Personal pronouns do not normally form को phrases by simply placing को after the citation form. Hindi uses conventional forms such as मुझे mujhe, तुम्हें tumheṃ, आपको āpko, उसे use, and उन्हें unheṃ. They mark direct objects, recipients, experiencers, and other roles selected by the predicate.
Because pronouns are inherently definite, personal direct objects normally appear in this marked series. The agreement consequences connect directly to differential object marking with को.
The को paradigm
| Direct | Neutral को form | Expanded alternative |
|---|---|---|
| मैं maĩ | मुझे mujhe | मुझको mujhko |
| हम ham | हमें hameṃ | हमको hamko |
| तू tū | तुझे tujhe | तुझको tujhko |
| तुम tum | तुम्हें tumheṃ | तुमको tumko |
| आप āp | आपको āpko | — |
| यह/वह | इसे/उसे ise/use | इसको/उसको isko/usko |
| ये/वे | इन्हें/उन्हें inheṃ/unheṃ | इनको/उनको inko/unko |
The expanded forms are grammatical and vary by region, rhythm, and emphasis. मुझे/हमें/तुम्हें/उसे/उन्हें are safe neutral standards.
Direct objects
रीना ने मुझे स्टेशन पर देखा।
rīnā ne mujhe sṭeśan par dekhā.
Reena saw me at the station.
मैंने उसे दरवाज़े के पास बुलाया।
maĩne use darvāze ke pās bulāyā.
I called him/her over near the door.
हमने उन्हें पहले ही बता दिया था।
hamne unheṃ pahle hī batā diyā thā.
We had already told them, or told him/her. (plural or respectful singular)
In a perfective ने clause, a को-marked object cannot control agreement. Therefore मैंने उसे बुलाया has default masculine singular बुलाया, even if उसे refers to a woman.
Recipients and goals
क्या तुम मुझे वह फ़ाइल भेज सकते हो?
kyā tum mujhe vah fāil bhej sakte ho?
Can you send me that file? (familiar)
मैं आपको शाम तक जवाब दे दूँगा।
maĩ āpko śām tak javāb de dū̃gā.
I'll give you an answer by evening. (respectful, male speaker)
The same forms appear because को marks the recipient. Verb meaning distinguishes a recipient in आपको जवाब देना from a direct object in आपको देखना.
Experiencers
Many common predicates place the experiencer in a को form.
मुझे सुबह से सिरदर्द हो रहा है।
mujhe subah se sirdard ho rahā hai.
I have had a headache since this morning.
उन्हें हिंदी अच्छी तरह आती है।
unheṃ hindī acchī tarah ātī hai.
They know Hindi well, or he/she knows Hindi well. (plural or respectful singular)
This is lexical government: English subject I corresponds to Hindi experiencer मुझे. Learn नींद आना, पसंद होना, ठंड लगना, चाहिए with this frame.
Personal-pronoun objects normally take को
A full noun may remain unmarked when it is inanimate or nonspecific, but an ordinary personal-pronoun object cannot drop its को form. Compare unmarked मैंने किताब पढ़ी “I read the book” with marked मैंने उसे पढ़ा “I read it.”
मैंने रिपोर्ट पढ़ी और उसे टीम को भेज दिया।
maĩne riporṭ paṛhī aur use ṭīm ko bhej diyā.
I read the report and sent it to the team.
Unmarked feminine रिपोर्ट controls पढ़ी. Pronoun उसे blocks object agreement, so the second perfective verb is default masculine singular भेज दिया. The pronoun's definiteness and the agreement syntax reinforce each other.
Expanded forms and emphasis
मुझको, तुझको, हमको, तुमको, इसको, उसको, इनको, उनको are not incorrect. They are common in many regions and can sound more explicit or contrastive. Do not mix paradigms, however: मैंको and वहको are not standard alternatives.
मुझको नहीं, उसको बुलाइए।
mujhko nahīṃ, usko bulāie.
Call that person, not me. (contrastive, respectful request)
Formal and informal minimal pair
मैं तुझे कल फ़ोन करूँगा।
maĩ tujhe kal fon karū̃gā.
I'll call you tomorrow. (intimate singular, male speaker)
मैं आपको कल फ़ोन करूँगा।
maĩ āpko kal fon karū̃gā.
I'll call you tomorrow. (respectful, male speaker)
Object marking preserves the social contrast. तुझे is not a neutral shortcut for every English you.
Reflexive “self” as object
English myself/yourself may require ख़ुद को or अपने आपको, not an ordinary को pronoun.
आप ख़ुद को थोड़ा समय दीजिए।
āp xud ko thoṛā samay dījie.
Give yourself a little time. (respectful)
Here the giver and recipient are the same person. Bare आपको समय दीजिए would not correctly express that reflexive relationship.
A dialogue: relationship and number
मैडम, क्या मैं आपको ये कागज़ दे दूँ? — हाँ, और उन्हें भी एक प्रति दे देना।
maiḍam, kyā maĩ āpko ye kāgaz de dū̃? — hā̃, aur unheṃ bhī ek prati de denā.
Ma'am, shall I give you these papers? — Yes, and give them a copy too. (respectful singular, then plural/respectful third person)
Common Mistakes
1. Adding को to a citation pronoun
❌ रीना ने मैं को बुलाया।
Incorrect: मैं has the को form मुझे.
✅ रीना ने मुझे बुलाया।
rīnā ne mujhe bulāyā.
Reena called me.
2. Overusing intimate तुझे
❌ डॉक्टर साहब, तुझे रिपोर्ट मिली?
Inappropriate default to a respected adult: use respectful आपको. The feminine verb मिली agrees with रिपोर्ट, not with the dative experiencer.
✅ डॉक्टर साहब, आपको रिपोर्ट मिली?
ḍokṭar sāhab, āpko riporṭ milī?
Doctor, did you receive the report? (respectful)
3. Using singular oblique morphology for honorific reference
❌ दादाजी आ गए हैं; मैंने उसे चाय दी।
Incorrect in sustained respectful reference: use plural-honorific उन्हें.
✅ दादाजी आ गए हैं; मैंने उन्हें चाय दी।
dādājī ā gae haiṃ; maĩne unheṃ cāy dī.
Grandfather has arrived; I gave him tea. (respectful singular)
4. Agreeing with a को-marked object
❌ मैंने उसे बुलाई।
Incorrect in standard Hindi: को-marked उसे cannot control perfective agreement.
✅ मैंने उसे बुलाया।
maĩne use bulāyā.
I called him/her.
Key Takeaways
- Use conventional मुझे, हमें, तुझे, तुम्हें, आपको, इसे/उसे, इन्हें/उन्हें.
- The same forms can mark objects, recipients, and lexically selected experiencers.
- Honorific singular third-person reference uses plural उन्हें/इन्हें.
- A को-marked object cannot control agreement in a perfective ने clause.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- को as recipient and goal markerA1 — Use को for recipients, animate or institutional endpoints, selected experiencers, and time points while forming its oblique noun and pronoun complements.
- को as differential object markerA2 — Understand how animacy, specificity, definiteness, affectedness, and verb meaning condition को on direct objects and reshape perfective agreement.
- Oblique stems मुझ तुझ and हमA2 — Build first-person and intimate second-person postpositional forms from मुझ, तुझ, and हम while distinguishing को, ने, possessive, and reflexive forms.
- तुम्ह and आप oblique formsA2 — Build familiar तुम and respectful आप forms before simple and compound postpositions, distinguishing productive stems from तुम्हें, तुम्हारा, आपको, and आपका.
- इस उस इन उन oblique demonstrativesA2 — Map direct यह वह ये वे to singular इस उस and plural इन उन before postpositions, including honorific third-person reference.
- Agreement with को-marked objectsA2 — Understand why a Hindi object marked with को cannot control agreement and how the remaining clause structure selects subject agreement or default form.