Verb, Tense, Voice and Indeclinables
Verb, Tense, Voice and Indeclinables
This area supplies two questions and voice is generally treated as the hardest part of it. The transitive and intransitive distinction, the three tenses with their subdivisions, and the three voices are all that is needed, and each becomes simple once it is held with an example.
Kinds of Verb
| Kind | Test | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sakarmak | takes an object | राम पत्र लिखता है |
| Akarmak | takes no object | राम हँसता है |
| Prernarthak | the action is got done by another | राम ने पत्र लिखवाया |
| Sanyukt | two verbs joined | वह पढ़ने लगा |
The test is straightforward — put क्या or किसको to the verb. If an answer comes, the verb is transitive; if none comes, it is intransitive. हँसना, रोना, सोना and दौड़ना are normally intransitive.
✗ सोना is a transitive verb | ✓ It is intransitive, because asking क्या of it yields no object
Kinds of Tense
| Tense | Subdivisions | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Bhutkal | six kinds | वह गया, वह गया है |
| Vartaman | three kinds | वह जाता है, वह जा रहा है |
| Bhavishyat | three kinds | वह जाएगा |
The past tense has six subdivisions — samanya, aasann, purn, apurn, sandigdh and hetuhetumad — and that number is itself a question. Hetuhetumad bhut is the one where one action not happening depends on another, as in यदि वह आता तो मैं जाता.
The Three Voices
| Voice | What is prominent | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Kartrivachya | the doer | राम पत्र लिखता है |
| Karmavachya | the object | राम द्वारा पत्र लिखा जाता है |
| Bhavvachya | the action itself | मुझसे चला नहीं जाता |
Bhavvachya is formed only from an intransitive verb and usually carries a sense of inability or refusal — मुझसे उठा नहीं जाता, अब सोया नहीं जाता. That is its most reliable identification and it answers a whole set of questions at once.
आसान पहचान: वाक्य में द्वारा या से आए और क्रिया जाना के रूप के साथ हो, तो वह कर्मवाच्य या भाववाच्य है; कर्म हो तो कर्मवाच्य, न हो तो भाववाच्य।
Indeclinables
Words whose form does not change with gender, number, case or tense are called avyay. They are of four kinds — kriyavisheshan such as धीरे and आज, sambandhbodhak such as के ऊपर and के बिना, samuchchaybodhak such as और and किंतु, and vismayadibodhak such as अरे and वाह.
TRE pointer: Bhavvachya is formed only from an intransitive verb — this single sentence answers several questions. Fix the count of six past-tense subdivisions. Build the habit of putting क्या to a verb for the transitive test, and note that the key phrase in the definition of avyay is that the form does not change.
60-Second Recap
- Putting क्या to the verb settles whether it is transitive or intransitive.
- In a prernarthak verb the action is got done through someone else.
- The past has six, the present three and the future three subdivisions.
- The three voices are kartri, karma and bhav.
- Bhavvachya comes only from intransitive verbs and shows inability.
- An avyay does not change with gender, number, case or tense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you identify a transitive verb?
Put क्या or किसको to the verb. If an answer comes, the verb is transitive, as in राम पत्र लिखता है where asking what he writes gives पत्र. If no answer comes, it is intransitive, as in राम हँसता है. This one habit settles the question every time.
When is bhavvachya used?
Only with intransitive verbs, and usually in the sense of inability or refusal. मुझसे चला नहीं जाता and अब बैठा नहीं जाता are the standard examples. Here neither the doer nor the object is prominent; the action itself is, which is exactly what the name says.
What is hetuhetumad past tense?
It is the past in which one action happening or not happening depends on another. यदि वह आता तो मैं जाता is the standard example. A condition runs through it and the two verbs are tied to each other, which is why the name itself is a compound.
How do you recognise an avyay?
By the fact that its form stays the same however the gender, number, case or tense of the sentence changes. धीरे, आज, और, किंतु and अरे are all avyay. They fall into four kinds — kriyavisheshan, sambandhbodhak, samuchchaybodhak and vismayadibodhak.