The verbs a story runs on, and how they show the past

A verb tells you about an action or a state: go, see, be. Learn ten of them, the present that always carries छ, and the three past endings a story uses.

≈ 4 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

A dictionary verb ends in नुnu: जानुjānu“to go”.
The present swaps that for छ plus a person ending — the same छ as the is-word.
Stories run in the simple past, which comes down to three endings to recognise.
-यो-yo is he or it, -ए-e is they and anyone respected, -इन्-in is a respected woman.
To make any of them negative, नna goes into the ending: गयोgayo becomes गएनgaena.

Ten verbs that carry a fable

A verb tells you about an action or a state: go, see, be. These ten carry most of a short fable.

English	Nepali	English	Nepali
to go	जानुjānu	to say	भन्नुbhannu
to come	आउनुāunu	to ask	सोध्नुsodhnu
to see	देख्नुdekhnu	to sit, to stay	बस्नुbasnu
to eat	खानुkhānu	to fall over	ढल्नुḍhalnu
to be, to become	हुनुhunu	to do	गर्नुgarnu

All ten end in नु, which is the shape a dictionary lists rather than the shape an ordinary sentence uses.

Say what happens now

The present keeps one shape and changes only its ending for the person. Read down the middle column.

Who	Nepali	English
मma	जान्छुjānchu	I go
तिमीtimī	जान्छौjānchau	you go
ऊū	जान्छjāncha	he goes
उनीहरूunīharū	जान्छन्jānchan	they go

Every one of them contains छ. Recognise that and the person ending after it, and the whole present tense is done.

The simple past, the three endings stories use

Stories are told in the past, so these three endings do most of the work. Each row takes one verb through all three.

Verb	he, it	they, respected	a respected woman
जानुjānu“to go”	गयोgayo	गएgae	गइन्gain
आउनुāunu“to come”	आयोāyo	आएāe	आइन्āin
भन्नुbhannu“to say”	भन्योbhanyo	भनेbhane	भनिन्bhanin
हुनुhunu“to be”	भयोbhayo	भएbhae	भइन्bhain

जानु and हुनु are the two that change their body in the past — जा becomes ग, हु becomes भ. The other eight stay recognisably themselves and only swap the tail. देख्योdekhyo“he saw”, सोध्योsodhyo“he asked” and ढल्योḍhalyo“it fell over” are the same -यो tail again.

Was, and was not

Each row turns one form into another: an is-word into its past, and a past into its negative.

छcha“is”

थियोthiyo“was”

one word covers the past of both is-words. Its plural is थिएthie

थियोthiyo“was”

थिएनthiena“was not”

ढल्योḍhalyo“it fell over”

ढलेनḍhalena“it did not fall over”

in these tenses the न of the negative lands inside the ending, not in front of the verb as English would put it

Find the tense, then the doer

स्याल बनमा गयो।
Last word first. Nothing is being done to anything, so no ले.
Show answer +Hide answer −
syāl banmā gayo — “The jackal went into the forest.”
मुसाले पानी देख्यो।
A past action with something on the receiving end.
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musāle pānī dekhyo — “The mouse saw the water.”
त्यहाँ पानी थिएन।
The past of the is-word, made negative.
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tyahā̃ pānī thiena — “There was no water there.”

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