A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 17

17.1 Future Constructions

17.2 Presumptive

17.3 "Maybe" with Subjunctive

17.4 Seasons and Weather

17.5 Compound Verbs

17.6 Perspiration

17.7 Adjective Doubling

Culture Notes

Exercises

Quiz

Supplemental Materials

Devanagari Writing System

Digital Dictionaries

Other Resources

17.2	Presumptive

As in English, future sentences often connote presumption: you think the statement is likely to be true, but you don’t know for sure. In English we could use the word “must” in the translation.

Compare:

वह काम करती है ।	She works.
वह काम करती होगी ।	She must work (I presume she works but I don’t know for sure).

तुम्हारे पास दस रुपये हैं ।	You have ten rupees.
तुम्हारे पास दस रुपये होंगे ।	You must have ten rupees.

मेरी बेटी आई ।	My daughter came.
मेरी बेटी आई होगी ।	My daughter must have come.

तुमने किसी लड़की को देखा है ।	You have seen some girl.
तुमने ज़रूर किसी लड़की को देखा होगा ।	You must surely have seen some girl.

Note that in the ने construction, when the object is blocked by को, use होगा (third person singular).

The emphatic particle ही can be added after the verbal phrase to increase the conviction of your presumption. Most often, ही is used in the common phrase: “तो होगा ही”. This expresses the speaker’s belief that something is almost certainly true. For Example:

आपके पास मेरा टैलिफ़ोन नम्बर तो होगा ही ।	You must have my telephone number.
शीला पार्टी में तो होगी ही ।	Sheila must be at the party.

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000)
Section 9.3