पूर्ण काल

A2 — काल

The perfect with चुका and with the past participle plus होना

I can say that something has already happened and that it had happened earlier still

The perfect with चुका and with the past participle plus होना

Examples

— I have already eaten.
— He has not come yet.
— I have seen that film.

कालA2

The Perfect Tenses

The perfect with chuka and with the past participle plus hona

Learning Goal

I can say that something has already happened

Exam Skills:बोलनालिखना

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

I have already eaten.

He has not come yet.

I have seen that film.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Two ways of saying 'has happened'

Hindi builds the perfect twice over, and the two are not interchangeable.

1. Past participle + होना. The participle you met in the simple past, with है or था behind it:

वह आया है। - He has come. (and is still here)
वह आया था। - He had come.
मैंने खाना खाया है। - I have eaten.

2. चुकना - to have finished doing. The bare stem, then चुका, then the auxiliary:

मैं खा चुका हूँ। - I have already eaten.
वह जा चुकी है। - She has already left.
फ़िल्म शुरू हो चुकी थी। - The film had already started.

चुकना insists on completion. आया है reports a state that still holds; खा चुका हूँ says the eating is over and closed, and it is the natural answer to an offer of food.

The ने construction still applies

With a transitive verb the perfect keeps ने and the verb keeps agreeing with the object: मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी है - I have written the letter, with लिखी feminine because चिट्ठी is.

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Using आया है where चुका है is meant, so a finished action is reported as a current state.

Common Error Patterns

Using the participle perfect where chukna is required

Test with 'already': if uzhe fits in Russian, use chukna.

Dropping ne from a transitive perfect

Transitive perfect keeps ne and agrees with the object: maine chitthi likhi hai.

I have already eaten.

chukna closes the action; this is the standard polite refusal of more food.

He has not come yet.

The participle plus hai reports a state that still holds.

I have seen that film.

Transitive, so ne stays and dekhi agrees with film, which is feminine.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

A2 Course

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Frequently asked questions

When is पूर्ण काल used?: Hindi builds the perfect twice over, and the two are not interchangeable.
How is पूर्ण काल formed?: 1. Past participle + होना. The participle you met in the simple past, with है or था behind it: 2. चुकना - to have finished doing. The bare stem, then चुका, then the auxiliary: चुकना insists on completion. आया है reports a state that still holds; खा चुका हूँ says the eating is over and closed, and it is the natural answer to an offer of food. With a transitive verb the perfect keeps ने and the verb keeps agreeing with the object: मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी है - I have written the letter, with लिखी feminine because चिट्ठी is.
What are common mistakes with पूर्ण काल?: Using आया है where चुका है is meant, so a finished action is reported as a current state. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian aspect is inside the verb (yel / syel), so learners look for a single Hindi verb form and do not reach for the chukna construction at all.

Sources

हिन्दी व्याकरण — काशी नागरी प्रचारिणी सभा, 1920
Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, still the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi verb morphology.
Hindi (London Oriental and African Language Library 12) — John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006
Yamuna Kachru's reference grammar; the descriptive account of aspect, compound verbs and the ergative used here.

Two ways of saying 'has happened'

Hindi builds the perfect twice over, and the two are not interchangeable.

1. Past participle + होना. The participle you met in the simple past, with है or था behind it:

वह आया है। - He has come. (and is still here)
वह आया था। - He had come.
मैंने खाना खाया है। - I have eaten.

2. चुकना - to have finished doing. The bare stem, then चुका, then the auxiliary:

मैं खा चुका हूँ। - I have already eaten.
वह जा चुकी है। - She has already left.
फ़िल्म शुरू हो चुकी थी। - The film had already started.

The ने construction still applies

Frequently asked questions

When is पूर्ण काल used?

Hindi builds the perfect twice over, and the two are not interchangeable.

How is पूर्ण काल formed?

1. Past participle + होना. The participle you met in the simple past, with है or था behind it: 2. चुकना - to have finished doing. The bare stem, then चुका, then the auxiliary: चुकना insists on completion. आया है reports a state that still holds; खा चुका हूँ says the eating is over and closed, and it is the natural answer to an offer of food. With a transitive verb the perfect keeps ने and the verb keeps agreeing with the object: मैंने चिट्ठी लिखी है - I have written the letter, with लिखी feminine because चिट्ठी is.

What are common mistakes with पूर्ण काल?

Using आया है where चुका है is meant, so a finished action is reported as a current state. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian aspect is inside the verb (yel / syel), so learners look for a single Hindi verb form and do not reach for the chukna construction at all.

Sources

हिन्दी व्याकरण — काशी नागरी प्रचारिणी सभा, 1920

Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, still the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi verb morphology.

Hindi (London Oriental and African Language Library 12) — John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006

Yamuna Kachru's reference grammar; the descriptive account of aspect, compound verbs and the ergative used here.