Lessons
Advanced grammar
Past perfect — “had done” in Nepali
When you want to say one past event happened before another — “he had already eaten when I arrived” — Nepali uses the past perfect: गरेको थियो (gareko thiyo). It’s the participle -एको plus the past copula थियो/थिए. Tourists meet it on medical, immigration, and lost-property timelines.
Conjugation across pronouns
The participle agrees in number/animacy; the copula agrees with the subject.
| Pronoun | Romanized | Form | Romanized form | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| म | ma | गरेको थिएँ | gareko thiye~ | |
| हामी | haami | गरेका थियौँ | gareka thiyau~ | |
| तिमी | timi | गरेका थियौ | gareka thiyau | |
| तपाईं | tapaai~ | गर्नुभएको थियो | garnubhaeko thiyo | |
| ऊ | uu | गरेको थियो | gareko thiyo | |
| उनी | uni | गरेका थिए | gareka thie | |
| उहाँ | uhaa~ | गर्नुभएको थियो | garnubhaeko thiyo |
Worked sentences
01
उसले खाना खाएको थियो।
Usle khaanaa khaeko thiyo.
He had already eaten.
02
म आउनुभन्दा पहिले ऊ गइसकेको थियो।
Ma aaunubhandaa pahile uu gaisakeko thiyo.
He had already left before I came.
Uses गइसकेको — the completion suffix -सकेको paired with past perfect.
03
मैले यो किताब पढेको थिएँ।
Maile yo kitaab padheko thiye~.
I had read this book (before).
04
हामी पहिल्यै बजार गएका थियौँ।
Haami pahilyai bajaar gaeka thiyau~.
We had already gone to the market.
05
तपाईंले उहाँलाई भेट्नुभएको थियो?
Tapaai~le uhaa~laai bhetnubhaeko thiyo?
Had you met him/her?
06
पानी परिसकेको थियो।
Paani parisakeko thiyo.
It had already rained.
Common questions
- How does past perfect differ from simple past in Nepali?
- Simple past (गयो) reports a completed action. Past perfect (गएको थियो) places that completion BEFORE another past reference point — "had gone" before something else happened. In daily Nepali speech, the past perfect is used less than English uses it because Nepali doesn't backshift in reported speech.
- Why is the participle -एको sometimes -एका?
- The participle agrees with the subject in number/animacy. Singular animate → -एको (gareko). Plural animate → -एका (gareka). Inanimate or neutral → -एको. The copula थियो/थिए also agrees: थियो for singular, थिए for plural.
- What's the -सकेको suffix in गइसकेको थियो?
- गइसक्नु combines the verb stem with the completion auxiliary सक्नु — "to finish doing." गइसकेको थियो means "had already finished going." It pairs naturally with past perfect to emphasize "already done before something."