मैंने जल्दी जवाब लिखा।

I

Breakdown of मैंने जल्दी जवाब लिखा।

• लिखना: to write
• जवाब: answer
• जल्दी: quickly

Questions & Answers about मैंने जल्दी जवाब लिखा।

Why is मैं written as मैंने here?

Because ने is the postposition often used with the subject in the perfective past when the verb is transitive.

• मैं = I
• मैंने = I
  • ने

In sentences like this, Hindi commonly says:

• मैंने किताब पढ़ी। = I read the book.
• मैंने जवाब लिखा। = I wrote the reply.

This is part of Hindi’s ergative pattern in the past/perfective. English does not do this, so it feels unusual at first.

What exactly does ने do?

ने marks the doer of the action in many perfective transitive sentences.

Here:

• मैंने = I as the one who did the writing

A very important point: when ने is used, the verb often agrees with the direct object, not with the subject.

That is why learners often pay attention to:

1. whether the verb is transitive,
2. whether the sentence is perfective,
3. what gender/number the object has.

Why is the verb लिखा and not something else like लिखी?

The form लिखा is masculine singular, and it agrees with जवाब, which is a noun.