1.  hús:ð eb:n:a t:að ej:y:a n:hiø j:a s:kt:a.
      'A man cannot live without laughing.'

      (from Chapter Twenty-one of  )ðm:c:nd's  g:aðdan:. See context.)
However, unlike most postpositions in Hindi-Urdu,  eb:n:a is also used as a preposition:
  2.  unhaðøn:ð p:Økara --  z:ra s:Øen:O,  em:z:aüj:i,  Aap: t:að B:ag:ð j:a rhð hòø.
    em:z:aüj:i n:ð eb:n:a ,kñ hØO j:v:ab: edy:a --  v:h ^:rib: b:aðJ: el:y:ð Et:n:i t:ðz:i s:ð c:l:a j:a rha hò.
      'He called out, "Listen, would you, Mirza Ji? You are (practically) running!"
      Without stopping Mirza Ji answered, "That poor man is running so fast (and he is) carrying all (our) stuff."'

      (from Chapter Seven of  g:aðdan:. See context.)
      eb:n:a is especially likely to appear as a preposition (rather then as a postposition) if its object is an entire clause, as in (3):

  3.  us: p:r B:i t:Ü eb:n:a ds: g:al:i edy:ð raðXi n: dðt:i T:i.
      'Even so you wouldn't give me food without giving a dozen curses as well.'

       (from Chapter Four of  g:aðdan:. See context.)
If the subject of a  eb:n:a-clause differs from the subject of the main clause, it is expressed as the possessor of V-O:
  4.  edn:-rat: t:Ømhara Dy:an: hò,  eb:n:a t:Ømharð em:l:ð un:kað kb: Aaram: hò ?
      'Day and night he thinks of you. How can he be at rest without having you?'

      (from  b:y:an: Four of Part One of  K:*:i's  c:ndÒkant:a.)

      V-O eb:n:a is often used with another negated verb (in a construction parallel to the V-nakute naranai / ikenai of colloquial Japanese) as a double negative in the meaning of 'have to V' or 'must':

  5.  Aaòr g:y:ð eb:n:a kam: n:hiø c:l:t:a.
      'And she had to go.' (Lit: 'Without going it would not be okay.')

      (from Chapter Seven of  g:aðdan:. See context.)

  6.  eb:n: m:ðrð s:t:ay:ð n: b:n:ð
      'She must torture me.' (Lit: 'May she be unable not to torture me.')

      (from a  ^:z:l: by  ^:ael:b:. See context.)

For more examples of this use of  V-O eb:n:a, see notes on the passive of incapacity.

      A related idiom is the use of  V-O eb:n:a  with the negated form of either  rh  or  Cað_  to express determination or ineluctability:

  7. b:ij: Aødr p:_a,  t:að AúK:ØAa en:kl:ð eb:n:a n:hiø rht:a.
      'Once the seed's gone in, there's no way the shoot's not gonna come out!'

       (from Chapter Twenty-seven of  g:aðdan:. See context.)

  8. g:eN:t: kñ keYn: s:ð keYn: )Sn: Vy:aðø n: hað, . . .  j:y:dðv: eb:n:a us:ð s:Øl:J:aO Cað_t:a n: T:a.
      'No matter how hard the math problem might be, Jayadeva never failed to solve it.' (= 'never left it unsolved.')

      (from the story  ev:Rmb:n:a by  n:rðndÓ kÙm:ar es:nha.  See context.)
For discussion of constructions convergent with this one see the notes on compound-compound verbs and notes on V-kr rh- .

To exercise on V-O eb:n:a.

 Other sections dealing with negation:

        1.  V-n:ðv:al:a  to express disapproval, disbelief, defiance or denial.
        2.  m:j:al: hò !  Warning and warding off.
        3.  rha n:hiø j:at:a H  Passive of incapacity
        4.  b:n:aO n: b:n:ð H  Paired verbs and incapacity.
        5.  j:an:ð ka n:am: n:hiø l:ðt:a H  Empahtic negation.

To index of grammatical notes.

To index of  m:lhar

First drafted and posted in Jan 2001.  Reformatted in Oct 2001.  IE-enabled 15 June 2002. Augmented 30 June 2004. Cross-referenced 22 Aug 2004.