-इन्
Past Verbs for a Woman
Use -इन् when उनी is a woman. Use -ई when ऊ is a woman.
How It Works
Nepali gives things no gender, but the past verb shows when a person who is ऊ or उनी is a woman.
| Doer | Man | Woman |
|---|---|---|
| ऊ | गयो | गई |
| उनी | गए | गइन् |
| तपाईं, उहाँ | जानुभयो | जानुभयो |
The same changes apply to other verbs: खाइन्, पढिन्, लेखिन्, आइन्. Most stems just add -इन्: खा- becomes खाइन् and लेख्- becomes लेखिन्. A stem ending in उ drops it first: बनाउ- becomes बनाइन्.
Respected people (तपाईं and उहाँ) use -नुभयो for both a man and a woman, so there is no gender to show. Use the feminine forms only when the doer is a woman. A sentence about Sarita at the उनी level uses -इन्; a sentence about Ram uses -ए or -यो.
Examples (5)
- उनी घर गइन्।
She went home.
-इन् shows that उनी is a woman.
- सरिताले चिया पिइन्।
Sarita drank tea.
सरिता is a woman, so the verb ends in -इन्.
- गीताले पत्र लेखिन्।
Gita wrote a letter.
लेखिन् is the form for a woman.
- ऊ हिजो आई।
She came yesterday.
A woman who is ऊ takes -ई.
- अनिताले चिया बनाइन्।
Anita made tea.
बनाइन् is formed from बनाउनु.
Common Mistakes
Using the man's ending for a woman.
सरिता घर गए।सरिता घर गइन्।If the doer is a woman you speak of as उनी, the past ends in -इन्.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Women's past endings follow the regular past.
Related Patterns
Practice -इन् in Bubblegum
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