B1 · Verbs in pairs
Already done: कर चुका है
completion with चुकना
Bare stem + चुका है: मैं खा चुका हूँ, “I have already eaten” — never with ने.
At a glance
- Remember
- Chuka means already done — and the subject never takes ne.
- Form
- खा चुका हूँ / खा चुकी हूँhave already (m / f)
- Signal words
- चुका
- चुकी
- चुके
- पहले ही
- कई बार
- Trap
- Wrong:मैंने खाना खा चुका हूँ।Right:मैं खाना खा चुका हूँ।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
| have already (m / f) | खा चुका हूँ / खा चुकी हूँ |
| has already, plural | आ चुके हैं |
| had already | जा चुका था / जा चुकी थी |
| no ने | मैं देख चुका हूँ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Bare stem + चुका + है or था.
मैं यह फ़िल्म देख चुका हूँ।I have already seen this film.
No ने; चुका agrees with the subject.
बच्चे खाना खा चुके हैं।The children have already eaten.
With था, one event came before another.
जब हम पहुँचे, ट्रेन जा चुकी थी।When we arrived, the train had already left.
It counts experiences: “have done it before”.
वे दो बार भारत आ चुके हैं।They have been to India twice.
Example sentences
मैं यह फ़िल्म देख चुका हूँ।I have already seen this film.
जब हम पहुँचे, ट्रेन जा चुकी थी।When we arrived, the train had already left.
वे दो बार भारत आ चुके हैं।They have been to India twice.
मैं आपको पहले ही बता चुकी हूँ।I have already told you.
बच्चे खाना खा चुके हैं।The children have already eaten.
हम यह बात कई बार सुन चुके हैं।We have heard this many times.
5 more example sentences
मैं उनसे पहले मिल चुका हूँ।I have met him before.
जब मैं घर पहुँची, मेहमान जा चुके थे।When I got home, the guests had already gone.
वह यह किताब तीन बार पढ़ चुकी है।She has read this book three times.
बारिश रुक चुकी है, अब चलें।The rain has stopped, let’s go now.
हम इस बारे में बात कर चुके हैं।We have already talked about this.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Two constructions get mixed here. मैंने खाना खा लिया है has ने, because लेना is transitive. मैं खाना खा चुका हूँ has none, because चुकना is not. Pick one and keep it whole.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
चुकना means “to be finished”, and after a bare stem it says that an action is already complete: मैं यह फ़िल्म देख चुका हूँ, “I have already seen this film”; ट्रेन जा चुकी थी, “the train had already left”. It is used in its perfective forms with है or था: चुका है, चुकी थी, चुके हैं.
चुकना is intransitive. Whatever the main verb, the subject stays in its plain form and the verb agrees with it: मैं खाना खा चुका हूँ, not मैंने. This is the main difference from मैंने खाना खा लिया है, which means much the same.
It carries the idea of “already, and there is no point doing it again”: मैं आपको पहले ही बता चुकी हूँ, “I have already told you” — often with a touch of impatience. With था it sets one event before another: जब हम पहुँचे, फ़िल्म शुरू हो चुकी थी.
It is not used in the negative. “I haven’t eaten yet” is मैंने अभी तक नहीं खाया, not a negated चुकना.
A closer look
चुका or लिया?
मैं खा चुका हूँ and मैंने खा लिया है both answer “have you eaten?”. चुकना puts more weight on “already, it’s over”, so it is the natural choice for “no thanks, I’ve already eaten” and for telling someone you have done something before.
चुकना also appears in the future, for something that will be over by a certain time: तब तक मैं निकल चुका होऊँगा, “by then I will have left”.
Worth knowing (1)
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Polite refusals
Offered food a second time, मैं खा चुका हूँ, धन्यवाद is the gentle refusal: it gives a reason rather than a plain no. A woman says मैं खा चुकी हूँ.
नहीं, धन्यवाद, मैं चाय पी चुकी हूँ।No, thank you, I’ve already had tea.
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