करना is Hindi's core verb “do,” but its grammar reaches much further. It is an ordinary transitive verb, has the irregular perfective किया, forms hundreds of noun-plus-verb predicates such as काम करना and फ़ैसला करना, and provides transitive counterparts to many adjective-plus-होना predicates. Its complements and agreement frame are part of its conjugation.
Principal parts and core frames
| Category | Form | Example frame |
|---|---|---|
| stem | कर- | काम कर- |
| infinitive | करना | काम करना |
| habitual participle | करता / करती / करते | वह काम करती है |
| perfective | किया / की / किए / कीं | उसने मदद की |
| conjunctive | करके | काम करके |
As a free verb, करना can take an object meaning “do/perform”: यह काम करना. More often, a noun supplies the lexical content: बात करना “talk,” कोशिश करना “try,” फ़ैसला करना “decide.” These combinations must be learned with the noun's gender because that gender can surface in perfective agreement.
मीरा हर शाम थोड़ा योग करती है।
mīrā har śām thoṛā yog kartī hai.
Meera does a little yoga every evening.
हमने इस मुद्दे पर लंबी बातचीत की।
hamne is mudde par lambī bātcīt kī.
We had a long conversation about this issue.
Habitual and progressive paradigms
The habitual combines करता/करती/करते with the present or past copula. The progressive uses कर रहा/रही/रहे.
| Subject | Habitual present | Progressive present |
|---|---|---|
| मैं, masculine | करता हूँ | कर रहा हूँ |
| मैं, feminine | करती हूँ | कर रही हूँ |
| वह, masculine | करता है | कर रहा है |
| वह, feminine | करती है | कर रही है |
| हम / आप / वे, masculine or mixed | करते हैं | कर रहे हैं |
| हम / वे, all feminine | करती हैं | कर रही हैं |
मैं अभी खाने का इंतज़ाम कर रहा हूँ।
maĩ abhī khāne kā intazām kar rahā hū̃.
I am arranging the food right now. (male speaker)
The stem names the activity, रहा supplies progressive viewpoint, and हूँ anchors the predicate in the present. Hindi does not create the present progressive by changing करना into one indivisible tense word.
Irregular perfective and ergative alignment
The perfective is किया, not an invented regular करा. Because करना is transitive, a canonical perfective clause marks the agent with ने. An unmarked object controls agreement; a को-marked object blocks it, producing default masculine singular किया.
For the complete interaction of this irregular stem with ने and object agreement, see the perfective of करना.
| Object controller | Perfective form | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | किया | उसने काम किया |
| feminine singular | की | उसने कोशिश की |
| masculine plural | किए | उसने बदलाव किए |
| feminine plural | कीं | उसने गलतियाँ कीं |
रुचि ने सारी तैयारियाँ अकेले कीं।
ruci ne sārī taiyāriyā̃ akele kīṃ.
Ruchi made all the preparations by herself.
मैंने रोहन को फ़ोन किया, लेकिन उसने उठाया नहीं।
maĩne rohan ko fon kiyā, lekin usne uṭhāyā nahīṃ.
I called Rohan, but he didn't answer.
In the second example रोहन को is marked, so किया remains default. Present perfect and past perfect add an auxiliary to the same perfective layer: काम किया है, गलतियाँ की थीं.
Future and subjunctive
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | करूँ | करूँगा | करूँगी |
| तुम | करो | करोगे | करोगी |
| वह / यह | करे | करेगा | करेगी |
| हम / आप / वे / ये | करें | करेंगे | करेंगी |
समय मिला तो मैं यह काम शाम को करूँगा।
samay milā to maĩ yah kām śām ko karū̃gā.
If I get time, I'll do this work in the evening. (male speaker)
बेहतर होगा कि आप पहले जाँच कर लें।
behtar hogā ki āp pahle jā̃c kar leṃ.
It would be better if you check first.
The second sentence combines the bare lexical stem कर- with vector लेना, whose plural/honorific subjunctive is लें. The vector contributes completion or actor-oriented involvement; it is not required after every form of करना.
Imperatives and participles
The main imperative levels are intimate कर, familiar करो, and respectful कीजिए. करिए is also common and polite; कीजिए is the established irregular polite form taught first.
कृपया अंदर आइए और यहाँ हस्ताक्षर कीजिए।
kripyā andar āie aur yahā̃ hastākṣar kījie.
Please come in and sign here. (respectful)
Non-finite forms include करता (habitual), किया (perfective), करते हुए (while doing), करके (having done/by doing), करने (oblique infinitive), and करने वाला (about to do / one who does).
सारा काम करके उसने कंप्यूटर बंद कर दिया।
sārā kām karke usne kampyūṭar band kar diyā.
After doing all the work, she shut down the computer.
Causatives and compound behavior
The direct causative कराना means “have/get someone to do” or “have something done.” करवाना can emphasize arranging the action through another agent, though real usage overlaps.
हमने घर की सफ़ाई एक पेशेवर से करवाई।
hamne ghar kī safāī ek peśevar se karvāī.
We had a professional clean the house.
करना itself often acts as a light verb after nouns and adjectives: साफ़ करना, शुरू करना, मदद करना. It is not a general vector after arbitrary verb stems. Compound predicates such as कर देना, कर लेना, and कर जाना add specific event-structure or discourse meanings and are not interchangeable decorations.
An idiomatic conversational extension is क्या करूँ?—literally “What should I do?”, often expressing resignation: “What can I do?” (informal).
Common Mistakes
Regularizing the perfective
❌ मैंने काम करा।
Incorrect for ‘I did the work’ — करा is the intimate imperative or bare stem of causative कराना; the perfective of करना is किया.
✅ मैंने काम किया।
maĩne kām kiyā.
I did the work.
Omitting ने in a canonical perfective
❌ सीमा सारी तैयारी की।
Incorrect in the standard canonical perfective — the transitive agent requires ने.
✅ सीमा ने सारी तैयारी की।
sīmā ne sārī taiyārī kī.
Seema made all the preparations.
Making the perfective agree with the agent
❌ रीना ने बड़ा बदलाव की।
Incorrect — masculine बदलाव controls किया; feminine रीना is ने-marked.
✅ रीना ने बड़ा बदलाव किया।
rīnā ne baṛā badlāv kiyā.
Reena made a major change.
Using किया as a present finite verb
❌ वह रोज़ व्यायाम किया।
Incorrect for a routine — किया is perfective, not habitual present.
✅ वह रोज़ व्यायाम करता है।
vah roz vyāyām kartā hai.
He exercises every day.
Key Takeaways
करना has stem कर-, irregular perfective किया, and polite imperative कीजिए. Its canonical transitive perfective uses ने, with agreement controlled by an unmarked object. Learn noun-plus-करना predicates together with the noun's gender, and distinguish light-verb करना from causative कराना/करवाना and from compound predicates with true vector verbs.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Perfective of करनाA2 — Use irregular किया, की, किए, and कीं in simple and auxiliary-bearing perfectives, with agreement determined by object marking.
- ने as perfective ergative markerA2 — Learn when perfective transitive clauses mark their agent with ने, how split ergativity differs from past tense, and which phrase controls agreement.
- Direct causatives in -ā-B2 — Form and use Hindi -ā- causatives for direct, closely controlled causation while tracking lexical stem changes and ordinary agreement.
- Adjective plus होना and करनाB2 — Contrast adjective plus होना for states and changes with adjective plus करना for causing an entity to reach that state.
- काम करना collocationsB1 — Use काम करना for work and tasks, then distinguish the related predicates for functioning, usefulness, sufficiency, and completion.
- The bare stem in commands and compoundsA1 — Recognize the Hindi verb stem without -ना and use it accurately in intimate commands, compound verbs, modal chains, and inflected forms.