Simple Past Tense in Urdu

In Brief

Urdu forms the simple past with a perfective form: usually the verb stem plus ا، ی، ے، or یں, chosen for gender and number. With an intransitive verb, the verb agrees with the subject: وہ آیا “he came,” وہ آئی “she came.” With most transitive verbs, the subject takes نے and the verb normally agrees with the direct object: میں نے کتاب پڑھی “I read a book.”

Overview

The Urdu simple past, traditionally called ماضی مطلق, presents an action as a completed event. You use it for events such as arriving, seeing someone, buying something, or finishing a meal. It often corresponds to the English simple past: “came,” “saw,” “bought,” or “ate.” Context and time expressions such as کل “yesterday/tomorrow” and پچھلے ہفتے “last week” show when the event happened.

This is an A2 topic, but it brings together two central parts of Urdu grammar. First, the past form shows agreement (its ending changes to match masculine or feminine, singular or plural). Second, Urdu has split ergativity: in completed transitive actions, the doer is commonly marked with نے, and agreement shifts away from the doer. “Transitive” simply means that the verb acts on a direct object—someone or something directly affected, as in “read a book.”

English verbs do not change for the gender of “he,” “she,” “book,” or “letters,” so English-speaking learners need to form a new habit: before choosing the Urdu verb ending, identify whether the verb has a direct object and which noun controls agreement.

How It Works

1. Build the basic past form

For many verbs, remove نا from the infinitive to find the stem, then add the agreement ending. For example, پڑھنا “to read” gives the stem پڑھـ.

Agreement	Ending	پڑھنا “to read”	Typical meaning
Masculine singular	ا	پڑھا	read; masculine singular agreement
Feminine singular	ی	پڑھی	read; feminine singular agreement
Masculine plural	ے	پڑھے	read; masculine plural agreement
Feminine plural	یں	پڑھیں	read; feminine plural agreement

The spelling can involve normal Urdu joining and stem changes. Learn common past forms as whole words rather than treating the endings as a completely mechanical formula.

2. Intransitive verbs agree with the subject

An intransitive verb does not take a direct object. With verbs such as آنا “to come,” جانا “to go,” and سونا “to sleep,” the past verb agrees with the subject—the person or thing that performs or experiences the action.

Subject	Past sentence	Agreement
وہ لڑکا	وہ لڑکا آیا۔	masculine singular
وہ لڑکی	وہ لڑکی آئی۔	feminine singular
لڑکے	لڑکے آئے۔	masculine plural
لڑکیاں	لڑکیاں آئیں۔	feminine plural

Do not add نے merely because a sentence is in the past. The ordinary beginner pattern is وہ آیا, not وہ نے آیا.

3. Transitive verbs normally use نے

A transitive verb has a direct object: “write a letter,” “read a book,” or “eat food.” In a completed past event, the subject normally takes the postposition نے. A postposition works rather like an English preposition, but it comes after its noun or pronoun.

The basic pattern is:

subject + نے + object + past verb

In this construction, the verb normally agrees with the unmarked direct object:

• میں نے کتاب پڑھی۔ — I read a book. کتاب is feminine singular, so the verb is پڑھی.
• اس نے خط لکھا۔ — He/She wrote a letter. خط is masculine singular, so the verb is لکھا.
• ہم نے روٹیاں کھائیں۔ — We ate the flatbreads. روٹیاں is feminine plural, so the verb is کھائیں.

Notice that the speaker’s gender does not determine پڑھی in the first example. A man and a woman both say میں نے کتاب پڑھی, because کتاب, not میں, controls the verb.

4. Forms before نے

Because نے is a postposition, some nouns and pronouns use an oblique form—the form used before a postposition. Several very common combinations should be memorized as units.

Basic subject	With نے	Meaning
میں	میں نے	I
ہم	ہم نے	we
تم	تم نے	you (familiar)
آپ	آپ نے	you (polite/plural)
یہ	اس نے	this person / he / she
وہ	اس نے	that person / he / she
یہ (plural/polite)	انہوں نے	these people / they
وہ (plural/polite)	انہوں نے	those people / they
لڑکا	لڑکے نے	the boy

The identical English translation “he/she” can hide an important fact: Urdu اس نے does not reveal gender by itself. The object and verb may provide other clues, but often context does the work.

5. If the object has کو, use the default agreement

When the direct object is marked with کو—often because it is a specific person or another definite animate object—it no longer controls the verb’s agreement. The verb then generally appears in the default masculine singular form.

• میں نے علی کو دیکھا۔ — I saw Ali.
• میں نے زینب کو دیکھا۔ — I saw Zainab.
• اس نے مجھے بلایا۔ — He/She called me.

Even though زینب is feminine, the standard form here is دیکھا, not دیکھی, because زینب کو is marked with کو. Object pronouns such as مجھے “me” and اسے “him/her” function as marked objects in this pattern.

If a transitive clause has no expressed agreement-controlling object, the same masculine singular default is common:

• انہوں نے کہا۔ — They said.
• آپ نے اچھا کیا۔ — You did well / You did the right thing.

6. Common irregular past forms

Several of the most frequent verbs have forms that cannot be predicted simply by removing نا and adding an ending.

Infinitive	Masculine singular past	Feminine singular past	Meaning
آنا	آیا	آئی	come
جانا	گیا	گئی	go
ہونا	ہوا	ہوئی	happen; become; be
کرنا	کیا	کی	do
دینا	دیا	دی	give
لینا	لیا	لی	take

Their plural forms follow the same agreement contrast: آئے / آئیں, گئے / گئیں, ہوئے / ہوئیں, کیے / کیں, دیے / دیں, and لیے / لیں. Spellings can vary slightly in running text for forms such as کیے/کئے; کیے is a common modern spelling.

7. Negatives and questions

Place نہیں before the past verb to negate the event. The نے construction and agreement pattern remain in place.

• میں نے چائے نہیں پی۔ — I did not drink tea.
• وہ کل نہیں آئی۔ — She did not come yesterday.
• ہم نے اسے نہیں دیکھا۔ — We did not see him/her.

Yes/no questions often begin with کیا. Here کیا is a question marker, not the past form “did.” Intonation can also mark a question in speech.

• کیا آپ نے کھانا کھایا؟ — Did you eat? / Have you eaten?
• کیا وہ گھر گیا؟ — Did he go home?

Urdu does not insert a separate equivalent of English auxiliary “did.” The Urdu verb itself carries the completed-past form.

Examples in Context

Urdu	English	Note
وہ صبح جلدی آیا۔	He came early in the morning.	Intransitive; masculine singular subject
مریم دیر سے آئی۔	Maryam arrived late.	Intransitive; feminine singular subject
بچے باہر گئے۔	The children went outside.	Irregular جانا; masculine/mixed plural
لڑکیاں گھر گئیں۔	The girls went home.	Irregular جانا; feminine plural
میں نے کتاب پڑھی۔	I read a book.	کتاب is feminine singular
اس نے خط لکھا۔	He/She wrote a letter.	خط is masculine singular
ہم نے کھانا کھایا۔	We ate the food.	کھانا is masculine singular
سارہ نے چائے پی۔	Sarah drank tea.	چائے is feminine singular
بچوں نے کہانیاں سنیں۔	The children listened to stories.	کہانیاں is feminine plural
انہوں نے نئے کپڑے خریدے۔	They bought new clothes.	کپڑے is masculine plural
میں نے زینب کو دیکھا۔	I saw Zainab.	Object has کو; default masculine singular
اس نے مجھے فون کیا۔	He/She phoned me.	Marked object; default کیا
ہم نے کافی نہیں پی۔	We did not drink coffee.	Negative; کافی is feminine
کیا آپ نے دروازہ کھولا؟	Did you open the door?	Yes/no question; دروازہ is masculine
کل بارش ہوئی۔	It rained yesterday.	Intransitive event; بارش is feminine

Common Mistakes

Adding نے to every past-tense subject

• Wrong: وہ نے گھر گیا۔
• Right: وہ گھر گیا۔
• Why: جانا is intransitive here: there is no direct object. The verb agrees with the subject, and the ordinary pattern does not use نے.

Making the verb agree with the doer after نے

• Wrong: علی نے کتاب پڑھا۔
• Right: علی نے کتاب پڑھی۔
• Why: In the نے construction, the unmarked object کتاب controls agreement. کتاب is feminine, so use پڑھی.

Letting the speaker’s gender control the verb

• Wrong: میں نے روٹی کھایا۔ (said by a man)
• Right: میں نے روٹی کھائی۔
• Why: The speaker’s gender is irrelevant here. The feminine noun روٹی controls the past verb.

Agreeing with an object marked by کو

• Wrong: میں نے زینب کو دیکھی۔
• Right: میں نے زینب کو دیکھا۔
• Why: A direct object marked by کو does not control agreement. Use the default masculine singular verb.

Copying English “did” into an Urdu question

• Wrong: کیا آپ نے کھانا کھایا کیا؟
• Right: کیا آپ نے کھانا کھایا؟
• Why: Initial کیا can mark the whole sentence as a yes/no question. A second form is not needed in this neutral pattern.

Treating every verb as regular

• Wrong: وہ جاا۔
• Right: وہ گیا۔
• Why: Common verbs such as جانا، آنا، ہونا، کرنا، دینا, and لینا have irregular or contracted past forms that must be learned.

Usage Notes

English simple past is a useful translation, but it does not map perfectly onto Urdu in every conversation. Urdu speakers may use this simple perfective form for a clearly completed event, while a form with ہے/ہیں can present the result as currently relevant. For example, آپ نے کھانا کھایا؟ is a natural conversational way to ask whether someone ate, while آپ نے کھانا کھایا ہے؟ more explicitly uses the present perfect. The distinction depends on context and is not always identical to the English contrast between “Did you eat?” and “Have you eaten?”

Urdu often leaves out information that is already clear. The pronouns corresponding to “he” and “she” are not gender-distinct, and a sentence such as اس نے کہا can mean “he said” or “she said.” Do not force an English gender distinction into the Urdu sentence.

In polite speech, آپ normally takes plural agreement when it controls agreement: آپ آئیں “you came” when addressing a woman politely and آپ آئے when addressing a man politely. After آپ نے, however, agreement follows the object or defaults as described above: آپ نے کتاب پڑھی.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master every exception at A2, but you will encounter several extensions of this pattern.

First, “transitive” versus “intransitive” is not always a permanent label attached to an English translation. Urdu verb constructions can behave differently depending on their meaning and syntax. Some compound verbs and a small number of lexical patterns do not fit the beginner shortcut perfectly. When you learn a new verb, notice it in a complete past-tense sentence rather than memorizing only its infinitive.

Second, the simple past form is also the perfective participle, a form that presents an event as complete. Add present forms of ہونا to build the present perfect:

• وہ آیا۔ — He came.
• وہ آیا ہے۔ — He has come.
• میں نے کتاب پڑھی۔ — I read the book.
• میں نے کتاب پڑھی ہے۔ — I have read the book.

The core agreement and نے patterns remain visible in both. This is why mastering the simple past gives you a foundation for later perfect tenses.

Third, completed actions can be given extra shades of meaning with compound verbs. کر لیا can suggest doing something for oneself or successfully getting it done; کھا دیا can present eating as a decisive completed act; جا چکا ہے emphasizes that someone has already gone. These combinations bring their own agreement and auxiliary patterns, so learn them as a later layer rather than replacing the basic rule.

Finally, formal writing and storytelling may use the same past forms in long chains of completed events: وہ اٹھا، دروازہ کھولا اور باہر گیا “He got up, opened the door, and went outside.” Urdu does not require the subject to be repeated when it remains clear. In that sentence, اٹھا and گیا agree with the subject, while کھولا belongs to a transitive clause whose understood object is دروازہ.

Practice Tips

1. Sort before you conjugate. Take ten verbs and write one completed event with each. Mark the verb as intransitive or transitive. For a transitive sentence, circle the object and decide whether it has کو before choosing the ending.
2. Practice agreement in four-way sets. Build short contrasts such as لڑکا آیا، لڑکی آئی، لڑکے آئے، لڑکیاں آئیں. Then make object-controlled sets: خط لکھا، کتاب لکھی، خط لکھے، کتابیں لکھیں.
3. Learn chunks from real sentences. Keep a list of frequent combinations—میں نے دیکھا، اس نے کہا، وہ گیا، وہ آئی—and read them aloud. This trains both the نے pattern and irregular forms without relying on abstract rules alone.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Grammatical Gender — gender and number determine the endings ا، ی، ے، یں.
• Next step: Split Ergativity (نے Construction) — a fuller treatment of subject marking, object agreement, and exceptional patterns.
• Next step: Present Perfect Tense — adds forms of ہونا to the same perfective base.
• Next step: چکنا — Completion Auxiliary — emphasizes that an action is already or fully complete.
• Later use: Reported Speech — frequently uses past reporting verbs such as کہا، پوچھا, and بتایا.