Hindi 1/Simple Sentences and Pronouns
Sentence Order
[edit | edit source]Hindi follows a Subject Object Verb word order, unlike English which follows a Subject Verb Object word order. This means that the action word in a sentence comes last. Consider the sentence
यह सेब है yah seb hai (this is an apple)
The word order is this apple is.
Notably the sentenced did not call the object an apple, only apple. Hindi does not have special articles like English. In English it is compulsory to say the apple, or the house when talking about a specific apple or house. When talking about something that is unspecified, it is compulsory to say an apple, or a house.
Prepositions and the Auxillary Verb
[edit | edit source]मैं हूँ maĩ hŭ (I am)
तु है tu hai you are
यह है yah hai this is
वह है vah hai that is (pronounced—vo)
तुम हो tum ho you are
आप हैं āp haĩ you are
ये हैं ye haĩ these are
वे हैं ve haĩ those/they are
Some notes
Hindi does not have separate words for he, she and it. It only uses four words that whether an something is close or distant, and singular, or plural. Hindi tends to favour the use of वह vah and वे ve more than english does. यह yah and ये ye are only used to indicate a particular sense of closeness.
Hindi has three levels of you. This is a very important idea to understand:
- आप āp is for formal use, with superiors and unfamiliar people
- तुम tum is for more familiar use, with peers, and for use with subordinates, servants etc.
- तु tu is intimate, used for very close people, in songs etc.
This level system is important to understand because using the wrong version of you can be very offensive. This also varies from person to person, from region to region, and from generation to generation. The best bet is to use आप āp whenever there is any doubt.