EkGuru › Materials › Grammar › Beginner Grammar Reference — One Page
The whole skeleton of Hindi on a single page — the rules that explain almost everything you will say in your first months. Keep it printed; the deep explanations live in the guides this links to.
| Rule | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Word order | Subject + Object + Verb | मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ (I book read = I read a book) |
| Gender — masculine | nouns in -ā (आ) | लड़का laṛkā (boy) |
| Gender — feminine | nouns in -ī (ई) | लड़की laṛkī (girl) |
| Plural — masc -ā | -ā → -e | लड़का → लड़के laṛke |
| Plural — fem -ī | -ī → -iyā̃ | लड़की → लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ |
| 'To be' present | हूँ / है / हैं / हो | main hū̃, vah hai, ve haiṃ, tum ho |
| Postpositions | after the noun, not before | घर में ghar meṃ (in the house) |
| Adjectives agree | -ā / -ī / -e | अच्छा लड़का, अच्छी लड़की |
English says I read a book; Hindi says I book read — मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ. Almost every sentence you build is Subject, then Object, then Verb. Once this feels natural, the rest of the grammar slots into place around it.
Most masculine nouns end in आ (-ā): लड़का. Most feminine nouns end in ई (-ī): लड़की. Words ending in a consonant are usually masculine, but there are common exceptions (किताब, book, is feminine) — learn those as you meet them.
Where English puts a word before the noun (in the house), Hindi puts a short word after it: घर में (ghar meṃ, house-in). They are called postpositions for exactly that reason, and का/की/के (of) is the one that changes to agree with the noun it belongs to.
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Copying English word order | Put the verb last | SOV is the frame; English SVO sentences sound wrong even when every word is right. |
| Guessing gender from meaning | Learn gender from the ending, then the exceptions | There is no logic to why किताब is feminine — you just learn it. |
| Using 'of' as one word | का / की / के agree with the following noun | लड़के की किताब (the boy's book) — की because किताब is feminine. |
मैं पानी पीता हूँ (main pānī pītā hū̃) — Subject, Object, Verb.
लड़के (laṛke) — masculine nouns in -ā change to -e.
Because का/की/के agrees with the noun that follows — किताब is feminine, so की.
A chart helps only once you use it. Drill these same points in the practice labs, follow a learning path to keep the order right, or practise one to one with a native-speaking tutor.