For a declinable Hindi adjective, masculine -ए -e has two central jobs. It marks a masculine plural noun phrase in direct case—नए जूते “new shoes”—and it marks a masculine noun phrase in oblique case, whether singular or plural—नए जूते को, नए जूतों में. This shared ending is called syncretism: one visible form realizes more than one grammatical combination.
English adjectives do not change for either number or case. An English speaker therefore has to learn not only the ending but also what triggers it: plural number, or a postposition that makes a masculine noun phrase oblique.
The four-way agreement set
The full paradigm shows why -ए cannot simply be translated as “plural.”
| Noun features | Adjective | Noun phrase |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular direct | नया nayā | नया जूता nayā jūtā |
| masculine plural direct | नए nae | नए जूते nae jūte |
| masculine singular oblique | नए nae | नए जूते को nae jūte ko |
| masculine plural oblique | नए nae | नए जूतों में nae jūtoṃ meṃ |
| feminine, any number or case | नई naī | नई चप्पलें naī cappaleṃ |
The adjective has the same नए form in the three masculine cells after the first. The noun carries whatever additional marking its own class requires.
नए जूते अलमारी के नीचे हैं।
nae jūte almārī ke nīce haiṃ.
The new shoes are under the wardrobe.
मैं पुराने पुल के पास उतरूँगा।
maĩ purāne pul ke pās utrū̃gā.
I will get off near the old bridge. (male speaker)
हमने बड़े कमरों में पंखे लगवाए।
hamne baṛe kamroṃ meṃ paṅkhe lagvāe.
We had fans installed in the large rooms.
Masculine plural direct
A direct plural masculine noun triggers -ए in both attributive and predicative adjectives. “Direct” here means that no postposition governs the noun phrase.
दोनों बच्चे भूखे हैं।
donoṃ bacce bhūkhe haiṃ.
Both children are hungry.
ये आम अभी कच्चे और खट्टे हैं।
ye ām abhī kacce aur khaṭṭe haiṃ.
These mangoes are still unripe and sour.
In the first example, attributive दोनों establishes a plural set and predicative भूखे agrees with बच्चे. In the second, both coordinated predicate adjectives agree with plural आम. The adjective ending shows plural even though आम itself has the same shape in singular and plural.
Numerals above one normally create plural reference:
तीन लंबे रास्ते स्टेशन तक जाते हैं।
tīn lambe rāste sṭeśan tak jāte haiṃ.
Three long routes go as far as the station.
दुकान में दो महँगे फ़ोन बचे हैं।
dukān meṃ do mahãge fon bace haiṃ.
Two expensive phones are left in the shop.
The numeral does not replace adjective agreement. तीन लंबा रास्ता is not the Hindi equivalent of English “three long routes”; both noun number and adjective number must be correct.
Masculine singular oblique
A postposition governs an oblique complement. With a masculine singular noun, this changes a declinable adjective from -आ to -ए even though there is still only one referent.
छोटा कमरा खाली है।
choṭā kamrā khālī hai.
The small room is empty.
छोटे कमरे में मेरा सामान रखा है।
choṭe kamre meṃ merā sāmān rakhā hai.
My luggage is kept in the small room.
The first noun phrase is direct: छोटा कमरा. The second is governed by में, so both adjective and declinable noun become oblique: छोटे कमरे में.
Compound postpositions have the same effect because their complement is oblique.
ऊँचे पेड़ के पीछे हमारी गाड़ी खड़ी है।
ū̃ce peṛ ke pīche hamārī gāṛī khaṛī hai.
Our car is parked behind the tall tree.
Masculine plural oblique
Plural masculine adjectives also take -ए before a postposition. The important difference is on the noun: many nouns add oblique plural -ओं.
पुराने दोस्तों से मिलकर बहुत अच्छा लगा।
purāne dostoṃ se milkar bahut acchā lagā.
It was really nice to meet old friends.
चार अच्छे कमरों का किराया हमारे बजट से बाहर है।
cār acche kamroṃ kā kirāyā hamāre bajaṭ se bāhar hai.
The rent for four good rooms is beyond our budget.
Compare singular अच्छे कमरे का with plural अच्छे कमरों का. The adjective is अच्छे in both; the noun distinguishes the two.
Attributive and predicative use
Inside a noun phrase, the adjective generally precedes the noun: लंबे रास्ते. As a predicate with होना, it agrees with the direct subject: रास्ते लंबे हैं.
वे सस्ते होटल अब पूरी तरह भरे हुए हैं।
ve saste hoṭal ab pūrī tarah bhare hue haiṃ.
Those inexpensive hotels are completely full now.
Here attributive सस्ते and predicative भरे both target masculine plural होटल. Hindi can place an adjective after a noun as a predicate, but English-style order cannot simply be copied inside an attributive noun phrase. For the broader contrast, see attributive adjectives.
Agreement is morphological, not semantic
Only adjectives belonging to the declinable -आ class display this ending. Invariant साफ़ and शानदार modify masculine plurals and oblique phrases without becoming साफ़े or शानदारे.
साफ़ कमरे बड़े और हवादार हैं।
sāf kamre baṛe aur havādār haiṃ.
The clean rooms are large and airy.
All three words describe the rooms. Only declinable बड़ा → बड़े carries overt agreement; साफ़ and हवादार are indeclinable. Semantic modification is shared, morphological inflection is not.
Degree does not change the pattern:
ये टिकट पहले से थोड़े सस्ते हैं।
ye ṭikaṭ pahle se thoṛe saste haiṃ.
These tickets are a little cheaper than before.
Both थोड़े and सस्ते agree with the masculine plural subject, while the comparison standard appears with से.
Conventional meanings retain agreement
बड़े लोग may mean adults, important people, or physically large people depending on context. पुराने दोस्त normally means long-standing friends. Such meaning shifts do not create a new adjective class.
मुश्किल समय में पुराने दोस्त ही काम आए।
muśkil samay meṃ purāne dost hī kām āe.
In a difficult time, it was the old friends who came through.
Agreement in a perfective ने-clause
An attributive adjective agrees with the noun it modifies, never with the ने-marked agent. If an unmarked object controls perfective agreement, adjective and verb may visibly match that object.
मीरा ने सस्ते जूते ख़रीदे।
mīrā ne saste jūte xarīde.
Meera bought inexpensive shoes.
Feminine मीरा does not trigger feminine morphology. सस्ते modifies masculine plural जूते, and perfective ख़रीदे agrees with the same unmarked object.
Common Mistakes
❌ दो नया बैग बाहर रखे हैं।
Incorrect—दो creates a masculine plural noun phrase, so नया must become नए.
✅ दो नए बैग बाहर रखे हैं।
do nae baig bāhar rakhe haiṃ.
Two new bags have been placed outside.
❌ बड़ा कमरे में बैठक होगी।
Incorrect—में makes the singular masculine phrase oblique.
✅ बड़े कमरे में बैठक होगी।
baṛe kamre meṃ baiṭhak hogī.
The meeting will be in the large room.
❌ अनिता ने नई जूते ख़रीदे।
Incorrect—the ने-marked feminine agent does not control the adjective; masculine plural जूते requires नए.
✅ अनिता ने नए जूते ख़रीदे।
anitā ne nae jūte xarīde.
Anita bought new shoes.
❌ ये रास्ते बहुत लंबा हैं।
Incorrect—the predicative adjective must agree with the masculine plural subject.
✅ ये रास्ते बहुत लंबे हैं।
ye rāste bahut lambe haiṃ.
These routes are very long.
Key Takeaways
- Declinable adjectives take -ए with masculine plural direct nouns and with masculine oblique nouns of either number.
- A postposition can trigger -ए without any plural meaning.
- Noun morphology and context distinguish masculine singular oblique from masculine plural oblique.
- Attributive and predicative declinable adjectives agree; indeclinable adjectives modify the same nouns without changing.
- A ने-marked agent never supplies the adjective's agreement features.
Related Topics
- Declinable adjectives in -āA1 — Form the -ā, -e, and -ī agreement pattern of variable Hindi adjectives across gender, number, case, and predicate position.
- Masculine singular direct -āA1 — Use adjective -आ with a masculine singular noun in direct case, and distinguish it from masculine -ए, feminine -ई, and invariant adjectives.
- Feminine -ī across number and caseA1 — Use adjective -ई with feminine nouns in both singular and plural, direct and oblique contexts.
- Indeclinable adjectivesA2 — Recognize Hindi adjectives that keep one form across gender, number, case, and attributive or predicative position.
- Oblique singular formationA2 — Form the singular case used before Hindi postpositions and recognize when that case is overt or hidden on the noun.
- Oblique plural formationA2 — Build the plural noun forms required before postpositions across the major Hindi declension classes.