The order of words in a simple sentence in Hindi differs from that in English.
The predicate always takes the final position in a sentence. The verb does not change its position in the sentence when forming questions. If the sentence contains a direct object, that object usually comes right before the verb.
An adjective always precedes the noun it qualifies. This rule is also valid for an attribute expressed by a participle or a noun with a postposition.
Very often, questions are introduced by the interrogative pronoun क्या kyaa 'what?', which cannot be translated into English. It serves only to mark the beginning of an interrogative sentence.
In questions where interrogative words such as interrogative pronouns, pronominal adjectives, or adverbs are necessary, such words don't usually take the initial position. Most often, they appear just before the predicate.
Examples:
क्या वह सिपाही है?
kyaa vo sipaahii hai?
'Is he a soldier?'
क्या राम ने कुर्सी बनाई है?
kyaa raam ne kursii banaaii hai?
'Has Ram made the chair?'
क्या तुम चाय पीते हो?
kyaa tum caay piite ho?
'Do you drink tea?'
तुम कौन हो?
tum kaun ho?
'Who are you?'
वह क्यों रो रही है?
vo kyoN ro rahii hai?
'Why is she crying?'
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