Verbs: Past Perfect

01

Intransitive Verbs (Subject Agreement)

For intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take a direct object, like to go, to sleep, to come), the verb and the auxiliary agree with the subject in gender and number.

The auxiliary verb forms are:

• था (thātha) - Masculine Singular
• थे (the) - Masculine Plural (or formal respect)
• थी (thīthi) - Feminine Singular
• थीं (thīṃthiṃ) - Feminine Plural

• वह बाज़ार गया था।

  vah bāzār gayā thā.wah bazar gaya tha.

  He had gone to the market.

• वे कल आए थे।

  ve kal āe the.we kal ae the.

  They had come yesterday.

• लड़की सो गई थी।

  laḍkī so gaī thī.laḍki so gai thi.

  The girl had fallen asleep.

02

Transitive Verbs (Object Agreement)

For transitive verbs (verbs that take an object, like to eat, to read, to see), the structure changes significantly. You must use the postposition ने (ne) after the subject.

Because of ने (ne), the verb and the auxiliary no longer agree with the subject. Instead, they agree with the object in gender and number.

• राम ने किताब पढ़ी थी।

  rām ne kitāb paṛhī thī.ram ne kitab parhi thi.

  Ram had read the book.

(Here, the verb is feminine singular because किताब (kitābakitaba) is feminine, even though Ram is masculine.)

• मैंने दो आम खाए थे।

  maiṃne do ām khāe the.maiṃne do am khae the.

  I had eaten two mangoes.

(Here, the verb is masculine plural because आम (āmaama) is masculine plural.)

• सीता ने पानी पिया था।

  sītā ne pānī piyā thā.sita ne pani piya tha.

  Sita had drunk water.

(Here, the verb is masculine singular because पानी (pānīpani) is masculine.)

03

Distant Past vs. Simple Past

Hindi distinguishes between the Simple Past (Indefinite) and the Past Perfect more strictly than English. The Past Perfect is often used to emphasize that an action happened a long time ago or is fully disconnected from the present.

• Simple Past: वह गया। (vaha gayāwaha gaya) - He went. (Could be recently, or just a narrative fact).
• Past Perfect: वह गया था। (vaha gayā thāwaha gaya tha) - He had gone. (Implies he went and perhaps came back, or it happened long ago).

• मैं बचपन में वहाँ गया था।

  maiṃ bacpan meṃ vahā~ gayā thā.maiṃ bachpan meṃ waha~ gaya tha.

  I had gone there in my childhood.

• उसने मुझे पहले ही बताया था।

  usne mujhe pahle hī batāyā thā.usne mujhe pahle hi bataya tha.

  He had already told me.

04

Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative, place नहीं (nahīṃnahiṃ) before the main verb. In the Past Perfect, unlike the Simple Past, the auxiliary verb (था (thātha), थे (the), etc.) is usually retained to maintain the specific "had done" meaning.

• बारिश नहीं हुई थी।

  bāriś nahīṃ huī thī.barish nahiṃ hui thi.

  It had not rained.

• हमने उसे नहीं देखा था।

  hamne use nahīṃ dekhā thā.hamne use nahiṃ dekha tha.

  We had not seen him.