Hindustani

grammar

Hindustani, the lingua franca of northern

India and Pakistan, has two standardised
registers: Hindi and Urdu. Grammatically
differences between the two standards
are minor but each uses its own script:
Hindi uses Devanagari while Urdu uses
an extended form of the Perso-Arabic
script, typically in the Nastaʿlīq style.

On this grammar page Hindustani is

written in "standard orientalist"
transcription as outlined in Masica
(1991:xv). Being "primarily a system of
transliteration from the Indian scripts,
[and] based in turn upon Sanskrit" (cf.
IAST), these are its salient features:
subscript dots for retroflex consonants;
macrons for etymologically, contrastively
long vowels; h for aspirated plosives; and
tildes for nasalized vowels.

Phonology
The vowels used in Hindustani are the
following: a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, e, o, ai, au. Note
that the vowels a ai au normally have the
pronunciations [ə] [ɛː] [ɔː]. Consonants
are outlined in the table below. Hovering
the mouse cursor over them will reveal
the appropriate IPA symbol, while in the
rest of the article hovering the mouse
cursor over underlined forms will reveal
the appropriate English translation.

Post-
Labio-  Velar
Bilabial  Dental  Alveolar Retroflex alv./ Uv
dental  
Palatal

p b t d ṭ ḍ k g
Plosive (
ph bh th dh ṭh ḍh kh gh

c j
Affricate
ch jh

Nasal m n (ṇ) (ñ) (ṅ)

Fricative f s z (ṣ) ś (ź) (x) (ġ)

(ṛ)
Tap or Flap r
(ṛh)

Approximant v y

Lateral
l
approximant

Morphology
Nouns
Hindustani distinguishes two genders
(masculine and feminine), two noun
types (count and non-count), two
numbers (singular and plural), and three
cases (direct, oblique, and vocative).[1]:43
Nouns may be further divided into two
classes based on declension, called type-
I (marked) and type-II (unmarked). The
basic difference between the two
categories is that the former has
characteristic terminations in the direct
singular while the latter does not.[2]

The table below displays the suffix

paradigms. A hyphen symbol (for the
marked type-I) denotes change from the
original termination to another (for
example laṛkā to laṛke in the masculine
singular oblique), whereas a plus sign
(for the unmarked type-II) denotes an
ending which should be added (seb to
sebõ in the masculine plural oblique).

Singular Plural

Direct Oblique Direct Oblique Vocative

I -ā -e -õ -o
Masculine
II +õ +o

I -ī, -i, -iyā -iyā̃ -iyõ -iyo

Feminine
II +ẽ +õ +o

The next table of noun declensions,

mostly adapted from Shapiro (2003:263),
shows the above suffix paradigms in
action. Words: laṛkā ('boy'), kuā̃ ('well'),
seb ('apple'), vālid ('father'), cākū
('penknife'), ādmī ('man'), mitra ('friend'),
laṛkī ('girl'), ciṛiyā ('finch'), kitāb ('book'),
bhāṣā ('language'), and aurat ('woman').
 Singular Plural

Direct Oblique Direct Oblique Vocative

laṛkā laṛke 1 laṛkõ

I laṛko
kuā̃ 2 kuẽ kuõ

seb sebõ
Masculine
vālid 3 vālidõ pitāo
II
cākū cākuõ 4
ādmī ādmiyõ 4 ādmiyo

laṛkī laṛkiyā̃ laṛkiyõ

I laṛkiyo
ciṛiyā ciṛiyā̃ ciṛiyõ
Feminine kitāb kitābẽ kitābõ
II bhāṣā bhāṣāẽ 5 bhāṣāõ
aurat aurtẽ aurtõ aurto

Notes for noun declension:

^1 This is also the ending used for the

vocative masculine singular.
^2 A small number of marked
masculines like kuã̄ display
nasalization of all terminations.[3]
^3 Some masculines ending in ā don't
change in the direct plural and fall in
the unmarked category. i.e. vālid
"father", cācā "uncle", rājā "king".[4]
^4 Unmarked nouns ending in ū and ī
generally shorten this to u and i before
the oblique (and vocative) plural
termination(s), with the latter also
inserting the semivowel y.[4][5][6]
^5 Many feminine Sanskrit loanwords
such as bhāṣā ('language') and mātā
(mother) end in ā, therefore the ā is not
a reliable indicator of noun gender.[4]
The iyā ending is also not a reliable
indicator of gender or noun type. Some
words such as pahiyā ('wheel') and
Persian takiyā ('pillow') are masculine
type-I: pahiye ('wheels'), takiye
 ('pillows'). Feminine loanwords such as
Arabic duniyā ('world') and Sanskrit
kriyā ('action') use feminine type-II
endings: duniyāẽ ('worlds'), kriyāẽ
('actions').
In Urdu, many Arabic words retain their
Arabic plurals.
Perso-Arabic loans ending in final
unpronounced h are handled as
masculine marked nouns.[7] Hence
bacca(h) → baccā. The former is the
Urdu spelling, the latter the Hindi.
Some Perso-Arabic loans may use
their original dual and plural markings.
i.e. vālid "father" → vālidain "parents".

Adjectives
Adjectives may be divided into declinable
and indeclinable categories.[8]
Declinables are marked, through
termination, for the gender, number, case
of the nouns they qualify. The set of
declinable adjective terminations is
similar but greatly simplified in
comparison to that of noun terminations
—

Dir. sg. All else

Masc. -ā -e
Decl.
Fem. -ī

Indecl.

Indeclinable adjectives are completely

invariable, and can end in either
consonants or vowels (including ā and ī
). A number of declinables display
nasalization of all terminations.[8] Dir.
masc. sg. (-ā) is the citation form.

Examples of declinable adjectives:

baṛā "big", choṭā "small", moṭā "fat",
acchā "good", burā "bad", kālā "black",
ṭhaṇḍā "cold".
Examples of indeclinable adjectives:
xarāb "bad", sāf "clean", bhārī "heavy",
murdā "dead", sundar "beautiful", pāgal
"crazy", lāl "red".
Declinable adjective baṛā "big" in attributive use
Sg. Pl.

Dir. Obl. Dir. Obl. Voc.

baṛā laṛkā baṛe laṛke baṛe laṛkõ

I baṛe laṛko
baṛā kuā̃ baṛe kuẽ baṛe kuõ

baṛā seb baṛe seb baṛe sebõ

M baṛā pitā baṛe pitā baṛe pitāõ baṛe pitāo
II baṛā cākū baṛe cākū baṛe cākuõ
baṛā ādmī baṛe ādmī baṛe ādmiyõ baṛe ādmiyo
baṛā mitra baṛe mitra baṛe mitrõ baṛe mitro

baṛī laṛkī baṛī laṛkiyā̃ baṛī laṛkiyõ

I baṛī śakti baṛī śaktiyā̃ baṛī śaktiyõ baṛī laṛkiyo
baṛī ciṛiyā baṛī ciṛiyā̃ baṛī ciṛiyõ
F
baṛī kitāb baṛī kitābẽ baṛī kitābõ
II baṛī bhāṣā baṛī bhāṣāẽ baṛī bhāṣāõ
baṛī aurat baṛī aurtẽ baṛī aurtõ baṛī aurto

Indeclinable adjective xarāb "bad" in attributive use

Sg. Pl.

Dir. Obl. Dir. Obl. Voc.

xarāb laṛkā xarāb laṛke xarāb laṛkõ

I xarāb laṛko
xarāb kuā̃ xarāb kuẽ xarāb kuõ

xarāb seb xarāb sebõ

M xarāb pitā xarāb pitāõ xarāb pitāo
II xarāb cākū xarāb cākuõ
xarāb ādmī xarāb ādmiyõ xarāb ādmiyo
xarāb mitra xarāb mitrõ xarāb mitro

xarāb laṛkī xarāb laṛkiyā̃ xarāb laṛkiyõ

I xarāb śakti xarāb śaktiyā̃ xarāb śaktiyõ xarāb laṛkiyo
xarāb ciṛiyā xarāb ciṛiyā̃ xarāb ciṛiyõ
F
xarāb kitāb xarāb kitābẽ xarāb kitābõ
II xarāb bhāṣā xarāb bhāṣāẽ xarāb bhāṣāõ
xarāb aurat xarāb aurtẽ xarāb aurtõ xarāb aurto
All adjectives can be used either
attributively, predicatively, or
substantively. Substantively they are of
course declined as nouns rather than
adjectives.

sā (~ se ~ sī) is a suffix for adjectives,

modifying or lightening their meaning;
giving them an "-ish" or "quite" sense. e.g.
nīlā "blue" → nīlā-sā "bluish". Its
emphasis is rather ambiguous,
sometimes enhancing, sometimes toning
down, the sense of the adjective.[9]

Comparatives and superlatives

Comparisons are made by using "than"

(the postposition se; see below), "more"
(aur, zyādā), and "less" (kam). The word
for "more" is optional, while "less" is
required, so that in the absence of either
"more" will be inferred.

Hindustani Word order Meaning

Gītā Gautam se lambī hai Gita Gautam than tall is Gita is taller than Gautam

Gītā Gautam se aur/zyādā lambī Gita Gautam than more tall Gita is more tall than
hai is Gautam

Gita is (just) as tall as

Gītā Gautam jitnī lambī hai Gita Gautam as tall is
Gautam

Gita Gautam than less tall

Gītā Gautam se kam lambī hai Gita is less tall than Gautam
is

In the absence of an object of

comparison ("more" of course is now no
longer optional):

Hindustani Word order Meaning

chokrā zyādā baṛā hai The lad more big is The lad is bigger

chokrā utnā hi lambā hai The lad as just tall is The lad is just as big

chokrā kam baṛā hai The lad less big is The lad is less big
 Hindustani Word order Meaning

zyādā baṛā chokrā The more big lad The bigger lad

The just as big lad

kam baṛā chokrā The less big lad The less big lad

Superlatives are made through

comparisons with "all" (sab).
Comparisons using "least" are rare; it is
more common to use an antonym.

Hindustani Word order Meaning

kamrā sabse sāf hai The room all than clean is The room is the cleanest

kamrā sabse kam sāf hai The room all than less clean is The room is the least clean

kamrā sabse gandā hai The room all than dirty is The room is the dirtiest

Hindustani Word order Meaning

sabse sāf kamrā The all than clean room The cleanest room

sabse kam sāf kamrā The all than less clean room The least clean room

sabse gandā kamrā The all than dirty room The dirtiest room

In Sanskritized and Persianized registers

of Hindustani, comparative and
superlative adjectival forms using
suffixes derived from those languages
can be found.[10]

Sanskrit Persian

Comp. ("-er") -tar

Sup. ("-est") -tam -tarīn

Numerals

The numeral systems of several of the

Indo-Aryan languages, including
Hindustani and Nepali, are typical
decimal systems, but contracted to the
extent that nearly every number 1–99 is
irregular. The first four ordinal numbers
are also irregular. The suffix -vā̃ marks
ordinals beginning at the number five.
0-5
English Hindustani Cardinal Hindustani Ordinal

zero śūnya, sifar -

one ek pehelā, avval

two do dūsrā

three tīn tīsrā

four chār cauthā

five pāc̃ h pāc̃ hvā̃

Postpositions

The aforementioned inflectional case

system only goes so far on its own, and
rather serves as that upon which is built
a system of agglutinative suffixes or
particles known as postpositions, which
parallel English's prepositions. It is their
use with a noun or verb that necessitates
the noun or verb taking the oblique case
(though the bare oblique is also minorly
used adverbially[11]), and it is with them
that the locus of grammatical function or
"case-marking" then lies. There are seven
such one-word primary postpositions:

kā – genitive marker; variably

declinable in the manner of an
adjective. X kā/ke/kī Y has the sense
"X's Y", with kā/ke/kī agreeing with Y.[8]
ko – marks the indirect object (hence
named "dative marker"), or, if definite,
the direct object.[12]
ne – ergative marker; applied to
subjects of transitive perfective verbs.
se – ablative marker; has a very wide
range of uses and meanings:
"from"; dillī se "from Delhi".
 "from, of"; tumse ḍarnā "to fear
you".
"since"; itvār se "since Sunday".
"by, with"; instrumental marker.
"by, with, -ly"; adverbial marker.
"than"; for comparatives.
a minority of verbs use se rather
than ko to mark their patients.
mẽ – "in".
par – "on".
tak – "until, up to".

Beyond these are a large range of

compound postpositions, composed of
the genitive primary postposition kā in
the oblique form (ke, kī) plus an adverb.
 kī taraf "towards", ke andar "inside", ke
āge "in front of, ahead of", ke ūpar "on
top of, above", ke nīce "beneath, below",
ke pīche "behind", ke bād "after", ke bāre
mẽ "about", ke bāhar "outside", ke liye
"for", ke sāmne "facing, opposite",
etc.[13]

Pronouns

Personal

Hindustani has personal pronouns for

the first and second persons, while for
the third person demonstratives are
used, which can be categorized
deictically as proximate and non-
proximate.[14] Pronouns distinguish
cases of direct, oblique, and dative. The
lattermost, often called a set of
"contracted" forms, is in free variation
with the oblique case plus dative
postposition. Pronouns do not
distinguish gender.

Also displayed in the below table are the

genitive pronominal forms to show that
the 1st and 2nd pronouns have their own
distinctive forms of merā, hamārā, terā,
tumhārā apart from the regular formula
of OBL. + kā; as well as the ergative
pronominal forms to show that the
postposition ne does not
straightforwardly suffix the oblique
bases: rather than *mujh ne and *tujh ne,
direct bases are used giving mai ne and
tū ne, and rather than in ne and un ne, it's
inhõ ne and unhõ ne.

tū, tum, and āp are the three second

person pronouns ("you"), constituting a
threefold scale of sociolinguistic
formality: respectively "intimate",
"familiar", and "polite". The "intimate" is
grammatically singular while the
"familiar" and "polite" are grammatically
plural.[10] When being referred to in the
third person however, only those of the
"polite" level of formality are
grammatically plural.[15] The following
table is adapted from Shapiro
(2003:265).
 Personal Demonstrative

1st person 2nd person 3rd person Re

Singular Plural Proximal Non-proximal

Singular Plural
Intimate Familiar Polite Singular Plural Singular Plural Singu

Direct mãĩ tū ye vo
ham tum āp
Oblique mujh tujh is in us un jis

Dative mujhe hamẽ tujhe tumhẽ āp ko ise inhẽ use unhẽ jise

Genitive merā hamārā terā tumhārā āp kā is kā in kā us kā un kā jis kā

inhõ unhõ
Ergative mãĩ ne ham ne tū ne tum ne āp ne is ne us ne jis ne
ne ne

Notes for pronouns:

Postpositions are treated as bound

morphemes after pronouns in Hindi,
but as separate words in Urdu.[16]
The varying forms for the 3rd pn. dir.
constitute one of the small number of
grammatical differences between
Hindi and Urdu. yah "this" / ye "these" /
vah "that" / ve "those" is the literary set
for Hindi while ye "this, these" / vo
"that, those" is the set for Urdu and
spoken (and also often written) Hindi.
The above section on postpositions
noted that ko (the dative case) marks
direct objects if definite. As "the most
specific thing of all is an individual",
persons (or their pronouns) nearly
always take the dative case or
postposition.[17]
it is very common practice to use
plural pronouns (and their
accompanying conjugation) in polite
situations, thus tum can be used in the
second person when referring to one
person. Similarly, some speakers
prefer plural ham over singular mãĩ.
This is not quite the same as the "royal
we"; it is rather colloquial.[18]
koī and kuch are indefinite
pronouns/quantifiers. As pronouns koī
is used for animates ("someone") and
kuch for inanimates ("something").[19]
As quantifiers/adjectives koī is used
for singular count nouns and kuch for
mass nouns and plural count nouns.
koī takes the form kisī in the oblique.
The form kaī "several" is partially a
plural equivalent to koī.[20] kuch can
also act as an adverb, qualifying an
adjective, meaning "rather". koī
preceding a number takes the meaning
of "about, approximately". In this usage
it does not oblique to kisī.[21]
 apnā is a (genitive) reflexive pronoun:
"my/your/etc. (own)".[22] Using non-
reflexive and reflexive together gives
emphasis; e.g. merā apnā "my (very)
own".[23] xud, āp, and svayam are some
(direct; non-genitive) others:
"my/your/etc.-self".[24] Bases for
oblique usage are usually apne or apne
āp. The latter alone can also mean "of
one's own accord"; āpas mẽ means
"among/between themselves".[25]

Derivates
 Demonstrative
Interrogative Relative
Prox. Non-prox.

Time kab jab ab tab

kahā̃ jahā̃ yahā̃ vahā̃

Place
kidhar jidhar idhar udhar

Quantity kitnā jitnā itnā utnā

Quality kaisā jaisā aisā vaisā

Manner kaise jaise aise vaise

Adverbs

Hindustani has few underived forms.[26]

Adverbs may be derived in ways such as
the following —

Simply obliquing some nouns and

adjectives: nīcā "low" → nīce "down",
sīdhā "straight" → sīdhe "straight", dhīrā
"slow" → dhīre "slowly", sawerā
"morning" → sawere "in the morning",
ye taraf "this direction" → is taraf "in
this direction", kalkattā "Calcutta" →
kalkatte "to Calcutta".
Nouns using a postposition such as se
"by, with, -ly": zor "force" → zor se
"forcefully" (lit. "with force"), dhyān
"attention" → dhyān se "attentively" (lit.
"with attention").
Adjectives using postpositional
phrases involving "way, manner": acchā
"good" → acchī tarah se "well" (lit.
"by/in a good way"), xās "special" →
xās taur par "especially" (lit. "on a
special way").
Verbs in conjunctive form: hãs "laugh"
→ hãs kar "laughingly" (lit. "having
laughed"), meherbānī kar "do kindness"
 → meherbānī kar ke "kindly, please" (lit.
"having done kindness").[27]
Formative suffixes from Sanskrit or
Perso-Arabic in higher registers of
Hindi or Urdu. Skt. sambhava "possible"
+ -taḥ → sambhavataḥ "possibly; Ar.
ittifāq "chance" + -an → ittifāqan "by
chance".[11]

Verbs

Overview

The Hindustani verbal system is largely

structured around a combination of
aspect and tense/mood. Like the
nominal system, the Hindustani verb
involves successive layers of
(inflectional) elements to the right of the
lexical base.[28]

Hindustani has 3 aspects: perfective,

habitual, and continuous, each having
overt morphological correlates.[11] These
are participle forms, inflecting for gender
and number by way of a vowel
termination, like adjectives.[29] The
perfective, though displaying a "number
of irregularities and morphophonemic
adjustments", is the simplest, being just
the verb stem followed by the agreement
vowel. The habitual forms from the
imperfective participle; verb stem, plus -
t-, then vowel. The continuous forms
periphrastically through compounding
(see below) with the perfective of rahnā
"to stay".

Derived from honā "to be" are five copula

forms: present, past, subjunctive,
presumptive, contrafactual (aka "past
conditional"). Used both in basic
predicative/existential sentences and as
verbal auxiliaries to aspectual forms,
these constitute the basis of tense and
mood.

Non-aspectual forms include the

infinitive, the imperative, and the
conjunctive. Mentioned morphological
conditions such the subjunctive,
"presumptive", etc. are applicable to both
copula roots for auxiliary usage with
aspectual forms and to non-copula roots
directly for often unspecified (non-
aspectual) finite forms.

Finite verbal agreement is with the

nominative subject, except in the
transitive perfective, where it is with the
direct object, with the erstwhile subject
taking the ergative construction -ne (see
postpositions above). The perfective
aspect thus displays split ergativity.

Tabled below on the left are the

paradigms for adjectival concord (A),
here only slightly different from that
introduced previously: the f. pl. can
nasalize under certain conditions. To the
right are the paradigms for personal
concord (P), used by the subjunctive.

(A) Sg. Pl. (P) 1st. 2nd. 3rd.

Masc. -ā -e Sg. -ū̃ -e

Fem. -ī -ī( ̃) Pl. -ẽ -o/ẽ -ẽ

Forms

The sample verb is intransitive dauṛnā "to

run", and the sample inflection is 3rd.
masc. sg. (P = e, A = ā) where applicable.
 Non-aspectual Aspectua

Root * dauṛ

Infinitive/
Gerund/ *-nā dauṛnā
Obligatory Adjectivals.
Perfective *-A (hu-A) dauṛā
Non- Obl.
Infinitive
*-ne dauṛne
Imperfective *-t-A (hu-A) dauṛtā

finite Conjunctive
*-kar,
*-ke
dauṛkar,
dauṛke Adverbial. Obl. of adjectival.
Imperfective *-t-e (hu-e) dauṛt
*-ne
dauṛne
Agentive/ vāl-A,
vālā,
Prospective *-
dauṛnevālā
nevāl-A

Aspectuals plotted against copulas.

Perfective Hab
Contingent
*-P dauṛe *-A *-t
Future
dau
*-P-g- Present h-? dauṛā hai
Definite Future A
dauṛegā hai

dau
Past th-A dauṛā thā
Imperatives.[30] thā
Finite Intimate * dauṛ dau
Subjunctive ho-P dauṛā ho
Familiar *-o dauṛo ho

Polite *-iye dauṛiye ho-P dauṛā ho dau

Presumptive
g-A gā ho g
Deferred *-nā dauṛnā
ho- dau
Deferential *-iye gā dauṛiye gā Contrafactual dauṛā hotā
t-A hotā

Unspecified dauṛā dau

Notes

Much of the above chart information

derives from Masica (1991:292–294,
323–325).
The future tense is formed by adding
the suffix gā (~ ge ~ gī) to the
subjunctive, which is a contraction of
gaā (= gayā, perfective participle of
jānā "to go").[29] The future suffix,
conjunctive participle, and suffix vālā
are treated as bound morphemes in
written Hindi, but as separate words in
written Urdu.[16]
^ The present copula (h-?) seems not
to follow along the lines of the regular
P system of terminations; while the
subjunctive copula (ho-P) is
thoroughly irregular. So here are all of
their forms.
Sg Pl.

1st. 2nd. 3rd. 1st. 2nd. 3rd.

Pron. mãĩ tū vo ham tum āp vo

Pres. hū̃ hai hãĩ ho hãĩ

Subj. hū̃ ho hõ ho hõ

For the 1. subj. sg. copula Schmidt

(2003:324) and Snell & Weightman
(1989:113, 125) list hū̃ while Shapiro
(2003:267) lists hoū.̃
Shapiro (2003:268) lists the polite
imperative ending as -iye, while
Schmidt (2003:330) lists it as -ie but -
iye after ā, o, ū.
The euphonic glide y is inserted in
perfective participles between
prohibited vowel clusters. It is
historically the remnant of the old
perfective marker.[31] The clusters are a
+ ā, ā + ā, o + ā, and ī + ā, resulting in
āyā, ayā, oyā, iyā.[32] e.g.
khāyā/khāye/khāī/khāī ̃ (khā- "eat").
In addition, the combinations ī + ī and i
+ ī give ī.[32] e.g. piyā/piye/pī/pī ̃ (pī-
"drink").
As stated, agreement in the transitive
perfective is with the direct object, with
the erstwhile subject taking the
ergative postposition ne. If however
the direct object takes the postposition
ko (marking definiteness), or if no
direct object is expressed, then
agreement neutralizes to default m. sg.
-ā.[33]
Is this regard, there are a small number
of verbs that while perhaps logically
transitive still do not take ne and
continue to agree with the subject, in
the perfective. e.g. lānā "to bring",
bhūlnā "to forget", milnā "to meet", etc.
Besides supplying the copulas, honā
"to be" can be used aspectually: huā
"happened, became"; hotā "happens,
becomes, is"; ho rahā "happening,
being".
-ke can be used as a colloquial
alternative to -kar for the conjunctive
participle of any verb. But for karnā it is
the only possible form; karke, not
*karkar.[34]
Hindustani displays a very small
number of irregular forms, spelled out
in the cells below.
Perf. Imperative[35] Subj.
Root Stem Stem
[32] Fam. Pol. [36]

ho- "be" hu-

jā- "go" ga-[1]

kar- "do" ki- kījie

de- "give" di- do dījie d-

le- "take" li- lo lījie l-

pī- "drink" pījie

^ However, it is jā- that is used as the

perfective stem in the rare instance of
an intransitive verb like jānā being
expressed passively, such as in a
passivized imperative/subjunctive
construction: ghar jāyā jāe? "Shall [we]
 go home?" (lit. "Shall home be gone to
[by us]?").[37]

Causatives

Transitives or causatives are

morphologically contrastive in
Hindustani, leading to the existence of
related verb sets divisible along such
lines. While the derivation of such forms
shows patterns, they do reach a level of
variegation so as to make it somewhat
difficult to outline all-encompassing
rules. Furthermore, some sets may have
as many as four to five distinct members;
also, the meaning of certain members of
given sets may be idiosyncratic.[38]
Starting from intransitive or transitive
verb stems further transitive/causative
stems are produced according to these
assorted rules —

1a. Root vowel change: a → ā, u/ū → o,

i/ī → e. Sometimes accompanied by
root final consonant change: k → c, ṭ
→ ṛ, l → Ø.
1b. Suffixation of -ā. Often
accompanied by:
Root vowel change: ū/o → u, e/ai/ā/ī
→ i.
Insertion of semivowel l between
such vowel-terminating stems.
2. Suffixation of -vā (in place of -ā if
and where it'd occur) for a "causative".
The majority of the following are sets
culled from Shapiro (2003:270) and Snell
& Weightman (1989:243–244). The lack
of third members displayed for the
ghūmnā to dhulnā sets does not imply
that they do not exist but that they were
simply not listed in the source literature
(Snell & Weightman 1989:243).
Intransitive verbs are coloured brown
while transitives remain the usual black.

girnā "to fall", girānā "to fell", girvānā "to

cause to be felled".
banna "to become", banānā "to make",
banvānā "to cause to be made".
khulnā "to open", kholnā "to open",
khulvānā "to cause to be opened".
sīkhnā "to learn", sikhānā "to teach",
sikhvānā "to cause to be taught".
khānā "to eat", khilānā "to feed",
khilvānā "to cause to be fed".
biknā "to sell", becnā "to sell", bikvānā
"to cause to be sold".
dikhnā/dīkhnā "to seem", dekhnā "to
see", dikhānā "to show", dikhvānā "to
cause to be shown".
kahnā "to say", kahlānā "to be called".
ghūmnā "to go round", ghumānā "to
make go round".
leṭnā "to lie down", liṭānā "to lay down".
baiṭhnā "to sit", biṭhānā "to seat".
sonā "to sleep", sulānā "to make sleep".
 dhulnā "to wash", dhonā "to wash".
ṭūṭnā "to break", toṛnā "to break", tuṛānā
"to cause to be broken".

In the causative model of "to cause to be

Xed", the agent takes the postposition se.
Thus Y se Z banvānā "to cause Z to be
made by Y" = "to cause Y to make Z" = "to
have Z made by Y" = "to have Y make Z",
etc.

Compounds

Compound verbs, a highly visible feature

of Hindi–Urdu grammar, consist of a
verbal stem plus an auxiliary verb. The
auxiliary (variously called "subsidiary",
"explicator verb", and "vector"[39]) loses
its own independent meaning and
instead "lends a certain shade of
meaning"[40] to the main or stem verb,
which "comprises the lexical core of the
compound".[39] While almost any verb
can act as a main verb, there is a limited
set of productive auxiliaries.[41] Shown
below are prominent such auxiliaries,
with their independent meaning first
outlined, followed by their semantic
contribution as auxiliaries.

jānā "to go"; gives a sense of

completeness, finality, or change of
state. e.g. ānā "to come" → ā jānā "to
come, arrive"; khānā "to eat" → khā jānā
"to eat up"; pīnā "to drink" → pī jānā "to
 drink up"; baiṭhnā "to sit" → baiṭh jānā
"to sit down"; samajhnā "to understand"
→ samajh jānā "to realise"; sonā "to
sleep" → so jānā "to go to sleep"; honā
"to be" → ho jānā "to become".[42]
lenā "to take"; suggests that the benefit
of the action flows towards the doer.
e.g. paṛh lenā "to read (to/for
oneself)".[43]
denā "to give"; suggests that the
benefit of the action flows away from
the doer. e.g. paṛh denā "to read
(out)".[43]

The above three are the most common of

auxiliaries, and the "least marked", or
"lexically nearly colourless".[44] The
nuance conveyed by an auxiliary can
often be very subtle, and need not always
be expressed with different words in
English translation. lenā and denā,
transitive verbs, occur with transitives,
while intransitive jānā occurs mostly with
intransitives; a compound of a transitive
and jānā will be grammatically
intransitive as jānā is.

ḍālnā "to throw, pour"; indicates an

action done vigorously, decisively,
violently or recklessly;[45] it is an
intensifier, showing intensity, urgency,
completeness, or violence.[46] e.g.
mārnā "to strike" → mār ḍālnā "to kill",
pīnā "to drink" → pī ḍālnā "to drink
down".
baiṭhnā "to sit"; implies an action done
foolishly or stubbornly;[47] shows
speaker disapproval or an impulsive or
involuntary action.[46] kahnā "to say" →
kah baiṭhnā "to blurt out", karnā "to do"
→ kar baiṭhnā "to do (as a blunder)",
laṛnā "to fight" → laṛ baiṭhnā "to quarrel
(foolishly)".
paṛnā "to fall"; connotes involuntary,
sudden, or unavoidable occurrence;[44]
adds a sense of suddenness or change
of state, with its independent/literal
meaning sometimes showing through
in a sense of downward movement.[47]
uṭhnā "to rise"; functions like an
intensifier;[48] suggests inception of
action or feeling, with its
independent/literal meaning
sometimes showing through in a
sense of upward movement. e.g. jalnā
"to burn" → jal uṭhnā "to burst into
flames", nacnā "to dance" → nac uṭhnā
"to break into dance".[47]
rakhnā "to keep, maintain"; implies a
firmness of action, or one with
possibly long-lasting results or
implications;[49] occurs with lenā and
denā, meaning "to give/take (as a
loan)", and with other appropriate
verbs, showing an action performed
beforehand.[46]
 The continuous aspect marker rahā
apparently originated as a compound
verb with rahnā ("remain"): thus mãĩ bol
rahā hū̃ = "I have remained speaking"
→ "I have continued speaking" → "I am
speaking". However it has lost the
ability to take any form other than the
perfective, and is thus considered to
have become grammaticalized.[50]

Finally, having to do with the manner of

an occurrence, compounds verbs are
mostly used with completed actions and
imperatives, and much less with
negatives, conjunctives, and contexts
continuous or speculative. This is
because non-occurrences cannot be
described to have occurred in a particular
manner.[43]

Conjuncts

Another notable aspect of Hindi–Urdu

grammar is that of "conjunct verbs",
composed of a noun or adjective paired
up with a general verbalizer, most
commonly transitive karnā "to do" or
intransitive honā "to be(come)",
functioning in the place of what in
English would be single unified verb.

In the case of an adjective as the non-

verbal element, it is often helps to think
of karnā "to do" as supplementally having
the senses of "to cause to be", "to make",
"to render", etc.

Adjective Conjunct Literal Meaning

sāf clean sāf karnā to do clean to clean

niyukt/muqarrar appointed niyukt/muqarrar karnā to do appointed to appoint

band closed band honā to become closed to close

xatm finished xatm honā to become finished to finish

In the case of a noun as the non-verbal

element, it is treated syntactically as the
verb's (direct) object (never taking the ko
marker; governing agreement in
perfective and infinitival constructions),
and the semantic patient (or agent: see
gālī khānā below) of the conjunct verbal
expression is often expressed/marked
syntactically as a genitive adjunct (-kā ~
ke ~ kī) of the noun.[51]
 Noun Conjunct Conjunct + patient Literal Meaning

to do
to wait for
intizār wait intizār karnā kisī kā intizār karnā somebody's
somebody
wait

to do a phone's
istemāl use istemāl karnā fon kā istemāl karnā to use a phone
use

to do Sameer's to talk about

bāt talk bāt karnā Samīr kī bāt karnā
talk Sameer

pratiṣṭhā mūrti/but kī pratiṣṭhā to do an idol's

pratiṣṭhānkarnā to install an idol
installation karnā installation

to eat a lover's to be cursed out by

gālī curse gālī khānā sanam kī gālī khānā
curse one's lover

tasvīr Ibrahim ki tasvīr to pull Ibrahim's to take Ibrahim's

tasvīr picture
khīṅcnā/khicvānā khīṅcnā/khicvānā picture picture

With English it is the verb stems

themselves that are used.

Verb stem Conjunct Meaning

cek check cek karnā to check

bor bore bor honā to be bored

Passive

The passive construction is periphrastic.

It is formed from the perfective participle
by addition of the auxiliary jānā "to go";
i.e. likhnā "to write" → likhā jānā "to be
written". The agent is marked by the
postposition se. Furthermore, both
intransitive and transitive verbs may be
grammatically passivized to show
physical/psychological incapacity,
usually in negative sentences. Lastly,
intransitives often have a passive sense,
or convey unintentional action.[52]

Syntax
With regards to word order, Hindustani is
an SOV language. In terms of branching,
it is neither purely left- or right-branching,
and phenomena of both types can be
found. The order of constituents in
sentences as a whole lacks governing
"hard and fast rules", and frequent
deviations can be found from normative
word position, describable in terms of a
small number of rules, accounting for
facts beyond the pale of the label of
"SOV".[53]

1. Indirect objects precede direct objects.

2. Attributive adjectives precede the noun
they qualify.
3. Adverbs precede the adjectives they
qualify.
4. Negative markers (nahī,̃ na, mat) and
interrogatives precede the verb.
5. Interrogatives precede negative
markers if both are present.
6. kyā ("what?") as the yes-no question
marker occurs at the beginning of a
clause.

Possession

Possession, reflecting what many other

languages indicate via the verb to have, is
reflected in Hindustani by the genitive kā
(inflected appropriately) or the
postposition ke pās ("near") and the verb
honā. Possible objects of possession
(nouns) fall into two main categories in
Hindustani: one for persons such as
family members, or body parts, and the
other for most inanimate objects,
animals, most abstract ideas, and some
persons such as servants.
 For indicating possession with objects
of the first category, kā appears after
the subject of the possession, followed
by the object. With personal pronouns,
this requires the use of the possessive
pronoun (inflected appropriately).
Examples: Merī mātā hai ("I have a
mother"), Śiv kī tīn āk̃ hẽ haĩ ("Shiva has
three eyes").
For indicating possession with objects
of the second category, the compound
postposition ke pās ("near") is used.
For example: Mohan ke pās ek bakarī
hai ("Mohan has a goat", but also
"There is a goat near Mohan").

References
1. Kachru, Yamuna (2006). Hindi (12th
ed.). John Benjamins Publishing
Company. ISBN 9789027238122.
2. Shapiro (2003:262–263)
3. Shapiro (2003:262)
4. Snell & Weightman (1989:24)
5. Snell & Weightman (1989:43)
6. Shapiro (2003:263)
7. Schmidt (2003:313)
8. Shapiro (2003:264)
9. Snell & Weightman (1989:117)
10. Shapiro (2003:265)
11. Shapiro (2003:266)
12. Snell & Weightman (1989:67)
13. Snell & Weightman (1989:80–81)
14. Shapiro (2003:264–265)
15. Snell & Weightman (1989:21)
16. Schmidt (2003:293)
17. Snell & Weightman (1989:68)
18. Snell & Weightman (1989:106)
19. Snell & Weightman (1989:88)
20. Snell & Weightman (1989:89)
21. Snell & Weightman (1989:90)
22. Snell & Weightman (1989:79)
23. Snell & Weightman (1989:80)
24. Snell & Weightman (1989:198)
25. Snell & Weightman (1989:199)
26. Schmidt (2003:322)
27. Snell & Weightman (1989:150)
28. Masica (1991:257)
29. Schmidt (2003:323)
30. Shapiro (2003:268)
31. Schmidt (2003:324)
32. Schmidt (2003:328)
33. Snell & Weightman (1989:140)
34. Snell & Weightman (1989:149)
35. Snell & Weightman (1989:64)
36. Snell & Weightman (1989:113, 125)
37. Snell & Weightman (1989:179)
38. Shapiro (2003:270)
39. Shapiro (2003:269)
40. Snell & Weightman (1989:154)
41. Shapiro (2003:269–270)
42. Snell & Weightman (1989:155)
43. Snell & Weightman (1989:156)
44. Schmidt (2003:337)
45. Snell & Weightman (1989:220)
46. Schmidt (2003:338)
47. Snell & Weightman (1989:221)
48. Schmidt (2003:337–338)
49. Snell & Weightman (1989:222)
50. Masica (1991:329)
51. (Masica 1991, p. 368)
52. Schmidt (2003:331)
53. Shapiro (2003:271)

Bibliography
Masica, Colin (1991), The Indo-Aryan
Languages , Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-
29944-2.
Schmidt, Ruth Laila (2003), "Urdu", in
Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, The
Indo-Aryan Languages , Routledge,
pp. 286–350, ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5.
McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1995),
Outline of Hindi Grammar (third ed.),
Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0-19-
870008-3.
Shapiro, Michael C. (2003), "Hindi", in
Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh, The
Indo-Aryan Languages , Routledge,
pp. 250–285, ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5.
 Snell, Rupert; Weightman, Simon
(1989), Teach Yourself Hindi (2003 ed.),
McGraw-Hill, ISBN 978-0-07-142012-9.

Further reading
Shakespear, John, (1775-1858). An
introduction to the Hindustani language
comprising a grammar, and a
vocabulary, English and Hindustani :
also short stories and dialogues, short
stories in Persian and Nagari characters
... and military words of command,
Nagari and English . London : W.H.
Allen.
Dowson, John (1820-1881). A grammar
of the Urdu or Hindustani language .
London : K. Paul, Trench, Trübner &
 Co., ltd. 1908. (public domain e-book)
Contributed by University of California
libraries

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