वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है।

That man speaks English.

Breakdown of वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है।

• होना: to be
• वह: that
• आदमी: man
• अंग्रेज़ी: English
• बोलना: to speak

Questions & Answers about वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है।

Why does वह mean both he and that?

In Hindi, वह can work as both:

• a pronoun: he / she / it
• a demonstrative: that

So वह आदमी can mean that man, while वह by itself can mean he depending on context.

Hindi often relies on context more than English does. In speech, वह is also often pronounced more like वो.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

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

So आदमी can mean:

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

Context tells you which meaning is intended. In वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है, the presence of वह already makes it specific, so the meaning is naturally that man or he.

What is the basic word order in वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है?

The normal Hindi word order is Subject–Object–Verb.

So this sentence breaks down as:

• वह आदमी = the subject
• अंग्रेज़ी = the object
• बोलता है = the verb phrase

Literal order: That man English speaks

This is one of the biggest differences from English, which usually uses Subject–Verb–Object.

Why is अंग्रेज़ी placed before बोलता है?

Because Hindi usually puts the object before the verb.

Here, अंग्रेज़ी is what he speaks, so it comes before बोलता है.

This pattern is very common in Hindi:

• मैं हिंदी बोलता हूँ। = I speak Hindi.
• वह सच कहता है। = He tells the truth.

So putting अंग्रेज़ी before the verb is exactly what you would expect in standard Hindi word order.

What does बोलता है mean exactly? Why are there two words?

बोलता है is the present habitual form, often used to mean speaks.

It has two parts:

• बोलता = speaking / speaks in a habitual sense
• है = is

Very literally, it is something like speaking is, but in natural English we translate it as speaks.

Hindi often forms present-tense statements with:

• a habitual participle like बोलता / बोलती / बोलते
• plus a form of होना = to be

So वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है is the normal way to say That man speaks English or He speaks English.

Why is it बोलता and not बोलती?

Because आदमी is a masculine singular noun, and the habitual form agrees with it.

So:

• बोलता है = masculine singular
• बोलती है = feminine singular
• बोलते हैं = masculine plural, or also respectful singular in many contexts

Since आदमी means man, it is masculine, so बोलता है is the correct form.

Would the sentence change if the subject were a woman?

Yes. The verb would change to match the feminine subject.

For example:

• वह औरत अंग्रेज़ी बोलती है। = That woman speaks English.
• वह अंग्रेज़ी बोलती है। = She speaks English.

The important change is:

• masculine: बोलता है
• feminine: बोलती है

Can I leave out आदमी and just say वह अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है?

Yes, absolutely.

वह अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है means He speaks English or That one speaks English, depending on context.

Including आदमी makes the noun explicit: that man.
Leaving it out is very natural when the person is already understood from context.

Why doesn’t अंग्रेज़ी take a marker like को?

Because not all direct objects in Hindi take को.

Language names such as हिंदी, अंग्रेज़ी, उर्दू are commonly used without को after verbs like बोलना.

So:

• वह हिंदी बोलता है।
• वह अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है।

are completely normal.

The marker को is often used for:

• specific animate objects
• indirect objects
• certain affected direct objects

But with language names after बोलना, it is usually omitted.

What exactly is अंग्रेज़ी here — an adjective or a noun?

Here अंग्रेज़ी is a noun, meaning English as a language.

So in this sentence it functions like:

• हिंदी
• उर्दू
• फ़्रेंच

Example:

• वह फ़्रेंच बोलता है। = He speaks French.

Although forms related to English can sometimes behave adjectivally in other contexts, in this sentence अंग्रेज़ी is simply the name of the language.

How is आदमी pronounced?

आदमी is pronounced roughly aadmi.

A few notes:

• आ = a long aa sound
• द्म comes together in a cluster, so it sounds like dm
• ी at the end gives a long ee sound

So a rough English-style approximation is aad-mee, though the first part is smoother in real Hindi pronunciation.

Is है always necessary here?

In standard Hindi, yes, for a normal present-tense statement like this, है is expected.

So:

• वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है। = correct standard sentence

If you drop है, it may sound incomplete, poetic, conversational in a special context, or nonstandard depending on the situation.

For learners, it is best to include है in sentences like this.

How would this sentence change for they or for a respectful he?

The verb form would usually become plural/respectful:

• वे आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं। = Those men speak English.
• वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं। = That man speaks English, with respect

Hindi often uses plural verb forms to show respect, even for one person.

So compare:

• वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलता है। = he / that man speaks English
• वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं। = he speaks English, respectfully

Could this also mean That man is speaking English?

Normally, no.
बोलता है usually expresses a habitual or general action, so it means speaks English rather than is speaking English.

If you want is speaking, Hindi more naturally uses the progressive:

• वह आदमी अंग्रेज़ी बोल रहा है। = That man is speaking English.

So:

• बोलता है = speaks / tends to speak
• बोल रहा है = is speaking right now