Bengali Verb Conjugation: Present, Past and Future with 'To Go' as a Model

Bengali verbs look complex because they change with person, politeness and tense. But the endings are regular, and one well-learned model verb gives you a template for many others.

The model verb: যাওয়া (jawa, to go)

The verb has stem যা- (ja-) in the present and future, and গে- (ge-) in the past, which is a common irregularity.

Simple present

• আমি যাই (ami jai) — I go
• তুমি যাও (tumi jao) — you go (informal)
• আপনি যান (apni jan) — you go (formal)
• সে যায় (she jay) — he/she goes
• আমরা যাই (amra jai) — we go

Simple past

• আমি গেলাম (ami gelam) — I went
• তুমি গেলে (tumi gele) — you went (informal)
• আপনি গেলেন (apni gelen) — you went (formal)
• সে গেল (she gelo) — he/she went
• আমরা গেলাম (amra gelam) — we went

Future

• আমি যাব (ami jabo) — I will go
• তুমি যাবে (tumi jabe) — you will go
• আপনি যাবেন (apni jaben) — you will go (formal)
• সে যাবে (she jabe) — he/she will go

Present continuous

Add -চ্ছ- to the stem:

• আমি যাচ্ছি (ami jachchhi) — I am going
• তুমি যাচ্ছ (tumi jachchho) — you are going
• আপনি যাচ্ছেন (apni jachchhen) — you are going (formal)
• সে যাচ্ছে (she jachchhe) — he/she is going

Patterns to notice

• The -ই / -ও / -ন / -য় pattern in the present marks first person, second informal, formal, and third person.
• The -লাম / -লে / -লেন / -ল pattern marks the past.
• The -ব / -বে / -বেন / -বে pattern marks the future.

Once you know these sets, regular verbs such as খাওয়া (khawa, to eat) or করা (kora, to do) follow similar patterns: আমি খাই, খেলাম, খাব.

Infinitive and dictionary form

Bengali dictionaries usually list verbs in the verbal noun form ending in -া, such as যাওয়া, খাওয়া, করা, দেখা.

Negation

Add না after the verb in the present (আমি যাই না, ami jai na), and use -নি in the past (আমি যাইনি, ami jaini). More on this in a later article.

Practice

1. Conjugate five verbs in the three tenses.
2. Practise saying each with different politeness levels.
3. Read short sentences and identify tense.
4. Look up unknown verbs to see their principal forms.

Look up Bengali verbs with English Bangla Dictionary →