Simple Present Tense in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi uses the simple present mainly for habits, repeated actions, general truths, and stable situations. Form it with the verb stem + ता/ती/ते followed by a present form of होना “to be”: मैं रोज़ पढ़ता हूँ “I study every day” (male speaker) or मैं रोज़ पढ़ती हूँ (female speaker). Unlike English, the changing ता/ती/ते ending shows the subject’s gender and number.

Overview

The Hindi form commonly called the “simple present” is more precisely a habitual present: it presents an action as usual, repeated, characteristic, or generally true. You use it for routines such as मैं छह बजे उठता हूँ “I get up at six,” for regular facts such as वह दिल्ली में रहती है “She lives in Delhi,” and for broad statements such as पानी सौ डिग्री पर उबलता है “Water boils at one hundred degrees.”

This is a core A1 pattern, but it asks an English-speaking learner to notice something new. English changes the verb mainly for person—I read but she reads. Hindi instead builds a participle (a verb form used as part of the tense) that agrees with the subject’s gender and number: पढ़ता, पढ़ती, or पढ़ते. A separate form of होना then reflects the subject’s person, number, or politeness: हूँ, हो, है, हैं.

Do not assume that every English present-tense sentence needs this form. English can say “I am eating” either for an action happening now or, in some contexts, for a temporary routine. Hindi normally separates these meanings more clearly: मैं खाता हूँ describes what I habitually eat or that I eat, while मैं खा रहा हूँ means “I am eating” right now.

How It Works

Step 1: Find the verb stem

Hindi dictionary forms normally end in -ना. This dictionary form is the infinitive (the basic “to …” form). Remove ना to obtain the stem.

Infinitive	Meaning	Stem
खाना	to eat	खा-
पढ़ना	to read/study	पढ़-
जाना	to go	जा-
बोलना	to speak	बोल-
करना	to do	कर-

Step 2: Add the habitual ending

The ending agrees with the subject—not with the person in the English way.

Subject gender and number	Ending	Example with जाना
Masculine singular	ता	जाता
Feminine singular	ती	जाती
Masculine plural or mixed-gender plural	ते	जाते
Feminine plural	ती	जाती

Notice that feminine singular and feminine plural both use ती. The auxiliary that follows helps show the difference: वह जाती है “she goes,” but वे जाती हैं “they go” when the group is entirely feminine.

Step 3: Add the present auxiliary

An auxiliary is a helping verb. Here it is a present form of होना “to be.”

Subject	Auxiliary	Example: masculine	Example: feminine
मैं	हूँ	मैं जाता हूँ	मैं जाती हूँ
तू	है	तू जाता है	तू जाती है
तुम	हो	तुम जाते हो	तुम जाती हो
आप	हैं	आप जाते हैं	आप जाती हैं
यह / वह	है	वह जाता है	वह जाती है
हम	हैं	हम जाते हैं	हम जाती हैं
ये / वे	हैं	वे जाते हैं	वे जाती हैं

The full beginner formula is:

subject + other information + verb stem + ता/ती/ते + हूँ/हो/है/हैं

For example, सीमा हर दिन अख़बार पढ़ती है breaks down as पढ़- (read) + ती (feminine agreement) + है (third-person singular auxiliary).

Choosing ता, ती, or ते

Use the real or grammatical gender of the subject. A male speaker says मैं काम करता हूँ; a female speaker says मैं काम करती हूँ. When speaking to one man as आप, say आप कहाँ रहते हैं? When speaking to one woman respectfully, say आप कहाँ रहती हैं? Although respectful आप takes the plural auxiliary हैं, the habitual ending can still show the person’s gender.

For a group containing men and women, standard Hindi normally uses masculine plural ते: रवि और मीना साथ पढ़ते हैं “Ravi and Meena study together.” An all-female group uses ती: मीना और गीता साथ पढ़ती हैं.

Word order

Hindi generally places the verb phrase at the end of the clause. Time expressions often come near the beginning, and an object (the person or thing affected by the action) normally comes before the verb:

मैं रोज़ हिंदी पढ़ता हूँ।
“I study Hindi every day.”

The subject may be left out when the context makes it obvious, especially in conversation: रोज़ योग करती हूँ “I do yoga every day” clearly identifies a female speaker through करती हूँ.

Questions

A yes-or-no question can be marked by intonation alone, but beginners can reliably place क्या at the beginning. The verb form itself does not change.

• क्या तुम रोज़ खाना बनाते हो? — Do you cook every day? (addressing a man or a mixed group)
• क्या तुम रोज़ खाना बनाती हो? — Do you cook every day? (addressing a woman)
• वह कहाँ काम करती है? — Where does she work?

Unlike English, Hindi does not add a helper equivalent to do/does when asking a simple-present question.

Negatives

Place नहीं immediately before the habitual verb phrase. In ordinary negative habitual sentences, the final auxiliary is very often omitted:

• मैं चाय नहीं पीता। — I do not drink tea. (male speaker)
• वह रविवार को काम नहीं करती। — She does not work on Sundays.
• हम यहाँ नहीं रहते। — We do not live here.

You may encounter an auxiliary in marked, contrastive, or regionally influenced usage, but नहीं + habitual form without हूँ/है/हैं is the safest neutral beginner pattern. Do not confuse नहीं with मत, which is used to tell someone not to do something.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
मैं सुबह चाय पीता हूँ।	I drink tea in the morning.	Male speaker; masculine singular ता
मैं सुबह चाय पीती हूँ।	I drink tea in the morning.	Female speaker; feminine ती
वह पुस्तकालय में पढ़ती है।	She studies in the library.	Feminine singular subject
अर्जुन बस से काम पर जाता है।	Arjun goes to work by bus.	Regular routine
हम शनिवार को बाज़ार जाते हैं।	We go to the market on Saturdays.	Masculine or mixed group
रीना और सना साथ खाना बनाती हैं।	Reena and Sana cook together.	All-female plural group
मेरे माता-पिता गाँव में रहते हैं।	My parents live in a village.	Mixed plural; ते हैं
क्या तुम हिंदी बोलते हो?	Do you speak Hindi?	Addressing a man or mixed group informally
आप कहाँ काम करती हैं?	Where do you work?	Respectful address to a woman
बच्चे अक्सर बाहर खेलते हैं।	Children often play outside.	अक्सर marks frequency
सूरज पूर्व से निकलता है।	The sun rises in the east.	General truth
मैं मांस नहीं खाती।	I do not eat meat.	Female speaker; auxiliary omitted after नहीं
वह देर से नहीं आता।	He does not arrive late.	Negative habitual
मेरी ट्रेन सात बजे चलती है।	My train leaves at seven.	Timetabled event
मेरे भाई को क्रिकेट पसंद है, इसलिए वह रोज़ खेलता है।	My brother likes cricket, so he plays every day.	Characteristic repeated action

Common Mistakes

Copying English subject–verb agreement

• Wrong: वह पढ़ते है। (for one woman)
• Right: वह पढ़ती है।
• Why: English she reads may encourage you to focus only on “third person.” Hindi must also mark the subject as feminine with ती, while singular वह takes है.

Using masculine forms for every speaker

• Wrong: मैं हिंदी सीखता हूँ। (said by a woman)
• Right: मैं हिंदी सीखती हूँ।
• Why: With मैं, the speaker’s gender determines ता or ती. The auxiliary remains हूँ in both cases.

Matching the ending to a nearby noun instead of the subject

• Wrong: मोहन किताब पढ़ती है।
• Right: मोहन किताब पढ़ता है।
• Why: किताब is feminine, but it is the object—the thing being read. The subject मोहन is masculine singular, so the verb is पढ़ता है.

Describing an action happening now with the habitual present

• Wrong: मैं अभी खाना खाता हूँ। (intended: “I am eating right now.”)
• Right: मैं अभी खाना खा रहा हूँ। / मैं अभी खाना खा रही हूँ।
• Why: The simple present normally describes a habit or general situation. Use the Present Continuous for an action in progress.

Adding an English-style “do” to questions

• Wrong: क्या तुम करते हिंदी बोलते हो?
• Right: क्या तुम हिंदी बोलते हो?
• Why: Hindi needs no equivalent of English do/does. Add क्या at the beginning for a clear yes-or-no question and keep the verb at the end.

Keeping the auxiliary automatically after नहीं

• Less natural as a neutral beginner sentence: मैं कॉफ़ी नहीं पीता हूँ।
• Natural: मैं कॉफ़ी नहीं पीता।
• Why: Standard neutral Hindi commonly drops हूँ/है/हैं in negative habitual clauses. The remaining habitual form still shows gender and number.

Usage Notes

Frequency expressions are strong clues that the habitual present is appropriate: रोज़ “daily,” हर दिन “every day,” अक्सर “often,” कभी-कभी “sometimes,” and हमेशा “always.” They are helpful but not required. वह बैंक में काम करती है naturally describes her regular employment even without an explicit frequency word.

Hindi तुम and आप involve both number and social relationship. तुम normally takes हो and can address one familiar person or more than one person: तुम आते हो / आती हो. Respectful आप always takes हैं, even for one person: आप आते हैं / आती हैं. तू takes है, but it is very intimate and can sound insulting in the wrong relationship, so beginners should generally prefer तुम or आप.

In everyday speech, यह/ये and वह/वे may distinguish closeness as well as number, and respectful reference to one person can trigger plural-style agreement: दादाजी रोज़ टहलते हैं “Grandfather walks every day.” Learn this first as respectful agreement rather than as an exception to the core pattern.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these points at A1, but they explain forms you will soon meet.

The habitual is not limited to repeated physical actions

It can describe dispositions and characteristic behavior: वह बहुत हँसती है “She laughs a lot,” or यह मशीन अच्छी तरह चलती है “This machine works well.” English translations may use a simple present verb, an adjective, or another natural construction; translate the meaning rather than each Hindi piece mechanically.

Some English state verbs use a different Hindi sentence pattern. “I like tea” is normally मुझे चाय पसंद है, not a word-for-word habitual form. Likewise, मुझे हिंदी आती है can mean “I know Hindi.” Here हिंदी controls the feminine verb आती, even though the English sentence makes “I” look like the subject. Such patterns are best learned as complete expressions.

होता है means what generally is or happens

Compare है with habitual होता है:

• आज सोमवार है। — Today is Monday. (present identification)
• सोमवार को बाज़ार बंद होता है। — The market is closed on Mondays. (usual situation)
• यहाँ सर्दियों में बहुत कोहरा होता है। — There is a lot of fog here in winter. (regular occurrence)

Thus होता है does not simply replace every instance of English “is.” It adds a usual, recurring, or general meaning.

Agreement becomes more complex in other tenses

In this ordinary present pattern, agreement is usually with the subject: सीमा किताब पढ़ती है. In several past constructions, Hindi may mark the subject with ने, and agreement can follow different rules. Do not transfer those later rules back into the simple present. At this stage, “identify the subject, then choose ता/ती/ते” is a sound working method.

Habitual forms can appear outside the simple present

The same ता/ती/ते participle can combine with past forms of होना to describe former habits: मैं बचपन में यहाँ खेलता था “I used to play here as a child.” It can also appear in conditional or unfinished constructions at higher levels. What makes the tense present in this article is the present auxiliary हूँ/हो/है/हैं—or its regular omission in a negative clause.

Practice Tips

1. Make paired sentences about yourself. Choose five everyday verbs and write the correct version for your own gender: मैं उठता/उठती हूँ, मैं जाता/जाती हूँ, and so on. Then change मैं to हम and adjust both parts of the verb phrase.
2. Sort examples by meaning. For each sentence you hear or read, label it “routine/general” or “happening now.” This directly trains the contrast between करता हूँ and कर रहा हूँ.
3. Build one sentence across several subjects. Start with मैं हिंदी पढ़ता हूँ, then produce वह हिंदी पढ़ती है, तुम हिंदी पढ़ते हो, and वे हिंदी पढ़ते हैं. Saying the complete phrase aloud helps you learn ता/ती/ते and the auxiliary as one unit.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: To Be – Present Tense — supplies the auxiliaries हूँ, हो, है, हैं used in this tense.
• Useful vocabulary: Common Verbs — provides everyday verbs for building habitual sentences.
• Next step: Negation — expands the use of नहीं and contrasts it with negative commands.
• Contrast: Present Continuous — describes actions happening now with रहा/रही/रहे.
• Later tense: Simple Past Tense — introduces different past-tense agreement patterns.
• Later tense: Future Tense — shows how Hindi talks about future events.
• Related verb patterns: Ability (सकना) and Wanting (चाहना) — extend common present-time verb phrases.