A direct command uses an imperative: दरवाज़ा बंद कर दो “close the door.” Once that command is reported indirectly, Hindi normally presents the action as a desired outcome, not as a new command from the current narrator. Two central patterns are कहा कि…करे with a finite subjunctive clause and करने को कहा with an oblique infinitive. The direct forms themselves are organized in the imperative overview.
Requests use the same grammatical resources, but the reporting verb and context show greater politeness: अनुरोध करना, निवेदन करना, or an everyday कहना with a soft situation. Hindi does not have one mechanical equivalent of English tell/ask someone to do something.
From a direct command to a finite report
Direct speech preserves the original imperative:
कविता ने कहा, “दरवाज़ा बंद कर दो।”
kavitā ne kahā, “darvāzā band kar do.”
Kavita said, ‘Close the door.’ (informal command)
An indirect report identifies the original addressee and uses a finite desired-outcome clause:
कविता ने रोहन से कहा कि वह दरवाज़ा बंद कर दे।
kavitā ne rohan se kahā ki vah darvāzā band kar de.
Kavita told Rohan to close the door.
रोहन से marks the person addressed. In this context, embedded वह is normally understood as Rohan, and subjunctive कर दे presents the requested result. The finite clause does not grammatically force that reference, however: वह could denote another salient person. This differs from रोहन से दरवाज़ा बंद करने को कहा, where the addressee normally controls the silent actor of the infinitive. Repeat रोहन inside the finite clause when context leaves the pronoun ambiguous.
The infinitival pattern with करने को
The same instruction can be packaged without a second finite subject:
कविता ने रोहन से दरवाज़ा बंद करने को कहा।
kavitā ne rohan se darvāzā band karne ko kahā.
Kavita told Rohan to close the door.
After को, the infinitive takes oblique -ने: करने को, not करना को. The understood doer of बंद करने is normally the addressee रोहन से.
A common expanded alternative uses के लिए:
प्रबंधक ने सहायक को सभी दस्तावेज़ दोबारा जाँचने के लिए कहा।
prabandhak ne sahāyak ko sabhī dastāvez dobārā jā̃cne ke lie kahā.
The manager told the assistant to check all the documents again.
With के लिए कहना, the person instructed is commonly marked with को. With short करने को कहना, से is especially common. Actual usage overlaps, so learn frequent frames as wholes rather than forcing one case marker into every reporting construction.
Finite versus infinitival reporting
The finite form is useful when the acting subject must be explicit or when honorific agreement matters:
डॉक्टर ने नर्स से कहा कि वे मरीज़ का तापमान फिर से जाँचें।
ḍokṭar ne nars se kahā ki ve marīz kā tāpmān phir se jā̃ceṃ.
The doctor told the nurse to check the patient's temperature again. (respectful reference to the nurse)
The infinitival form is compact and makes the addressee the understood actor:
डॉक्टर ने नर्स से मरीज़ का तापमान फिर से जाँचने को कहा।
ḍokṭar ne nars se marīz kā tāpmān phir se jā̃cne ko kahā.
The doctor told the nurse to check the patient's temperature again.
Both are natural. The first displays plural/honorific वे…जाँचें; the second leaves person and honorific agreement unexpressed inside the infinitive.
Commands, requests, advice, and orders
Everyday कहना is neutral about force by itself. Voice, relationship, and situation may make the act a reminder, request, or command:
मैंने अमन से कहा कि वह लौटते समय दूध ले आए।
maĩne aman se kahā ki vah lauṭte samay dūdh le āe.
I asked Aman to bring milk on his way back.
More specific verbs label the speech act:
| Reporting expression | Typical force and register |
|---|---|
| कहना | neutral everyday ask/tell |
| अनुरोध करना | polite request; neutral to formal |
| निवेदन करना | respectful request (formal) |
| आदेश देना | explicit order (formal/official) |
| सलाह देना | advice rather than command |
| हिदायत देना | instruction or directive |
चिकित्सक ने मुझे सलाह दी कि मैं कुछ दिन आराम करूँ।
cikitsak ne mujhe salāh dī ki maĩ kuch din ārām karū̃.
The doctor advised me to rest for a few days.
Here the recipient of सलाह दी takes मुझे, while मैं is the explicit subject of the recommended action.
Negative commands use न in indirect form
Direct negative imperatives normally use मत:
माँ ने कहा, “गीले फ़र्श पर मत दौड़ो।”
mā̃ ne kahā, “gīle farś par mat dauṛo.”
Mother said, ‘Don't run on the wet floor.’ (informal command)
An indirect finite report normally uses न with the subjunctive:
माँ ने बच्चों से कहा कि वे गीले फ़र्श पर न दौड़ें।
mā̃ ne baccoṃ se kahā ki ve gīle farś par na dauṛeṃ.
Mother told the children not to run on the wet floor.
An infinitival report likewise uses न before the infinitive:
माँ ने बच्चों से गीले फ़र्श पर न दौड़ने को कहा।
mā̃ ne baccoṃ se gīle farś par na dauṛne ko kahā.
Mother told the children not to run on the wet floor.
मत directly addresses someone; न fits the desired action inside an indirect clause or infinitival phrase.
Requests and honorificity
Direct respectful speech uses a polite imperative:
रीना ने अतिथि से कहा, “कृपया थोड़ी देर बैठिए।”
rīnā ne atithi se kahā, “kripyā thoṛī der baiṭhie.”
Reena said to the guest, ‘Please sit for a while.’ (respectful)
Indirect reporting can use a request verb and honorific plural agreement:
रीना ने अतिथि से अनुरोध किया कि वे थोड़ी देर बैठ जाएँ।
rīnā ne atithi se anurodh kiyā ki ve thoṛī der baiṭh jāẽ.
Reena requested the guest to sit for a while. (respectful)
The quotation's कृपया…बैठिए belongs to Reena's original voice. The indirect version uses अनुरोध किया and वे…बैठ जाएँ; it does not pretend that the current narrator is now addressing the guest.
Time reference and the desired outcome
A reported command often concerns a future action, but Hindi commonly uses the subjunctive rather than a future assertion:
संपादक ने लेखिका से कहा कि वह संशोधित लेख अगले दिन भेजे।
sampādak ne lekhikā se kahā ki vah saṃśodhit lekh agle din bheje.
The editor told the writer to send the revised article the following day.
Using भेजेगी would more readily report a prediction or promise—“that she would send it”—rather than the editor's directive. The embedded mood tells us whether the content is desired or asserted.
Punctuation and a formal boundary
Direct commands use quotation marks. Indirect reports use कि or an infinitival construction without quotation marks. A comma is not required before an ordinary indirect कि clause.
जिला प्रशासन ने नागरिकों से अनुरोध किया कि वे बाढ़ग्रस्त क्षेत्रों की ओर जाने से बचें।
zilā praśāsan ne nāgrikoṃ se anurodh kiyā ki ve bāṛhgrast kṣetroṃ kī or jāne se baceṃ.
The district administration requested citizens to avoid traveling toward flood-affected areas. (formal)
Clause boundary: [जिला प्रशासन ने नागरिकों से अनुरोध किया] [कि वे बाढ़ग्रस्त क्षेत्रों की ओर जाने से बचें]. The official request is the matrix event; the subjunctive clause states the desired conduct.
A spoken exchange
सारा: प्रबंधक ने तुमसे क्या कहा? नील: उन्होंने कहा कि मैं फ़ाइल शाम तक भेज दूँ।
sārā: prabandhak ne tumse kyā kahā? nīl: unhoṃne kahā ki maĩ fāil śām tak bhej dū̃.
Sara: What did the manager tell you? Neel: They told me to send the file by evening. (informal dialogue; respectful reference to the manager)
In Neel's answer, मैं remains first person because Neel is both the original addressee and the current reporter. Honorific उन्होंने refers to the manager.
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping a direct imperative with a third-person subject
❌ प्रबंधक ने कहा कि सहायक रिपोर्ट भेजो।
Incorrect mixed perspective — भेजो directly addresses तुम, but सहायक is third person.
✅ प्रबंधक ने कहा कि सहायक रिपोर्ट भेजे।
prabandhak ne kahā ki sahāyak riporṭ bheje.
The manager said that the assistant should send the report.
2. Leaving the infinitive in direct -ना before को
❌ उसने मुझसे बाहर इंतज़ार करना को कहा।
Incorrect — the infinitive becomes oblique करने before को.
✅ उसने मुझसे बाहर इंतज़ार करने को कहा।
usne mujhse bāhar intazār karne ko kahā.
He or she told me to wait outside.
3. Carrying direct मत into a third-person indirect clause
❌ पिता ने कहा कि बच्चे देर मत करें।
Incorrect mixed form — use न with the third-person subjunctive.
✅ पिता ने कहा कि बच्चे देर न करें।
pitā ne kahā ki bacce der na kareṃ.
Father said that the children should not be late.
4. Reporting a command as a future prediction
❌ सीमा ने रोहन से कहा कि वह कल जल्दी आएगा।
Wrong for the intended instruction — आएगा reports a future claim rather than the desired action.
✅ सीमा ने रोहन से कहा कि वह कल जल्दी आए।
sīmā ne rohan se kahā ki vah kal jaldī āe.
Seema told Rohan to come early tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- Report a command with a finite subjunctive कि…करे or a compact infinitive करने को कहा.
- The addressee is the understood doer of the infinitive; name the finite subject when reference could be unclear.
- कहना, अनुरोध करना, आदेश देना, and सलाह देना distinguish neutral telling, requests, orders, and advice.
- Direct negative मत normally becomes indirect न…करें or न करने को.
- Subjunctive mood presents a desired action; future morphology more readily reports a prediction or promise.
Related Topics
- Reported statementsA2 — Turn direct Hindi statements into indirect reports with कि while adjusting speaker reference, deixis, punctuation, and time only when meaning requires it.
- Reported questionsA2 — Report Hindi wh- and yes-or-no questions with पूछना and कि while preserving embedded word order, clear participant reference, and meaningful tense choices.
- Imperative overview by honorific levelB1 — Choose Hindi command forms for intimate तू, familiar तुम, and respectful or plural आप while keeping polarity and predicate layers aligned.
- Subjunctive overviewA2 — Recognize and use the Hindi subjunctive for desired, possible, contingent, and nonasserted situations without confusing it with the future.
- चाहना desire and polite requestsA2 — Express wants with चाहना and use its conditional and future-shaped forms to frame tactful questions, offers, and request prefaces.
- Making requests across honorific levelsB1 — Match Hindi requests to intimate, familiar, and respectful relationships by coordinating address level, verb form, indirectness, particles, and tone.