Talking About the Past

This unit covers talking about the past in Bengali. You will learn the simple past tense with -lam/-le/-len endings, the past continuous with -chilam, and common time expressions such as gotokal (yesterday) and goto shoptahe (last week). Narrating sequences of events is essential for reporting, briefing, and sharing experiences in diplomatic and professional settings.

Basic Sentences

Bengali (romanized)	English
Aami gotokal Dhaka-e gelam.	I went to Dhaka yesterday.
Apni ki korlen?	What did you do?
Se bhat khaalo.	He/She ate rice.
Aamra gotokal kaaj korlam.	We worked yesterday.
Tara kothay chhilo?	Where were they?
Aami ekhon kaaj korchhilam.	I was working (earlier).
Goto shoptahe apni kothay gelen?	Where did you go last week?
Prothom aami bhat khaalam, tarpor gelam.	First I ate rice, then I went.
Gotokal bhor belay aami uthlam.	I woke up early yesterday morning.
Se kothay chhilo gotokal?	Where was he/she yesterday?

Key Vocabulary

Bengali	English
korlam	I did
korle	you did (informal)
korlen	you did (formal)
korlo	he/she did
korlam	we did
korlen	you all did (formal)
korlo	they did
korchilam	I was doing
korchile	you were doing
korchilen	you were doing (formal)
korchilo	he/she was doing
gotokal	yesterday
goto shoptahe	last week
goto maashe	last month
prothom	first
tarpor	then, after that
bhor belay	in the morning
gelam	I went
khaalam	I ate
uthlam	I woke up
chhilo	was/were

Grammar Notes

Simple Past Tense: korlam, korle, korlen

The simple past is formed by adding -lam (1st person), -le/-len (2nd person), or -lo (3rd person) to the verb stem.

• Aami korlam – I did
• Tumi korle – You did (informal)
• Apni korlen – You did (formal)
• Se korlo – He/She did
• Aamra korlam – We did
• Tara korlo – They did

Past Continuous: korchilam

The past continuous uses -chilam/-chile/-chilen/-chilo to indicate an action that was in progress at a past time.

• Aami korchilam – I was doing
• Apni korchilen – You were doing (formal)
• Se korchilo – He/She was doing
• Tara korchilo – They were doing

Time Expressions: gotokal, goto shoptahe

• gotokal – yesterday
• goto shoptahe – last week
• goto maashe – last month
• bhor belay – in the morning
• bikal belay – in the afternoon
• raat-e – at night

Narrating Sequences of Events

Use prothom (first), tarpor (then), sheshe (finally) to order events:

• Prothom aami bhat khaalam. Tarpor kaaj korlam. Sheshe ghar-e gelam. – First I ate rice. Then I worked. Finally I went home.

Drills

Drill 1: Simple Past Conjugation

Person	Bengali	English
1st sing.	Aami gelam	I went
2nd formal	Apni gelen	You went
3rd	Se gelo	He/She went
1st pl.	Aamra gelam	We went
3rd pl.	Tara gelo	They went

Drill 2: Time Expressions

Bengali	English
Gotokal ki korlen?	What did you do yesterday?
Goto shoptahe kothay gelen?	Where did you go last week?
Bhor belay uthlen?	Did you wake up in the morning?
Raat-e khaalen?	Did you eat at night?

Drill 3: Past Continuous

Bengali	English
Aami kaaj korchilam.	I was working.
Se porchhilo.	He/She was reading.
Tara kothay thakchilo?	Where were they staying?
Apni ki korchilen?	What were you doing?

Drill 4: Sequence of Events

Bengali	English
Prothom bhat khaalam, tarpor gelam.	First I ate rice, then I went.
Gotokal prothom uthlam, tarpor snan korlam.	Yesterday I first woke up, then bathed.
Se prothom kaaj korlo, sheshe ghar-e gelo.	He/She first worked, finally went home.

Narrative

Gotokal aami bhor belay uthlam. Prothom snan korlam, tarpor bhat khaalam. Tarpor kaaj-e gelam. Kaaj korchilam goto dupur porjonto. Sheshe bikal belay ghar-e phirlam. Raat-e ekta boi porchhi. Bhalo din chhilo.

Yesterday I woke up in the morning. First I bathed, then I ate rice. Then I went to work. I was working until afternoon. Finally I returned home in the evening. At night I read a book. It was a good day.