Verbs are the engine of any sentence. They describe actions, events, or states of being. In Nepali, understanding the verb is the key to unlocking the language. Once you grasp how they work, building sentences becomes much easier.

Every Nepali verb starts from a core idea, a root form. Think of it as the raw ingredient before you cook it into a full meal. This root is where we'll begin.

The dhatu is the simplest form of a verb. You can't use it by itself in a sentence, but it's the foundation for every conjugation. To make a verb useful, you add endings to the dhatu. These endings tell you who is doing the action and when.

For example, the dhatu padh means "read." To say "I read," you add an ending to it. To say "she will read," you add a different one. The root stays the same, but the endings change.

Sometimes, a main verb needs a little help to express its full meaning. That's where auxiliary, or "helping," verbs come in. They work with the main verb to clarify tense or state of being. The most important auxiliary verb in Nepali is hunu.

Just like "to be" in English, hunu is used everywhere. It can describe existence ("He is a doctor") or help form different tenses ("She is reading"). It changes its form depending on the context, but it's a verb you'll see and use constantly.

One of the biggest differences from English is that Nepali verbs must agree with the subject of the sentence. This means the verb's ending changes based on three things about the subject: number, gender, and politeness level.

Politeness is a crucial part of Nepali culture and language. There are generally three levels:

• Low-respect: Used for close friends, family younger than you, or in casual situations. Corresponds to the pronoun tã (तँ).
• Mid-respect: The most common level, used with peers, colleagues, and in most daily interactions. Corresponds to the pronoun timi (तिमी).
• High-respect: Used for elders, strangers, and in formal situations. Corresponds to the pronoun tapai (तपाईं).

Let's see how one verb, jaanu (to go), changes in the simple present tense based on these factors.

Notice how the ending of the verb changes for each subject. You don't need to memorize these endings right now. Just recognize that verbs in Nepali are flexible and change to match who you're talking about. This concept of agreement is a fundamental rule in Nepali grammar.