Past indefinite indicates that the action described in a sentence has happened before and is not a current happening. Example: She watched television. The example indicates that the action of watching was an event of the past.
Below are the rules to form past indefinite tense sentences.
1. If the root verb ends in half consonant sound, change it to आ aa for masculine singular, ए ye for masculine plural, ई ee for feminine singular and ईं een for feminine plural.
Example: See – dekh देख – root verb
This root verb देख becomes देखा dekhaa (m, s), देखे dekhe (m, p), देखी dekhee (f, s), देखीं dekheen (f, p)
I saw – मैं देखा – main dekha – said by a male
I saw – मैं देखी – main dekhee – said by a female
You say – तू देखा – tu dekhaa – said to a male
You say – तू देखी – tu dekhee – said to a female
You say – तुम देखे – tum dekhe – said to a male
You say – तुम देखी – tum dekhee – said to a female
You say – आप देखे – aap dekhe – said to a male or a group of males (this sentence can be used in both singular and plural meaning). The same sentence can also be said to a group of males and females.
You say – आप देखी – aap dekhee – said to a female or a group of females (this sentence can be used in both singular and plural meaning).
We say – हम देखे – hum dekhe – said by a group of males. The same sentence can also be said by a group of males and females.
We saw – हम देखी – hum dekhee – said by a group of females
They saw – ये/वे देखे – ye/ve dekhe – said to a group of males. The same sentence can also be said to a group of males and females.
They saw – ये/वे देखी – ye/ve dekhee – said to a group of females
Note: तुम tum and आप aap, even though used as singular are considered as plural pronouns and so the rule of the plural is applied to them.
2. If the root verb ends in आ aa or o ओ sound, then या yaa is added for masculine singular, ये ye is added for masculine plural, यी yee is added for feminine singular, यीं yeen is added for feminine plural.
An example of a root verb ending in aa आ is आ aa itself. आ aa = come. This आ becomes आया aaya (m,s), आये (m, p), आयी (f, s) and आयीं (f, p).
An example of a root verb ending in o ओ is रो ro. रो ro = cry. This रो becomes रोया royaa (m, s), रोये roye (m, p), रोयी royee (f, s), रोयीं royeen (f, p).
3. Root verbs ending in ऊ oo are shortened in vowel sound before applying the above rule.
Example: Touch = छू choo. This becomes छुआ chuaa (m, s), छुई chuee (f, s), छुए chue (m, p), छुईं chueen (f, p).
Root verbs ending is ई ee are shortened in vowel sound before applying the above rule.
Example: Sew = सी see becomes सिया and Drink = पी pee becomes पिया.
The following verbs are exceptions to the above rules and their past tense is formed as below:
| Root verb | Masculine singular | Masculine plural | Feminine singular | Feminine plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| हो - ho - become | हुआ - huaa | हुए - hue | हुई - huee | हुईं - hueen |
| जा - jaa - go | गया - gayaa | गए - gaye | गयी - gayee | गयीं - gayeen |
| ले - le - take | लिया - liyaa | लिए - liye | ली - lee | लीं - leen |
| दे - de - give | दिया - diyaa | दिए - diye | दी - dee | दीं - deen |
| कर - kar - do | किया - kiyaa | किये - kiye | की - kee | कीं - keen |
Now, go ahead and practice with the below verbs:
Return = lout लौट
Reach = pahunch पहुँच
Stay = tahar ठहर
Take bath = naha नहा
Sit = bait बैठ
Before you move on to the next lesson, learn what are transitive and intransitive verbs.