The word order in one language may differ from the sentence structure in another. The order and placement of words are quite important since interactions that don't follow the appropriate pattern frequently end up being meaningless and incomprehensible. The word order in a Hindi sentence structure requires the ability to construct sentences from words.
Hindi Grammar Basics 101
The foundation of the Hindi language is Hindi grammar, of course. Many grammatical conventions in Hindi are dissimilar from those in English and other Romance or Latin languages. Knowing these theories will improve your Hindi proficiency and reduce the likelihood of mistakes.
Hindi grammar follows a logical structure but differs significantly from English:
- SOV word order: Subject → Object → Verb, unlike English SVO.
- Gender and Agreement: All nouns are masculine or feminine, affecting adjective and verb endings.
- Verb conjugation: Hindi verbs end in ‑nā (infinitive); drop to form stem and conjugate according to person, number, gender (e.g. padhnaa → padh + endings).
- Tenses and aspects: Hindi has three primary tenses (past, present, future), each with four aspects (indefinite, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous).
- Auxiliary verbs: Use honā (“to be”) and habitual/perfect markers at sentence end.
- Negation: Place नहī (nahīṃ) before the verb, just after object in negative sentences
Poor grammar includes arbitrarily stuffing words. Learning grammar is the best aspect of learning any language!
Basic Hindi Grammar For Sentence Writing
Hindi has several grammar rules that are very different from those in other languages. These Hindi grammar rules must be learned to not only speak the language correctly but also to understand some of its nuances. Non-native Hindi speakers occasionally struggle to pronounce certain words or expressions. Actually, despite learning Hindi, the majority of beginners take a very long time to become familiar with basic terms. You will have an advantage over other students if you are aware of these guidelines.
- Firstly, Hindi grammar uses the SOV (subject-object-verb) word order rather than the SVO used in English.
- The second thing you should keep in mind is that everything in Hindi grammar has a gender.
The Hindi language has two grammatical genders: feminine and masculine. - The idea of diacritics also causes difficulty for many beginner Hindi speakers.
- Depending on the degree of formality and respect between two people, Hindi has a variety of pronouns and ways to address them.
- The verb conjugation is the most challenging aspect of basic Hindi grammar for beginners.
| English Word Order | I read the book. |
| Hindi Word Structure | मैं किताब पढ़ती हूँ। (main kiTaab padhaTii huun.)[FEMALE] मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ। (main kiTaab padhaTaa huun.) [MALE] |
Hindi Punctuation
Regarding punctuation, the only punctuation mark in Hindi that differs from English or other languages is the 'full stop,' also known as the खड़ी पाई (khadii paaii) or पूर्ण विराम (puurn viraam), which looks like the capital "।." All other punctuation marks, such as the comma or question mark, are the same as in English.
The full stop is represented as a vertical line (|) in Hindi. It signifies the end of a sentence
Example:
Separating Items in a List
"मैंने आम, केला, और सेब खरीदे।"
(I bought mango, banana, and apple.)
Before Conjunctions
"वह खेल रहा है, लेकिन वह थका हुआ है।"
(He is playing, but he is tired.)
Indicating a Pause
मैं सोच रहा हूँ, क्या यह सही है?"
(I am wondering if this is right.)
Diacritics is unfamiliar to non-native speakers, particularly those who speak English or Romance languages. When a Hindi vowel and consonant are combined, the vowel loses its distinct identity and becomes a "diacritic" or मात्रा (maaTraa) attached to that specific consonant. To illustrate this, we've provided a few examples.
In Hindi, diacritics are known as विशेषक चिह्न (Visheshak Chinh) and are symbols added to letters to indicate modifications in pronunciation
Basic Elements of Hindi Grammar
संज्ञा ( Sangya ) ( Noun)
सर्वनाम ( Sarvanaam ) (Pronoun)
क्रिया ( Kriya ) (Verb)
विशेषण ( Visheshan ) (Adjectives)
लिंग ( ling ) (Gender)
संधि (Sandhi) (Union)
अनेकार्थि शब्द ( anekarthi shabd ) (Multiple Words)
पर्यायवाची शब्द ( paryaayavaachii shabd ) (Synonyms)
कारक ( kaarak ) (Factor)
वचन ( vachan ) (Grammatical Number)
उपसर्ग ( upasarg ) (Prefix)
प्रत्यय ( pratyay ) (Suffix)
संयोजक ( san-yojak ) (Conjunctive)
Simple Hindi Sentences And Their Meanings
Aap Kaise Ho? (Formal)
How are you?
खुश रहो। (Khush Raho)
Stay Happy
आपसे मिलकर खुशी हुई। (Aapse Milkar Khushi Hui) (Formal)
Nice meeting you!
मुझे हिंदी नहीं आती। (Mujhe Hindi Nahi Aati)
I don't know Hindi (I don't speak Hindi)
कृपया इसे फिर से कहना (Kripya phirse boliye)
Please say it again
Hindi Word Order: The Basics
As mentioned earlier, the basic Hindi sentence structure follows the SOV pattern. Here, S = Subject, O = Object, and V = Verb. You will need to understand the basic rules for constructing any type of sentence or phrase in Hindi, be it declarative or interrogative, or even a Hindi proverb.
Subject
The subject is any person or thing which is the primary doer in the sentence, and it usually comes at the beginning of a sentence.
मैं खाता हूँ। (main khaataa huun.) “I eat.”
Here, “I” or मैं (main) is the subject.
Object
An object is a word on which the action is performed. Usually, it follows immediately after the subject and before the verb.
मैं फल खाता हूँ। (main phaL khaataa huun.) “I eat fruits.”
Here, “fruits” or फल (phal) is the object.
Verb
A verb is an action happening in a sentence. Contrary to the English sentence structure, in Hindi, the verb (along with the helping verb) comes at the end of the sentence.
मैं फल खाता हूँ। (main phaL khaataa huun.) “I eat fruits.”
Here, “eat” or खाता हूँ (khaataa huun) is the verb.
Basic Word Order with Subject, Verb, and Object
Declarative Sentences (Formal / Fixed)
मैं फल खाता हूँ। (main phal khaataa huun.)
(S + O + V) “I eat fruits.”
(S + V + O)
This is the simplest and most basic Hindi sentence structure, where the subject occupies the first position and is followed by the object and then the verb.
Declarative Sentences (Informal / Flexible)
मैं खाता हूँ फल। (main khaataa huun phal.)
(S +V+O) “I eat fruits.”
(S + V + O)
The S + V + O pattern in Hindi is never used in the formal context and is frowned upon.
Negative Sentences
मैं फल नहीं खाता हूँ। (main phal Nahiin khaataa huun.)
(S + O + V) “I do not eat fruits.”
(S + V + O)
In Hindi, helping verbs come at the end of the sentence, unlike in English where they are present in the first part of the sentence.
Interrogative Sentence
क्या मैं फल खाता हूँ? (kyaa main phal khaataa huun?)
(S + O + V) “Do I eat fruits?”
(Auxiliary verb + S + V + O)
The auxiliary verbs in Hindi do not come at the beginning of interrogative sentences. Instead, there are separate words for asking questions in Hindi.
Learn everything you need to know with a qualified tutor in spoken Hindi classes on Superprof!
Word Order with Prepositional Phrases
It's not always easy to stick to the straightforward sentence form of Hindi. Adverbs, adjectives, and other prepositional phrases can be used in this situation.
Frequency
मैं रोज़ फल खाता हूँ। (main roz phal khaataa huun.) “I eat fruits daily.”
It is clear how the adverb of frequency रोज़ (roz) smoothly takes its place between the subject and the object. In a similar Hindi sentence structure, you can replace it with other frequency adverbs (e.g. “occasionally” or “rarely”).
Speaking of frequency, how many Hindi number names do you know? If the answer is on the lower side, it is time to brush up your act!
Time
मैं शाम को फल खाता हूँ। (main saam ko phal khaataa huun.) “I eat fruits in the evening.”
The adverb of time is placed somewhere between the subject and the object. In case there is no object, the time comes right between the subject and the action in the sentence.
Place
मैं रोज़ शाम को दफ़्तर में फल खाता हूँ। (main roz shaam ko Daftar men phal khaataa huun.) “Every evening, I eat fruit in the office.”
Again, similar to the time adverb, the words for place also happen to be present between the subject and the object/verb.
Manner
मैं फल काट कर खाता हूँ। (main phal kaat kar khaataa huun.) “I eat fruits after cutting them.”
Usually, the adverb of manner is positioned between the object and the verb.
Multiple Objects
It’s quite natural to talk about two different things in a single Hindi sentence. For instance, a person may eat fruit with milk, in a salad, or in a smoothie. The following example illustrates this point.
मैं रोज़ शाम को दूध के साथ फल खाता हूँ। (main roz shaam ko duudh ke saath phal khaataa huun.) “Every evening, I eat fruits with milk.”
Adjective
In Hindi, adjectives are placed just before the object.
मैं रोज़ ताज़े फल खाता हूँ। (main roz taaze phal khaataa huun.) “I eat fresh fruits every day.”
Word Order with Modifiers
The words used to change any item or person in a phrase are known as modifiers. An adjective, a numeral, or any other determiner could be a modifier. You can discover a Hindi modifier just before the noun when changing an English grammar sentence structure. You'll notice, though, that if there are two modifiers, the noun might appear between them both.
Number
मेरे पास दो सेब हैं। (mere paaS Do Seb hain.) “I have two apples.”
As you can see, here the modifier is a number. It’s modifying the noun “apple,” or सेब (Seb), and is just before that noun.
Determiners and Possessives
यह सेब मेरा नहीं है। (yah seb meraa nahiin hai.) “This apple is not mine.”
This is an example of two modifiers in the same sentence. Here, the noun is “apple,” or सेब (seb). The first modifier is the determiner “this,” or यह (yah). The second modifier is the possessive “mine,” or मेरा (meraa).
Relative
मैंने जो सेब फ़्रिज में रखा था वो ख़राब हो गया है। (mainne jo seb frij men rakhaa thaa vo kharaab ho gayaa hai.) “The apple that I had kept in the fridge has gone bad.”
Some claim that grammar is obsolete, particularly in today's culture of widespread texting and slang usage. Many people even scoff at the idea of learning Hindi grammar, given the ubiquity of English. However, using proper grammar professionally is essential. You'll be able to write more engaging book proposals, articles, and job applications with its assistance.
Ready to learn more? Find Online Hindi Classes on Superprof today and learn basic Hindi words & sentences.
Correct grammar shows readers that you are concerned about the language. However, simple grammatical mistakes might show carelessness and a lack of attention to detail. Because it gives information that aids in the reader's comprehension, grammar is significant.
The word order and sentence structure are what communicate the author's specific meaning to the reader. Write without grammar mistakes to reward your audience with clear communication.
So, if you are looking to learn Hindi, then joining private Hindi tuition wouldn't be such a bad idea!
Find the best Hindi teacher near you on Superprof today!
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
The presentation of hindi language structure is well structured. BRAVO!
Thank you for this. I am very holistic and systematic in my thinking. I have just started learning Hindi, slowly but with depth, and I languish in the miasma of a highly kinaesthetic culture of teaching, that will not present structure up front but just drip feed the categories and hierarchy from oriigin, in the process of declaration of what the language is. There has to be balance and I am finding it a little difficult finding the right mix in materials.
How can we help you in your journey?
Let us know!