A2 · Requests, wishes and conditions
Shall I, let’s, may: the subjunctive
the subjunctive
The future without गा: मैं जाऊँ?, “shall I go?”; चलें, “let’s go”; आप ख़ुश रहें, “may you be happy”.
At a glance
- Remember
- Drop the ga and you have the subjunctive: shall I, let us, may you, perhaps.
- Form
- मैं जाऊँ, मैं करूँ, मैं दूँI
- Signal words
- क्या मैं …?
- चलिए
- शायद
- चाहता हूँ कि
- ताकि
- भगवान करे
- Trap
- Wrong:मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम मेरे साथ आओगे।Right:मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम मेरे साथ आओ।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Hindi.
| I | मैं जाऊँ, मैं करूँ, मैं दूँ |
| he / she | वह जाए, वह करे, वह दे |
| you, friendly | तुम जाओ, तुम करो |
| we, you (polite), they | हम जाएँ, आप करें, वे दें |
| होना | मैं होऊँ, वह हो, वे हों |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The subjunctive is the future without -गा, and has no gender.
क्या मैं खिड़की खोलूँ?Shall I open the window?
With हम, or after चलिए, it means “let’s”.
चलिए, अब घर चलें।Come on, let’s go home now.
It expresses wishes and blessings.
आप हमेशा ख़ुश रहें।May you always be happy.
After शायद it marks a possibility.
शायद वह कल आए।Perhaps he will come tomorrow.
चाहना कि must be followed by the subjunctive.
मैं चाहती हूँ कि तुम भी आओ।I want you to come too.
Example sentences
क्या मैं खिड़की खोलूँ?Shall I open the window?
चलिए, अब चलें।Right, let’s go.
शायद वह कल आए।Perhaps he will come tomorrow.
मैं चाहता हूँ कि आप हमारे साथ रहें।I want you to stay with us.
हम कहाँ मिलें?Where shall we meet?
आप हमेशा ख़ुश रहें।May you always be happy.
6 more example sentences
अब हम क्या करें?What shall we do now?
क्या मैं आपके लिए चाय बनाऊँ?Shall I make you some tea?
माँ चाहती हैं कि मैं डॉक्टर बनूँ।Mum wants me to become a doctor.
भगवान करे, आप जल्दी ठीक हो जाएँ।I hope you get well soon.
हो सकता है कि आज बारिश हो।It may rain today.
आइए, साथ में खाना खाएँ।Come, let’s eat together.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “I want you to come” has an infinitive; Hindi needs a कि clause, and that clause takes the subjunctive. The future आओगे would mean that you will come — a prediction, not a wish.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Take a future form and drop the -गा/-गी/-गे: what is left is the subjunctive. मैं जाऊँगा → मैं जाऊँ, वह जाएगी → वह जाए, हम जाएँगे → हम जाएँ, तुम जाओगे → तुम जाओ. Because the gender lived in -गा/-गी, the subjunctive has none: a man and a woman both say मैं जाऊँ?.
It is the mood of what is not (yet) a fact. In a question with मैं or हम it offers or suggests: क्या मैं खिड़की खोलूँ?, “shall I open the window?”; हम कहाँ मिलें?, “where shall we meet?”. With चलिए or आइए in front it is “let’s”: चलिए, अब चलें.
It expresses wishes and blessings: आप हमेशा ख़ुश रहें, “may you always be happy”. It follows शायद for a possibility: शायद वह कल आए, “perhaps he will come tomorrow”. And it is required after चाहना कि, “to want someone to”: मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम आओ, “I want you to come”.
The irregular verbs are the same ones as in the future: मैं दूँ, वह दे, हम दें; मैं लूँ, वह ले; and होना gives हो, हों.
A closer look
Asking permission and offering help
क्या मैं …? with the subjunctive offers to do something: क्या मैं आपकी मदद करूँ?, “shall I help you?”. To ask permission, Hindi more often uses सकना: क्या मैं अंदर आ सकता हूँ?, “may I come in?”. The first offers, the second asks.
Without क्या, a subjunctive question can sound like thinking aloud: अब क्या करूँ?, “what am I to do now?”.
In clauses of purpose and fear
The subjunctive appears in many subordinate clauses that look forward: after ताकि, “so that” (ताकि सब सुन सकें), and after warnings: ध्यान रखना कि बच्चा गिर न जाए, “make sure the child doesn’t fall”. Those are topics of their own.
Worth knowing (1)
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हो सकता है कि: it may be that
For “may” or “might” in the sense of possibility, Hindi often says हो सकता है कि, “it can be that”, and puts the subjunctive after it: हो सकता है कि वह देर से आए, “he might be late”.
हो सकता है कि दुकान बंद हो।The shop might be closed.
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