When a Hindi infinitive functions as a verbal noun, its performer can be expressed with a genitive phrase: रीना का आना “Reena's coming,” बच्चों का खेलना “the children's playing,” मेरे देर से पहुँचने पर “when I arrived late.” English may use a possessive, a for-phrase, or a finite clause; Hindi marks the participant according to the form of the nominalized event.
The visible का/के/की does not agree with the performer's natural gender or number. It agrees with the infinitival verbal noun. Direct -ना is grammatically masculine singular, so its subject takes का. When the infinitive becomes oblique -ने before a postposition, the corresponding genitive is के.
The underlying direct–oblique contrast is developed in infinitives with postpositions; this page concentrates on how an overt subject fits inside that constituent.
Direct nominalization: subject + का + infinitive
लीला का अचानक लौटना सबके लिए आश्चर्य की बात थी।
līlā kā acānak lauṭnā sabke lie āścarya kī bāt thī.
Leela's sudden return was a surprise to everyone.
छात्रों का रोज़ समय पर पहुँचना ज़रूरी है।
chātroṃ kā roz samay par pahũcnā zarūrī hai.
It is important for the students to arrive on time every day.
Feminine singular लीला and plural छात्रों both take का, because direct लौटना/पहुँचना is a masculine singular verbal noun. The complete bracketed constituents are [लीला का अचानक लौटना] and [छात्रों का रोज़ समय पर पहुँचना].
That whole clause can serve as subject, object-like content, or a complement of an evaluation:
मुझे बच्चों का देर रात बाहर खेलना पसंद नहीं है।
mujhe baccoṃ kā der rāt bāhar khelnā pasand nahīṃ hai.
I do not like the children playing outside late at night.
The dative matrix experiencer is मुझे. Inside its content nominal, बच्चों का identifies who plays. Clause boundaries prevent the children from becoming the experiencer of पसंद.
The nominalized clause contains its own arguments
Objects, adverbs, and postpositional phrases can occur inside the infinitival constituent:
समीरा का हर रविवार अपने दादा को फ़ोन करना अच्छी आदत है।
samīrā kā har ravivār apne dādā ko fon karnā acchī ādat hai.
Sameera's calling her grandfather every Sunday is a good habit.
The structure is [समीरा का [हर रविवार] [अपने दादा को] फ़ोन करना] [अच्छी आदत है]. समीरा is the caller, दादा को belongs to the embedded activity, and feminine आदत controls अच्छी in the matrix predicate.
A transitive infinitive used as a nominal normally remains default -ना rather than agreeing with its internal object:
अभय का पुरानी चिट्ठियाँ सँभालकर रखना पूरे परिवार को अच्छा लगता है।
abhay kā purānī ciṭṭhiyā̃ sãbhālkar rakhnā pūre parivār ko acchā lagtā hai.
The whole family likes Abhay's careful preservation of old letters.
Feminine plural चिट्ठियाँ does not turn the activity noun into रखनी here. Object-controlled infinitive agreement belongs to selected necessity and restructuring constructions, not automatically to every verbal noun.
Oblique nominalization: subject + के + infinitive in -ने
Before a postposition, the infinitive becomes oblique -ने, and the genitive subject correspondingly appears with के:
लीला के अचानक लौटने से पूरी योजना बदल गई।
līlā ke acānak lauṭne se pūrī yojnā badal gaī.
Leela's sudden return changed the whole plan.
मेहमानों के समय पर पहुँचने के बाद खाना परोसा गया।
mehmānoṃ ke samay par pahũcne ke bād khānā parosā gayā.
The food was served after the guests arrived on time.
Surface के does not signal a masculine plural performer. It agrees with oblique लौटने/पहुँचने. This yields a reliable direct–oblique pair:
| Clause form | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| direct verbal noun | subject + का + V-ना | रीना का आना |
| before से | subject + के + V-ने से | रीना के आने से |
| before पर | subject + के + V-ने पर | रीना के आने पर |
| before के बाद | subject + के + V-ने के बाद | रीना के आने के बाद |
The two occurrences of के in रीना के आने के बाद have different internal jobs: the first marks Reena as the nominalized subject; the second begins compound postposition के बाद.
Pronouns make the direct–oblique relationship especially visible:
| Performer | Direct event nominal | Before पर |
|---|---|---|
| मैं | मेरा आना | मेरे आने पर |
| तुम | तुम्हारा आना | तुम्हारे आने पर |
| वह | उसका आना | उसके आने पर |
| हम | हमारा आना | हमारे आने पर |
| आप | आपका आना | आपके आने पर |
आपके समय पर पहुँचने पर ही कार्यक्रम शुरू होगा।
āpke samay par pahũcne par hī kāryakram śurū hogā.
The program will begin only when you arrive on time. (respectful)
आपके is not plural agreement with an overt noun here. It is the oblique genitive form licensed by पहुँचने पर.
Same-subject inference versus an explicit local subject
Without a genitive subject, a postpositional infinitive normally receives its performer from the most plausible matrix participant:
दुकान बंद करने के बाद मालिक घर चला गया।
dukān band karne ke bād mālik ghar calā gayā.
After closing the shop, the owner went home.
The owner both closes and leaves. A different performer must be named locally:
कर्मचारी के दुकान बंद करने के बाद मालिक घर चला गया।
karmacārī ke dukān band karne ke bād mālik ghar calā gayā.
After the employee closed the shop, the owner went home.
Now कर्मचारी के belongs inside the temporal clause, and मालिक controls चला गया. Adding the genitive is a structural repair, not an optional translation of English the employee.
Finite clause versus nominalized clause
Nominalization suppresses independent person, tense, and mood. Compare:
यह तय है कि निदेशक अगले सोमवार आएँगे।
yah tay hai ki nideśak agle somvār āẽge.
It is settled that the director will come next Monday. (honorific)
निदेशक का अगले सोमवार आना तय है।
nideśak kā agle somvār ānā tay hai.
The director's arrival next Monday is settled.
The finite कि clause marks honorific plurality and future time on आएँगे. The nominalized version uses invariant event noun आना; अगले सोमवार and तय है support the future interpretation. Choose the finite form when the embedded proposition needs its own TAM or mood.
Negation and scope inside the nominal
Negative न occurs immediately before the infinitive in careful neutral and formal prose:
आवेदक का अंतिम तारीख़ तक शुल्क न देना समस्या बन सकता है।
āvedak kā antim tārīx tak śulk na denā samasyā ban saktā hai.
The applicant's not paying the fee by the deadline may become a problem. (formal)
The negation belongs inside [आवेदक का ... न देना]. Matrix नहीं would instead negate the larger claim: ... समस्या नहीं बन सकता “cannot become a problem.” Scope follows constituency, not the English position of not.
Focus can also remain internal: केवल रीना का आना काफ़ी है means Reena's coming alone is sufficient. It does not change genitive form or make the infinitive finite.
An embedded multi-clause example
प्रबंधक ने कहा कि तकनीकी दल के जाँच पूरी करने के बाद ही सर्वर दोबारा चालू होगा।
prabandhak ne kahā ki taknīkī dal ke jā̃c pūrī karne ke bād hī sarvar dobārā cālū hogā.
The manager said that the server would be restarted only after the technical team completed the inspection. (formal)
Matrix प्रबंधक ने कहा introduces a finite कि clause. Inside it, तकनीकी दल के is the genitive subject of जाँच पूरी करने, while सर्वर controls future चालू होगा. Three participant relations remain local to their own predicates.
Common Mistakes
1. Agreeing the genitive with a feminine performer
❌ कविता की जल्दी आना ज़रूरी है।
Incorrect — direct infinitive आना is masculine singular, so use का.
✅ कविता का जल्दी आना ज़रूरी है।
kavitā kā jaldī ānā zarūrī hai.
It is important for Kavita to arrive early.
2. Using direct का before an oblique infinitive
❌ मेरे का पहुँचने पर बैठक शुरू हुई।
Incorrect — the pronoun's genitive subject form is मेरे before oblique पहुँचने.
✅ मेरे पहुँचने पर बैठक शुरू हुई।
mere pahũcne par baiṭhak śurū huī.
The meeting began when I arrived.
3. Adding ergative ने inside the nominalization
❌ सीमा ने रिपोर्ट भेजना सबको अच्छा लगा।
Incorrect for the intended event nominal — its overt subject takes genitive का, not finite ergative ने.
✅ सीमा का रिपोर्ट भेजना सबको अच्छा लगा।
sīmā kā riporṭ bhejnā sabko acchā lagā.
Everyone appreciated Seema's sending the report.
4. Hiding a different subject
❌ घर पहुँचने पर पिता ने मुझे फ़ोन किया।
Wrong for 'when I reached home' — without a local subject, पिता is understood as the arriver.
✅ मेरे घर पहुँचने पर पिता ने मुझे फ़ोन किया।
mere ghar pahũcne par pitā ne mujhe fon kiyā.
My father called me when I reached home.
5. Giving a nominalized event finite tense
❌ रवि का कल आएगा तय है।
Incorrect hybrid — use either nominal आना or a finite कि clause.
✅ रवि का कल आना तय है।
ravi kā kal ānā tay hai.
Ravi's arrival tomorrow is settled.
Key Takeaways
- A direct infinitival verbal noun takes a genitive subject in का, regardless of the performer's gender or number.
- Before a postposition, -ना becomes oblique -ने and subject का becomes के.
- The nominalized clause contains its own objects and modifiers and can function as one constituent in a larger clause.
- Genitive subjects make different-subject readings explicit; otherwise same-subject control is often inferred.
- A finite कि clause is required when the embedded proposition needs independent person, TAM, or mood.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- The infinitive as verbal nounA2 — Use the Hindi -ना form to name an action while preserving its objects, modifiers, and understood or expressed subject.
- Oblique infinitive -neA2 — Recognize and form the Hindi oblique infinitive in -ने before postpositions and in purpose, onset, and related non-finite constructions.
- Infinitive with postpositionsA2 — Combine the oblique Hindi infinitive with postpositions to express purpose, time, cause, means, condition, duration, and alternatives.
- Infinitive subjects and agreementA2 — Identify who performs a Hindi infinitive and distinguish default -ना from object-controlled infinitive agreement in necessity constructions.
- Absolute and detached participial phrasesC1 — Build and interpret detached Hindi event frames with their own subject, distinguishing them from shared-subject converbs and agreeing participial modifiers.
- का के की possession and agreementA1 — Choose का, के, or की by the gender, number, and case of the possessed expression while putting noun possessors in the oblique form.