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3.5: Grammar of Adjectives

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    120262
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    Adjectives Video

    Instructor Video: Adjectives

    Adjectives qualify nouns and pronouns. In Hindi, adjectives can be classified in two categories: (a) Marked, and (b) Unmarked.

    (a) Marked Adjectives end in -आ . Marked adjective changes its form according to number and gender of the noun that it qualifies.

    -आ : -आ ending adjective is for masculine singular.

    -ए : -आ changes in -ए for plural nouns, and masculine honorific.

    -ई : -आ changes in -ई for feminine noun.

    Examples:

    च्छा लड़का (m.) “good boy,” अच्छी लड़की (f.) “good girl,” अच्छेबच्चे (plu.) “good children.”

    ड़ा घर (m.) “big house,” बड़ीदीवार (f.) “big wall,” बड़ेघर (plu.) “big houses.”

    लंबा आदमी (m.) “tall man,” लंबीऔरत (f.) “tall woman,” लंबेलोग (plu.) “tall people.”

    Exception: There are a few adjectives like बढ़िया “good,” ज़िंदा “alive,” and मादा “female,” etc that end in -आ but do not change their forms according to number and gender of the nouns that these adjectives qualify. Most of these adjectives are Persian-Arabic loan words.

    (b) Unmarked Adjectives are adjectives that do not end in -आ . Unmarked adjective does not change its form according to number and gender of the noun that it qualifies.

    Examples:

    तेज लड़का (m.) “smart boy,” तेज लड़की (f.) “smart girl,” तेज बच्चे (plu.) “smart children.”

    मजबूत घर (m.) “strong house,” मजबूत दीवार (f.) “strong wall,” मजबूत घर (plu.) “strong houses.”

    अमीर आदमी (m.) “rich man,” अमीर औरत (f.) “rich woman,” अमीर लोग (plu.) “rich people.”

    Word order for adjectives: Adjectives can be used predicatively (following), and attributively (preceding).

    For examples:

    Predicatively Attributively
    यह अच्छी किताब है |

    This is a good book.

    यह किताब अच्छी है|

    This book is good.

    वे अमीर लोग हैं |

    They are rich people.

    वे लोग अमीर हैं |

    Those people are rich.

    यह होशियार लड़का है |

    He is an intelligent boy.

    यह लड़का होशियार है|

    This boy is intelligent.

    Use of -सा with adjectives

    In Hindi, -सा is used with adjectives to add extra meaning.

    (a) Adjective + सा: It adds “looking, seeming.”

    For example:

    • मोटा सा आदमी “fat looking man.”
    • अच्छी सी चाय “seemingly good tea.”
    • पागल से बच्चे “seemingly crazy children.”

    (b) Quantitative Adjective + सा:

    • बहुत सा “a great deal.”
    • थोड़ा सा “just a little.”

    Activities

    रंगों के नाम “Names of Colors”

    Please read the following adjectives and decide whether the adjective is marked or unmarked adjective.

    Hindi English Marked/Unmarked
    काला Black  
    नीला Blue  
    भूरा Brown  
    धूसर Gray  
    हरा Green  
    नारंगी Orange  
    बैंगनी Purple  
    लाल Red  
    सफ़ेद White  
    पीला Yellow  

    Adjectives of Quality

    Please read the following adjectives and decide whether the adjective is marked or unmarked adjective. Please also make a sentence with each adjective.

    Hindi English Marked/Unmarked Sentence
    अच्छा Good    
    बुरा Bad    
    हल्का Lite    
    भारी Heavy    
    अँधेरा Dark    
    साफ़ Clean    
    गंदा Dirty    
    आसान Easy    
    कठिन Hard    
    सस्ता Cheap    
    महँगा Expensive    
    नया New (thing)    
    पुराना Old (thing)    
    सही Right    
    ग़लत Wrong    
    मजबूत Strong    
    कमज़ोर Weak    
    बूढ़ा Old (person)    
    जवान Young    

    Record your sentences here and share with your friends/teacher

    An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
    https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/ll151/?p=835

    Please choose the correct form of adjective of the following noun.

    An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
    https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/ll151/?p=835

    धन्यवाद !


    This page titled 3.5: Grammar of Adjectives is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rajiv Ranjan (Michigan State University Libraries) .

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