Conjugation of होना

01

Present Tense

In the present tense, होना (honāhona) conjugates irregularly based on the person and number of the subject. It does not change for gender in the present tense.

• 1st Person (I, We): मैं (ma͠imain) always takes हूँ (hū̃hun). हम (ham) - we takes हैं (ha͠ihain).
• 2nd Person (You): तुम (tum) takes हो (ho). The formal आप (āpap) takes हैं (ha͠ihain).
• 3rd Person (He/She/It/They): Singular subjects (वह (vahwah), यह (yah), names) take है (hai). Plural subjects (वे (vewe), ये (ye)) take हैं (ha͠ihain).

• मैं भारतीय हूँ।

  ma͠i bhāratīya hū̃.main bharatiya hun.

  I am Indian.

• तुम कैसे हो?

  tum kaise ho?

  How are you?

• वह मेरा भाई है।

  vah merā bhāī hai.wah mera bhai hai.

  He is my brother.

• वे बहुत अमीर हैं।

  ve bahut amīr ha͠i.we bahut amir hain.

  They are very rich.

02

Past Tense: State vs. Event

Unlike English, Hindi distinguishes between "being" as a continuous state (was/were) and "being" as an event or process (became/happened).

1. The Stative Past (Was/Were)

Use the forms था (thātha), थे (the), थी (thīthi), or थीं (thī̃thin) when describing a state that existed in the past. This agrees with the gender and number of the subject.

• था (thātha): Masculine Singular
• थे (the): Masculine Plural (or formal singular)
• थी (thīthi): Feminine Singular
• थीं (thī̃thin): Feminine Plural

• मैं कल बीमार था।

  ma͠i kal bīmār thā.main kal bimar tha.

  I was sick yesterday.

• किताब मेज़ पर थी।

  kitāb mez par thī.kitab mez par thi.

  The book was on the table.

• वे लोग कौन थे?

  ve log kaun the?we log kaun the?

  Who were those people?

2. The Dynamic Past (Became/Happened)

Use the forms हुआ (huāhua), हुए (hue), or हुई (huīhui) when "being" refers to a change of state, an occurrence, or the act of becoming.

• उसे बुखार हुआ।

  use bukhār huā.use bukhar hua.

  He got a fever (literally: fever became to him).

• वहाँ क्या हुआ?

  vahā̃ kyā huā?wahan kya hua?

  What happened there?

• मुझे बहुत ख़ुशी हुई।

  mujhe bahut xuśī huī.mujhe bahut khushi hui.

  I felt very happy (literally: much happiness became to me).

03

Future Tense

The future tense of होना (honāhona) indicates that something "will be" or "will happen." These forms change according to gender and number.

• Masculine: होगा (hogāhoga) for singular, होंगे (hoṅgehonge) for plural/formal.
• Feminine: होगी (hogīhogi) for singular, होंगी (hoṅgīhongi) for plural.

The same forms also express a guess about the present: घड़ी ख़राब होगी (ghaṛī xarāb hogīghari kharab hogi) means "the watch must be broken", not only "the watch will be broken".

• कल छुट्टी होगी।

  kal chuṭṭī hogī.kal chhuṭṭi hogi.

  Tomorrow will be a holiday.

• सब ठीक होगा।

  sab ṭhīk hogā.sab ṭhik hoga.

  Everything will be fine.

• वे नाराज़ होंगे।

  ve nārāz hoṅge.we naraz honge.

  They will be angry.

04

Subject-Verb Agreement

When using होना (honāhona), it is crucial to match the verb to the subject's respect level and number.

• Respect: When talking about someone older or in a formal context, use plural verb forms even for a single person.
• Gender: In the past and future tenses, the verb ending must match the gender of the subject (masculine or feminine).

• पिताजी घर पर हैं।

  pitājī ghar par ha͠i.pitaji ghar par hain.

  Father is at home. (Plural 'haĩ' used for respect)

• माताजी खुश थीं।

  mātājī khuś thī̃.mataji khush thin.

  Mother was happy. (Plural/nasalized 'thī̃' used for respect)