Learn Hindi - Sentence Structure Made Easy

Copyright © 2017 Team Indic

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permission from its publisher.

www.teamindic.com

Copyright © 2017 Team Indic

All rights reserved.
ISBN-10:0-9984828-1-1
ISBN13:978–0–9984828–1–1

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please visit www.teamindic.com
 Contents
INTRODUCTION9
LESSON ONE
THE BASIC SENTENCE 12

Word Order (Syntax) 12

Verb Endings (Inflection) 13

The Auxiliary Verb “to be”  14

LESSON ONE VOCABULARY 17
LESSON ONE WORKSHEET 18
PRESENT TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS 19
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 20
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 21

Exercise One: The Basic Sentence 21

Exercise Two: Sentence Progressions  22

Exercise Three: Quick Start 22

PRACTICE CALENDAR 23
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 24
LESSON TWO
INDIRECT OBJECTS  25

Position Words 25

Indirect Objects 25

Oblique Nouns 27
LESSON TWO VOCABULARY 28
LESSON TWO WORKSHEET 29
HOW POSTPOSITIONS CHANGE PRONOUNS 30
HOW POSTPOSITIONS CHANGE MASCULINE NOUNS  31
HOW POSTPOSITIONS CHANGE FEMININE NOUNS  32
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 33
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 34

Exercise One: Direct Objects  34

Exercise Two: Indirect Objects  35

Exercise Three: Sentence Progressions  35

PRACTICE CALENDAR 36
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 37
LESSON THREE
CONNECTING SENTENCES 38

Connecting Words 38

Descriptive Sentences 39

Negative Sentences 40

Ability 40
LESSON THREE VOCABULARY 42
LESSON THREE WORKSHEET 43
PRESENT TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH VOWELS 44
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 45
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 46

Exercise One: Negative Sentences 46

Exercise Two: Ability 47

Exercise Three: Descriptive Sentences 47

 Exercise Four: Connecting Words 47
PRACTICE CALENDAR 48
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 49
LESSON FOUR
VERBALS  50

A Special Verb Form 50

Verbals as Subjects  50

Verbals as Direct Objects  51

Subjunctive Mood  52

Verbals as Indirect Objects  53

LESSON FOUR VOCABULARY 55
LESSON FOUR WORKSHEET 56
SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD CHART 57
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 58

Exercise One: Verbal as Subject 58

Exercise Two: Verbal as Direct Object 58

Exercise Three: Subjunctive Mood (Ending in Vowel) 59

Exercise Four: Subjunctive Mood (Ending in Consonant) 59

PRACTICE CALENDAR 60
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 61
LESSON FIVE
PASSIVE AND FUTURE 62

Future Tense  62
 Passive Sentences  62

Strong Obligation  63

Time of Day 65
LESSON FIVE VOCABULARY 67
LESSON FIVE WORKSHEET 68
FUTURE TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS 69
FUTURE TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH VOWELS 70
IRREGULAR VERBS - FUTURE TENSE  71
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 72

Exercise One: Future Tense (Roots Ending in Consonants) 72

Exercise Two: Irregular Verbs 72

Exercise Three: Future Tense (Roots Ending in Vowels) 73

Exercise Four: Strong Obligation 73

PRACTICE CALENDAR 74
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 75
LESSON SIX
PAST TENSE AND ADJECTIVES 76

Past Tense  76

A Special Postposition  77

Present, Remote & Habitual Past  77

Strong Obligation - In the Past Tense 78

Ability - In the Past Tense 79

Adjectives  79
 Possessive Adjectives  80

The Apostrophe   81
LESSON SIX VOCABULARY 82
LESSON SIX WORKSHEET 83
PAST TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS 84
PAST TENSE CHART - VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH VOWELS 85
IRREGULAR VERBS - PAST TENSE  86
GENDER REVIEW  88
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 89

Exercise One: Verb Roots Ending with Consonants 89

Exercise Two: Irregular Verbs 90

Exercise Three: Verb Roots Ending with Vowels 90

Exercise Four: Habitual Past 90

PRACTICE CALENDAR 91
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 92
LESSON SEVEN 
 THE CONTINUOUS TENSE AND QUESTIONS  93

Continuous Tense   93

Conjunct Verbs  94

Asking Questions  97

Yes or No Questions  99

What Time Is It? 99

LESSON SEVEN WORKSHEET 101
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY 102
DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 103

Exercise One: Present Continuous Tense 103

Exercise Two: Past Continuous Tense 103

Exercise Three: Future Continuous Tense 103

Exercise Four: Conjunct Verbs 104

Exercise Five: Questions 104

Exercise Six: Yes or No Questions 104

PRACTICE CALENDAR 105
WORKSHEET ANSWERS 106
Index107
 INTRODUCTION

Our Goal
This course is a step by step guide for learning simple, clear and correct Hindi. It is
comprised of seven lessons which are designed specifically for English speaking
people. No prior knowledge of the Hindi language is necessary to benefit from this
book.

A Unique Approach
This course approaches learning Hindi from the standpoint of an English speaking
background. Comparisons are made between English and Hindi to explain concepts.

The main focus throughout the course is word order. It is vital for an English speaking
person who wants to learn Hindi to focus not only on pronunciation and vocabulary
but also on learning how to arrange those new words into a sentence. To understand
why word order is so vital, notice how confusing it is to see English words in the Hindi
word order:

“Every language in words random way in not arranged are.”

The first lesson explains how to form a basic sentence and the following six lessons
gradually explain how to build larger sentences.

Putting Theory into Practice

The course is laid out in a simple and logical manner. Each lesson builds on the
previous lesson. We recommend starting on the first lesson and working your way
through the entire course systematically. After completion of the course, the book can
also serve as a reference guide.

Daily practice exercises are included with each lesson so that you can immediately
10 INTRODUCTION

apply what you are learning. The accompanying practice calendar is for tracking
your progress for a month, so it is recommended to spend sufficient time practicing
each lesson before moving on to the next lesson. Remember, the goal of this course
is not simply to learn grammar but to start speaking Hindi by putting theory into
practice.

The Think and Speak Method

The daily practice exercises use the ‘think and speak’ method. Rather than writing
out the answers, you will be asked to think about the answer and then say it out
loud. It can be said that to learn to read, you need to practice reading. To learn
to write, you need to practice writing. But to learn to speak, you need to practice
speaking.

There is no answer sheet provided for the daily practice exercises. This encourages
you to go back to the lesson and its accompanying charts for confirmation. The
daily exercises can be done either individually or with a partner.

We recommend a daily practice sessions of approximately 15 minutes. Research

has shown that brief but frequent practice sessions are far more beneficial than
long but infrequent sessions.

Rotating Practice Schedule

Starting with lesson four, the practice calendar uses a rotating practice schedule.
This means that practice sessions will rotate between the completed lessons, with
the most recently completed lesson being practiced the most frequently. As you
progress in the course, this method will aid you with long term retention. It has been
observed, that as the length of time between practice sessions gradually increases,
INTRODUCTION 11

the strength of the memory increases. In effect, gradually reducing the frequency of
practicing something will move it into your long term memory.

Learning the Hindi Script vs. Romanization

Due to popular demand, with this second edition, we have included Romanized text
alongside the Hindi script. We employed the standard method as cataloged in the
US Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html).

Although this provides a means to get started quickly, we highly recommend taking
the time to learn to read the Hindi script.

From Our Readers

“I enjoyed learning through the systematic and simple approach. The emphasis on
word order was a feature that I had never seen elsewhere and it was helpful.”
— Raghbir, The United Kingdom

“I liked the way of teaching with fundamental and rich vocabulary and exercises.”
— Ranjeet, India

“I love the way the comparison is made to the way English is taught.”
— Jasminder, Indonesia

“It was concise and easy to follow and understand. Everything you needed was
provided. The learner was kept in mind at all times.”
— Ravinder, England
 LESSON ONE

THE BASIC SENTENCE

Word Order (Syntax)

In every language, including English, the words in a sentence are not arranged
randomly, rather, they follow a specific order.

When an English speaking person is learning Hindi, they need to give special attention
to the word order in Hindi because it is different than the word order in English.
Arranging words in the proper order is vital to being understood.

In English the word order is (subject + verb + object)

In Hindi the word order is (subject + object + verb)

For example: “Nick sends letters” would become “Nick letters sends”

The subject, direct object and verb are the main parts of a sentence. These three
parts of a sentence are like boxes. You can put one or more words into each box. To
determine which box to put a word into, ask the following questions:

1. What is being done? (VERB)

2. Who is doing it? (SUBJECT)
3. …what? (DIRECT OBJECT)

SUBJECT DIRECT OBJECT VERB

Nick letters sends is
निक चिट्ठियाँ भेजता है
Nik ciṭṭhiyāṇ bhejtā hai

TIP: Always identify the verb first. If you start by identifying the VERB then you will never
get your subject and object confused.
LESSON ONE: THE BASIC SENTENCE 13

Putting Theory Into Practice

At this point, find page 18 entitled “Lesson One Worksheet.” We will now practice
rearranging English words into the Hindi word order. This worksheet has five
sentences for you to translate. Go ahead and follow steps 1 – 4 closely. We will do
steps 5 and 6 later.

TIP: Hindi does not use the words “a” or “the”. So ignore these words when you
translate into English.

Verb Endings (Inflection)

The next important matter to discuss is verb endings. In English, to a limited extent,
the verb changes in order to match the subject. For example, let’s look at the
sentence: “Nick sends letters.” If we want to say in English, “We send letters” then we
would need to change “sends” to “send”.

In Hindi, a similar thing happens. The verb changes in order to match the subject. In
Hindi, the verb changes depending on whether the subject is:

1.  singular or plural

2.  masculine or feminine

How do we change the verb?

First: Find the stem (or root) of the verb. In Hindi, this means simply removing
the ना nā ending.
For example: “to send” भेजना bhejnā (the stem is भेज bhej)

Second: Add the appropriate ending to the stem of the verb.

For example:  भेज bhej (stem) + ता tā (ending) =  भेजता bhejtā
14 LEARN HINDI: SENTENCE STRUCTURE MADE EASY

REMEMBER: The verb must match the subject. In our example sentence, “Nick” is a
masculine singular subject, so we add the masculine singular ending ता tā to the
stem. 

In the present tense, there are three different verb endings: 

masculine singular ता tā feminine singular ती tī

masculine plural ते te feminine plural ती tī

If you are using a pronoun (I, we, you, he, she, they) then use the corresponding
ending from the “Present Tense Chart - Verb Roots Ending with Consonants” on
page 19. In this chart the verb root is shaded in gray and the verb endings are
highlighted in red. 

NOTE: A plural form of ‘you’ is used for respect and ALWAYS uses the masculine
ending. The pronouns ‘we’ and ‘they’ most often use the masculine ending because
even if only one in the group is masculine then the masculine ending should be
used. Wherever possible, the chart shows the ending that is most commonly used.

Now, let’s discuss the last column (highlighted in yellow) on the “Present Tense
Chart” which is called “Aux. Verb”. 

The Auxiliary Verb “to be” 

In English, we put a minimum of one verb into the verb box. However, in Hindi, it is
common to put TWO verbs into the verb box:

1. The main verb

2. The auxiliary verb  

Most commonly, the verb “to be” is used as the auxiliary verb. In English, the verb “to
LESSON ONE: THE BASIC SENTENCE 15

be” can be expressed using the words: am, is & are. These words must match the
subject.  For example, singular subjects use ‘is’ and plural subjects use ‘are.’ If the
subject is a pronoun, it has a matching pair.

For example:  I am    You are    We are    He/She is    They are

In Hindi, the verb होना honā (to be) can be expressed using the words: है hai, हैं haiṇ
and हूँ hūṇ

1. Singular subjects use है hai

2. Plural subjects use हैं haiṇ

If the subject is a pronoun, it has a matching pair as shown below.

मैं हूँ maiṇ hūṇ आप हैं āp haiṇ हम हैं ham haiṇ वह है vah hai वे हैं ve haiṇ
I am You are We are He/She is They are

The auxiliary verb is put into the verb box after the main verb. Notice our example
sentence one last time: “Nick sends letters” Nick is masculine singular so we use the
auxiliary verb है hai

SUBJECT DIRECT OBJECT VERB + AUX.VERB

Nick letters sends is
निक चिट्ठियाँ भेजता है
Nik ciṭṭhiyāṇ bhejtā hai

Using the “Present Tense Chart” on page 19 you can now complete steps 5 – 6 on
the worksheet. All the necessary vocabulary is at the bottom of the page. After
completing the worksheet, you can use the answer sheet to check your sentences.
Each lesson has an answer sheet for the worksheet on the last page of the lesson.
16 LEARN HINDI: SENTENCE STRUCTURE MADE EASY

The Think and Speak Method

Daily practice exercises are included with each lesson so that you can immediately
apply what you are learning. The accompanying practice calendar is for tracking
your progress for a month, so it is recommended to spend sufficient time practicing
each lesson before moving on to the next lesson. Remember, the goal of this course
is not simply to learn grammar but to start speaking Hindi by putting theory into
practice.

The daily practice exercises use the ‘think and speak’ method. Rather than writing
out the answers, you will be asked to think about the answer and then say it out
loud. It can be said that to learn to read, you need to practice reading. To learn
to write, you need to practice writing. But to learn to speak, you need to practice
speaking.

There is no answer sheet provided for the daily practice exercises. This encourages
you to go back to the lesson and its accompanying charts for confirmation. The
daily exercises can be done either individually or with a partner.

We recommend a daily practice sessions of approximately 15 minutes. Research

has shown that brief but frequent practice sessions are far more beneficial
than long but infrequent sessions. When you feel comfortable with performing
the exercises then you are ready to move on to the next lesson and build larger
sentences!
 LESSON ONE VOCABULARY 17

1. Words with masculine gender are highlighted in blue.

2. Words with feminine gender are highlighted in pink.
3. Words that are used for both the singular and plural form are marked with (s).

am answer(s) are
हूँ hūṇ जवाब javāb हैं haiṇ

to ask English he/she

पूछना pūchnā अंग्रेज़ी aṇgrezī वह vah

Hindi I is
हिन्दी hindī मैं maiṇ है hai

to learn picture question(s)

सीखना sīkhnā तस्वीर tasvīr सवाल savāl

they to see to speak

वे ve देखना dekhnā बोलना bolnā

we to write you
हम ham लिखना likhnā आप āp
18 LESSON ONE WORKSHEET
Step one: Ask what is being done? (Write “V” for verb above the word)
Step two: Ask who is doing it? (Write “S” for subject above the word)
Step three: Ask …what? (Write “D.O” for direct object above the word)
Step four: Write the English words in the Hindi word order on the first line
Step five: Write the Hindi words underneath on the second line.
Step six: Add the appropriate verb ending and auxiliary verb.

1. I learn Hindi.

2. We ask a question.

3. I speak English.

4. He writes the answer.

5. You see the picture.

Vocabulary: am हूँ | answer जवाब | are हैं | to ask पूछना | English अंग्रेज़ी
he/she वह | Hindi हिन्दी | I मैं | is है | to learn सीखना | picture तस्वीर
question सवाल | to see देखना | to speak बोलना | we हम | to write लिखना | you आप
 PRESENT TENSE CHART 19

VERB ROOTS ENDING WITH CONSONANTS

SUBJECT + VERB ROOT + ENDING + AUX.VERB

Pronoun Pronoun Masculine Feminine Auxiliary

English Hindi Endings Endings Verb

I मैं हूँ
बोल ता बोलती
He/She वह है
(Singular)

They वे बोलते बोल ती हैं

(Plural)

We हम
बोलते हैं
You आप

NOTE: If the subject is NOT a pronoun then determine its gender and number. The
same endings for (He/She) are used for singular subjects. The same endings for

(They) are used for plural subjects.

20 DAILY PRACTICE SHEET VOCABULARY

to ask to become to believe/accept

पूछना pūchnā बनना bannā मानना mānnā

to change  to come out/emerge to find

बदलना badalnā निकलना nikalnā ढूँढ़ना ḍhūṇr̥hnā

to know to learn to listen/hear

जानना jānnā सीखना sīkhnā सुनना sunnā

to meet to open to put/keep

मिलना milnā खोलना kholnā रखना rakhnā

to read to see to sit

पढ़ना par̥hnā देखना dekhnā बैठना baiṭhnā

to speak/talk to tell to think

बोलना bolnā बताना batānā सोचना socnā

to understand to walk/move to write

समझना samajhnā चलना calnā लिखना likhnā
 DAILY PRACTICE SHEET 21

Instructions for the ‘Think and Speak’ method:

Do NOT write down the answers – this is the ‘think’ part
Say each sentence OUT LOUD – this is the ‘speak’ part

What if I get stuck? Look at the reference charts for help. The goal is NOT to
‘memorize’ the sentences but to LEARN A METHOD to construct your own sentences.

SUBJECT + DIRECT OBJECT + VERB ROOT + ENDING + AUX.VERB

Exercise One: The Basic Sentence

Say each sentence OUT LOUD.

1. He asks.  14. We see. 29. She knows.

वह + पूछ + ending + aux.verb 15. They ask.  30. You learn.
= वह पूछता है 16. I sit. 31. He listens/hears.
2. We become. 17. She talks/speaks. 32. We meet.
3. They believe/accept. 18. You tell. 33. They open.
4. I change. 19. He thinks. 34. I put/keep.
5. She emerges/comes out. 20. We understand. 35. She reads.
6. You find. 21. They walk. 36. You see.
7. He knows. 22. I write. 37. He sits. 
8. We learn. 23. She asks. 38. We talk/speak. 
9. They listen/hear. 24. You become. 39. They tell. 
10. I meet. 25. He believes/accepts.  40. I think. 
11. She opens. 26. We change. 41. She understands. 
12. You put/keep. 27. They emerge/come out. 42. You walk.
13. He reads. 28. I find. 43. He writes.
22

Exercise Two: Sentence Progressions

Add a DIRECT OBJECT of your choice to the sentences from exercise one and say
each sentence OUT LOUD. Skip the sentences shaded in gray because they do not
take a direct object easily. To get started, here is a list of direct objects in English.

TIP: For this exercise, we will use English words for our objects. Starting in lesson two,
we will use Hindi words for our objects.

answer book(s) cars

cat chairs door(s)
English friend(s) gifts
house(s) letters magazines
movie pathway picture(s)
price Hindi question
reason(s) shop song(s)
stories story work

Exercise Three: Quick Start

Say each sentence using the SAME subject. ( e.g. we, I, he, Nick, they, she, you )

1. __ ask(s) 8. __ learn(s) 15. __ sit(s)

2. __ become(s) 9. __ listen/hear(s) 16. __ speak/talk(s)
3. __ believe/accept(s) 10. __ meet(s) 17. __ tell(s)
4. __ change(s) 11. __ open(s) 18. __ think(s)
5. __ emerge(s)/come(s) out 12. __ put/keep(s) 19. __ understand(s)
6. __ find(s) 13. __ read(s) 20. __ walk(s)
7. __ know(s) 14. __ see(s) 21. __ write(s)
 PRACTICE CALENDAR 23

Box 1: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise one and then ü check box 1
Box 2: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise two and then ü check box 2
Box 3: Practice 5 minutes or more of exercise three and then ü check box 3

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Monday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Tuesday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Wednesday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Thursday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Friday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Saturday

1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
Sunday
24 WORKSHEET ANSWERS
Step one: Ask what is being done? (Write “V” for verb above the word)
Step two: Ask who is doing it? (Write “S” for subject above the word)
Step three: Ask …what? (Write “D.O” for direct object above the word)
Step four: Write the English words in the Hindi word order on the first line
Step five: Write the Hindi words underneath on the second line.
Step six: Add the appropriate verb ending and auxiliary verb.
S V D.O.
1. I learn Hindi. I Hindi learn
मैं हिन्दी सीखता हूँ (masculine subject)
मैं हिन्दी सीखती हूँ (feminine subject)
S V D.O.
2. We ask a question. We questions ask

हम सवाल पूछते हैं

S V D.O.
3. I speak English. I English speak
मैं अंग्रेज़ी बोलता हूँ (masculine subject)
मैं अंग्रेज़ी बोलती हूँ (feminine subject)
S V D.O.
4. He writes the answer. He answer writes

वह जवाब लिखता है
S V D.O.
5. You see the picture. You picture see

आप तस्वीर देखते हैं

Vocabulary: am हूँ | answer जवाब | are हैं | to ask पूछना | English अंग्रेज़ी
he/she वह | Hindi हिन्दी | I मैं | is है | to learn सीखना | picture तस्वीर
question सवाल | to see देखना | to speak बोलना | we हम | to write लिखना | you आप