Modern Hindi Grammar - Indian Institute of Language Studies (IILS)

4. SYNTAX

maohnat mehnat hard
work

+ [- i: = maohnatI mehnati: hard worker

ihmmat himmat courage + [- i: = ihmmatI himmati: courageous
daZ,I da:rhi: beard + vaalaa
va:la:

= daZ,I vaalaa da:rhi: va:la:

bearded

Adjectives may also be derived from adverbs:

pICo pi:che behind + laa la: = ipClaa pichla: last
naja,dIk nazdi:k near + [- i = naja,dIkI nazdi:ki: close one

The use of the forms of vaalaa va:la: and genitive markers ka ka:/ ko ke/
kI ki: are frequently employed in the derivation of adjectives. Their
forms agree with the following noun in number and and gender as
follows:

Masculine Feminine
Sg Pl Sg Pl
vaalaa va:la: vaalao va:le vaalaI va:li: vaalaI va:li:

• ka ka: -ko ke -kI ki: -kI ki:

1. idllaI vaalaa dukanadar
   dilli: va:la: duka:nda:r
   Delhi of shopkeeper
   the shopkeeper from Delhi


2. dUr ka irSatodar
   du:r ka: rišteda:r
   distance of relative
   a distant relative

Complex adjectives are finite (full relative clauses) as well as non-
finite (participle used as adjectives). Adjectives usually precede the
nouns they modify.

It is difficult to define adjective phrases because adjectives are not
distinguished morphologically from nouns. However, it is possible
to distinguish an adjectival phrase from a noun phrase because: (1)
the semantics of adjectives is quite distinct from that of nouns; (2)
an adjective phrase functions as a modifier for a substantive; (3)