The simple past tense in Konkani

(updated )

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The simple past tense is a form of the past tense which indicates a completed action at a point of time, such as I walked or I sat. This contrasts with the continuous past tense, which indicates an action continuing over a period of time, such as I was walking or I was sitting. In this post, we'll consider how to form verbs in the simple past tense.

Verbs follow some simple rules when said in the simple past tense.

  • They use a base for the verb + an ending based on whether the verb’s subject is singular or plural

  • The ending can be tied to the gender of the person doing the action

  • The verb base for the simple past tense is often NOT the same as for the present tense

  • The verb bases for positive and negative senses are often NOT the same as each other

  • The endings depend on whether the verb takes an object or not (most do)

Verbs that don't take an object

The following table shows the usual construction using the simple past tense for verbs with just a subject, and no object. The gender of the subject determines the endings of the verbs.

Sense

Singular

Plural

Positive

I did XXX (male doer)

positive verb base + -lawnh [1] or
positive verb base + -Lawnh

We did XXX

positive verb base + -leenh or
positive verb base + -Leenh

I did XXX (female doer)

positive verb base + -leenh or
positive verb base + -Leenh

You did XXX (male doer) or
He did XXX

positive verb base + -law or
positive verb base + -Law

You did XXX

You did XXX (female doer) or
She did XXX

positive verb base + -lee or
positive verb base + -Lee

It did XXX (neuter doer)

positive verb base + -lenh or
positive verb base + -Lenh

They did XXX

Negative

I didn't do XXX

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

We didn't do XXX

negative verb base + -neeti or
negative verb base + -Neeti

You didn't do XXX

You didn't do XXX

He / she / it didn't do XXX

They didn't do XXX

The positive endings with the L sound are used when the verb base ends with that sound. Otherwise, the positive endings with the l sound are used.

Similarly, the negative endings with the N sound are used when the verb base ends with that sound. Otherwise, the negative endings with the n sounds are used.

The following table shows concrete examples using bosscAnh (sitting) and poDcAnh (falling).

English

Konkani

English

Konkani

I sat (male sitter)

haanhvanh basslawnh

I didn't sit (male)

haanhvanh baisanee

I sat (female sitter)

haanhvanh bassleenh

I didn't sit (female)

haanhvanh baisanee

You sat (male sitter)

toonh basslaw

You didn't sit (male)

toonh baisanee

You sat (female sitter)

toonh basslee

You didn't sit (female)

toonh baisanee

He sat

taw basslaw

He didn't sit

taw baisanee

She sat

tee basslee

She didn't sit

tee baisanee

It sat

tAnh basslenh

It didn't sit

tAnh baisanee

We sat

aammi bassleenh

We didn't sit

aammi baisaneeti

Y'all sat

tummi bassleenh

Y'all didn't sit

tummi baisaneeti

They sat

teenh bassleenh

They didn't sit

teenh baisaneeti

I fell (male faller)

haanhvanh paLLawnh

I didn't fall (male)

haanhvanh pa-aNNee

I fell (female faller)

haanhvanh paLLeenh

I didn't fall (female)

haanhvanh pa-aNNee

You fell (male faller)

toonh paLLaw

You didn't fall (male)

toonh pa-aNNee

You fell (female faller)

toonh paLLee

You didn't fall (female)

toonh pa-aNNee

He fell

taw paLLaw

He didn't fall

taw pa-aNNee

She fell

tee paLLee

She didn't fall

tee pa-aNNee

It fell

tAnh paLLenh

It didn't fall

tAnh pa-aNNee

We fell

aammi paLLeenh

We didn't fall

aammi pa-aNNeeti

Y'all fell

tummi paLLeenh

Y'all didn't fall

tummi pa-aNNeeti

They fell

teenh paLLeenh

They didn't fall

teenh pa-aNNeeti

Verbs that do take an object

Verbs that take an object behave differently to those that don't:

  • They use the gender of the object to determine the endings, and not the gender of the subject.

  • The form of the subject changes as well as the verb ending.

To illustrate how the subject changes in the simple past tense, we'll use a neuter object, so that we can focus on how the subject changes. The object used is tAnh (that) and the verb is gheuncAnh (taking), for which the relevant verb form is ghetlenh. The following table shows how the subject changes.

Subject

Normal pronoun or noun form

Subject pronoun or noun changes to

I [took that]

haanhvanh

haanhvAnh [tAnh ghetlenh]

You [took that]

toonh

toonhAnh [tAnh ghetlenh]

He [took that]

taw

taannA [tAnh ghetlenh]

She [took that]

tee

tinnA [tAnh ghetlenh]

It [took that]

tAnh

taannA [tAnh ghetlenh]

We [took that]

aammi

aammi [tAnh ghetlenh]

Y’all [took that]

tummi

tummi [tAnh ghetlenh]

They [took that]

teenh

taanni [tAnh ghetlenh]

Ashok [took that]

ashoku

ashokaanA [tAnh ghetlenh]

Anita [took that]

aneetaa

aneetaanA [tAnh ghetlenh]

The following table shows how the verb endings change according to the object's gender.

Sense

Singular

Plural

Positive

I did XXX (male object) or
You did XXX (male object) or
He / she / it did XXX (male object)

positive verb base + -law or
positive verb base + -Law

We did XXX (male object) or
Y'all did XXX (male object) or
They did XXX (male object)

positive verb base + -law or
positive verb base + -Law

I did XXX (female object) or
You did XXX (female object) or
He / she / it did XXX (female object)

positive verb base + -lee or
positive verb base + -Lee

I did XXX (female object) or
Y'all did XXX (female object) or
They did XXX (female object)

positive verb base + -lee or
positive verb base + -Lee

I did XXX (neuter object) or
You did XXX (neuter object) or
He / she / it did XXX (neuter object)

positive verb base + -lenh or
positive verb base + -Lenh

I did XXX (neuter object) or
Y'all did XXX (neuter object) or
They did XXX (neuter object)

positive verb base + -lenh or
positive verb base + -Lenh

Negative

I didn't do XXX (male object) or
You didn't do XXX (male object) or
He / she / it didn't do XXX (male object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

We didn't do XXX (male object) or
Y'all didn't do XXX (male object) or
They didn't do XXX (male object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

I didn't do XXX (female object) or
You didn't do XXX (female object) or
He / she / it didn't do XXX (female object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

We didn't do XXX (female object) or
Y'all didn't do XXX (female object) or
They didn't do XXX (female object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

I didn't do XXX (neuter object) or
You didn't do XXX (neuter object) or
He / she / it didn't do XXX (neuter object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

We didn't do XXX (neuter object) or
Y'all didn't do XXX (neuter object) or
They didn't do XXX (neuter object)

negative verb base + -nee or
negative verb base + -Nee

The positive endings with the L sound are used when the verb base ends with that sound. Otherwise, the positive endings with the l sound are used.

Similarly, the negative endings with the N sound are used when the verb base ends with that sound. Otherwise, the negative endings with the n sounds are used.

The following table shows concrete examples using gheuncAnh (taking) and haaDcAnh (bringing). The objects are cimTaw (tongs – masculine), khurci (chair – feminine) and pustaka (book – neuter). In the table, I and You can refer to either a male or a female doer (taker or bringer). It's a little repetitive, but shows how the endings depend only on the gender of the object.

English

Konkani

English

Konkani

I took the tongs

haanhvAnh cimTaw ghetlaw

I didn't take the tongs

haanhvAnh cimTaw ghaynee

I took the chair

haanhvAnh khurci ghetlee

I didn't take the chair

haanhvAnh khurci ghaynee

I took the book

haanhvAnh pustaka ghetlenh

I didn't take the book

haanhvAnh pustaka ghaynee

You took the tongs

toonhAnh cimTaw ghetlaw

You didn't take the tongs

toonhAnh cimTaw ghaynee

You took the chair

toonhAnh khurci ghetlee

You didn't take the chair

toonhAnh khurci ghaynee

You took the book

toonhAnh pustaka ghetlenh

You didn't take the book

toonhAnh pustaka ghaynee

He took the tongs

taannA cimTaw ghetlaw

He didn't take the tongs

taannA cimTaw ghaynee

He took the chair

taannA khurci ghetlee

He didn't take the chair

taannA khurci ghaynee

He took the book

taannA pustaka ghetlenh

He didn't take the book

taannA pustaka ghaynee

She took the tongs

tinnA cimTaw ghetlaw

She didn't take the tongs

tinnA cimTaw ghaynee

She took the chair

tinnA khurci ghetlee

She didn't take the chair

tinnA khurci ghaynee

She took the book

tinnA pustaka ghetlenh

She didn't take the book

tinnA pustaka ghaynee

It took the tongs

taannA cimTaw ghetlaw

It didn't take the tongs

taannA cimTaw ghaynee

It took the chair

taannA khurci ghetlee

It didn't take the chair

taannA khurci ghaynee

It took the book

taannA pustaka ghetlenh

It didn't take the book

taannA pustaka ghaynee

We took the tongs

aammi cimTaw ghetlaw

We didn't take the tongs

aammi cimTaw ghaynee

We took the chair

aammi khurci ghetlee

We didn't take the chair

aammi khurci ghaynee

We took the book

aammi pustaka ghetlenh

We didn't take the book

aammi pustaka ghaynee

Y'all took the tongs

tummi cimTaw ghetlaw

Y'all didn't take the tongs

tummi cimTaw ghaynee

Y'all took the chair

tummi khurci ghetlee

Y'all didn't take the chair

tummi khurci ghaynee

Y'all took the book

tummi pustaka ghetlenh

Y'all didn't take the book

tummi pustaka ghaynee

They took the tongs

taanni cimTaw ghetlaw

They didn't take the tongs

taanni cimTaw ghaynee

They took the chair

taanni khurci ghetlee

They didn't take the chair

taanni khurci ghaynee

They took the book

taanni pustaka ghetlenh

They didn't take the book

taanni pustaka ghaynee

I brought the tongs

haanhvAnh cimTaw haaLLaw

I didn't bring the tongs

haanhvAnh cimTaw haaNNee

I brought the chair

haanhvAnh khurci haaLLee

I didn't bring the chair

haanhvAnh khurci haaNNee

I brought the book

haanhvAnh pustaka haaLLenh

I didn't bring the book

haanhvAnh pustaka haaNNee

You brought the tongs

toonhAnh cimTaw haaLLaw

You didn't bring the tongs

toonhAnh cimTaw haaNNee

You brought the chair

toonhAnh khurci haaLLee

You didn't bring the chair

toonhAnh khurci haaNNee

You brought the book

toonhAnh pustaka haaLLenh

You didn't bring the book

toonhAnh pustaka haaNNee

He brought the tongs

taannA cimTaw haaLLaw

He didn't bring the tongs

taannA cimTaw haaNNee

He brought the chair

taannA khurci haaLLee

He didn't bring the chair

taannA khurci haaNNee

He brought the book

taannA pustaka haaLLenh

He didn't bring the book

taannA pustaka haaNNee

She brought the tongs

tinnA cimTaw haaLLaw

She didn't bring the tongs

tinnA cimTaw haaNNee

She brought the chair

tinnA khurci haaLLee

She didn't bring the chair

tinnA khurci haaNNee

She brought the book

tinnA pustaka haaLLenh

She didn't bring the book

tinnA pustaka haaNNee

It brought the tongs

taannA cimTaw haaLLaw

It didn't bring the tongs

taannA cimTaw haaNNee

It brought the chair

taannA khurci haaLLee

It didn't bring the chair

taannA khurci haaNNee

It brought the book

taannA pustaka haaLLenh

It didn't bring the book

taannA pustaka haaNNee

We brought the tongs

aammi cimTaw haaLLaw

We didn't bring the tongs

aammi cimTaw haaNNee

We brought the chair

aammi khurci haaLLee

We didn't bring the chair

aammi khurci haaNNee

We brought the book

aammi pustaka haaLLenh

We didn't bring the book

aammi pustaka haaNNee

Y'all brought the tongs

tummi cimTaw haaLLaw

Y'all didn't bring the tongs

tummi cimTaw haaNNee

Y'all brought the chair

tummi khurci haaLLee

Y'all didn't bring the chair

tummi khurci haaNNee

Y'all brought the book

tummi pustaka haaLLenh

Y'all didn't bring the book

tummi pustaka haaNNee

They brought the tongs

taanni cimTaw haaLLaw

They didn't bring the tongs

taanni cimTaw haaNNee

They brought the chair

taanni khurci haaLLee

They didn't bring the chair

taanni khurci haaNNee

They brought the book

taanni pustaka haaLLenh

They didn't bring the book

taanni pustaka haaNNee

Searchable list of verb bases

For a searchable list of verb bases, see this page.

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