How a sentence is built · CEFR A1 · Starting
Saying what something is in English
After am, is or are you can put a noun or an adjective. That word describes the subject, it does not receive an action.
The shape
subject + be + noun / adjective
Describe a person or a thing in one short sentence.
In Hindi
am, is, are के बाद कोई संज्ञा या विशेषण आता है, जो कर्ता के बारे में बताता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
He engineer. | He is an engineer. Hindi can drop the linking verb. English cannot — is, am or are must be there. |
Saying what something is examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
This is good.
यह अच्छा है।
This is easy.
यह आसान है।
This is difficult.
यह मुश्किल है।
also correct: This is hard.
This is right.
यह सही है।
also correct: This is correct.
This is wrong.
यह गलत है।
This is new.
यह नया है।
This is old.
यह पुराना है।
This is cheap.
यह सस्ता है।
This is expensive.
यह महँगा है।
also correct: This is costly.
This is very good.
यह बहुत अच्छा है।
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the saying what something is used for?
- After am, is or are you can put a noun or an adjective. That word describes the subject, it does not receive an action. In practice: describe a person or a thing in one short sentence.
- How do you form the saying what something is?
- subject + be + noun / adjective.
- What is the most common mistake with the saying what something is?
- Saying “He engineer.” instead of “He is an engineer.”. Hindi can drop the linking verb. English cannot — is, am or are must be there.
Where saying what something is fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Saying what something is is a CEFR A1 structure — the starting band — and it belongs to how a sentence is built. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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