वह आदमी काम करता है।

That man works.

Breakdown of वह आदमी काम करता है।

• होना: to be
• वह: that
• आदमी: man
• काम: work
• करना: to do

Questions & Answers about वह आदमी काम करता है।

What does each word in वह आदमी काम करता है। mean?

A simple breakdown is:

• वह = that or he
• आदमी = man
• काम = work
• करता = does / works
• है = is; here it helps form the present tense

So the sentence is built from the idea that/he + man + work + does + is. In natural English, this comes out as That man works, The man works, or He works, depending on context.

Why can वह mean both that and he?

In Hindi, वह serves both as:

• a demonstrative: that
• a third-person pronoun: he, she, it

Hindi does not sharply separate these the way English does. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

So:

• वह आदमी usually means that man
• वह काम करता है can mean he works

In everyday speech, वह is very often pronounced as वो.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Hindi does not normally use articles like English a/an and the.

That means a noun like आदमी can mean:

• a man
• the man
• just man in a general sense

You understand which one is meant from context.

In वह आदमी, the word वह already points to a specific person, so the phrase usually means that man or sometimes the man.

Why is काम before करता है? Isn’t काम a noun?

Yes, काम is a noun meaning work, but Hindi very often uses a noun + verb combination where English would use a single verb.

Here, the expression is:

• काम करना = literally to do work
• natural meaning: to work

So:

• काम करता है = does work / works

This is a very common Hindi pattern. A few similar examples are:

• बात करना = to talk
• सफ़र करना = to travel
• कोशिश करना = to try

Why is it करता and not करती or करते?

Because करता agrees with the subject, which here is आदमी.

आदमी is grammatically:

• masculine
• singular

So in the habitual present, the verb form is:

• करता है for masculine singular

Compare:

• वह आदमी काम करता है। = That man works.
• वह औरत काम करती है। = That woman works.
• वे आदमी काम करते हैं। = Those men work.

What exactly does है do in this sentence?

है is the present-tense form of होना (to be). In this sentence, it works as part of the verb phrase.

The pattern is:

• करता है
• करती है
• करते हैं

This is how Hindi forms the habitual present.

So करता by itself is not usually enough for a complete standard sentence here; है completes the present-tense structure.

Is this the same as the English simple present?

Usually, yes. वह आदमी काम करता है। is normally used for a habitual, regular, or general action.

So it can mean things like:

• That man works
• He works
• The man works

It is not usually the best way to say He is working right now.

For an action happening right now, Hindi normally uses the progressive:

• वह आदमी काम कर रहा है। = That man is working.

So:

• काम करता है = works / does work regularly
• काम कर रहा है = is working right now

How would I say this if the subject were female or plural?

You change the agreeing part of the verb.

Masculine singular

• वह आदमी काम करता है।
• That man works.

Feminine singular

• वह औरत काम करती है।
• That woman works.

Masculine plural / mixed plural

• वे आदमी काम करते हैं।
• Those men work.

Feminine plural

• वे औरतें काम करती हैं।
• Those women work.

The important part is the agreement pattern:

• करता = masculine singular
• करती = feminine singular
• करते = plural or masculine respectful

How is this sentence pronounced?

A helpful transliteration is:

vah aadmii kaam kartaa hai

A more natural everyday pronunciation is often closer to:

vo aadmi kaam karta hai

A few notes:

• वह is often spoken as वो
• आदमी sounds roughly like aadmi
• काम has a long aa
• है sounds like hai

So a natural spoken version is often:

vo aadmi kaam karta hai

Can Hindi leave out वह here?

Yes, often it can, depending on context.

Hindi frequently omits words that are already understood. So you may hear:

• आदमी काम करता है। = The man works / A man works
• वह काम करता है। = He works
• even just काम करता है। if the subject is already obvious

However, वह आदमी काम करता है। is useful when you specifically want to identify that man.

Why does the verb seem to agree with आदमी and not with काम?

Because आदमी is the subject of the sentence, and काम is part of the expression काम करना.

In this sentence:

• वह आदमी = the doer of the action
• काम = the thing being done
• करता है agrees with the doer, not with काम

So the sentence is organized around the man works, not around the work.

That is why you get:

• आदमी ... करता है
• औरत ... करती है

The agreement follows the subject.