Grammar Notes 7.2: Dative Subject Construction II in Hindi
Hindi Dative Subject Construction is also used to express ‘cost,’ and ‘time’. The construction is composed of a subject + को cost/time लगना, which are illustrated in the following. Pay attention to the fact that the verb agrees with the time/cost in number and gender (happens to be the masculine), and the tense is shown in the verb.
मुझे स्कूल बस से जाने में बीस मिनट लगते हैं।
It takes me twenty minutes to go to school by bus.
मूवि टिकट ख़रीदने में आम तौर से सात डालर लगते हैं।
It costs $7 to buy a movie ticket.
पूरी किताब पढ़ने में तीन घंटे लगेंगे।
It will take three hours to read the whole book.
उसे आइ-पॉड ख़रीदने में चार सौ डालर लगे।
It took him/her $400 to buy the iPod.
(Ex. 2.1.) Fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms.
- It cost me $500 to purchase the laptop.
मुझे लैपटॉप ख़रीदने में ( ) । - How much time does it take to go to Chicago from St.Paul?.
सैंट पॉल से शिकागो गाड़ी से जाने में ( )? - It takes 20 minutes to make tea.
चाय बनाने में ( ) । - It used to take him 1 hour to read a newspaper.
उन्हें अखबार पढ़ने में ( ) । - It took a year to build the house/to have the house built.
पूरा मकान बनवाने में ( ) । - It will take at least two years to learn Hindi.
हिंदी सीखने में कम से कम ( ) ।
