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B1 pronoun 4 min read

जिसने

jisne

When we want to say 'who' in Hindi and that 'who' is doing an action, we often use जिसने (jisne). This word is special because it tells us that the person is actively performing the verb.

Think of it like this: if someone 'drank' or 'ate', जिसने (jisne) would be the 'who' doing that drinking or eating. It's an important word to show who is responsible for an action in a sentence.

When we use the pronoun "जिसने" (jisne), we're talking about someone who performed an action, and that action often has a direct object. Think of it like saying "the one who did X." This form is used with transitive verbs in the perfective aspect, which means the action is completed. It's an ergative construction, so the subject (the one who did it) is marked with "ne."

For example, if you say "जिसने किताब पढ़ी" (jisne kitaab paṛhī), you're literally saying "the one by whom the book was read," but it means "the one who read the book." The "ne" here highlights the agent of the action. It's crucial to understand that "जिसने" refers to a singular subject.

Practice it Notes & Tips

जिसने in 30 Seconds

  • Ergative pronoun
  • Subject marker
  • Transitive verbs

Alright, let's talk about 'जिसने' (jisne). We've covered what it means – 'who' (ergative), marking the agent of an action. Now, let's get into how it fits with other words and when you should absolutely use 'जिसने' instead of something else.

The key thing to remember about 'जिसने' is that it's for relative clauses and it takes an ergative case. This means the subject of the verb in the relative clause performs the action and that action is often transitive (it has a direct object). This is crucial for understanding when to use it.

§ Jisne vs. Jo: The Ergative Difference

The most common confusion is between 'जिसने' (jisne) and 'जो' (jo). They both mean 'who' or 'which', but their grammatical roles are different.

DEFINITION
जो (jo): This is the general relative pronoun for 'who' or 'which'. It's used when the subject of the relative clause is in the nominative case (doesn't take an ergative marker). This happens with intransitive verbs (verbs that don't take a direct object) or with certain transitive verbs in specific tenses (like the present or future).

वह आदमी जो कल आया था, मेरा भाई है। (That man who came yesterday is my brother.)

Here, 'आया था' (came) is an intransitive verb, so 'जो' is used. The man is simply 'who came', not 'who did something to something else'.

DEFINITION
जिसने (jisne): As you know, this is for 'who' (ergative). You use it when the subject of the relative clause is performing an action on an object in a past tense, perfective aspect. Think of it as 'who did' or 'who made'.

वह लड़की जिसने खाना बनाया, मेरी दोस्त है। (That girl who cooked the food is my friend.)

Here, 'खाना बनाया' (cooked the food) is a transitive verb in the past tense, perfective aspect, and 'जिसने' marks the agent (the girl who did the cooking).

§ Jisne with other case markers

Just like 'जो' can combine with other postpositions to form different meanings (जैसे 'जिसको', 'जिससे', 'जिसमें'), 'जिसने' is already a combination of 'जो' + 'ने' (the ergative marker). So you won't combine 'जिसने' with 'ने' again. However, the root 'जिस' can combine with other postpositions if the 'who' is not the agent but experiencing something else or is in a different relationship to the verb.

  • जिसको (jisko): 'To whom' or 'whom' (dative/accusative). Used when the 'who' is the indirect or direct object of the verb.

यह वह आदमी है जिसको मैंने किताब दी। (This is the man to whom I gave the book.)

  • जिससे (jisse): 'From whom', 'with whom', or 'by whom' (ablative/instrumental).

वह महिला जिससे मैंने बात की, बहुत अच्छी थी। (The woman with whom I spoke was very nice.)

  • जिसका/जिसकी/जिसके (jiska/jiski/jiske): 'Whose' (possessive).

वह बच्चा जिसकी माँ यहाँ है, मेरा रिश्तेदार है। (That child whose mother is here, is my relative.)

§ When to stick with Jisne

Always use 'जिसने' when you have a relative clause where the 'who' is the agent of a transitive verb in a perfective tense. There's no real alternative for this specific grammatical situation.

  • If the action is completed.
  • If the action has a direct object.
  • If the subject is doing the action.

For example, if you want to say, 'The student who wrote the letter...' you must use 'जिसने' because 'लिखा' (wrote) is a transitive verb in the perfective aspect, and the student is the agent.

छात्र जिसने पत्र लिखा, बहुत होशियार है। (The student who wrote the letter is very smart.)

Trying to use 'जो' here would be grammatically incorrect because 'जो' doesn't carry the ergative meaning. You would end up with something like 'The student who letter wrote', which doesn't make sense in Hindi.

In summary, while 'जो' is the more general 'who/which', 'जिसने' steps in specifically when that 'who' is performing a completed, transitive action in the past. Understanding the ergative case and perfective aspect is your roadmap here.

Tips

Ergative Case Explained

In Hindi, the 'ergative' case marks the doer of an action, especially in past tenses with transitive verbs. 'जिसने' is the ergative form of 'who'.

Transitive Verbs and 'ने'

You'll almost always see 'जिसने' with a transitive verb (a verb that takes a direct object, like 'eat,' 'see,' 'write') in the past tense. The 'ने' attached to 'जिस' is the ergative marker.

Agreement with Object

When 'जिसने' is used, the verb agrees with the object of the sentence, not with 'जिसने'. This is a key difference from English.

Singular vs. Plural

'जिसने' is used for a singular 'who'. For plural, you would use 'जिन्होंने'.

Pronoun, Not Question Word

Remember, 'जिसने' is a relative pronoun, connecting clauses. It's not a question word like 'कौन' (who?).

Example 1: Simple Sentence

यह वो आदमी है जिसने खाना खाया। (This is the man who ate the food.) Here, 'खाया' (ate) agrees with 'खाना' (food), which is masculine singular.

Example 2: Different Object

वह लड़की है जिसने किताब पढ़ी। (That is the girl who read the book.) 'पढ़ी' (read) agrees with 'किताब' (book), feminine singular.

Common Mistake: 'कौन' vs. 'जिसने'

Don't confuse 'जिसने' with 'कौन'. 'कौन' asks 'who?', while 'जिसने' means 'the one who did something'.

Subordinate Clauses

'जिसने' often introduces a subordinate clause that describes a noun in the main clause, similar to 'who' or 'that' in English relative clauses.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Imagine a detective saying, "Just 'ne' (जैसे ने) got the culprit! Who did it? JIN-SE (जिसने)!" This helps you remember that 'जिसने' means 'who' and emphasizes the 'ne' for the ergative case.

Visual Association

Picture a person (the 'who') actively doing something, like painting a picture or building a house. Connect this active agent with the word 'जिसने'. You could even imagine a giant spotlight shining on the person, highlighting 'who' is performing the action.

Word Web

उसने (usne) - He/she (ergative) किसने (kisne) - Who (ergative - interrogative) जिसको (jis ko) - To whom (dative) जिसका (jis kā) - Whose (genitive) जो (jo) - Who/which (nominative)

Challenge

Try to identify 'जिसने' in sentences and then translate them. For example: 'जिसने खाना बनाया, वह मेरा दोस्त है।' (The person who cooked the food, he is my friend.) Or, 'जिसने किताब पढ़ी, उसने बहुत कुछ सीखा।' (The person who read the book, he learned a lot.) Then, try to construct your own sentences using 'जिसने' to describe actions performed by people.

Test Yourself 6 questions

multiple choice C2

उसने कहानी सुनाई ___ पुरस्कार जीता। (He told a story ___ won a prize.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: जिसने

Here, 'जिसने' acts as the ergative marker for the agent ('he') who won the prize, connecting it to the previous clause.

multiple choice C2

वह छात्र ___ परीक्षा पास की, अब विश्वविद्यालय जाएगा। (That student ___ passed the exam, will now go to university.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: जिसने

The student is the agent performing the action of passing the exam, so 'जिसने' is the correct ergative pronoun.

multiple choice C2

पुलिस ने उस चोर को पकड़ा ___ मेरा बटुआ चुराया था। (The police caught that thief ___ stole my wallet.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: जिसने

'जिसने' is used here to indicate the thief as the agent of the action 'stole my wallet'.

true false C2

जिसने' का प्रयोग केवल उन वाक्यों में होता है जहाँ क्रिया सकर्मक हो। ('जिसने' is used only in sentences where the verb is transitive.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: True

In Hindi, the ergative marker 'ने' (and thus 'जिसने') is used with transitive verbs in perfective aspects to mark the agent.

true false C2

जिसने' हमेशा वाक्य की शुरुआत में आता है। ('जिसने' always comes at the beginning of a sentence.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: False

'जिसने' is a relative pronoun and often appears in the middle of a sentence, connecting a relative clause to a main clause.

true false C2

उसने किताब लिखी जिसने बहुत प्रशंसा पाई। (He wrote the book which received much praise.) - इस वाक्य में 'जिसने' सही ढंग से प्रयुक्त हुआ है। (In this sentence, 'जिसने' is used correctly.)

Correct! Not quite. Correct answer: False

In this sentence, 'जिसने' is incorrectly used. It should be 'जिसने' if referring to 'he' as the agent, but here 'which received praise' refers to the book, not the writer. It should be 'जिसे बहुत प्रशंसा मिली' or 'जिसको बहुत प्रशंसा मिली' if referring to the book, or if the praise was 'from him' then 'जिसने बहुत प्रशंसा दी'.

/ 6 correct

Perfect score!

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