A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 5

Watch a video on के postpositions

There is a family of compound postpositions in Hindi that are composed of two words, the first of which is के. This family includes:

X के लिये = for X

X के सामने = in front of X

X के साथ = with X

X के अंदर = inside of X

X के बाद = after X

X के बाहर = outside X

X के ऊपर = above X

X के पास = near X

Note how these केfamily postpositions combine with the pronouns in their oblique forms:

Regular Forms (visible के):

आप के लिये = for you (polite)

आप के सामने = in front of you (polite)

इस के साथ = with him/her/it

उस के अंदर = inside of him/her/it

इन के बाद = after these/them

उन के बाहर = outside of those/them

किस के ऊपर = above whom

इन के पास = near these

When the prounouns मैं, तुम, हम are followed by के or any of the के family postpositions, they take special combining forms which are identical to the corresponding possessive pronouns.

Thus:

मैं + के = मेरे

तुम + के = तुम्हारे

हम + के = हमारे

Examples of the Special Forms (hidden के):

मेरे लिये = for me

मेरे सामने= in front of me

तुम्हारे साथ = with you (familiar)

तुम्हारे अंदर = inside of you (familiar)

हमारे बाद = after us

हमारे बाहर = outside of us

मेरे ऊपर = above me

तुम्हारे पास = near you

These compound postpositions, without the के, can function like adverbs:

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000) Section 6.4 page 80