Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Hindi Grammar 7 (Possessive Pronouns)

How to use possessive pronouns in Hindi

Hindi possessive pronouns change their endings depending on the number and gender of the noun that they go with.  For example, if I want to say “my son” I would say मेरा बेटा (meraa beTaa - m, sg), “my daughter” would be मेरी बेटी (meree beTee - f,sg ), “my clothes” would be मेरे कपड़े (mere kapDe - m,pl), “my (girl) friends” would be मेरी सहेलियां (meree saheliyaan - f,pl), however if we want to say “my father”, we would use plural masculine form to show respect and say मेरे पिताजी (mere pitaajee – m,sg, polite).  In Hindi there is no difference who is saying मेरी बेटी (mere beTee – my daughter) – a woman or a man, the pronoun मेरी will depend on the noun that it precedes. It will change accordingly the number (singular or plural) and the gender (masculine or feminine).

A fragment on the temple's door

Hindi noun genders have to be memorized because there are too many irregular nouns that don’t follow the rough rule that divides Hindi nouns into two groups: the ones that end in “-aa” (masculine) and the ones that end in “-ee” (feminine).  The best way to learn the genders of Hindi nouns is to listen to Hindi language and read Hindi books and articles, also converse with Indian people until you know what Hindi sounds like. At that stage, you will naturally know the ending of possessive pronoun as you will be familiar with the sound of the right Hindi.

Lord Shiva

Here is the table of Hindi possessive pronouns:


                                       


Pronouns that are used before singular masculine nouns
Pronouns that are used before singular feminine nouns
Pronouns that are used before plural masculine nouns
Pronouns that are used before plural feminine nouns

मेरा
meraa
my, mine

 मेरी
meree
my, mine

मेरे
mere
my, mine

 मेरी
meree
my, mine

तेरा
teraa
your, yours

 तेरी
teree
your, yours

तेरे
tere
your, yours

 तेरी
teree
your, yours

तुम्हारा
tumhaaraa
your, yours

 तुम्हारी
tumhaaree
your, yours

तुम्हारे
tumhaare
your, yours

 तुम्हारी
tumhaaree
your, yours

आपका
aapkaa
your,yours

 आपकी
aapkee
your, yours

आपके
aapke
your, yours

 आपकी 
aapkee
your, yours

इसका/उसका
iskaa/uskaa
his,hers
 इसकी/ उसकी
iskee/uskee
his, hers
इसके/उसके
iske/uske
his,hers
 इसकी/ उसकी
iskee/uskee
his, hers
हमारा
hamaaraa
our, ours

 हमारी
hamaaree
our, ours

हमारे
hamaare
our, ours

 हमारी
hamaaree
our, ours

तुम्हारा
tumhaaraa
your,yours

 तुम्हारी
tumhaaree
your, yours

तुम्हारे
tumhaare
your, yours

 तुम्हारी
tumhaaree
your, yours

आपका
aapkaa
your, yours

 आपकी
aapkee
your, yours

आपके
aapke
your, yours

 आपकी
aapkee
your, yours

इनका/उनका
inkaa/unkee
their, theirs
 इनकी/उनकी
inkee/unkee
their, theirs
इनके/उनके
inke/unke
their, theirs
 इनकी/उनकी
inkee/unkee
their, theirs


Examples with nouns:


                                          

मेरी माँ
meree maan
my mother - f,sg
मेरे पिता
mere pitaa
my father - m,sg, polite
मेरी बहिन
meree bahin
my sister - f, sg
मेरा भाई
meraa bhaaee
my brother - m,sg
मेरी बेटी 
meree beTee
my daughter  - f,sg
मेरा बेटा
meraa beTaa
my son - m, sg
तेरा कुत्ता
teraa kuttaa
your dog - m,sg
तेरी बिल्ली
teree billee
your cat - f,sg
हमारे राजा
hamaare raajaa
our king - m,sg, polite
हमारी रानी
hamaaree raanee
our queen - f,sg
इसके बच्चे
iske bacche
her children - m,pl
उनकी सहेलियां
unkee saheliyaan
their (girl) friends - f, pl

Marigolds and candles at the temple


How to use possessive pronouns with adjectives and nouns:

Hindi adjectives would change their endings according to the gender and number of the noun. If the noun is a masculine gender, the adjective will also have to be a masculine gender. For example:

गोरी लड़की
goree ladkee
fair girl (lightskinned)

 गोरी लड़कियां
goree ladkiyaan
fair girls

गोरा लड़का
goraa ladkaa
fair boy
 गोरे लड़के
gore ladke
fair boys

More examples:

एक अच्छा वक़ील
ek achchhaa vaqeel
a good lawyer (m, sg)
दो पतले मज़दूर
do patle mazdoor
two thin workers (m, pl)
इसकी प्यारी हाँसी
iskee pyaaree haansee
her beautiful laugh (f, sg)
एक छोटा बच्चा
ek chhoTaa bachchaa
a small child (m, sg)
हमारी बड़ी रसोई
hamaaree badee rasoee
our big kitchen (f, sg)
एक अंधा भिखारी 
ek andhaa bhikhaaree
a blind beggar (m,sg)
मेरी नयी किताब
meree nayee kitaab
my new book (f, sg)
दस काली बिल्लियाँ
das kaalee billiyaan
ten black cats (f, pl)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Three ways to say “I like” in Hindi

                                   पसंद



1. How to say “I like” using noun पसंद (pasand – approval; choice; preference). The Hindi construction of “I like” is very similar to that of मेरे पास है (mere paas hai – I have) and चाहिए (chaahie – is wanted; is needful).
 
मुझे पसंद
mujhe pasand
I like
तुझे पसंद
tujhe pasand
You like (casual)
तुम्हे पसंद
tumhe pasand
You like (casual)
आपको पसंद
aapko pasand
You like (polite)
इसको/उसको पसंद
isko/usko pasand
He/she likes



हमें पसंद
hamen pasand
We like
तुम्हे पसंद
tumhe pasand
You like (casual)
आपको पसंद
aapko pasand
You like (polite)
इनको/ उनको पसंद
inko/unko pasand
They like

At the entrance of Qutub Minar
Examples illustrating the usage of पसंद (pasand – approval; choice; preference):

मुझे भारत बहुत पसंद है।
mujhe bhaarat bahut pasand hai
I like India very much.

आप मुझे बहुत पसंद हैं।
aap mujhe bahut pasand hain
I like you very much.

मुझे यह साड़ी नहीं पसंद।
mujheyah saadee naheen pasand
I don't like this sari.

आपको खाने में क्या - क्या पसंद है?
aapko khaane men kya kya pasand hai?
What do you like to eat?

मुझे सिर्फ दाल रोटी पसंद है।
mujhe sirf daal roTee pasand hai.
I only like daal and roti.

इसको शोपिंग करना नहीं पसंद।
isko shoping karnaa naheen pasand
He doesn't like shopping.

क्या आपको यह  तौफा  पसंद है?
kyaa aapko yah tofaa pasand hai?
Do you like this gift?

हाँ, पसंद है।
haan, pasand hai
Yes, I like.

पसंद  meaning as in Oxford Hindi-English dictionary: 
Pasand 1. adj. approved, liked. 2.f. approval. 3. Choice; preference. पसंद आना (pasand aanaa) -  to be approved, liked (by को (ko)); to please. पसंद करना (pasand karnaa) – to approve, to like, to choose, to prefer; to accept (a submission) अमनपसंद (amanpasand) – adj. who approves peace; peace-loving  दिलपसंद (dilpasand) – adj. pleasing to the heart, or mind.

Sari borders in the Indian market
                                                       . अच्छा लगता 


2. The second very common way to say “I like” is to use a phrase अच्छा लगता (achhaa lagtaa – seem good; think to be good; feel to be good). To say “I like” in Hindi we will say: मुझे अछा लगता (mujhe achhaa lagtaa hai – I like). To say “I don’t like” we would add नहीं (naheen – no) before the verb and we would have मुझे अछा नहीं लगता (mujhe achhaa naheen lagtaa – I don’t like). To make a question “Do you like?” we would add क्या (kyaa – what; a word used to make a question) and we will have: क्या तुझे अछा लगता? (kyaa tujhe achhaa lagtaa – Do you like?).

मुझे अच्छा  लगता
mujhe achchhaa lagtaa
I like
तुझे अच्छा  लगता
tujhe achchhaa lagtaa
You like (casual)
तुम्हे अच्छा  लगता
tumhe achchhaa lagtaa
You like (casual)
आपको अच्छा लगता
aapko achchhaa lagtaa
You like (polite)
इसको/उसको अच्छा लगता
isko/unko achchhaa lagtaa
He/she likes



हमें अच्छा लगता
hamen achchhaa lagtaa
We like
तुम्हे अच्छा लगता
tumko achchhaa lagtaa
You like (casual)
आपको अच्छा लगता
aapko achchaa lagtaa
You like (polite)
इनको/उनको अच्छा लगता
inko/unko achhhaa lagta
They like

As you can see, अच्छा लगता never changes its endings no matter which person is using it. It is pretty easy to use it and I would recommend learning its past and future tenses too. If you want to say “I liked” or “I enjoyed” in the past tense, you can say: अच्छा लगा (achchhaa lagaa ) and if you want to say “I’ll like” or “I’ll enjoy” you can say: अच्छा लगेगा (achchhaa lagegaa ).

When does it change? It changes when we use अच्छा लगता (achchhaa lagtaa) when talking about a feminine noun. For example if we want to say “I like that girl” we say: मुझे वह लड़की अच्छी लगती (mujhe vah ladkee achchhee lagtee) but if we want to say “I like that boy”, we say मुझे वह लड़का अच्छा लगता (mujhe vah ladkaa achchhaa lagtaa).

Some more examples:

मुझे घर में रहना अच्छा लगता है।
mujhe ghar men rahnaa achchhaa lagtaa hai.
I like staying at home.

मुझे बारिश अच्छी लगती है।
mujhe baarish achchhee lagtee hai.
I like rain.

उसको वह लड़की अच्छी नहीं लगती है।  
usko vah ladkee achchhee naheen lagtee hai
He doesn't like that girl.

इंडिया आपको कैसा लगा था?
indiyaa aapko kaisaa lagaa tha
How did you like India?

बहुत अच्छा लगा था।
bahut achchaa lagaa tha
I liked it.
                                . शौक़
3. The third way that can express something you like is to say मुझे...का शौक़ है (mujhe…kaa shauk hai – I like…/My hobby is…/My interest is…). It is used when you want to say what your hobby or interest or passion is. For example “I like reading” would be मुझे पढ़ने का शौक़ है (mujhe parhne kaa shauk hai). If you want to ask someone what is their hobby, you can say: आपको किस चीज़ का शौक़ है?  (aapko kis cheez kaa shauk hai? – What is your hobby? Lit. you what kind thing of hobby is).

शौक़ shauq as in Oxford Hindi-English dictionary:  1. m. a desire, yearning; 2. Predilection; taste (for, का); fancy (for). 3. Eagerness, pleasure (in doing sthg). 4. A hobby शौक़ फ़रमाइए! (shauq farmaaie) – help yourself!, take all you want! शौक़ मिटाना (shauq miTaanaa) – to satisfy a desire शौक़ होना (को) (shauq honaa (ko)) – to be fond (of some activity) शौक़ से (shauq se) – with pleasure, gladly, according to one’s wish.

                                           Some example sentences:


मुझे डोसा खाने का बहुत शौक़ है 
mujhe dosaa khaane kaa bahut shauq hai
I like eating dosa very much.

मुझे क्रिकेट  खेलने का  बहुत शौक़ है
mujhe krikeT khelne kaa bahut shauq hai
I like playing cricket very much.

उसको किताबें  पढ़ने का  बहुत शौक़ है
usko kitaben parhne kaa bahut shauq hai
He likes reading books very much.

वह लड्डू  इतने  शौक़ से खा रहा है
vah laddoo itne shauq se khaa rahaa hai
She is eating laddu with so much pleasure.