Hindustani grammar

Hindi grammar is the grammar of Hindi language. Hindi is a direct descendent of Sanskrit. It is the national language and the official language of the Indian Union. It is an Indo-European language, and belongs to the Indo-Aryan group. Hindi looks up to Sanskrit for its formal and technical vocabulary, and Apabhramsha for its grammar. As Hindi and Urdu are variants of each other (i.e., the same language in the linguistic sense), the discussion here applies to both Standard Hindi as well as Urdu.

For reading about Hindi phonology, see Hindi#Sounds.

Hindi uses the devanagari script for writing. In this article, both devanagari script and IPA pronunciation are given for discussing the grammar.

Morphology

There are two kinds of words in Standard Hindi:

• tatsam (तत्सम्) words: These are the words which have been directly lifted from Sanskrit to enrich the formal and technical vocabulary of Hindi. Such words (almost exclusively nouns) have been taken without any phonetic or spelling change. Among nouns, the tatsam word could be the Sanskrit uninflected word-stem, or it could be the nominative singular form in the Sanskrit nominal declination.
• tadbhav (तद्भव) words: These are the words that might have been derived from Sanskrit, but have undergone minor or major phonetic and spelling changes as they appear in modern Hindi. They also include words borrowed from the other languages.

Similarly, Urdu treats its own vocabulary, borrowed directly from Persian and Arabic, as a separate category for morphological purposes.

In the tables below, the tilda (~) indicates the nasalization of the vowel immediately preceding it. All / t/ and / d / must be taken to be dental consonants unless their retroflex IPA symbols are specified otherwise (in which case, these stops would be retroflex consonants).

Nouns

In Hindi (and of course in Urdu too), there are only two genders. All male human beings and male animals (or those animals and plants which are percieved to be "masculine") are masculine. All female human beings and female animals (or those animals and plants which are percieved to be "feminine") are feminine. Things, inanimate articles and abstract nouns are also either masculine or feminine according to convention, which must be learnt by heart by non-Hindi speakers if they wish to learn correct Hindi. The ending of a word, if a vowel, usually helps in this gender classification. Among tatsam words, the masculine words of Sanskrit remain masculine in Hindi, and same is the case for the feminine. Sanskrit neutar nouns usually become masculine in Hindi. Among the tadbhav words, if a word end in long / α: /, it is normally masculine. If a word ends in / i: / or / in/, it is normally feminine. Similarly, the gender is also tried to be preserved for words borrowed from Arabic and Persian. The categorization of Hindi words directly borrowed from English (which are numerous) is very arbitary—but could be influenced by the ending.

Hindi is a poorly inflected language; the relationship of a noun in a sentence is usually shown by postpositions (i.e., prepositions that follow the noun). Hindi has three cases for nouns. The Direct case is used for nouns not followed by any postpositions, typically for the subject case. The Oblique case is used for any nouns that is followed by a postposition. Some nouns have a separate Vocative case. Hindi has two numbers: singular and plural—but they may not be shown distinctly in all declinations.

Nouns ending in / α: /

Almost all nouns are declined in the way shown below if they fulfill the condition of being into the corresponding category. The tilda (~) shows the nasalization of the vowel immediately preceding it.

	Masculine (tadbhav)		Masculine (tatsam)		Feminine (tatsam/tadbhav)
	कुत्ता / kuttα: / a male dog		दाता / dα:tα: / a donor / giver		माला / mα:lα: / a garland
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	कुत्ता / kuttα: /	कुत्ते / kutte: /	दाता / dα:tα: /	दाता / dα:tα: /	माला / mα:lα: /	मालाएँ / mα:lα:e:~ /
Oblique	कुत्ते / kutte: /	कुत्तों / kutto:~ /	दाता / dα:tα: /	दाताओं / dα:tα:o:~ /	माला / mα:lα: /	मालाओं / mα:lα:o:~ /
Vocative	कुत्ते / kutte: /	कुत्तों / kutto:~ /	दाता / dα:tα: /	दाताओं / dα:tα:o:~ /	माला / mα:lα: /	मालाओं / mα:lα:o:~ /

Nouns ending in / i: /

Almost all nouns are declined in the way shown below if they fulfill the condition of being into the corresponding category. The tilda (~) shows the nasalization of the vowel immediately preceding it. Nouns ending in short / i / also follow the same pattern; only the long / i: / is to bereplaced by short / i /.

	Masculine (tadbhav/tatsam)		Feminine (tadbhav/tatsam)
	प्रेमी / pre:mi: / a lover		बेटी / be:ʈi: / a daughter
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	प्रेमी / pre:mi: /	प्रेमी / pre:mi: /	बेटी / be:ʈi: /	बेटियाँ / be:ʈiyα:~ /
Oblique	प्रेमी / pre:mi: /	प्रेमियों / pre:miyo:~ /	बेटी / be:ʈi: /	बेटियों / be:ʈiyo:~ /
Vocative	प्रेमी / pre:mi: /	प्रेमियों / pre:miyo:~ /	बेटी / be:ʈi: /	बेटियों / be:ʈiyo:~ /

Nouns ending in / u: /

Almost all nouns are declined in the way shown below if they fulfill the condition of being into the corresponding category. The tilda (~) shows the nasalization of the vowel immediately preceding it. Nouns ending in short / u / also follow the same pattern; only the long / u: / is to be replaced by short / u /.

	Masculine (tadbhav/tatsam)		Feminine (tadbhav/tatsam)
	भालू / bɦα:lu: / a bear		वधु / vədhu / a daughter-in-law
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	भालू / bɦα:lu: /	भालू / bɦα:lu: /	वधु / vədhu /	वधुएँ / vədhue:~ /
Oblique	भालू / bɦα:lu: /	भालुओं / bɦα:luo:~ /	वधु / vədhu /	वधुओं / vədhuo:~ /
Vocative	भालू / bɦα:lu: /	भालुओं / bɦα:luo:~/	वधु / vədhu /	वधुओं / vədhuo:~ /

Nouns ending in a consonant

Almost all nouns are declined in the way shown below if they fulfill the condition of being into the corresponding category. The tilda (~) shows the nasalization of the vowel immediately preceding it. Nouns ending in short / ə / (schwa) also follow the same pattern—in fact, Hindi ignores any schwa at the end of a word unless this exclusion makes the word too difficult to pronounce.

	Masculine (tadbhav/tatsam)		Feminine (tadbhav/tatsam)
	मोर / mo:r / a peacock		याद / yα:d / a memory/remembrance
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	मोर / mo:r /	मोर / mo:r /	याद / yα:d /	यादें / yα:de:~ /
Oblique	मोर / mo:r /	मोरों / mo:ro:~ /	याद / yα:d /	यादों / yα:do:~ /
Vocative	मोर / mo:r /	मोरों / mo:ro:~ /	याद / yα:d /	यादों / yα:do:~ /

Nouns from Persian

An example of a Hindi/Urdu masculine word of Persian origin is given below. By the Hindi speakers, it is usually declined like any other consonant ending masculine noun.

	Masculine (Persian)
	काग़ज़ / kα:ɣəz / a paper
	Singular	Plural
Direct	काग़ज़ / kα:ɣəz /	काग़ज़ात / kα:ɣəzα:t /
Oblique	काग़ज़ / kα:ɣəz /	काग़ज़ातों / kα:ɣəzα:to:~ /
Vocative	काग़ज़ / kα:ɣəz /	काग़ज़ातों / kα:ɣəzα:to:~ /

Adjectives

There are two kinds of adjectives in Hindi for morphological purposes—one, which end in consonant (and hence do not undergo any inflection) and the other, whose masculine form end in / α: / (sing.). The latter category of adjectives undergo inflection to agree with the gender and the number of the noun they qualify. Such adjectives must be inflected whether they come before the noun or as a compliment in the sentence. This inflection is shown below.

	Masculine		Feminine
	नीला / ni:lα: / blue		नीली / ni:li: / blue
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Direct	नीला / ni:lα: /	नीले / ni:le: /	नीली / ni:li: /	नीली / ni:li: /
Oblique	नीले / ni:le: /	नीले / ni:le: /	नीली / ni:li: /	नीली / ni:li: /
Vocative	नीले / ni:le: /	नीले / ni:le: /	नीली / ni:li: /	नीली / ni:li: /

Pronouns

Hindi has pronouns in the first, second and third person, all for one gender only. Thus, unlike English, there is no difference between he or she. More strictly speaking, the third person of the pronoun is actually the same as the demonstrative pronoun (this / that). The verb, upon conjugation, usually indicates the difference in the gender. The pronouns have additional cases of accusative and genitive. There may also be multiple ways of inflecting the pronoun, which are given in parentheses. Note that for the second person of the pronoun (you), Hindi has three levels of honorifics:

• आप (/ α:p /): Formal and respectable form for you. Has no difference between the singular and the plural. Used in all formal settings and speaking to persons who are senior in job or age. Plural could be stressed by saying आप लोग (/ α:p log / you people) or आप सब (/ α:p səb /) you all).
• तुम (/ tum /): Informal form of you. Has no difference between the singular and the plural. Used in all informal settings and speaking to persons who are junior in job or age. Plural could be stressed by saying तुम लोग (/ tum log / you people) or तुम सब (/ tum səb /) you all).
• तू (/ tu: /): Extremely informal form of you, as thou. Strictly singular, its plural form being / tum /. Except for very close friends or poetic language involving God, it could be percieved as offensive in India.

	First Person		Second Person			Third Person
	Singular (I)	Plural (We)	Formal (You)	Informal (You)	Very Informal (Thou)	Singular (This)	Plural (These)	Singular (That)	Plural (Those)
Direct	मैं / mæ:~ /	हम / həm /	आप / α:p /	तुम / tum /	तू / tu: /	यह / ये / yəh or ye: /	ये / ye: /	वह / वो / vəh or vo: /	वे / वो / ve: or vo: /
Accusative	मुझे / mudʒɦe: /	हमें / həme:~ /	आपको / α:pko: /	तुम्हें / tumhe:~ /	तुझे / tudʒɦe:~ /	इसे / ise: /	इन्हें / inhe: /	उसे / use: /	उन्हें / unhe: /
Oblique	मुझ- / mudʒɦ- /	हम- / həm- /	आप- / α:p- /	तुम- / tum- /	तुझ- / tudʒɦ- /	इस- / is- /	इन- / in- /	उस- / us- /	उन- / un- /
Genitive	मेरा / me:rα: /	हमारा / həmα:rα: /	आपका / α:pkα: /	तुम्हारा / tumhα:rα: /	तेरा / te:rα: /	इसका / iskα: /	इनका / inkα: /	उसका / uskα: /	उनका / unkα: /

In the columns for the Third Person, the first word indicates the usual form used in literary written Hindi, while the second form (after the slash) indicates the form used inthe normal spoken Hindi. The hyphen indicates that whiloe writing, the postposition (if any) may be included within the word as a case marker. Suffices to say that the genitive case behaves like an adjective and has to be declined as such. For those persons for whom one would normally use / α:p / if referred to as the second person, it is popular by convention to use the plural form (both pronoun and the verb) of the third person demonstrative. In north India, the / həm / form is popularly used for the first person singular too.

Verbs

Hindi has a peculiarity that not only the number, but also the gender of the noun or the pronoun may be shown by the verb. The infinitive form of any verb ends with / -nα: /. As in any other language, this form can be used as a noun (masculine gender, and declined likewise). There are three main tenses: present, past and future. Hindi uses both end-inflection in the verb-stem and auxillary verbs for conjugation. It is interesting to note that like English, but unlike Sanskrit, Latin, French, German, Russian, etc., Hindi possesses the continuous tense for all—present, past and future. Similarly, the perfect tense can be formed using a number of auxillaries. The present and the past participles can be used as adjectives (they undergo declination). The imperative mood and equivalents for English can / should / must / have to can also be found. Verbs can be transitive or intransitive. But on the whole, the verbal conjugation can be very, very complicated for English speakers.

The following table gives the conjugation for the verb करना / kərnα: / (to do)—indicative mood. The second column gives the conjugation in the second person with / tum /. To conjugate the verb with / tu: /, use the Third Person singular form. To conjugate the verb with / α:p /, use the Third Person plural form.

Simple Present
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Masc. Sing.	करता हूँ	करते हो	करता है
Masc. Pl.	करते हैं	करते हो	करते हैं
Fem. Sing.	करती हूँ	करती हो	करती है
Fem. Pl.	करते हैं	करती हो	करती हैं
Present Continuous
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Masc. Sing.	कर रहा हूँ	कर रहे हो	कर रहा है
Masc. Pl.	कर रहे हैं	कर रहे हो	कर रहे हैं
Fem. Sing.	कर रही हूँ	कर रही हो	कर रही है
Fem. Pl.	कर रहे हैं	कर रही हो	कर रही हैं
Present Perfect
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Replace second auxillary रहा / रही / रहे in Present Continuous with the auxillary चुका / चुकी / चुके or with लिया / ली / लिये The third auxillay has to be kept as it is.
Simple Past
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Replace the auxillary हूँ / हो / है / हैं in Simple Present with the auxillary था (masc sing) / थे (masc pl) / थी (fem sing) / थीं (fem pl)
Past Continuous
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Replace third auxillary हूँ / हो / है / हैं in Past Continuous with the auxillary था (masc sing) / थे (masc pl) / थी (fem sing) / थीं (fem pl) The second auxillary has to be kept as it is.
Past Perfect
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Replace third auxillary हूँ / हो / है / हैं in Present Perfect with the auxillary था (masc sing) / थे (masc pl) / थी (fem sing) / थीं (fem pl) The second auxillary has to be kept as it is.
Simple Future
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Masc. Sing.	करूंगा	करोगे	करेगा
Masc. Pl.	करेंगे	करोगे	करेंगे
Fem. Sing.	करूंगी	करोगी	करेगी
Fem. Pl.	करेंगे	करोगी	करेंगी
Future Continuous
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Decline the auxillary रहना in Simple Future, just like in above and use it after the infinitive करना
Future Perfect
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Replace the third auxillary हुँ / हैं / है / हो of Present Perfect with the auxillary रहना conjugated in Simple Future. The second auxillary shall stay.
Imperative Mood / Subjunctive (wish/command)
	First Person	Second Person	Third person
Masc. Sing.	करुँ	करो	करे
Masc. Pl.	करें	करो	करें
Fem. Sing.	करुँ	करो	करे
Fem. Pl.	करें	करो	करें

The Imperative Mood is an exception here because it has entirely different conjugal forms for / tum / and / α:p /. For the former, it is कर, and for the latter, it is करिये (with variations in this case as कीजिये and करें). The imperative form is a bit irregular, varying from verb to verb. Rest all the tenses almost always follow the pattern shown above.

Hindi has two voices—active and passive.

Postpositions/Indeclinables

Hindi uses postpositions that follow the noun (rather than prepositions of English that preceed the word). Some postpositions are compound ones. Some of them can be incorporated within the noun (usually, the pronoun) while writing, where they then act as a case marker. Some of them are listed below; those using the genitive case of the pronoun are indicated with "gen".

Postposition	Pronunciation	English equivalent
ने	/ ne: /	(Subject case)
को	/ ko: /	to
का	/ kα: /	’s or of(possessed item masc. sing.)
की	/ ki: /	’s or of (possessed item fem. sing./pl.)
के	/ ke: /	’ or of (possessed item masc. pl.)
से	/ se: /	from / of / with / by
(के) साथ (gen)	/ (ke:) sα:th /	with (somebody)
(के) लिये (gen)	/ (ke:) lije: /	for
में	/ me:~ /	in / on
पर	/ pər /	on / in
(के) पास (gen)	/ (ke:) pα:s /	the verb to have

In addition, certain indelinables can be used to denote specific location with / ke: /, equivalent to under, above, against, below etc.