When to use it
Use it when someone explains directions or a procedure too fast and you want to hear it again.
The sentence in English (“I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?”)
In “I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?” the first clause is a past negative with ‘did not’; the second puts ‘can’ before ‘you’.
- 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 Urdu (“مجھے ہدایات سمجھ نہیں آئیں، کیا آپ دہرا سکتے ہیں؟”)
In “مجھے ہدایات سمجھ نہیں آئیں، کیا آپ دہرا سکتے ہیں؟” the first clause literally says ‘the instructions did not come into understanding to me’, the everyday Urdu way to say ‘I didn't understand’. ‘آئیں’ is feminine plural for ‘ہدایات’ (instructions).
- مجھے
- pronounمیں + کو; with سمجھ آنا, the one who understands
- ہدایات
- nounfeminine plural noun 'instructions'
- سمجھ
- nounfeminine noun 'understanding'; سمجھ آنا = 'to make sense'
- نہیں
- adverbnegation
- آئیں
- verbآنا · aspect: perfective · gender: feminine · number: plural · feminine plural for ہدایات
- کیا
- particlequestion particle, second clause
- آپ
- pronounpolite 'you'
- دہرا
- verbدہرانا · form: stem · stem of دہرانا 'to repeat'
- سکتے
- auxiliary verbسکنا · gender: masculine · number: plural (respect) · for آپ
- ہیں
- auxiliary verbہونا · tense: present · number: plural · with آپ
What changes from one language to the other (English × Urdu)
English makes the person the subject; Urdu makes the instructions the subject with ‘مجھے’. English needs ‘did’ for the negative, Urdu only ‘نہیں’.
Example conversation
— مجھے ہدایات سمجھ نہیں آئیں، کیا آپ دہرا سکتے ہیں؟
— I didn't understand the instructions, can you repeat?
— ضرور، میں آہستہ آہستہ بتاتا ہوں۔
— Of course, I'll say it more slowly.