-आ था

Earlier Completed Actions

Level 2Sounds Like ā thā

Past form plus था means had done: मैंने उसे पहले देखा था (I had seen him before).

How It Works

This form, often called the past perfect, has two common uses.

Before another past moment. मैं नौ बजे स्टेशन पहुँचा, लेकिन गाड़ी आठ बजे निकली थी means the train had left before I arrived.
A finished event in the past. Hindi often uses this form where English uses a simple past, especially for something further back: मैं पिछले साल जयपुर गया था (I went to Jaipur last year).

Hindi	English
वह आया था / वह आई थी	he / she had come
वे आए थे	they had come
लड़कियाँ आई थीं	the girls had come
मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी थी	I had written a letter

The agreement rules are the same as for the simple past. Without ने, both words agree with the subject. With ने, they agree with an object that has no को: मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी थी, because चिट्ठी is feminine. If the object has को, as in उसे (उस + को), both stay in the default form: मैंने उसे देखा था, whether उसे means him or her.

With a feminine plural, only थीं carries the nasal: आई थीं.

Do not confuse this with -ता था, which means used to: मैं जयपुर जाता था (I used to go to Jaipur).

Examples (5)

मैंने उसे पहले कहीं देखा था।
I've seen him somewhere before.
Hindi uses देखा था for a sighting further back, where English says I've seen. देखा stays in the default form because उसे has को.
मैं पिछले साल जयपुर गया था।
I went to Jaipur last year.
Hindi often uses this form for a past trip that is over.
रवि ने किताब पढ़ी थी।
Ravi had read the book.
With ने, पढ़ी थी agrees with feminine किताब.
मैं नौ बजे स्टेशन पहुँचा, लेकिन गाड़ी आठ बजे निकली थी।
I reached the station at nine, but the train had left at eight.
The train left before another past moment, my arrival.
मेरी बहनें पिछले हफ़्ते दिल्ली आई थीं।
My sisters came to Delhi last week.
With a feminine plural subject, only थीं carries the nasal.

Common Mistakes

Making the verb agree with the subject when it has ने.
मैंने चिट्ठी लिखा था।
मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी थी।
With ने, both लिखी and थी agree with the object चिट्ठी, which is feminine.

How It Connects

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

-आ थाLevel 2Earlier Completed Actions

Learn This First

The past perfect is the present perfect with a past form of to be.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

-आ होताAn Unreal PastLevel 5

Words in This Pattern

-आहोना

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