GRAMMAR / 35
Verb forms through writing: लेख्नु
म चिठी लेख्छु।
ma ciṭhī lekhchu
I write letters.
Pattern and choice
लेख्नु present and negative
लेख्नु→लेख्छु/लेख्दिनँ
On this page
- ② Nepali grammar rules
- 1. लेख्नु present and negative
- 2. Past: include मैले
- 3. Progressive and perfect compounds
- 4. Habitual past and future
- 5. लेख्न versus लेख्नु
- A writing routine
- Not writing
- A completed writing event
- A writing event that did not happen
- Completion connected with now
- Former writing habits
- Requests and offers
- Respect and plans
② Nepali grammar rules
1. लेख्नु present and negative
Compare लेख्नु→लेख्छु/लेख्दिनँ, we लेख्छौं/लेख्दैनौं, and respectful लेख्नुहुन्छ/लेख्नुहुन्न.
The common stem participates in distinct ordinary/respectful present and negative patterns.
2. Past: include मैले
Compare म चिठी लेख्छु (I write a letter)→मैले चिठी लेखेँ (I wrote a letter).
Transitive completion changes the subject marking too.
Respectful past is उहाँले चिठी लेख्नुभयो (he/she wrote a letter, respectful); negative variants लेखिनँ/लेखेनँ differ from present लेख्दिनँ.
3. Progressive and perfect compounds
लेख्दै छु (I am writing) / लेखेको छु (I have written it) / लेखेको थिएँ (I had written it) express ongoing writing, present-relevant completion and prior completion at a past point.
The auxiliary छु/थिएँ changes the reference time even with shared लेखेको.
4. Habitual past and future
लेख्थें is former habitual writing; लेख्नेछु future; भोलि लेख्छु (I will write tomorrow) a present-form plan.
In लेख्ने चिठी (the letter to be written/that someone writes), लेख्ने modifies a noun rather than acting as a complete future predicate.
5. लेख्न versus लेख्नु
Compare लेख्न सक्छु (I can write) / लेख्न चाहन्छु (I want to write) / लेख्नु पर्छ (need to write) / लेख्नको लागि (in order to write).
Ability/desire use लेख्न, basic necessity लेख्नु, and purpose लेख्नको लागि (in order to write).
The complement construction determines the preceding form.
See topic 7 for respect/familiarity and topics 1–2 for हो/छ.
This appendix uses लेख्नु, to write.
Starting from the stem लेख्, compare who writes, who wrote and who has written.
A writing routine
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| म चिठी लेख्छु। | ma ciṭhī lekhchu | I write letters. |
| तँ चिठी लेख्छस्। | tã ciṭhī lekhchas | You write letters. |
| तिमी चिठी लेख्छौ। | timī ciṭhī lekhchau | You write letters. |
| तिमीहरू चिठी लेख्छौ। | timīharū ciṭhī lekhchau | You write letters. |
| तपाईं चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | tapāĩ ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | You write letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | He writes letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | She writes letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | He writes letters. |
| हामी चिठी लेख्छौं। | hāmī ciṭhī lekhchaũ | We write letters. |
| उहाँहरू चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃harū ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | They write letters. |
Not writing
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| म चिठी लेख्दिनँ। | ma ciṭhī lekhdinã | I do not write letters. |
| तँ चिठी लेख्दैनस्। | tã ciṭhī lekhdainas | You do not write letters. |
| तिमी चिठी लेख्दैनौ। | timī ciṭhī lekhdainau | You do not write letters. |
| तिमीहरू चिठी लेख्दैनौ। | timīharū ciṭhī lekhdainau | You do not write letters. |
| तपाईं चिठी लेख्नुहुन्न। | tapāĩ ciṭhī lekhnuhunna | You do not write letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्न। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhunna | He does not write letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्न। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhunna | She does not write letters. |
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्न। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhunna | He does not write letters. |
| हामी चिठी लेख्दैनौं। | hāmī ciṭhī lekhdainaũ | We do not write letters. |
| उहाँहरू चिठी लेख्नुहुन्न। | uhā̃harū ciṭhī lekhnuhunna | They do not write letters. |
A completed writing event
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मैले हिजो चिठी लेखेँ। | maile hijo ciṭhī lekhẽ | I wrote a letter yesterday. |
| तैंले हिजो चिठी लेखिस्। | taĩle hijo ciṭhī lekhis | You wrote a letter yesterday. |
| तिमीले हिजो चिठी लेख्यौ। | timīle hijo ciṭhī lekhyau | You wrote a letter yesterday. |
| तिमीहरूले हिजो चिठी लेख्यौ। | timīharūle hijo ciṭhī lekhyau | You wrote a letter yesterday. |
| तपाईंले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | tapāĩle hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | You wrote a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | He wrote a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | She wrote a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | He wrote a letter yesterday. |
| हामीले हिजो चिठी लेख्यौं। | hāmīle hijo ciṭhī lekhyaũ | We wrote a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँहरूले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | uhā̃harūle hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | They wrote a letter yesterday. |
A writing event that did not happen
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मैले हिजो चिठी लेखिनँ। | maile hijo ciṭhī lekhinã | I did not write a letter yesterday. |
| तैंले हिजो चिठी लेखिनस्। | taĩle hijo ciṭhī lekhinas | You did not write a letter yesterday. |
| तिमीले हिजो चिठी लेखेनौ। | timīle hijo ciṭhī lekhenau | You did not write a letter yesterday. |
| तिमीहरूले हिजो चिठी लेखेनौ। | timīharūle hijo ciṭhī lekhenau | You did not write a letter yesterday. |
| तपाईंले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभएन। | tapāĩle hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhaena | You did not write a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभएन। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhaena | He did not write a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभएन। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhaena | She did not write a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभएन। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhaena | He did not write a letter yesterday. |
| हामीले हिजो चिठी लेखेनौं। | hāmīle hijo ciṭhī lekhenaũ | We did not write a letter yesterday. |
| उहाँहरूले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभएन। | uhā̃harūle hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhaena | They did not write a letter yesterday. |
Completion connected with now
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मैले चिठी लेखेको छु। | maile ciṭhī lekheko chu | I have done the write letters. |
| तैंले चिठी लेखेको छस्। | taĩle ciṭhī lekheko chas | You have done the write letters. |
| तिमीले चिठी लेखेको छौ। | timīle ciṭhī lekheko chau | You have done the write letters. |
| तिमीहरूले चिठी लेखेको छौ। | timīharūle ciṭhī lekheko chau | You have done the write letters. |
| तपाईंले चिठी लेख्नुभएको छ। | tapāĩle ciṭhī lekhnubhaeko cha | You have done the write letters. |
| उहाँले चिठी लेख्नुभएको छ। | uhā̃le ciṭhī lekhnubhaeko cha | He has done the write letters. |
| उहाँले चिठी लेख्नुभएको छिन्। | uhā̃le ciṭhī lekhnubhaeko chin | She has done the write letters. |
| उहाँले चिठी लेख्नुभएको छ। | uhā̃le ciṭhī lekhnubhaeko cha | He has done the write letters. |
| हामीले चिठी लेखेको छौं। | hāmīle ciṭhī lekheko chaũ | We have done the write letters. |
| उहाँहरूले चिठी लेख्नुभएको छन्। | uhā̃harūle ciṭhī lekhnubhaeko chan | They have done the write letters. |
Former writing habits
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| म पहिले चिठी लेख्थें। | ma pahile ciṭhī lekhthẽ | I used to write letters. |
| तँ पहिले चिठी लेख्थिस्। | tã pahile ciṭhī lekhthis | You used to write letters. |
| तिमी पहिले चिठी लेख्थ्यौ। | timī pahile ciṭhī lekhthyau | You used to write letters. |
| तिमीहरू पहिले चिठी लेख्थ्यौ। | timīharū pahile ciṭhī lekhthyau | You used to write letters. |
| तपाईं पहिले चिठी लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो। | tapāĩ pahile ciṭhī lekhnuhunthyo | You used to write letters. |
| उहाँ पहिले चिठी लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो। | uhā̃ pahile ciṭhī lekhnuhunthyo | He used to write letters. |
| उहाँ पहिले चिठी लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो। | uhā̃ pahile ciṭhī lekhnuhunthyo | She used to write letters. |
| उहाँ पहिले चिठी लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो। | uhā̃ pahile ciṭhī lekhnuhunthyo | He used to write letters. |
| हामी पहिले चिठी लेख्थ्यौं। | hāmī pahile ciṭhī lekhthyaũ | We used to write letters. |
| उहाँहरू पहिले चिठी लेख्नुहुन्थ्यो। | uhā̃harū pahile ciṭhī lekhnuhunthyo | They used to write letters. |
Requests and offers
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| तँ यो चिठी लेख्। | tã yo ciṭhī lekh | Write this letter. |
| तिमी यो चिठी लेख। | timī yo ciṭhī lekh | Write this letter. |
| तपाईं यो चिठी लेख्नुहोस्। | tapāĩ yo ciṭhī lekhnuhos | Please write this letter. |
| म यो चिठी लेखूँ? | ma yo ciṭhī lekhũ? | Shall I write this letter? |
| हामी यो चिठी लेखौं। | hāmī yo ciṭhī lekhaũ | Let us write this letter. |
Respect and plans
| Nepali | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| उहाँ चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | That person writes letters. |
| उहाँले हिजो चिठी लेख्नुभयो। | uhā̃le hijo ciṭhī lekhnubhayo | That person wrote a letter yesterday. |
| म भोलि चिठी लेख्छु। | ma bholi ciṭhī lekhchu | I will write a letter tomorrow. |
| तँ भोलि चिठी लेख्छस्। | tã bholi ciṭhī lekhchas | You will write a letter tomorrow. |
| तिमी भोलि चिठी लेख्छौ। | timī bholi ciṭhī lekhchau | You will write a letter tomorrow. |
| तिमीहरू भोलि चिठी लेख्छौ। | timīharū bholi ciṭhī lekhchau | You will write a letter tomorrow. |
| तपाईं भोलि चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | tapāĩ bholi ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | You will write a letter tomorrow. |
| उहाँ भोलि चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ bholi ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | He will write a letter tomorrow. |
| उहाँ भोलि चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ bholi ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | She will write a letter tomorrow. |
| उहाँ भोलि चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃ bholi ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | He will write a letter tomorrow. |
| हामी भोलि चिठी लेख्छौं। | hāmī bholi ciṭhī lekhchaũ | We will write a letter tomorrow. |
| उहाँहरू भोलि चिठी लेख्नुहुन्छ। | uhā̃harū bholi ciṭhī lekhnuhuncha | They will write a letter tomorrow. |
Check the agent marker ले with completed transitive actions.