When to use it
Use it when someone explained too quickly, such as how a ticket machine works.
The sentence in English: “I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?”
In “I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?” ‘didn't’ negates the past and ‘-s’ marks the plural.
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- didn't
- contractiondo · tense: past · contraction of "did not"; makes the negative in the past
- understand
- verbunderstand · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after "didn't" the verb stays in its base form
- the
- determinerdefinite article
- instructions
- nounplural noun
- can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission
- you
- pronounpersonal pronoun
- repeat
- verbrepeat · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · main verb after "can"
The sentence in Marathi: “मला सूचना समजल्या नाहीत, पुन्हा सांगाल का?”
In “मला सूचना समजल्या नाहीत, पुन्हा सांगाल का?” the verb ‘समजल्या’ (were understood) agrees with ‘सूचना’ (instructions, feminine plural), not with the speaker. ‘पुन्हा सांगाल’ (will you tell again) is ‘repeat’.
- मला
- pronoun'to me': the one who understands
- सूचना
- noun'instructions'; feminine, same form in plural
- समजल्या
- verbsamajṇe · tense: past · gender: feminine plural · agrees with sūcanā (feminine plural)
- नाहीत
- auxiliary verbnasṇe · number: plural · negative, plural
- पुन्हा
- adverb'again'
- सांगाल
- verbsāṅgṇe · tense: future · person: 2nd, respectful · punhā sāṅgāl = will you repeat
- का
- particlesoftens the request
What changes from one language to the other: English × Marathi
English ties the verb to ‘I’; Marathi to the thing understood.
Example conversation
— मला सूचना समजल्या नाहीत, पुन्हा सांगाल का?
— I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?
— हो, सावकाश सांगतो.
— Of course, I'll go slowly.