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LESSON 1
NOUNSTwo cases: direct and oblique. The direct case usually appears with sentences subjects or direct objects; the oblique occurs most commonly with postpositions.
Number: singular and plural vs.
Gender: masculine and feminine vs.
1. Inflectional pattern of masculine nouns.
Type 1 Sg. Dir., Sg. Obl., Pl. Dir. - edn: Pl. Obl. - edn:<ù Type 2 Sg. Dir. - km:ra Sg. Obl., Pl. Dir. - km:rð Pl. Obl. – km:r<ù
(a.) A few masculines end in – A:ú these are inflected like km:ra but with endings nasalized, e.g. kÚA:ú ‘well’
(b.) Some masculines with a final – A: follow the pattern of edn:, these are chiefly terms of relationship, loanwords from Sanskrit, or place names, e.g. –| c:ac:a | paternal uncle | dðv:t:a | deity |
| dada | paternal grandfather | dat:a | giver |
| ep:t:a | father | A:g:ra | Agra |
| raj:a | rajah | kl:ktt:a | Calcutta |
(c.) A spelling convention: A:dm:i A:dem:y:<, ehndÜ ehndÚA<ù
(d.) Vocative:
| l:_kð ! | Boy! | l:_k< ! | Boys! |
2. Inflectional pattern of feminine nouns
- I finals Singular l:_ki girl Pl. Dir. l:_eky:aú Pl. Obl. l:_eky:<ù - Ey:a finals Singular ec:e_y:a bird Pl. Dir. ec:e_y:aú Pl. Obl. ec:e_y:<ù Others Singular m:ðz: table Pl. Dir. m:ðz:ùð Pl. Obl. m:ðz:<ù
(a.) Note the spelling convention regarding final – I
(b.) Feminine nouns in final – E (loanwords from Sanskrit, and almost all abstract nouns) follow the pattern of the – I finals. E.g.
| esT:et: | ‘position’ | esT:et:y:aú | ‘positions’ |
(c.) Feminines in – Ey:a are frequently diminutives, e.g. eReb:y:a ‘small box’ Compare eRbb:a m. box’
(d.) Among ‘other feminines’ are loanwords in final – A: from Sanskrit, e.g. m:at:a ‘mother’. A few common Arabic and Persian loanwords may also be noted, e.g. hv:a ‘air, wind’; dÚen:y:a ‘world’; dfa ‘time, occasion’.
(e.) Feminine vocatives are formed in the same way as the masculine.
3. Further comments relating to nouns
There are no definite or indefinite articles in Hindi. A noun acting as subject or direct object in its sentence is definite rather than indefinite; but depending on its context the word m:kan: ‘house’ may have as its translation equivalent ‘a house’ or ‘the house’ or ‘houses’ or ‘the houses’. The word Ok ‘one’ can be used before nouns with the force of an indefinite article where explicitness is required.
In the case of nouns denoting animate beings, grammatical gender almost always agrees with natural gender. Thus A:dm:i ‘man’, dz:iü ‘tailor’, Raeky:a ‘postman’ are masculines following edn: and km:ra in inflection, not l:_ki and ec:e_y:a.
The gender of other nouns is hard to predict from their form. The student is advised to note the gender of each new noun that he/she learns.
Postpositions function much like prepositions or prepositional phrases in English. Postpositions are characteristically immediately preceded by a noun or pronoun in oblique case. Thus m:ðz: p:r ‘on the table’; m:ðz:<ù p:r ‘on the tables’.
SIMPLE SENTANCES
1. Neutral style and emphasis: subject first, verb last (in close association with any negative); objects and adverbial expressions occupy an intervening position, in less fixed word order. Expressions of time tend to precede those of place: e.g.2. This general pattern is varied for emphasis. For instance, an adverb advanced to initial position usually gains in emphasis, e.g.
l:_ka A:j: y:haú n:hiù hò. The boy isn’t here today.
A:j: l:_ka y:haú n:hiù hò. Today the boy isn’t here.
Note in this connection that the sense of introduction ‘there is, are, were’, etc., is expressed in Hindi by an inversion of the neutral (non-affective, colorless) order of subject and following adverbial (emphasis on the subject being thereby diminished).
p:Úst:k m:ðz: p:r hò. The book is on the table. m:ðz: p:r p:Úst:k hò. There is a book on the table.
3. Questions: Interrogative pronouns and adverbs. e.g. Vy:a ‘what’, khaú ‘where’, do not usually introduce questions in sentences of neutral style and emphasis, but follow the subject in second position, or later.
l:_ki khaú hò ? Where is the girl? y:h Vy:a hò ? What is this?
In initial position in a sentence, Vy:a is usually a question marker, serving to introduce questions not containing an interrogative. In conversation the inflection of the voice often makes it’s presence unnecessary.
(Vy:a) l:_eky:aú y:haú hòù ? Are the girls here?
| m:ðz: | table f. | y:h | this
 |
| p:Úst:k | book f.
 |
v:h | that
 |
| kl:m: | pen m.f.
 |
Ok | one |
| km:ra | room m. | d< | two |
| kÚrs:i | chair f. | t:in: | three |
| G:_a | pot, jar m. | A:j: | today |
| p:an:i | water m. | y:haú | here |
| kÚA:ú | well m. | vahaú | there |
| l:_ka | boy m. | khaú | where ?
 |
| l:_ki | girl f. | Vy:a | what?; and as a - question marker |
| A:g:ra | Agra m. | kl:ktt:a | Calcutta m. |
| A:dm:i | man m. | l:ðekn: | but |
| A>rt: | woman f. | m:ðù | in |
| p:t:Ò | letter m. | p:r | on |
| ec:e_y:a | bird f. | n:hi | no, not |
| ep:ùj:ra | cage m. | hò | is |
| m:kan: | house m.
 |
hòù | are |
| AK:b:ar | newspaper m.
 |
A>r | and |
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