This page will give you an overview of some of Hindi’s basic grammatical features including verbal forms, counting, and postpositions. Click through the tabs below to explore the content.
3 tenses: past, present, future
4 aspects: simple, habitual, continuous, perfect
4 moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, presumptive
| Past | Present | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple होना | मैं पागल था । was/were | मैं पागल हूँ । am/is/are | मैं पागल होंगी । मैं गाना गाऊँगी । will |
| Habitual -ता / ता / ती + होना | मैं गाना गाती थी । used to (verb) | मैं गाना गाती हूँ । (verb) | मैं गाना गाती होंगी । would (verb) |
| Continuous/Progressive रहा / रहे / रही + होना | मैं काम कर रहा था । was/were (verb)ing | मैं काम कर रहा हूँ । am/is/are (verb)ing | मैं काम कर रहा होंगा । will be (verb)ing |
| Perfect -आ / ए / ई + होना | मैंने रोटी खाई थी । had (verb)ed | मैंने रोटी खाई है । has/have (verb)ed | मैंने रोटी खाई होगी । will have (verb)ed |
Verbs combine with nouns, adjectives or other verbs to make complex verbs. If the verb combines with a noun or an adjective, it becomes a conjunct verb whereas if it combines with another verb, it becomes a compound verb. We will focus first on the former: the conjunct verb. In this case, the second element of the conjunct verb will show the grammatical agreement. Since there is no rule for which combination of noun, adjective and verbs must be used, the best way to understand the possible combinations and their meanings is to observe examples:
With करना
| नफ़रत करना | पता करना | साफ़ करना | ठीक करना | छोटा करना |
| to hate | to find out | to clean | to fix | to make small |
मैं उस गाड़ी के रंग से नफ़रत करता हूँ । I hate the color of that car.
उस आदमी का नाम पता करो । Find out that man’s name.
अपना कमरा साफ़ करो निखिल । Clean your room, Nikhil.
क्या आप कल तक मेरी गाड़ी को ठीक कर सकेंगे ? Will you be able to fix my car by tomorrow?
इस कमीज़ को छोटी कर दीजिए । Please shorten this shirt.
With लेना
| आज्ञा लेना | उधार लेना | दुआ लेना | वचन लेना |
| to get permission | to borrow | to receive blessings | to obtain a promise from X |
अपनी माँ से पार्क जाने की आज्ञा लो । Get permission from your mother to go to the park.
क्या मैं आप से कुछ पैसा उधार ले सकता हूँ ? Can I borrow some money from you?
मनु ने कमला से शादी करने की दुआ ली । Manu received blessings to marry Kamala.
मैंने उससे कल सात बजे तक पहुँचने का वचन लिया । S/he promised me that s/he will arrive tomorrow by seven o’clock.
With देना
| क़सम देना | दावत देना | दान देना | ख़बर देना |
| to make an oath/promise | to host a party/meal | to give a gift/offering | to inform/ provide information |
With होना
| भरोसा होना | काम होना | आसान होना | ख़त्म होना |
| to have hope | to have work | to be easy | to come to an end |
| अच्छा होना | रात होना | बारिश होना | |
| to be good | to be night | to rain |
With लगना
| मन लगना | ठंड लगना | भूख लगना | पता लगना |
| to have the mind fixed on something | to feel cold | To feel hungry | to be found out |
मेरा मन परीक्षा के नतीजे पर लगा था । My mind was fixed on the results of the exam.
क्या तुमको ठंड लग रही है ? Are you feeling cold?
मुझे भूल लग रही है, सुबह से कुछ नहीं खाया । I’m feeling hungry, I haven’t eaten anything since morning.
मुझे अभी माँ यहाँ आने का पता लगा । I just now found out about mom coming here.
With उठना
| भरोसा / विश्वास उठना |
| to lose someone’s trust |
With आना
| तूफ़ान आना | चक्कर आना | याद आना |
| to storm | to be dizzy | to remember |
कल बहुत ज़बरदस्त तूफ़ान आया । A very powerful storm came yesterday
ज़रा-सा पानी दे दो, मुझे चक्कर आ रहा है । Give me some water, I’m dizzy.
मुझे अचानक याद आया कि कल परीक्षा देनी है । I suddenly remembered that I have to take an exam tomorrow.
Some sentences using conjunct verbs are given below. Note how, in general, the verb agrees with the subject of the sentence. However, if the subject is in its oblique form (i.e., it is followed by a postposition), then the verb will agree with the adjective or noun before it.
| X की मदद (f.) करना to help | तुम सबकी मदद करते हो । You (m.) help everybody. राधा ने उस आदमी की मदद की । Radha helped that man. |
| X का इंतज़ार (m.) करना to wait | मैं उसका इंतज़ार करुँगी । I (f.) will wait for him/her. आपने उसका इंतज़ार क्यों किया ? Why did you wait for him/her? |
| X की कोशिश (f.) करना to try | मैं हिन्दी लिखने की कोशिश करता हूँ । I (m.) try to write Hindi. मैंने हिन्दी लिखने की कोशिश की । I tried to write Hindi. |
| मना(m.) करना to forbid | तुम मुझे हर काम के लिए मना करती हो । You forbid me to do everything. उसने मुझे इस काम के लिए मना किया । He/she forbade me to do this (job). |
| शुरू (m.) करना to start | मैं सुबह अपना काम शुरू करती हूँ । I (f.) begin my work in the morning. मैंने काम शुरू किया । I started work. |
In negative sentences, the negative particle occurs between the noun/adjective and the verb:
| मैं कमरा साफ़ नहीं करूँगी । I (f.) will not clean the room. | वह अपने बाल ठीक नहीं करेगा । He (m.) will not fix his hair. |
| उसने हमें दावत नहीं दी । He/she did not feed us. | तुम उसकी क़सम मत लेना । Don’t swear on him/her. |
Compound verbs are formed by using a combination of verbs, the first verb gives the meaning to the sentence and the second one adds nuance and shows the agreement. लेना, देना, and जाना are the most common compound verbs, though there are others used less frequently including बठैना, डालना, उठना, रखना, आना, and पड़ना. In many sentences—though not always—लेना shows that the action is towards the subject (e.g., किताब ले लो, नोट्स लिख लो). देना often—but not always—shows that the action is away from the subject (e.g., किताब पढ़ दो, जूते दे दो). Finally, जाना typically—but, again, not always—indicates that the action indicated by the main verb has been completed (e.g., काम हो गया, मैं सो गई थी, खुद समझ जाओ, इधर आ जाओ). Below are some common examples of compound verbs:
With लेना
| नहा लेना | उठा लेना | रख लेना | काम हो लेना |
| to bathe | to lift up | to set down | to finish work |
| साथ हो लेना | बदल लेना | खा लेना | |
| to join | to change | to eat |
With देना
| भौंक देना | छींक देना | मार देना | तोड़ देना | फेंक देना |
| to bark at | to sneeze | to hit/kill | to break | to throw/throw away |
| फाड़ देना | दे देना | हँस देना | चल देना | |
| to tear/rip | to give | to laugh at | to go/start moving |
With जाना
| मर जाना | गिर जाना | सो जाना | दिख जाना |
| to die | to fall down | to fall asleep | to appear |
| टूट जाना | खा जाना | बदल जाना | |
| to break | to eat up | to change/transform |
बड़ा अफ़सोस हुआ । मेरी बिल्ली बीमार होके मर गयी । Something really sad happened. My cat got sick and died.
बच्चे को चोट कैसे लगी ? क्या वह गिर गया ? How did the child get hurt? Did he fall down?
काम करने के बाद वह घर आते ही सो गयी । She fell asleep as soon as she got home after work.
कल आप मुझे बहुत दूर से दिख गये । I saw you from afar yesterday. (lit. You appeared to me from far away yesterday)
ऐसे मत खेलो, खिलौना टूट जाएगा । Don’t play like that, the toy will break.
मैं तो सारा खाना खा गया । I ate up all the food.
मौसम अचानक से बदल गया । तेज़ बारिश होने वाली है । The weather changed all of a sudden. It’s about to rain really hard.
The typical word order for sentences depicting a sense of compulsion is as follows:
Subject + को + Object + Infinitive verb + चाहिए / होना / पड़गा
तुम + को + किताब + ख़रीदना + चाहिए ।
You should buy a book.
The words चाहिए, होना, and पड़गा all have different meanings conveying a different degree of compulsion.
चाहिए (should / ought to)
For the present tense, simply add चाहिए after the infinitive form of the main verb:
| देर हो रही है, मुझे जाना चाहिए । | It’s getting late (lit. “I’m getting late”), I should go. |
| आपको ख़ुशी में नाचना चाहिए । | You should dance in celebration. |
| तुम्हें पढ़ना चाहिए । | You should read/study. |
For past tense, you’ll have to add a past tense form of होना (usually just था) after चाहिए:
| तुम्हें उसको बताना चाहिए था । | You should have told him/her. |
| हमें सुबह जल्दी निकलना चाहिए था । | We should have left early in the morning. |
होना (a mild sense of compulsion: “is/was to” )
Constructions with होना require you to add a past, present, or future form (depending on the tense of the statement) of होना after the infinitive form of the main verb:
| तुम्हें कहाँ जाना है ? | Where do you need to go? |
| मुझे नाचना है । | I have to dance. |
| बच्चे को खेलना था । | The kids had to play. |
| आपको कब खाना होगा ? | When will you have to eat? |
पड़ना (an unwelcome sense of compulsion: “have to/had to/must)
Like होना, constructions with पड़ना require you to add a past, present, or future form (depending on the tense of the statement) of पड़ना after the infinitive form of the main verb:
| उसको यह पैसा तो लेना पड़ेगा । | He’ll/She’ll just have to take this money. |
| मुझे रोज़ तीन सेब खाने पड़ते थे । | I had to eat three apples every day. |
| हमें हर सोमवार एक लेख लिखना पड़ता है । | We have to write an essay every Monday. |
Using
चाहना is like other transitive verbs. It shows fondness or desire. It can be in any tense or aspect but habitual aspect (past or present) and future tense are the most common.
| Future tense: पूरी दुनिया हिन्दी बोलना चाहेगी । | The whole world will want to speak Hindi. |
| Perfective Aspect: मैंने वही गाड़ी चाही थी । | I had wanted that same car. |
Perfective often conveys that what the subject had wanted didn’t actually happen.
चाहना sentence structure in habitual aspect:
Subject + Object + को + चाहना (habitual) + होना
| ये लड़के नए कपड़े चाहते हैं । | Those boys want new clothes. |
| राधा उस पिल्ले को चाहती थी । | Radha wanted that puppy. |
चाहना sentence structure with infinitives when the doer of चाहना and doer of infinitive verb are the same:
Subject + Object + Verb (infinitive)+ चाहना (future/habitual)
पूरी दुनिया हिन्दी सीखना चाहती है । The whole world wants to learn Hindi.
“मैं उड़ना चाहता हूँ, दौड़ना चाहता हूँ, गिरना भी चाहता हूँ, बस रुकना नहीं चाहता” …
“I want to fly, I want to run, I even want to fall, I just don’t want to stop”…
From the movie यह जवानी है दीवानी, 2013:
चाहना sentence structure when the doer of चाहना is different from the doer of the other verb:
Subject (1) + चाहना (habitual/future)+ होना + कि + Subject (2) + Object + Verb (subjunctive)
शिक्षक / शिक्षिका चाहती है कि छात्र हिन्दी पढ़ें ।
The teacher wants the students to read.
| Present tense | Present tense + negative | Past tense | Past tense + negative |
| चाहता है | नहीं चाहता (होना dropped) | चाहता था | नहीं चाहता था |
चाहिये is one of the various indirect verbs, which means that the subject is followed by को. This means that चाहिए agrees with the object. It can be used with both nouns and verbs, giving slightly different meanings.
With nouns:
If the object is marked by the post-position को, then it is in the default form of masculine, singular. It is used to express polite demand (want), request, or need. होना form in present tense is dropped after चाहिए.
Subject + को + Noun/Object + चाहिए (+ होना in past & future tenses)
मिनाक्षी को डुपट्टा चाहिए । Minakshi wants a scarf.
सौरभ को तुम्हारी किताब चाहिए थी । Saurabh wanted your book.
मुझे कल आपकी गाड़ी चाहिए होगी । I will want/need your car tomorrow.
The plural form of चाहिए is चाहियें or चाहिएँ, but most people use the singular form in place of plural form too.
With verbs:
When used with verbs, takes on the meaning of “should” or “ought to”. It is used to give strong suggestions or recommendations.
Subject + को + Object (if applicable) + Verb (infinitive) चाहिए (+ होना in past & future tenses)
आनंद को सच बताना चाहिए । Anand should tell the truth.
मुन्ना को मिनाक्षी से झूठ नहीं बोलना चाहिए था । Munna should not have lied to Minakshi.
Exception: If the infinitive verb is intransitive (eg. रहना, होना), then the subject appears without को postposition and the infinitive verb agrees with the subject. For example:
मिनाक्षी खुश रहनी चाहिए । Minakshi should stay happy.
डुपट्टा बाहर होना चाहिए । The scarf should be on the outside.
For the use of चाहिए to state obligations, use the following form:
Subject 1 + को + चाहिए कि + Subject 2 + Object + Verb (in subjunctive/imperative)
हमें चाहिए कि हम खूब पढ़ें । We need to read a lot.
आनंद को चाहिए कि वो मिनाक्षी से झूठ न बोले । Anand needs to not lie to Minakshi.
| Present tense | Present tense + negative | Past tense | Past tense + negative |
| चाहिए | नहीं चाहिए | चाहिए था | नहीं चाहिए था |
Since चाहिए makes such heavy use of the को postposition, here is a quick reminder of different “pronoun-को” forms:
| Pronoun | मैं | तू | यह | वह | हम | तुम | आप | ये | वे | कौन | कोई |
| Pronoun + को | मुझे | तुझे | इसे | उसे | हमें | तुम्हें | आपको | इनको इन्हें | उनको उन्हें | किसे किन्हें | किसी को |
ज़रूरत is a feminine noun. ज़रूरत होना and ज़रूरत पड़ना are compound verbs built on that feminine noun. The subject in these sentences is followed by को and the object is marked with the postposition की. It is used to express necessity or need.
| Subject को + Object कि + ज़रूरत होना (past, present, and future; agrees with ज़रूरत) |
| मिनाक्षी को लाल डुपट्टे की ज़रूरत है । Minakshi needs a red scarf. |
| Subject के लिए + Object की + ज़रूरत होना (past, present, and future; agrees with ज़रूरत) |
| जीतने के लिए मेहनत की ज़रूरत है । Hard work is needed to win. |
| Subject को + Verb (infinitive and oblique) की + ज़रूरत होना (past, present, and future; agrees with ज़रूरत) |
| आनंद को सच बताने की ज़रूरत है । Anand needs to tell the truth. मुन्ना को मिनाक्षी से झूठ बोलने की ज़रूरत नहीं थी । There was no need for Munna to lie to Minakshi. |
Unlike जरूरत, which is a noun, ज़रूरी is an adjective. As such, it is typically used with the verb होना to express a need for something—e.g., “X is necessary”. That X can be a verb in the infinitive or a noun.
| Subject + ज़रूरी होना (past, present, and future; agrees with the subject) |
| जीतना ज़रूरी है । Winning is necessary. |
You can also use ज़रूरी to express what is necessary in order to accomplish something else. In such cases, the following form is used:
| Subject के लिए + Object + ज़रूरी होना (past, present, and future; agrees with the subject) |
| जीतने के लिए मेहनत ज़रूरी है । Hard work is necessary to win. |
After twenty, we see that every number takes the unit digit marker and then adds the tens marker to it. For example, twenty–four is written as चौबीस : चौ, four digit marker, attached to the twenty marker ईस. The nines are an exception to this because they take the marker for the following tens. For example, fifty–nine is उनसठ, with the उन coming from the unit digit nine and the सठ coming from the following tens digit sixty (not the expected tens digit fifty). However, eighty-nine and ninety-nine are not exceptions; they take their tens digit from the expected tens of eighty and ninety.
| १०० | सौ | One Hundred |
| १,००० | हज़ार | One Thousand |
| १,००,००० | लाख | One Lakh (= One Hundred Thousand) |
| १,००,००,००० | करोड़ | One Crore (= Ten Million) |
Notice how there is a comma after each two digits starting with one lakh rather than after every three in English numbering—e.g., १,००,००० in Hindi vs. 100,000 in English. What is one million (1,000,000) in English is actually ten lakhs (१०,००,०००) in Hindi; the comma placement simply reflects that parlance.
Colors often function as adjectives and can be divided into two grammatical types: those that show agreement with the nouns they modify and those that do not show agreement with the nouns they modify. Both are given in the tables below:
Colors that show grammatical agreement with the noun:
| Color | Masculine singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine singular/plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | काला | काले | काली |
| Blue | नीला | नीले | नीली |
| Green | हरा | हरे | हरी |
| Brown | भूरा | भूरे | भूरी |
| Gold | सुनहरा | सुनहरे | सुनहरी |
| Yellow | पीला | पीले | पीली |
| White | गोरा | गोरे | गोरी |
| Dark | साँवला | साँवले | साँवली |
| Light | हलका | हलके | हलकी |
| Deep, intense | गाढ़ा / गहरा | गाढ़े / गहरे | गाढ़ी / गहरी |
Colors that do not show grammatical agreement with the noun:
| Color | Masculine singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine singular/plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | लाल | लाल | लाल |
| White | सफ़ेद | सफ़ेद | सफ़ेद |
| Purple | बैंगनी | बैंगनी | बैंगनी |
| Khaki | खाकी | खाकी | खाकी |
| Orange | नारंगी | नारंगी | नारंगी |
| Gray (slate) | स्लेटी | स्लेटी | स्लेटी |
| Wheat-colored | गेहूँआ | गेहूँआ | गेहूँआ |
| Almond-colored | बादामी | बादामी | बादामी |
| Sky blue | आसमानी | आसमानी | आसमानी |
| Rust-colored | मोरचे का रंग | मोरचे का रंग | मोरचे का रंग |
| Colorful | रंगीन | रंगीन | रंगीन |
| Colorless | बेरंग | बेरंग | बेरंग |
Simple postpositions
| X में | in X |
| X से | from, by, with X |
| X पर | on / at / upon X |
| X तक | up to / till X |
| X को | to X; used in sentences with transitive verbs and with some special verbs |
Compound postpositions with के
| X के बारे में | about X |
| X के लिए | for X |
| X के साथ | with X |
| X के यहाँ | at the place of X |
| X के पास* / नज़दीक | near X (*के पास is also used for when expressing that a person has some material object) |
| X के आस-पास | around X |
| X के चारों तरफ़ | all around X |
| X के कारण | because of X |
| X के बाद | after X |
| X के बिना | without X |
| X के अन्दर | inside of X |
| X के बाहर | outside of X |
| X के ऊपर | on top of, upon X |
| X के नीचे | under X |
| X के आगे | ahead of X |
| X के पीछे | behind X |
| X के सामने | in front of, across X |
| X के पहले | before X |
| X के बजाय | instead of X |
| X के बावजूद | in spite of X |
| X के अलावा | except X |
Compound postpositions with की
| X की वजह से | because of X |
| X की तरफ़ / की ओर | towards X |
| X की तरफ़ से / की ओर से | from X’s side, on behalf of X |
| X की जगह | instead of X |
Compound postpositions with से
| X से पहले | ahead of X |
| X से दूर | away from X |
Postpositions are also used with infinitive form of the verbs (आना, खाना, नाचना); verbs in these constructions are behaving grammatically like nouns.
| यह कुर्सी बैठने के लिए है । | This chair is for sitting. |
| मुझे तैरने के लिए जाना है । | I have to go for swimming. |
| उसको जाने की तैयारी करनी है । | He has to prepare for going / leaving. |
| मैं सामान लाने के बारे में बात कर रही हूँ । | I am talking about bringing things / commodities. |
| बाहर जाने से पहले अख़बार पढ़ो । | Read the newspaper before going out. |
| बात करने के बाद मत सोचो । | Don’t think after speaking / having spoken. |
को / से are mostly used with the animate object of transitive verbs and they must be used with the indirect object in cases where verbs take both direct and indirect objects. For example:
आप ने मुझसे किताब क्यों ली ? Why did you take the book from me?
The से marks the indirect object (me) rather than the direct object (the book).
को and से are used with transitive verbs in two cases:
- both are usually used if the direct object is animate:
| तुम उस आदमी को देखो । | Look at that man. |
| मैं कल अपने दोस्त से मिलूँगी । | I will meet my friend tomorrow. |
| तुम पायल को जाने दो । | Let Payal go. |
| आप आयना से सवाल न कीजिए । | Please don’t ask Ayana. |
- को (not से) is added to give definiteness to an inanimate object:
| वह अख़बार को पढ़ता है । | He reads the newspaper. |
| वह अख़बार पढ़ता है । | He reads newspaper(s) (i.e., he generally reads a newspaper). |
In sentences like “मैंने कल बच्चा देखा”, the object बच्चा has been objectified like a table, rock, mat, etc., as opposed to in the sentence “मैंने कल बच्चे को देखा”.
को and से are used with ditransitive verbs with an indirect object (which is almost always animate):
| लीला ने वंश को पत्र दिया । | Leela gave Vansh a letter. |
| लीला ने वंश से सवाल पूछे । | Leela asked Vansh a question. |
| लीला राम को सेब देती है । | Leela gives Ram an apple. |
| राम लीला को संतरे खिलाता है । | Ram feeds Leela an orange. |
Note:
The correct order of sentence should be:
| Subject | Indirect object | Direct object | Verb |
मैं तुमको किताब दूँगा । I will give you the book.
Emphasis can be added to the indirect object by using the following sentence order:
| Subject | Direct object | Indirect object | Verb |
मैं किताब तुमको दूँगा । I will give you the book.
Using से
Using से as preposition from, by, since:
| हम दिल्ली से हैं । (from) | We are from Delhi. |
| मुझे मध्य प्रेदश से कलकत्ता जाना है । (from) | I have to go from Uttar Pradesh to Kolkata. |
| क्या तुम ट्रेन से जाओगे ? (by) | Will you go by train? |
| मैं सुबह से भूखा हूँ । (since) | I have been hungry since morning. |
| हम दो साल से हिन्दी सीख रहे हैं । (for/since) | I have been learning Hindi for two years. |
To mark instrumental case:
| मैं गाड़ी से दफ़्तर गया । | I went to work by car. |
| मैंने हथोड़े से कील ठोका । | I hit (hammered) the nail with the hammer. |
Making adverbs from nouns:
| रमेश ने बहुत मुश्किल से पानी पिया । | Ramesh drank water with great difficulty. |
| इतनी ज़ोर से क्यों बोल रहे हो ? | Why are you talking so loudly? |
To make comparisons:
| उमा मुझसे लम्बी है । | Uma is taller than me. |
| शुमित तुमसे समझदार है । | Shumit is more clever than you. |
With interactive verbs:
Interactive verbs are verbs that convey some type of interaction between two actors. Examples include:
बात करना, बोलना, कहना, पूछना, मिलना, नफ़रत करना, नाराज़ होना, डरना, इनकार करना, प्यार करना, नफ़रत / घृणा करना, लड़ना, शादी करना, माँगना, शिकायत करना
| आपने नौकरी के लिए राम से बात कब की ? | When did you talk to Ram about the job? |
Using से in place of को with these verbs can convey a sense that the person on the receiving end of the interactive verb is more involved in the action itself:
| मैंने उसको पागल कहा । (No response expected) | I called him/her crazy. |
| vs. | |
| मैंने उससे यहाँ आने को कहा । (Response expected) | I told him/her to come here. |
The songs bahut pyār karte haiṃ tumko sanam and sāthiyā tūne kyā kiyā have a good contrast of these two phrasings:
| बहुत प्यार करते हैं तुमको सनम… | I love you very much, dear. The loved person does not know the singer, so the lover cannot be expected to love back. |
| मैंने किया है तुमसे प्यार… | I was in love with you. मैं is doing the loving and expected the object of that love to love back. |
The possessive pronouns (मेरा, तेरा, इसके , उसकी, हमारा, etc.) are replaced by the possessive pronoun अपना / अपने / अपनी if the possession is possessed by the subject of the same clause. Consider this sentence, which is grammatically improper:
| राधा ने राधा के जूते साफ़ किए । | Radha cleaned Radha’s shoes. |
To correct the above example, use the possessive pronoun अपने in place of the “राधा के” since the object (जूते) belongs to the subject (राधा):
| राधा ने अपने जूते साफ़ किए । | Radha cleaned her shoes. |
Similarly, अपना will be used in the following examples too:
| मैंने अपना काम कल ख़त्म किया था । | I had finished my work yesterday. |
| वह अपनी माँ को बहुत प्यार करता है । | He loves his mother very much. |
| हम परसों अपनी क्लास में खाना बनाएँगे । | We will make food in our class the day after tomorrow. |
| अपनी रोटी खाओ । | Eat your (own) bread. |
| इसने अपनी क़मीज़ अपने दोस्त को दे दी । | He/she gave his/her shirt to his/her friend. |
| मेरे पिता और माता अपने घर जा रहे हैं । | My father and mother are going to their house. |
When both अपना and a possessive pronoun are used, it lays emphasis on the ownership:
| मैं अपनी गाड़ी में आऊँगा । | → | मैं मेरी अपनी गाड़ी में आऊँगा । |
| I will come in my car. | I will come in my own car. |
Below are conditions where अपना cannot be used:
- अपना will not be used if the possessed does not belong to the subject
Correct: उन्होंने तेरे फ़ोन को फेंक दिया । They threw your phone away.
Incorrect: उन्होंने अपने फ़ोन को फेंक दिया ; this would mean “They threw their own phone away.”
- अपना will not be used if the possessed also functions as the subject of the sentence
Correct: मेरी किताब खो गयी । My book got lost.
Incorrect: अपनी किताब खो गयी ।
- अपना will not be used in cases where there are joint subjects
Correct: मैं और मेरा भाई मलयालम सीख रहे हैं । My brother and I are learning Malayalam.
Incorrect: मैं और अपना भाई मलयालम सीख रहे हैं ।
