A1 Possessives 1 min read Leicht

Expressing Possession with 'Pase'

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Gujarati, possession is shown by adding 'no', 'ni', 'nu', or 'na' to the owner based on the gender/number of the object.

  • Use 'no' for masculine singular objects: 'Maro bhai' (My brother).
  • Use 'ni' for feminine singular objects: 'Mari behen' (My sister).
  • Use 'nu' for neuter singular objects: 'Maru ghar' (My house).
Owner + (no/ni/nu/na) + Object

Possessive Particle Agreement

Object Gender/Number Particle Example
Masculine Singular
no
Ram no bhai
Feminine Singular
ni
Ram ni behen
Neuter Singular
nu
Ram nu ghar
Plural (All genders)
na
Ram na mitro

Pronoun Possessives

Pronoun Masc Fem Neut Plural
I
maro
mari
maru
mara
You
taro
tari
taru
tara

Meanings

The genitive particle indicates a relationship of possession or association between two nouns.

1

Direct Possession

Indicating ownership of an object or relationship.

“Mari pen (My pen)”

“Ram nu ghar (Ram's house)”

Reference Table

Reference table for Expressing Possession with 'Pase'
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Owner + Particle + Object
Ram no bhai
Negative
Owner + Particle + Object + nathi
Ram no bhai nathi
Question
Owner + Particle + Object + che?
Ram no bhai che?
Plural
Owner + na + Objects
Ram na bhaiyo
Pronoun
maro + Object
maro bhai
Formal
Tamaro + Object
Tamaro bhai

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

Neutral
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

Informell
Aa maru ghar.

Aa maru ghar. (Home)

Umgangssprache
Aa maru ghar che.

Aa maru ghar che. (Home)

Possession Logic

Possession

Masc

  • no masculine

Fem

  • ni feminine

Neut

  • nu neuter

Plural

  • na plural

Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Maro bhai

My brother

2

Mari pen

My pen

3

Maru ghar

My house

4

Mara mitro

My friends

1

Ram ni car

Ram's car

2

Sita nu pustak

Sita's book

3

Taro bhai

Your brother

4

Tari mata

Your mother

1

Aam ni mithas

The sweetness of the mango

2

Ghar na badha loko

All the people of the house

3

School ni chutti

School holiday

4

Office nu kaam

Office work

1

Gujarat na logo

The people of Gujarat

2

Bharat ni sanskruti

India's culture

3

Temno vichar

Their idea

4

Amari team na khiladi

The players of our team

1

Sahitya ni sundarta

The beauty of literature

2

Jivan na sangharsho

The struggles of life

3

Vichar ni spashtata

Clarity of thought

4

Samay nu mahatva

Importance of time

1

Itihas na panna

Pages of history

2

Manavta ni seva

Service of humanity

3

Kala nu pradarshan

Exhibition of art

4

Anubhav na moti

Pearls of experience

Leicht verwechselbar

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' vs. Adjective vs Possessive

Learners mix up 'maro' (my) with adjectives.

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' vs. Hindi vs Gujarati

Hindi uses 'ka/ki/ke'.

Expressing Possession with 'Pase' vs. Singular vs Plural

Using 'no' for plural.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Ram no behen

✓

Ram ni behen

Behen is feminine.
✗

Ram ni ghar

✓

Ram nu ghar

Ghar is neuter.
✗

Maro behen

✓

Mari behen

Behen is feminine.
✗

Ram na bhai

✓

Ram no bhai

Bhai is singular.
✗

Mari mitro

✓

Mara mitro

Mitro is plural.
✗

Taro mata

✓

Tari mata

Mata is feminine.
✗

Eno ghar

✓

Enu ghar

Ghar is neuter.
✗

Mari bhai na ghar

✓

Mara bhai nu ghar

Bhai is singular, but the particle must agree with the object (ghar).
✗

Ram nu mitro

✓

Ram na mitro

Mitro is plural.
✗

Tari pustak

✓

Taru pustak

Pustak is neuter.
✗

Sita no pustak

✓

Sita nu pustak

Pustak is neuter.
✗

Ghar ni darwajo

✓

Ghar no darwajo

Darwajo is masculine.
✗

Ram ni mitra

✓

Ram no mitra

Mitra is masculine.

Satzmuster

___ no/ni/nu/na ___ che.

Aa ___ che, ___ ___ che.

___ na ___ bahu sara che.

___ nu ___ mane game che.

Real World Usage

Social Media constant

Mara mitro sathe.

Texting constant

Taro bhai kya che?

Job Interview common

Mari skill...

Travel common

Mari ticket.

Food Delivery common

Maru order.

Family Meeting very common

Mara dada.

💡

Focus on the Object

Ignore the owner's gender. Look only at the noun that follows.
⚠️

Plural Trap

Always use 'na' for plural, even if the object is feminine.
🎯

Pronoun Shortcuts

Learn 'maro/mari/maru/mara' as a set.
💬

Respect

Use 'Tamaro' for elders.

Smart Tips

Identify its gender first.

Ram no behen → Ram ni behen

Always use 'na'.

Ram no mitro → Ram na mitro

Use 'nu'.

Ram no ghar → Ram nu ghar

Use 'ni'.

Ram no behen → Ram ni behen

Aussprache

no (no), ni (nee), nu (noo), na (naa)

Particle Vowels

The 'o', 'i', 'u', 'a' sounds are pure vowels.

Question

Ram no bhai che? ↑

Rising intonation for questions.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

No, Ni, Nu, Na — The Gujarati possessive four-pack.

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a giant label maker. You stick 'no' on boys, 'ni' on girls, 'nu' on boxes, and 'na' on groups.

Rhyme

No for boy, Ni for girl, Nu for box, Na for the world.

Story

Ram has a brother (bhai - no). He has a sister (behen - ni). He lives in a house (ghar - nu). He has many friends (mitro - na).

Word Web

noninunamarotaroeno

Herausforderung

Label 5 items in your room using 'Maro/Mari/Maru' in 5 minutes.

Kulturelle Hinweise

Respect is shown by using plural forms even for singular people.

Derived from Sanskrit genitive markers.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Tamaru ghar kya che?

“

Taro bhai kya kare che?

“

Tamari pasand nu pustak kyu che?

“

Tamara jivan nu lakshya shu che?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Write about your family.
Describe your favorite room.
What are your friends like?
Describe your goals.

Häufige Fehler

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Test Yourself

Fill in the correct particle.

Ram ___ bhai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no
Bhai is masculine singular.
Choose the correct form. Multiple Choice

Sita ___ behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Behen is feminine singular.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ram ni ghar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram nu ghar
Ghar is neuter.
Arrange the words. Sentence Building

bhai / Ram / no

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram no bhai
Correct order.
Match the particle. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no/ni/nu/na
Correct order.
Fill in the correct particle.

Mara ___ mitro.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: na
Mitro is plural.
Choose the correct form. Multiple Choice

Tari ___ mata.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Mata is feminine.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Maro behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mari behen
Behen is feminine.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Fill in the correct particle.

Ram ___ bhai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no
Bhai is masculine singular.
Choose the correct form. Multiple Choice

Sita ___ behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Behen is feminine singular.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ram ni ghar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram nu ghar
Ghar is neuter.
Arrange the words. Sentence Building

bhai / Ram / no

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ram no bhai
Correct order.
Match the particle. Match Pairs

Masc / Fem / Neut / Plural

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: no/ni/nu/na
Correct order.
Fill in the correct particle.

Mara ___ mitro.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: na
Mitro is plural.
Choose the correct form. Multiple Choice

Tari ___ mata.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ni
Mata is feminine.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Maro behen.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mari behen
Behen is feminine.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

It agrees with the object's gender and number.

The particle still agrees with the object.

Yes, for singular masculine objects.

Only if the object is feminine.

Use 'maro/mari/maru/mara'.

Yes, it is standard.

Use 'nu'.

Very few, mostly loanwords.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish partial

de

Gujarati changes for gender/number.

French partial

de

Gujarati is a single particle.

German moderate

Genitive case

Gujarati is simpler.

Japanese high

no

Gujarati 'no' changes.

Arabic low

Idafa

Gujarati uses particles.

Chinese moderate

de

Gujarati changes for gender.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Subject-Verb Agreement in 'To Be'

Related Grammar Rules

A1

The Genitive Marker 'No/Ni/Nu'
A1

Agreement of Genitive Markers
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