महल पुराना है।

Good question. In महल पुराना है, पुराना is not directly attached to the noun as part of a noun phrase like old palace. It is a predicate adjective, so the structure is:

noun + adjective + है

So:

महल पुराना है = The palace is old

But if you want old palace, then the adjective usually comes before the noun:

पुराना महल = old palace

So both patterns exist, but they mean slightly different things grammatically.

Because महल is a masculine singular noun, and the adjective पुराना agrees with it.

Many Hindi adjectives change form to match gender and number:

• पुराना = masculine singular
• पुरानी = feminine singular
• पुराने = masculine plural

So:

• महल पुराना है = The palace is old
• इमारत पुरानी है = The building is old
• महल पुराने हैं = The palaces are old

Yes. In Hindi, nouns have grammatical gender, and it does not depend on whether something is alive.

So even though a palace is inanimate, महल is treated as masculine. That is why the adjective is पुराना.

This is normal in Hindi. Learners often need to memorize the gender of nouns one by one.

है is the present-tense form of होना (to be) used here for a singular subject.

So in this sentence, है means is.

Structure:

• महल = palace
• पुराना = old
• है = is

Together: The palace is old

A useful point: in the present tense, है does not change for masculine vs. feminine. Compare:

• महल पुराना है
• इमारत पुरानी है

The adjective changes, but है stays the same because both subjects are singular.

In standard Hindi, you should normally keep it:

महल पुराना है

In very casual speech, people sometimes drop forms of to be in certain contexts, but that is not the best habit for a learner at first.

So for clear, correct Hindi, use है here.

Hindi usually does not use articles like a, an, and the.

So महल can mean:

• a palace
• the palace

The exact meaning depends on context.

In many beginner translations, महल पुराना है is rendered as The palace is old, but Hindi itself does not mark the with a separate word here.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

mahal puraanaa hai

A few notes:

• महल is pronounced roughly ma-hal, not ma-ha-la
• पुराना is roughly pu-raa-naa
• है is roughly like hai, similar to the hai in high, though the exact Hindi sound is a bit different

A more natural flow is:

mahal puraanaa hai

One important thing for learners: Hindi spelling often has an inherent a sound, but in actual pronunciation some of those sounds disappear. That is why महल is pronounced more like mahal than mahala.

You would change both the adjective and the verb:

महल पुराने हैं

That means The palaces are old.

Compare:

• singular: महल पुराना है
• plural: महल पुराने हैं

So:

• पुराना → पुराने
• है → हैं

That symbol is called the danda.

It is the traditional punctuation mark used in Hindi and some other Indic scripts, and here it works like a period/full stop in English.

So:

महल पुराना है।

means the same thing, punctuation-wise, as writing a sentence with a normal English period.