Here is an outline of how the pronouns change slightly when followed by \u0928\u0947 (Ne):<\/p>\n

\u092e\u0948\u0902 (I) + \u0928\u0947 = \u092e\u0948\u0902\u0928\u0947<\/strong> (this is pretty straightforward) (Maine)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u0924\u0941\u092e (you, informal) + \u0928\u0947= \u0924\u0941\u092e\u0928\u0947<\/strong> (again, straightforward) (Tumne)<\/p>\n

\u0906\u092a (you, formal) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0906\u092a\u0928\u0947<\/strong> (I think you can see where this is going…) (Aapne)<\/p>\n

\u0939\u092e (we) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0939\u092e\u0928\u0947 <\/strong>(Humne)<\/p>\n

\u0935\u0939\/\u0935\u094b (He, she, it-far away) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947<\/strong> (a little bit different, but nothing we can’t work with) (Usne)<\/p>\n

\u092f\u0939 (He, she, it-close by) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0907\u0938\u0928\u0947 <\/strong>(Isne)<\/p>\n

\u0935\u0947 (They-far away) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0909\u0928\u094d\u0939\u094b\u0902\u0928\u0947 <\/strong>(Unhone)<\/p>\n

\u092f\u0947 (They-close by) + \u0928\u0947 = \u0907\u0928\u094d\u0939\u094b\u0902\u0928\u0947 <\/strong>(Inhone)<\/p>\n

Transitive verbs stand in contrast with “intransitive verbs,” which do not take an object. If you ever have a hard time determining whether or not a verb is transitive in Hindi, just think of the verb + something = Can you “do” (\u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e\/karnaa, \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e\/kiyaa=masc. singular past tense conjugation) something? Can you “cook” (\u092a\u0915\u093e\u0928\u093e\/pakaanaa, \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u093e\/pakaayaa=masc. singular past tense conjugation) something? Can you “read” something (yes, the verb “to read\/study” is transitive): \u092a\u0922\u093c\u0928\u093e\/parhnaa, \u092a\u0922\u093c\u093e\/parhaa=masc. singular past tense conjugation. Can you look at\/see something? Yes, the verb for to see or to look at (\u0926\u0947\u0916\u0928\u093e\/dekhnaa, \u0926\u0947\u0916\u093e\/dekhaa=masc. singular past tense conjugation) is also transitive!<\/p>\n

The verbs you just noticed in the above examples: \u0915\u0930\u0928\u093e\/karnaa, \u092a\u0915\u093e\u0928\u093e\/pakaanaa, \u092a\u0922\u093c\u0928\u093e\/parhnaa, \u0926\u0947\u0916\u0928\u093e\/dekhnaa are all “infinitive verbs.” In English, these are expressed as “to” + “verb”=TO do, TO cook, TO read\/study, TO see\/look at. You can also think of them as “default verbs,” that have not yet been conjugated. In Hindi, as you may already know, every person and thing has a gender and, especially in the past tense, you conjugate verbs to agree with the NUMBER and GENDER of the person or thing described. For example, in the above sentences:<\/p>\n

\u092e\u0948\u0902\u0928\u0947 \u0939\u094b\u092e\u0935\u0930\u094d\u0915 \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e\/Maine homework kiyaa \u0964<\/strong> “Homework” is a masculine, singular noun, probably because the equivalent word in Hindi, \u0917\u0943\u0939\u0915\u093e\u0930\u094d\u092f (Grihkaarya), is also masculine singular. So, the corresponding verb is conjugated to agree with the masculine, singular noun: \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e\/kiyaa. Remember, if there is no explicit object of the sentence, you simply conjugate the verb to the default, which is masculine singular, or \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e\/kiyaa. Here are conjugations for other genders and numbers:<\/p>\n

\u0915\u093f\u090f (also spelled \u0915\u093f\u092f\u0947)=masculine plural (Kiye)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0915\u0940 =feminine singular (Ki)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u0915\u0940\u0902 =feminine plural (Ki with nasalization)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, for the next sentence:<\/p>\n

\u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u093e\u0924 \u0915\u093e \u0916\u093e\u0928\u093e (masculine singular) \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u093e \u0964 (Usne raat ka khaanaa pakaayaa)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Masculine plural: \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u092a\u0915\u094b\u0921\u093c\u0947 (masc. plural, refers to meat or vegetables fried in batter) \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u0947\/\u092a\u0915\u093e\u090f (alt. spelling) \u0964 (Usne pakore pakaaye)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feminine Singular: \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u094b\u091f\u0940 (fem. sing, refers to a type of bread) \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u0940\/\u092a\u0915\u093e\u0908 (alt. spelling) \u0964 (Usne roti pakaayi)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feminine Plural: \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0930\u094b\u091f\u093f\u092f\u093e\u0901 (fem. plural) \u092a\u0915\u093e\u092f\u0940\u0902\/\u092a\u0915\u093e\u0908\u0902 (alt. spelling) \u0964 (Usne rotiyaan pakaayin)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, we come to the “Intransitive Verbs.” As I mentioned above, “intransitive verbs” are those that DO NOT take an object. Most often, they are “action” verbs, such as “to go,” “to come,” “to jump,” “to swim,”: \u091c\u093e\u0928\u093e\/jaanaa, \u0906\u0928\u093e\/aanaa, \u0915\u0942\u0926\u0928\u093e\/koodnaa, \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0928\u093e\/tairnaa. This type of verb DOES NOT take “\u0928\u0947” (Ne); thus, because there’s no roadblock between the subject and the verb (in the form of \u0928\u0947\/Ne), the verb conjugates according to the number and gender of the subject of the sentence. You’ll see what I mean with the examples below:<\/p>\n

\u0939\u092e \u0928\u0926\u0940 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0947\/\u0924\u0948\u0930\u0940\u0902 \u0964 Hum nadi me taire\/tairin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because “\u0939\u092e\/Hum” or “we” is always a plural pronoun, we conjugate it to agree with masculine or feminine plural pronouns. Because I haven’t specified here whether or not “we” refers to a group of all men or a group of all women, we have two options: \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0947\/Taire (masc. plural) and \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0940\u0902\/Tairin (fem. plural). If you have a mixed group of men and women, the verb will conjugate to agree with a masc. plural pronoun: \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0947\/Taire. Here are some other options:<\/p>\n

Masculine singular: \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0928\u0926\u0940 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0924\u0948\u0930\u093e \u0964 (Main nadee me tairaa)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feminine singular: \u0935\u0939\/\u0935\u094b* \u0928\u0926\u0940 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0924\u0948\u0930\u0940 \u0964 (Voh\/vo nadee me tairi)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

*The latter option is the more common spelling. The first spelling is technically correct but not often used now.<\/p>\n

Now for the other sentence:<\/p>\n

\u0935\u0947\/\u0935\u094b \u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 \u0917\u090f\/\u0917\u0908\u0902 \u0964 \u00a0Ve\/voh bazaar gaye\/gayin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Again, here we have a pronoun that is always plural, so we have two options: masculine plural and feminine plural. Again, if you have a mixed group of men and women, the verb will agree with a masculine plural pronoun: \u0917\u090f\/\u0917\u092f\u0947, Gaye (alt. spelling). Now let’s look at some other options:<\/p>\n

Masculine singular: \u092e\u094b\u0939\u0928 \u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 \u0917\u092f\u093e \u0964 (Mohan baazaar gayaa)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feminine singular: \u090b\u091a\u093e \u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 \u0917\u0908\/\u0917\u092f\u0940 \u0964 (Richaa baazaar gayi)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hope I’ve explained how to form the simple past tense in a way that is easy to understand. Read through this post a couple of times to make sure you understand all of the points, and then practice with these exercises (you’ll find an answer key at the bottom of the post):<\/p>\n

Simple Past Tense with Transitive Verbs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. He read the story.<\/li>\n
  2. She wrote a novel.<\/li>\n
  3. They looked at clothes.<\/li>\n
  4. We sang songs.<\/li>\n
  5. The boys broke those windows.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Simple Past Tense with Intransitive Verbs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. He woke up early this morning.<\/li>\n
    2. They (group of women) returned last night.<\/li>\n
    3. We (group of men and women) arrived in the afternoon.<\/li>\n
    4. She cried many times.<\/li>\n
    5. I brought* the dessert.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      *\u0932\u093e\u0928\u093e\/laanaa or “to bring” is an important exception to the rule of transitivity vs. intransitivity. You would think that since you can “bring” SOMETHING, \u0932\u093e\u0928\u093e\/laanaa would be transitive, but it is actually intransitive, meaning that, in the past tense, it agrees in gender and number with the subject of the sentence. This phenomenon can be partly explained by the fact that \u0932\u093e\u0928\u093e is formed from a combination of two verbs: \u0906\u0928\u093e\/aanaa (to come, intransitive) and \u0932\u0947\u0928\u093e\/lenaa (to take, transitive).<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Answer Key-Transitive Verbs:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u0939\u093e\u0928\u0940 (fem. singular noun) \u092a\u0922\u093c\u0940 \u0964 (Usne kahaani parhi)<\/li>\n
      2. \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 (\u090f\u0915: opt.) \u0909\u092a\u0928\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0938 (masc. singular noun) \u0932\u093f\u0916\u093e \u0964 (Usne (ek) upanyaas likhaa)<\/li>\n
      3. \u0909\u0928\u094d\u0939\u094b\u0902\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u092a\u0921\u093c\u0947 (masc. plural noun) \u0926\u0947\u0916\u0947 \u0964 (Unhone kapare dekhe)<\/li>\n
      4. \u0939\u092e\u0928\u0947 \u0917\u093e\u0928\u0947 (masc. plural noun) \u0917\u093e\u092f\u0947\/\u0917\u093e\u090f \u0964 (Humne gaane gaaye)<\/li>\n
      5. \u0932\u0921\u093c\u0915\u094b\u0902 \u0928\u0947 \u0935\u0947\/\u0935\u094b \u0916\u093f\u0921\u093c\u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e\u0901 (fem. plural noun) \u0924\u094b\u0921\u093c\u0940\u0902 \u0964 (Larko ne ve\/voh khirkiyaan torin)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Answer Key-Intransitive Verbs:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \u0935\u0939 (masc. singular) \u0906\u091c \u0938\u0941\u092c\u0939 \u092c\u0939\u0941\u0924 \u091c\u0932\u094d\u0926\u0940 \u0909\u0920\u093e \u0964 (Voh aaj subah bahut jaldi uthaa)<\/li>\n
        2. \u0935\u0947\/\u0935\u094b (fem. plural) \u0915\u0932 \u0930\u093e\u0924 \u0932\u094c\u091f\u0940\u0902 \u0964 (Voh\/vo kal raat lautin)<\/li>\n
        3. \u0939\u092e (masc. plural) \u0926\u094b\u092a\u0939\u0930 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u092a\u0939\u0901\u091a\u0947 \u0964 (Hum dopeher me pahuche)<\/li>\n
        4. \u0935\u0939\/\u0935\u094b (fem. singular) \u092c\u0939\u0941\u0924 \u092c\u093e\u0930 \u0930\u094b\u092f\u0940 \u0964 (Voh\/vo bahut baar royi)<\/li>\n
        5. \u092e\u0948\u0902* \u092e\u093f\u0920\u093e\u0908 \u0932\u093e\u092f\u0940\/\u0932\u093e\u092f\u093e \u0964 (Main mithaai laayi\/laaya)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          *depending on what gender you would like “I” or “\u092e\u0948\u0902\/Main” to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The title of this blog, “Tension Mat Lo, Bas Past Tense Sikho” (“\u091f\u0947\u0902\u0936\u0928 \u092e\u0924 \u0932\u094b, \u092c\u0938 Past Tense\/\u092a\u093e\u0938\u094d\u091f \u091f\u0947\u0902\u0938 \u0938\u0940\u0916\u094b”), means in “standard” Hinglish (a popular combination of Hindi and English used especially in North Indian cities today): “Don’t get tensed, just learn the past tense.”\u00a0 As we move from one year to another and…<\/p>\n

          Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3792,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5692","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-hindi-language","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5692"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5705,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5692\/revisions\/5705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}