यूनीवर्सिटी ऑफ़ मिशिगन
Derived intransitive verbs (antitransitives)
(adapted from Chapter Sixteen of  Hindi Structures.)
        In Hindi-Urdu it is possible to derive intransitive verbs from transitive by dropping the agent and making certain changes in the verb stem:

1a. Transitive:	खोल-	दुकानदार सुबह आठ बजे दुकान खोलता है।   'The shopkeeper opens his shop at 8AM.'
1b. Derived Intransitive:	खुल-	दुकान सुबह आठ बजे खुलती है।   'The shop opens at 8AM.'

For the sake of brevity we shall refer to derived intransitives as "antitransitives".

2a. Transitive:	धो-	क्या नौकरानी ने कपड़े अब तक नहीं धोए ?   'Didn't the maid wash the clothes yet? '
2b. Antitransitive:	धुल-	क्या कपड़े अब तक नहीं धुले ?   'Aren't the clothes washed yet'?
3a. Transitive:	बना-	बढ़ई,  आप कुसीर्  जल्दी ही बना देंगे,  न ?   'Carpenter, you'll make the chair soon, won't you?'
3b. Antitransitive:	बन-	बढ़ई,  कुसीर्  जल्दी ही बन जाएगी,  न ?   'Carpenter, the chair will be done soon, won't it?'

        Antitransitives are used when the speaker is not interested in who does something, but merely in the fact that it gets done.  For example, in English, 'Has the mail come yet?' more accurately reflects what really matters to the speaker than does the fuller 'Did the mailman bring the mail yet?' even though they both describe the same event.  In Hindi this strategy of expression is even more commonly used than it is in English: used not only when we are not interested in who does something, as in the examples given above, but also when the identity of the doer has been previously established.  For example, in describing the activities of her mother a speaker uses the antitransitive forms  बनी and  शुरू हो गया:
 4.  जैसे बच्चे स्कूल से आए तभी चाय बनी।  फिर खाने का इंतज़ाम शुरू हो गया।  उसके बाद फिर अम्माँ . . .
      'As soon as the kids came home from school the tea became ready and then preparations for dinner began.
      After that Mother...'       (Southworth tape H-3-121)
Since the entire passage concerns the actions of one agent the speaker feels free to vary the tone by sometimes describing these actions as if they occurred independently of the agent.
        Deliberate suppression of information can have ironic effect.  Antitransitives are often used by Hindi speakers to that end.  For example, in Mohan Rakesh's play  आधे अधूरे a little girl is desperate for attention from her parents.  She reproaches them for not having brought her the things she needs for school:
 5.   औरर तुमने कहा था क्लिप औरर मोज़े इस हफ़्ते ज़रूर आ जायेंगे,  आ गये हैं ?
      'And you said that you would surely bring me the clip and socks this week.  Did you?'      (page 35)
Here, by purposely using the antitransitive  आ instead of the corresponding transitive  ला, and by dropping  तुम,  the girl gives her words a sarcastic edge.
        The antitransitive is useful to the Hindi speaker for another reason.  It spares him or her from having to choose the most appropriate second person pronoun,  a choice which is not always easy or obvious (and sometimes is even dangerous) to make.  For example, in the following, by using the antitransitive, a peasant woman is able not only to avoid choosing between  तुम  and  तू,  but also to maintain the appearance of not having directly addressed a strange male at all:
 6.   हीरा-बहू ... चौधरी को बाँस काटते देखकर घूँघट के अन्दर से बोली, " कौन बाँस काटता है ?  यहाँ बाँस न कटेंगे !"
      'Hîrâ's wife, seeing Chaudharî cutting the bamboo, spoke from behind her veil, "Who's cutting the bamboo?
      You're not to cut our bamboo!"'     (literally: 'Here the bamboo will not be cut!')
      (from Chapter Four of  गोदान.  See context.)
One of the most important uses of the antitransitive, namely, the expression of incapacity, is discussed in detail in a separate set of notes.
        Antitransitive verbs are derived from the transitives by rules which are similar to those used for the derivation of transitives from intransitives (see notes):
I.  If the stem of the transitive has long  ई,  ऊ,  or आ, the stem of the antitransitive has the corresponding short vowel:

7a. Transitive:	पीट-    'beat'	=>	7b. Antitransitive:	पिट-    'get a beating'
8a. Transitive:	कूट-    'grind up'	=>	8b. Antitransitive:	कुट-    'be ground up'
9a. Transitive:	छाप-    'print'	=>	9b. Antitransitive:	छप-    'be printed'

II.  An  ओ in the stem is replaced by  उ;  and an  ए,  by  इ.  If the stem of the transitive has only one syllable and ends in a vowel,  a final  ल is often found in the stem of the antitransitive.

10a. Transitive:	खोल-    'open'	=>	10b. Antitransitive:	खुल-    'be opened'
11a. Transitive:	छेड़-    'annoy'	=>	11b. Antitransitive:	छिड़-    'get riled up'
12a. Transitive:	धो-    'wash'	=>	12b. Antitransitive:	धुल-    'be washed'
13a. Transitive:	सी-    'stitch'	=>	13b. Antitransitive:	सिल-    'be stitched'

     (Note: The polite imperative of  सी  is  सीइये  or  सीजिये.)
III. A nasal vowel in the stem of the transitive is sometimes answered by a nasal short in the antitransitive; sometimes by a plain short.  Either may be used:

14a. Transitive:	बाँट-    'divide'	=>	14b. Antitransitive:	बँट-  or  बट-    'be divided'
15a. Transitive:	खींच-    'pull'	=>	15b. Antitransitive:	खिँच-  or  खिच-    'be pulled'
16a. Transitive:	सेंक-    'heat'	=>	16b. Antitransitive:	सिँक-  or  सिक-    'be heated; bask'

IV. There are a few transitive verbs that have short vowels to begin with.  Accordingly their antitransitives are homonymous with their transitive counterparts:

17a. Transitive:	भर-    'fill'	=>	17b. Antitransitive:	भर-    'get filled'
18a. Transitive:	बदल-    'change' (trans)	=>	18b. Antitransitive:	बदल-    'change' (intrans)
19a. Transitive:	बुन-    'weave'	=>	19b. Antitransitive:	बुन-    'be woven'
20a. Transitive:	पकड़-    'catch'	=>	20b. Antitransitive:	पकड़-    'get caught'

 21.  देहाती सकपका गया।  डरा,  कहीं बेगार में न पकड़ जाय।
       'The villager was startled.  He was afraid he might get caught in a corvée.'
        (from Chapter Seven of  गोदान.  See context.)
V.  Exceptions:  a.  One or two disyllabic stems yield antitransitives by dropping a final आ :

22a. Transitive:	बना-    'make'	=>	22b. Antitransitive:	बन-    'be made; become'
23a. Transitive:	मना-    'celebrate'	=>	23b. Antitransitive:	मन-    'be celebrated'

In most cases, however, the stem with the  आ  is the derived one and the stem without the  आ  is the basic one (see notes on derived transitives).
V.  There are other exceptions to rules I through IV:  b. One is a set of verbs ending in  ड़, many of which refer to kinds of destruction:

24a. Transitive:	फोड़-    'burst' (trans)	=>	24b. Antitransitive:	फूट-    'burst' (intrans)
25a. Transitive:	तोड़-    'break' (trans)	=>	25b. Antitransitive:	टूट-    'break' (intrans)
26a. Transitive:	फाड़-    'tear' (trans)	=>	26b. Antitransitive:	फट-    'tear' (intrans)
27a. Transitive:	छोड़-    'leave; let go of'	=>	27b. Antitransitive:	छूट-    'be left; get free of'

V.  c.  Other transitive - antitransitive pairs show few regularities:

28a. Transitive:	बेच-    'sell'	=>	28b. Antitransitive:	बिक-    'be sold'
29a. Transitive:	बखेर-    'scatter'	=>	29b. Antitransitive:	बिखर-    'be strewn'
30a. Transitive:	घसेट-    'drag'	=>	30b. Antitransitive:	घिसट-    'be dragged'

VI.  Suppletion.  Suppletive pairs are those in which their is no resemblance at all in the shape of the transitive and the shape of the antitransitive.  Still, on the basis of meanings and the clause structures associated with them, they can be considered to form pairs.  For example, transitive expressions formed with  कर- may have antitransitive counterparts in  हो- :

31a. Transitive:	इंतज़ाम कर-	उसने इंतज़ाम नहीं किया ?    'Didn't he make the arrangement?'
31b. Antitransitive:	इंतज़ाम हो-	इंतज़ाम नहीं हुआ ?    'Wasn't the arrangement made?'
32a. Transitive:	शुरू कर-	...राय साहब ने बातचीत शुरू कर दी।    '...Rây Sâhab began (his son's marriage) negotiations.' ( गोदान )
32b. Antitransitive:	शुरू हो-	इसके बाद रुद्रपाल के विवाह की बातचीत शुरू हुई।    'After this negotiations for Rudrapâl's marriage began.'   ( गोदान )

For further examples of transitive and antitransitive pairs in  कर- and  हो-,  see notes on noun incorporation.
      Sometimes antitransitives in  हो-  are  को-expressions and as such allow the expression of an "experiencer" agent:

33a. Transitive:	इंतज़ार कर-	क्या तुम किसी का इंतज़ार कर रही हो ?     'Are you waiting for someone?'
33b. Antitransitive:	इंतज़ार हो-	क्या  ( तुमको )  किसी का इंतज़ार है ?   'Are you waiting for someone?'

      Not every transitive verb yields an antitransitive. In particular very few "reflexives" have them:  खा (* खल ),  पी (* पिल ),  ले (* लिल ),  ख़रीद (* ख़रिद ), etc.  Those antitransitive reflexives that do exist are usually suppletive  को-expressions:

34a. Transitive:	देख-    'see'	=>	34b. Antitransitive:	दिखाई दे-    'be seen, be visible'
35a. Transitive:	सुन-    'hear'	=>	35b. Antitransitive:	सुनाई दे-    'be heard, be audible'

 36.  क्या उस सीट से आपको स्क्रीन दिखाई दे रहा है ?
        'Can you see the screen from that seat?'
 37.  मेरे दादाजी को अब बिलकुल सुनाई नहीं देता।
        'My grandfather has completely lost his hearing.'
        In general all verbs expressing jobs or tasks have antitransitive counterparts:

38a. Transitive:	माँज-    'scour'	=>	38b. Antitransitive:	मँज-  'be scoured, come clean'
39a. Transitive:	सींच-    'water (fields)'	=>	39b. Antitransitive:	सिँच-  'be watered'
40a. Transitive:	पीस-    'grind (into flour)'	=>	40b. Antitransitive:	पिस-  'be ground (into flour)'
41a. Transitive:	बाँध-    'tie up (luggage)'	=>	41b. Antitransitive:	बँध-  'get tied up'

There are other transitive-antitransitive pairs which are suppletive (and which, unlike the X  कर- versus X  हो- pairs, do not play a role in the expression of incapacity.  See notes on use of antitransitives to express incapacity):

42a. Transitive:	ला-    'bring'	=>	42b. Antitransitive:	आ-    'come; be brought'
43a. Transitive:	भेज-    'send'	=>	43b. Antitransitive:	जा-    'go; be sent'
44a. Transitive:	डाल-    'pour; put in'	=>	44b. Antitransitive:	पड़-    'fall; be put in'

45a.

क्या तुमने नमक डाला है ?   'Have you put in the salt?'

=>

45b.

क्या नमक पड़ा है ?   'Has the salt gone in?'

      As must be clear from this last example an antitransitive can sometimes be indistinguishable from an underived intransitive. It is only from context and from knowledge of the speaker's intentions that one can be sure that he means 'Has the salt been added?' and not 'Has the salt fallen?' It follows from this that there is nothing in principle to prevent the derivation of antitransitives from transitives which are themselves derived from intransitives. For example, in (46) the verb in the second clause is not the basic intransitive  गिर- 'fall' but the antitransitive  गिर- 'be knocked down' derived from the transitive  गिरा- 'make fall, knock down' which in turn is derived from basic  गिर- 'fall':
 46.  मज़दूरों ने प्लेटफ़ार्म गिराने की कोशिश की पर वह नहीं गिरा।
      'The workers attempted to knock down the platform but it wouldn't come down.'
Another example:
 47.  ज़िन्दगी मौत को ख़ूब मनाती है पर मौत नहीं मानती।
      'Life tries to bring Death around but Death doesn't listen.'
It is even possible to derive an antitransitive from the derived transitive form of an ingesto-reflexive.  In (48)  खाएगी  may be regarded not as a form of basic  खा- 'eat' but as a form of the antitransitive  खा- 'be fed' derived from  खिला- 'feed'.
 48.  भई,  बच्ची तुमसे खाना नहीं खाएगी।
        'You won't be able to feed the child her food.'
      Transitives with corresponding antitransitives occur as co-ordinated pairs in a number of idiomatic expressions which are discussed in other places:
 49.  बोझ वह सर से गिरा है कि उठाए न उठे।
        'A burden has fallen from my head and cannot be lifted.'
        (from a  ग़ज़ल by  ग़ालिब.  See notes.)
 50.  बने- बनाए बंगले सस्ते दामों में मिल गए।
        'Ready made bungalows were available at low prices.'
        (from Chapter Thirty-one of   गोदान. See context.)
 51.  बिरादरी ही ( हमें ) तारेगी तो ( हम ) तरेंगे।
       ' Only the caste(-brotherhood) will be able to save us.'
        (Literally: 'Only (if) the caste(-brotherhood) will save us, will we be saved.')
        (based on Chapter Eleven of   गोदान. See notes.)
      When the antitransitive is used in the expression of incapacity, the agent noun phrase is often retained, as a postpositional phrase in  से:
 52.  मैं इतना मोटा-ताजा था कि उससे सँभलता नहीं था।
      '(As a baby) I was so big and "healthy" that he was unable to keep hold of me.'
      (from monolog by  सलीम ख़ान. See context.)
See discussion of the passive of incapacity.
Exercise 1.
Exercise 2.
To index of grammatical notes.
To index of मल्हार.
Keyed in by विवेक अगरवाल Aug 2001.
Posted 1-2 Sept 2001. Revamped 12-14 Oct 2001. Linked 26 Oct 2001. Augmented 1 July 2002.