-आ / -ई / -ए

The Simple Past

Level 2Sounds Like ā, -ī aura -ē

The simple past tells a finished event: रवि आया, मीरा आई, बच्चे आए, लड़कियाँ आईं.

How It Works

Subjectहँसना (to laugh)आना (to come)
masculine singularहँसाआया
feminine singularहँसीआई
masculine plural, respectfulहँसेआए
feminine pluralहँसींआईं

For a stem ending in a consonant, just add the ending: बैठ gives बैठा, बैठी, बैठे, बैठीं. For a stem ending in -आ or -ओ, the masculine singular adds -या: आया, सोया. The other forms are regular: आई, आए, आईं.

The simple past tells one finished event: मैं कल रात देर से सोया (I went to bed late last night). The feminine plural ends in a nasal -ईं when nothing follows the verb: लड़कियाँ आईं.

The examples here are verbs without an object, which agree with the subject. Verbs with an object take ने in the past and agree with the object instead; see the ने entries. A few very common verbs are irregular, such as जाना (गया) and करना (किया).

Examples (5)

  1. रवि आया।

    Ravi came.

    A masculine singular subject takes -आ: आया.

  2. मीरा आई।

    Meera came.

    A feminine singular subject takes -ई: आई.

  3. बच्चे ज़ोर से हँसे।

    The children laughed loudly.

    A masculine plural subject takes -ए: हँसे.

  4. लड़कियाँ आईं।

    The girls came.

    A feminine plural subject takes -ईं: आईं.

  5. हम कल रात देर से सोए।

    We went to bed late last night.

    हम takes the plural -ए: सोए.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the nasal off the feminine plural.

    लड़कियाँ आई।
    लड़कियाँ आईं।

    With a feminine plural subject and no helper after the verb, the ending is -ईं.

How It Connects

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-आ / -ई / -एLevel 2The Simple Past

Learn This First

The simple past is the completed aspect with adjective-style endings on the stem.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-आ-ई