A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 10

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10.2

To have brothers and sisters


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You already know that के पास means "have" as in मेरे पास एक सेब है = I have an apple.

This construction can be used only if you possess an “inanimate” thing. If you “possess” a human being, then पास disappears.

सलमान के एक भाई है

Salman has one brother.

मेरे एक बहिन है

I have a sister.

उसके तीन बहिनें हैं

He has three sisters. (Note the auxiliary verb agrees with "sisters," not with "he.")

There is another way to express the idea of possession:

राम का एक भाई है

Ram has one brother.

मेरी एक बहिन है।

I have a sister.

उसकी तीन बहिनें हैं।

He has three sisters. (Note the auxiliary verb agrees with "sisters," not with "he.")

Note that this construction uses the normal possessive, and the possessive inflects according to number and gender of भाई, बहिन

Literally, you are saying, “Ram’s one brother is.” This is an idiomatic construction.

The constructions for brothers and sisters also applies to other relations, friends, etc.

Parallel constructions can be used to express possession of an object which is inanimate but large:

कराची में उसके दुकान है।

In Karachi he has a store.

कराची में उसकी दुकान है।

In Karachi he has a store.

Addressing Brothers and Sisters:

In Hindi, we generally specify whether the sibling is older or younger, i.e.:

बड़ा भाई = older brother

छोटी बहिन = younger sister

The postposition से is used to mean “than”:

मेरी बहिन मुझ से बड़ी हैं।

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000)
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