Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns or in other words, give some more information about nouns or pronouns. “Old,” “green,” and “cheerful” are the adjectives in “old book”, “green mango”, and “cheerful boy” as these words give some more information about the following noun.
The word order of nouns and adjectives is the same in Hindi as in English. Generally, an adjective precedes the noun it modifies. In Hindi, like nouns, adjectives can also be divided into two categories: Type I and Type II.
Type I: These adjectives have आ aa ending in their masculine singular form. In dictionaries, adjectives appear in their masculine singular form.
Examples:
अच्छा achchhaa – good
छोटा chhotaa – small
बड़ा badaa – big
ठंडा tandaa – cold
These adjectives agree in number and gender with the nouns they qualify.
They have आ aa ending when qualifying a masculine singular noun, an ए ye ending when qualifying masculine plural noun, and an ई ee ending when qualifying both singular and plural feminine nouns.
Examples:
Good boy – अच्छा लड़का achchhaa ladka
Good boys – अच्छे लड़के achchhe ladake
Good girl – अच्छी लड़की achchhee ladakee
Good girls – अच्छी लडकियाँ achchhee ladakiyaan
Type II: These adjectives have a consonant ending or a vowel ending other than aa in their masculine singular form.
Examples:
घटिया ghatiyaa – rubbish
गरीब gareeb – poor
बहुत bahuth – many
स्वच्छ swachh – clean
These adjectives have only one form and do not change according to the noun they are qualifying.
Examples:
Smart boy – होशियार लड़का hoshiyaar ladkaa
Smart boys – होशियार लड़के hoshiyaar ladke
Smart girl – होशियार लड़की hoshiyaar ladkee
Smart girls – होशियार लडकियाँ hoshiyaar ladkiyaan
When an adjective is used as a predicate adjective, it comes after the noun it modifies and before the verb. In both cases, adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun they refer to.
Practice:
I am a good boy – मैं (एक) अच्छा लड़का हूँ – Main (ek) achchha ladaka hoon
I am a good girl – मैं (एक) अच्छी लड़की हूँ – Main (ek) achchha ladakee hoon
I am a tall man – मैं (एक) लंबा आदमी हूँ – Main (ek) lambaa aadmee hoon
I am a tall woman – मैं (एक) लंबी महिला हूँ – Main (ek) lambee mahila hoon
Adverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb (she sings melodiously), an adjective (very beautiful), another adverb (ended too quickly), or even a whole sentence (Fortunately, I had brought an umbrella). An adverb can indicate the time/place/manner/degree of action with reference to a verb.
The rule of adverbs is simple in Hindi as they do not undergo any change in a sentence. Whether a verb is in singular or plural, masculine or feminine, the adverb qualifying it does not change.
We will look at few examples in later lessons.