A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 19

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19.3	V-ते समय / V-ते वक़्त

View movie about V-ते समय / V-ते वक़्त :

In Hindi, “while/when X was doing V” is expressed as follows:

मेरे आते वक़्त पानी बरस रहा था |
मेरे आते समय पानी बरस रहा था |

Note: वक़्त and समय are interchangeable.

In many cases where English uses a “when” or “while” clause, Hindi may use the word समय or वक़्त preceded by the imperfect participle form of the verb in the oblique case.

If the person doing the action is specified, Hindi uses the possessive in oblique.

Examples:

जब मैं पढ़ रहा था = मेरे पढ़ते समय

When I was reading (Literally: [At the] time of my reading)

जब वह आ रहा था = उसके आते समय

While he was coming (Literally: [At the] time of his coming)

Note: this formula is used whether the rest of the sentence is in the past, present, or future. For example:

मेरे पढ़ते समय पानी बरस रहा था।

मेरे पढ़ते समय पानी बरस रहा है।

मेरे पढ़ते समय पानी बरस रहा होगा।

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000)
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