The Perfect Non-Narrative Tense is formed by adding the verb 'to be' in its past form to the main verb in the perfect narrative tense. All the rules of agreement between subject and predicate pertaining to intransitive and transitive verbs are the same as in the perfect narrative tense.
This tense is used both in speech and in narrative text. When using the perfect non-narrative tense, the speaker wants to inform the listener that an action that was completed in the past is, in his or her opinion, irrelevant and not important, because it cannot influence the subsequent events. There are no standard rules for translating this construction into English.
Examples:
'तुम रोटी ख़रीदने दुकान गए?'
tum roTii kh'ariidne dukaan gae?
'Did you go to the shop to buy bread?'
'मैं गया तो था, मगर दुकान बंद थी।'
maiN gayaa to thaa, magar dukaan band thii.
'I went there, but the shop was closed.'
'कल तुम्हें राकेश मिला?'
kal tumheN rakeś milaa?
'Did you meet Rakesh yesterday?'
'हाँ, मिला था, मगर मैं उस से बात न कर सका।'
haaN, milaa thaa, magar maiN us se baat na kar sakaa.
'Yes, I met him, but I couldn't talk to him.'
When the perfect non-narrative tense is used in narrative text, it either denotes an action that was fully completed before some event or some moment in the past, or it functions as a preface to a story or signifies a change of topic. This tense is the called non-narrative because it breaks the flow of events or interferes with the change of actions and states.
Examples:
पार्टी ख़तम हुई थी। मेहमान चले जाने लगे।
paarTii kh'atam huii thii. mehmaan cale jaane lage.
'The party was over. Guests began to leave.' (The beginning of the story.)
पिता ने बच्चों को वे तोहफ़े दिए, जो वह उन के लिए अमरीका से लाया था।
pitaa ne baccoN ko ve tohfe die, jo vo un ke lie amriikaa se laayaa thaa.
'Father gave the children those presents that he had brought from America.'
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