Chapter 12 – Time, Days, and Schedules
Overview
In this chapter, you will learn how Nepali expresses time and schedules in everyday conversation. You will practice the key contrast between बज्यो bajyo (“it’s ___ now,” current time) and बजे baje (“at ___ o’clock,” scheduled time), and you will learn how to ask and answer common time questions such as अहिले कति बज्यो? ahile kati bajyo? “What time is it now?” and कक्षा कति बजे सुरु हुन्छ? kakṣā kati baje suru huncha? “What time does class start?” You will also practice talking about weekly schedules using हुन्छ / हुँदैन huncha / hudaina, describing start and end times with सुरु हुन्छ suru huncha and सकिन्छ sakincha, and using the core grammar contrast for want vs need in practical contexts (e.g., café orders and appointments) with चाहनु cāhanu, चाहिन्छ cāhincha, and पर्छ parcha.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- use बज्यो / बजे (bajyo / baje) appropriately to distinguish current time vs scheduled time-points in questions and answers
- ask and answer time questions such as अहिले कति बज्यो? (ahile kati bajyo?) and कति बजे…? (kati baje…?) with clear, correct time expressions (e.g., sawā, sāḍhe, paune)
- describe weekly schedules using present habitual forms such as हुन्छ / हुँदैन (huncha / hudaina), and talk about days of the week in natural schedule sentences
- express event boundaries on a schedule using सुरु हुन्छ (suru huncha) “starts” and सकिन्छ (sakincha) “ends,” combining them with बजे time-points
- use common present-tense routine verbs (e.g., jānchu, garchu, paḍhchu) to describe everyday actions with day/time expressions
- distinguish and produce the three core meanings in schedule talk—want (cāhanu), need (a thing) (-lāī + cāhincha), and need to / must (do) (-lāī + V-nu + parcha)—and choose the appropriate structure in short, practical dialogues
