I worked yesterday.
Reveal the answer, reading and word meanings
मैले हिजो काम गरेँ।
maile hijo kām garẽ
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| मैले | maile | I (agent) |
| हिजो | hijo | yesterday |
| काम | kām | work |
| गरेँ | garẽ | did |
GRAMMAR / 11
The ergative ले & the past (did ~)
मैले हिजो काम गरेँ।
maile hijo kām garẽ
I worked yesterday.
Pattern and choice
Transitive past and ले
म पढ्छु (I read/study)→मैले पढेँ (I read/studied, past)
On this page
② Nepali grammar rules
1. Transitive past and ले
Compare म पढ्छु (I read/study)→मैले पढेँ (I read/studied, past).
Completed transitive clauses mark the agent with ले; म becomes मैले.
Other forms include तपाईंले, उहाँले, हामीले. ले does not mark the object in this construction.
2. Not every past needs ले
म गएँ (I went) / उहाँ आउनुभयो (he/she came, respectful) use intransitive go/come.
Contrast the object-taking मैले किताब पढेँ (I read the book, past).
Past time by itself does not require changing every म to मैले.
3. Past stems and respect
Learn गर्नु→गरेँ / जानु→गएँ / आउनु→आएँ and respectful गर्नुभयो/जानुभयो/आउनुभयो.
Both उहाँ and उहाँहरू retain the honorific form rather than switching to गरिन् or गरे on the basis of translation.
4. Agreement and construction
A ले-marked agent does not force one invariant ending.
Compare first-person मैले गरेँ (I did it) and respectful उहाँले गर्नुभयो (he/she did it, respectful).
Other third-person constructions can show agreement related to the object.
Use the six basic person-group examples as the starting pattern.
5. Past थियो versus भयो
म घरमा थिएँ (I was at home) gives past location; म घर गएँ (I went home) a completed movement. काम थियो (there was work) says there was work; काम भयो (the work was done/accomplished) presents accomplishment/occurrence.
Similar translated past tenses do not make these predicates interchangeable.
A reference table for comparing personal forms
| Person | Form and reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | मैले हिजो काम गरेँ। maile hijo kām garẽ | I worked yesterday. |
| we | हामीले हिजो काम गर्यौं। hāmīle hijo kām garyaũ | We worked yesterday. |
| you | तपाईंले हिजो काम गर्नुभयो। tapāĩle hijo kām garnubhayo | You worked yesterday. |
| you plural | तपाईंहरूले हिजो काम गर्नुभयो। tapāĩharūle hijo kām garnubhayo | You worked yesterday. |
| he/she | उहाँले हिजो काम गर्नुभयो। uhā̃le hijo kām garnubhayo | She worked yesterday. |
| they | उहाँहरूले हिजो काम गर्नुभयो। uhā̃harūle hijo kām garnubhayo | They worked yesterday. |
Past existence uses the थियो family
| Person | Past form and reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | म अस्ति बजारमा थिएँ। ma asti bajārmā thiẽ | I was at the market the day before yesterday. |
| we | हामी अस्ति बजारमा थियौं। hāmī asti bajārmā thiyaũ | We were at the market the day before yesterday. |
| you | तपाईं अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्थ्यो। tapāĩ asti bajārmā hunuhunthyo | You were at the market the day before yesterday. |
| you plural | तपाईंहरू अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्थ्यो। tapāĩharū asti bajārmā hunuhunthyo | You were at the market the day before yesterday. |
| he/she | उहाँ अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्थ्यो। uhā̃ asti bajārmā hunuhunthyo | She was at the market the day before yesterday. |
| they | उहाँहरू अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्थ्यो। uhā̃harū asti bajārmā hunuhunthyo | They were at the market the day before yesterday. |
MAKE IT YOURS
Try it yourself first
Did you exercise yesterday?
Reveal the answer, reading and word meanings
तपाईंले हिजो व्यायाम गर्नुभयो?
tapāĩle hijo vyāyām garnubhayo?
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईंले | tapāĩle | you (respectful agent) |
| हिजो | hijo | yesterday |
| व्यायाम | vyāyām | exercise |
| गर्नुभयो | garnubhayo | did (respectful) |
I read a book.
Reveal the answer, reading and word meanings
मैले किताब पढेँ।
maile kitāb paḍhẽ
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| मैले | maile | I (agent) |
| किताब | kitāb | book |
| पढेँ | paḍhẽ | read (past) |