Hindi grammar · Beginner (A1)
Possession: my, your and “to have”
Say my, your, his and her with मेरा, तुम्हारा, आपका, उसका, and say “I have” with मेरे पास … है.
My, your, his, her
Possessive words work like adjectives ending in -आ: they agree with the thing owned, not with the owner. Use (meraa) before a masculine singular noun, (meree) before a feminine noun, and (mere) before a masculine plural noun, a man you show respect to (, mere paapaa, my dad) or a masculine noun followed by a postposition (, mere ghar men, in my house).
So a woman says (meraa bhaaee, my brother), and a man says (meree bahan, my sister). (uskaa) means “his” or “her”; you can't tell which from the word itself.
| Owner | Masculine | Feminine | Masc. plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| (main) | (meraa) | (meree) | (mere) |
| (too) | (teraa) | (teree) | (tere) |
| (tum) | (tumhaaraa) | (tumhaaree) | (tumhaare) |
| (aap) | (aapkaa) | (aapkee) | (aapke) |
| (yah) | (iskaa) | (iskee) | (iske) |
| (vah) | (uskaa) | (uskee) | (uske) |
| (ham) | (hamaaraa) | (hamaaree) | (hamaare) |
| (ye) | (inkaa) | (inkee) | (inke) |
| (ve) | (unkaa) | (unkee) | (unke) |
- आपका नाम क्या है?Aapkaa naam kyaa hai?What's your name?
- यह मेरा घर है।Yah meraa ghar hai.This is my house.
- उसकी बहन दिल्ली में रहती है।Uskee bahan Dillee men rahtee hai.His sister lives in Delhi.
With nouns: का, की, के
When the owner is a noun, put , or (kaa, kee, ke) after it, following the same rule: (Seetaa kaa betaa, Sita's son), (Seetaa kee betee, Sita's daughter), (Seetaa ke bachche, Sita's children). As before any postposition, a masculine owner ending in -आ changes to -ए: (larke kaa naam, the boy's name).
- यह राम की गाड़ी है।Yah Raam kee gaaree hai.This is Ram's car.
- दिल्ली का मौसम कैसा है?Dillee kaa mausam kaisaa hai?What's the weather like in Delhi?
“To have”: मेरे पास … है
Hindi has no verb “to have”. For things you own or have with you, say … (mere paas … hai), literally “near me … is”. The verb agrees with the thing: for one thing, for several.
For family and friends, just use the possessive: (mere do bhaaee hain, I have two brothers). For illnesses and feelings, use (mujhe): (mujhe bukhaar hai, I have a fever).
| Hindi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (mere paas) | I have |
| (tumhaare paas) | you have (familiar) |
| (aapke paas) | you have (polite) |
| (uske paas) | he or she has |
| (hamaare paas) | we have |
| (unke paas) | they have |
- मेरे पास एक गाड़ी है।Mere paas ek gaaree hai.I have a car.
- क्या आपके पास पेन है?Kyaa aapke paas pen hai?Do you have a pen?
- मेरे पास समय नहीं है।Mere paas samay naheen hai.I don't have time.
- मेरी दो बहनें हैं।Meree do bahnen hain.I have two sisters.
My own: अपना
When the owner is the subject of the same sentence, Hindi uses (apnaa), “one's own”, instead of , , and the others. It changes like : , , (apnaa, apnee, apne).
With (vah) the difference matters: (vah apne ghar gayaa) means he went to his own home, (vah uske ghar gayaa) that he went to someone else's. When the thing owned is itself the subject, use the normal word: (meraa ghar baraa hai).
- मैं अपनी नानी के घर जाऊँगी।Main apnee naanee ke ghar jaaoongee.I'm going to my grandmother's. (a woman speaking)
- वह अपने दोस्तों के साथ रहता है।Vah apne doston ke saath rahtaa hai.He lives with his friends.