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वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।

वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।
That child goes to school.

Breakdown of वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।

होना
to be
वह
that
बच्चा
child
स्कूल
school
जाना
to go
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Questions & Answers about वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।

What does वह mean here? Is it he or that?

In this sentence, वह is most naturally understood as that because it comes directly before the noun बच्चा:

  • वह बच्चा = that child

By itself, वह can also mean he, she, or that, depending on context. Hindi often uses the same word for both a third-person pronoun and a demonstrative.

So:

  • वह जाता है = he goes
  • वह बच्चा जाता है = that child goes
Why is बच्चा used here, and what exactly does it mean?

बच्चा means child or kid. It is a masculine singular noun.

So:

  • बच्चा = a boy child / child (masculine grammatical form)
  • बच्ची = girl / female child
  • बच्चे = children, or sometimes masculine plural

In this sentence, the grammar shows that the child is treated as masculine singular.

Why is it जाता है and not जाती है?

Because बच्चा is masculine singular, the verb agrees with it.

In the present habitual, जाना changes like this:

  • जाता है = goes / used for masculine singular
  • जाती है = goes / used for feminine singular
  • जाते हैं = go / used for masculine plural or respectful singular

So:

  • वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है। = That boy/child goes to school.
  • वह बच्ची स्कूल जाती है। = That girl goes to school.
What does है do in this sentence?

है is the present-tense form of to be for singular subjects. In this sentence, it helps form the habitual present.

So जाता है is made of:

  • जा- = the verb root go
  • -ता = habitual marker
  • है = present auxiliary

Together, जाता है means something like goes or does go.

Does this sentence mean is going to school or goes to school?

It means goes to school or goes to school regularly.

This is the habitual present, not the present continuous.

  • वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है। = That child goes to school.
  • वह बच्चा स्कूल जा रहा है। = That child is going to school.

So if you want an action happening right now, Hindi usually uses जा रहा है, not जाता है.

Why is the verb at the end of the sentence?

Because Hindi normally follows Subject–Object/Complement–Verb order, often called SOV.

Here the structure is:

  • वह बच्चा = subject
  • स्कूल = destination/complement
  • जाता है = verb phrase

So Hindi naturally puts the verb at the end:

  • वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।

This is different from English, which usually uses SVO:

  • That child goes to school.
Why is there no word for to before स्कूल?

In Hindi, places that are destinations often appear without a separate word for to.

So:

  • स्कूल जाता है = goes to school
  • घर जाता है = goes home
  • दिल्ली जाता है = goes to Delhi

Hindi does not need a separate word exactly matching English to here.

Also, स्कूल में जाता है would change the meaning and sound unusual in this context. में means in/inside, so it is not the normal way to say goes to school.

Is स्कूल a Hindi word?

स्कूल is a borrowed word, originally from English school. Hindi uses many loanwords, especially for modern institutions and everyday objects.

It is fully normal Hindi. You may also hear विद्यालय, which is a more formal or Sanskrit-based word for school, but स्कूल is extremely common in everyday speech.

So both are possible, but स्कूल is very natural.

Why is there no article like a or the in Hindi?

Hindi does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

That means Hindi often leaves definiteness to context, or uses other words when needed.

In this sentence:

  • वह बच्चा helps give a meaning similar to that child

Compare:

  • बच्चा स्कूल जाता है। = A child / the child goes to school.
    Context decides.
  • वह बच्चा स्कूल जाता है। = That child goes to school.
  • एक बच्चा स्कूल जाता है। = A child goes to school.

So Hindi expresses these ideas differently from English.

Can वह be left out?

Yes. You can say:

  • बच्चा school जाता है। Wait, no mixed script ideally avoid. Let's keep Hindi:
  • बच्चा स्कूल जाता है।

That would still be grammatical. It would mean something like:

  • The child goes to school
  • A child goes to school

depending on context.

Adding वह makes it more specific:

  • वह बच्चा = that child

So वह is not required for grammar, but it changes the meaning.

How do you pronounce वह in normal speech?

In careful pronunciation, it is often taught as vah. But in everyday speech, many speakers pronounce it closer to voh.

So you may hear:

  • careful/formal: vah
  • common spoken: voh

Both are useful to recognize. As a learner, it is good to know the spelling वह, but also expect voh in conversation.

How would this sentence change for a girl or for more than one child?

The verb must agree with the subject.

Feminine singular

  • वह बच्ची स्कूल जाती है।
  • That girl/child goes to school.

Masculine plural

  • वे बच्चे स्कूल जाते हैं।
  • Those children go to school.

Feminine plural

  • वे बच्चियाँ स्कूल जाती हैं।
  • Those girls go to school.

This is one of the most important patterns in Hindi: the verb form changes with gender and number.

What is the basic dictionary form of the verb here?

The dictionary form is जाना, which means to go.

From जाना, you get forms like:

  • जाता है = goes
  • जाती है = goes
  • जाते हैं = go
  • गया = went
  • जाएगा = will go

So in this sentence, जाता है is just one inflected form of the verb जाना.