Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) verbs conjugate according to Grammatical 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).
Overview
Verbs
In Hindustani, all verbs have a base form called the infinitive which is marked by the -
nā ending of verbs (compare Proto-Germanic *
-aną).
Some of the most common verbs are:
honā (to be), karnā (to do), rahnā (to stay), calnā (to walk), bolnā (to speak).
Complex verbs
Hindustani is extremely rich in complex verbs formed by the combinations of noun/adjective and a verb. Complex verbs are of two types:
Transitive verb and intransitive.
-
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:
-
noun + verb
-
adjective + verb
-
verb + verb
where the noun, adjective or the first verb contributes the Semantics 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) | |
| ADJECTIVE + VERB |
| (2) | |
| VERB + VERB |
| (3) | |
In the above examples, there are verbal constructions which can be grouped into two categories of complex verbs, namely,
conjunct verbs and
compound verbs.
(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
There are three primary grammatical aspects:
habitual aspect,
perfective aspect and
progressive aspect.
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.
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.
George L. Campbell (1995). 041511392X, Routledge. 041511392X
Habitual aspect
The
habitual aspect is marked using the habitual participle, which is constructed by taking the verb root and suffixing
-tā to it.
Perfective aspect
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
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.
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 (female) am in the process of wearing a shirt) |
| 2b | | | śarṭ pahnī huī hū̃ | | | I am wearing a shirt. (nuance: I (female) am already wearing a shirt) |
| +Aspectual declension
!Gender
!Number
!Habitual
!Perfective
!Progressive
!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
There are five grammatical moods which the three aspects can be put into.
Moods in Hindustani are:
-
Indicative mood
-
Presumptive mood
-
Subjunctive mood
-
Regular subjunctive
-
Present subjunctive
-
Future subjunctive
-
Perfective subjunctive
-
Counterfactual mood
-
Imperative mood
-
Present imperative
-
Future imperative
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.
-
The regular future subjunctive is replaced by the perfective future subjunctive when an If clause or a relative clause is used.
Set of related verbs
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
Idiosyncrasy.
These below are the verb forms that a verb can have —
-
Intransitive
-
Involitional — these are actions that cannot be done intentionally.
-
Dative — these involitional verbs require the subject to be in the dative case.
-
Non-dative — these verbs require the subject to be in the nominative case.
-
Volitional — these are actions that can be intentionally done.
-
Ergative — these verbs require the subject to be in the ergative case when the verb is in the perfective aspect.
-
Non-ergative — these verbs always require the subject to be in the nominative case even when the verb is in perfective aspect.
-
Transitive
-
Direct — the subject itself experiences the action but the subject and the object are not the same
-
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"
-
Reflexive — the verb does action on the subject itself, the doer and experiencer of the action is the same subject
-
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 —
-
Root vowel changeː
-
a → ā
-
u / ū → o
-
i / ī → e
-
Sometimes the root vowel change accompanies the root's final consonant changeː
-
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
-
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.[; ]
| Set of related verbs |
|
|
|
| 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
There are four distinguished conjugation sets in Hindustani.
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
-
Irregular indicative perfect conjugationsː
-
honā - to be; karnā - to do; denā - to give; lenā - to take; pīnā - to drink; jānā - to go
-
Irregular subjunctive conjugationsː
-
honā - to be; lenā - to take; denā - to give; pīnā - to drink; jīnā - to live
-
Irregular imperative conjugationsː
-
lēnā - to take; dēnā - to give; pīnā - to drink; jīnā - to live
Subjunctive mood conjugations
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
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.
|
|
| subjunctive | present | ♂ & ♀ | hū̃ | ho | hõ |
Future regular subjunctive
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.
|
|
| subjunctive | future | ♂ & ♀ | -ū̃ | -e | -o | -ẽ |
| ♂ & ♀ | bol ū̃ | bol e | bol o | bol ẽ |
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.
|
|
| 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
(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 and . 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.R. S. McGregor (1986). 019560797X, Oxford University Press. 019560797X
Regular and perfective subjunctive usage
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.
-
āp cāhẽ to ma͠i āpse hindi bolū̃gā. — "If you like, I'll speak Hindi with you".
-
acchā rahegā agar āp āyẽ — It'll be better if you come.
-
vo cāhtī hai ki ma͠i āū̃. — "she wants that I come."
-
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
-
agar vo āye to mujhe usse milvānā. — Introduce me to him in case he comes.
-
jab vo āye to mujhe usse milvānā. — Introduce me to him when he comes.
Usually with If clause 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
-
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.")
-
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 makes the sentence ungrammatical. However, replacing the perfective subjunctive with indicative future would still result in a grammatical sentence but with a different nuanceː
-
jis din tum āye us din karū̃gā — I'll do it the day you come.
-
*jis din tum āo us din karū̃gā — (intended) I'll do it the day you (will) come.
-
jis din tum āoge us din karū̃gā — I'll do it the day you will come.
Indicative mood conjugations
Present tense
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.
|
|
| 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
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.
|
|
| indicative | perfect | ♂ | -ā | -e |
| ♀ | -ī | -ī̃ |
| ♂ | bol ā | bol e |
| ♀ | bol ī | bol ī̃ |
There are a couple of verbs that have irregular perfect past forms, these are mentioned belowː
| + Verbs Irregular in Indicative Perfect Conjugations
! rowspan="2" | Verb
! rowspan="2" | Regular
Stem
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Irregular
Stem
! colspan="2" | Masculine
! colspan="2" | Feminine |
|
| 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
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”). "to be" act as copula that mark indicative imperfect past when used with aspectual participles.
|
|
| indicative | perfect | ♂ | th ā | th e |
| ♀ | th ī | th ī̃ |
Future tense
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.
| { class="wikitable"
| +Future inflectional suffix
! gender
! singular
! plural |
| ♂ | -gā | -gē |
| ♀ | -gī |
|
|
|
| subjunctive | future | ♂ & ♀ | -ū̃ | -e | -o | -ẽ |
| indicative | future | ♂ | -ū̃-gā | -e-gā | -o-ge | -ẽ-ge |
| ♀ | -ū̃-gī | -e-gī | -o-gī | -ẽ-gī |
| ♂ | bol ū̃gā | bol egā | bol oge | bol ẽge |
| ♀ | bol ū̃gī | bol egī | bol ogī | bol ẽgī |
|}
Presumptive mood conjugations
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.
| { class="wikitable"
| +Future inflectional suffix
! gender
! singular
! plural |
| ♂ | -gā | -gē |
| ♀ | -gī |
|
|
|
| subjunctive | present | ♂ & ♀ | hū̃ | ho | hõ |
| presumptive | present
past
future | ♂ | h ū̃gā | h ogā | h õge |
| ♀ | h ū̃gī | h ogī | h õgī |
|}
Contrafactual mood conjugations
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.
|
|
| contrafactual | past | ♂ | -tā | -te |
| ♀ | -tī | -tī̃ |
| ♂ | bol tā | bol te |
| ♀ | bol tī | bol tī̃ |
Imperative mood conjugations
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.
-
Intimate pronoun ( tū)ː
-
Present imperative — The verb root is the imperative form. All the present imperatives for the pronoun tū are regular.
-
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.
-
Familiar pronoun ( tum)ː
-
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-.
-
Future imperative — The future imperative for tum is the same as the infintive form. All future imperative forms of tum are regular.
-
Formal pronoun ( āp)ː
-
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.
-
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.
| { class="wikitable"
| + Irregular verbs in imperative conjugations
! colspan="2" rowspan="3" | Verb
! colspan="6" | 2nd person pronoun |
|
|
| 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
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 |
|
|
|
|
Perfective | ɸ-(y)ā | ɸ-(y)e | ɸ-(y)ī | ɸ-(y)ī̃ |
Progressive | ɸ + rahā | ɸ + rahe | ɸ + rahī | ɸ + rahī̃ | The copulas that can be used with progressive aspect participle are:
-
honā (to be)
-
rahnā (to stay, remain)
|
Perfective adjectival | 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.
-
baiṭhnā (to sit) → baiṭhe-baiṭhe = while (already) sitting
-
par̥nā (to lie flat, to fall flat) → par̥e-par̥e = while (already) lying flat
-
bichnā (to get spread out) → biche-biche = while (already) spread out
|
|
Oblique infinitive | 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 | 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 | 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 Quirky subject,
[Bhatt, Rajesh (2003). Experiencer subjects. Handout from MIT course “Structure of the Modern Indo-Aryan Languages”.] while other participles can have the nominative or the dative case pronouns as subjects, depending on the verb used. For example:
-
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.)
-
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)
-
mujhe bolne se thakān hotī hai. = I get tired because of speaking.
-
ma͠i bolne se thak jātā hū̃. = I get tired because of speaking.
Copulas and subaspects
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).
Below is a table showing the infinitive forms of each of the aspectual forms using different copulas:
|
| 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.
|
|
|
| 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 verb and
Volitional verbs 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
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).
|
|
|
| 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
, 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"
) loses its own independent meaning and instead "lends a certain shade of meaning"
to the main or stem verb, which "comprises the lexical core of the compound".
While almost any verb can act as a main verb, there is a limited set of productive light verbs.
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.
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 |
|
| 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. | 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.
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. "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. | 1. paṛhnā "to read, study"
2. mārnā "to kill, hit"
3. karnā "to do" | ''1. "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".
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 |
|
| "to throw, pour" | Indicates an action done vigorously, decisively, violently or recklessly.
it is an intensifier, showing intensity, urgency, completeness, or violence. | 1. mārnā "to hit/kill" → "to kill (violently)"
2. pīnā "to drink" → "to drink (all of something in one go)". |
| "to sit" | Implies an action done foolishly or stubbornly; | 1. kêhnā "to say" → "to say something (involuntarily or by mistake)"
2. karnā "to do" → "to do (something as a blunder)"
3. ' "to fight" → ' "to quarrel (foolishly, or without giving a second thought)". |
| "to fall flat" | Connotes involuntary, sudden, or unavoidable occurrence; | 1. uṭhnā "to get up" → uṭh "to suddenly get up" |
| "to rise" | Functions like an intensifier;
in a sense of upward movement. | 1. jalnā "to burn" → "to burst into flames"
2. nācnā "to dance" → "to break into dance". |
| "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)",
and with other appropriate verbs, showing an action performed beforehand.
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. | 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
Hindustani is an aspectually split ergative language, with the ergative case marker, -
ne, appearing on the subject of the transitive perfective clauses.
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.
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 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.
Compound verbs and ergative marking
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.
Certain intransitive V1s do allow for ergative subjects when the light v2 is transitive.
[McGregor (1972:105)] 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.
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 verb) 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.
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.
Verb paradigm
Non-personal Forms
| Participles |
| { class="wikitable"
| Undeclined forms |
|
|
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|
|
|
|
| Participles (Declined forms) |
|
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|-
| colspan="2" |
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
All the verbs except
honā (to be) are
Defective verb 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)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 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 .
3 the simple perfect verb forms when used in an If clause or a relative clause, they would not be considered perfect indicative but instead a type of future subjunctive.
Aspectual form of verbs
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) |
| { class="wikitable"
|
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|
|
|
|
| indicative | present | kartā hū̃ | kartī hū̃ | karte ho | kartī ho | kartā hai | kartī hai | karte ha͠i | kartī ha͠i
! rowspan="11" | | 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) |
|
| indicative | present | kiyā hū̃ | kī hū̃ | kiye ho | kī ho | kiyā hai | kī hai | kiye ha͠i | kī ha͠i
! rowspan="13" | | 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) |
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| 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
! rowspan="14" | | 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) |
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1 the pronouns tum and ham are grammatically plural but are more often used in as singular pronouns, akin to the English pronoun "you".
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1 the pronouns tum and ham are grammatically plural but they are more commonly used as singular pronouns, to explicitly mark plurality, words such as "sab" (all), "log" (people) are added after the pronouns. |
2 the indicative and presumptive future conjugations using the copula honā (to be) are often used .
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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.
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4 the imperative mood of the habitual and perfective aspect forms require the copula " rêhnā" (to stay).
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5 the indicative future for the perfective and progressive aspects can alternatively also use the copula " rêhnā" (to stay), they are roughly synonymous.
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6 the simple perfect verb forms when used in an If clause or a relative clause, they would not be considered perfect indicative but instead a type of future subjunctive.
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Bibliography
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
