Marathi grammar

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

1. The verb goes last

Marathi is subject–object–verb: मी भात खातो (mi bhat khato) — मैं चावल खाता हूँ — “I eat rice (a man speaking — a woman says खाते; word-for-word: I · rice · eat)”. Learn this once and every sentence parses.

2. Three genders, not two

Marathi has masculine, feminine AND neuter — one more than Hindi. Adjectives and verbs agree: चांगला मुलगा (good boy), चांगली मुलगी (good girl), चांगले पुस्तक (good book). Learn every noun with its gender.

3. Pronouns

English	Hindi	Marathi	Say it
I	मैं	मी	mī
we (excluding you)	हम	आम्ही	āmhī
	आपण (āpaṇ) = we-INCLUDING-you — Marathi splits what Hindi/English merge
you (formal / plural)	आप / तुम सब	तुम्ही	tumhī
you (intimate)	तू	तू	tū
	Close friends, children — never strangers
he	वह	तो	to
	Three words where Hindi has one: तो/ती/ते (he/she/it)
she	वह	ती	tī
it	यह / वह	ते	te
they (masculine / mixed)	वे	ते	te
they (feminine)	वे	त्या	tyā
this (near, masc)	यह	हा	hā
that (far, masc)	वह	तो	to
	Same word as 'he' — context decides
what	क्या	काय	kāy
who	कौन	कोण	koṇ
where	कहाँ	कुठे	kuṭhe
when	कब	केव्हा	kevhā
why	क्यों	का	kā
how	कैसे	कसा / कशी / कसे	kasā / kaśī / kase
	Agrees with gender: masc / fem / neuter
how much / how many	कितना	किती	kitī
which	कौन-सा	कोणता / कोणती	koṇtā / koṇtī
	कोणता (masc) / कोणती (fem)

4. Present tense — one full verb

“To eat” (खाणे) in the present. The verb agrees with WHO is speaking and their gender: a man says खातो, a woman says खाते. Formal तुम्ही takes its own ending — the verb tells you the relationship.

Who		Verb	Say it
I (a man)	मी	खातो	khāto
I (a woman)	मी	खाते	khāte
you (intimate)	तू	खातोस	khātos
you (formal)	तुम्ही	खाता	khātā
he	तो	खातो	khāto
she	ती	खाते	khāte
they	ते / त्या	खातात	khātāt

5. Past and future (first steps)

English	Hindi	Marathi	Say it
I ate (a man)	मैंने खाया	मी खाल्ले	mī khālle
I ate (a woman)	मैंने खाया	मी खाल्ली	mī khāllī
I went (a man)	मैं गया	मी गेलो	mī gelo
I went (a woman)	मैं गई	मी गेले	mī gele
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	मी खाईन	mī khāīn
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	मी जाईन	mī jāīn

6. Negation is one word

Put नाही (nahi) after a present-tense verb: मी जात नाही (mi jat nahi) — I don't go. Past tense keeps it after too: गेलो नाही (gelo nahi) — didn't go.

7. Postpositions (not prepositions)

Meaning	Hindi	Marathi	Example
in / at	में	-त / -मध्ये	घरात (gharāt) — at home
to	को	-ला	मला द्या (malā dyā) — give (to) me
from	से	-पासून / -हून	मुंबईहून (mumbaīhūn) — from Mumbai
with (using)	से	-ने	चमच्याने (camcyāne) — with a spoon
for	के लिए	-साठी	तुमच्यासाठी (tumcyāsāṭhī) — for you
with (a person)	के साथ	-बरोबर	मित्राबरोबर (mitrābarobar) — with a friend

8. Counting words

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

Marathi	Hindi	Note
एक पुस्तक (ek pustak)	एक किताब	one book — no classifier word needed
दोन आंबे (don āmbe)	दो आम	two mangoes — number + noun, done
तीन लोक (tīn lok)	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	Marathi	Say it
I ate (a man)	मैंने खाया	मी खाल्ले	mī khālle
I ate (a woman)	मैंने खाया	मी खाल्ली	mī khāllī
I went (a man)	मैं गया	मी गेलो	mī gelo
I went (a woman)	मैं गई	मी गेले	mī gele
I will eat	मैं खाऊँगा	मी खाईन	mī khāīn
I will go	मैं जाऊँगा	मी जाईन	mī jāīn

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	Marathi	Say it
in / at	में	-त / -मध्ये	-ta / -madhye
to	को	-ला	-lā
from	से	-पासून / -हून	-pāsūn / -hūn
with (using)	से	-ने	-ne
for	के लिए	-साठी	-sāṭhī
with (a person)	के साथ	-बरोबर	-barobar

And the counting words:

English	Hindi	Marathi	Say it
one book	एक किताब	एक पुस्तक	ek pustak
	one book — no classifier word needed
two mangoes	दो आम	दोन आंबे	don āmbe
	two mangoes — number + noun, done
three people	तीन लोग	तीन लोक	tīn lok
	three people — people count directly too

The grammar rule that matters most. The verb agrees with WHO is speaking and their gender: a man says खातो, a woman says खाते. Formal तुम्ही takes its own ending — the verb tells you the relationship. 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 — MarathiHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
Alphabet, letter by letter — MarathiEvery letter with the sound it makes.
Phrases for travel — MarathiStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
Numbers 1 to 100 — MarathiCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
Most common words — MarathiThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
Common mistakes — MarathiThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
How to read the script — MarathiA step-by-step path from letters to reading real sentences.
vs Hindi — MarathiWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
Practise speaking alone — MarathiShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.