I did not work yesterday.
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मैले हिजो काम गरिनँ।
maile hijo kām garinã
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| मैले | maile | I (agent) |
| हिजो | hijo | yesterday |
| काम | kām | work |
| गरिनँ | garinã | did not do |
GRAMMAR / 12
Past negative (didn't ~)
मैले हिजो काम गरिनँ।
maile hijo kām garinã
I did not work yesterday.
Pattern and choice
गर्दिनँ versus गरेनँ
मैले काम गरेनँ (I did not work)
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② Nepali grammar rules
1. गर्दिनँ versus गरेनँ
मैले काम गरेनँ (I did not work) denies a past action, unlike present काम गर्दिनँ (I do not work).
Compare गएँ→गएनँ / आएँ→आएनँ; past negatives use their respective past stems.
2. Respectful past -नुभएन
Compare गर्नुभयो→गर्नुभएन / जानुभयो→जानुभएन with respectful subjects. गर्नुहुन्न is present negative; गर्नुभएन past negative.
The हुन्न/भएन contrast changes the time reference.
3. ले in a denied event
A denied transitive event can retain मैले, as in मैले किताब पढिनँ (I did not read the book)/पढेनँ.
Intransitive म गएनँ (I did not go) instead has म.
Negation does not automatically remove every agent marker.
4. थिएन versus गरेन
पानी थिएन (there was no water) denies past existence; पानी पिएनँ (I did not drink water) denies drinking.
Past absence with I uses म थिइनँ (I was not there); a respectful past-state negative can use हुनुहुन्थेन.
These are not action negatives.
5. Not yet versus did not
अझै गरेको छैन (has not done it yet) expresses not yet completed, while हिजो गरेनँ (I did not do it yesterday) denies yesterday's event.
A present-perfect negative uses -एको + छैन-family auxiliary; adding अझै alone does not change a past negative into that construction.
A reference table for comparing personal forms
| Person | Form and reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | मैले हिजो काम गरिनँ। maile hijo kām garinã | I did not work yesterday. |
| we | हामीले हिजो काम गरेनौं। hāmīle hijo kām garenaũ | We did not work yesterday. |
| you | तपाईंले हिजो काम गर्नुभएन। tapāĩle hijo kām garnubhaena | You did not work yesterday. |
| you plural | तपाईंहरूले हिजो काम गर्नुभएन। tapāĩharūle hijo kām garnubhaena | You did not work yesterday. |
| he/she | उहाँले हिजो काम गर्नुभएन। uhā̃le hijo kām garnubhaena | She did not work yesterday. |
| they | उहाँहरूले हिजो काम गर्नुभएन। uhā̃harūle hijo kām garnubhaena | They did not work yesterday. |
Past existence uses the थियो family
| Person | Past form and reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| I | म अस्ति बजारमा थिइनँ। ma asti bajārmā thiinã | I was not at the market the day before yesterday. |
| we | हामी अस्ति बजारमा थिएनौं। hāmī asti bajārmā thienaũ | We were not at the market the day before yesterday. |
| you | तपाईं अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्नथ्यो। tapāĩ asti bajārmā hunuhunnathyo | You were not at the market the day before yesterday. |
| you plural | तपाईंहरू अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्नथ्यो। tapāĩharū asti bajārmā hunuhunnathyo | You were not at the market the day before yesterday. |
| he/she | उहाँ अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्नथ्यो। uhā̃ asti bajārmā hunuhunnathyo | She was not at the market the day before yesterday. |
| they | उहाँहरू अस्ति बजारमा हुनुहुन्नथ्यो। uhā̃harū asti bajārmā hunuhunnathyo | They were not at the market the day before yesterday. |
The agent keeps ले in a negative completed transitive sentence.
MAKE IT YOURS
Try it yourself first
Did you not exercise yesterday?
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तपाईंले हिजो व्यायाम गर्नुभएन?
tapāĩle hijo vyāyām garnubhaena?
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| तपाईंले | tapāĩle | you (respectful agent) |
| हिजो | hijo | yesterday |
| व्यायाम | vyāyām | exercise |
| गर्नुभएन | garnubhaena | did not do (respectful) |
I did not read the book.
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मैले किताब पढिनँ।
maile kitāb paḍhinã
| Word or form | Reading | Meaning in this sentence |
|---|---|---|
| मैले | maile | I (agent) |
| किताब | kitāb | book |
| पढिनँ | paḍhinã | did not read |