I would like to apologize profusely for my lengthy absence from this blog, and would like to really drop it like it's hot now that I am back. So here is my MySpace with music I've written in English/Hindi, my YouTube with makeshift accompanying videos, and my Twitter where I'll provide updates -- BollyHindi-instructive, as well as self-promotional. ;) I also plan to include some Podcasts and/or video blogs to facilitate the understanding of the pronunciation.

Today's lesson will be inspired by the Twitter prompt, "What are you doing?" In the lesson inspired by Main Hoon Na, we had explored pronouns, and forms of "hona," to be. The construction of the query "What are you doing?" looks a bit complicated in the present continuous tense of Hindi, but let's break it down, in order of diminishing respect for the recipient of the query (check the color coding to match the corresponding parts of the sentence!).

Aap kya kar rahe hain? (Masculine)/ Aap kya kar rahi hain? (Feminine)
Tum kya kar rahe ho? (Masculine)/ Tum kya kar rahi ho? (Feminine)
Tu kya kar raha hai? (Masculine)/ Tu kya kar rahi hai? (Feminine)

Karna = to do/make, but in Hindi we are more fancy than merely adding an "-ing" sort of thing to form our present continuous tense. We do the verb root + appropriate form of rahna (= literally to stay) + form of hona.

So, tum kya kar rahe/i ho? Mujhe tweet karo. (Tweet me; literally to me tweet do.)