B1 · Infinitives and participles
While doing: the -ते हुए form (गाते हुए)
the imperfective participle
Stem + ते हुए says what someone is doing at the same time; before a noun it agrees: बहता हुआ पानी.
At a glance
- Remember
- Doing something at the same time: -te hue, and it never changes; before a noun, -ta hua agrees like an adjective.
- Form
- बहता हुआ पानीadjective, masculine
- Signal words
- -ते हुए
- -ता हुआ
- -ती हुई
- -ते-ते
- Trap
- Wrong:लड़की गाता हुआ आई।Right:लड़की गाते हुए आई।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| adjective, masculine | बहता हुआ पानी |
| adjective, feminine | दौड़ती हुई लड़की |
| adjective, plural or oblique | रोते हुए बच्चे, बहते हुए पानी में |
| adverb: always -ते हुए | गाते हुए, बात करते हुए |
| after see and hear | उसे जाते हुए देखा |
| doubled, without हुए | बात करते-करते |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
As an adjective, -ता हुआ agrees with its noun in both parts.
पार्क में एक दौड़ती हुई लड़की गिर गई।A girl running in the park fell over.
As an adverb it is -ते हुए, whatever the subject.
वह गाते हुए खाना बनाती है।She sings while she cooks.
After देखना and सुनना it says what someone was doing.
मैंने उसे बस से उतरते हुए देखा।I saw him getting off the bus.
Doubled and without हुए it means “all the while”, often “until in the end”.
बात करते-करते रात हो गई।We talked until it was night.
Example sentences
सड़क पार करते हुए फ़ोन मत देखिए।Do not look at your phone while crossing the road.
रोते हुए बच्चे को माँ ने गोद में उठा लिया।The mother picked the crying child up in her arms.
वह मुस्कुराते हुए अंदर आई।She came in smiling.
बहता हुआ पानी आम तौर पर साफ़ होता है।Running water is usually clean.
हमने बच्चों को बाहर खेलते हुए सुना।We heard the children playing outside.
मैं चलते हुए गाने सुनता हूँ।I listen to songs while I walk.
7 more example sentences
चलती गाड़ी में मत चढ़िए।Do not get on a moving train.
वह हँसते हुए कमरे से बाहर गया।He went out of the room laughing.
पेड़ से गिरते हुए पत्ते बहुत सुंदर लग रहे थे।The leaves falling from the tree looked very beautiful.
मैंने उसे फ़ोन पर बात करते हुए देखा।I saw her talking on the phone.
बच्चा रोते-रोते सो गया।The child cried himself to sleep.
खाना खाते हुए बात मत करो।Don’t talk while you are eating.
उबलते हुए पानी में चावल डालिए।Put the rice into boiling water.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
To say how something is done, the safe form is -ते हुए, which never changes. गाता हुआ is a masculine adjective and cannot go with लड़की; the feminine गाती हुई is also heard, but -ते हुए is always right.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The habitual present has a participle inside it: बोलता, बोलती, बोलते. Add हुआ and it becomes an adjective for something in progress: बहता हुआ पानी, “flowing water”; दौड़ती हुई लड़की, “a running girl”; रोते हुए बच्चे, “crying children”. Both parts agree with the noun, like अच्छा: -ता हुआ, -ती हुई, -ते हुए.
Used as an adverb — “while doing”, “doing” — it takes the fixed form -ते हुए, whoever the subject is: वह गाते हुए खाना बनाती है, “she sings while she cooks”; हम बात करते हुए चल रहे थे, “we were walking along talking”. This is the form to learn first: in the adverb position it is never wrong.
After verbs of seeing and hearing it gives the English “I saw him leaving”: मैंने उसे जाते हुए देखा. The person seen takes को (उसे is उसको), and the participle stays -ते हुए.
Compare it with -कर: खाना खाकर टीवी देखता हूँ is one thing after the other, “I eat and then watch TV”; खाना खाते हुए टीवी देखता हूँ is both at once, “I watch TV while I eat”.
A closer look
गाती हुई or गाते हुए?
In the adverb position Hindi allows the participle to agree with the subject: लड़की गाती हुई आई as well as लड़की गाते हुए आई. The agreeing form makes the participle describe the girl (“came, singing”), and it is commoner in writing and in stories.
In everyday speech, and always when the subject takes ने or को, it is -ते हुए: उसने हँसते हुए कहा, “she said, laughing”.
Leaving out हुआ
Before a noun, हुआ is often dropped, and the participle stands alone like any adjective: चलती गाड़ी, “a moving train”; उबलता पानी, “boiling water”. The meaning does not change. As an adverb, हुए can only drop when the participle is doubled: रोते-रोते, चलते-चलते.
Worth knowing (2)
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With ने the form never agrees
When the main verb takes ने, there is nothing for the participle to agree with, so it is always -ते हुए: उसने रोते हुए सब बताया, “in tears, she told us everything”.
उसने हँसते हुए जवाब दिया।He answered with a laugh.
-
At the time of: -ते समय
For a clear “at the time of”, the oblique participle can take समय instead of हुए: खाना बनाते समय, “while cooking”. It is a little more formal and is typical of instructions.
गाड़ी चलाते समय फ़ोन मत उठाइए।Do not answer the phone while driving.
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