यूनिवर्सिटी ऑफ़ मिशिगन

Mellonsite for Advanced Learners of Hindi and Urdu


Notes on V- कर रह- and expressing determination.

      In Hindi-Urdu the conjunctive participle in  कर (or  के ) is typically used to express the anteriority of one action to another:
1.  जूते,  पगड़ी औरर तमाखू का बटुआ लाकर सामने पटक दिये।
   '...bringing (his) shoes, turban, and tobacco pouch, she threw them down in front (of him).'
   (from Chapter One of  प्रेमचन्द's  गोदान. See context.)
2.  कुछ न पूछो, दादा, जी यही चाहता था कि कहीं जाके डूब मरूँ।
   'Don't ask, Dada! I really feel like going somewhere and drowning myself.'
   (from Chapter Three of  गोदान. See context.)
   There are contexts, however, where the conjunctive participle cannot be understood in this way. In construction with the verb  रह, for instance, the V- कर must be interpreted as expressing determination on the part of the subject:
3.  मैं तो यह नाटक खेलकर रहूँगा,  चाहे दुखान्त ही क्यों न हो !
   'I will play this drama to the end, even if it turns out to be a tragedy!'
   (from Chapter Seven of  गोदान. See context.)
The sense of determination may be reinforced by interposing the particle  ही:
4.  रुपए ख़र्च करने से अच्छा होता,  तो चाहे भीख ही माँगना पड़ता,  वह उसे अच्छा करके ही रहेगा . . .
   'If spending money could make him well, then even if he had to beg, he was determined to make him well.'
   (from Chapter Thirty-three of  गोदान. See context.)
      The sense of determination in V- कर रह is lost if instead of  रह, the compound form  रह जा is used. Contrast (5) with (6):
5.  दिन को तो दोनों चना- चबेना खाकर रह जाते।
   'During the day the two of them would content themselves with eating roasted chickpeas...'
   (from Chapter Thirty-three of  गोदान. See context.)
6.  दिन को तो दोनों मुर्ग़- मुसल्लम खाकर रहते।
   'During the day the two of them would insist on having roasted chicken...'
The implication in (5) is that they would have liked more; in (6), that they would not take less. For more on this difference, see notes on V- कर रह जा.
       If the meaning of determination is desired, the conjunctive participle V- कर permits a number of alternatives to  रह:
7.  मालती:  तुम मूँछें साफ़ क्यों नहीं कर लेते ?
     मेहता:  मेरी मूँछें मुझे प्राणों से प्रिय हैं।
     मालती:  अबकी पकड़ लेगा,  तो उखाड़कर ही छोड़ेगा !
   Malati: 'Why don't you shave off your moustache?'
   Mehta: 'My moustache is dearer to me than my life!'
   Malati: 'This time if he (the baby) gets a grip on it, there's no way he won't tear it out by the roots!'
   (from Chapter Thirty-three of  गोदान. See context.)
Use of the masculine singular oblique form of the past passive participle plus  बिना with negation of the following verb is another way of expressing determination.  See notes.
8.  अबकी पकड़ लेगा,  तो उखाड़े बिना नहीं छोड़ेगा !
      The meaning of some of these constructions can also be expressed with a  जब तक-clause.  See notes.
9.  जब तक उखाड़ न ले तब तक नहीं छोड़ेगा।
To index of grammatical notes.
To index of  मल्हार
Drafted and posted 3-4 Feb 2001. Augmented 29 Oct 2001. Reformatted and relinked 30 June 2004.