Hindi Grammar Complete Guide - Verbs, Tenses, and Noun Cases

Hindi Grammar Complete Guide

This comprehensive guide covers the essential aspects of Hindi grammar, including verb conjugation, noun cases, pronouns, and tense formation.

Pronouns (Sarvanaam)

First Person

| Hindi | Transliteration | Meaning | |——-|—————–|———| | मैं | main | I | | हम | ham | We |

Second Person

| Hindi | Transliteration | Usage | |——-|—————–|——-| | तू | too | You (Intimate) - for close friends, children | | तुम | tum | You (Informal) - casual, friendly | | आप | aap | You (Formal) - respectful |

Third Person

| Hindi | Transliteration | Meaning | |——-|—————–|———| | यह | yah | He/She/It/This (near) | | वह | vah | He/She/It/That (far) | | ये | ye | These/They (near) | | वे | ve | Those/They (far) |

The Verb “To Be” (होना - honaa)

Present Tense

| Subject | Verb | Example | |———|——|———| | मैं | हूँ (hoon) | मैं हूँ - I am | | हम | हैं (hain) | हम हैं - We are | | तू | है (hai) | तू है - You are (intimate) | | तुम | हो (ho) | तुम हो - You are (casual) | | आप | हैं (hain) | आप हैं - You are (formal) | | यह/वह | है (hai) | यह है - He/She/It is | | ये/वे | हैं (hain) | वे हैं - They are |

Key Pattern:

• हैं (hain) = plural or honorific “are”
• है (hai) = singular third person “is”
• हूँ (hoon) = “I am”
• हो (ho) = informal “you are”

Past Tense (थे - the)

| Form | Usage | Example | |——|——-|———| | था (thaa) | Masculine Singular | मैं घर पर था (I was at home - male) | | थे (the) | Masculine Plural/Honorific | आप कहाँ थे? (Where were you?) | | थी (thee) | Feminine Singular | वह थी (She was) | | थीं (theen) | Feminine Plural | वे थीं (They were - female) |

Example: ओबामा भारत में थे (Obama was in India) - uses थे for honorific

Gender in Hindi

Basic Pattern

• Masculine singular: ends in -आ (aa)
• Masculine plural: ends in -ए (e)
• Feminine: ends in -ई (ee)

Example with करना (karnaa - to do):

• करता (karataa) - masculine singular
• करते (karate) - masculine plural
• करती (karatee) - feminine

Nouns (Sangya)

Masculine Nouns

• Usually end in -आ (aa): लड़का (larkaa - boy), केला (kelaa - banana)
• Exceptions: पलंग (palang - bed), सेब (seb - apple), घर (ghar - house)

Feminine Nouns

• Usually end in -ई (ee): चाबी (chaabee - key), मछली (machlee - fish)
• Exceptions: मेज़ (mez - table), किताब (kitaab - book), माता (maataa - mother)

Plural Formation

Type	Singular → Plural	Example
Masculine -aa	aa → e	कुत्ता → कुत्ते (dog → dogs)
Masculine other	No change	अख़बार → अख़बार (newspaper)
Feminine -ee	ee → iyan	मछली → मछलियाँ (fish)
Feminine other	+ en	मेज़ → मेज़ें (table)

Oblique Case (Postposition Case)

When nouns combine with postpositions, they change form:

Masculine Type 1 (ending in -aa)

• Singular: aa → e (लड़का → लड़के)
• Plural: e → on (लड़के → लड़कों)

Masculine Type 2 (not ending in -aa)

• Singular: No change (पलंग)
• Plural: + on (पलंग → पलंगों)

Feminine Type 1 (ending in -ee)

• Singular: No change (चाबी)
• Plural: iyaan → iyon (चाबियाँ → चाबियों)

Feminine Type 2 (not ending in -ee)

• Singular: No change (किताब)
• Plural: en → on (किताबें → किताबों)

Postpositions

Hindi	Transliteration	Meaning	Example
में	men	In	घर में (ghar men - in the house)
पर	par	On, at	किताब मेज़ पर है (book is on the table)
से	se	From	घर से (from the house)
को	ko	To	मुझको (to me)

Verb Tenses

Quick Reference

| Suffix | Meaning | |——–|———| | -ता (taa) | Present tense (habitual) | | -गा (gaa) | Future tense | | -ना (naa) | Infinitive | | -रहा (rahaa) | Progressive | | -या, -दिया, -गया | Past tense |

Present Tense (Habitual)

Pattern: Verb stem + ता/ती/ते + हूँ/है/हैं

Hindi	Transliteration	Meaning
मैं करता हूँ	main kartaa hoon	I do (male)
मैं करती हूँ	main kartee hoon	I do (female)
आप करते हैं	aap karte hain	You do (formal)

Present Progressive

Pattern: Verb stem + रहा/रही/रहे + हूँ/है/हैं

Hindi	Example
रहा (rahaa)	मैं पाकिस्तान जा रहा हूँ (I am going to Pakistan - male)
रहे (rahe)	हम लिख रहे हैं (We are writing)
रही (rahee)	तुम बोल रही हो (You are speaking - female)

Past Tense

Pattern 1 - Simple Past (ya):

• जाना → गया (went) - irregular
• चलना → चला गया (walked away)

Pattern 2 - Past Perfect (दिया/लिया):

• दिया (diyaa - gave): करना → कर दिया (did, completed)
• लिया (liyaa - took): खाना → खा लिया (ate, finished eating)

Future Tense

The verb ending changes based on person and gender:

Person	Masculine	Feminine
मैं	-ऊँगा (-oongaa)	-ऊँगी (-oongee)
हम	-एँगे (-enge)	-एँगी (-engee)
तू	-एगा (-egaa)	-एगी (-egee)
तुम	-ओगे (-oge)	-ओगी (-ogee)
आप/वे	-एँगे (-enge)	-एँगी (-engee)

Example: मैं काम करूँगा (main kaam karoonga - I will work)

Modal Verbs (Can)

सकना (saknaa) - can/able to

Example:

• सीमा हिन्दी बोल सकती है (Seema can speak Hindi)
• तुम वह नहीं खा सकती (You can’t eat that)

Imperative (Commands)

Add इए (ie) to verb stem:

• खाना → खाइए (Please eat)
• सेब को खाइए (Please eat the apple)

Irregular imperatives: | Infinitive | Imperative | |————|————| | करना (to do) | कीजिए (please do) | | लेना (to take) | लीजिए (please take) | | देना (to give) | दीजिए (please give) | | पीना (to drink) | पीजिए (please drink) |

Possessive Pronouns

का (kaa) - “of”

Changes based on the following noun:

• का (kaa) - masculine singular
• के (ke) - masculine plural
• की (kee) - feminine

Examples:

• बिल्ली का खाना (billee kaa khaanaa - The cat’s food)
• नेहा की बेटी (nehaa kee betee - Neha’s daughter)

अपना (apnaa) - “one’s own”

मैं अपना पानी पीती हूँ (I drink my water)

Special Words

कुछ (kuch) - Something/Some (plural)

• कुछ पलंग पर है (Something is on the bed)
• कुछ लड़के केले खाते हैं (Some boys eat bananas)

कोई (koee) - Someone/Some (singular)

• कोई पलंग पर है (Someone is on the bed)
• कोई लड़का खाना खा रहा है (Some boy is eating food)

In oblique case: कोई → किसी (kisee)

• किसी ने शब्दकोश ख़रीदा (Someone bought a dictionary)

ही (hee) - Only/Just

Combines with pronouns:

• हम + ही = हमीं (just us)
• उस + ही = उसी (just him/her)

Urdu Influence

Words with dots (nuqta) are often from Urdu:

• दरवाज़ा (darvaazaa - door) - z sound
• अख़बार (akhbaar - newspaper) - kh sound
• सब्ज़ी (sabzee - vegetable) - z sound

Useful Expressions

Hindi	Meaning
कर दिया गया है	Has been done
के लिए	For (2 दिनों के लिए - for 2 days)
करने के लिए	In order to do
करते रहें	Keep doing
मिलते हैं	Let’s meet
चलिए	Let’s go

This guide covers the fundamental grammar concepts needed to start communicating in Hindi. Practice these patterns regularly and you’ll build a strong foundation for fluency.