What are common mistakes with नकारात्मक वाक्य?

Using नहीं in commands instead of मत (नहीं जाओ → मत जाओ). Placing नहीं after the verb instead of before. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English uses 'not/don't' uniformly. Hindi's three-way split (नहीं/मत/न) by sentence type is new. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian uses не for all negation. The imperative-specific मत is an unfamiliar concept. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech uses ne- prefix on verbs. Hindi's separate negation words before the verb require adjustment.

नकारात्मक वाक्य: rules, examples & exercises | Hindi Grammar A1

नकारात्मक वाक्य

A1 — वाक्य रचना

Negation with नहीं, न, and मत

Can make negative statements and prohibitions

Examples

मैं चाय नहीं पीता। — I don't drink tea.
यहाँ मत बैठो! — Don't sit here!
वह आज नहीं आएगा। — He won't come today.
कृपया यहाँ न बैठें। — Please don't sit here.

वाक्य रचनाA1

नकारात्मक वाक्य

Negation with नहीं, न, and मत

Learning Goal

Can make negative statements and prohibitions

Exam Skills:WritingSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

मैं चाय नहीं पीता।

I don't drink tea.

यहाँ मत बैठो!

Don't sit here!

वह आज नहीं आएगा।

He won't come today.

कृपया यहाँ न बैठें।

Please don't sit here.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

नकारात्मक वाक्य — Negation

Hindi has three negation words:

Word	Use	Example
नहीं	General negation (statements)	मैं नहीं जाता
मत	Prohibitive (don't!)	मत जाओ!
न	Formal/literary negation	कृपया न बैठें

नहीं is placed before the verb: वह नहीं आता (He doesn't come). With compound tenses, it goes before the main verb: मैं नहीं जा रहा हूँ. मत is used only with imperatives (तू/तुम forms): मत करो! (Don't do it!). न is the polite/formal variant: कृपया यहाँ न बैठें (Please don't sit here).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Using नहीं in commands instead of मत (नहीं जाओ → मत जाओ). Placing नहीं after the verb instead of before. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English uses 'not/don't' uniformly. Hindi's three-way split (नहीं/मत/न) by sentence type is new.

Common Error Patterns

Using नहीं in commands instead of मत, or vice versa

Use नहीं for statements, मत for commands (तू/तुम), न for polite requests (आप)

Placing negation word after the verb

Negation words go before the verb: नहीं जाता, not जाता नहीं

मैं चाय नहीं पीता।

I don't drink tea.

नहीं before the verb पीता negates the statement.

यहाँ मत बैठो!

Don't sit here!

मत is used for prohibitive commands (तुम form).

वह आज नहीं आएगा।

He won't come today.

नहीं before आएगा negates the future statement.

कृपया यहाँ न बैठें।

Please don't sit here.

न is the polite/formal negation, used with आप imperatives.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

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1. Devanagari and pronunciation

Frequently asked questions

When is नकारात्मक वाक्य used?: नहीं is placed before the verb : वह नहीं आता (He doesn't come). With compound tenses, it goes before the main verb: मैं नहीं जा रहा हूँ . मत is used only with imperatives (तू/तुम forms): मत करो! (Don't do it!). न is the polite/formal variant: कृपया यहाँ न बैठें (Please don't sit here).
What are common mistakes with नकारात्मक वाक्य?: Using नहीं in commands instead of मत (नहीं जाओ → मत जाओ). Placing नहीं after the verb instead of before. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English uses 'not/don't' uniformly. Hindi's three-way split (नहीं/मत/न) by sentence type is new. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian uses не for all negation. The imperative-specific मत is an unfamiliar concept. 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech uses ne- prefix on verbs. Hindi's separate negation words before the verb require adjustment.