Page 222 - The Rough Guide Phrasebook - Hindi & Urdu

Pronouns
I mA we ham
you (fam) tum they (near) ye
you (pol) āp (far) ve, vō
he/she/it (near) ye
(far) vō
mA bhūl jātā hūA kyā vō ārahā hA?
I forget is he coming?
There is no distinction of gender in Hindi or Urdu pronouns.
So, for example, vō can mean either ‘he’ or ‘she’. It is the verb
that indicates masculinity or femininity:
vō kahā rahtā hA? vō kahā rahtī hA?
where does he live? where does she live?
The third person pronouns (he/she/it and they) have two
forms. Which is used depends on the distance of the person
HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
referred to from the person speaking. The ye form is used
N
when the person or object being referred to is physically near
to the speaker. The vō/ve// form is used if the person or object
is not physically near or present. If you use the wrong form,
if, say, you use the ‘far’ form to refer to someone who is stand-
ing close by, it is considered rude. In the English-Hindi/Urdu
Pr onouns
section we have generally given the ‘nearby’ form (unless
the phrase obviously relates to someone further away or not
present).
These forms are also used as emphatic pronouns in the follow-
ing type of expression:
kawn? – ye mA?
who? – them me?
Pronouns, like nouns, have different forms for the oblique
case:

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