Language Trip

Conjugation › Hindi › Bolnā

Hindi · Verb Tables · Advanced

Bolnā Conjugation

बोलना (bolnā) means "to speak" in Hindi. Simple present / habitual: मैं (maẃ) बोलता / बोलती हूँ (boltā / boltī hū̃), तू (tū) बोलता / बोलती है (boltā / boltī hai), तुम (tum) बोलते / बोलती हो (bolte / boltī ho), आप (āp) बोलते / बोलती हैं (bolte / boltī haĩ), वह / यह (vah / yah) बोलता / बोलती है (boltā / boltī hai), हम (ham) बोलते / बोलती हैं (bolte / boltī haĩ). Below: all 19 tenses we teach, with examples.

Simple present / habitual सामान्य वर्तमान (आदतसूचक)

Habitual participle (-ता/-ती/-ते) + present of होना (हूँ/है/हो/हैं). States general truths, habits and repeated actions ('I speak Hindi', 'he goes every day').

Present continuous अपूर्ण वर्तमान (प्रगतिशील)

Continuous participle (stem + रहा/रही/रहे) + present of होना. An action happening right now.

Simple past / perfective सामान्य भूत (पूर्णकालिक)

The bare perfective participle (-आ/-ई/-ए/-ईं). For intransitive verbs it agrees with the subject; for transitive verbs the subject takes ने and the verb agrees with the object instead (a default masculine-singular form, shown here, is used when no object is stated). This is the everyday narrative past and the tense of news headlines.

Past habitual अपूर्ण भूत (आदतसूचक)

Habitual participle + था/थी/थे/थीं ('used to'). A repeated or ongoing state in the past, contrasted with the single completed action of the simple past.

Past continuous भूत प्रगतिशील

Continuous participle + था/थी/थे/थीं. An action in progress at a specific past moment.

Present perfect पूर्ण वर्तमान

Perfective participle + present of होना. A completed action whose result still matters now (contrast the simple past, which just narrates the event).

Past perfect पूर्ण भूत

Perfective participle + था/थी/थे/थीं. An event completed before another past point, a remote/distant past, or a corrected memory ('I had already told you').

Future सामान्य भविष्यत्

Stem + -ऊँगा/-एगा/-ओगे/-एँगे, agreeing with the subject in gender and number (होना itself irregularly contracts to होगा/होंगे). Used for predictions, plans, promises and, very commonly, as a polite alternative to the imperative ('you will do this' = 'please do this').

Presumptive संभाव्य वर्तमान (अनुमानसूचक)

Habitual participle + future of होना (होगा/होगी/होंगे). Expresses a confident guess about a present habit or state: 'he probably speaks / must be a speaker'. (The same pattern on the continuous or perfective participle — बोल रहा होगा 'must be speaking', बोला होगा 'must have spoken' — covers guesses about the present or the past; only the habitual form is tabulated here.)

Present / future subjunctive संभावनार्थ (वर्तमान/भविष्य)

Bare stem + -ऊँ/-ए/-ओ/-एँ. Covers present and future hypothetical or desired action; no separate future subjunctive form exists.

Perfect subjunctive पूर्ण संभावनार्थ

Perfective participle + subjunctive of होना (होऊँ/हो/हों). Expresses 'may have done' about a completed action whose outcome is still uncertain.

Conditional perfect (contrafactual) हेतुहेतुमद् भूत

Perfective participle + होता/होती/होते (itself the imperfective participle of होना). Both the 'if' clause and the result clause take this same form.

Imperative (immediate) आज्ञार्थ (सामान्य)

तू: bare stem; तुम: stem+ओ; आप: stem+इए. Negate any of them with मत (or, with आप, ना) placed before the verb: मत बोल, मत बोलो, मत बोलिए / ना बोलिए.

Deferred / polite imperative (-इएगा) आज्ञार्थ (आदरसूचक भविष्यत्, -इएगा)

आप + stem+इएगा only. A very polite request, often for something to be done a little later or 'whenever you get the chance'; softer and less immediate than -इए.

Infinitive क्रियार्थक संज्ञा

Stem + -ना; behaves as a masculine noun (यहाँ बोलना मना है, 'speaking here is forbidden') and takes case: बोलने के लिए ('in order to speak'), बोलने से पहले ('before speaking'). Also used alone as a neutral written instruction (दो बार पढ़ना, 'read it twice').

Conjunctive participle पूर्वकालिक कृदंत (-कर)

Stem + -कर (colloquially also -के). Links a first action to a second by the same subject: 'having done X, (then) Y'. Extremely common in ordinary narration.

Imperfective participle (adjectival) अपूर्ण कृदंत

-ता/-ती/-ते, agreeing like an adjective with the noun it modifies; often paired with हुआ/हुई/हुए for 'while doing'. Used for ongoing or habitual description: बोलता हुआ आदमी 'the man who is/was speaking'.

Perfective participle (adjectival) पूर्ण कृदंत

-आ/-ई/-ए, agreeing like an adjective; describes a completed state or a passive-like resultant meaning: खाया हुआ खाना 'food that has been eaten / leftover food', टूटा हुआ गिलास 'a broken glass'.

Agentive / prospective participle कर्तृवाचक कृदंत (-ने वाला)

Stem + -ने वाला/वाली/वाले. Names the habitual doer of an action ('the one who speaks/eats/goes', 'a speaker') or, with होना, an action about to happen: बोलने वाला हूँ ('I'm about to speak').

Examples

Learn Hindi Free

Practice Bolnā and every other verb with flashcards and verb drills in the Language Trip app and website. Free, no account needed, no ads.

All Hindi verb tables · Basic Hindi phrases