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3.5: Grammar of Adjectives

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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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