Cases - कारक

Lesson - 3 Cases - कारक

There are many prepositions in English. And in Hindi, the preposition comes after the word thus called post-position, there are millions of post-positions in Hindi formed of these 8 cases.

For a person who hasn't learnt grammar ever... these post-positions can be divided into two parts....

Post-Position

------------ Mother Post-position [ex. के लिए (for), का (of)]

------------ Post-position + Adverb [ex. के हिसाब से (according to), के बारे में (about)]

In this chapter we will learn about mother post-positions, called cases 'कारक', which in later chapter we'll learn give birth to the millions of post-positions existing in the language by joining themselves to an adverb.

Cases कारक

There are eight cases...

1. कर्ता कारक - There is always a case with every subject and object. The one on the subject is called the कर्ता कारक. Only कर्ता कारक can be applied on The Subject of the clause and all the others are only applied on The Object, this fact is applicable only for The Active Voice. You will get to know about it in the further lessons. In this lesson we'll deal with cases of Active Voice only. It's symbol (that marks the existence of कर्ता कारक) is generally always invisible, I mean it has the meaning but is not written. Ex.

मैं आ रहा हूँ। - I am coming.

तुम घर आ गए हो। - You have come. (Informal)

राम आएगा। - Ram will come.

      There nothing written with the subjects मैं, तुम and राम but still they are said to be having a कर्ता कारक.

But in The Simple Past Tense and The Perfect Tenses of The Transitive Verbs, the existence of the कर्ता कारक is marked by the suffix ने. Ex.

मैंने खाना खाया। - I ate food.

तुमने लिया है। - You have taken. (Informal)

उसने अंक नहीं दिए थे। - He/She hadn't given marks.

सीताने ही ये किया होगा। - Sita only would have done it.

         There are many more things to be read in this specific context, regarding objects and all, those which we'll do after having done Sentence Construction and Verbs Basic Tenses.

2. कर्म कारक - Generally speaking, the कर्म कारक always lies with The Direct Objects, either invisible or marked by the suffix को after the direct object. And generally it is optional that you take invisible suffix or को. But if the direct object is a living thing then it is necessary to use the को suffix.

*With pronouns the suffix को changes the whole form of the pronoun. You will learn those forms in the next chapter.

Some examples...

उन्हें बुलाओ! - Call them!

मैंने रामको मना कर दिया। - I refused (to) Ram.

यह दे दो! - Give it!

लड़की खिलौनेको लायी है। - The girl has brought a toy.

रावणने वरदान माँगा था। - Ravan had asked for/demanded a boon.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to keep the कर्म कारक  invisible on the inanimate direct object.... as in...

Tell this to him... Even in English this is made up of "Tell this + Tell him = Tell this to him", you can't say "Tell this him"... similarly in Hindi..

यह उसे कहो। - Tell this to him/ her.

If you say it like "इसे उसे कहो।" then confusions would be caused that "what to be told to whom" therefore the inanimate object should have invisible कर्म कारक and the animate one should have को suffix.

को suffix can also be used in these situations of indirect objects (But invisible is possible as well), 

"go somewhere/ to some place", "come somewhere/ to some place", "reach somewhere/ some place" etc...

Ex.

लौटके भूला घरको आया। - The one who forgot (the way) came back home.

(This one is used as an idiom, so you might find it difficult to understand, but actually I was trying to find out examples practically used in day-to-day life therefore I used this one. You will understand such structures with time.)

मैंने खूब मेहनत की थी, इसलिए अगली कक्षाको पहुँच पाया हूँ। - I had put a lot of effort, that's why have been able to reach the next class.

(This would also be seeming difficult... but with time you will be able to catch up, I am really not able to think of simpler sentences with this very concept...)

3. करण कारक - Generally speaking, the करण कारक can be translated to the English prepositions "by, of = using and to = with" where, when in करण कारक 'by'/'of' are used, they should convey the meaning of 'using' and, when 'to' is used, it should convey the meaning of 'with' as well. Since the main motive of the blog is to teach, how to read, write and speak Hindi, therefore if we can directly have literal translation, we will just go for it without going through much explanation. The suffix for करण कारक is से, के द्वारा (Can only be used when the clause conveys the meaning 'using').

Ex.

रमेशने यह चिट्ठी हाथोंके द्वारा लिखी है। - Ramesh has written this letter by hands. = Ramesh has written this letter using hands.

अजनबियोंसे बात मत करना! - Don't (get into) talk(ing) to strangers. = Don't talk with strangers.

जो मूर्तियाँ मिट्टीसे बनीं हैं, वे कहाँ हैं? - The idols which are made up of mud, where are they? =  The idols which are made up using mud, where are they?

मैंने उनसे नहीं बोला। - I didn't speak to them. =  I didn't speak with them.

       Using 'to' in another special context......

Go to someone/something, Come to someone/something, Take someone/something to someone/something... etc... Here someone or something is moved near to someone or something. And the equivalent of near to is के पास. Therefore....

चलो उसके पास चलते हैं। - Let's go to/towards him.

इस खिलौनेको बक्सेके पास ले जाओ। - Take the toy to/towards the box.

       Using 'से' of करण कारक with Abstract Nouns...... (Explains the manner of doing something)

अच्छा + से = अच्छेसे       Goodness + ... = in a good manner

ख़ुशी + से = ख़ुशीसे           Happiness + ... = in a happy manner

इर्ष्या + से = इर्ष्यासे          Jealousy + ... = in a jealous manner

बढ़िया + से = बढ़ियासे      Nice thing + ... = in a nice manner

ठीक + से = ठीकसे            Correct + ... = in a correct manner

तरीका + से = तरीकेसे       Method + ... = with a right method

ढंग + से = ढंगसे                Method + ... = with a right method

etc....................

4. संप्रदान कारक - The संप्रदान कारक can be translated to the English prepositions "for & to". The suffix for संप्रदान कारक is के लिए. When we use संप्रदान कारक with verbs the suffixes are को/ के लिए, anyway that will be studied in detail in a different chapter.
Ex.
मेरे लिए कुछ मोमबत्तियाँ खरीद दो। - Get some candles bought for me.
चित्रकलाके लिए एक पुस्तक ले आओ। - Bring a notebook for drawing.
मैं खानेको कुछ चाहता हूँ। - I want something to eat.
उड़नेके लिए पंख की ज़रूरत होती है। There is a need of wings for flying.

5. अपादान कारक - The अपादान कारक can be translated to the English prepositions "from = of, than (The comparative degree)". The suffix for अपादान कारक is also से. Not only 'than' if we join "सब + से" we will get "सबसे" which when comes in-front of an adjective or an adverb, can give the meaning of "The most" and when we use put "सबसे कम" in-front of an an adjective or an adverb, it can convey the meaning of "The least", therefore अपादान कारक is used for 'The superlative degree' as well.
मैं इस निबन्ध को लिखनेसे ऊब गई हूँ। - I am sick of/from writing this essay.
रामानुजको साँपसे डर लगता है। - Ramanuj fears from snake.
तुम जयपुरसे कलकत्ताको रवाना होगे। - You will depart for (to go to) Kolkata from Jaipur. (informal)
पेरिससे लियोन तक कितनी दूरी है? - What is the distance from Paris to Lyon?
इससे अच्छा क्या होगा? - What will be better than this?
वे दोनों सौरभसे कम बलवान हैं। - Both of them are less stronger than Saurabh.
सबसे तेज़ वह भाग रहा है। - He is the fastest running.
सबसे कम रोटियाँ तूने माँगी। - You demanded the least chapatis. (familiar)

6. संबंध कारक - The संबंध कारक can be translated to the English prepositions "of" and is used to show 'possession'. The suffixes are "का/ की/ के".

का when the noun possessed is masculine singular then का will be used.
लड़केका खिलौना - Boy's toy

की when the noun possessed is feminine singular then की will be used.
लड़केकी दुकान - Boy's shop

के when the noun possessed is masculine plural  then के will be used.
लड़केके कपड़े - Boy's clothes

कीं when the noun possessed is feminine plural  then कीं will be used.
लड़केकीं दुकानें - Boy's shops

के when the noun possessed is masculine and is suffixed with a कारक then के will be used.
लड़केके कपड़ेका कोना - Boy's cloth's corner  लड़केके कपड़ोंका कोना - Boy's clothes' corner

की when the noun possessed is masculine and is suffixed with a कारक then की will be used.
लड़केकी दुकानका कोना - Boy's shop's corner   लड़केकी दुकानोंका कोना - Boy's shops' corner

                 Now let's look at some example sentences.....
मेरा काम हो जाएगा। - My work will be done.
तुम्हारी कहानी अच्छी थी। - Your story was good.
रामके कपड़े कहाँ रखे हैं? - Where are Ram's clothes?
राजाकीं रानियाँ युद्ध नहीं करेंगीं। - King's queens will not take part in the war.
लड़कोंके घरसे चले जाओ। - Go away from boys' house.
उसकी ज़मीनको बेच दे। - Sell off his/her land.
इनकीं घड़ियोंकी कीमत बता। - Tell the cost of their clocks.

7. अधिकरण कारक - The अधिकरण कारक is used for the English Prepositions 'in, below, inside, In-front' and 'on, above, outside, At-back'. The special thing is, for each of these English preposition, there is a different कारक suffix. But still, are said to be coming under अधिकरण कारक. The suffixes are as follows...

In                 में              मेरे घरमें आओ।                  Come in my house.
Below          के नीचे       इस पेड़के नीचे खज़ाना है।      Treasury is below the tree.
Inside          के अन्दर     बक्सेके अंदर कुछ था।            Something is inside the box.
On               पर               थालीपर रोटी है।                       Chapati is on the plate.
Above         के ऊपर     घासके ऊपर पानी है।              Water is above the grass.
Outside       के बाहर       घरके बहार लोग खड़े हैं।          People are standing outside the house.
In-front       के सामने     घरके सामने ट्रैफिक जैम है।     Traffic Jam is in-front of the house.
At-back      के पीछे        गाड़ीके पीछे स्क्रैच आया है।      Scratch is at-back of the car.

अधिकरण कारक + अपादान कारक = में/ के नीचे/ के अन्दर/ पर/ के ऊपर/ के बाहर/ के सामने/ के पीछे + से

This structure is frequently seen in Hindi in sentences like....
घड़ेमें से पानी निकालो। which will translated as "Take the water out from the earthen pot." only, but in Hindi we use में से because "water would be taken from 'the inner part' of the earthen pot"
मेजपर से किताबें हटाओ। - Remove the books from top part of the table.
गाड़ीके बाहरसे दरवाज़ा खोलो। - Open the door from outside the car.
वह घरके पीछेसे अन्दर आएगा। - He/She will come inside from backside of the house.
etc.....................

8. संबोधन कारक - In Hindi, संबोधन means 'to address someone', and it is actually an exclamation with the noun used. In this chapter we will only learn about "अरे!" which means "Hey!". Examples...
अरे लड़के! - Hey boy!
अरे लड़कों! - Hey boys!
अरे लड़की! - Hey girl!
अरे लड़कियों! - Hey girls!

The Following table summarizes the cases with the suffixes...

विभक्ति (numbering the कारक)	कारक	Suffix
1	कर्ता कारक	Ø, ने
2	कर्म कारक	Ø, को
3	करण कारक	से
4	संप्रदान कारक	के लिए, को
5	अपादान कारक	से, के द्वारा
6	संबंध कारक	का, के, की
7	अधिकरण कारक	में, के नीचे, के अन्दर,पर, के ऊपर, के बाहर, के सामने, के पीछे
(It's generally not numbered)	संबोधन कारक	हे!, अरे!

This chapter dealt with the theoretical explanation of cases, the next chapter would deal with, how cases affect the nouns and the pronouns they are used with!! :)