Expressing Past Presumption with Past

Here's the twist that trips people up: we use the Future Tense helper verbs (hoga, hogi, honge) to talk about the Past.

Wait, what? Future for Past? Yes. Think of it logically. You are making a *prediction* or a *calculation* right now about a past event. It's like saying, "It will be the case that he went."

So, we combine the Past Participle of the verb (like gaya, khaya, dekha) with the future form of "to be" (hoga).

1. 1Find the Verb Stem: Take the verb (e.g., bolna -> bol).
2. 2Make it Past: Change it to its past form (bola, gaya, aaya).
3. 3Add the Presumption: Add hoga, hogi, or honge.
4. 4The Golden Rule of Ne:
5. 5Since this uses the Past Perfective aspect, the transitive verb rule applies! If the verb takes an object (like eating, seeing, reading), you must use ne with the subject, and the verb/helper agrees with the object.
6. 6* Intransitive (No ne): Subject + Past Participle + hoga/hogi/honge (Matches Subject).
7. 7* Transitive (With ne): Subject ne + Object + Past Participle + hoga/hogi/honge (Matches Object).

• Deducing facts: "He isn't answering. He must have gone to sleep." (Vah so gaya hoga).
• Reconstructing events: "The road is wet. It must have rained." (Baarish hui hogi).
• Gossip: "She probably told him everything." (Usne sab bata diya hoga).
• Searching for lost items: "I must have left my keys in the car."

• Stating facts: If you *saw* him go, just use Simple Past (Vah gaya). Don't complicate it.
• Talking about the future: This specific structure is for *past* events. Don't use it to predict tomorrow's weather.
• Wild guesses: If you have zero clue, use shayad (maybe) with the subjunctive. This structure implies you have some evidence or strong belief.

• Forgetting ne: This is the big one. Saying Vah khana khaya hoga is wrong. It must be Usne khana khaya hoga.
• Wrong Agreement: In transitive sentences, looking at the subject instead of the object. If Raam ate roti (feminine), the verb is khayi hogi, not khaya hoga.
• Overusing it: Using it for things you personally witnessed. It sounds weird, like you don't trust your own eyes.

• vs. chuka hoga: chuka hoga is Future Perfect ("He will have finished by tomorrow"). gaya hoga is Past Presumption ("He must have gone yesterday"). Context is key, though they look similar.
• vs. shayad + Past: Shayad vah gaya is "Maybe he went." Vah gaya hoga is "He *must* have gone." The latter is more confident.

Q: Can I use this for "might have"?

Yes, intonation changes it from "must" to "might." Add shayad at the start to make it weaker.

Q: Why do I hear tha sometimes?

tha is for definite past. hoga is for presumed past. Stick to hoga for guessing.