Hindi advice and obligation: chahiye, hona and parna

01 / Understand

Choose how strongly to present the need

Advice and obligation are related, but their force is not identical. आपको आराम करना चाहिए recommends rest. मुझे जाना है can state that leaving is on my agenda or required. मुझे जाना पड़ेगा presents leaving as a necessity I will have to accommodate.

These are useful contrasts, not a numerical scale that predicts every conversation. Tone, authority, and circumstances affect how an utterance is understood. A gentle sounding grammatical form can still function as a firm instruction. Practice the language of a situation without assuming the grammar alone describes someone’s freedom to choose.

A speaker can use the same grammatical form for a personal plan or an externally imposed requirement, so the surrounding facts matter. Saying मुझे जाना है does not identify whether an appointment, a personal choice, or another person’s instruction motivates the departure. If that distinction matters, add a separate explanation. In the exercises, the prompt deliberately states recommendation, schedule, or necessity. Those labels provide the missing context for learning the contrast. They are not a claim that a native listener could always assign exactly the same force to an isolated sentence without knowing the situation.

02 / Understand

Mark the person who has the obligation

The person who should or must act commonly appears with को, a postposition: a word placed after the noun or pronoun it relates to. For the speaker, use मुझे or मुझको; for “we,” use हमें or हमको. Names simply add को, as in रीना को. These forms identify the person affected by the obligation.

Do not put हूँ after the construction simply because the English sentence begins with I. The construction is organized differently. Compare wanting, where मैं जाना चाहता हूँ has ordinary subject agreement, with मुझे जाना है, where the action is something for me to do.

03 / Understand

Use an infinitive to name the required action

The infinitive, the dictionary form ending in ना, names the action under discussion: जाना “going” or पढ़ना “reading.” In an intransitive expression such as मुझे जाना है, one without an object, the infinitive keeps its default masculine singular form. With compound actions, retain the whole phrase, as in आराम करना “rest.”

After चाहिए, do not add a present auxiliary, a form of होना “be” such as है, merely by copying the wanting pattern. The usual present recommendation is complete without it. With a thing rather than an action, the same word expresses a need: मुझे पानी चाहिए “I need water.” The noun or infinitive tells you which construction you are reading.

An infinitive is a form of the verb, but in these patterns it works like a noun. That is why the construction can discuss an action as something required. Do not confuse this with the bare stem, the verb without ना, used before an ability verb. Compare मुझे जाना है with मैं जा सकता हूँ: the first names going as a task for me, while the second presents my ability to go. Both concern the same action, yet their subjects, action forms, and agreement differ. Practice the whole construction rather than swapping the final word and leaving everything else unchanged.

04 / Understand

Notice what controls infinitive agreement

In the standard pattern practiced here, a transitive infinitive, one with an object, can agree with that object when it is unmarked, that is, without को. Since किताब is feminine, मुझे किताब पढ़नी है has पढ़नी. A masculine speaker still uses this form because the book, not that speaker, controls the relevant agreement.

Usage varies in some infinitive agreement constructions, especially in speech. The examples and exercises use explicit standard agreeing forms and explain that target instead of declaring every default masculine alternative impossible. With a masculine plural object, compare ये पत्र पढ़ने हैं. Check both the infinitive ending and the form of होना.

An object marked with को changes the agreement problem. The clear introductory examples use unmarked objects so the standard agreeing infinitive is easy to observe. More complex sentences can contain marked objects, several participants, and variation in infinitive agreement. Do not generalize the book example into a rule that every nearby feminine noun forces every following verb into a feminine form. First identify the infinitive’s own object and its marking. If the structure is unfamiliar, use a simpler sentence with a known pattern before extending it. The point is to communicate the requirement accurately, not to maximize grammatical complexity.

05 / Understand

Move the obligation into past or future time

Add a past form after चाहिए to describe what should have happened: मुझे जाना चाहिए था. This commonly conveys an unfulfilled recommendation or retrospective judgment, but the context determines whether the action occurred. Do not infer a factual outcome solely from the English phrase should have.

With पड़ना, the verb itself can express a present recurring necessity, a past necessity, or a future necessity. Start with intransitive जाना: जाना पड़ता है, जाना पड़ा, and जाना पड़ेगा. The endings belong to the obligation construction; they do not match the gender of the person marked by को.

The past expression चाहिए था can support regret, criticism, or a calm evaluation after the event. Its grammar alone does not tell you the speaker’s attitude, and a learner should avoid assuming that every use is accusatory. Add a reason or a neutral time reference when practicing. With recurring necessity, the habitual form पड़ता है presents the requirement as a repeated situation, not as one completed demand. Reconstruct the same obligation as one event yesterday and as a regular weekly requirement to see why the tense and the aspect, the way the verb presents the action, need to change even though the action remains identical.

06 / Understand

Keep negative advice distinct from no obligation

नहीं जाना चाहिए means “should not go,” a recommendation against leaving. It does not mean there is no need to leave. To remove a requirement, a clear expression is जाना ज़रूरी नहीं है “going is not necessary.” This distinction matters when someone is deciding whether attendance is optional.

Do not use the prohibition word मत inside an ordinary statement about your own obligation. If you address a listener directly with an imperative, the verb form for telling someone what to do, you have changed constructions. Explain the intended force first: advice against an action, absence of a requirement, or a direct instruction.

07 / Understand

Turn a rule into a helpful exchange

Ask क्या करना चाहिए? to seek advice about an action. Ask कब जाना है? to identify the scheduled time for leaving. The first leaves the action open; the second assumes leaving is relevant and requests its time. Match the question to the information actually missing.

The practice challenge moves from identifying the person to explaining a choice of necessity. Read the scenario before comparing forms. In your own production, include a reason or time so a listener can distinguish a suggestion from a fixed arrangement. Compare your answer with the model for meaning as well as endings.

Notice the difference

Common mistakes

From understanding to using

Make your own example.

Try these without answer choices. Say your answer aloud or write it below, then compare your reasoning with the model.