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LESSON 4

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VERB STRUCTURE and CONCORD

1. The basic structural units of the Hindi verb are:

(a)    The verb stem

(b)   Formative suffixes. Chief among these are:

(i) –t:a, -A: and their concord variants

-t:a forms imperfect participles, characterizes verbal actions as not completed

-A: forms perfective participles, characterizes verbal action as completed

Note: Aspect (imperfect and perfective, here) refers to the character of a verbal action (completed, not completed, hypothetical, temporary, durative, habitual) not its placement in time.

         (ii) –n:a and its concord variants. These form verbal nouns or adjectives.

         (iii) Certain modal suffixes. These appear in subjective and imperative forms.

    (c) Certain forms of the verb h<n:a used with the participles as auxiliaries of tense and mood.

2. Composite verbal expressions. These contain verbal forms other than (or additional to)

    those of the verb h<n:a.

PRESENT, PAST, AND FUTURE TENSE FORMS OF h<n:a ‘be, become’

Present ‘I am’ etc.	Past ‘I was’, etc.
m:òù hÜú	m:òù }   T:a m.  T:i f.
t:Ü, v:h hò	t:Ü, v:h }   T:a m.  T:i f.
t:Úm: h<	t:Úm: }    T:ð m.  T:iù f.
v:ð, A:p:, hm: hòù	v:ð }   T:ð m.  T:iù f.

 

Future ‘I shall be, become’, etc.
M.	F.
m:òù hÜúg:a	hÜúg:i
t:Ü, v:h hò	h<g:i
t:Úm: h<g:ð	h<g:i
hm:, A:p: h<gù:ð	h<gù:i
v:ð

(a)  Note that past tense forms show gender concord with subjects, and that feminine plural past tense forms show nasality.

(b) Future tense forms also show gender concord with subjects. Note that future forms of  h<n:a are often used to express presumptions:

e.g. v:h A:dm:i deVK:n:i h<g:a. That man is probably a southerner.

REGULAR CONJUGATIONAL PATTERNS

1. General Present: ‘I go’, etc.

m:òù c:l:t:a húÜ  m.	m:òù c:l:t:i hÜú  f.
v:h c:l:t:a hò	v:h c:l:t:i hò
t:Úm: c:l:t:ð h<	t:Úm: c:l:t:i h<
hm: c:l:t:ð hòù	hm: c:l:t:i hòù

(a) General present forms are compatible with habitual action or general state. Often used with an indefinite sense, for instance when there is no explicit need felt to use a present continuous form:

m:òù B:art: m:ðù rht:a húÜ.	I live in India.
m:òù B:art: m:ðù ehndi b:<l:t:a húÜ.	I speak hindi in India.
m:òù c:l:t:a húÜ.	I’m going

(b) General present forms are negated with n:hiù preceding the participle; the auxiliary is usually dropped unless the negation is strongly stressed. When the auxiliary is dropped, the nasality of the feminine plural forms is transferred to the final syllable of the participle.

v:ð A:òrt:ðù AVs:r ehndi n:hiù b:<l:t:iù. Those women usually don’t speak Hindi.

(c) h<n:a has its own general present form h<t:a hò Note particularly the use of h<n:a hò as opposed to hò :

y:h g:a_i l:al: hò.	This car is red. (particular case)
g:ae_y:aú m:húg:i h<t:i hòù.	Cars are expensive. (general case)

2. Imperfective past ‘I went, used to go’, etc.

(a) These forms have the same usual reference to habitual action or general state as general state as general present forms. They are also common in narration where there is no explicit need felt to use a past continuous form: e.g.

us: s:m:y: m:ò edll:i m:ðù rht:a T:a.  At that time I was living in Delhi.

They are negated with n:hiù, preceding the participle: e.g.

m:òù n:hiù c:l:t:a T:a.   I didn’t used to go.

3. Temporary Aspect, Present Relevance (“Continuous Present”)

‘i’m going’, etc.

(a) The perfective participle of the verb rhn:a ‘remain’ follows the stem. These forms stress the continuous nature of incomplete actions. (Better: temporary nature of the action) The verbal unit c:l: rha húÜ is pronounced with a single stress on the verb stem, the following syllables being unstressed.

(b) Some English expressions of present participial form refer to present state as much as the continued action, e.g. to be sitting, to be standing. These have as Hindi translation equivalents not continuous present forms but perfective participles of verbs denoting assumption of the given state, plus present tense forms of h<n:a e.g.

m:òù kÚrs:i p:r b:òYa húÜ.	I am sitting on a chair.
ekt:ab: m:ðz: p:r p:_i hò.	The book is lying on the table.

(c) The continuous present may be used, as in English, of future events which are thought of as already set in a train: e.g.

m:òù kl: j:a rha húÜ.

I am going tomorrow.

(d) Continuous present forms can be negated with in the same way as general present forms. They are less common with negated than the latter, however, since it is not often necessary to describe a non-occurring action as specifically ‘continuous’. (Perhaps there is a semantic clash here)

(4) Continuous past  : ‘I was going’, etc

VERBAL CONCORD WITH COMPOSITE SUBJECTS

Where there are two or more subjects of different genders the verb usually agrees with the subject nearest to it, although if both subjects have personal reference it often shows a ‘common’ masculine gender. When first and second person subjects are involved, a composite subject pronoun (e.g. d<n:< ‘both’) is often added.

Where there are two or more subjects of the same gender, the verb is plural and of that gender if they have personal reference; otherwise it most frequently agrees with the nearest subject: e.g.

THE POSTPOSITION s:ð

This postposition is used in construction with various verbs of speaking, telling, etc. (but not all such verbs); e.g. with b:<l:n:a ‘to speak’, khn:a ‘to say’, and p:ÜCn:a ‘to ask’. (There is a notion of reciprocity.)

SOME EXPRESSIONS OF MOTION

Expressions describing motion to a destination denoted by a place-name usually show the noun concerned without following postposition: e.g.

The second example with its alternative forms show that oblique case usages are involved in this type of expression.

VOCABULARY

ehndi	F. Hindi	B:art:iy:	adj. & noun, Indian
g:a_i	F. vehicle (car, cart, train)	rhn:a	stay, remain, live
Aúg:ðÒz:	m.f., Englishman/woman	b:<l:n:a	speak, talk, utter
Aúg:ðÒz:i	English, the language (f)	b:òYn:a	sit, take one’s seat
B:a\:a	f, language	j:an:a	to go
b:aerS:	f. rain	el:K:n:a	to write
b:aerS: h<n:a	to rain	j:an:n:a	to know
p:ð_	m. tree	g:an:a	sing; song (m)
p:tt:a	m. leaf	p:`n:a	read; study
d<st:	m. friend	p:_n:a	fall; be found
dFt:r	m. office	A:n:a	to come
ev:dy:aT:iü	m. student	s:<n:a	to sleep
g:rem:y:aú	f. pl., hot season	AVs:r	usually
edn:	m. day	kl:	yesterday, tomorrow
es:g:ðÒX	f.m., cigarette	p:rs:<ù	day before/after yesterday
sy:ahi	f. ink	hm:ðS:a	always
Raeky:a	m. postman	kb:	when?
s:v:al:	m. question	Vy:<ù	why?
p:_a	lying, placed flat	hra	green
l:ùb:a	long; tall	m:húg:a	expensive
AcCa	good; adv., well; interj.; all right, I see, etc.

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