Tips To Master Urdu Tenses Quickly: #1 Handy Beginner’s Guide 

Are you finding learning Urdu tenses overwhelming? No doubt, 12 tenses can haunt anyone. Yet, I can safely say that the tenses in the Urdu language are not as challenging as they seem to be. What’s even more comforting is that by learning even three simple Urdu tenses, you can master basic daily conversations. So, you know, Urdu tenses aren’t as difficult as they seem!

To make learning easy for you, we will look into four basic tips to master Urdu tenses quickly. We will focus on the sentence structure and verb conjugation of each tense. By the end, you will have a clear picture of how to accurately use Urdu tenses in your conversations and writing. Let’s start!

Understand The Basics Of Urdu Tenses 

The Urdu language has three main tenses: Present, past, and future. These are further divided into three subtypes that make 12 Urdu tenses in total.

Yet, if you have just started learning Urdu grammar, learning the three main tenses is more than enough.

With this in mind, we will focus on these three tenses by looking at their sentence structure and some practice sentences, so you can learn how Urdu tenses work.

Tense 1: Present Tense 

You should always start learning tenses with the present tense, as we use it the most in our daily life. We use the present tense to talk about things or actions that we do habitually or are in our routine, and also to describe general truths.

Like English, the present tense in Urdu is also divided into three types. Yet, for now, we will only focus on the simple present tense or the present indefinite tense.

Structure:

Subject + Object + Root verb + Suffix + Auxiliary Verb

How To Conjugate Verbs In The Present Tense In Urdu

The most basic rule to remember is that every Urdu verb needs an auxiliary verb “to be” – hona (ہونا) in most of the sentence structures. In English, we can simply say, “He eats.” But in Urdu, it is – wo (he) khata (eats) hai (the third person singular auxiliary form of the verb ‘to be’).

Now coming to the present tense, we use hun (ہوں), hai (ہے) and hain (ہیں) as auxiliary verbs.

• Hun (ہوں) is for singular first person subject. Example: Me khata hun (I eat) because the subject me (I) is singular.
• Ho (ہو) is for singular second person subject. Example: Tum khatay ho (you eat) because the subject tum (you) is singular.
• Hai (ہے) is for a singular third person subject. Example: Wo khata hai (he eats) because the subject wo (he) is singular.
• Hain (ہیں) is for plural first person and third person subjects. Example: Wo khatay hain (they eat) because the subject we (they) are plural. It could also be ham khatay hain (we eat) where the subject hum (we) are plural.

We also add suffixes to verbs according to the gender, number, and formality of the subject. For instance, in the sentence ‘he goes to school’ – wo school jata hai (وہ سکول جاتا ہے), ja (جا) is the verb, and ta (تا) is the suffix. It’s a singular masculine suffix since the subject is singular. Another example is “he eats” which is wo khata hai where kha is teh verb “eat” and ta is the singular masculine suffix.

For the feminine singular, we would add ti (تی), making the verb “goes” as jati (جاتی). For the masculine plural, we’d write jatay (جاتے). And for the feminine plural, we’d use the same suffix ti (تی) at the end of the verb but the auxiliary will change form to hain.

If you’re having trouble understanding these words, you can brush up on the Urdu alphabet to have a clear picture of what we’re talking about. 

Now, let’s look at some practical examples.

English	Urdu	Pronunciation
The sun sets	سورج غروب ہوتا ہے	Sooraj garoob hota hai
He goes to school	وہ سکول جاتا ہے	Wo school jata hai
I brush my teeth daily	میں روزانہ اپنے دانت صاف کرتی ہوں	Me rozana apne daant saaf karti hun
You play daily	تم روز کھیلتے ہو	Tum roz khelte ho
We exercise daily	ہم روزانہ ورزش کرتے ہیں۔	Ham rozana warzish karte hain
They work every day	وہ روزانہ کام کرتے ہیں	Wo rozana kaam karte hain

Tense 2: Past Tense 

Similar to the present tense, the past tense in Urdu is also divided into three sub-types. Here, we’ll learn how to form a sentence using the simple past tense. Let’s look at the structure and examples.

How To Form Past Tense Sentences In Urdu

We follow the following basic sentence structure to make past tense sentence.

Structure:

Subject + Object + Root verb + Suffix

Unlike the present tense, we don’t use an auxiliary verb in the past tense. It’s only the root verb with a suffix. For instance:

I read the book – me ne kitab parhi (میں نے کتاب پڑھی)

In this sentence, me ne (میں نے) is the subject, kitab (کتاب) is the object, parh (پڑھ) is the root verb, and hi (ھی) is the suffix. So, there isn’t any auxiliary verb “to be” here. 

Let’s look at one more example:

Ali wrote the letter – Ali ne khat likha (علی نے خط لکھا)

Here, Ali (علی) is the subject, ne (نے) is the preposition, khat (خط) is the object, likh (لکھ) is the verb, and ha (ھا) is the suffix. You can see that the subject here is male, so we have written likha (لکھا). We would have written likhi (لکھی) if the subject was female.  

Tense 3: Future Tense 

We use the future tense to describe the actions that will happen anytime in the future. 

To make sentences using the future tense, we use the same sentence structure as the present tense. Only the auxiliary verbs and suffixes change. 

Structure:

Subject + Object + Root Verb + Suffix + Auxiliary Verb 

Key Auxiliary Verb Markers In The Future Tense 

We use ga (گا), gi (گی), and gay (گے) as auxiliary verbs in the future tense. Let’s explore how these auxiliary verbs work: 

• Ga (گا) is used for a singular male subject: For one boy or man.
• Gi (گی) is used for a singular female subject: For one girl or woman.
• Gay (گے) is used for a plural subject: For more than one person/ in a polite form.

Here are a few simple examples: 

He will go – wo jaye ga (وہ جاۓ گا) — singular male subject, so we added ga (گا)

She will go – wo jaye gi (وہ جاۓ گی) — singular female subject, so we added gi (گی)

They will go – wo jayain gay (وہ جائیں گے) — more than one subject (they), so we used gay (گے) 

If we have the subject ‘I’ and the root verb ‘eat,’ you have to take care of the gender to form the future tense sentence. As in, 

• If you are a girl, you will translate it as me khaon gi (میں کھاؤں گی) – I (me) will (gi) eat (khaon).
• If you are a boy, you will say me khaon ga (میں کھاؤں گا) – I (me) will (ga) eat (khaon).

Other Ways Of Using The Future Tense

If you want to use the helping verbs like “to want” (chahna – چاہنا), “to do” (karna – کرنا), and “to be” (hona – ہونا), you use future tense. For instance, you say:

He will want to go – Wo jana chahe ga ( وہ جانا چاہے گا) 

I will be happy – mujhe khushi ho gi ( مجھے خوشی ہوگی) 

She will want to do this – wo yeh karna chahe gi (وہ یہ کرنا چاہے گی)

Tips To Master Urdu Tenses Quickly

Here are the four most significant tips to master Urdu tenses quickly.

Tip #1: Memorize Urdu Sentence Structure

Once you become familiar with how verb conjugation works in each tense, it’s time to master the sentence structures. You might already know that the basic Urdu sentence structure is Subject + Object + Verb (SOV).

We follow the same SOV sentence structure in Urdu here. The only differences are the auxiliary verbs and the verb suffixes. So, we can break down the sentence structure for the tenses as:

Subject + Object + Root Verb + Suffix + Auxiliary Verb

Here are some examples.

We form simple present tense sentences as:

She eats fruits – Wo phal khati hai (وہ پھل کھاتی ہے)

Here, wo (وہ ) is the subject, phal (پھل) is an object, kha (کھا) is the root verb, ti (تی) is the female singular suffix, and hai (ہے) is the auxiliary verb.

Now, let’s change the example to the simple past tense.

She ate fruits – Us ne phal khaye (اُس نے پھل کھاۓ)

Here, usne (اُس نے) is the subject, phal (پھل) is an object, kha (کھا) is the root verb, and ye (ۓ) is the verb suffix. You can see that we don’t write auxiliary verbs in the simple past tense.

Tip #2: Practice Tenses With Simple Sentences First 

We all know the famous cliché “practice makes perfect.” And it’s true! However, start practicing with simple and basic sentences. You don’t need to rush into complex sentences so soon.

Simply practice daily life sentences. You can engage in conversations with your friends in Urdu to get the language on your tongue.

What worked for me personally was changing every sentence to all the tenses to know how each of them works.

Let’s do this together with “I go to school.”

• Present tense: I go to school – me school jata hun (میں سکول جاتا ہوں)
• Past tense: I went to school – me school gaya (میں سکول گیا)
• Future tense: I will go to school – me school jaonga (میں سکول جاؤنگا)

Tip #3: Use Worksheets And Exercises 

You can see that I’m repeating “practice, practice, practice,” but it works! And the best way to practice grammar is through worksheets and exercises.

By providing a long list of sentences, they let you practice grammar topics from different perspectives.

One such example is the grammar exercises available on the Ling app, they have a gamified format so you can learn while having fun.

More Tips To Master Urdu Tenses Quickly 

Here are a few more tips to master Urdu tenses quickly. They’ll help you advance in your learning: 

1. Begin your learning with the simplest tense, which is the present indefinite tense. It will help you in your daily conversations as it is the most used and will also set the foundation for Urdu tenses.
   
   
2. Note down any new verb you learn with its conjugation in every tense. You can make a verb tenses diary for quick reference. This will help you build a basic vocabulary list, which will further help you in advancing your language skills. 
   
   
3. Focus on verb conjugation. You might already know that using the accurate form of a verb is the most important aspect when it comes to Urdu tenses. As we have learned, Urdu nouns are gendered and numbered, so we must modify the verb according to the specific gender and number. 
   
4. Write short sentences explaining your daily routine to practice present, past, and future tenses. You can have a dedicated notebook just for this and work on it for a few minutes every day.
   
   
5. Take care of the context of Urdu sentences. The verb also changes based on the polite/formal and informal tones.
   
   
6. Watch Urdu movies to get an idea of how native speakers pronounce certain words. This will also improve your speaking and listening skills as you hear the speaker attentively. 
   
   
7. Stay consistent. With consistent practice, you can improve your Urdu learning and master its grammar. Even dedicating 10 to 15 minutes a day on the Ling app will do wonders for your language learning journey.
   
   
8. Work on different Urdu grammar exercises to practice distinct types of sentences. You can either do this on paper worksheets or use online resources like the Ling app to access multiple practice exercises and quizzes.

Frequently Asked Questions Related To Urdu Tenses 

1. What Are The 12 Tenses In Urdu Grammar? 

The 12 tenses in Urdu grammar are as follows:

1. Present Indefinite – haal mutaliq (حال مطلق)
2. Present Continuous – haal jaari (حال جاری)
3. Present Perfect – haal kamil (حال کامل)
4. Present Perfect Continuous – haal kamil jari (حال کامل جاری)
5. Past Indefinite – maazi mutaliq (ماضی مطلق)
6. Past Continuous – maazi jaari (ماضی جاری)
7. Past Perfect – maazi kamil (ماضی کامل)
8. Past Perfect Continuous – maazi kamil jaari (ماضی کامل جاری)
9. Future Simple – mustaqbil sadah (مستقبل سادہ)
10. Future Indefinite – mustaqbil mutaliq (مستقبل مطلق)
11. Future Continuous – mustaqbil jaari (مستقبل جاری)
12. Future Perfect Continuous – mustaqbil kamil jaari (مستقبل کامل جاری)

2. How Do You Say “Tense” In Urdu? 

The Urdu word for “tense” is fael ka zamana (فعل کا زمانۂ). You can also simply say zamana (زمانۂ).

But the English word “tense” has different meanings. Let’s look at the other possibilities:

• Tanao/khichao (تناؤ/ کچھاؤ) – indicates a state of stress or anxiety
• Khincha hua (کھنچا ہوا) – refers to something being tight or stretched.

3. Do Urdu Sentences Change Based On Formality? 

Yes, in the Urdu language, verbs and pronouns are changed according to the level of formality. For instance, the sentence ‘You go’ can be translated as:

• Informal: Tum jao (تم جاؤ) where tum is informal “you.”
• Formal: Aap jayain (آپ جائیں) where aap is formal “you.”

Master Urdu Tenses Quickly

We covered three basic Urdu tenses in this article: present, past, and future. So, you now have a basic understanding of Urdu verb conjugation and how to make sentences in each tense. 

You learned about auxiliary verbs and suffixes, and the basic sentence structure of Urdu sentences. We also added a few extra tips to make learning Urdu tenses easier for you.

With this article, you have already started learning Urdu tenses. Congratulations! You are at level 1. Yet, there’s no need to rush. Start slow, begin with short sentences, and practice regularly to have a strong grip on every tense you learn.

Learn More About The Urdu Language With Ling!

Hopefully, you have mastered the basic tenses: present, past, and future. Now it’s time to advance your Urdu language learning journey, and what better way than learning your favorite language online? 

Try the Ling app to learn Urdu. It’s a language-learning platform that will teach you vocabulary, correct pronunciation, writing, and much more. All in the form of a game and at your own pace. 

You can start your language learning journey from any level of proficiency. So, what are you waiting for? Download the app today and have fun learning Urdu!