Language/Hindi/Grammar/Past-Tense

Past Tense in Hindi

Simple Past Tense

अमर ने सेब खाया। amar Ne Seb khaayaa.Or अमर सेब खाता था। amar Seb khaaTaa THaa.	“Amar ate an apple.”
पारुल स्कूल गयी। paaruL SkuuL gayii.Or पारुल स्कूल जाती थी। paaruL SkuuL jaaTii THii.	“Parul went to school.”
बच्चे सोये। bacce Soye.Or बच्चे सोते थे। bacce SoTe THe.	“The kids slept.”

Past Continuous

We use the past continuous tense to describe a continuous action that was taking place at a specific time in the past.

In English, this tense is formed by using the auxiliary “was” or “were,” followed by the root form of the main verb + “-ing.” For example:

• [was / were] + eat + ing = was/were eating

In Hindi, you would replace these two elements with one of these terms:

अमर सेब खा रहा था। amar Seb khaa rahaa THaa.	“Amar was eating an apple.”
पारुल स्कूल जा रही थी। paaruL SkuuL jaa rahii THii.	“Parul was going to school.”
बच्चे सो रहे थे। bacce So rahe THe.	“The kids were sleeping

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to express actions that were performed and completed in the past.

In English, you would form this tense by using the auxiliary “had,” followed by the third form of the main verb:

• [had] + eaten = had eaten

In Hindi, the auxiliary “had” is replaced by one of these terms:

• चुका था (cukaa THaa)
• चुकी थी (cukii THii)
• चुके थे (cuke THe)

For example:

Past Perfect Tense

अमर सेब खा चुका था। amar Seb khaa cukaa THaa.	“Amar had eaten an apple.”
पारुल स्कूल जा चुकी थी। paaruL SkuuL jaa cukii THii.	“Parul had gone to school.”
बच्चे सो चुके थे। bacce So cuke THe.	“The kids had slept.”