जाना With Transitive Verbs

In Hindi, compound verbs are very common. The verb जाना (“to go”) is very often used to make compound verbs. However, it is usually used with intransitive verbs, e.g. वह कुर्सी पर बैठ गया – “He sat down on the chair”.

However, it can be used with transitive verbs to intensify the action of the verb. Consider a few examples:

भूखा लड़का खाना ऐसे खा गया जैसे कि उसने कई दिनों से कुछ नहीं खाया हो – “The hungry boy devoured the food as if he hadn’t eaten anything for days”
मुझे इतनी प्यास लगी थी कि मैं एक सांस में पूरा पानी पी गया – “I was so thirsty that I drank all the water in one breath!”
सांप अपना शिकार निगल गया – “The snake swallowed up its prey”

This idiom can only be used with certain verbs. It is especially used with verbs related to eating or drinking.

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