Thursday, December 13, 2012

TIME WORDS


These time words may help you while building sentences in past, present and future. It is pretty easy. If you want to say “I go to office every morning.” You just say: “मैं सुबह दफ्तर जाता हूँ।“ (Main subah daftar jaataa hoon.) As you can see in this post, “yesterday” and “tomorrow” is the same word in Hindi – “कल” (kal) and “a day before yesterday” and “a day after tomorrow” is “परसों” (parson).

Artist at the Delhi Hath
                                    

1. Times of the day in the present:

आज
aaj
today
आज सुबह
aaj subah
this morning
आज दोपहर
aaj dopahar
this afternoon
आज शाम
aaj shaam
this evening
आज रात
aaj raat
tonight

2. Times of the day in the past and future:

कल
kal
tomorrow; yesterday; next; last
कल सुबह
kal subah
tomorrow/yesterday morning
कल दोपहर
kal dopahar
tomorrow/yesterday afternoon
कल शाम
kal shaam
tomorrow/yesterday evening
कल रात
kal raat
next/last night

3. This week, this month, this year:

इस हफ़्ते
is hafte
this week
इस महीने
is maheene
this month
इस साल
is saal
this year

4. Last week, last month, last year:

पिछले हफ़्ते
pichhle hafte
last week
पिछले महीने
pichhle maheene
last month
पिछले साल
pichhle saal
last year

5. Next week. Next month, next year:



अगले हफ़्ते
agle hafte
next week
अगले महीने
agle maheene
next month
अगले साल
agle saal
next year

                                                      
6. Other useful words:

अक्सर
aksar
often
अब
ab
now
अभी
abhee
now
आज तक
aaj tak
until now; until today
आजकल
aajkal
nowadays
कभी कभी
kabhee kabhee
sometimes
कभी नहीं
kabhee naheen
never
कल तक
kal tak
until tomorrow
कल या परसों
kal yaa parson
tomorrow or a day after tomorrow
कल से
kal se
from tomorrow/yesterday
जल्द से जल्द
jald se jald
as fast as possible
जल्दी
jaldee
fast
टाइम पे
taim pe
on time
दिन बा दिन
din ba din
day after day
परसों
parson
a day after/before yesterday
रोज़
roz
daily
हमारे ज़माने में
hamaare zamaane men
in our times
हमेशा के लिए
hameshaa ke liye
forever
हर दिन
har din
every day
हर महिना
har mahinaa
every month
हर साल
har saal
every year
हर हफ़्ता
har haftaa
every week

Thursday, December 6, 2012

HINDI VERBS 6 (Past Imperfective Tense ("Used to")

The past imperfective tense is the “used to” tense. For example: “I used to go to school”, “I used to work as an accountant”, “I used to play drums”, “I used to live in India”, “I used to have a dog”.

To make the past imperfective tense you will have to:

* Take a verb in its infinitive/dictionary form that usually ends in "-na";
* Remove the ending "-na" and add the ending "-ta";
* Add an auxiliary/helping verb "to be" in its past form (था - tha - was);

Look at this comparison of present simple and past imperfective:

Present simple tense: “मैं काम करता हूँ” (Main kaam kartaa hoon – I work)
Past imperfective tense:मैं काम करता था” (Main kaam kartaa thaa – I used to work). 

The difference is, we use “था” (tha – was, m) instead of “हूँ” (hoon – am, f/m).

Subject pronoun
Verb
Helping verb “to be”
Complete phrase
मैं
Main
I

कर + ता
kar + taa
did

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं करता था।
Main kartaa thaa.
I used to do.

मैं
Main
I

पढ़ + ता
parh + taa
read

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं पढ़ता था।
Main parhtaa thaa.
I used to read.

मैं
Main
I

जा + ता
jaa  + taa
went

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं जाता था।
Main jaataa thaa.
I used to go.

मैं
Main
I

सुन + ता
sun + taa
listened

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं सुनता था।
Main suntaa thaa.
I used to listen.

मैं
Main
I

रह + ता
rah + taa
lived

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं रहता था।
Main rahtaa thaa.
I used to live.

मैं
Main
I

गा + ता
gaa + taa
sang

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं गाता था।
Main gaataa thaa.
I used to sing.

मैं
Main
I

बना + ता
banaa + taa
made

था
thaa
(was, m, sg)

मैं बनाता था।
Main banaataa thaa.
I used to make.

मैं
Main
I
सोच + ता
soch + taa
thought
था
thaa
(was, m, sg)
मैं सोचता था।
Main sochtaa thaa.
I used to think.

(This chart shows an example of what does the imperfective past tense (“used to”) look like in Hindi. If you wonder what does “कर + ता” mean and what is the plus for, it is to show how the verb has changed from its dictionary form. Let’s say you find a Hindi verb “करना” (karnaa – to do) in the dictionary in its infinitive form that ends with “-na” and you want to change it into the past imperfective tense, first thing you need to do is to drop the ending “-na” and add “-ta” which is the suffix for the present simple and past tense imperfective tense. Then, you add “tha” which is the verb “hona” (to be) in its past tense form and is used as a helping verb such as the English “have”.)

1. In this chart you will be introduced to all the forms of the auxiliary verb “to be” in its past tense. As the auxiliary verb “to be” changes depending on the gender and number and is an irregular verb, it is important to first learn its past forms.

मैं था
main thaa
I was (m)
तू था
too thaa
You were (m, cas.)
तुम/आप थे
tum/aap the
You were (m, pol.)
यह/वह था
yah/vah thaa
He was
हम थे
ham the
We were (m)
तुम/आप थे
tum/aap the
You were (m, pol.)
ये/वे थे
ye/ve the
They were (m)
मैं थी
main thee
I was (f)
तू थी
too thee
You were (f, cas.)
तुम/आप थीं
tum/aap theen
You were (f, pol.)
यह/वह थी
yah/vah thee
She was
हम थीं
ham theen
We were (f)
तुम/आप थीं
tum/aap theen
You were (f, pl)
ये/वे थीं
ye/ve theen
They were (f)

(The blue shaded part of the table – masculine, the reddish – feminine gender.)

2. Now we can make short sentences that express the past imperative tense. For example:

सलमान मुंबई में रहता था।
Salmaan Mumbai men rahtaa thaa.
Salman used to live in Mumbai.

राज मोडल का काम करता था।
Raaj modal kaa kaam kartaa thaa.
Raj used to be a model.

अजय पहले गाड़ी चलाता था।
Ajay pahle gaaDee chalaataa thaa.
Before Ajay used to drive a car.

मेरे पिता काम से जल्दी आते थे।
Mere pitaa kaam se jaldee aate the.
My father used to come from work fast.
नीतू बचपन में बहुत रोती थी।
Neetu bachpan men bahut rotee thee.
As a child, Neetu used to cry a lot.

मेरी बहिन बहुत अच्छा खाना बनाती थी।
Meree bahin bahut achchhaa khaanaa banaatee thee.
My sister used to make a very good food.

मैं मंदिर रोज़ जाती थी।
Main mandir roz jaatee thee.
I used to go to the temple every day.

मेरा भाई स्कूल से हमेशा देर आता था।
Meraa bhaaii, skool se hameshaa der aataa thaa.
My brother used to come from school always late.
हम तब दिल्ली में रहते थे।
Ham tab Dillee men rahte the.
We used to live in Delhi then.

मेरे दादाजी और नानाजी दोनों पहले गाँव में रहते थे।
Mere daadaajee aur naanaajee donon pahle gaanv men rahte the.
My parental grandfather and maternal grandfather, both used to live in a village before.

हम औरतें सारा ज़िंदगी घर में ही बिताती थीं।
Ham auraten saaraa zindagee ghar men hee bitaatee theen.
We women used to spend all life at home.

पहले औरतें रोज़ साड़ी पहनती थीं।
Pahle auraten roz saaDee pahantee theen.
Before women used to wear saris every day.

3. You can also use “था/थी/थे/थीं” (thaa/thee/the/then –was/were) alone in sentences like:

कल मेरा जन्मदिन था।
Kal meraa janmdin thaa.
It was my birthday yesterday.

कल राजदीप बीमार थी।
Kal Rajdeep beemaar thee.
Yesterday Rajdeep was ill.

कल मौसम अच्छा था।
Kal mausam achchhaa thaa.
Yesterday the weather was good.

कल वाला चलचित्र बहुत मजेदार था।
Kal vaalaa chalchitr bahut mazedaar thaa.
Yesterday’s movie was very funny.

कल शाम आप कहाँ पर थे?
Kal sham aap kahaan par the?
Where were you yesterday night?

क्या वह यहाँ थी?
Kyaa vah yahan thee?
Was she here?

क्या तुम भी उस मेले पर थीं?
Kyaa tum bhee us mele par theen?
Where you also at that fair?

कल मंगलवार था।
Kal mangalvaar thaa.
Yesterday was Tuesday.

उस दिन बहुत  काम था।
Us din bahut kaam thaa.
That day there was a lot of work.

उसकी बीवी बहुत सुन्दर थी।
Uskee beevee bahut sundar thee.
His wife was very beautiful.

उसके बच्चे बहुत शैतान थे।
Uske bacche bahut shaitaan the.
His children were very naughty.

मेरे जूते बिलकुल नए थे।
Mere joote bilkul naye the.
My shoes were brand new.

Madhubani/tribal art inspired painting "Fish"
                                                            
4.  EXERCISE:

 a) Match the words and make your own sentences. Try to use the right form of auxiliary verb था/थी/थे/थीं” for the masculine and feminine. Example: “आप गरीब थे” (Aap gareeb the. – You were poor.)

कल
kal
yesterday

जवान
javaan
young

था
thaa
was (m., sg.)

आप
aap
you (m,f, pl)

गरीब
gareeb
poor

थी
thee
was (f., sg)

वह
vah
he, she

मोटा
moTaa
fat

थे
the
were (m., pl.)

गाड़ी (f)
gaaDee
car

स्वादिष्ट
svaadiSht
tasty

थीं
theen
were (f.,pl)

खाना (m)
khaanaa
food

दिलचस्प
dilchasp
interesting

बात (f)
baat
affair; matter

मज़ेदार
mazedaar
funny; fun

चलचित्र (m)
chalchitr
movie

नया
nayaa
new

मैं
main
I
शुक्रवार (m)
shukrvaar
Friday

EXTRAS: How to say: "USED TO BE" (Hotaa thaa)

होता था
Hotaa thaa
Used to be (masc., sing.)
होती थी
Hotee thee
Used to be (fem., sing.)
होते थे
Hote the
Used to be (masc., plur.)
होती थीं
Hotee theen
Used to be (fem., plur.)
अर्जुन खुश होता था।
Arjun khush hotaa thaa.
Arjun used to be happy.
मीना खुश होती थी।
Meenaa khush hotee thee.
Meenaa used to be happy.
अर्जुन और दानेश खुश होते थे।

Arjun aur Danesh khush hote the.
Arjun and Danesh used to be happy.
मीना और सीता  खुश होती थीं।

Meenaa aur Seetaa khush hotee theen.
Meenaa and Seetaa used to be happy.

(This chart shows you how to use: "Used to be". Pay attention to the changes of the suffix "-ta", "-tee", "-te" and "-tee").

b) Match the mixed up words and make sentences. Try to use the right form of auxiliary verb था/थी/थे/थीं” for the masculine and feminine. Example: “मैं मुंबई में रहता था” (Main Mumbai men rahtaa thaa – I used to live in Mumbai.), “वह बहुत हँसती थी”(Vah bahut hanstee thee – She used to laugh a lot.)

मैं
Main
I

रहना
rahnaa
to live

मुंबई में
Mumbai men
in Mumbai

था 
thaa
was, m

तुम
Tum
You

जाना
jaanaa
to go

दफ्तर
daftar
office

थी
thee
was, f

आप
Aap
You (pl)

चलाना
chalaanaa
to drive

गाड़ी
gaaDee
car

थे
the
were, m

यह
Yah
He/she

देखना
dekhnaa
to watch; look

टीवी
teevee
TV

थीं
theen
were, f

हम
Ham
We

खेलना
khelnaa
to play

ताश
taash
playing cards

वे
Ve
They

खाना
khaanaa
to eat

खाना
khaanaa
food

पढ़ना
parhnaa
to read

किताबें
kitaaben
books

पीना
peenaa
to drink

चाय
chaay
tea

करना
karnaa
to do

शोपिंग
shoping
shopping

होना
honaa
to be

बीमार
beemaar
ill

कमाना
kamaanaa
to earn

पैसे
paise
money

हँसना
hansnaa
to laugh

बहुत
bahut
very

करना
karnaa
to do
काम
kaam
work