Hindi Essential grammar

Abbreviations used in this guide

Each example below has three parts: the original text, a literal gloss describing how every word works, and a natural translation. The glosses use a few shorthand labels so they stay short. Don't worry about memorising them — this is a reference you can come back to.

Person and number · 1sg / 2sg / 3sg — first / second / third person singular (I, you, he/she/it) · 1pl / 2pl / 3pl — first / second / third person plural (we, you-all, they)

Gender · M / F — masculine / feminine · sg / pl — singular / plural · M.sg — combined: masculine singular (and similarly F.pl, etc.)

Case and postpositions · DIR — direct case (subject of intransitive/habitual verb, default citation form) · OBL — oblique case (noun form used before any postposition) · ERG — ergative marker ne (marks the agent of a perfective transitive verb) · DAT/ACC — dative/accusative postposition ko (marks recipients and some definite objects) · GEN — genitive postposition kā/ke/kī (possession, 'of') · INS/ABL — instrumental/ablative postposition se ('from', 'by', 'with') · LOC — locative postpositions meṁ ('in/at') and par ('on/at')

Tense and aspect · HAB — habitual (present or past: 'reads every day', 'used to read') · PROG — progressive (action in progress: 'is reading') · PERF — perfective (completed action) · FUT — future · INF — infinitive / verbal noun (the -nā form: paṛhnā 'to read')

Politeness levels · INT — intimate address tū (very informal, close family or animals) · FAM — familiar address tum (friends, younger people) · HON — honorific address āp (strangers, elders, formal contexts)

Other · NEG — negation · SOV — subject–object–verb word order · AUX — auxiliary verb · AGR — agreement (verb agrees with subject or object in gender/number) · M.F. — label showing which gender form is used in an example

Devanagari script

Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida — a system where each basic symbol represents a consonant with an inherent short vowel a (called the schwa). To write a different vowel after the consonant, you attach a diacritic called a matra; to write no vowel at all (a bare consonant), you attach a small mark called a halant (्). Every syllable hangs from a horizontal bar called a mātrā-shar that runs across the top of the word.

The inherent vowel. The consonant symbol क on its own is read ka (not just k). When a vowel matra is attached — for example ि (i) — it becomes ki. When halant ् is attached it becomes bare k.

Vowel letters vs matras. Vowels have two forms: a standalone letter used at the start of a syllable (अ, आ, इ …) and a matra form attached to a preceding consonant (ा, ि, ी …). The standalone vowel अ (a) has no matra — absence of any matra means the inherent a is present.

Conjunct consonants. When two consonants occur with no vowel between them, they join into a conjunct (संयुक्त अक्षर). Common conjuncts include क्त (kta), स्त (sta), ट्ट (ṭṭa). Learners should recognise the shapes of the most frequent ones.

Nuqta dot. Hindi borrows sounds from Persian and English that are not in the native Sanskrit inventory. A small dot below a consonant called a nuqta (़) marks these borrowed sounds: क़ (q), ख़ (x/kh), ग़ (ġ), ज़ (z), फ़ (f). In informal writing the nuqta is often omitted, but in formal and literary text it distinguishes, for example, बाज़ार (bāzār, market) from the unmodified letter.

• क → का, कि, की, कु, कू, के, कै, को, कौ — ka + matras: kā, ki, kī, ku, kū, ke, kai, ko, kau
  the consonant ka with nine different vowel matras attached
• क् (halant) = bare k, no vowel — k (consonant only)
  halant suppresses the inherent 'a'
• ज़ vs ज — z (with nuqta) vs j (without)
  nuqta dot changes j to z for borrowed words like ज़रूरी (zarūrī, necessary)

Devanagari reference table

The tables below list the Devanagari vowels and consonants with their IAST romanisation (the scholarly standard used throughout this guide), approximate pronunciation, and a sample word. IAST uses diacritics: a macron for long vowels (ā = long a), underdots for retroflex sounds (ṭ, ḍ, ṇ, ṣ), and ṁ/ṃ for nasalisation.

Vowels (standalone letter | IAST | approx. sound)

Consonants (letter | IAST | sound hint)

Borrowed consonants (with nuqta)

• नमस्ते — na-ma-ste [nəməste]
  hello / greetings (literally 'I bow to you')
• किताब — ki-tā-b [kitāb]
  book (ि matra on क gives ki; ा matra on त gives tā)
• ज़रूरी — za-rū-rī [zarūrī]
  necessary (nuqta on ज gives z, borrowed from Arabic/Urdu)

Word order (SOV)

Hindi is a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) language: the verb comes at the end of the clause. This is the single most fundamental structural difference from English. Adverbs and adverbial phrases usually come before the verb too, so a typical Hindi sentence looks like: Time + Subject + Object + Verb. Because word order is less flexible than in Russian or Latin (it does carry some information about focus), you should generally stick to SOV at the A0–B1 level.

Key rules: · The main verb is always last (or close to last, before only the auxiliary). · Postpositions follow their noun (they are post-positions, not prepositions). · Adjectives precede the noun, as in English. · Relative clauses precede the noun they modify. · Question words appear in the same position as the word they replace (no inversion).

No articles. Hindi has no words for 'a', 'an', or 'the'. A noun like किताब (kitāb) can mean 'a book', 'the book', or 'books' depending on context. Definiteness is conveyed by the demonstratives यह (yah, 'this/the near one') and वह (vah, 'that/the far one'), or simply by context.

• मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ। — I(1sg) book(DIR) read(HAB.M.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I read books. / I read a book.
• वह बाज़ार जाती है। — she(3sg) market(DIR) go(HAB.F.sg) AUX(3sg)
  She goes to the market.
• कल हम दिल्ली जाएँगे। — tomorrow we(1pl) Delhi(DIR) go(FUT.1pl)
  Tomorrow we will go to Delhi.

Gender

Every Hindi noun is either masculine or feminine. There is no neuter. Gender affects adjective endings, verb agreement in the perfective and other constructions, and genitive postposition forms.

Recognising gender from endings. The most reliable rule applies to animate nouns and many inanimate ones: · Most nouns ending in -ā (ा) in the direct singular are masculine: लड़का (laṛkā, boy), कमरा (kamrā, room), घोड़ा (ghoṛā, horse). · Most nouns ending in -ī (ी) or -i (ि) are feminine: लड़की (laṛkī, girl), नदी (nadī, river), रोटी (roṭī, flatbread). · Nouns ending in a consonant can be either gender: काम (kām, work) is masculine; रात (rāt, night) is feminine. These must be learned individually.

Plural forms. Masculine -ā nouns change to -e in the direct plural (and in the oblique singular/plural): लड़का → लड़के (laṛke, boys). Feminine -ī nouns add -yāṁ in the direct plural: लड़की → लड़कियाँ (laṛkiyāṁ, girls). Feminine consonant-final nouns add -eṁ: रात → रातें (rāteṁ, nights).

Adjective agreement. Adjectives ending in -ā agree with their noun: अच्छा लड़का (acchā laṛkā, good boy, M.sg), अच्छी लड़की (acchī laṛkī, good girl, F.sg), अच्छे लड़के (acche laṛke, good boys, M.pl). Adjectives ending in a consonant (like सुंदर, sundar, beautiful) do not change.

• बड़ा कमरा / बड़ी रसोई — big(M.sg) room(M) / big(F.sg) kitchen(F)
  a big room / a big kitchen
• लड़का → लड़के (pl), लड़की → लड़कियाँ (pl) — boy → boys (M), girl → girls (F)
  masculine -ā → -e in plural; feminine -ī → -iyāṁ in plural
• अच्छा खाना / अच्छी चाय — good(M.sg) food(M) / good(F.sg) tea(F)
  good food / good tea

Postpositions

Where English uses prepositions before nouns (in, on, to, from), Hindi uses postpositions that follow the noun. Before any postposition, the noun must take its oblique form (see the oblique-case section). The most essential postpositions are:

Genitive agreement. The genitive का/के/की is unusual: it agrees with the noun that is POSSESSED (not the possessor). Use kā for a masculine singular possessed noun, ke for masculine plural or oblique, kī for feminine.

ko as accusative. When the direct object is definite or animate, it takes ko. Inanimate indefinite objects usually have no postposition.

• राम का घर / राम की बहन — Ram GEN(M.sg) house(M) / Ram GEN(F.sg) sister(F)
  Ram's house / Ram's sister
• मैं दिल्ली से आया हूँ। — I(1sg) Delhi INS/ABL come(PERF.M.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I have come from Delhi.
• मेज़ पर किताब है। — table(OBL) LOC(par) book(DIR) be(3sg.PRES)
  The book is on the table.
• मुझे पानी चाहिए। — me(DAT/ko-form) water(DIR) need/want
  I want/need water.

Oblique case

Hindi nouns have two main case forms: the direct (used for subjects and bare objects) and the oblique (used before any postposition). Before a postposition, the noun is always in its oblique form — the postposition cannot attach to the direct form.

Oblique forms: · Masculine singular -ā nouns: direct लड़का (laṛkā) → oblique लड़के (laṛke). Note this is identical to the direct plural, but context tells them apart. · Masculine plural: direct लड़के (laṛke) → oblique लड़कों (laṛkoṁ) with a nasal ending. · Feminine singular -ī nouns: the direct and oblique singular are identical: लड़की (laṛkī). · Feminine plural: direct लड़कियाँ (laṛkiyāṁ) → oblique लड़कियों (laṛkiyoṁ). · Consonant-final nouns generally do not change in the singular oblique but add -oṁ in the plural oblique.

Pronoun oblique forms. Personal pronouns also have oblique forms: मैं (I) → मुझ (before ko → मुझे), हम (we) → हम, तुम (you FAM) → तुम, आप (you HON) → आप, वह (he/she/it) → उस, यह (this) → इस, वे (they) → उन, ये (these) → इन.

• लड़के को किताब दो। — boy(OBL.M.sg) DAT book(DIR) give(IMP)
  Give the book to the boy.
• घर में कोई नहीं है। — house(OBL) LOC(meṁ) anyone NEG be(3sg)
  There is no one in the house.
• उस लड़की की किताब — that(OBL.F.sg) girl(OBL.F.sg) GEN(F) book(DIR.F)
  that girl's book

Ergative construction (ne)

This is the most distinctive — and often most challenging — feature of Hindi for European-language learners. In perfective transitive sentences (completed actions with an object), the agent (doer) takes the postposition ne (ने) and the verb agrees with the object in gender and number, NOT with the subject.

When to use ne: · The verb is perfective (completed action). · The verb is transitive (it has or implies a direct object). · The subject-like agent is then marked with ne and is, grammatically speaking, in the oblique case.

Verb agreement in ne-constructions. If the direct object has no postposition (bare direct object), the verb agrees with it. If the object has ko or any other postposition, the verb defaults to masculine singular (a kind of default agreement when no target is available).

The ne marker itself is uninflected — it never changes form. The agent noun before it takes the oblique case.

• राम ने किताब पढ़ी। — Ram ERG book(DIR.F.sg) read(PERF.F.sg)
  Ram read the book. (verb agrees with किताब, F.sg)
• मैंने खाना खाया। — I(ERG) food(DIR.M.sg) eat(PERF.M.sg)
  I ate the food. (verb agrees with खाना, M.sg)
• उसने मुझे देखा। — she/he(OBL+ERG) me(DAT/ko) see(PERF.M.sg-default)
  She/he saw me. (object has ko, so verb defaults to M.sg)
• बच्चों ने गाने गाए। — children(OBL.pl+ERG) songs(DIR.M.pl) sing(PERF.M.pl)
  The children sang songs. (verb agrees with गाने, M.pl)

Personal pronouns and the T-V system

Hindi has a rich system of personal address that encodes social distance. There are three forms of 'you', reflecting three levels of intimacy and formality:

· तू (tū) — intimate / INT: used with very close family members, small children, or animals. In adult-to-adult speech it can sound rude or overly familiar unless the relationship is very close. Common in poetry and devotional speech to God. · तुम (tum) — familiar / FAM: used with friends, younger relatives, and people of equal or lower status. This is the most common 'you' in everyday conversation. · आप (āp) — honorific / HON: plural in form but used for any single person deserving respect — strangers, elders, bosses, teachers. Also the default 'safe' form when you don't know someone well. Always takes plural verb agreement.

Subject pronouns (direct case):

Note. Hindi does not have separate he/she pronouns: यह and वह cover both, with gender only showing up in verb agreement. Context usually makes the referent clear.

• तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो? — you(FAM.2sg) where go(PROG.M.pl) AUX(FAM.2sg)
  Where are you going? (to a friend)
• आप क्या काम करते हैं? — you(HON) what work(DIR) do(HAB.M.pl) AUX(HON.pl)
  What work do you do? (polite, to a stranger or elder)
• वह मेरी दोस्त है। — she(3sg.far) my(F.sg) friend(F) be(3sg.PRES)
  She is my friend.

Verb overview

Hindi verbs are built from a stem plus tense/aspect endings. The dictionary form — the infinitive — ends in -nā: जाना (jānā, to go), खाना (khānā, to eat), पढ़ना (paṛhnā, to read). Drop -nā to get the stem: जा-, खा-, पढ़-.

Main tense-aspect combinations:

Verb agreement. Hindi verbs agree with their subject in gender and number — except in ne-constructions (see ergative-ne), where they agree with the object.

The auxiliary होना (to be) is conjugated and added to form most tenses. Its present forms are: हूँ (1sg), है (3sg), हो (2FAM), हैं (HON/pl).

• वह रोज़ पढ़ता है। — he(3sg) daily read(HAB.M.sg) AUX(3sg.PRES)
  He reads every day.
• वह पढ़ रही है। — she(3sg) read(PROG.F.sg) AUX(3sg.PRES)
  She is reading.
• कल वह पढ़ेगी। — tomorrow she(3sg) read(FUT.F.sg)
  She will read tomorrow.

The verb 'to be' (होना)

होना (honā) is the main copula and existential verb. Its present-tense forms are irregular and essential to memorise.

Present tense of होना:

Past tense of होना (agrees with subject in gender and number):

Uses. होना expresses: (1) identity or state (वह डॉक्टर है, 'she is a doctor'), (2) existence and location (वह घर पर है, 'he is at home'), and (3) as an auxiliary in compound tenses (पढ़ रहा है, 'is reading'). In the future: होगा/होगी/होंगे (hogā/hogī/hoṁge).

• मैं छात्र हूँ। — I(1sg) student(M.sg) be(1sg.PRES)
  I am a student.
• वह घर पर नहीं है। — she/he(3sg) home(OBL) LOC(par) NEG be(3sg.PRES)
  She/he is not at home.
• बच्चे बहुत खुश थे। — children(M.pl) very happy(M.pl) be(PAST.M.pl)
  The children were very happy.

Present habitual (-tā hai)

The present habitual is the Hindi equivalent of English simple present ('I read', 'she works', 'they eat'). It describes repeated or habitual actions, general truths, and timeless states.

Formation: verb stem + -tā (M.sg) / -tī (F.sg) / -te (M.pl) + present form of होना.

The stem-ending agrees with the subject in gender and number. The auxiliary होना also agrees.

पढ़ना (paṛhnā, 'to read') — present habitual

Note. आप (HON) always takes plural verb agreement: आप पढ़ते हैं even for a single person.

• मैं हर रोज़ चाय पीती हूँ। — I(1sg.F) every day tea(DIR) drink(HAB.F.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I drink tea every day. (woman speaking)
• वह हिंदी बोलता है। — he(3sg) Hindi(DIR) speak(HAB.M.sg) AUX(3sg)
  He speaks Hindi.
• बच्चे स्कूल जाते हैं। — children(M.pl) school(DIR) go(HAB.M.pl) AUX(3pl)
  The children go to school.
• क्या आप यहाँ काम करते हैं? — Q you(HON) here work(DIR) do(HAB.M.pl) AUX(HON.pl)?
  Do you work here?

Progressive (rahā + honā)

The progressive expresses an action happening at the moment of speaking ('is reading', 'are eating') or in progress around a reference time.

Formation: verb stem + rahā (M.sg) / rahī (F.sg) / rahe (M.pl) + present form of होना.

The rah- element agrees with the subject in gender and number, just like the habitual marker. The auxiliary follows.

जाना (jānā, 'to go') — present progressive

Past progressive. Replace the होना auxiliary with its past form: जा रहा था (M.sg), जा रही थी (F.sg), जा रहे थे (M.pl) — 'was/were going'.

• वह खाना बना रही है। — she(3sg) food(DIR) make(PROG.F.sg) AUX(3sg.PRES)
  She is making food.
• मैं पढ़ रहा था जब वह आई। — I(1sg.M) read(PROG.M.sg) AUX(PAST.M.sg) when she(3sg) come(PERF.F.sg)
  I was reading when she arrived.
• बच्चे खेल रहे हैं। — children(M.pl) play(PROG.M.pl) AUX(3pl.PRES)
  The children are playing.

Past tense — perfective

The perfective expresses a completed past action. It is the most common past tense in Hindi. As explained in the ergative section, the construction differs for intransitive and transitive verbs.

Intransitive perfective. The verb agrees with the subject. Formation: verb stem + -ā (M.sg) / -ī (F.sg) / -e (M.pl) / -īṁ (F.pl). The auxiliary होना is optional in the simple past but common.

Transitive perfective (ne-construction). The agent takes ne; the verb agrees with the direct object (if bare). See the ergative-ne section for full details.

जाना (intransitive) — perfective

(जाना has an irregular stem ग- in the perfective.)

खाना (transitive) — perfective with ne

• वह कल घर गई। — she(3sg) yesterday home(DIR) go(PERF.F.sg)
  She went home yesterday.
• मैंने चाय पी। — I(ERG) tea(DIR.F.sg) drink(PERF.F.sg)
  I drank tea. (verb agrees with चाय, F.sg)
• उन्होंने हिंदी सीखी। — they(OBL.pl+ERG) Hindi(DIR.F.sg) learn(PERF.F.sg)
  They learned Hindi.
• हम सब मिले। — we(1pl) all meet(PERF.M.pl)
  We all met.

Future tense (-gā/-gī/-ge)

The future tense is formed by adding -gā/-gī/-ge/-geṁ directly to a modified stem. The stem used is the same as the oblique infinitive stem (i.e., the bare stem for most verbs; the stem loses the -nā).

Formation: verb stem + future ending. The ending encodes both the subject's person/number AND gender:

जाना (jānā, 'to go') — future tense

The future has no separate auxiliary. Unlike the habitual and progressive, the future ending is a single fused word. The gender/number still shows up in the ending: -gā (M.sg), -gī (F.sg), -ge or -geṁ (pl/HON).

• मैं कल आऊँगा। — I(1sg.M) tomorrow come(FUT.M.sg)
  I will come tomorrow. (man speaking)
• वह परीक्षा पास करेगी। — she(3sg) exam(DIR) pass do(FUT.F.sg)
  She will pass the exam.
• हम साथ खाएँगे। — we(1pl) together eat(FUT.M.pl)
  We will eat together.

Present-tense conjugation paradigms

The two main present-tense constructions — habitual and progressive — follow the same agreement logic. The table below shows both side-by-side for the verb पढ़ना (paṛhnā, 'to read', stem पढ़-), illustrating agreement across all persons and both genders.

Present habitual (पढ़ता/पढ़ती/पढ़ते + होना)

Present progressive (पढ़ रहा/रही/रहे + होना)

Key pattern. The habitual marker -tā/-tī/-te and the progressive marker rahā/rahī/rahe both agree with the subject gender and number. The difference is aspect: habitual for regular/repeated actions, progressive for actions in progress right now.

• मैं अखबार पढ़ता हूँ। — I(1sg.M) newspaper(DIR.M) read(HAB.M.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I read the newspaper. (man, habitual)
• मैं अखबार पढ़ रहा हूँ। — I(1sg.M) newspaper(DIR.M) read(PROG.M.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I am reading the newspaper. (man, right now)
• वे लोग हिंदी सीखते हैं। — those people(M.pl) Hindi(DIR) learn(HAB.M.pl) AUX(3pl)
  Those people learn Hindi.
• आप क्या पढ़ रहे हैं? — you(HON) what read(PROG.M.pl) AUX(HON.pl)?
  What are you reading?

Want to + verb (चाहना and चाहिए)

Hindi has two key expressions for wanting.

1. चाहना (cāhnā, 'to want/wish') — used like a regular verb when the subject actively wants to do something. Combine the subject with the oblique infinitive (infinitive with -nā changed to -ne when preceding a postposition, but here just the bare INF form is common) plus चाहना conjugated normally.

Pattern: subject + INF(-nā) + चाहना (conjugated). For 'I want to go': मैं जाना चाहता हूँ (M) / मैं जाना चाहती हूँ (F).

चाहना conjugates as a regular verb; the subject agreement is with the main subject.

2. चाहिए (cāhie, 'is needed / should') — an impersonal expression for need or mild obligation. It does NOT conjugate. The person who needs/wants takes ko (dative). The thing needed is the grammatical subject.

Pattern: person + ko + thing/action + चाहिए.

For 'I need water': मुझे पानी चाहिए (mujhe pānī cāhie). For 'I should go': मुझे जाना चाहिए (mujhe jānā cāhie). चाहिए remains invariable regardless of person or number.

• मैं सोना चाहती हूँ। — I(1sg.F) sleep(INF) want(HAB.F.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I want to sleep. (woman speaking)
• वह घर जाना चाहता है। — he(3sg) home go(INF) want(HAB.M.sg) AUX(3sg)
  He wants to go home.
• मुझे पानी चाहिए। — me(DAT) water(DIR) need/want(invariable)
  I need/want water.
• तुम्हें आराम करना चाहिए। — you(FAM.DAT) rest do(INF) should(invariable)
  You should rest.

Can + verb (सकना)

Ability and possibility are expressed with the verb सकना (saknā, 'to be able to'). It is a compound verb used with the bare stem of the main verb.

Formation: verb stem + सक + tense endings of सकना.

सकना itself conjugates with the same habitual/progressive/future endings as any other verb. The full form agrees with the subject.

Present habitual (can): · वह जा सकता है — he can go (M) · वह जा सकती है — she can go (F) · हम जा सकते हैं — we can go

Past perfective (could/was able to — intransitive): · वह जा सका — he was able to go (M.sg) · वह जा सकी — she was able to go (F.sg)

Future (will be able to): · वह जा सकेगा — he will be able to go (M)

Negation. Place नहीं before सकना: वह नहीं जा सकता — he cannot go. Or: वह जा नहीं सकता (both orders are natural).

• मैं हिंदी बोल सकता हूँ। — I(1sg.M) Hindi(DIR) speak can(HAB.M.sg) AUX(1sg)
  I can speak Hindi.
• क्या तुम कल आ सकते हो? — Q you(FAM.M) tomorrow come can(HAB.M.pl) AUX(FAM)?
  Can you come tomorrow?
• वह तेज़ नहीं दौड़ सकती। — she(3sg) fast NEG run can(HAB.F.sg)
  She cannot run fast.

Would like + verb (चाहेंगे / चाहेगी)

Hindi expresses 'would like to' politely using चाहना in the future tense. Since the future in Hindi already carries a sense of polite intention (especially with the HON form आप), this is the natural and well-attested way to make polite requests and offers.

Pattern: subject + INF + चाहना (future). The future of चाहना: चाहूँगा/चाहूँगी (1sg M/F), चाहोगे/चाहोगी (2FAM M/F), चाहेंगे/चाहेंगी (HON/3pl M/F).

For more formal polished contexts, कृपया (kṛpayā, please) may be prefixed to the request.

An alternative for softening a want is using ज़रा (zarā, just a little) before the verb, which adds tentativeness: ज़रा बताइए 'could you please tell me?'.

• मैं एक कप चाय लेना चाहूँगी। — I(1sg.F) one cup tea(DIR) take(INF) want(FUT.F.sg)
  I would like to have a cup of tea. (woman speaking)
• आप क्या खाना चाहेंगे? — you(HON) what eat(INF) want(FUT.M.pl)?
  What would you like to eat?
• हम आपसे मिलना चाहेंगे। — we(1pl) you(HON.OBL+se) meet(INF) want(FUT.M.pl)
  We would like to meet you.

Going to / planned future (वाला construction)

For an action that is imminent or planned — 'about to', 'going to', 'on the point of' — Hindi uses the -vālā construction: oblique infinitive (-ne form) + वाला (vālā), which agrees with the subject in gender and number like an adjective.

Pattern: subject + INF(-ne) + वाला (M.sg) / वाली (F.sg) / वाले (M.pl) + होना.

For example: 'I am about to go' = मैं जाने वाला हूँ (M) / मैं जाने वाली हूँ (F).

A related use: INF + वाला + noun means 'the one who does X' or 'relating to X': पढ़ने वाला = 'the one who reads', खाने वाली चीज़ें = 'things to eat'.

Simple future as 'going to'. The future tense itself often carries a planned-future meaning when combined with a time adverb (कल 'tomorrow', अगले हफ़्ते 'next week'). The vālā construction specifically highlights imminence.

• ट्रेन जाने वाली है। — train(F) go(INF-OBL) vāla(F.sg) AUX(3sg.PRES)
  The train is about to leave.
• मैं सोने वाला था। — I(1sg.M) sleep(INF-OBL) vāla(M.sg) AUX(PAST.M.sg)
  I was about to sleep.
• वह डॉक्टर बनने वाली है। — she(3sg) doctor become(INF-OBL) vāla(F.sg) AUX(3sg.PRES)
  She is going to become a doctor.

Compound verbs (vector verbs)

Hindi makes extensive use of compound verbs (संयुक्त क्रिया, saṁyukt kriyā), in which a main verb's stem is followed by a second 'vector' or 'light' verb that adds aspectual or attitudinal nuance. The second verb carries the conjugation; the first verb's stem remains fixed.

The most common vectors are:

Examples of nuance: · खाना = to eat (neutral); खा लेना = to eat up / finish eating (benefactive). · देखना = to see; देख लेना = to take a look (for oneself); देख देना = to check/show (for someone else). · भूलना = to forget; भूल जाना = to completely forget (irrevocable).

At A0–B1 level, the most useful are lenā (completive for self) and jānā (irrevocable change). The vector agrees in tense just like a main verb.

• मैंने काम कर लिया। — I(ERG) work(DIR) do+take(PERF.M.sg — completive)
  I got the work done (for myself / it's done now).
• वह चला गया। — he(3sg) walk+go(PERF.M.sg — irrevocable departure)
  He has gone away (and is not coming back).
• ज़रा बता दो। — just tell+give(IMP — for my benefit/to help me)
  Just tell me (do it for me).

Negation

Hindi has three main negative words, each used in specific contexts.

नहीं (nahīṁ) — the general negator for statements and most questions. It is placed before the auxiliary in compound tenses, or before the main verb if there is no auxiliary. This is by far the most common negative.

न (na) — a softer or more literary negative, also used in certain fixed expressions and in the न ... न ('neither ... nor') construction.

मत (mat) — used exclusively for negative imperatives (commands not to do something). Never used in statements.

Placement rules: · Present habitual: subject + object + verb-stem + -tā/tī/te + नहीं + AUX → वह हिंदी नहीं बोलता है (or drop है: वह हिंदी नहीं बोलता). · Progressive: subject + object + stem + नहीं + rah-form + AUX. · With imperatives (FAM): verb stem + मत — जाओ = go; मत जाओ = don't go.

• मैं नहीं जानता। — I(1sg.M) NEG know(HAB.M.sg)
  I don't know.
• यहाँ मत बैठो। — here NEG(IMP) sit(IMP.FAM)
  Don't sit here.
• वह न हाँ बोला न ना। — he(3sg) neither yes say(PERF.M.sg) nor no
  He said neither yes nor no.

Questions

Yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle क्या (kyā) at the very beginning of the sentence, with no change in word order. Spoken Hindi also forms yes/no questions with rising intonation alone — क्या is optional but common.

Content questions (wh-questions) use a question word in the same position as the word it replaces. Hindi does not front question words the way English does — they stay in their natural SOV slot.

Common question words:

क्या is ambiguous: at the start of a sentence it asks a yes/no question; within a sentence it asks 'what'. Context and intonation distinguish them.

• क्या आप हिंदी बोलते हैं? — Q you(HON) Hindi(DIR) speak(HAB.M.pl) AUX(HON.pl)?
  Do you speak Hindi?
• आप कहाँ रहते हैं? — you(HON) where live(HAB.M.pl) AUX(HON.pl)?
  Where do you live?
• यह क्या है? — this what be(3sg.PRES)?
  What is this?
• वह कब आएगा? — he(3sg) when come(FUT.M.sg)?
  When will he come?

Plural of nouns

Hindi plurals depend on gender and the final sound of the noun. The key patterns:

Masculine nouns: · Ending in -ā (ा): direct pl changes to -e (े). लड़का → लड़के (boy → boys), कमरा → कमरे (room → rooms). · Ending in a vowel other than -ā, or in a consonant: usually unchanged in direct plural (but oblique plural adds -oṁ). कवि → कवि (poet → poets), आदमी → आदमी (man → men in dir.pl).

Feminine nouns: · Ending in -ī (ी) or -i (ि): add -yāṁ (याँ). लड़की → लड़कियाँ (girl → girls), नदी → नदियाँ (river → rivers). · Ending in a consonant: add -eṁ (ें). रात → रातें (night → nights), किताब → किताबें (book → books). · Ending in -ā (rare feminine): add -eṁ.

Oblique plural (before any postposition): all nouns (M and F) add -oṁ to the direct plural stem: लड़कों को (to the boys), किताबों में (in the books).

• लड़का → लड़के, कमरा → कमरे — boy → boys (M), room → rooms (M)
  masculine -ā nouns change to -e in the direct plural
• किताब → किताबें, रात → रातें — book → books (F), night → nights (F)
  feminine consonant-final nouns add -eṁ
• बच्चों को मिठाई दो। — children(OBL.pl+DAT) sweets(DIR) give(IMP)
  Give sweets to the children. (oblique plural -oṁ before ko)

Adjective agreement

Variable adjectives end in -ā (ा) in their base form and agree with their noun in gender and number. They follow the same pattern as masculine nouns: · M.sg: -ā → अच्छा (acchā) · M.pl or M.oblique: -e → अच्छे (acche) · F (all forms): -ī → अच्छी (acchī)

Invariable adjectives end in a consonant and do not change: सुंदर (sundar, beautiful), साफ़ (sāf, clean), बड़ा is variable but साफ़ is not. Borrowed adjectives like ज़रूरी (zarūrī, necessary) ending in -ī can behave as invariable in some uses.

Predicative vs attributive. Whether the adjective precedes the noun (attributive) or follows the verb (predicative), it still agrees: वह लड़की अच्छी है (that girl is good, F.sg).

Adjectives in the oblique. When a variable adjective modifies an oblique noun, it takes the oblique/M.pl form: अच्छे लड़के को (to the good boy), अच्छे कमरे में (in the good room).

• अच्छा खाना / अच्छी रोटी / अच्छे बच्चे — good(M.sg) food / good(F.sg) flatbread / good(M.pl) children
  good food / good bread / good children
• वह बड़े कमरे में रहती है। — she(3sg) big(M.OBL) room(OBL) LOC live(HAB.F.sg) AUX(3sg)
  She lives in a big room. (adjective goes oblique before postposition)
• यह फ़िल्म बहुत सुंदर है। — this film(F) very beautiful(invariable) be(3sg.PRES)
  This film is very beautiful.