Hindi grammar · Intermediate (B1)
Verb families: खुलना, खोलना, खुलवाना
How many Hindi verbs come in families: something happens, someone does it, someone has it done. Causatives like करवाना and खुलवाना.
Happens, does, has it done
Many Hindi verbs come in families of two or three. The first says what happens by itself; the second, usually with a longer vowel or -आ (-aa), says what someone does; the third, with -वा- (-vaa-), says that someone has it done by another person.
The first kind never takes (ne) and often goes with (jaanaa): (dhakkan toot gayaa), the lid broke. The others take in the past: (mainne khaataa khulvaayaa), I had an account opened.
| Happens | Someone does it | Someone has it done |
|---|---|---|
| (khulnaa), to open | (kholnaa), to open | (khulvaanaa) |
| (bannaa), to be made, become | (banaanaa), to make | (banvaanaa) |
| (tootnaa), to break | (tornaa), to break | (turvaanaa) |
| (jalnaa), to burn | (jalaanaa), to light | (jalvaanaa) |
| — | (karnaa), to do | , (karvaanaa, karaanaa) |
Having something done
Use the -वा- (-vaa-) form when someone else does the work for you: at the bank, the tailor's, the mechanic's. The person who does the work takes (se): (mainne maikenik se miksar theek karvaayaa), I had the mechanic repair the mixer.
- मुझे एक बचत खाता खुलवाना है।Mujhe ek bachat khaataa khulvaanaa hai.I'd like to open a savings account.
- मैंने कल दो फ़ोटो खिंचवाईं।Mainne kal do foto khinchvaaeen.I had two photos taken yesterday.
- चमड़ा हम कानपुर से मँगवाते हैं।Chamraa ham Kaanpur se mangvaate hain.We have the leather sent from Kanpur.
Some useful pairs
Some very common verbs have a form with -आ or -ला (-aa, -laa) that makes someone else do the action: → (khaanaa → khilaanaa), to eat → to feed; → (peenaa → pilaanaa), to drink → to give a drink; → (dekhnaa → dikhaanaa), to see → to show; → (padhnaa → padhaanaa), to study → to teach. Long vowels in the stem often get shorter: → (bhejnaa → bhijvaanaa), → (maangnaa → mangvaanaa).
- मैंने वहाँ तीस साल पढ़ाया।Mainne vahaan tees saal padhaayaa.I taught there for thirty years.
- मुझे अपना फ़्लैट दिखाओ।Mujhe apnaa flait dikhaao.Show me your flat.