# Hindi, Urdu: past tense of karnā



## panjabigator

Greetings,

Is it just a Delhi Hindi tendency to say <karā> and <karī> for <kiyā> and <kī>, respectively?

Best wishes,
PG


----------



## lcfatima

I think this is pretty common, I hear it from Pakistanis. It sounds "anpaRh" or slangish though.


----------



## Faylasoof

If I recall correctly, Platts mentions this  (karā /karī) in his "A Grammar of Hindustani or Urdu Language" (published at the end of the 19th century) as an alternative though, <kiyā / kī> have always been preferred by us and Platts also gives the latter preference.

So, <kiyā / kī> are the standard forms.


----------



## tamah

kiya and ki are used more often. I have heard some rajasthanis and delhiites using kara or kari.


----------



## panjabigator

A bit of an update: I've noticed that people do say "kara" in Lucknow as well. It's refreshing to my ears and reminds me of home  I'd be interested to hear other opinions.


----------



## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> A bit of an update: I've noticed that people do say "kara" in Lucknow as well. It's refreshing to my ears and reminds me of home  I'd be interested to hear other opinions.



All I will say is that..

jo thaa nahiiN hai jo hai nah ho gaa yahii hai ik Harf-i-maHramaanah
qariib-tar hai namuud jis kii, usii kaa mushtaaq hai zamaanah!!

Iqbal

I have never ever heard an Urdu speaker use "karaa", "kari" in place of "kiyaa", "kii". Neither have I read anything with this form anywhere in Urdu literature. I could never begin to use this form. It would be equivalent of my saying, "I writed this" for "I wrote this"!


----------



## BP.

QURESHPOR said:


> ...
> I have never ever heard an Urdu speaker use "karaa", "kari" in place of "kiyaa", "kii". Neither have I read anything with this form anywhere in Urdu literature. I could never begin to use this form. It would be equivalent of my saying, "I writed this" for "I wrote this"!



In spoken language, _karaa _is an oft-heard alternative to _kiyaa_.


----------



## tonyspeed

Interesting to know. The rules of common sense do prevail in colloquial speech after all!


----------



## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> Interesting to know. The rules of common sense do prevail in colloquial speech after all!



Yet, this so called "common sense" is not consistent. If it were consistent we would have had have..

honaa>>>hoyaa (not hu'aa)
chhuunaa>>chhuuyaa (not chhu'aa)
jaanaa>>> jaayaa (not gayaa)
lenaa >>> leyaa (not liyaa)
denaa>>>deyaa (not diyaa)
siinaa>>>siiyaa (not siyaa)


----------



## greatbear

"karaa" as past tense of "karnaa" is very common in spoken language (and an alternative that I would prefer, for phonic reasons, any day).

As regarding consistency, I don't see what's wrong with that, since there's no one pattern, as it seems to me: the past tense of "bachnaa" is "bachayaa", but that of "rakhnaa" is not "rakhayaa" but "rakhaa", that of "naachnaa" is "naachaa" and so on.


----------



## Qureshpor

greatbear said:


> "karaa" as past tense of "karnaa" is very common in spoken language (and an alternative that I would prefer, for phonic reasons, any day).
> 
> As regarding consistency, I don't see what's wrong with that, since there's no one pattern, as it seems to me: the past tense of "bachnaa" is "bachayaa", but that of "rakhnaa" is not "rakhayaa" but "rakhaa", that of "naachnaa" is "naachaa" and so on.



The point, Greatbear SaaHib, is that a natural language is neither consistent nor always logical but if "karaa" is based on "common sense", then one would expect this common sense to be a bit more prevalent.

My understanding is that the past participle of "bachnaa" is "bachaa". Just as regular as the other examples you have provided.


----------



## BP.

I think I should elaborate a little bit more the post 7. When I said _karaa _is part of spoken language, I did not mean _all _spoken language. The use of _karaa _would have pointed at a specific school of language and even a specific class of people. Personally I have my own predilection towards _kiyaa _in ways others might find a-normal e.g. saying _mai.n fulaa.n kaam kiyee luu.n gaa_. I am hypothesizing it carries over from my more natural phrasing _ham fulaa.n kaam kiyee lee.n gee_. Like panjabigator I too have met _one _person outside of the Dilli dabistaan who uses _karaa_, but I suspect it may also be from his circle of friends rather than his Behaari-Bengaali variant of Urdu.


----------



## panjabigator

I should also say that I've heard "karia" and "karii" in Punjabi as well. (Not what we use though).


----------



## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> I should also say that I've heard "karia" and "karii" in Punjabi as well. (Not what we use though).



I have n't. This must reflect on the type of company I keep!

It is interesting, is n't it, that Punjabi too has an irregular past participle verb for "karNRaa" in the form "kiitaa"?


----------



## rahulbemba

panjabigator said:


> Greetings,
> 
> Is it just a Delhi Hindi tendency to say <karā> and <karī> for <kiyā> and <kī>, respectively?
> 
> Best wishes,
> PG



You are right. It is quite and especially common in the North.


----------



## marrish

QURESHPOR said:


> I have n't. This must reflect on the type of company I keep!
> 
> It is interesting, is n't it, that Punjabi too has an irregular past participle verb for "karNRaa" in the form "kiitaa"?


Just a small hint as to Pb infinitive of this verb: there can never be a retroflex (i hope I'm using the correct term?) NR


----------



## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> Just a small hint as to Pb infinitive of this verb: there can never be a retroflex (i hope I'm using the correct term?) NR




And what is the explanation behind this assertion?


----------



## ihaveacomputer

QURESHPOR said:


> And what is the explanation behind this assertion?



Following a stem ending with "r" (ر / ਰ), the retroflex "r" (ڑ /ੜ) and retroflex "n" (ن / ਣ), the first nasal consonant of the infinitive is the dental "n", not the retroflex form. I realize this isn't shown in Shahmukhi, but according to standard written Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script, this rule always applies. Are there dialects of spoken Punjabi in which this is not the case?


----------



## Qureshpor

ihaveacomputer said:


> Following a stem ending with "r" (ر / ਰ), the retroflex "r" (ڑ /ੜ) and retroflex "n" (ن / ਣ), the first nasal consonant of the infinitive is the dental "n", not the retroflex form. I realize this isn't shown in Shahmukhi, but according to standard written Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script, this rule always applies. Are there dialects of spoken Punjabi in which this is not the case?




Yes I believe there are. In another post I have mentioned the Pakistani folk singer Shaukat Ali. I am almost 100% sure that I have heard him use the word "karNRaa" in one of his songs. If I find it, I shall post a reference to it. In addition, I do believe I have heard this retroflex in Punjabi speech.

Some Shahmukhi texts do indicate the nasal retroflex with nuun superscript toe. If I find anything from literature, I shall once again post it.


----------



## rahulbemba

panjabigator said:


> Greetings,
> 
> Is it just a Delhi Hindi tendency to say <karā> and <karī> for <kiyā> and <kī>, respectively?
> 
> Best wishes,
> PG



You are right. I think it has come from there as it is very common there. People from Northern part of India especially Delhi go to places and keep spreading such incorrect usages.


----------



## Qureshpor

rahulbemba said:


> You are right. I think it has come from there as it is very common there. People from Northern part of India especially Delhi go to places and keep spreading such incorrect usages.




What a sweeping stereotypical statement!


----------



## marrish

I agree that this statement seems somewhat biased and stereotypical. Qureshpor, how would you say stereotypical in Urdu, please?


----------



## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> I agree that this statement seems somewhat biased and stereotypical. Qureshpor, how would you say stereotypical in Urdu, please?




Please see seperate thread on this topic.


----------



## Faylasoof

Hmm...we already have a thread on 'stereotype' (& stereotypical), here!


----------



## greatbear

rahulbemba said:


> You are right. I think it has come from there as it is very common there. People from Northern part of India especially Delhi go to places and keep spreading such incorrect usages.



Hindi is not the language that only you speak or the choices that only you agree with, Rahul; please avoid making huge brush strokes.


----------



## rahulbemba

greatbear said:


> Hindi is not the language that only you speak or the choices that only you agree with, Rahul; please avoid making huge brush strokes.



Please avoid such personal comments. Please learn to respect others' opinions. That is all I can say to you. What I had said, was based on my experience from what I have seen. There is no need to get provoked or agitated just because it doesn't agree with your experience.


----------



## panjabigator

QURESHPOR said:


> Yes I believe there are. In another post I have mentioned the Pakistani folk singer Shaukat Ali. I am almost 100% sure that I have heard him use the word "karNRaa" in one of his songs. If I find it, I shall post a reference to it. In addition, I do believe I have heard this retroflex in Punjabi speech.
> 
> Some Shahmukhi texts do indicate the nasal retroflex with nuun superscript toe. If I find anything from literature, I shall once again post it.



Just a brief comment: I used to think that such a phonetic cluster was not used in Punjabi, but I've read quite a bit of it so far in Gurumukhi. Never heard it so far, though.



rahulbemba said:


> You are right. I think it has come from there as it is very common there. People from Northern part of India especially Delhi go to places and keep spreading such incorrect usages.



Those terrible Delhites! Promulgating their "non-standard" uses to the gullible, unsuspecting masses. I think this is a sweeping generalization, Rahulbemba. I have heard this from people outside of the Northern India, by the way.

I'd be interested to learn of the Braj, Haryanvi, or even Avadhi past tenses for "karnaa," as I suspect that their might be something similar going on.


----------



## greatbear

rahulbemba said:


> Please avoid such personal comments. Please learn to respect others' opinions. That is all I can say to you. What I had said, was based on my experience from what I have seen. There is no need to get provoked or agitated just because it doesn't agree with your experience.



Keep to the facts and accept what you have said. It is not your opinion when you pronounce or declare something "incorrect."


----------



## tonyspeed

rahulbemba said:


> People from Northern part of India especially Delhi go to places and keep spreading such incorrect usages.



I thought Hindi was a language of Northern origin? Unless we are now proposing Hydrabadi Hindi is the correct way? Or maybe you are referring to Hindi spoken in Madhya Pradesh
as the correct way? Should we even begin to consider the "incorrect usages" present in Bombay Hindi?

Differences from the standard exist and have probably existed from before the standard in many areas. So it is only incorrect when writing a book, not in spoken language.


----------



## Todd The Bod

2 things.  I could be wrong, but I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the Deccan was the center of muslim learning for centuries before the existence of Pakistan, and therefore Urdu was spoken in Hydrabad for centuries before it spread north.  Though pretty much all varieties of Urdu have their own region-based slang. Corrections invited.

Second, my Hydrabadi buddy always uses "karaa", "kare".  Example: "Jo Aap karee, Thik karee....".


----------



## tonyspeed

Todd The Bod said:


> 2 things.  I could be wrong, but I thought I remembered reading somewhere that the Deccan was the center of muslim learning for centuries before the existence of Pakistan, and therefore Urdu was spoken in Hydrabad for centuries before it spread north.  Though pretty much all varieties of Urdu have their own region-based slang. Corrections invited.
> 
> Second, my Hydrabadi buddy always uses "karaa", "kare".  Example: "Jo Aap karee, Thik karee....".



Thank you for that useful information.  You may want to research Dakhini on the web or on wikipedia.


----------



## aprctr

This is a colloquial or conversational ignorance developed by observing other rhyming verbs like bher (fill) > bheraa (filled), therefore, ker (do) > kara (did) which should be, ker (do) > keeya (did).


----------



## Qureshpor

QURESHPOR said:


> Yes I believe there are. In another post I have mentioned the Pakistani folk singer Shaukat Ali. I am almost 100% sure that I have heard him use the word "karNRaa" in one of his songs. If I find it, I shall post a reference to it. In addition, I do believe I have heard this retroflex in Punjabi speech.
> 
> Some Shahmukhi texts do indicate the nasal retroflex with nuun superscript toe. If I find anything from literature, I shall once again post it.



marrish SaaHib, please listen out for karaNR at 1.07 in Youtube.....just type 3) Kurtar Singh


----------



## marrish

marrish said:


> Just a small hint as to Pb infinitive of this verb: there can never be a retroflex (i hope I'm using the correct term?) NR
> 
> 
> QURESHPOR said:
> 
> 
> 
> marrish SaaHib, please listen out for karaNR at 1.07 in Youtube.....just type 3) Kurtar Singh
Click to expand...


Your long memory is at least worth noticing, Qureshpor SaaHib!

Indeed, I must acknowledge that he sings _karaNR, _beyond any doubt. But I'd consider it a different situation than that of the infinitive which we were discussing earlier in this thread.

I think this explanation below is very apt:



ihaveacomputer said:


> Following a stem ending with "r" (ر / ਰ), the retroflex "r" (ڑ /ੜ) and retroflex "n" (*ڻ** / ਣ), the first nasal consonant of the infinitive is the dental "n", not the retroflex form. I realize this isn't shown in Shahmukhi, but according to standard written Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script, this rule always applies. Are there dialects of spoken Punjabi in which this is not the case?



In case of _karaNR کرڻ_, the retroflex nasal is phonetically justified as it follows the vowel ''a'', not the consonant ''r''.
_
* my correction_


----------



## Qureshpor

^ No worries! I shall find karaNRaa too!


----------



## marrish

^ This I've been hoping for, that is why I answered like this. As a side note, I hope I'll be not be wrong to say that in _Haryaanvi,_ it is articulated as _karNRaa - _if my memory serves me right!

I've just noticed that you typed karaNRaa - was it intended or is it a typo?


----------



## panjabigator

ihaveacomputer said:


> Following a stem ending with "r" (ر / ਰ), the retroflex "r" (ڑ /ੜ) and retroflex "n" (ن / ਣ), the first nasal consonant of the infinitive is the dental "n", not the retroflex form. I realize this isn't shown in Shahmukhi, but according to standard written Punjabi in the Gurmukhi script, this rule always applies. Are there dialects of spoken Punjabi in which this is not the case?



I agreed with you, but then I encountered ਕਾਰਣ, and not just in Gurbani.


----------



## ihaveacomputer

panjabigator said:


> I agreed with you, but then I encountered ਕਾਰਣ, and not just in Gurbani.



It is indeed very common, and was the form I personally preferred before I was corrected by a professor who said it was "too difficult" to pronounce! I wish I had a native's intuition to judge the veracity of that statement!


----------



## panjabigator

Probably a regional difference. It was kind of hard for me to say too! I'm sure you'd agree with me when I say that people LOVE to invent prescriptive rules about Punjabi.


----------



## Qureshpor

Qureshpor said:


> ^ No worries! I shall find karaNRaa too!



*اکھیاں لا کے کی کرنڑا
نیر وغا کے کی کرنڑا
مدت ہوئی سُتے نے
لیکھ جگا کے، کی کرنڑا​*


----------



## panjabigator

Qureshpor said:


> *اکھیاں لا کے کی کرنڑا
> نیر وغا کے کی کرنڑا
> مدت ہوئی سُتے نے
> لیکھ جگا کے، کی کرنڑا​*


Is وغا in this verse the same thing as ਵਗਾਓਣਾ?


----------



## MonsieurGonzalito

I just stumbled into a _karii_ today.
It is in the song "Aaja Nachle", from the homonym 2007 movie, featuring Madhuri Dixit.

[3:05 in most Youtube videos]
_maiN ne galtii karii thii  merii nathnii paRii thii
ke sone meN usko raNgaa gaii_

In theory, what is narrated in the song happens in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The song opens with:
_meraa jhumkaa uThaa ke laayaa yaar [ve]
jo giraa thaa barelii ke baazaar meN_


----------



## MonsieurGonzalito

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> maiN ne galtii karii thii


Ghalatii

[Edited: a forum member friend pointed out that, in addition to the Gh, my schwa suppression was too aggressive]


----------



## littlepond

^ But both "galtii" and "galatii" are in usage, at least for Hindi speakers.


----------



## desi4life

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> Ghalatii
> 
> [Edited: a forum member friend pointed out that, in addition to the Gh, my schwa suppression was too aggressive]



In speech, “galtii”, “galatii”, “Ghaltii”, and “Ghalatii” are all used. However, it’s clearly sung as “galtii” in the song, not as “Ghalatii”.


----------



## MonsieurGonzalito

Thanks @littlepond , @desi4life .

Curious fact: Until some time ago, Wikitionary had an entry for गलती, which said "Misspelling of ग़लती (ġaltī)."
Now, if you enter गलती, you are simply redirected to ग़लती


----------



## desi4life

^ गलती is not considered a misspelling in Hindi, so that’s probably why it’s redirected now instead.

And regarding karaa/karii, Platts’ dictionary says the following:

H کرا करा _karā_ [Prk. करिअओ, or कलिअओ; S. कर (fr. कृ)+इत+कः], m. (f. -_ī_), The old (and regular) perfect part. of the verb _karnā_, 'to do,' &c. ( = _kiyā_).


----------



## aevynn

Qureshpor said:


> I have never ever heard an Urdu speaker use "karaa", "kari" in place of "kiyaa", "kii". Neither have I read anything with this form anywhere in Urdu literature.



Here are some literary examples 

us hindanii ne aisii jafaa'eN kariiN kih bas
hinduu the ham, so ho ke musalmaaN chale ga'e
- Jaun Elia (b. 1931)

merii iste3maal karii hu'ii chiiz ab zindagii bhar aap bhii...
- Wajida Tabassum (b. 1935)

ye aaNkheN ik aise shaxS kaa
3atiyaa haiN
jis ne is dozax meN rah kar
ik jannat aabaad karii thii
nafs ko zanjiireN pahnaa kar
ruuH apnii aazaad rakhii thii
- Firoz Natiq Khusro (b. 1944)

bad du3aa apne liye xuub karii thii maiN ne
haaN magar raah meN Haa'il jo du3aa thii terii
- Ziya Zamir (b. 1977)


----------



## Qureshpor

^ Thank you aevynn SaaHib for these. I could comment on each usage but won't. As a matter of interest, click on the word "karii" for the Rekhta.org sources and see what you get!


----------



## aevynn

Qureshpor said:


> As a matter of interest, click on the word "karii" for the Rekhta.org sources and see what you get!



Yes, I did see that! That was indeed a matter of interest  But I suppose it's not just karii that's homophonous with something else; the alternative, kii, is too (eg, with the feminine genitive postposition!). 

I don't know too much about poetic meters, but I suppose it's probably nice for poets working in tightly metered forms to be able to choose between kii(N) [long] and karii(N) [short + long]. And while the masculine participles (eg, kiyaa and karaa) would scan as [short + long], having both options around does open up the possibility for more rhymes! But of course, this proliferation of rhyme and meter options only works if the poet likes the _sound_ of the regularized participles, which some may very well not!


----------

