A predicative adjective says what a subject is like rather than sitting inside its noun phrase. The neutral Hindi pattern is subject + adjective + a form of होना honā: कमरा बड़ा है “the room is large,” खिड़कियाँ खुली थीं “the windows were open.” A declinable adjective agrees with the subject; an indeclinable adjective stays fixed, while the copula still marks person, number, tense, and honorificity.
This page focuses on the adjective contrast. The complete tense and person paradigms belong to the copula overview.
Attributive phrase versus predicate
| Structure | Hindi | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| attributive | बड़ा कमरा | a large room |
| predicative | कमरा बड़ा है | the room is large |
| attributive | साफ़ खिड़कियाँ | clean windows |
| predicative | खिड़कियाँ साफ़ हैं | the windows are clean |
यह कमरा छोटा है, लेकिन बहुत उजला है।
yah kamrā choṭā hai, lekin bahut ujlā hai.
This room is small but very bright.
ऊपर के कमरे छोटे हैं, पर साफ़ हैं।
ūpar ke kamre choṭe haiṃ, par sāf haiṃ.
The upstairs rooms are small but clean.
Declinable छोटा/छोटे changes with number. Invariant साफ़ does not. Both are genuine predicates.
The four-way agreement contrast
Predicate adjectives normally agree with a direct subject.
| Subject | Predicate |
|---|---|
| masculine singular | डिब्बा भारी है / डिब्बा बड़ा है |
| masculine plural | डिब्बे भारी हैं / डिब्बे बड़े हैं |
| feminine singular | अलमारी भारी है / अलमारी बड़ी है |
| feminine plural | अलमारियाँ भारी हैं / अलमारियाँ बड़ी हैं |
Invariant भारी has one surface form. Declinable बड़ा displays the subject's features.
यह अलमारी बहुत भारी है।
yah almārī bahut bhārī hai.
This wardrobe is very heavy.
दोनों अलमारियाँ काफ़ी बड़ी हैं।
donoṃ almāriyā̃ kāfī baṛī haiṃ.
Both wardrobes are quite large.
The adjective's morphology and the auxiliary perform different jobs. बड़ी expresses feminine agreement but not feminine plural distinctly; plural हैं helps reveal number.
Present, past, and future copulas
Changing the copula locates the state in time; it does not change which noun controls the adjective.
आज सड़क खाली है, लेकिन कल बहुत व्यस्त थी।
āj saṛak khālī hai, lekin kal bahut vyast thī.
The road is empty today, but it was very busy yesterday.
अगले हफ़्ते सभी कमरे तैयार होंगे।
agle hafte sabhī kamre taiyār hoṅge.
All the rooms will be ready next week.
खाली, व्यस्त, तैयार are invariant. The past थी agrees with feminine सड़क, and future होंगे agrees with masculine plural कमरे. With a declinable adjective, both adjective and copula can display agreement:
पहले ये गलियाँ संकरी थीं; अब चौड़ी हैं।
pahle ye galiyā̃ saṅkarī thīṃ; ab cauṛī haiṃ.
These lanes used to be narrow; now they are wide.
Person and honorificity
First- and second-person subjects select the appropriate copula. Respectful आप takes plural/honorific agreement even for one person. A declinable adjective referring to a man typically shows masculine plural/honorific -ए; with a woman it shows feminine -ई, while the copula remains हैं.
मैं आज थोड़ा थका हूँ।
maĩ āj thoṛā thakā hū̃.
I am a little tired today. (male speaker)
आप आज बहुत व्यस्त हैं, इसलिए हम बाद में आएँगे।
āp āj bahut vyast haiṃ, islie ham bād meṃ āẽge.
You are very busy today, so we will come later. (respectful)
मैडम, आप अब अगली बैठक के लिए तैयार हैं?
maiḍam, āp ab aglī baiṭhak ke lie taiyār haiṃ?
Ma'am, are you ready for the next meeting now? (respectful)
Invariant व्यस्त/तैयार does not display gender or honorific number. The auxiliary does.
Negation, questions, and degree
नहीं normally precedes the copula and follows the adjective: कमरा बड़ा नहीं है. A yes–no question may add clause-initial क्या or rely on intonation.
यह रास्ता लंबा नहीं है, बस थोड़ा सुनसान है।
yah rāstā lambā nahīṃ hai, bas thoṛā sunsān hai.
This route is not long; it is just a little deserted.
क्या ये टिकट सबसे सस्ते हैं?
kyā ye ṭikaṭ sabse saste haiṃ?
Are these tickets the cheapest?
Degree words do not replace adjective agreement: बहुत बड़ी, थोड़ा छोटा, सबसे सस्ते. Hindi normally expresses comparison analytically rather than changing the adjective into an English-style comparative form.
States and conventional interpretations
A predicative adjective often receives a context-sensitive state reading. दूध ख़राब है means the milk has gone bad; मामला गंभीर है means the matter is serious. These conventional interpretations do not create new inflection.
दूध ख़राब है; इसे मत पीना।
dūdh xarāb hai; ise mat pīnā.
The milk has gone bad; don't drink it. (informal)
समस्या छोटी दिखती है, लेकिन असर गंभीर है।
samasyā choṭī dikhtī hai, lekin asar gambhīr hai.
The problem looks small, but the impact is serious.
A postposition does not make the subject oblique
The subject that controls an ordinary adjective predicate is direct. A separate postpositional phrase inside the clause does not change it.
इस कमरे में खिड़कियाँ बड़ी हैं।
is kamre meṃ khiṛkiyā̃ baṛī haiṃ.
The windows in this room are large.
इस कमरे में is oblique because of में. The predicate बड़ी agrees with direct feminine plural subject खिड़कियाँ, not with masculine कमरे.
A ने-marked agent is not the controller
Some clauses contain a secondary adjective describing an object. The adjective follows that object, not the ने-marked agent.
सीमा ने दरवाज़ा खुला छोड़ा।
sīmā ne darvāzā khulā choṛā.
Seema left the door open.
Masculine खुला describes दरवाज़ा, and perfective छोड़ा agrees with the same unmarked masculine object. Feminine सीमा ने controls neither form.
Common Mistakes
❌ ये कमरे बड़ा है।
Incorrect—masculine plural कमरे requires बड़े हैं.
✅ ये कमरे बड़े हैं।
ye kamre baṛe haiṃ.
These rooms are large.
❌ यह सड़क लंबा है।
Incorrect—feminine सड़क requires लंबी.
✅ यह सड़क लंबी है।
yah saṛak lambī hai.
This road is long.
❌ ये खिड़कियाँ साफ़ी हैं।
Incorrect—साफ़ is indeclinable and has no feminine predicate form साफ़ी.
✅ ये खिड़कियाँ साफ़ हैं।
ye khiṛkiyā̃ sāf haiṃ.
These windows are clean.
❌ आप तैयार है।
Incorrect—respectful आप requires plural/honorific हैं.
✅ आप तैयार हैं।
āp taiyār haiṃ.
You are ready. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
- Predicative adjectives normally follow the subject and precede a form of होना.
- Declinable predicates agree with the direct subject; indeclinable predicates keep one form.
- The copula separately marks person, number, tense, and honorificity.
- Degree and negation do not cancel adjective agreement.
- A postpositional phrase or ने-marked agent does not attract agreement away from the noun actually being described.
Related Topics
- Attributive adjectivesA2 — Place adjectives inside Hindi noun phrases, normally before the head noun, with the agreement required by the adjective's class.
- Declinable adjectives in -āA1 — Form the -ā, -e, and -ī agreement pattern of variable Hindi adjectives across gender, number, case, and predicate position.
- Indeclinable adjectivesA2 — Recognize Hindi adjectives that keep one form across gender, number, case, and attributive or predicative position.
- The copula होना overviewA1 — Use होना as a copula, existential and event verb, and auxiliary across present, past, negative, and question patterns.
- Present copula हूँ हो है हैंA1 — Choose हूँ, हो, है, or हैं by person, number, and honorificity, and use the present copula as both a main verb and an auxiliary.
- Past copula था थी थे थींA1 — Use था, थी, थे, and थीं for past identity, state, location, and auxiliary constructions, with gender-number agreement.