Hindi grammar · Beginner (A1)
To be: am, is, are, was, were
The present forms हूँ, है, हो, हैं and the past forms था, थी, थे, थीं of होना, the most useful verb in Hindi.
Present: am, is, are
The present of (honaa, to be) has only four forms. They change for the person but not for men or women. Like every verb, they go at the end of the sentence.
Mind the spelling: (hoon) has the moon sign, but (hain) has a dot, because the matra above leaves no room for the moon.
| Person | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (main) | (hoon) | (main theek hoon.) I'm fine. |
| (too) | (hai) | (too kahaan hai?) Where are you? (intimate) |
| (tum) | (ho) | (tum kahaan ho?) Where are you? |
| (aap) | (hain) | (aap kahaan se hain?) Where are you from? |
| , (yah, vah) | (hai) | (yah meraa ghar hai.) This is my house. |
| (ham) | (hain) | (ham taiyaar hain.) We're ready. |
| , (ye, ve) | (hain) | (ve mere dost hain.) They're my friends. |
Past: was, were
The past forms change for gender and number, like adjectives: (thaa) for one man or masculine thing, (thee) for one woman or feminine thing, (the) for masculine plurals and mixed groups, and (theen) for feminine plurals.
, , and always take a plural form, or , even when you speak to or about one person.
| Person | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| , , , (main, too, yah, vah) | (thaa) | (thee) |
| , , , , (tum, aap, ham, ye, ve) | (the) | (theen) |
- मैं कल घर पर था।Main kal ghar par thaa.I was at home yesterday. (man speaking)
- वह बहुत ख़ुश थी।Vah bahut khush thee.She was very happy.
- हम दिल्ली में थे।Ham Dillee men the.We were in Delhi.
“Not”, questions and “there is”
To say “not”, put (naheen) before the verb. For a yes/no question, start with (kyaa), or just raise your voice at the end.
Hindi has no separate phrase for “there is”: it simply uses and . (yahaan ek hotal hai) means “there is a hotel here”.
- यह मेरा बैग नहीं है।Yah meraa baig naheen hai.This isn't my bag.
- क्या आप तैयार हैं?Kyaa aap taiyaar hain?Are you ready?
- यहाँ पास में एक होटल है।Yahaan paas men ek hotal hai.There's a hotel near here.
- मेज़ पर दो किताबें हैं।Mez par do kitaaben hain.There are two books on the table.