Instructor Video: Habitual Construction in Urdu

Structure

Use of Habitual Aspect Marker with Different Subjects

Habitual markers (تا/-تی/-تے-) are used based on the number, person, and gender features of the agreeing subject.

Negation of Habitual Aspect

In order to change habitual aspect sentences in to negative, we use the word نہیں right before the verb. When habitual sentences appear in the negative, generally, the verb “to be” in the present (ہوں، ہو، ہے، ہیں) is dropped. However, in the past form of the verb “to be” (تھا، تھی، تھے، تھیں) is not dropped.

Examples:

• -لڑکیاں فٹ بال کھیلتی ہیں “Girls play football.”
• -لڑکیاں فٹ بال نہیں کھلتیں “Girls do not play football.”
• -آپ ہر دن اپنا کمرہ صاف کرتے تھے “You clean your room everyday.”
• -آپ ہر دن اپنا کمرہ صاف نہیں کرتے “You do not clean your room everyday.”

Note: Please notice the extra nasal dot in negative sentences with the subject لڑکیاں “girls”. As we drop the verb “to be”, the dot indicates the plural feminine subject in contrast to a singular feminine subject.

Uses of Habitual Aspect

(a) To express routine actions.

Examples:

• -میں چار بجے جاگتا ہوں “I get up at 4 o’clock.”
• -میں پانچ بجے چاۓ پیتا ہوں “I drink tea at 5 o’clock.”
• -میں آٹھ بجے اسکول جاتا ہوں “I go to school at 8 o’clock.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

(b) To express habitual actions.

Examples:

• -صبا کتابیں پڑھتی ہے “Saba reads books.”
• -عمران گٹار بجاتا ہے “Imran plays guitar.”
• -احمد سگریٹ پیتا ہے “Ahmed smokes.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

(c) To express permanent actions.

Examples:

• -پیٹر مشی گن میں رہتا ہے “Peter lives in Michigan.”
• -جین یہاں کام کرتی ہے “Jen works here.”
• -میں اپنے استاد کی عزت کرتا ہوں “I respect my teacher.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

(d) To express general/universal truth.

Examples:

• -زمین سورج کے گرد گھومتی ہے “The earth revolves around the sun.”
• -عام طور سے، گلاب لال ہوتے ہیں “Generally, roses are red.”
• -مشی گن میں برفباری ہوتی ہے “It snows in Michigan.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

(e) To narrate a story and to express series of events:

When narrating a story, background information is generally expressed using habitual (imperfective aspect) construction. Whereas, the foreground information is expressed using perfective aspect. Habitual construction (background information) in the story below is highlighted.

Example:

ایک جنگل میں ایک شیر رہتا تھا- اسی جنگل میں، ایک چوہا بھی رہتا تھا- ایک دن شیر چوہے سے کہتا ہے کہ میں تمھیں کھا جاؤں گا- چوہا کہتا ہے کہ مجھے مت کھائیے- ایک دن شکاری شیر کو جال میں پھنساتا ہے تب چوہا جال کاٹتا ہے- اس طرح چوہا شیر کی مدد کرتا ہے

“A lion lived in a forest. In the same forest, there also lived a rat. One day, the lion says to the rat, “I will eat you.” The rat says, “Please don’t eat me.” One day, a hunter traps the lion in a net. Then, the rat chews the net. This is how the rat frees the lion.”

(f) To express impersonal sentences

Examples:

•  … لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ “People say that…”
• کیسے کہتے ہیں؟ flower اردو میں “How do you say “flower” in Urdu?”
• -یہاں اچھی چاۓ ملتی ہے “Good tea is available here.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

(g) To express immediate future action by adding adverbs like ابھی “right away” and چلئے “let’s”.

Examples:

• -میں ابھی آتی ہوں “I will come right away.”
• -چلئے، ایک فلم دیکھتے ہیں “Let’s watch a film.”
• -رو مت، امی ابھی تمھیں کھانا دیتی ہے “Don’t cry, mother will give you food right away.”

Uses of the Past Habitual Tense

(a) The past habitual tense is generally used to express past habits, routines, and permanent actions.

Examples:

• -میں پچھلے سال، دس بجے اسکول جاتا تھا “I used to go to school at 10 o’clock last year.”
• آپ پاکستان میں کہاں رہتی تھیں؟ “Where did you used to live in Pakistan?”
• -پچھلے مہینے تک، میرا بھائی ہر دن مجھ سے گفتگو کرتا تھا “My brother used to talk to me everyday, until last month.”

Activity:

Please add five more examples here. After writing your examples, please change your sentences to negative and past tense.

Activities

(a) Please choose the correct form of the habitual aspect marker, based on the subject of the sentence.

(b) Please write your daily routine of this semester/year. After writing your daily routine, compare it with last semester/year. (Hint: Please use present habitual for current daily routine and use past habitual for last semester/year.)

(c) Please ask your friends about their hobbies and enlist them here. (Hint: Use: آپ خالی وقت میں کیا کرتے/کرتی ہیں؟ “What do you do in your free time?” to ask their hobbies.)

(d) Please watch a short film and write the story in Urdu. After writing, please record yourself here and share your story with the instructor/any native speaker for the feedback.

 !شکریہ