A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 15

15.1

ने construction

In Hindi, all transitive verbs in the perfect form (simple past, present perfect, and past perfect) require a special construction: the postposition ने must come right after the subject and the subject changes into oblique.  If the verb is intransitive, then there is no ने after the subject.

What are transitive and instransitive verbs? Transitive verbs are all verbs which normally have a direct object. Some transitive verbs you know are: खाना to eat, कार चलाना to drive,ख़रीदना to buy, etc. Intransitive verbs, on the other hand never have a direct object. These include जाना to go, आना to come, होना to be, etc.

Example of a transitive verb: लड़के ने ख़रीदा।= The boy bought.

 लड़के ने कार ख़रीदी।

 The boys bought the car.

The verb "ख़रीदना", "to buy" is trasitive since it has the direct object "कार", "car." The postposition "ने" comes right after the subject and changes लड़का into लड़के. Note that ने blocks the agreement between the verb and the subject.  The verb must now agree with the direct object, कार "car." (कार is feminine singular, so "ख़रीदा" became "ख़रीदी"). 

Note: If the direct object isn't stated, then the verb stays in third person masculine singular.  For Example:

 लड़कियों ने खाया  लड़कियों ने संतरे खाये

The girls ate. The girls ate oranges. 

Let's review:

·        Transitive verbs are verbs which have a direct object.

·        The past perfect form of a transitive verb (used in the simple past, present perfect, and past perfect tenses) needs a ने right after the subject.

·        ने is never used with any of the imperfect, habitual, progressive, future, or optative tenses.

·        Intransitive verbs don't have direct objects and therefore do not need the ने construction.

·        ने is a postposition and when it is used, it changes the subject into the oblique case with one important exception: मैंstays the same before ने. All other nouns and pronouns change into oblique according to the normal oblique rules. 

·        ने joins with most pronouns to form a single word unit: e.g. उसने, मैंने, हमने...

·        ने blocks the relation between the subject and the verb. When the ने construction is used, both the perfect form of the verb and the auxiliaries agree with the direct object instead. 

The easiest way to figure out whether a verb is transitive or intransitive and requires the ने construction or not is to as the question "what" in relation to the verb's object.If the question "what" fits with the verb, then the verb is intransitive.If "what" doesn't make any sense after the verb then the verb is probably intransitive. Examples:

 Intransitive Transitive

 slept brought

 went ate

 I came what? I    drank  what???

 cried gave

 etc. bought

 etc.

Formula: subject +  ने + direct object  +  transitive verb (perfect form) ।

  (oblique) blocks the  new agreement

  agreement 

Another Example:

 मेरी सास  ने  जूते ख़रेदे।

    My mother-in-law bought shoes.

Note: if the direct object is followed by the postposition को(which it must be if the direct object is animate), then the agreement relationship between the object and the verb is also broken. Since the verb now has nothing to agree with, it remains "unagreed," i.e. in third person masculine singular form.

Compare the following sentences:

A. उसने िचड़ियाँ देखीं। 

B. उसने िचड़ियाँ को देखा।

 He saw the birds

In sentence A there is no को after the direct object and thus the verb agrees with the direct object. In sentence B there is a को after the direct object and thus the verb stays third person masculine singular.

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000) Section