Possession with पास — Hindi Grammar

Hindi does not have a single verb equivalent to the English "to have." Instead, possession is expressed using a phrase that literally translates to "near [someone], [something] is."

The key phrase used is (ke pāske pas), which means near or in the possession of.

Basic Structure with Nouns

To say "X has Y," you place the owner in the oblique case, add (ke pāske pas), state the object, and end with the verb (hai).

The structure is: Owner + (ke pāske pas) + Object + (hai)

Because (ke) is a postposition, the noun preceding it must change to the oblique case. For example, (laṛkālarka) - boy becomes (laṛkelarke).

लड़के के पास एक बिल्ली है।
laṛke ke pās ek billī hai.larke ke pas ek billi hai.
The boy has a cat.
राज के पास पैसा है।
rāj ke pās paisā hai.raj ke pas paisa hai.
Raj has money.
आदमी के पास पानी है।
ādmī ke pās pānī hai.admi ke pas pani hai.
The man has water.

Using Pronouns

When the owner is a pronoun (like I, you, he, she), you do not use the standard subject pronouns (like (maiṃ) or (tum)). Instead, you use the possessive forms.

Note that for I, we, and you, the postposition (ke) is merged into the pronoun itself.

I have: (mere pāsmere pas)
You have (informal): (tumhāre pāstumhare pas)
We have: (hamāre pāshamare pas)

For third-person pronouns (he, she, they), you use the oblique form followed by (ke):

He/She has: (uske pāsuske pas)
They have / He (formal) has: (unke pāsunke pas)

मेरे पास एक किताब है।
mere pās ek kitāb hai.mere pas ek kitab hai.
I have a book.
तुम्हारे पास समय है।
tumhāre pās samay hai.tumhare pas samay hai.
You have time.
उसके पास एक घर है।
uske pās ek ghar hai.uske pas ek ghar hai.
He has a house.

Plural Objects

The verb at the end of the sentence agrees with the object owned, not the owner. If the object is plural, the verb changes from (hai) to (haiṃ).

मेरे पास दो किताबें हैं।
mere pās do kitābeṃ haiṃ.mere pas do kitabeṃ haiṃ.
I have two books.
उनके पास तीन सेब हैं।
unke pās tīn seb haiṃ.unke pas tin seb haiṃ.
They have three apples.

Negation and Questions

To say someone does not have something, place (nahīṃnahiṃ) just before the verb.

मेरे पास गाड़ी नहीं है।
mere pās gāṛī nahīṃ hai.mere pas gari nahiṃ hai.
I do not have a car.
सीता के पास कलम नहीं है।
sītā ke pās kalam nahīṃ hai.sita ke pas kalam nahiṃ hai.
Sita does not have a pen.

To ask a yes/no question, simply add (kyākya) at the beginning of the sentence.

क्या तुम्हारे पास चाबी है?
kyā tumhāre pās cābī hai.kya tumhare pas chabi hai.
Do you have the key?
क्या उसके पास खाना है?
kyā uske pās khānā hai.kya uske pas khana hai.
Does he have food?

Usage Note: Objects vs. Relationships

The phrase (ke pāske pas) is primarily used for movable objects, money, or things you can physically possess. It literally implies that the object is "nearby" you.

While English uses "have" for family relationships (e.g., "I have a brother"), Hindi typically uses a different structure without (pāspas) for family members. For beginners, it is safest to reserve (ke pāske pas) strictly for things, animals, and assets.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Hindi course

24 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 21. A few of them, with the words “Possession with पास” is about in bold:

मेरे पास दो कार, दो साइकिल, और तीन मोटरबाइक हैं।
mere pās do kār, do sāikil, aur tīn moṭarbāik ha͠i.mere pas do kar, do saikil, aur tin moṭarbaik hain.
I have two cars, two bicycles, and three motorbikes.
Lesson 33
उसके पास एक धीमी, सस्ती कार है।
uske pās ek dhīmī, sastī kār hai.uske pas ek dhimi, sasti kar hai.
She has a slow, cheap car.
Lesson 110
मेरे पास सितंबर में एक संगीत कार्यक्रम के टिकट हैं।
mere pās sitambar mẽ ek saṅgīt kāryakram ke ṭikaṭ ha͠i.mere pas sitambar mẽ ek sangit karyakram ke ṭikaṭ hain.
I have tickets for a concert in September.
Lesson 398

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