Hindi uses oblique infinitive + वाला + copula for a prospective situation: ट्रेन चलने वाली है “the train is about to leave,” मैं फ़ोन करने वाला हूँ “I am going to call.” The construction presents the event as imminent, intended, scheduled, or already developing. It is not merely a longer synonym for every simple future.
Build the three layers
Start from the infinitive, change -ना to oblique -ने, add an agreeing form of वाला, and finish with the appropriate copula.
| Controller | Prospective of आना |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | आने वाला है |
| feminine singular | आने वाली है |
| masculine/mixed plural or honorific | आने वाले हैं |
| feminine plural | आने वाली हैं |
अमित थोड़ी देर में निकलने वाला है।
amit thoṛī der meṃ nikalne vālā hai.
Amit is about to leave in a little while.
नीरा अगले महीने नई नौकरी शुरू करने वाली है।
nīrā agle mahīne naī naukrī śurū karne vālī hai.
Neera is going to start a new job next month.
दोनों मेहमान अब पहुँचने वाले हैं।
donoṃ mehmān ab pahũcne vāle haiṃ.
Both guests are about to arrive. (male or mixed pair)
दोनों टीमें मैदान में उतरने वाली हैं।
donoṃ ṭīmeṃ maidān meṃ utarne vālī haiṃ.
Both teams are about to take the field.
Feminine plural uses predicative वाली हैं, not nominal plural वालियाँ. The copula carries present person-number anchoring, while वाला/वाली/वाले carries gender-number agreement.
Imminence from visible evidence
With inanimate subjects and natural events, the construction often points to signs that the event is close.
बादल बहुत घने हैं; बारिश होने वाली है।
bādal bahut ghane haiṃ; bāriś hone vālī hai.
The clouds are very thick; it's about to rain.
जल्दी बैठो, फ़िल्म शुरू होने वाली है।
jaldī baiṭho, film śurū hone vālī hai.
Sit down quickly; the film is about to start.
Simple बारिश होगी is a prediction. बारिश होने वाली है presents rain as an approaching development, often grounded in current evidence. The difference resembles English will rain versus is about to/is going to rain, but Hindi uses its own agreement and copula layers.
Intention with an animate subject
With a person, the prospective can express a settled intention rather than literal seconds-away imminence.
मैं आज ही उससे बात करने वाला हूँ।
maĩ āj hī usse bāt karne vālā hū̃.
I am going to speak to them today. (male speaker)
मैं इस बार आवेदन वापस लेने वाली हूँ।
maĩ is bār āvedan vāpas lene vālī hū̃.
I am going to withdraw the application this time. (female speaker)
The speaker presents the action as planned or on the verge of execution. By contrast, मैं बात करूँगा/करूँगी can be a promise, prediction, or decision without profiling an already developing plan. Pragmatic contrasts with the simple future belong under predictive versus volitional future.
Affirmative, negative, and question contrasts
ट्रेन अब चलने वाली है।
ṭren ab calne vālī hai.
The train is about to leave now.
ट्रेन अभी चलने वाली नहीं है।
ṭren abhī calne vālī nahīṃ hai.
The train isn't about to leave yet.
क्या ट्रेन अब चलने वाली है?
kyā ṭren ab calne vālī hai?
Is the train about to leave now?
In neutral predicate negation, नहीं appears before the copula: वाली नहीं है. With an intentional subject, this can become a strong refusal or denial of intention.
मैं यह जानकारी किसी को बताने वाला नहीं हूँ।
maĩ yah jānkārī kisī ko batāne vālā nahīṃ hū̃.
I am not going to tell anyone this information. (male speaker)
This is stronger than a momentary “I am not telling”; it rejects the proposed future course.
Past prospective: was about to
Changing the copula locates the prospective state in the past.
हम निकलने वाले थे कि अचानक फ़ोन आ गया।
ham nikalne vāle the ki acānak fon ā gayā.
We were about to leave when the phone suddenly rang. (male or mixed group)
मीरा जवाब देने वाली थी, लेकिन उसने चुप रहना बेहतर समझा।
mīrā javāb dene vālī thī, lekin usne cup rahnā behtar samjhā.
Meera was about to answer, but she decided it was better to remain silent.
Past था/थी/थे/थीं says the event was prospective at a past point; it does not guarantee completion. The interruption in both examples shows why English “was going to” is often appropriate.
Predicate versus noun modifier
The same -ने वाला sequence can modify a noun.
अगले प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पर आने वाली ट्रेन जयपुर जाएगी।
agle pleṭform par āne vālī ṭren jaypur jāegī.
The train arriving at the next platform will go to Jaipur.
Here आने वाली modifies feminine ट्रेन; main future जाएगी makes the whole sentence finite. In predicate ट्रेन आने वाली है, the copula completes the prospective construction. Word order and the following noun distinguish the uses.
Passive prospective and the agreement controller
यह पुरानी इमारत अगले साल गिराई जाने वाली है।
yah purānī imārat agle sāl girāī jāne vālī hai.
This old building is scheduled to be demolished next year.
The semantic demolisher is unexpressed. Feminine singular इमारत controls passive गिराई, prospective वाली, and है. Hindi follows the grammatical patient/controller rather than an implied actor.
Infinitive obligation is different
मुझे कल रिपोर्ट भेजनी है।
mujhe kal riporṭ bhejnī hai.
I have to send the report tomorrow.
This dative construction expresses obligation or a plan and lets feminine रिपोर्ट control भेजनी. मैं रिपोर्ट भेजने वाला हूँ instead presents the nominative speaker's intention or imminent act. English have to, be going to, and will overlap in future reference, but their Hindi case and agreement structures differ.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the infinitive in direct -ना form
❌ रवि घर जाना वाला है।
Incorrect — वाला requires oblique infinitive जाने.
✅ रवि घर जाने वाला है।
ravi ghar jāne vālā hai.
Ravi is about to go home.
Ignoring feminine agreement
❌ सीमा नई नौकरी शुरू करने वाला है।
Incorrect — feminine सीमा requires वाली है.
✅ सीमा नई नौकरी शुरू करने वाली है।
sīmā naī naukrī śurū karne vālī hai.
Seema is going to start a new job.
Using nominal feminine plural वालियाँ predicatively
❌ दोनों बसें आने वालियाँ हैं।
Incorrect in this predicate — use वाली हैं.
✅ दोनों बसें आने वाली हैं।
donoṃ baseṃ āne vālī haiṃ.
Both buses are about to arrive.
Choosing the copula from the nearest noun
❌ मैं नई किताब ख़रीदने वाला है।
Incorrect — first-person मैं requires हूँ.
✅ मैं नई किताब ख़रीदने वाला हूँ।
maĩ naī kitāb xarīdne vālā hū̃.
I am going to buy a new book. (male speaker)
Treating वाला as a finite verb
❌ वे थोड़ी देर में निकलने वाले।
Incomplete as a neutral full prospective statement — add हैं.
✅ वे थोड़ी देर में निकलने वाले हैं।
ve thoṛī der meṃ nikalne vāle haiṃ.
They are about to leave. (male or mixed group)
Key Takeaways
- Build the prospective with oblique infinitive -ने + वाला/वाली/वाले + copula.
- The construction can express imminence, visible development, schedule, or settled intention.
- वाला agrees for gender-number; the copula adds person-number and present or past anchoring.
- Passive patients and other grammatical subjects—not implied semantic actors—control agreement.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- The infinitive in -nāA1 — Form Hindi infinitives with -ना and distinguish their citation, complement, verbal-noun, and agreeing obligation uses from finite predicates.
- Future suffixes -gā -gī -geA2 — Choose -गा, -गी, or -गे for gender-number and honorific agreement after the appropriate Hindi future personal base.
- Predictive versus volitional futureA2 — Distinguish Hindi future forms that forecast an event from those that express intention, willingness, offers, promises, or refusal.
- Semantic adjective pairs with वालाC1 — Distinguish a bare adjective from its वाला counterpart and track the agreement, contrast, and association meanings that वाला adds.
- Prospective वाला constructionsB1 — Use oblique infinitive plus agreeing वाला and a copula to place an event after a present or past reference point.