8.6 Grammar: Perfective Aspect

Perfective Aspect Video

Instructor Video: Perfective Aspect

Use of Perfective Markers with Different Subjects

Future markers are used based on the number, person and gender features of the agreeing subject.

Notes:

(a) When subject of a sentence is of mixed gender please use plural masculine aspect marker.

(b) When the verb stem ends in consonant then vowels of the aspect markers are marked as dependent vowels. For example: बोला/बोली, पढ़े/पढ़ी, खेले/खेलीं, etc.

(c) When the verb stem ends in vowel then the aspect markers -आ/-ए are attached using a semi-consonant य. For example: गाया/गायी, आया/आयी, खाये/खायीं,  etc. Additionally, when the verb stem ends in long ii (ई), it is changes in short i (इ) before adding perfective marker, using the semi-vowel य. For example: सिया/सिये/सी/सीं, पिया/पिये/पी/पीं, etc.

(d)  When the verb stem ends in long uu (ऊ), it is changes in short u (उ) before adding perfective marker, without using the semi-vowel य. For example: छुआ/छुए/छुई/छुईं, etc.

Irregular Verbs in Perfective Aspect

Perfective Aspect with Intransitive Verbs

We have learned that main verb can be classified in three categories (a) intransitive verb, (b) transitive verb, and (c) ditransitive verb. The structure of perfective aspect for the intransitive verbs is different from the structure of the transitive and the ditransitive verbs.

We also learn that intransitive verb is a verb that requires only one noun/pronoun in a complete sentence and that noun/pronoun can be either the subject or the object of that complete sentence.

Verb agreement: As the intransitive verb requires only one noun/pronoun that can act like a subject or an object, the verb agrees with subject or object, whichever is available in a sentence.

Perfective aspect with Intransitive Verbs in Three Tenses

Activity 1

Please write two sentences in perfective aspect using the following intransitive verbs.

Perfective Aspect with Transitive and Ditransitive Verbs

We have learned that transitive verb is a verb that requires two nouns/pronouns in a complete sentence where one noun/pronoun has to be the subject and other noun/pronoun has to be the object of a complete sentence.

Ditransitive verb is a verb that requires three nouns/pronouns in a complete sentence where one noun/pronoun has to be the subject and other noun/pronoun has to be the indirect object and yet another noun/pronoun has to be the direct object of a complete sentence.

Use of ने

When transitive and ditransitive verbs appears in perfective aspect, the ergative case marker -ने has come with the subject of the sentence. The subject of the transitive and ditransitive verbs in perfective aspect has to be in oblique form because of the appearance of the ergative case marker -ने.

Oblique Form of Hindi Pronouns with Ergative Case Marker -ने

Note:

There are a few transitive verbs that do not use the subject with ने marking. These verbs are लाना “to bring,” भूलना “to forget,” बोलना “to speak.”

Verb-Agreement of Transitive and Ditransitive Verbs in the Perfective Aspect

Object–Verb Agreement

• • As the subject of the transitive and ditransitive verbs in the perfective aspect has to have ergative case marker –ने, it blocks the subject-verb agreement. So the verb agrees with object.
  • For examples:
    • मैंने खाना खाया | “I ate food.” (Here खाया is agreeing with the object खाना which is masculine, singular)
    • सीता ने कपड़े खरीदे | “Sita bought clothes.” (Here खरीदे is agreeing with the object कपड़े which is masculine, plural)
    • राम ने रोटी खायी | “Ram ate a bread.” (Here खायी is agreeing with the object रोटी which is feminine, singular)
    • उन्होंने राधा को फूल दिया | “They gave Radha a flower.” (Here दिया is agreeing with the object फूल which is masculine, singular. Please also note that the indirect object राधा is also marked with -को, and hence cannot agree with the verb.)
    • पीटर ने ऋतिक को किताबें दीं | “Peter gave books to Hritik.” (Here दीं is agreeing with the object किताबें which is feminine, plural. Please also note that the indirect object ऋतिक is also marked with -को, and hence cannot agree with the verb.)

Default Agreement

• • When the subject and the object both are marked by case markers ने and को/से respectively, the verb of a sentence does not have any noun/pronoun to agree with. In this cases, verb will always take third person, singular, masculine perfect aspect marking which is also called default marking.
  • For examples:
    • सीता ने राधा को मारा | “Sita beat up Radha.” (Here सीता and राधा both are feminine but the verb मारा is in 3rd person singular masculine form, because of the default agreement.)
    • अध्यापक ने छात्रों से कहा | “Teacher said to the students.” (Here अध्यापक is 3rd person singular honorific,  and छात्रों is masculine plural, but the verb कहा is in 3rd person singular masculine form, because of the default agreement.)
    • लोगों ने चोर को पकड़ा | “People caught a thief.” (Here लोगों is 3rd person plural,  and चोर is masculine singular, the verb पकड़ा is in 3rd person singular masculine form, because of the default agreement, and not because of चोर.)

Activity 2

Please write two sentences in perfective aspect using the following transitive and ditransitive verbs.

Negation of Perfective Aspect

In order to change the perfective aspect sentences in negative, we use the word नहीं right before the main verb.

Examples:

• मैं स्कूल नहीं गया/गयी | “I did not go to school.”
• हमने खाना नहीं खाया है | “We did not eat food.”
• माँ ने बच्चों को मिठाइयाँ नहीं दीं | “Mother did not give sweets to the children.”
• अध्यापक ने छात्रों को कुछ नहीं पढ़ाया था | “Teacher had taught nothing to the students.”

Uses of the Perfective Aspect

Use of Simple Perfective Aspect

Unlike the habitual past tense which expresses the routine, habitual, and permanent actions in the past, the simple perfective aspect expresses one completed action. Past adverb of time can be used in a simple perfective aspect sentence.

For examples:

• कल मैं दस किलोमीटर दौड़ी | “Yesterday, I ran 10 kilometers.”
• पिछले महीने, पिता जी ने एक रडियो खरीदा | “Last month, father bought a radio.”
• पिछले साल, वह भारत गयी | “Last year she went to India.”

Activity 3

Please write 5 Hindi sentences explaining what did you do yesterday in simple perfective aspect.

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.

Use of the Present Perfective Tense

The perfective aspect in the present tense is used to express a recently completed action, the effect of which may still be continuing. Please note that the past adverbs of time cannot be used in the present perfective tense sentences.

For examples:

• आज मैं दस किलोमीटर दौड़ी हूँ | “Today, I have run 10 kilometers.”
• आज मेरे पिता जी ने मुझे कुछ पैसे दिए हैं | “Today, my father has given me some money.”
• आज सुबह, मैंने योगा किया है | “I have done yoga this morning.”

Activity 4

Please write 5 Hindi sentences explaining what did you do today in the present perfective tense.

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.

Use of the Past Perfective Tense

The perfective aspect in the past tense is used to express a remote past completed action, the effect of which may not be continuing at all. Please note that the past adverbs of time can be used in the past perfective tense sentences.

For examples:

• कल मैं दस किलोमीटर दौड़ी थी | “Yesterday, I had run 10 kilometers.”
• पिछले महीने, मेरे पिता जी ने मुझे कुछ पैसे दिए थे | “Last month, my father had given me some money.”
• बचपन में, मैंने योगा किया था | “In childhood, I had done yoga.”

Activity 5

Please write 5 Hindi sentences explaining what did you do when you were a child (during your childhood) in the past perfective tense.

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.

Use of the Future Perfective Tense

In English, the future perfective tense is used to show a completed action by a particular time in future. In Hindi we simply use Simple future tense to express those actions.

In Hindi, the perfective aspect in the future tense is used to express assumption that some action must have been completed by a particular time.

For examples:

• अब तक बच्चे सो गए होंगे | “Children must have fallen asleep by now.”
• पिता जी १० बजे तक कार्यालय पहुँच गए होंगे | “Father must have reached the office by 10 o’clock.”
• माँ ने शाम तक खाना पका लिया होगा | “Mother must have cooked the food by the evening.”

Activity 6

Please write 5 Hindi sentences assuming what your friends must have done by now using the future perfective tense.

• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• 5.

Activity 7

Please read the following paragraphs and click on the verbs which are in the perfective aspect.

Activity 8

Activity 9

Please read the following sentences carefully and decide if the sentences are grammatical or ungrammatical.

धन्यवाद !