रहेन / रहेव

I Was and You Were

Level 2Sounds Like rahēna a'ura rahēva

With हम the past of "to be" is रहेन, and with तुम it is रहेव.

How It Works

Subjectwas, were
हमरहेन
तुमरहेव
तूरहिस

They do not change for a man or a woman. Hindi would say था or थी; Awadhi keeps one form.

रहेन and रहेव are also the helper in the longer past. Put them after a verb in -त and they say what you were doing or used to do: हम खेलत रहेन, तुम का करत रहेव?

Their endings are the same as the past endings -एन and -एव, so they are easy to remember.

Examples (5)

  1. जब हम छोट रहेन, तब हम गाँव मा रहेन।

    When I was little, I lived in the village.

    रहेन is the हम form of was.

  2. तुम काल्हि कहाँ रहेव?

    Where were you yesterday?

    रहेव is the तुम form.

  3. हम काल्हि घरे रहेन।

    I was at home yesterday.

    The same रहेन works for a man or a woman.

  4. तुम बजार मा रहेव का?

    Were you at the market?

    का at the end asks a yes or no question.

  5. हम लोग साथ रहेन।

    We were together.

    हम लोग is clearly plural.

Common Mistakes

  • Using रहा with तुम.

    तुम कहाँ रहा?
    तुम कहाँ रहेव?

    तुम needs रहेव.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

रहेन / रहेवLevel 2I Was and You Were

Learn This First

रहेन and रहेव finish the past of to be for हम and तुम.

Words in This Pattern

रहेनरहेव