INTRODUCTION
Negative past tense is one of the three negative tenses in Nepali, used to denote or express actions that did not happen or did not occur in the past. It can also be used to denote a state that did not exist. Nepali can also uses this tense to describe a past non-habitual action, and to express one’s unawareness of a scenario. In Nepali, the past tense is called अकरण भूत काल (akaraṇ bhūt kāl). For example, statements below in English all denote actions that did not happen or states that did not exist (verbs in italics):
John did not eat the cake.
Mary was not going to an adventure.
I was not a doctor.
In addition, Nepali also uses two additional aspects to denote either unawareness or past non-habits:
John was not a doctor, I didn’t know that. [In Nepali, this phrase is conjugated into the verb itself]
John did not use to be a doctor.
Thus, the negative past tense is used to denote a sense of the ‘past’ time, but the action was either not done or did not exist. There are five aspects of past tense:
- Negative past indefinite tense
- Negative past progressive tense
- Negative past perfect tense
- Negative past unknown tense
- Negative past habitual tense
Now, we shall see how verbs will conjugate according to the grammatical person used. Also, I am totally not copy-pasting all of this from a template and just adding “not/negative/didn’t” to save time.
VOCABULARY
खानु (khānu) = To eat
रोक्नु (roknu) = To stop
म (ma) = I
हामी (hāmī) = We
तँ (tam̐) = You (low respect)
तिमी (timī) = You (medium respect)
तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) = You (high respect)
ऊ (ū) = He/ She (neutral respect)
उनी (unī) = He/ She (medium respect)
उहाँ (uhām̐) = He/ She (high respect)
उनीहरू (unī-harū) = They (medium respect)
EXTRACTING THE ROOT OF THE VERB
We first get the lemma, or the basic form of the verb. Now, we simply remove the -नु (-nu) from the verb to obtain the root of the verb. For example:
खानु (khānu) > खा (khā) [Root ending in a vowel sound] /to eat/
रोक्नु (roknu) > रोक् (rok) [Root ending in a consonant sound] /to stop/
EXCEPTIONS
The verb हुनु (hunu) or ‘to be’ in Nepali is irregular and thus does not follow the conjugation rules given below (except for past habitual tense). Thus, you should not try to conjugate this verb. Another verb, जानु (jānu) or ‘to go’, also behaves slightly differently in past aspects (other than past progressive and past habitual). The root ग (ga) should be used instead of जा (jā) for the indefinite, perfect and unknown aspects.
Other verbs are regular and you can apply the rules below for all the other verbs. High honour forms may take different conjugations.
NEGATIVE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
The negative past indefinite tense, also known as negative simple past tense, is a tense used to describe actions in past time that happened at a specific time. In Nepali, it is called सामान्य अकरण भूत काल (sāmānya akaraṇ bhūt kāl). For example in English, a statement in negative past indefinite tense would be:
John did not eat the cake.
Steps
- If the root ends in a single vowel sound, remove it. If the root is polysyllabic (i.e. has more than one syllable) and ends in an –a or an –i sound, e.g. बिर्स (birsa), discard that sound as well. E.g. बिर्स (birsa) > बिर्स् (birs). If esle, skip this step. Example: आउ (āu) > आ (ā)
- Add the required suffix (or ending) to the modified root obtained in step 1. depending on the grammatical person. Remember that adding a vowel to a consonant sound creates a syllable. Example: न् (n) + ए (e) = ने (ne)
I: म (ma), add either इनँ (inam̐) or एनँ (enam̐) [either is fine for any gender]
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनँ (inam̐) = रोकिनँ (rokinam̐)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनँ (inam̐) = खाइनँ (khāinam̐)
आउनु (āunu) = आ (ā) + इनँ (inam̐) = आएँ (āinam̐)
We: हामी (hāmī), add एनौँ (enaum̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनौँ (enaum̐) = रोकेनौँ (rokenaum̐)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनौँ (enaum̐) = खाएनौँ (khāenaum̐)
You (low respect): तँ (tam̐), add इनस् (inas)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनस् (inas) = रोकिनस् (roknais)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनस् (inas) = खाइनस् (khāinas)
You (medium respect): तिमी (timī), add एनौ (enau)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनौ (enau) = रोकेनौ (rokyau)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनौ (enau) = खाएनौ (khāyau)
He (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add एन (ena)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एन (ena) = रोकेन (rokena)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एन (ena) = खाएन (khāena)
She (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add इन (ina)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इन (ina) = रोकिन (rokina)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इन (ina) = खाइन (khāina)
He/She/They (medium respect): उनी (unī) and उनीहरू (unī-harū), add एनन् (enan) if masculine or इनन् (inan) if feminine
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनन् (enan) = रोकेनन् (rokenan)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनन् (enan) = खाएनन् (khāenan)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनन् (inan) = रोकिनन् (rokinan)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनन् (inan) = खाइनन् (khāinan)
You/He/She/They (high respect): तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) and उहाँ (uhām̐), leave the basic form intact and add भएन (bhaena) [EXCEPTION]
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक्नु (roknu) + भएन (bhaena) = रोक्नुभएन (roknubhaena)
खानु (khānu) = खानु (khānu) + भएन (bhaena) = खानुभएन (khānubhaena)
NEGATIVE PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE
The negative past progressive tense, also known as negative past continuous tense, is a tense used to describe actions in past time that was not happening as of then. In Nepali, it is called अपूर्ण अकरण भूत काल (apūrṇa akaraṇ bhūt kāl). For example in English, a statement in negative past progressive tense would be:
John was not eating the cake.
Steps
- If the root ends in a syllable or a vowel sound, add ँ (m̐) to the last syllable. If the root ends in a consonant sound, skip this step. For example: खा (khā) + ँ (m̐) = खाँ (khām̐)
- Add दै (dai) to the end of the modified root obtained in step 1.
- Add a space ( ).
- Now add थि (thi).
- Concatenate the required ending to the modified root obtained in step 4 depending on the grammatical person. These suffixes are identical to the ones in past indefinite tense. Note that these suffixes or endings are really just different forms of the verb ‘thiyo’. If you recognize it as such, you can skill the 4. step and just add the various forms of thiyo (negative, of course).
The below are demonstrations on how you can carry this out.
I: म (ma), add थिएनँ (thienam̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दै (dai) + [space] + थिएनँ (thienam̐) = रोक्दै थिएनँ (rokdai thienam̐)
खानु (khānu) = [खा (khā) + ँ (m̐)] + दै (dai) + [space] + थिएनँ (thienam̐) = खाँ (khām̐) + दै (dai) + [space] + थिएँ (thiem̐) = खाँदै थिएनँ (khām̐dai thienam̐)
He (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add थिएन (thiena)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दै (dai) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = रोक्दै थिएन (rokdai thiena)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दै (dai) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = खाँदै थिएन (khām̐dai thiena)
You/He/She/They (high respect): तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) and उहाँ (uhām̐), add हुनुहुन्थिएन (hunuhunthiena)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दै (dai) + [space] + हुनुहुन्थिएन (hunuhunthiena) = रोक्दै हुनुहुन्थिएन (rokdai hunuhunthiena)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दै (dai) + [space] + हुनुहुन्थिएन (hunuhunthiena) = खाँदै हुनुहुन्थिएन (khām̐dai hunuhunthiena)
NEGATIVE PAST PERFECT TENSE
The negative past perfect tense is a tense used to describe actions not completed prior to some past point of time specified or implied. In Nepali, it is called पूर्ण अकरण भूत काल (pūrṇa akaraṇ bhūt kāl). For example in English, a statement in past perfect tense would be:
John had not eaten the cake.
Steps
- If the root ends in a single vowel sound, remove it. If the root is polysyllabic (i.e. has more than one syllable) and ends in an –a sound, e.g. बिर्स (birsa), turn that into an -i sound, i.e. बिर्स (birsa) > बिर्सि (birsi). If else the root ends in a consonant or syllable sound, skip this step. For example: आउ (āu) = आ (ā)
- Add एको (eko)/ एकी (ekī)/ एका (ekā) to the end of the modified root obtained in step 1. The first for neutral/masculine singular, the second for feminine singular and the third for plural cases. Remember that the consonant will take on a diacritic while taking up the vowel sound.
- Add a space ( ).
- Add the required ending to the modified root obtained in step 3 depending on the grammatical person. These suffixes are identical to the ones in past progressive tense, along with the थि (thi). Note that these suffixes or endings are really just different forms of the verb ‘thiyo’. If you recognize it as such, you can just add the various forms of thiyo (negative, of course). You can find the spreadsheet here (Negative Conjugation > Past > Thiyo).
I: म (ma), add थिएनँ (thienam̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएनँ (thienam̐) = रोकेको थिएनँ (rokekothienam̐)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएनँ (thienam̐) = खाएको थिएनँ (khāeko thienam̐)
आउनु (āunu) = आ (ā) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएनँ (thienam̐) = आएको थिएनँ (āeko thienam̐)
He (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add थिएन (thiena)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = रोकेको थिएन (rokeko thiena)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = खाएको थिएन (khāeko thiena)
You/He/She/They (high respect): तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) and उहाँ (uhām̐), leave the verb intact, add भ (bha), then add एको (eko) [or its forms], and finally add थिएन (thiena) [EXCEPTION]
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक्नु (roknu) + भ (bha) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = रोक्नुभएको थिएन (roknubhaeko thiena)
खानु (khānu) = खानु (khānu) + भ (bha) + एको (eko) + [space] + थिएन (thiena) = खानुभएको थिएन (khānubhaeko thiena)
NEGATIVE PAST UNKNOWN TENSE
The negative past unknown tense is a tense used to describe actions which did not occur in the past but the non-occurrence of the event remains unknown prior to the speaker’s awareness. In Nepali, it is called अज्ञात अकरण भूत काल (ajñāt akaraṇ bhūt kāl) [pronounced agyāt]. For example in English, a statement in negative past unknown tense would be:
John did not eat the cake, it seems.
If you notice a pattern, the conjugations are mostly the same as for present indefinite tense, except you need to add an एन (ena) before it.
Steps
- If the root ends in a single vowel sound, remove it. If the root ends in a consonant or syllable sound, skip this step. For example: आउ (āu) = आ (ā)
- Add the required ending to the modified root obtained in step 1 depending on the grammatical person. Remember to change the vowel sound as well, if necessary.
I: म (ma), add एनछु (enachu)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछु (enachu) = रोकेनछु (rokenachu)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछु (enachu) = खाएनछु (khāenachu)
आउनु (āunu) = आ (ā) + एनछु (enachu) = आएनछु (āenachu)
We: हामी (hāmī), add एनछौँ (enachaum̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछौँ (enachaum̐) = रोकेनछौँ (rokenachaum̐)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछौँ (enachaum̐) = खाएनछौँ (khāenachaum̐)
You (low respect): तँ (tam̐), add एनछस् (enachas) ifmasculine or इनछेस् (inaches) if feminine
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछस् (enachas) = रोकेनछस् (rokenachas)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछस् (enachas) = खाएनछस् (khāenachas)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनछेस् (inaches) = रोकिनछेस् (rokinaches)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनछेस् (inaches) = खाइनछेस् (khāinaches)
You (medium respect): तिमी (timī), add एनछौ (enachau)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछौ (enachau) = रोकेनछौ (rokenachau)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछौ (enachau) = खाएनछौ (khāenachau)
He (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add एनछ (enacha)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछ (enacha) = रोकेनछ (rokenacha)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछ (enacha) = खाएनछ (khāenacha)
She (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add इनछे (inache)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनछे (inache) = रोकिनछे (rokinache)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनछे (inache) = खाइनछे (khāinache)
He/She/They (medium respect): उनी (unī) and उनीहरू (unī-harū), add एनछन् (enachan) if masculine or इनछेन् (inachen) if feminine
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + एनछन् (enachan) = रोकेनछन् (rokenachan)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + एनछन् (enachan) = खाएनछन् (khāenachan)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + इनछेन् (inachen) = रोकिछेन् (rokinachen)
खानु (khānu) = खा (khā) + इनछेन् (inachen) = खाइनछेन् (khāinachen)
You/He/She/They (high respect): तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) and उहाँ (uhām̐), leave the basic form intact and add भएनछ (bhaenacha) [EXCEPTION]
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक्नु (roknu) + भएनछ (bhaenacha) = रोक्नुभएनछ (roknubhaenacha)
खानु (khānu) = खानु (khānu) + भएनछ (bhaenacha) = खानुभएनछ (khānubhaenacha)
NEGATIVE PAST HABITUAL TENSE
The negative past habitual tense is a tense used to describe actions that did not use to occur or happen in the past repeatedly or as a habit, but may now. In Nepali, it is called अभ्यस्त अकरण भूत काल (abhyasta akaraṇ bhūt kāl). For example in English, a statement in negative past unknown tense would be:
John did not use to eat the cake.
- If the root ends in a syllable or a vowel sound, add ँ (m̐) to the last syllable. If the root ends in a consonant sound, skip this step. For example: खा (khā) + ँ (m̐) = खाँ (khām̐)
- Add दैन (daina).
- Add the required suffix (or ending) to the modified root obtained in step 2. depending on the grammatical person.
I: म (ma), add थेँ (them̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थेँ (them̐) = रोक्दैनथेँ (rokdainathem̐)
खानु (khānu) = [खा (khā) + ँ (m̐)] + दैन (daina) + थेँ (them̐) = खाँदैनथेँ (khāmdainathem̐)
आउनु (āunu) = [आउ (āu) + ँ (m̐)] + दैन (daina) + थेँ (them̐) = आउँदैनथेँ (āum̐dainathem̐)
We: हामी (hāmī), add थ्यौँ (thyaum̐)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थ्यौँ (thyaum̐) = रोक्दैनथ्यौँ (rokdainathyaum̐)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थ्यौँ (thyaum̐) = खाँदैनथ्यौँ (khām̐dainathyaum̐)
You (low respect): तँ (tam̐), add थिस् (this)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थिस् (this) = रोक्दैनथिस् (rokdainathis)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थिस् (this) = खाँदैन (khām̐dainathis)
You (medium respect): तिमी (timī), add थ्यौ (thyau)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थ्यौ (thyau) = रोक्दैनथ्यौ (rokdainathyau)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थ्यौ (thyau) = खाँदैनथ्यौ (khām̐dainathyau)
He (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add थ्यो (thyo)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थ्यो (thyo) = रोक्दैनथ्यो (rokdainathyo)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थ्यो (thyo) = खाँदैनथ्यो (khām̐dainathyo)
She (neutral respect): ऊ (ū), add थी (thī)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थी (thī) = रोक्दैनथी (rokdainathī)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थी (thī) = खाँदैनथी (khām̐dainathī)
He/She/They (medium respect): उनी (unī) and उनीहरू (unī-harū), add थे (the)
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक् (rok) + दैन (daina) + थे (the) = रोक्दैनथे (rokdainathe)
खानु (khānu) = खाँ (khām̐) + दैन (daina) + थे (the) = खाँदैनथे (khām̐dainathe)
You/He/She/They (high respect): तपाईँ (tapāīm̐) and उहाँ (uhām̐), leave the basic form intact and add हुँदैनथ्यो (hum̐dainathyo) [EXCEPTION]
रोक्नु (roknu) = रोक्नु (roknu) + हुँदैनथ्यो (hum̐dainathyo) = रोक्नुहुँदैनथ्यो (roknuhum̐dainathyo)
खानु (khānu) = खानु (khānu) + हुँदैनथ्यो (hum̐dainathyo) = खानुहुँदैनथ्यो (khānuhum̐dainathyo)
SUMMARY
- Negative past tense is one of the three negative tenses in Nepali, used to denote or express actions that did not happen or did not occur in the past.
- There are five aspects: indefinite, progressive, perfect, unknown and habitual.
- The root can be extracted by removing the –nu from the lemma.
- To this root, we add various suffixes according to the grammatical person.
- The high respect form are exceptions as in, they do not usually follow the standard method. Also, the verbs hunu (to be) and jānu (to go) conjugate differently, as in they use different roots for certain aspects.
- The negative past indefinite tense, also known as negative simple past tense, is a tense used to describe actions in past time that happened at a specific time.
- The negative past progressive tense, also known as negative past continuous tense, is a tense used to describe actions in past time that was not happening as of then.
- The negative past perfect tense is a tense used to describe actions not completed prior to some past point of time specified or implied.
- The negative past unknown tense is a tense used to describe actions which did not occur in the past but the non-occurrence of the event remains unknown prior to the speaker’s awareness.
- The negative past habitual tense is a tense used to describe actions that did not use to occur or happen in the past repeatedly or as a habit, but may now.