Welcome to Unit 10 — the final unit of your A1 Hindi journey! In this lesson, you'll consolidate the past tense by talking about what you did yesterday and last week. The past tense is one of Hindi's trickiest areas because of the ने [ne] construction with transitive verbs, but by the end of this lesson, you'll feel much more confident. Let's look back before we look forward!
Learning tips
- The key rule: transitive verbs (like खाना [khānā] 'to eat', देखना [dekhnā] 'to see') use ने [ne] after the subject, and the verb agrees with the OBJECT. Intransitive verbs (like जाना [jānā] 'to go', आना [ānā] 'to come') do NOT use ने [ne], and the verb agrees with the SUBJECT.
- कल [kal] means both 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow' — context tells you which! If paired with past tense, it's yesterday; with future tense, it's tomorrow.
- Practice telling your day in Hindi every evening — 'मैंने क्या किया?' [maĩne kyā kiyā?] is great daily practice.
- Listen for the ने [ne] pattern in Bollywood movies — it's everywhere in past tense narration.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मदद [madad] | help | |
| पुलिस [pulis] | police | |
| एंबुलेंस [eṃbulens] | ambulance | |
| फ़ोन [fon] | phone | |
| कॉल [kŏl] | call | |
| जल्दी [jaldī] | quickly | |
| ख़तरा [xatrā] | danger | |
| चोट [coṭ] | injury | |
| गिरना [girnā] | to fall | |
| टूटना [ṭūṭnā] | to break |
Dialog
Sita and Ravi chat about their yesterday at the DU canteen, then continue the conversation near the metro station. Notice how Sita uses मैं गई [maĩ gaī] (I went — feminine, intransitive, no ने [ne]) but मैंने देखी [maĩne dekhī] (I watched — transitive, with ने [ne], verb agrees with feminine फ़िल्म [film]). Ravi uses मैं गया [maĩ gayā] (masculine) and मैंने देखी [maĩne dekhī] (same — because the object फ़िल्म [film] is feminine regardless of the speaker's gender). Also notice the Agra reference — Delhi residents often take weekend trips to see the Taj Mahal.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| कल | kal | /kəl/ | yesterday; tomorrow | Context determines meaning — with past tense = yesterday, with future tense = tomorrow |
| पिछला | pichlā | /pɪt͡ʃʰ.laː/ | previous, last | Masculine form — changes to पिछली [pichlī] (f.) and पिछले [pichle] (m. oblique/plural) |
| किया | kiyā | /kɪ.jaː/ | did (past of करना) | Transitive — requires ने [ne]: मैंने किया [maĩne kiyā]. Changes: किया [kiyā] (m.), की [kī] (f.) |
| गया | gayā | /ɡə.jaː/ | went (past of जाना) | Intransitive — no ने [ne]: मैं गया [maĩ gayā] (m.), मैं गई [maĩ gaī] (f.) |
| आया | āyā | /aː.jaː/ | came (past of आना) | Intransitive — no ने [ne]: वह आया [vah āyā] (m.), वह आई [vah āī] (f.) |
| खाया | khāyā | /kʰaː.jaː/ | ate (past of खाना) | Transitive — मैंने खाया [maĩne khāyā]. Verb agrees with what was eaten |
| देखा | dekhā | /d̪e.kʰaː/ | saw, watched (past of देखना) | Transitive — मैंने देखा [maĩne dekhā] (m. obj.), मैंने देखी [maĩne dekhī] (f. obj.) |
| मिला | milā | /mɪ.laː/ | met (past of मिलना) | Intransitive — मैं मिला [maĩ milā]. Uses से [se] for 'with': दोस्त से मिला [dost se milā] |
| बहुत | bahut | /bə.ɦʊt̪/ | very, much, a lot | One of the most common Hindi words — used as an intensifier before adjectives and verbs |
| कुछ | kuch | /kʊt͡ʃ/ | some, something | Versatile word — कुछ खाया [kuch khāyā] (ate something), कुछ नहीं [kuch nahī̃] (nothing) |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| परसों | parsõ | /pər.sõː/ | day before yesterday; day after tomorrow | Like कल [kal], context determines past or future |
| पिछले हफ़्ते | pichle hafte | /pɪt͡ʃʰ.le həf.t̪e/ | last week | पिछले [pichle] is the oblique masculine form used before हफ़्ते [hafte] |
| दिलचस्प | dilcasp | /d̪ɪl.t͡ʃəsp/ | interesting | Urdu-origin — very common in Delhi Hindi |
| मज़ेदार | mazedār | /mə.ze.d̪aːr/ | fun, entertaining | From मज़ा [mazā] (fun) + दार [dār] (having) — 'having fun' |
| थकान | thakān | /t̪ʰə.kaːn/ | tiredness, fatigue | Feminine noun — थकान हो रही है [thakān ho rahī hai] (feeling tired) |
| आराम | ārām | /aː.raːm/ | rest, comfort | Very common — आराम करो [ārām karo] (take rest) is heard daily in India |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| कल क्या किया? | kal kyā kiyā? | What did you do yesterday? |
| बहुत अच्छा था | bahut acchā thā | It was very good |
| कुछ नहीं किया | kuch nahī̃ kiyā | Didn't do anything |
Grammar: Past tense consolidation — ने [ne] with transitive verbs vs. intransitive without ने [ne]
| Type | Subject | ने [ne]? | Verb agrees with | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transitive | मैंने [maĩne] | ✓ | Object | मैंने खाना खाया [maĩne khānā khāyā] |
| Transitive (fem. obj.) | उसने [usne] | ✓ | Object (fem.) | उसने फ़िल्म देखी [usne film dekhī] |
| Intransitive | मैं [maĩ] | ✗ | Subject | मैं गया [maĩ gayā] / मैं गई [maĩ gaī] |
| Intransitive | वह [vah] | ✗ | Subject | वह आया [vah āyā] / वह आई [vah āī] |
Hindi past tense has a unique feature that doesn't exist in English: the ergative construction with ने [ne].
Transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object — eating, seeing, doing) require ने [ne] after the subject. The verb then agrees with the object, not the subject:
- मैंने किताब पढ़ी [maĩne kitāb paṛhī] — I read a book (verb agrees with किताब [kitāb], feminine)
- मैंने खाना खाया [maĩne khānā khāyā] — I ate food (verb agrees with खाना [khānā], masculine)
Intransitive verbs (verbs without a direct object — going, coming, sleeping) do NOT use ने [ne]. The verb agrees with the subject:
- मैं गया [maĩ gayā] — I went (masculine speaker)
- मैं गयी [maĩ gayī] — I went (feminine speaker)
This is the most important grammar point in A1 Hindi — practice it often!
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct Hindi past tense word.
- मैंने बहुत काम ।(yesterday / did)
- सीता कल लाइब्रेरी ।(went — feminine subject, intransitive)
- मैंने समोसा — अच्छा था!(some / ate — transitive with ने)
- क्या आप से ?(friend / met — intransitive with से)
- मैंने एक फ़िल्म ।(yesterday / watched — transitive, f. object)
Grammar Application
Choose the correct past tense form based on the grammatical rule (transitive/intransitive, gender agreement).
- मैं दफ़्तर (गया/किया) — intransitive verb, no ने [ne](intransitive — verb agrees with masculine subject)
- मैंने खाना (खाया/गया) — transitive verb with ने [ne](transitive with ने — verb agrees with masculine object खाना)
- सीता कल (आई/आया) — feminine subject, intransitive(intransitive — verb agrees with feminine subject सीता)
- उसने फ़िल्म (देखी/देखा) — transitive, feminine object(transitive with ने — verb agrees with feminine object फ़िल्म)
- रवि पार्क (गई/गया) — masculine subject, intransitive(intransitive — verb agrees with masculine subject रवि)
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi. Pay attention to whether the verb is transitive or intransitive.
- Yesterday I did a lot of work.
- I went to the park yesterday.
- Did you eat something?
- I met my friend.
- I watched an interesting film.
Creative Construction
Write 1-2 sentences about what you did yesterday using at least 3 words from this lesson.
Writing: Conjunct consonants — past tense verbs
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| क्या | kyā |
| अच्छा | acchā |
| पिछला | pichlā |
Today we practice conjunct consonants (संयुक्त अक्षर [saṃyukt akṣar]) — combinations of two consonants written as one unit. These appear frequently in past tense vocabulary:
- क्य [kya] — as in क्या [kyā] (what). The य [ya] tucks under the क [ka].
- च्छ [ccha] — as in अच्छा [acchā] (good). Two consonants fused together.
- श्व [śva] — as in विश्वविद्यालय [viśvavidyālay] (university).
Conjuncts look complex but follow patterns. The first consonant loses its vertical stroke and merges with the second. Practice writing क्या [kyā] and अच्छा [acchā] — you've been reading them since Lesson 1!
Takeaway
The most important past tense rule in Hindi: transitive verbs use ने [ne] and the verb agrees with the object, while intransitive verbs have no ने [ne] and the verb agrees with the subject. Practice with daily narration!