The high-frequency time adverbs अब “now,” आज “today,” कल “yesterday/tomorrow,” and तब “then/at that time” do more than name points on a calendar. They establish the time frame for a clause, interact with tense and aspect, and combine with particles and postpositions to create meanings such as “today itself,” “from now on,” and “until tomorrow.”
अब: now and a changed situation
अब places the clause in the current period, often contrasting it with an earlier state.
मैं अब घर से काम करता हूँ।
maĩ ab ghar se kām kartā hū̃.
I work from home now.
अब बारिश रुक गई है, चलो बाहर चलते हैं।
ab bāriś ruk gaī hai, calo bāhar calte haiṃ.
The rain has stopped now; let's go outside.
The first implies that the speaker's work arrangement has changed. The second marks a new phase after the rain. अभी is narrower when “right now/just now” matters: मैं अभी खा रहा हूँ “I am eating right now.” अब can cover a broader present period.
आज: the current day
आज identifies the day containing the speech moment. It often occurs near the beginning of the clause, before place and manner expressions.
हम आज दफ़्तर में देर तक रुकेंगे।
ham āj daftar meṃ der tak rukeṅge.
We will stay late at the office today.
आज बाज़ार जल्दी बंद हो गया।
āj bāzār jaldī band ho gayā.
The market closed early today.
Clause-initial आज frames the whole event; after the subject it remains neutral. It can combine with postpositions without changing form: आज से “from today,” आज तक “until today,” आज के बाद “after today.”
कल: yesterday or tomorrow
Hindi कल is lexically ambiguous between yesterday and tomorrow. The verb and the surrounding context normally tell you which day is intended.
वह कल मुंबई से लौटा था।
vah kal mumbaī se lauṭā thā.
He returned from Mumbai yesterday.
वह कल मुंबई से लौटेगा।
vah kal mumbaī se lauṭegā.
He will return from Mumbai tomorrow.
Past लौटा था selects “yesterday”; future लौटेगा selects “tomorrow.” In careful or contrastive phrasing, बीता हुआ कल means “the day that has passed,” and आने वाला कल means “the coming day.” In ordinary scheduling, speakers usually rely on context or name a weekday or date.
Do not confuse separate आज, कल “today, tomorrow / these days in a loose list” with the lexical unit आजकल “nowadays.”
आजकल तुम बहुत व्यस्त रहते हो—सब ठीक है?
ājkal tum bahut vyast rahte ho—sab ṭhīk hai?
You've been very busy lately—is everything all right? (familiar)
This conversational आजकल refers to a stretch of recent/current time, not two specific days.
तब: then, at an established time
तब points back to a time already mentioned or understood.
तब मैं जयपुर में पढ़ता था।
tab maĩ jaypur meṃ paṛhtā thā.
At that time, I was studying in Jaipur.
जब तुम तैयार हो जाओ, तब मुझे बुलाना।
jab tum taiyār ho jāo, tab mujhe bulānā.
When you are ready, call me then. (familiar)
In the second example, जब introduces the reference time and तब resumes it in the main clause. The तब can often be omitted in conversation, but it makes the correlation explicit. See जब–तब time clauses.
English then also expresses sequence or result. Hindi frequently uses फिर for “after that/again” and तो in a condition-result pattern. तब is best when an actual reference time is meant.
Neutral position and scope
These lexical adverbs normally appear before the final predicate. Time commonly precedes place in an unmarked clause.
मैं कल सुबह स्टेशन पर मिलूँगा।
maĩ kal subah sṭeśan par milū̃gā.
I will meet you at the station tomorrow morning.
Focus particles follow the focused expression, and changing their position changes scope.
मैं कल ही दिल्ली जाऊँगा।
maĩ kal hī dillī jāū̃gā.
I will go to Delhi tomorrow specifically.
मैं कल दिल्ली ही जाऊँगा।
maĩ kal dillī hī jāū̃gā.
Tomorrow I will go specifically to Delhi, not somewhere else.
In कल ही, ही selects the time. In दिल्ली ही, it selects the destination. English can put only earlier and rely on stress; Hindi shows the scope locally.
Postpositional time adverbials
The four short words are lexical adverbs, but they can serve as the base of larger adverbials.
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अब से | from now on |
| अब तक | until now, so far |
| आज के लिए | for today |
| कल तक | by/until yesterday or tomorrow, by context |
| तब से | since then |
अब से मैं हर ख़र्च लिखूँगा।
ab se maĩ har xarc likhū̃gā.
From now on, I will write down every expense.
वह तब से यहाँ नहीं आया है।
vah tab se yahā̃ nahīṃ āyā hai.
He has not come here since then.
Hindi often uses these postpositional phrases where English uses a dedicated adverb such as henceforth or since. No -ly equivalent is involved.
Degree and duration
Bare अब, आज, कल, तब are temporal anchors, not gradable qualities: बहुत आज and ज़्यादा तब are not normal. To enlarge or narrow the interval, add an appropriate expression: आज पूरा दिन, अब कुछ देर, तब तक, कल सुबह बहुत जल्दी. Degree बहुत in the last phrase modifies जल्दी, not कल.
Common Mistakes
❌ वह कल आया है कल।
Incorrect as neutral order—do not repeat or strand the time adverb after the predicate.
✅ वह कल आया था।
vah kal āyā thā.
He came yesterday.
❌ कल का मतलब हमेशा आने वाला दिन है।
Incorrect—कल does not always mean the coming day; it can mean yesterday or tomorrow.
✅ वह कल आया था और कल फिर आएगा।
vah kal āyā thā aur kal phir āegā.
He came yesterday and will come again tomorrow.
❌ ही आज मैं घर पर रहूँगा।
Incorrect for ‘today specifically’—ही follows the focused time word.
✅ मैं आज ही घर पर रहूँगा।
maĩ āj hī ghar par rahū̃gā.
I will stay home today specifically.
❌ मैं बहुत अब व्यस्त हूँ।
Incorrect—अब is not gradable; बहुत must modify a gradable expression.
✅ मैं अब बहुत व्यस्त हूँ।
maĩ ab bahut vyast hū̃.
I am very busy now.
Key Takeaways
- अब marks the present phase, आज the current day, कल yesterday or tomorrow, and तब an established past or future time.
- Tense and context disambiguate कल; आजकल is the separate word “nowadays.”
- Time adverbs normally precede the final predicate and can take local focus particles.
- Postpositions create अब से, अब तक, कल तक, तब से and other larger time adverbials.
Related Topics
- Adverb position in neutral clausesA1 — Place Hindi time, place, manner, and degree expressions naturally before the clause-final predicate while preserving their intended scope.
- जब–तब timeB2 — Connect a temporal frame to its corresponding time with जब–तब, including whenever, until, and since constructions.
- Immediate future with अभी and present formsB1 — Use अभी with Hindi present-form predicates for immediate intentions and responses while distinguishing routine, ongoing, and ordinary future readings.
- फिर and दोबारा repetitionB1 — Distinguish फिर as ‘again/then’ from the specifically repetitive दोबारा and place each marker according to its scope.
- Time and scheduling expressionsA2 — Arrange appointments and deadlines with Hindi collocations for availability, fixed times, duration, punctuality, delay, and rescheduling.