Postpositions

01

The Oblique Case

The most critical rule regarding postpositions is that they trigger the oblique case. When a postposition follows a noun or pronoun, that noun or pronoun must change its form.

For masculine nouns ending in -आ (-ā-a), the ending changes to -ए (-e).

• कमरा (kamrākamra) - room
• कमरे में (kamre meṃ) - in the room

For pronouns, the stem changes completely.

• मैं (maiṃ) - I
• मुझ पर (mujh par) - on me

• लड़का घर में है।

  laṛkā ghar meṃ hai.larka ghar meṃ hai.

  The boy is in the house.

• वे मेज़ पर हैं।

  ve mez par haiṃ.we mez par haiṃ.

  They are on the table.

02

Adjective Agreement

The oblique case requirement extends to any adjectives or possessive words that describe the noun. If a noun changes because of a postposition, the adjectives describing it must also change.

• मेरा बड़ा बेटा (merā baṛā beṭāmera bara beṭa) - my big son (Direct case)
• मेरे बड़े बेटे के लिए (mere baṛe beṭe ke liyemere bare beṭe ke liye) - for my big son (Oblique case)

Notice how मेरा (merāmera) became मेरे (mere), बड़ा (baṛābara) became बड़े (baṛebare), and बेटा (beṭābeṭa) became बेटे (beṭe).

03

Common Simple Postpositions

Simple postpositions consist of a single word. Here are the most frequent ones:

• में (meṃ) - in, inside
• पर (par) - on, at
• से (se) - from, with, by
• को (ko) - to (also marks the direct object)
• तक (tak) - up to, until
• ने (ne) - ergative marker (indicates the subject in past transitive tenses)

• मैं दिल्ली से हूँ।

  maiṃ dillī se hūṃ.maiṃ dilli se huṃ.

  I am from Delhi.

• हम रात तक काम करते हैं।

  ham rāt tak kām karte haiṃ.ham rat tak kam karte haiṃ.

  We work until night.

04

Compound Postpositions

Many spatial and abstract relationships are expressed using compound postpositions. These are phrases usually formed with the genitive marker के (ke) followed by another word. Because के (ke) is itself a postposition, the noun preceding it must still be in the oblique case.

• के लिए (ke liye) - for
• के साथ (ke sāthke sath) - with (accompaniment)
• के पास (ke pāske pas) - near, have
• के बाद (ke bādke bad) - after
• के बारे में (ke bāre meṃke bare meṃ) - about

• वह अपने भाई के साथ है।

  vah apne bhāī ke sāth hai.wah apne bhai ke sath hai.

  He is with his brother.

• स्कूल के पास एक पार्क है।

  skūl ke pās ek pārk hai.skul ke pas ek park hai.

  There is a park near the school.

05

Postpositions and Verb Agreement

In Hindi, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. However, postpositions act as a "blocker." If the subject of a sentence is followed by a postposition (like the ergative ने (ne) or the dative को (ko)), the verb cannot agree with the subject.

When the subject is blocked:

1. The verb agrees with the object (if the object is not blocked by a postposition).

2. If both subject and object are blocked, or if there is no object, the verb defaults to Masculine Singular.

• लड़की ने सेब खाया।

  laṛkī ne seb khāyā.larki ne seb khaya.

  The girl ate an apple.

Here, लड़की (laṛkīlarki) - girl is blocked by ने (ne). The verb खाया (khāyākhaya) - ate is masculine singular because it agrees with the object सेब (seb) - apple, which is masculine.

• लड़की ने चाय पी।

  laṛkī ne cāy pī.larki ne chay pi.

  The girl drank tea.

Here, the verb पी (pīpi) - drank is feminine because it agrees with the object चाय (cāychay) - tea.

• मुझ को जाना है।

  mujh ko jānā hai.mujh ko jana hai.

  I have to go.

Here, the subject "I" is blocked by को (ko). The verb structure remains in the default masculine singular form.