# Hindi/Urdu: future tenses



## tonyspeed

The basic future tense in Hindi textbooks is described as verb stem + ending,
where the ending is one of uuNgaa, uuNgii, oge, eNge, eNgii, ega, egii.

example: i am going to go.  - maiN jaauuNgaa(gii)

We have another future formation for an action that is about to take place formed by oblique verb infinitive + waalaa/waalii

example: he is about to go - vah jaanevaalaa hai

We have yet another formation to describe actions one is going to do immediately formed by verb stem + taa/tii/tee

example: i am going to go (right now) - maiN jaataa(ii) huuN

And finally, we have the usage of the present continuous as referring to the future.

I am going to go tomorrow - kal maiN jaa rahaa(ii) huuN


The question is: In the situation where something is about to happen can all of these forms be used?

Particularly, can one use the egaa, waalaa, and taa forms to say sentences like:

The show is going to begin. (in 30 seconds)
I will open the door. (right now)

What really is the difference, if any, between the first 3?


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## UrduMedium

Your example leads to another common from in Urdu:

show shuruu3 _huaa chaahtaa hai
_
voh jaa'egaa (indefinite future)
voh jaanevalaa hai (soon)
voh jaataa hai (not common for future tense, unless you find some add-ons like abhii, jald hii, and so on).


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> The basic future tense in Hindi textbooks is described as verb stem + ending,
> where the ending is one of uuNgaa, uuNgii, oge, eNge, eNgii, ega, egii.
> 
> example: i am going to go.  - maiN jaauuNgaa(gii)
> 
> We have another future formation for an action that is about to take place formed by oblique verb infinitive + waalaa/waalii
> 
> example: he is about to go - vah jaanevaalaa hai
> 
> We have yet another formation to describe actions one is going to do immediately formed by verb stem + taa/tii/tee
> 
> example: i am going to go (right now) - maiN jaataa(ii) huuN
> 
> And finally, we have the usage of the present continuous as referring to the future.
> 
> I am going to go tomorrow - kal maiN jaa rahaa(ii) huuN
> 
> 
> The question is: In the situation where something is about to happen can all of these forms be used?
> 
> Particularly, can one use the egaa, waalaa, and taa forms to say sentences like:
> 
> The show is going to begin. (in 30 seconds)
> I will open the door. (right now)
> 
> What really is the difference, if any, between the first 3?


sho (30 saikanD meN) shuruu3 hone vaalaa hai. maiN (abhii) darvaazah kholtaa huuN!

sho (30 seikand meN) shuruu3 hone ko hai. maiN (abhii) darvaazah kholtaa huuN!

sho (30 seikand meN) shuruu3 hu'aa chaahtaa hai. maiN (abhii) darvaazah kholtaa huuN!

There is a sense of immediacy in all three above.

sho (30 saikanD meN) shuruu3 ho gaa. itne meN agar ek garmaa-garm kaafii ho jaa'e to kyaa baat hai!

bhaa'ii show kab shuruu3 ho gaa?

janaab sabr kiijiye. bas yahii darvaazah khulaa aur sho shuruu3 hu'aa! itnii sii to baat hai!

 bhaa'ii be-chaare ko kainsar hai. vuh bahut jiye to sirf do chaar baras hii jiye!


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## marrish

_sho (30 saikanD meN) (shuruu3) hone lagaa aur maiN abhii darwaazah kholne lagaa! chaabii kahaaN gum ho ga'ii!_


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## tonyspeed

UrduMedium said:


> Your example leads to another common from in Urdu:
> 
> show shuruu3 _huaa chaahtaa hai
> _



This is interesting. I must say I don't understand this form at all - Perfective of hona followed by the general present form of chaahnaa.
Is this form limited to this usage?


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## greatbear

The "huaa chaahtaa" form isn't common in Hindi - in fact, this is the first time I am hearing it. For the rest, "show shuruu hotaa hii hogaa" and "show bas shuruu hone hii vaalaa hai" are the most immediate forms in Hindi. "Show shuruu (hii) hone ko hai"/"show shuruu hone ko (hii) hai" is another immediate form, though a tad less used than the other two.


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> This is interesting. I must say I don't understand this form at all - Perfective of hona followed by the general present form of chaahnaa.
> Is this form limited to this usage?


I have heard it spoken on Radio, both Radio Pakistan and BBC Urdu Service.

saami3iin-i-giraamii, subH ke aaTh hu'aa chaahte haiN. ab aap x se xabreN suniye.

Dear listeners, it is almost eight O' Clock in the morning. Here is the news (being read) by x.

From literature, here is an example from one of Iqbal's most famous Ghazals.

tere 3ishq kii intihaa chaahtaa huuN
merii saadagii dekh kyaa chaahtaa huuN

ko'ii dam kaa mihmaaN huuN ai ahl-i-maHfil
charaaGh-i-saHar huuN *bujhaa chaahtaa huuN*

I yearn for the pinnacle of your love
How naive if me! What am I asking?

Oh people, my stay here is momentary
I am the dawn-lamp, *about to go out*!


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## UrduMedium

Another form used much less is:_ sho shuruu3 hone ko hai_


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## Qureshpor

UrduMedium said:


> Another form used much less is:_ sho shuruu3 hone ko hai_



I think you may have missed my post 3, example 2 UrduMedium SaaHib.


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## UrduMedium

QURESHPOR said:


> I think you may have missed my post 3, example 2 UrduMedium SaaHib.



Thanks for your polite correction, QP saahab. Indeed, I missed it.


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## Qureshpor

The construction "hu'aa chaahtaa hai" was a subject of another thread. Here is a link to it in which Faylasoof SaaHib adds a little more information about it. As a side note, the Persian verb "xvaastan" is also used in the "about to" context.

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2317542&highlight=hu'aa+chaahtaa


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## tonyspeed

QURESHPOR said:


> I have heard it spoken on Radio, both Radio Pakistan and BBC Urdu Service.



I think GB may be right about it being less frequent in Hindi. Have you ever come across this form in any Urdu grammar book you can point me to?


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> I think GB may be right about it being less frequent in Hindi. Have you ever come across this form in any Urdu grammar book you can point me to?



Yes, Urdu and Hindi grammar books.

Urdu: http://archive.org/stream/agrammarhindstn00platgoog#page/n198/mode/2up

Hindi: Outline of Hindi Grammar. R.S. McGregor (3rd edition, revised and enlarged) OUP

Pages 151-152

"4. With chaahnaa

Collocations of perfective participles showing invariable final -aa with following forms of the verb chaahnaa express the idea that a given action is about to occur. There are other, more common ways of expressing this idea, and these collocations are much less frequent than any of the above three types.

do bajaa chaahte haiN, It is about to strile two, two is about to strike.

maiN baahar jaayaa chaahtaa huuN, I'am about to go out.


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## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> _sho (30 saikanD meN) (shuruu3) hone lagaa aur maiN abhii darwaazah kholne lagaa! chaabii kahaaN gum ho ga'ii!_



marrish SaaHib, I've been trying to get my head round "hone lagaa" etc. Normally the verb "lagnaa" in this type of construction implies an action just begun. could you please elaborate a little.


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## marrish

QURESHPOR said:


> marrish SaaHib, I've been trying to get my head round "hone lagaa" etc. Normally the verb "lagnaa" in this type of construction implies an action just begun. could you please elaborate a little.


I'm trying to reconstruct my thought process. You are right to point out that this is not an example of future tense.


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## Qureshpor

Here is an example from a letter written by Mirza Ghalib to Miir Mahdii Hussain SaaHib MajruuH.

agar zindagii hai aur, phir mil baiTheN ge to kahaanii kahii jaa'e gii. tum kahte ho kih aayaa chaahtaa huuN. agar aa'o to be-TikaT ke nah aanaa.


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## tonyspeed

Can the taa/te/tii form be used for persons other than oneself?

For instance, can one say "vah/vo jaataa hai" for he is going now/ about to go?
Or is this reserved for maiN and ham?


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## greatbear

tonyspeed said:


> Can the taa/te/tii form be used for persons other than oneself?
> 
> For instance, can one say "vah/vo jaataa hai" for he is going now/ about to go?
> Or is this reserved for maiN and ham?



But anyway "maiN jaataa hooN" is kind of meaningless; at the most, it would mean "I am going", not "I am about to go"! The kind of scenarios that I can think of for the phrase are like "tu jaataa hai yahaaN se yaa maiN jaaooN?" ("are you going from here or do I go?"). There is no future tense involved for any of the persons, first, second or third.


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## tonyspeed

greatbear said:


> But anyway "maiN jaataa hooN" is kind of meaningless; at the most, it would mean "I am going", not "I am about to go"! The kind of scenarios that I can think of for the phrase are like "tu jaataa hai yahaaN se yaa maiN jaaooN?" ("are you going from here or do I go?"). There is no future tense involved for any of the persons, first, second or third.



I have heard some strangeness on TV. There characters will use the general present even if the event is later on in the day.


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## greatbear

tonyspeed said:


> I have heard some strangeness on TV. There characters will use the general present even if the event is later on in the day.



Without an example dialogue, if you could supply one, it's hard to envision "maiN jaataa hooN" construction used for future.


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> Can the taa/te/tii form be used for persons other than oneself?
> 
> For instance, can one say "vah/vo jaataa hai" for he is going now/ about to go?
> Or is this reserved for maiN and ham?



Yes, one can use any person in theory. It all depends on the context.

nah jaanaa kih dunyaa se jaataa hai ko'ii
*bahut der kii mihr-baaN aate aate!**

DaaGh Dihlavii (1831-1905)

You did n't realise that someone is going/about to go from this world!
Oh (so called) kind one, you have indeed taken a long time in coming

Here the "ko'ii" is the poet (lover) and the "mihr-baaN" is the beloved. (dunyaa se jaanaa is of course marnaa).

*** Another famous couplet from this Ghazal

nahiiN hai khel DaaGh yaaroN se kah do
*kih aatii hai Urdu zabaaN aate aate*


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## UrduMedium

QURESHPOR said:


> *** Another famous couplet from this Ghazal
> 
> nahiiN hai khel DaaGh yaaroN se kah do
> *kih aatii hai Urdu zabaaN aate aate*



Thanks for the beautiful daaGh references, QP Saahab! However I recall the first _misra3 _as

_*nahiiN khel* *aye *_DaaGh yaaroN se kah do


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## tonyspeed

QURESHPOR said:


> Yes, one can use any person in theory. It all depends on the context.
> 
> nah jaanaa kih dunyaa se jaataa hai ko'ii
> *bahut der kii mihr-baaN aate aate!**
> 
> DaaGh Dihlavii (1831-1905)
> 
> You did n't realise that someone is going/about to go from this world!
> Oh (so called) kind one, you have indeed taken a long time in coming
> 
> Here the "ko'ii" is the poet (lover) and the "mihr-baaN" is the beloved. (dunyaa se jaanaa is of course marnaa).
> 
> *** Another famous couplet from this Ghazal
> 
> nahiiN hai khel DaaGh yaaroN se kah do
> *kih aatii hai Urdu zabaaN aate aate*




I classify this as a different grammatical structure than the general present. They key is the duplication of the verb
which gives the connotation of "in the process of coming" or "while coming".

"phir milenge chalte chalte" - we will will meet again along the way (while in the process of motion, while journeying/traveling)


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> I classify this as a different grammatical structure than the general present. They key is the duplication of the verb
> which gives the connotation of "in the process of coming" or "while coming".
> 
> "phir milenge chalte chalte" - we will will meet again along the way (while in the process of motion, while journeying/traveling)



Apologies, I only highlighted the second line of each couplet to differentiate one "aate aate" which means "in coming" and the other "gradually". The tense I have in mind is the same as what you have in mind.."nah jaanaa kih dunyaa se *jaataa hai* ko'ii"..


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## Qureshpor

UrduMedium said:


> Thanks for the beautiful daaGh references, QP Saahab! However I recall the first _misra3 _as
> 
> _*nahiiN khel* *aye *_DaaGh yaaroN se kah do



You are welcome, UM SaaHib and thank you for the correction...

nahiiN khel ai DaaGh yaaroN se kah do
kih aatii hai Urdu zabaaN aate aate!


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