Lesson #103: The Future Conditional Tense
In today’s lesson we’re going to learn all about Future Conditional Tense in Hindi. So what is the Future Conditional Tense? Well basically it’s sentences that say something ‘may’ or 'might’ happen in the future. So we could say; I might go to India, He may eat, They may learn Hindi etc. It’s sometimes referred to as the 'Subjunctive Mood’.
The sentence structure we use for this is actually really similar to the Future Tense, which we learnt about right the way back in Lesson #53 (be sure to revise over that lesson if you get confused!) Can you remember how we’d say 'I will read a book’ in Hindi? That’s right, we say…
मैं किताब पढ़ूँगी
main kitaab parhoongee
- I will read a book (said by a Female)
So now are you ready to learn how change this sentence into the Future Conditional Tense? Great! In the Future Conditional this becomes…
मैं किताब पढ़ूँ
main kitaab parhoon
- I may read a book
Can you see the difference here? That’s right, all that’s happened is that the गा gaa from the end of the verb has been dropped and the meaning has changed from 'I will’ to 'I may’. See how easy it is! Are you ready to see another example?
So again, you already know how to say 'Tomorrow he will go to India’. Can you think about what it would be? That’s right, we say…
कल वह भारत जाएगा
kal voh bhaarat jaaegaa
- Tomorrow he will go to India
Now turning this into the Future Conditional tense is easy, just do exactly the same as the example above, which gives…
कल वह भारत जाए
kal voh bhaarat jaae
- Tomorrow he may go to India
Can you see? We’ve just dropped the गे ge from the end of the verb, and it’s changed from 'will’ to 'may’. Easy! Something to notice is that the this could also mean 'Tomorrow she will go to India’, and that’s true for all Future conditional sentences - they are genderless!
Do you think you’re ready to see another example? Great!
Again, we know how to say 'Kajol will sleep here’. That’s right, we say: काजोल यहाँ सोएगी kaajol yahaan soegee - Kajol will sleep here. By now you should be able to change this to the Future Conditional with your eyes closed to give…
काजोल यहाँ सोए
kaajol yahaan soe
- Kajol may sleep here.
Ok, last example! So let’s jump straight to the Future Conditional tense this time, how would we say 'We might wash these dirty clothes’? (Remember that the verb to wash is धोना dhonaa!) That’s right, we say…
हम ये गंदे कपड़े धोएँ
ham ye gande kapre dhoen
- We might wash these dirty clothes.
So that’s the end of the lesson! All you need to remember is that to change from the Future tense to the Future Conditional you simply drop the गा gaa, गे ge or गी gee from the end of the verb and the meaning becomes 'may’ or 'might’!
Now do you think you’re ready to answer a few quiz questions on what we’ve learnt today? अच्छा acchaa - great! Remember to leave a comment at the bottom of the lesson with your answers! Firstly see if you can change these two sentences from the Future Tense to the Future Conditional (from 'will’ to 'may’);
1. मैं हिन्दी सीखूँगी main hindee seekhoongee
- I will learn Hindi (said by a Female).
2. आप तीन केले ख़रीदेंगे aap teen kele khareedenge
- You will buy three bananas.
Now see if you can translate these three sentences into Hindi…
3. She may drink water
4. I might eat this pizza
5. I may write a story
Remember to leave a comment at the bottom of the page with your answers! Go on, give it a go!
Finally as an extra challenge head back to Lesson #99, where we looked at the popular Bollywood song Aati Kya Khandala, and see if you can spot any uses of the Future Conditional Tense!
