Verb Agreement with Gender
Quick Answer: In most tenses, verbs agree with the subject's gender. Exception: past tense transitive verbs with ने — verb agrees with the object's gender instead.
Hindi verbs change form based on the subject's (or object's) gender
Category: Gender System
The Rule
In most tenses, verbs agree with the subject's gender. Exception: past tense transitive verbs with ने — verb agrees with the object's gender instead.
Why This Matters
English verbs never change for gender ('He runs / She runs'). Hindi verbs carry gender markers: वह दौड़ता है (he runs) vs वह दौड़ती है (she runs). This pervasive gender marking means every sentence you speak reveals whether you're talking about males or females.
Examples
• He eats. — "वह खाता है।" [खाता — masculine verb agreement with subject] • She eats. — "वह खाती है।" [खाती — feminine verb agreement with subject] • He ate bread (रोटी, fem.). — "उसने रोटी खाई।" [खाई — fem. agreement with OBJECT रोटी (ergative past)] • She ate rice (चावल, masc.). — "उसने चावल खाया।" [खाया — masc. agreement with OBJECT चावल (not subject)]
Common Mistakes
❌ उसने रोटी खाया ✅ उसने रोटी खाई → With ने construction, verb agrees with object. रोटी is feminine → खाई ❌ वह (female) स्कूल जाता है ✅ वह स्कूल जाती है → For a female subject, verb must use feminine form: जाती, not जाता
Quick Tip
Normal tenses: verb matches SUBJECT gender. Past tense with ने: verb matches OBJECT gender. This switch is the hardest part of Hindi gender.
Normal tenses: verb matches SUBJECT gender. Past tense with ने: verb matches OBJECT gender. This switch is the hardest part of Hindi gender.
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: उसने रोटी खाया → Correct: उसने रोटी खाई. With ने construction, verb agrees with object. रोटी is feminine → खाई
Incorrect: वह (female) स्कूल जाता है → Correct: वह स्कूल जाती है. For a female subject, verb must use feminine form: जाती, not जाता
Quiz
'She wrote a letter (चिट्ठी, fem.)' — which is correct?