Learn how to talk about possibility using "can" and "may"
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| Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 17 - There's a Storm Brewing in India |
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to HindiPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 17 - There's a Storm Brewing in India. Eric here. |
| Udita: नमस्ते NamaSTe I'm Udita. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn about “can” and “may,” and talking about possibility. The conversation takes place at a cafe. |
| Udita: It's between Farah and Naina. |
| Eric: The speakers are friends, so they’ll use casual Hindi. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| फ़राह : तू ने मौसम का समाचार सुना? |
| नैना : नहीं तो। |
| फ़राह : बता रहे थे कि इस हफ्ते दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया की ओर बहुत बड़ा तूफान आ रहा है। |
| नैना : हाँ तो? |
| फ़राह : महासागर से ऊपर की ओर म्यांमार तक आएगा और आगे भी आने की सम्भावना है। |
| नैना : तुझे लगता है भारत तक भी पहुंचेगा? |
| फ़राह : ऐसा खबर में बता रहे थे की पूर्वोत्तर राज्यों में शुक्रवार या शनिवार को पहुंचेगा। |
| नैना : क्या इस में दार्जिलिंग भी शामिल है? |
| फ़राह : दार्जिलिंग तो आसाम के बहुत करीब है। अगर उधर बाढ़ आयी तो दार्जिलिंग में भी गड़बड़ हो सकती है। और हमारा शनिवार को जाना तय हुआ था। |
| नैना : हाँ फिर वहाँ जाकर फँस गए तो बड़ी समस्या हो जाएगी। बीच रास्ते में भी फँस सकते हैँ। लगता है दार्जिलिंग जाना कैंसिल करना पड़ेगा। |
| फ़राह : हाँ, और कोई चारा नहीं है। बदले में कहीं और चल सकते हैं। |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| फ़राह : तू ने मौसम का समाचार सुना? |
| नैना : नहीं तो। |
| फ़राह : बता रहे थे कि इस हफ्ते दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया की ओर बहुत बड़ा तूफान आ रहा है। |
| नैना : हाँ तो? |
| फ़राह : महासागर से ऊपर की ओर म्यांमार तक आएगा और आगे भी आने की सम्भावना है। |
| नैना : तुझे लगता है भारत तक भी पहुंचेगा? |
| फ़राह : ऐसा खबर में बता रहे थे की पूर्वोत्तर राज्यों में शुक्रवार या शनिवार को पहुंचेगा। |
| नैना : क्या इस में दार्जिलिंग भी शामिल है? |
| फ़राह : दार्जिलिंग तो आसाम के बहुत करीब है। अगर उधर बाढ़ आयी तो दार्जिलिंग में भी गड़बड़ हो सकती है। और हमारा शनिवार को जाना तय हुआ था। |
| नैना : हाँ फिर वहाँ जाकर फँस गए तो बड़ी समस्या हो जाएगी। बीच रास्ते में भी फँस सकते हैँ। लगता है दार्जिलिंग जाना कैंसिल करना पड़ेगा। |
| फ़राह : हाँ, और कोई चारा नहीं है। बदले में कहीं और चल सकते हैं। |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Farah: Did you hear the weather news? |
| Naina: No... |
| Farah: They were saying that there is a big storm coming towards South East Asia. |
| Naina: So? |
| Farah: It will travel north from the ocean up to Myanmar, and may even continue further. |
| Naina: So you think it might reach India? |
| Farah: The report said that it will reach the Northeastern states around Friday or Saturday. |
| Naina: Does this include Darjeeling too? |
| Farah: Darjeeling is so close to Assam. If there are floods there, then there may be trouble in Darjeeling too. And our plan was to go on Saturday. |
| Naina: Yes in that case, if we go there and get stuck, it'll be a huge problem. We may even get stuck in between on the way. Seems like we’ll have to cancel going to Darjeeling. |
| Farah: Yes, we don't have a choice. Instead, we can go somewhere else. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: In the dialogue, Farah mentioned the Northeastern States. |
| Udita: That’s right. In the most northeastern part of India, there are seven states that are called the Northeastern States or “The Seven Sisters.” |
| Eric: I like the second name. What are the seven states? |
| Udita: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. |
| Eric: Is it easy to get to these? |
| Udita: They’re connected to the east by a narrow passage and are surrounded by four countries - Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and Bhutan. |
| Eric: What’s the ethnic mix of The Seven Sisters? |
| Udita: Mainly Austroasiatic, so the ethnic makeup is closer to Myanmar and Tibet. However, there’s still a mix of people. |
| Eric: Earlier in the conversation, a name jumped out to me - Darjeeling. |
| Udita: You like tea, right? The famous Darjeeling tea is produced in a place called Darjeeling. |
| Eric: I’d like to go there just for the tea! It’s a pretty mountainous area, right? |
| Udita: Yes, it’s less urban and modernized than the mainland, and has wonderful natural beauty. |
| Eric: Sounds lovely! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Udita: समाचार [natural native speed] |
| Eric: news |
| Udita: समाचार[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: समाचार [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: तूफ़ान [natural native speed] |
| Eric: storm, typhoon |
| Udita: तूफ़ान[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: तूफ़ान [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Southeast Asia |
| Udita: दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: महासागर [natural native speed] |
| Eric: ocean |
| Udita: महासागर [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: महासागर [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: पूर्वात्तर राज्य [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Northeastern states |
| Udita: पूर्वात्तर राज्य [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: पूर्वात्तर राज्य [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: बाढ़ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: flood |
| Udita: बाढ़[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: बाढ़ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: गड़बड़ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: mess, chaos, problem, wrong |
| Udita: गड़बड़ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: गड़बड़ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Udita: फँसना [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to get stuck |
| Udita: फँसना[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: फँसना [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And lastly.. |
| Udita: चारा [natural native speed] |
| Eric: alternative |
| Udita: चारा[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Udita: चारा [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Udita: महासागर mahaaSaagar |
| Eric: meaning "ocean." What can you tell us about this? |
| Udita: महासागर mahaaSaagar is a masculine word and comes from the noun सागर Saagar. |
| Eric: What does that word mean? |
| Udita: That means sea. महा mahaa, the first part of the word, means “great.” |
| Eric: So it’s literally “great sea”? |
| Udita: Yes, which is an ocean! |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Udita: Sure. For example, you can say.. कुछ साल पहले भारत महासागर में भूकम्प आने के कारण बड़ी सुनामी हुई थी। kuch Saal pahle bhaaraT mahaaSaagar mein bhuukamp aaNe ke kaaran badii SuNaamii huii THii. |
| Eric: ..which means "A few years back, because of an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, there was a tsunami." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Udita: फँसना phanSNaa |
| Eric: meaning "to get stuck." What can you tell us about this? |
| Udita: It’s an intransitive verb and can be used for either “to get caught” or “to get stuck.” |
| Eric: How do we use it? |
| Udita: It can be used for physically being trapped, such as in webs or bushes, but also for conceptual traps or problems. |
| Eric: Is it used for getting trapped by accident or for traps that your actions lead you to? |
| Udita: Both! |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Udita: Sure. For example, you can say.. हम चार घंटे से ट्रैफिक जैम में फँसे हुए थे। ham caar ghaNte Se traifik jaim mein phanSe hue THe. |
| Eric: .. which means "We were stuck in traffic for four hours." Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Udita: कोई चारा नहीं है koii caaraa Nahiin hai |
| Eric: meaning "there’s no alternative,” or “don't have an option." Can you break down this phrase for us? |
| Udita: कोई koii is an adjective which means “any.” चारा caaraa is a noun meaning “choice,” or “alternative.” नहीं Nahiin means “no” and है hai means “is.” |
| Eric: So altogether it means “there is no alternative.” |
| Udita: Yes. This is a very common saying in Hindi. |
| Eric: When is it used? |
| Udita: It’s used when you’re in a situation in which there’s only one option, but it’s not an ideal option. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Udita: Sure. You can say.. अभी चलकर जाने के सिवा कोई चारा नहीं है। abhii calkar jaaNe ke Sivaa koii caaraa Nahiin hai. |
| Eric: .. which means "There’s no choice but to walk there now." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use “can” and “may,” and talk about possibility. In the dialogue, there was some discussion about possibility and where the storm will reach. |
| Udita: If you want to talk about “can” or “to be able to,” you need to use the auxiliary verb सकना SakNaa. This can be used with transitive or intransitive verbs. |
| Eric: Does it need to be conjugated depending on the tense of the sentence? |
| Udita: Yes, it should match. So if you’re talking about the past, you should use सका Sakaa, सकी Sakii, or सकें Saken. |
| Eric: Where does it fit into the sentence? |
| Udita: It has to follow another verb. For example, नाच सकता Naac SakTaa means “can dance,” in singular masculine. |
| Eric: That seems straightforward. |
| Udita: Yes, but to make a past tense sentence using this it’s more common to use the present tense of “can,” but with the past tense for “be.” For example नेहा निकल सकती थी Nehaa NikaL SakTii THii. |
| Eric: Meaning “Neha could have left.” |
| Udita: सकना SakNaa can also mean “may.” |
| Eric: How do we use it as “may”? |
| Udita: There actually isn’t a different word for “may”, so we use “can” and it depends on the nuance of the sentence. |
| Eric: So the situation dictates whether you say “can” or “may”? |
| Udita: Yes, that’s right. We can also use it to express “may even,” and “may also.” |
| Eric: How do we do that? |
| Udita: You need to use भी bhii, meaning “also” or “too.” In that case, the भी bhii is followed by the verb root, and then the conjugation of सकना SakNaa. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example? |
| Udita: आपके आसान यहाँ पर हैं, लेकिन आप वहाँ भी बैठ सकते हैं। aapke aaSaN yahaan par hain, LekiN aap vahaan bhii baith SakTe hain. |
| Eric: Which means “your seats are here, but you may also sit there.” |
| Udita: We can use a different method to make sentences with “may” as well. |
| Eric: How do we do that? |
| Udita: We can combine it with the words for “feel,” “think”, and “will happen.” So the sentence structure लगता है LagTaa hai, followed by the object, followed by होगा hogaa which is “will happen.” |
| Eric: How do we say “Seems like we may have to add more chairs?” |
| Udita: लगता है और भी कुर्सियाँ लगानी होगी। LagTaa hai aur bhii kurSiyaan LagaaNii hogii. Just remember that this pattern only works as “may” when speaking about actions someone will have to do. |
| Eric: So you can’t use it for unrelated things such as “it may rain.” |
| Udita: That’s right. |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Udita: अलविदा alviDaa |
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