Gujarati grammar

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Gujarati word order, verbs, pronouns and the mistakes everyone makes — explained, not listed.

1. The verb goes last

Gujarati is subject–object–verb: હું ભાત ખાઉં છું (huṁ bhāt khāuṁ chuṁ) — मैं चावल खाता हूँ — “I eat rice (word-for-word: I · rice · eat · am — the helper છું is compulsory)”. Learn this once and every sentence parses.

2. Three genders — hiding in the past tense

Gujarati has masculine, feminine and neuter like Marathi — but the present tense doesn't care (હું ખાઉં છું for men and women alike). Gender appears in adjectives (સારો/સારી/સારું) and the past tense: ગયો (he went), ગઈ (she went), ગયું (it went).

3. Pronouns

English	Hindi	Gujarati	Say it
I	मैं	હું	huṁ
we (excluding you)	हम	અમે	ame
	આપણે (āpaṇe) = we-INCLUDING-you
you (formal / plural)	आप / तुम सब	તમે	tame
you (intimate)	तू	તું	tuṁ
	Close friends, children — never strangers
he / she	वह	તે	te
	One word for both in daily speech; તેણી (she) is formal writing
she (formal)	वह	તેણી	teṇī
it (near)	यह	એ	e
	Near-you 'it'; તે covers far 'it'
they (people)	वे	તેઓ	teo
this	यह	આ	ā
that	वह	તે	te
	Same word as he/she — context decides
that man (over there)	वह आदमी	પેલો	pelo
	પેલી (pelī) for a woman — pointing words
what	क्या	શું	śuṁ
who	कौन	કોણ	koṇ
where	कहाँ	ક્યાં	kyāṁ
when	कब	ક્યારે	kyāre
why	क्यों	શા માટે	śā māṭe
how	कैसे	કેવી રીતે	kevī rīte
	કેમ also means how — and why! Context decides
how much / how many	कितना	કેટલું	keṭluṁ
which	कौन-सा	કયું	kayuṁ
	કયો (masc) / કઈ (fem)

4. Present tense — one full verb

“To eat” (ખાવું) in the present. Gujarati present tense travels with a helper: the main verb plus છું/છે/છીએ (am/is/are). હું ખાઉં છું is literally 'I eat am' — say both parts or it sounds unfinished.

Who		Verb	Say it
I	હું	ખાઉં છું	khāuṁ chuṁ
you (intimate)	તું	ખાય છે	khāy che
you (formal)	તમે	ખાઓ છો	khāo cho
he	તે	ખાય છે	khāy che
she	તેણી	ખાય છે	khāy che
we	અમે	ખાઈએ છીએ	khāīe chīe
they	તેઓ	ખાય છે	khāy che

5. Past and future (first steps)

English	Hindi	Gujarati	Say it
I ate	मैंने खाया	મેં ખાધું	meṁ khādhuṁ
I went (a man)	मैं गया	હું ગયો	huṁ gayo
I went (a woman)	मैं गई	હું ગઈ	huṁ gaī
he ate	उसने खाया	તેણે ખાધું	teṇe khādhuṁ
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	હું ખાઈશ	huṁ khāīś
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	હું જઈશ	huṁ jaīś

6. Negation is one word

Put નથી (nathī) after the helper: હું જતો નથી (huṁ jato nathī) — I don't go. Past tense works the same: ગયો નથી (gayo nathī) — didn't go.

7. Postpositions (not prepositions)

Meaning	Hindi	Gujarati	Example
in / at	में	-માં	ઘરમાં (gharmāṁ) — at home
to	को	-ને	મને આપો (mane āpo) — give (to) me
from	से	-થી	અમદાવાદથી (amdāvādthī) — from Ahmedabad
with (using)	से	-થી	ચમચીથી (chamchīthī) — with a spoon
for	के लिए	-માટે	તમારા માટે (tamārā māṭe) — for you
with (a person)	के साथ	-સાથે	મિત્ર સાથે (mitra sāthe) — with a friend

8. Counting words

Gujarati counts directly — number + noun, no classifier words:

Gujarati	Hindi	Note
એક પુસ્તક (ek pustak)	एक किताब	one book — number + noun, no extras
બે કેરી (be kerī)	दो आम	two mangoes — counting form as listed
ત્રણ લોકો (traṇ loko)	तीन लोग	three people — people count directly too

The sentence ladder

Do not learn grammar as a list of rules. Learn it as a ladder with seven rungs, where every rung is something you can say out loud today.

Say what you are. Simple I-sentences with no verb change.
Say what you want. The same pattern with a noun from the common words list.
Say what you do. The present-tense table above, first person only.
Say what someone else does. The same table, third person — this is where the endings move.
Say what happened. Past tense, five sentences about yesterday.
Say what will happen. Future tense, five sentences about tomorrow.
Say what does not happen. Negative forms of five sentences you have already built.

Past and future, in five sentences each

English	Hindi	Gujarati	Say it
I ate	मैंने खाया	મેં ખાધું	meṁ khādhuṁ
I went (a man)	मैं गया	હું ગયો	huṁ gayo
I went (a woman)	मैं गई	હું ગઈ	huṁ gaī
he ate	उसने खाया	તેણે ખાધું	teṇe khādhuṁ
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	હું ખાઈશ	huṁ khāīś
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	હું જઈશ	huṁ jaīś

Small words, big sentences

Two groups of small words turn correct sentences into natural ones: the little words that mean in, at or to, and the words used when counting things.

English	Hindi	Gujarati	Say it
in / at	में	-માં	-māṁ
to	को	-ને	-ne
from	से	-થી	-thī
with (using)	से	-થી	-thī
for	के लिए	-માટે	-māṭe
with (a person)	के साथ	-સાથે	-sāthe

And the counting words:

English	Hindi	Gujarati	Say it
one book	एक किताब	એક પુસ્તક	ek pustak
	one book — number + noun, no extras
two mangoes	दो आम	બે કેરી	be kerī
	two mangoes — counting form as listed
three people	तीन लोग	ત્રણ લોકો	traṇ loko
	three people — people count directly too

The grammar rule that matters most. Gujarati present tense travels with a helper: the main verb plus છું/છે/છીએ (am/is/are). હું ખાઉં છું is literally 'I eat am' — say both parts or it sounds unfinished. Learn the pattern, then change one thing at a time — verb, then person, then tense. Learners who change everything at once produce sentences they cannot debug.

More guides in this course

Beginner's guide — GujaratiHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
Alphabet, letter by letter — GujaratiEvery letter with the sound it makes.
Phrases for travel — GujaratiStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
Numbers 1 to 100 — GujaratiCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
Most common words — GujaratiThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
Common mistakes — GujaratiThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
How to read the script — GujaratiA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
vs Hindi — GujaratiWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
Practise speaking alone — GujaratiShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.