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Hindustani verbs

Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) verbs conjugate according to mood, tense, person, number, and gender. Hindustani inflection is markedly simpler in comparison to Sanskrit, from which Hindustani has inherited its verbal conjugation system (through Prakrit). Aspect-marking participles in Hindustani mark the aspect. Gender is not distinct in the present tense of the indicative mood, but all the participle forms agree with the gender and number of the subject. Verbs agree with the gender of the subject or the object depending on whether the subject pronoun is in the dative or ergative case (agrees with the object) or the nominative case (agrees with the subject).[1]

Overview

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Verbs

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In Hindustani, all verbs have a base form called the infinitive which is marked by the -nā ending of verbs (compare Proto-Germanic *-aną).[2] Some of the most common verbs are: honā (to be), karnā (to do), rahnā (to stay), calnā (to walk), bolnā (to speak).

Complex verbs

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Hindustani is extremely rich in complex verbs formed by the combinations of noun/adjective and a verb. Complex verbs are of two types: transitive and intransitive.[3]

  • The transitive verbs are obtained by combining nouns/adjectives with verbs such as karnā 'to do', lenā 'to take', denā 'to give', jītnā 'to win' etc.
  • The intransitive verbs are formed with the help of verbs such as honā 'to be/happen', lagnā 'to feel', ānā 'to come' etc.

Complex verbs (Complex predicates) are of the following three combinations:

  1. noun verb
  2. adjective verb
  3. verb verb

where the noun, adjective or the first verb contributes the semantic content and the verb or second verb accounts for the syntactic information of the construction. Noun/adjective and verb combinations are termed conjunct verbs, as in (1) and (2) in the examples below, whereas the combinations of two verbs are called compound verbs, as in the example (3) below:

NOUN VERB
(1)

Shīlā-nē

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG

kām

work(MASC).SG.NOM

kiyā.

do.PRF.MASC.SG

Shīlā-nē kām kiyā.

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG work(MASC).SG.NOM do.PRF.MASC.SG

'Shila did the work'

ADJECTIVE VERB
(2)

Shīlā-nē

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG

kamrā

room(MASC).SG.NOM

sāf

clean

kiyā.

do.PRF.MASC.SG

Shīlā-nē kamrā sāf kiyā.

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG room(MASC).SG.NOM clean do.PRF.MASC.SG

'Shila cleaned the room'

VERB VERB
(3)

Shīlā-nē

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG

sac

truth(MASC).SG.NOM

bōl

say

diyā.

give.PRF.MASC.SG

Shīlā-nē sac bōl diyā.

Shila(FEM).SG-ERG truth(MASC).SG.NOM say give.PRF.MASC.SG

'Shila told the truth.'

In the above examples, there are verbal constructions which can be grouped into two categories of complex verbs, namely, conjunct verbs and compound verbs.[3] (1) and (2) are examples of conjunct verbs since in (1) we find a noun kām 'work' and a perfective form of the verb karnā, 'do' whereas in (2) the verbal predicate exhibits a complex construction made of two elements, namely an adjective sāf 'clean' plus a verb karnā, 'do'. The example in (3), on the other hand, is considered a compound verb since the predicate exhibits two or more than two verbal elements, bōl 'tell' and diyā 'gave' (a form of dēnā 'give').

Aspects

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There are three primary grammatical aspects: habitual aspect, perfective aspect and progressive aspect.[4] Periphrastic verb forms consist of two elements, the first of these two elements is the aspect marker and the second element is the tense-mood marker.[4] The three aspects are formed from their participle forms being used with the copula verb (honā "to be"). However, the primary participles which mark the aspects can be modified periphrastically by adding auxiliary participles constructed from auxiliary verbs such as rahnā (to stay/remain), ānā (to come), jānā (to go) after the primary participle to add a nuance to the aspect.[5][6]

Habitual aspect

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The habitual aspect is marked using the habitual participle, which is constructed by taking the verb root and suffixing -tā to it.

Perfective aspect

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The perfective aspect is marked using the perfective participle, which is constructed by taking the verb root and suffixing -ā to it. If the verb root ends in a vowel, then -yā is suffixed to the verb root instead.

Progressive aspect

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Hindustani has distinct constructions to convey progressive and continuous actions. Progressive actions are marked through the progressive aspect participle rahā used along with the verb root, while the continuous action is conveyed through the perfective adjectival participle, which is a combination of the verb's perfective participle and the perfective participle of the verb honā (to be), which is huā.[4] The verbs in the examples 1a and 2a below are in the progressive aspect while in 1b and 2b the verbs are in their perfective adjectival participle form.

Hindustani Translation
1a baiṭh rahā hai He is sitting. (nuance: he is in the process of sitting)
1b baiṭhā huā hai He is sitting. (nuance: he is already sitting)
2a śarṭ pahan rahī hū̃ I am wearing a shirt. (nuance: I am in the process of wearing a shirt)
2b śarṭ pahnī huī hū̃ I am wearing a shirt. (nuance: I am already wearing a shirt)
Aspectual declension
Gender Number Habitual Perfective Progessive Continuous
Masculine Sing. -tā -(y)ā rahā huā
Plu. -te -(y)e rahe hue
Feminine Sing. -tī -(y)ī rahī huī
Plu. -tī̃ -(y)ī̃ rahī̃ huī̃

Moods

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There are five grammatical moods which the three aspects can be put into.[1][7] Moods in Hindustani are:

  1. Indicative mood
  2. Presumptive mood
  3. Subjunctive mood
    • Regular subjunctive
      • Present subjunctive
      • Future subjunctive
    • Perfective subjunctive[4]
      • Future subjunctive
  4. Counterfactual mood
  5. Imperative mood
    • Present imperative
    • Future imperative[8]

Notes:

  • When making an if-clause, the conditional mood is used in both apodosis and the protasis unlike other languages such as the ones in the Romance branch which make use of unique past-subjunctive and conditional verb forms in the apodosis and the protasis, respectively.[9]
  • The regular future subjunctive is replaced by the perfective future subjunctive when an if-clause or a relative clause is used.
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Verbs are morphologically contrastive, leading to the existence of related verb sets divisible along such lines. While the derivation of different verb forms shows patterns, it does reach a level of variegation so as to make it somewhat difficult to outline all encompassing rules. Furthermore, some verb sets may have as many as four to five distinct members; also, the meaning of certain members of given sets may be idiosyncratic.[10] These below are the verb forms that a verb can have —

  1. Intransitive
    1. Involitional — these are actions that cannot be done intentionally.
      1. Dative — these involitional verbs require the subject to be in the dative case.[11]
      2. Non-dative — these verbs require the subject to be in the nominative case.
    2. Volitional — these are actions that can be intentionally done.[12]
      1. Ergative — these verbs require the subject to be in the ergative case when the verb is in the perfective aspect.
      2. Non-ergative — these verbs always require the subject to be in the nominative case even when the verb is in perfective aspect.
  2. Transitive
    1. Direct — the subject itself experiences the action but the subject and the object are not the same
    2. Indirect — the subject imparts the action onto the object, the object is the experiencer of the action by the usually translated into English as "to make (someone/something) verb"
    3. Reflexive — the verb does action on the subject itself, the doer and experiencer of the action is the same subject
    4. Causative — the subject causes the action to happen

Starting from direct transitive verb forms, the other verb stems i.e., intransitive, causative, reflexive, indirect stems are produced according to these following (not exhaustive) assorted rules —

  1. Root vowel changeː
    • a → ā
    • u / ū → o
    • i / ī → e
  2. Sometimes the root vowel change accompanies the root's final consonant changeː
    • k → c
    • ṭ → r̥
    • l → Ø
  3. Suffixation of -ā to form the indirect or reflexive formː
    • Root vowel changeː ū/o → u; e/ai/ā/ī → i
    • Insertion of semivowel l between such vowel-terminating stems
  4. Suffixation of -vā (in place of -ā where it would occur) to form the causative verb stem

The meaning each verb in the verb set has is constructed from the direct form of the verb, for example: dekhnā (to see), dikhnā (to be seen), dikhānā (to make someone see; to show), dikhvānā (to cause to see). The table below shows some verbs and its verb set.[13]

Set of related verbs
English

verbs

Intransitive Transitive
involitional volitional direct indirect reflexive causative
non-dative dative non-ergative ergative
be honā — — — — — — —
happen — honā hovānā
do — — — — karnā karānā — karvānā
fall girnā — — — — girānā — girvānā
prepare bannā — — — — banānā — banvānā
send bhijnā — — — bhejnā — bhejānā bhijvānā
dance nacnā — — nācnā — nacānā — nacvānā
be found milnā — — — — — — —
unite — milānā milvānā
receive — milnā — milvānā
open khulnā — — — kholnā — khulānā khulvānā
kholānā kholvānā
learn — — — — sīkhnā sikhānā — sikhvānā
eat — — — — khānā khilānā — khilvānā
come — — anā — — — — —
to know how to anā —
drink — — — — pīnā pilānā — pilvānā
sell biknā — — — becnā — becānā bikvānā
see — dikhnā — — dekhnā dikhānā — dikhvānā
look like lagnā — — — — — — —
touch, stick (to) — lagnā lagānā lagvānā
feel, feel like lagnā —
tell — — — kêhnā — — kêhlānā kêhêlvānā
say — — — bolnā — bulānā — bulvānā
spin ghumnā — ghūmnā — — ghumānā — ghumvānā
travel around — — — — ghūmnā —
lie down — — leṭnā — — leṭānā — leṭvānā
sit biṭhnā — baiṭhnā — — baiṭhānā — baiṭhvānā
walk — — calnā — — calānā — calvātā
move — calnā
be okay with calnā —
sleep sutnā — sonā — — sulānā — sulvānā
wash, clean dhulnā — — — dhonā — dhulānā dhulvānā
break ṭūṭnā — — — tor̥nā — tur̥ānā tur̥vānā
die marnā — — — mārnā — marānā marvānā
move, shake hilnā — — — hilānā — — hilvānā
understand — — — samajhnā — samjhānā — samajhvānā
spread out bichnā — — — — bichānā — bichvānā
friction, rub — — — — ghisnā — — ghisvānā
wear out ghisnā — — ghisānā
ashtonish ca͠uknā — — — — ca͠ukānā — ca͠ukvānā
tear phaṭnā — — — phār̥nā — phar̥ānā phar̥vānā
blast, shatter phūṭnā, phaṭnā — — — phor̥nā — phor̥ānā phor̥vānā
beat piṭnā — — — pīṭnā — piṭānā piṭvānā
cough — — — khā̃snā — — — khãsvānā
sneeze — — — chī̃kna — — chĩkāna chī̃kvāna
bathe — — — nahānā — nêhlānā nêhêlnā nêhêlvānā
shout — — — cillānā — — — cilvānā
scream — — — cīkhna — — cikhānā cīkhvānā
digest pacnā — — — pacānā — pacvānā
play — — — — khelnā khelānā — khelvānā
know — — — jānnā — — — janvānā
sing — — — gānā — — — gavānā
fry — — — — talnā — talānā talvānā
laugh — — hãsnā — — hãsānā — hãsvānā

Verb conjugations

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There are four distinguished conjugation sets in Hindustani.[4] The first person [1P] singular pronoun mãĩ, the second person [2P] singular intimate pronoun tū, the 2P plural familiar pronoun tum, and the 2P plural formal pronoun āp. The 1P plural pronoun ham and the 3P plural conjugations are the same as the conjugations of āp, and the 3P singular conjugations are the same as that of 2P singular pronoun tū. Hindi does not have 3P personal pronouns and instead the demonstrative pronouns (ye "this/these", vo "that/those") double as the 3P personal pronouns when they lack a noun argument.

There are very few irregular verbs. There are three types of irregularities that may occurː

  1. Irregular indicative perfect conjugationsː
    • honā - to be; karnā - to do; denā - to give; lenā - to take; pīnā - to drink; jānā - to go
  2. Irregular subjunctive conjugationsː
    • honā - to be; lenā - to take; denā - to give; pīnā - to drink; jīnā - to live
  3. Irregular imperative conjugationsː
    • lēnā - to take; dēnā - to give; pīnā - to drink; jīnā - to live

Subjunctive mood conjugations

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Subjunctive mood can be put into two tenses: the present and future tense. The only verb that has both the present and future subjunctive conjugations is the verb honā "to be" while all the other verbs only have the future subjunctive conjugations.

Present regular subjunctive

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The present subjunctive conjugations for the verb honā "to be" are mentioned below. Present subjunctive conjugations of honā "to be" act as copulas that mark present subjunctive when used with aspectual participles.

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
subjunctive present ♂ & ♀ hū̃ ho hõ

Future regular subjunctive

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The future subjunctive forms are constructed the following way by adding the conjugational suffixes to the verb root. The future subjunctive conjugations for the regular verb bolnā "to speak" (the verb root is bol-) is shown below. Future subjunctive conjugations of honā "to be" and rahnā "to stay" act as copulas that mark future subjunctive when used with aspectual participles.[4]

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
subjunctive future ♂ & ♀ -ū̃ -e -o -ẽ
♂ & ♀ bolū̃ bole bolo bolẽ

There are a couple of verbs with irregular future subjunctive forms, they are mentioned below. Every monosyllabic verb root such as in pīnā "to drink", jīnā "to live" and sīnā "to sew" etc. change their long vowel ī to short vowel i when conjugated into future subjunctive.

mood tense gender verb regular

stem

irregular

stem

ma͠i tū tum āp
subjunctive future ♂ & ♀ lenā "to take" le- l- lū̃ le lo lẽ
♂ & ♀ denā "to give" de- d- dū̃ de do dẽ
♂ & ♀ pīnā "to drink" pī- pi- piyū̃ piye piyo piyẽ

Future perfective subjunctive

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(The conjugations for future perfective subjunctive are the same as past perfect conjugations and they are discussed in the past perfect section below)

There are two future subjunctive moods, first the regular subjunctive and the second, the perfective subjunctive which superficially has the same form as the perfect past forms of verbs but still expresses future events, it is only used with if clauses and relative clauses. In a semantic analysis, this use of the perfective aspect marker would not be considered perfective, since it is more closely related to subjunctive usage. Only the superficial form is identical to that of the perfective.[4] This usage of perfective past as a future subjunctive is especially common colloquially; by describing the future action with a perfective verb and so stressing its completion.[14]

Regular and perfective subjunctive usage

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The regular subjunctive when used implies that the event in question is not envisaged as definitely, but does not at all imply that it is unlikely to come about. It also expresses desire or wish.

  1. āp cāhẽ to ma͠i āpse hindi bolū̃gā. — "If you like, I'll speak Hindi with you".
  2. acchā rahegā agar āp āyẽ — It'll be better if you come.
  3. vo cāhtī hai ki ma͠i āū̃. — "she wants that I come."
  4. usne bolā ki tum nā jāo. — "s/he said (wanted) that you don't go."

The perfect future subjunctive either assumes that an event will definitely happen or the event is actually going to happen. Perfective future subjunctive are not used with events that are relatively unlikely happeningsː

  1. agar vo āye to mujhe usse milvānā. — Introduce me to him in case he comes.
  2. jab vo āye to mujhe usse milvānā. — Introduce me to him when he comes.

Usually with if-clauses using either the regular future subjunctive or the perfect future subjunctive will give grammatically correct sentences, the meanings however will be different. There's a nuance of precaution, and perfective (completed) action attached to the future perfective subjunctive, it is also used when giving out warnings, while the regular subjunctive expresses just a desire or wishː

  1. agar tūm kaho to ma͠i nahī̃ gāū̃gā — I won't sing if you say. (nuanceː "If you say so then I'll take your advice and won't sing.")
  2. agar tūmne kahā to ma͠i nahī̃ gāū̃gā — I won't sing if you say (anything). (nuanceː "If you'd say anything to me, I won't sing at all.")

And usually replacing the perfective subjunctive with the regular subjunctive in relative clauses makes the sentence ungrammatical. However, replacing the perfective subjunctive with indicative future would still result in a grammatical sentence but with a different nuanceː

  1. jis din tum āye us din karū̃gā — I'll do it the day you come.
  2. *jis din tum āo us din karū̃gā — (intended) I'll do it the day you (will) come.
  3. jis din tum āoge us din karū̃gā — I'll do it the day you will come.

Indicative mood conjugations

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Present tense

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The only verb in Hindustani that has indicative present tense forms is the verb honā "to be" and all other verbs lack this conjugation. Older forms of the language used to have present indicative forms but over time their meaning have change and now those forms are considered the future subjunctive forms which are discussed in the section above. These conjugations act as the present indicative copula with aspectual participles.

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
indicative present ♂ & ♀ hū̃ hai ho ha͠i

Indicative present tense conjugations of honā "to be" act as copulas that mark the indicative present tense when used with aspectual participles.

Perfect past tense

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The indicative perfect conjugations are derived from a participle and hence decline according to number and gender of the pronoun and not the pronoun itself. They are constructed by taking the verb root and adding the vowels -ā, -e, -ī, & -ī̃ respectively for masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular, and feminine plural. The perfect past conjugation also doubles as the perfective participle. Past perfect conjugations for the regular verb bolnā "to speak" (verb root is bol-) is shown below. Past perfect tense conjugations of honā "to be" and rêhnā "to stay" act as copulas that mark future perfective subjunctive when used with aspectual participles.

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
indicative perfect ♂ -ā -e
♀ -ī -ī̃
♂ bolā bole
♀ bolī bolī̃

There are a couple of verbs that have irregular perfect past forms, these are mentioned belowː

Verbs Irregular in Indicative Perfect Conjugations
Verb Regular

Stem

Irregular

Stem

Masculine Feminine
Singular Plural Singular Plural
honā "to be" ho- hu- huā hue huī huī̃
jānā "to go" jā- ga- gayā gaye gayī gayī̃
karnā "to do" kar- ki- kī- kiyā kiye kī kī̃
denā "to give" de- di- dī- diyā diye dī dī̃
lenā "to take" le- li- lī- liyā liye lī lī̃
pīnā "to drink" pī- pi- pī- piyā piye pī pī̃

Imperfect past tense

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The only verb in Hindustani that has indicative present tense forms is the verb honā "to be" and all other verbs lack this conjugation. These indicative imperfect forms of honā "to be" come from Sanskrit स्थित (stʰita) "standing, situated" which are derived from the PIE root *steh₂- (“to stand”).[15] Imperfect past tense conjugations of honā "to be" act as copula that mark indicative imperfect past when used with aspectual participles.

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
indicative perfect ♂ thā the
♀ thī thī̃

Future tense

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The indicative future tense forms are constructed using the future subjunctive conjugations (which are discussed above) by adding the future marking suffix -gā that declines for the number and the gender of the noun that the pronoun refers to.

Future inflectional suffix
gender singular plural
♂ -gā -gē
♀ -gī
mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
subjunctive future ♂ & ♀ -ū̃ -e -o -ẽ
indicative future ♂ -ū̃-gā -e-gā -o-ge -ẽ-ge
♀ -ū̃-gī -e-gī -o-gī -ẽ-gī
♂ bolū̃gā bolegā bologe bolẽge
♀ bolū̃gī bolegī bologī bolẽgī

Presumptive mood conjugations

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The only verb that has presumptive mood conjugations is the verb honā "to be" and all other verbs lack this conjugation. These are constructed from the present subjunctive by adding the future suffix -gā. The same conjugation is used for all three tensesː present, past, and future. Presumptive mood conjugations of honā "to be" act as copulas that mark presumptive mood when used with aspectual participles.

Future inflectional suffix
gender singular plural
♂ -gā -gē
♀ -gī
mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
subjunctive present ♂ & ♀ hū̃ ho hõ
presumptive present

past

future

♂ hū̃gā hogā hõge
♀ hū̃gī hogī hõgī

Contrafactual mood conjugations

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Just like the indicative imperfect past and the indicative perfect past conjugations, the contrafactual mood conjugations are also derived from a participle form and declines the same way as them. It is constructed by taking the verb root and adding the suffix -tā to it which declines for number and gender of the noun that the pronoun refers to. Contrafactual mood conjugations for all verbs are regular. Contrafactual mood can only be used in the past tense as it expresses hypothetical scenarios that "could have" happened but didn't. It acts as both the past subjunctive and the past conditional. Contrafactual mood conjugations of honā "to be" and rêhnā "to stay" act as copulas that mark contrafactual mood when used with aspectual participles.

The participle that makes up the contrafactual mood conjugations also double as the habitual aspect participle.

mood tense gender ma͠i tū tum āp
contrafactual past ♂ -tā -te
♀ -tī -tī̃
♂ boltā bolte
♀ boltī boltī̃

Imperative mood conjugations

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The rules to form the imperatives areː Whenever a single-syllable verb root ends in the vowel -ī then the consonant -j- is added between the imperative conjugation suffix and the verb root.

  1. Intimate pronoun (tū)ː
    1. Present imperative — The verb root is the imperative form. All the present imperatives for the pronoun tū are regular.
    2. Future imperative — The suffix -iyo is added to the verb root. For the verbs lenā and denā, the verb stem changes from le- and de- to just l- and d-, respectively. Hence forming the future imperatives diyo and liyo.
  2. Familiar pronoun (tum)ː
    1. Present imperative — The suffix -o (or -yo when the verb root ends in a vowel) is added to the verb root. For the verbs lenā and denā the verb root changes to l- and d-, respectively. Hence forming do and lo. For pīnā the stem changes to pi-.
    2. Future imperative — The future imperative for tum is the same as the infintive form. All future imperative forms of tum are regular.
  3. Formal pronoun (āp)ː
    1. Present imperative — The suffix -iye is added to the verb root. Some verbs whose roots are one-syllabled and end in the vowel -ī or -i form the formal imperatives by adding the consonant -j- between the root and suffix as -j-iye.
    2. Future imperative — The future suffix -gā is added to the present imperative form for the pronoun āp. So, equivalently the suffix -iyegā is added to the verb root as suffix following the same rules as the present imperative for āp.
Irregular verbs in imperative conjugations
Verb 2nd person pronoun
tū

(2P intimate)

tum

(2P familiar)

āp

(2P formal)

present future present future present future
regular bolnā "to speak" bol boliyo bolo bolnā boliye boliyegā
irregular denā "to give" de diyo do denā dījiye dījiyegā
lenā "to take" le liyo lo lenā lījiye lījiyegā
pīnā "to drink" pī pīiyo piyo pīnā pījiye pījiyegā
Noteː The irregular forms are bolded in the table above.

Participles

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There are two types of participles, aspectual participles which mark the aspect and non-aspectual participles which do not mark aspect. In the table below which mentions the different participles present in the language, ɸ denotes the verb root. The verb root ɸ for non-complex verbs is a single root however for complex verbs ɸ is in the form of ɸ1 ɸ2 where ɸ2 acts like ɸ of the non-complex verbs which is declinable according to the aspect, for example, for the verb karnā ("to do") the root is kar and for the complex verb kar jānā (which is one of the perfective forms of "to do") the root is "kar jā-" where ɸ1 = kar and ɸ2 = jā.

Participles
Participle Participle [4][5] Usage and Copulas [5]
♂ ♀
singular plural singular plural
Aspectual Habitual [4][5] ɸ-tā ɸ-te ɸ-tī ɸ-tī̃ The copulas that can be used with habitual and perfective aspect participles are:
  1. honā (to be)
  2. rahnā (to stay, remain)
  3. ānā (to come)
  4. jānā (to go)
Perfective [4][5] ɸ-(y)ā ɸ-(y)e ɸ-(y)ī ɸ-(y)ī̃
Progressive [4][5] ɸ rahā ɸ rahe ɸ rahī ɸ rahī̃ The copulas that can be used with progressive aspect participle are:
  1. honā (to be)
  2. rahnā (to stay, remain)
Perfective adjectival [4][16][17] ɸ-(y)ā huā ɸ-(y)e hue ɸ-(y)ī huī ɸ-(y)ī huī̃ translation: "(already) verbed"
Imperfective adjectival ɸ-tā huā ɸ-te hue ɸ-tī huī ɸ-tī huī̃ translation: "(while) verbing"
Imperfective progressive ɸ-te-ɸ-te translation: "(while in the process of) verbing", "during verbing"
Perfective progressive ɸ-(y)e-ɸ-(y)e Only a few verbs which express a temporary state have perfective progressive

participle. For e.g.

  1. baiṭhnā (to sit) → baiṭhe-baiṭhe = while (already) sitting
  2. par̥nā (to lie flat, to fall flat) → par̥e-par̥e = while (already) lying flat
  3. bichnā (to get spread out) → biche-biche = while (already) spread out
Non-aspectual Infinitive[2] ɸ-nā ɸ-ne ɸ-nī ɸ-nī̃ Infinitive participle is always takes in the dative case pronouns as the subject. (seeː Dative subjects & Quirky subjects)

The copulas that are used with the infinitive participle are:

  1. honā (to be) — shows what is to be done; "have to verb" or "want to verb"
  2. rahnā (to stay, remain) — shows what was remaining to do
  3. ānā (to come) — shows ability; ableness
  4. par̥nā (to fall flat) — shows cumpulsion; inevitability; "(will) have to verb"; "had to verb" etc.

Grammaticalised conjugated verbs that are used with the infintive participle:

  1. chāhiye (want) (from the verb chāhnā "to want/love") — used to give advice; "should"
Oblique infinitive[18] ɸ-ne 1. with postpositions
  • ɸ-ne mẽ (= in verbing)
  • ɸ-ne se (= because of verbing)
  • ɸ-ne ke liye (= for verbing, to verb)
  • ɸ-ne ko (= to verb)
  • ɸ-ne kā (= of verbing; with which could be verbed)

2. without postpositions

  • ɸ1-ne ɸ2-nā (e.g. karne jānā = to go somewhere to do something; karne lagnā = to start to do; to start doing)
Prospective [6] ɸ-ne-vālā ɸ-ne-vāle ɸ-ne-vālī ɸ-ne-vālī̃ translation: "going to verb" ("honā" (to be) and "rahnā" (to stay) can be used as copulas)
Conjunctive [17] ɸ-ke (short for, ɸ-kar) translations: "after verbing", "by verbing", "because of verbing", "while verbing"

Notes:

  • ɸ-(y)ā denotes that when the verb root ɸ ends in a vowel, the consonant -y- is added, else it isn't.
  • The participles which do not end in the vowel ā in their masculine singular form are cannot be declined according to gender or number, for example, the oblique infinitive and the progressive participle end in the vowel -e and hence have the same form for all gender and number combinations. Also, usually such participles do not take in the copula after them but instead a verb.
  • Infinitive participles always use the dative pronouns as subjects,[19] while other participles can have the nominative or the dative case pronouns as subjects, depending on the verb used. For example:
    1. mujhe bolnā acchā lagtā hai. = I like to speak. ("bolnā" here is the infinitive participle, and not the infinitive. It agrees in gender and number with the direct object in the sentence. It takes the default masculine form when no object is present.)
    2. ma͠i bolnā pasand kartā hū̃. = I like to speak. ("bolnā" here is the infinitive, and hence it cannot decline according to the gender and number)
    3. mujhe bolne se thakān hotī hai. = I get tired because of speaking.
    4. ma͠i bolne se thak jātā hū̃. = I get tired because of speaking.

Copulas and subaspects

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As discussed in the above section, there are three aspect marking participles which take in a copula in order to assign a grammatical mood and tense to the aspectual form. There are four verbs which can be used as the copula: honā (to be), rêhnā (to stay), ānā (to come), jānā (to go), and karnā (to do). Each of the four copulas provide a unique nuance to the aspect. The default (unmarked) copula is honā (to be).[5][4] Below is a table showing the infinitive forms of each of the aspectual forms using different copulas:

Simple

aspect

Perfective

aspect

Habitual

aspect

Progressive

aspect

Translation
honā huā honā huā rêhnā huā jānā huā ānā huā karnā hotā honā hotā rêhnā hotā jānā hotā ānā ho rahā honā ho rahā rêhnā to happen
karnā kiyā honā kiyā rêhnā kiyā jānā kiyā ānā kiyā karnā kartā honā kartā rêhnā kartā jānā kartā ānā kar rahā honā kar rahā rêhnā to do
marnā marā honā marā rêhnā marā jānā marā ānā marā karnā martā honā martā rêhnā martā jānā martā ānā mar rahā honā mar rahā rêhnā to die

The other copulas unlike honā (to be) can also again be put into their aspectul forms and then the copula honā (to be) is used to mark the tense and the mood, hence forming subaspects. However, these copulas cannot be put into all three aspects. It depends on the verb and also the copula itself what grammatical aspects can the copula can be put into. The following two tables show subaspectual forms for each of the three aspects.

Perfective

aspect

rêhnā jānā ānā karnā
Habitual

subaspect

Perfective

subaspect

Progressive

subaspect2

Habitual

subaspect1

Perfective

subaspect1

Progressive

subaspect2

Progressive

subaspect

Habitual

subaspect

huā rêhtā honā huā rahā honā huā rêh rahā honā *huā jātā honā *huā gāyā honā huā jā rahā honā huā jā rahā rêhnā huā ā rahā honā huā kartā honā
kiyā rêhtā honā kiyā rahā honā kiyā rêh rahā honā kiyā jātā honā kiyā gayā honā kiyā jā rahā honā kiyā jā rahā rêhnā kiyā ā rahā honā kiyā kartā honā
marā rêhtā honā marā rahā honā marā rêh rahā honā marā jātā honā marā gayā honā marā jā rahā honā marā jā rahā rêhnā marā ā rahā honā marā kartā honā

1 When the copula jānā (to go) is used, only transitive and volitional intransitive verbs can be put into the habitual and perfective subaspect. So, *huā jātā honā and *huā gāyā honā are not valid constructions. However, somehow huā jā rahā honā is a valid construction but it means the same as hotā jā rahā honā which is the progressive subaspect of the habitual aspect using the copula jānā (shown below) but just emphasising the rate (shows its faster) at which the action is happening; progressive subaspects of the perfective aspect using jānā (to go) is often just the more emphasised version of the progressive subaspect of the habitual aspect using jānā (to go). marnā (to die) is intransitive but it is a volitional action especially when used metaphorically as in "pizzā khāne ke liye marā jā rahā hū̃" = "I am dying to eat a pizza". Other commonly used voliational usage of marnā (to die) is for e.g. "dying in a videogame".

2 The progressive subaspect of the perfective aspect can also use the copula rêhnā (to stay, remain) and it can be again conjugated into aspectual participle forms, hence forming what could be called a sub-sub-aspect. An example using habitual sub-subaspectː "jab bhī uske sāth bāhar jātī hū̃ vo marā jā rahā rêhtā hai pizzā khāne ke liye" = "Whenever I go out with him he always is (nuanceː I always find him) dying to eat a pizza". This sentence combines and mixes the nuances of all the three, perfective (main), progressive (sub), and habitual (subsub), aspects on the same verb marnā (to die).

Habitual

aspect

Progressive

aspect

rêhnā jānā ānā rêhnā
Habitual

subaspect

Perfective

subaspect

Progressive

subaspect

Habitual

subaspect

Progressive

subaspect

Habitual

subaspect

Progressive

subaspect

Habitual

subaspect

hotā rêhtā honā hotā rahā honā hotā rêh rahā honā hotā jātā honā hotā jā rahā honā hotā ātā honā hotā ā rahā honā ho rahā rêhtā honā
kartā rêhtā honā kartā rahā honā kartā rêh rahā honā kartā jātā honā kartā jā rahā honā kartā ātā honā kartā ā rahā honā kar rahā rêhtā honā
martā rêhtā honā martā rahā honā martā rêh rahā honā martā jātā honā martā jā rahā honā martā ātā honā martā ā rahā honā mar rahā rêhtā honā

Light verbs

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Compound verbs, a highly visible feature of Hindustani grammar, consist of a verbal stem plus a light verb. The light verb (also called "subsidiary", "explicator verb", and "vector"[20]) loses its own independent meaning and instead "lends a certain shade of meaning"[21] to the main or stem verb, which "comprises the lexical core of the compound".[20] While almost any verb can act as a main verb, there is a limited set of productive light verbs.[22] Shown below are prominent such light verbs, with their independent meaning first outlined, followed by their semantic contribution as auxiliaries. Finally, having to do with the manner of an occurrence, compounds verbs are mostly used with completed actions and imperatives, and much less with negatives, conjunctives, and contexts continuous or speculative. This is because non-occurrences cannot be described to have occurred in a particular manner.[23] The auxiliaries when combined with the main verb provides an aspectual sense to the main verb it modifies. Light verbs such as jānā "to go", ānā "to come", cuknā when combined with the main verb give the formed compound verb a perfective aspect, while retaining the original meaning of the main verb.

Frequent light verbs
Light verb Explanation Main verb Examples
jānā "to go" Shows perfective aspect (completed action) of the main verb which

means gives a sense of completeness of the action, finality,

or change of state.[24]

1. ānā "to come"

2. khānā "to eat"

3. marnā "to die"

4. pīnā "to drink"

5. baiṭhnā "to sit"

6. honā "to happen"

1. ā jānā "to arrive" " to have come"

2. khā jānā "to eat up (all/everything/completely)"

3. mar jānā "to be dead"

4. pī jānā "to drink up (all/everything/completely)" "to gulp"

5. baiṭh jānā "to sit down" "to have sit down"

6. ho jānā "to have happened (completely)" "to have finished happening"

lenā "to take" Suggests that the action is completed and the benefit of the action flows

towards the doer.[23] This auxiliary verb can also be used to soften down

the tone of imperatives (commands) and usually is used to give suggestions.

1. paṛhnā "to read"

2. karnā "to do"

3. calnā "to walk"

4. mārnā "to kill, hit"

1. paṛh lenā "to read (for oneself/for own's desire)"

2. kar lenā "to do (something fully for oneself)" "to have finished doing something"

3. cal lenā "to have walked"

4. mār lenā "to kill (for oneself)"

denā "to give" suggests that the action was completed and the benefit of the action flows

away from the doer.[23]

1. paṛhnā "to read, study"

2. mārnā "to kill, hit"

3. karnā "to do"

1. paṛh denā "to read (for someone)" "to read out"

2. mār denā "to kill", "to kill off", "to murder"

3. kar denā "to do (something completely for someone else and not oneself)"

ānā "to come" Shows perfective aspect of the main verb which means gives

a sense of completeness of the action, finality, or change of state.

The meaning conveyed is the doer went somewhere to do something

and came back after completing the action.

1. karnā "to do"

2. nikalnā "to come out"

1. kar ānā "to finish (and come back)", "to do (and return)";

2. nikal ānā "to escape"

cuknā "to have (already) completed something" Shows sense of completeness of an action in the past, that the action

was already done/finished/completed by the doer sometime in the past.

1. marnā "to die"

2. jītnā "to win"

1. mar cuknā "to have already died"

2. jīt cuknā "to have already won"

The first three light verbs in the above table are the most common of auxiliaries, and the "least marked", or "lexically nearly colourless".[25] The nuance conveyed by an auxiliary can often be very subtle, and need not always be expressed with different words in English translation. lenā (to take) and denā (to give), transitive verbs, occur with transitives, while intransitive jānā (to go) occurs mostly with intransitives; a compound of a transitive and jānā (to go) will be grammatically intransitive as jānā (to go) is.

Other light verbs
Light verb Explanation Examples
ḍālnā "to throw, pour" Indicates an action done vigorously, decisively, violently or recklessly.

it is an intensifier, showing intensity, urgency, completeness, or violence.[26][27]

1. mārnā "to hit/kill" → mār ḍālnā "to kill (violently)"

2. pīnā "to drink" → pī ḍālnā "to drink (all of something in one go)".

baiṭhnā "to sit" Implies an action done foolishly or stubbornly;[28] shows speaker disapproval

or an impulsive or involuntary action.[26]

1. kêhnā "to say" → kêh baiṭhnā "to say something (involuntarily or by mistake)"

2. karnā "to do" → kar baiṭhnā "to do (something as a blunder)"

3. laṛnā "to fight" → laṛ baiṭhnā "to quarrel (foolishly, or without giving a second thought)".

paṛnā "to fall flat" Connotes involuntary, sudden, or unavoidable occurrence;[25] 1. uṭhnā "to get up" → uṭh paṛnā "to suddenly get up"
uṭhnā "to rise" Functions like an intensifier;[29] suggests inception of action or feeling,

with its independent/literal meaning sometimes showing through

in a sense of upward movement.

1. jalnā "to burn" → jal uṭhnā "to burst into flames"

2. nācnā "to dance" → nāc uṭhnā "to break into dance".[28]

saknā "to be able to" A modal verb that indicates the capability of performing an action. 1. karnā "to do" → kar saknā "to be able to do"

2. dekhnā "to see" → dekh saknā "to be able to see"

rakhnā "to keep, maintain" Implies a firmness of action, or one with possibly long-lasting results or implications.

It occurs with lenā and denā, meaning "to give/take (as a loan)",[30]

and with other appropriate verbs, showing an action performed beforehand.[26]

It usually works almost the same as cuknā the main difference being the nuance conveyed

by rakhnā is that the action has either "continued effect till the present time" or "is more

recent than the same action conveyed using cuknā." cuknā conveys a distant past.

1. dekhnā "to see" → dekh rakhnā "to have already seen"

2. karnā "to do" → kar rakhnā "to have already done"

rêhnā "to remain/stay" The continuous aspect marker rahā apparently originated as a compound verb with rahnā ("remain"):

thus ma͠i bol rahā hū̃ = "I have remained speaking" → "I have continued speaking" → "I am speaking".

However, it has lost the ability to take any form other than the imperfective, and is thus considered

to have become grammaticalized.[31]

1. karnā "to do"→ kar rahā rêhnā "to be/stay doing."

2. karnā "to do"→ kar rahā honā "to be doing."

mārnā "to hit" It is a non-productive light verb (LV) and is used with very limited verbs, most commonly with denā "to give". 1. denā "to give" → de mārnā "to hit once but with all force"
phāṛnā "to tear" It is a non-productive LV. Used only with the verb cīrnā "to tear apart" 1. cīrnā "to tear apart" → cīr phāṛnā "to tear apart brutally"

Ergativity and light verbs

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Hindustani is an aspectually split ergative language, with the ergative case marker, -ne, appearing on the subject of the transitive perfective clauses.[32] A standard ergative construction is shown below — the verb is a transitive perfective participle, the subject carries the ergative case marker -ne, the object is unmarked and the participle agrees in gender with the object.

(a)

Kabir-nē

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

vo

that.DEM

gār̥ī

car(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick-INST

becī.

sell.PRF.FEM

Kabir-nē vo gār̥ī jaldī-se becī.

Kabir(MASC)-ERG that.DEM car(FEM).NOM quick-INST sell.PRF.FEM

"Kabir sold that car quickly"

(b)

Kabir-nē

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

vo

that.DEM

gār̥ī

car(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick.INST

bec

sell

lī.

take.PRF.FEM

Kabir-nē vo gār̥ī jaldī-se bec lī.

Kabir(MASC)-ERG that.DEM car(FEM).NOM quick.INST sell take.PRF.FEM

"Kabir sold that car quickly"

The light verb construction exemplified in (b) above has been studied extensively in Hindi linguistics. It is a two-verb sequence (referred to here as V1–v2) [bec = V1, lī = v2 ] in which the first verb (V1) is morphologically the bare stem and the second verb (v2) carries the usual clausal inflection. The V1 functions as the main verb, providing the bulk of meaning/thematic information, and the v2 is "relatively" light. This "light" v2 does provide certain subtle semantic information, mostly (though not entirely) aspectual/directional in nature.[32]

Compound verbs and ergative marking

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Ergative case marking in compound verb constructions is affected by the transitivity of the v2. McGregor (1972:104) notes that "Compound verbs are used in construction with -ne when both the stem verb and the auxiliary (=v2) are themselves used independently with -ne." Amritavalli (1979:77–78) comments "In sentences with compound verbs it is the transitivity (and perfectivity) of v2 that determines the ergative case-marking." The basic pattern of compound verb constructions is given in (1a)–(1c) below.

(1a)

Kabir-nē

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

vo

that.DEM

kitāb

book(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick-INST

par̥h

read

lī.

take.PRF.FEM

Kabir-nē vo kitāb jaldī-se par̥h lī.

Kabir(MASC)-ERG that.DEM book(FEM).NOM quick-INST read take.PRF.FEM

"Kabir read that book quickly"

(1b)

*Kabir-nē

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

vo

that.DEM

kitāb

book(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick-INST

par̥h

read

gayī.

go.PRF.FEM

*Kabir-nē vo kitāb jaldī-se par̥h gayī.

Kabir(MASC)-ERG that.DEM book(FEM).NOM quick-INST read go.PRF.FEM

intendedː "Kabir read that book quickly"

(1c)

Kabir

Kabir(MASC).NOM

vo

that.DEM

kitāb

book(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick-INST

par̥h

read

gayā.

go.PRF.MASC

Kabir vo kitāb jaldī-se par̥h gayā.

Kabir(MASC).NOM that.DEM book(FEM).NOM quick-INST read go.PRF.MASC

"Kabir read that book quickly"

Certain intransitive V1s do allow for ergative subjects when the light v2 is transitive.[33] Intransitive V1s that permit ergative subjects with transitive v2's belong to the unergative khā̃snā "to cough" class of verbs. Verbs in this class of intransitives independently permit ergative subjects and the choice of -ne subjects has been argued to be associated with properties of volitionality or conscious choice. Some other voliational (intransitive) verbs which allow ergative case assignment are bolnā "to speak", chī̃knā "to sneeze", cillānā "to shout", nahānā "to take a bath" etc. In all these cases the agent has complete control and volition of the activity.[34]

(2a)

Kabir-ne

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

khā̃s

cough

diyā

do.PRF.MASC

Kabir-ne khā̃s diyā

Kabir(MASC)-ERG cough do.PRF.MASC

"Kabir coughed"

(2b)

Kabir-ne

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

khā̃sā

cough.PRF.MASC

Kabir-ne khā̃sā

Kabir(MASC)-ERG cough.PRF.MASC

"Kabir coughed"

Examples in (1a)–(2b) show that V1v2 compound verb constructions allow ergative subjects when both V1 and v2, when functioning as main verbs, independently allow ergative subjects. Crucial evidence as to the source of ergativity in V1v2 constructions comes from pairings in which the case properties of the V1 are distinct from those of the v2. Though it is rare to find V1(intransitive)v2(transitive) sequences in which the V1 is not independently an ergative case licensing verbs, such examples do exist: cal denā "to move-give" (=move, depart), khisak lenā "to slip away-take" (=to slip away) and sarak lenā "crawl-take" (=to slip away/to move away). Interestingly, V1v2 sequences of this type do not permit ergative subjects, despite the ability of the v2 to license ergative subjects when functioning as main verbs.

(3a)

gār̥ī

car(FEM).NOM

cal

move

dī

give.PRF.FEM

gār̥ī cal dī

car(FEM).NOM move give.PRF.FEM

"The car moved"

(3b)

*gār̥ī-ne

car(FEM).ERG

cal

move

diyā

give.PRF.MASC

*gār̥ī-ne cal diyā

car(FEM).ERG move give.PRF.MASC

intendedː "The car moved"

Examples in (4a)-(4b) below show that the ergative case licensing property of the light v2 is nevertheless critical, as intransitive (usually unaccusative) v2's never allow ergative subjects, regardless of the ergative case licensing properties of the V1.

(4a)

*Kabir-nē

Kabir(MASC)-ERG

vo

that.DEM

kitāb

book(FEM).NOM

jaldī-se

quick-INST

par̥h

read

gayī.

go.PRF.FEM

*Kabir-nē vo kitāb jaldī-se par̥h gayī.

Kabir(MASC)-ERG that.DEM book(FEM).NOM quick-INST read go.PRF.FEM

intendedː "Kabir read that book quickly"

(4b)

*Sītā-nē

Sita(FEM)-ERG

bahut

very

bar̥ī

big.FEM

galtī

mistake(FEM)

kar

do

baiṭhī.

sit.PRF.FEM

*Sītā-nē bahut bar̥ī galtī kar baiṭhī.

Sita(FEM)-ERG very big.FEM mistake(FEM) do sit.PRF.FEM

intendedː "Sita made a very big mistake"

Verb paradigm

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Non-personal Forms

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Participles
Undeclined forms
Verb forms translation
Infinitive honā 1. to be

2. to exist

3. to happen

4. to have

Oblique

infinitive

hone 1. being

2. existing

3. happening

4. having

Conjunctive hoke / hokar 1. after happening

2. after being/becoming

Imperfective

progressive

hote-hote 1. while happening

2. while being

4. while existing

Perfective

progressive1

hue-hue 1. while (already) been
Participles (Declined forms)
♂ ♀ translation
singular plural singular plural
Habitual hotā hote hotī hotī̃ 1. happens (habitually) [present]

2. used to happen [past]

Perfective huā hue huī huī̃ 1. happened
Progressive ho rahā ho rahe ho rahī ho rahī̃ 1. happening

2. being

Infinitive honā hone honī honī̃ 1. have/want/should (to) be

2. have/want/should (to) happen

3. have/want/should (to) exist

Prospective honevālā honevāle honevālī honevālī̃ 1. going to be

2. going to happen

3. going to exist

Perfective adjectival huā-huā hue-hue huī-huī huī-huī̃ 1. already been

2. already happened

Habitual adjectival hotā-huā hote-hue hotī-huī hotī-huī̃ 1. already been

2. already happened

1 perfective progressive form of verbs is mainly only used with verbs that describe a temporary state. for e.g.
  • baiṭhnā (to sit) → baiṭhe-baiṭhe = while (already) sitting
  • baiṭhnā (to sit) → baiṭhte-baiṭhte = while (in the process of) sitting

Conjugation of verbs

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All the verbs except honā (to be) are defective and cannot be conjugated into the following moods and tenses in their non-aspectual forms (or simple aspect):

  • present indicative
  • imperfect indicative
  • presumptive mood
  • present subjunctive

The verb honā (to be) serves as the copula whose conjugations are used to form the three aspectual forms of verbs (habitual, perfective, and progressive). In the tables below all the conjugations of the copula are shown on the top and all the conjugations of the verb karnā (to do) (like which all other verbs behave) are shown on the bottom.

VERB CONJUGATIONS (NON-ASPECTUAL FORMS)

honā (to be)
mood tense 1P - ma͠i

(singular)

2P - tum1

(singular & plural)

3P - yah/ye, vah/vo

(singular)

1P - ham (plural) Translations

(3rd person)

2P - āp1 (singular & plural)
2P - tū (singular) 3P - ye, ve/vo (plural)
♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀
indicative present hū̃ ho hai ha͠i is, there is, exists
perfect3 huā huī hue huī huā huī hue huī̃ was, happened
imperfect thā thī the thī thā thī the thī̃ was
future2 hoū̃gā hoū̃gī hooge hoogī hoegā hoegī hoẽge hoẽgī will be
presumptive present hū̃gā hū̃gī hoge hogī hogā hogī hõge hõgī might be
past might have been
future2 might be
subjunctive present hū̃ ho ho hõ (that) it be
future hoū̃ hoo hoe hoẽ (that) it become
future3

(perfective)

huā huī hue huī huā huī hue huī̃ (if/when) it happens
contrafactual past hotā hotī hote hotī hotā hotī hote hotī̃ would have been
imperative present — hoo ho hoiye beǃ (right now)
future — honā hoiyo hoiyegā beǃ (in the future)
karnā (to do)
mood tense 1P - ma͠i

(singular)

2P - tum1

(singular & plural)

3P - yah/ye, vah/vo

(singular)

1P - ham (plural) Translations

(3rd person)

2P - āp1 (singular & plural)
2P - tū (singular) 3P - ye, ve/vo (plural)
♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀
indicative perfect3 kiyā kī kiye kī kiyā kī kiye kī̃ did
future karū̃gā karū̃gī karoge karogī karegā karegī karẽge karẽgī will do
subjunctive future karū̃ karo kare karẽ (that) s/he do
future3

(perfective)

kiyā kī kiye kī kiyā kī kiye kī̃ (if/when) s/he does
contrafactual past kartā kartī karte kartī kartā kartī karte kartī̃ would have done
imperative present — karo kar kariye doǃ (right now)
future — karnā kariyo kariyegā doǃ (in the future)

1 the second person pronouns tum, āp can be used both in singular and plural sense akin to the English second person pronoun "you".
2 the indicative future and presumptive future conjugations are often used synonymously.
3 the simple perfect verb forms when used in an if-cause or a relative clause, they would not be considered perfect indicative but instead a type of future subjunctive.[4]

Aspectual form of verbs

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Using the three aspectual participles, the habitual, perfective, and the progressive aspectual forms are constructed. The aspectual forms for the verb karnā (to do) are shown in the table below:

VERB CONJUGATIONS (ASPECTUAL FORMS)
mood tense 1P - ma͠i

(singular)

2P - tum1

(singular & plural)

3P - yah/ye, vah/vo

(singular)

1P - ham (plural) Translations

(3rd person)

2P - āp1 (singular & plural)
2P - tū (singular) 3P - ye, ve/vo (plural)
♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀ ♂ ♀
HABITUAL ASPECT3
indicative present kartā hū̃ kartī hū̃ karte ho kartī ho kartā hai kartī hai karte ha͠i kartī ha͠i s/he does
past kartā thā kartī thī karte the kartī thī kartā thā kartī thī karte the kartī thī̃ s/he used to do
future3 kartā rahũgā kartī rahũgī karte rahoge kartī rahogī kartā rahegā kartī rahegī karte rahẽge kartī rahẽgī s/he will keep doing
presumptive present kartā hū̃gā kartī hū̃gī karte hoge kartī hogī kartā hogā kartī hogī karte hõge kartī hõgī s/he (presumably) does
past s/he (presumably) used to do
subjunctive present kartā hū̃ kartī hū̃ karte ho kartī ho kartā ho kartī ho kartā hõ kartī hõ (that) s/he does
future kartā rahũ kartī rahũ karte raho kartī raho kartā rahe kartī rahe karte rahẽ kartī rahẽ (that) s/he continuous doing
future6

(perfective)

kartā rahā kartī rahī karte rahe kartī rahī kartā rahā kartī rahī karte rahe kartī rahī̃ (if/when) s/he keeps doing
contrafactual past kartā hotā kartī hotī karte hote kartī hotī kartā hotā kartī hotī karte hote kartī hotī̃ 1. s/he would have been doing

2. (wish) she were doing

imperative4 present — — karte raho kartī raho kartā rêh kartī rêh karte rahiye kartī rahiye keep doingǃ (as you are doing right now)
future — — karte rêhnā kartī rêhnā kartā rahiyo kartī rahiyo karte rahiyegā kartī rahiyegā keep doingǃ (in the future as well)
PERFECTIVE ASPECT
indicative present kiyā hū̃ kī hū̃ kiye ho kī ho kiyā hai kī hai kiye ha͠i kī ha͠i s/he has done
past kiyā thā kī thī kiye the kī thī kiyā thā kī thī kiye the kī thī̃ s/he had done
future5 kiyā hoū̃gā kī hoū̃gī kiye hooge kī hoogī kiyā hoegā kī hoegī kiye hoẽge kī hoẽgī s/he will have done
kiyā rahū̃gā kī rahū̃gī kiye rahoge kī rahogī kiyā rahegā kī rahegī kiye rahẽge kī rahẽgī s/he will have done
presumptive present kiyā hū̃gā kī hū̃gī kiye hoge kī hogī kiyā hogā kī hogī kiye hõge kī hõgī s/he might have done
past s/he might have done
subjunctive present kiyā hū̃ kī hū̃ kiye ho kī ho kiyā ho kī ho kiye hõ kī hõ (that) s/he has done
future5 kiyā hoū̃ kī hoū̃ kiye hoo kī hoo kiyā hoe kī hoe kiye hoẽ kī hoẽ (that) s/he will have done
kiyā rahū̃ kī rahū̃ kiye raho kī raho kiyā rahe kī rahe kiye rahẽ kī rahẽ (that) s/he will have done
future6

(perfective)

kiyā rahā kī rahī kiye rahe kī rahī kiyā rahā kī rahī kiye rahe kī rahī̃ (if/when) s/he will have done
contrafactual past kiyā hotā kī hotī kiye hote kī hotī kiyā hotā kī hotī kiye hote kī hotī̃ 1. s/he would have done

2. (wish) s/he had done

imperative4 present — — kiye raho kī raho kiyā rêh kī rêh kiye rahiye kī rahiye keep it doneǃ (right now)
future — — kiye rêhnā kī rêhnā kiyā rahiyo kī rahiyo kiye rahiyegā kī rahiyegā keep it doneǃ (in the future)
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT
indicative present kar rahā hū̃ kar rahī hū̃ kar rahe ho kar rahī ho kar rahā hai kar rahī hai kar rahe ha͠i kar rahī ha͠i s/he is doing
past kar rahā thā kar rahī thī kar rahe the kar rahī thī kar rahā thā kar rahī thī kar rahe the kar rahī thī̃ s/he was doing
future2,5 kar rahā hoū̃gā kar rahī hoū̃gī kar rahe hooge kar rahī hoogī kar rahā hoegā kar rahī hoegī kar rahe hoẽge kar rahī hoẽgī s/he will be doing
kar rahā rahū̃gā kar rahī rahū̃gī kar rahe rahoge kar rahī rahogī kar rahā rahegā kar rahī rahegī kar rahe rahẽge kar rahī rahẽgī s/he will be doing
presumptive present kar rahā hū̃gā kar rahī hū̃gī kar rahe hoge kar rahī hogī kar rahā hogā kar rahī hogī kar rahe hõge kar rahī hõgī s/he might be doing
past s/he might have been doing
future2 s/he presumably will be doing
subjunctive present kar rahā hū̃ kar rahī hū̃ kar rahe ho kar rahī ho kar rahā ho kar rahī ho kar rahe hõ kar rahī hõ (that) s/he is doing
future kar rahā hoū̃ kar rahī hoū̃ kar rahe hoo kar rahī hoo kar rahā hoe kar rahī hoe kar rahe hoẽ kar rahī hoẽ (that) s/he will be doing
future5,6

(perfective)

kar rahā huā kar rahī huī kar rahe hue kar rahī huī kar rahā huā kar rahī huī kar rahe hue kar rahī huī̃ (if/when) s/he will be doing
kar rahā rahā kar rahī rahī kar rahe rahe kar rahī rahī kar rahā rahā kar rahī rahī kar rahe rahe kar rahī rahī̃ (if/when) s/he will be doing
contrafactual past kar rahā hotā kar rahī hotī kar rahe hote kar rahī hotī kar rahā hotā kar rahī hotī kar rahe hote kar rahī hotī̃ 1. s/he would have been doing

2. (wish) s/he were doing

imperative present — — kar rahe raho kar rahī rêhnā kar raha rêh kar rahī rêh kar rahe rahiye kar rahī rahiye be doingǃ (now)
future — — kar rahe rehnā kar rahī rêhnā kar rahā rahiyo kar rahī rahiyo kar rahe rahiyegā kar rahī rahiyegā be doingǃ (in the future)
1 the pronouns tum and ham are grammatically plural but are more often used in as singular pronouns, akin to the English pronoun "you".
2 the indicative and presumptive future conjugations using the copula honā (to be) are often used synonymously.
3 the habitual aspect cannot express the future using the copula "honā" (to be), instead the copula verb "rêhnā" (to stay) is used to construct future forms.
4 the imperative mood of the habitual and perfective aspect forms require the copula "rêhnā" (to stay).
5 the indicative future for the perfective and progressive aspects can alternatively also use the copula "rêhnā" (to stay), they are roughly synonymous.
6 the simple perfect verb forms when used in an if-cause or a relative clause, they would not be considered perfect indicative but instead a type of future subjunctive.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Abbas, Qaiser; Zia, Tehseen; Nabi Khan, Ahsan (18 December 2014). "Syntactic and Semantic Analysis of Urdu Modal Verbs using XLE Parser". International Journal of Computer Applications. 107 (10): 39–46. doi:10.5120/18791-0127.
  2. ^ a b Montaut, Annie (2018). "On the nature of the Hindi infinitive: History as an answer to its syntactic behavior?". Trends in Hindi Linguistics. pp. 115–146. doi:10.1515/9783110610796-006. ISBN 9783110610796. S2CID 126397294.
  3. ^ a b Fatma, Shamim (2018). "Conjunct verbs in Hindi". Trends in Hindi Linguistics. pp. 217–244. doi:10.1515/9783110610796-009. ISBN 9783110610796. S2CID 69388985.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Van Olphen, Herman (1975). "Aspect, tense, and mood in the Hindi verb". Indo-Iranian Journal. 16 (4): 284–301. doi:10.1163/000000075791615397. JSTOR 24651488. S2CID 161530848.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Shapiro, Michael C. (1989). A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 216–246. ISBN 81-208-0475-9.
  6. ^ a b Campbell, George L. (1995). Compendium of the World's Languages. Great Britain: Routledge. pp. 225–229. ISBN 0-415-11392-X.
  7. ^ Singh, Smriti; Sarma, Vaijayanthi M. (December 2011). "Verbal Inflection in Hindi: A Distributed Morphology Approach". Proceedings of the 25th Pacific Asia Conference on Language, Information and Computation. Singapore: Institute of Digital Enhancement of Cognitive Processing, Waseda University: 283–292.
  8. ^ Sharma, Ghanshyam (2015), A pragmatic account of directive strategies in Hindi, retrieved 2020-07-03
  9. ^ Sharma, Ghanshyam (2016). "On Hindi Conditionals - Ghanshyam Sharma". In Singh, Rajendra (ed.). On Hindi Conditionals. Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 1–29. Retrieved 2020-07-03. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Shapiro (2003:270)
  11. ^ Hong, Sungok; Bhatt Kumar, Sunil; Ranjan, Rajiv; Gusain, Lakhan. "Hindi-Urduː Dative Subject Construction".
  12. ^ Piepers, Joske (May 2016). Optional ergative case marking in Hindi (Thesis). hdl:123456789/2440. S2CID 197863131.
  13. ^ Shapiro (2003:270); Snell & Weightman (1989:243–244)
  14. ^ McGregor, R. S. (1986). Outline of Hindi Grammar. United States: Oxford University Press. pp. 123–124. ISBN 0-19-560797-X.
  15. ^ Pokorny, J. (2007). Proto-Indo-European Etymological Dictionary. Indo-European Language Revival Association. pp. 2906–2914.
  16. ^ Tokaj, Joanna (1 June 2016). "A comparative study of participles, converbs and absolute constructions in Hindi and Medieval Rajasthani". Lingua Posnaniensis. 58 (1): 105–120. doi:10.1515/linpo-2016-0007.
  17. ^ a b Subbarao, K.; Arora, Harbir (2009-01-01). "The Conjunctive Participle in Dakkhini Hindi-Urdu: Making the Best of Both Worlds". 70: 359–386. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ Shapiro, Michael C. (2003). A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd. p. 116. ISBN 81-208-0508-9.
  19. ^ Bhatt, Rajesh (2003). Experiencer subjects. Handout from MIT course “Structure of the Modern Indo-Aryan Languages”.
  20. ^ a b Shapiro (2003:269)
  21. ^ Snell & Weightman (1989:154)
  22. ^ Shapiro (2003:269–270)
  23. ^ a b c Snell & Weightman (1989:156)
  24. ^ Snell & Weightman (1989:155)
  25. ^ a b Schmidt (2003:337)
  26. ^ a b c Schmidt (2003:338)
  27. ^ Snell & Weightman (1989:220)
  28. ^ a b Snell & Weightman (1989:221)
  29. ^ Schmidt (2003:337–338)
  30. ^ Snell & Weightman (1989:222)
  31. ^ Masica (1991:329)
  32. ^ a b Mahajan, Anoop (2012-02-01). "Ergatives, antipassives and the overt light v in Hindi". Lingua. Accounting for Ergativity. 122 (3): 204–214. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2011.10.011. ISSN 0024-3841.
  33. ^ McGregor (1972:105)
  34. ^ Mukherjee, Atreyee (November 2017). "Revisiting Ergativity in Hindi". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2021-02-03.

Bibliography

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PRF:perfective; ERG:ergative case; SG:singular; MASC:masculine; FEM:feminine; DIR:direct case; ACC:accusative case; NOM:nominative case; DEM:demonstrative pronoun; INST:instrumental case

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