What are common mistakes with कुछ, कोई, सब, हर?

Using kuchh for people and koi for mass nouns. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: the kto-to / chto-to split and the double negative both transfer, so the residual error is har taking a plural noun after it.

कुछ, कोई, सब, हर: rules, examples & exercises | Hindi Grammar A2

कुछ, कोई, सब, हर

A2 — सर्वनाम

कुछ, कोई, सब, हर, सारा — कितना और कौन-सा अनिश्चित

I can say some, any, all, every and none

कुछ, कोई, सब, हर, सारा — कितना और कौन-सा अनिश्चित

Examples

— Nobody knows.
— I need something.
— Give every child a book.

सर्वनामA2

Quantifiers and Indefinites

kuchh, koi, sab, har: some, any, all and every

Learning Goal

I can say some, any, all, every and none

Exam Skills:बोलनालिखना

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

Nobody knows.

I need something.

Give every child a book.

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

कोई for people, कुछ for things

कोई	someone, some, any (countable)	कोई आया है। - Someone has come.
कुछ	something, some (uncountable)	कुछ खाइए। - Have something to eat.
कोई नहीं	nobody	कोई नहीं आया। - Nobody came.
कुछ नहीं	nothing	कुछ नहीं हुआ। - Nothing happened.

कोई before a number means 'about': कोई बीस लोग - some twenty people.

सब, सारा, हर

सब लोग - all the people
सारा दिन - the whole day
हर दिन - every day
हर कोई - everyone

सब counts a group; सारा takes a single thing as a whole; हर picks each one separately, and the noun after it stays singular.

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Using kuchh for people and koi for mass nouns.

Common Error Patterns

koi and kuchh swapped

koi answers 'who', kuchh answers 'what', as in Russian.

Plural noun after har

har din, never har dinon.

Nobody knows.

Double negation in both languages.

I need something.

kuchh for a thing, not koi.

Give every child a book.

har keeps the noun singular, exactly as kazhdyy does.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

A2 Course

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Frequently asked questions

When is कुछ, कोई, सब, हर used?: कोई before a number means 'about': कोई बीस लोग - some twenty people.
How is कुछ, कोई, सब, हर formed?: सब counts a group; सारा takes a single thing as a whole; हर picks each one separately, and the noun after it stays singular.
What are common mistakes with कुछ, कोई, सब, हर?: Using kuchh for people and koi for mass nouns. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: the kto-to / chto-to split and the double negative both transfer, so the residual error is har taking a plural noun after it.

Sources

हिन्दी व्याकरण — काशी नागरी प्रचारिणी सभा, 1920
Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi morphology and syntax.
Outline of Hindi Grammar — Oxford University Press, 1995
R. S. McGregor's outline, the standard concise academic description of Hindi morphology.