Learning in Practice

In this unit, you will use ownership words from this chapter in simple real-life situations. You will practise asking whose object something is and answering with possessive words such as मेरो (mero), तपाईंको (tapāī̃ko), and साथीको (sāthīko).

Try it in real life

Choose three objects near you, such as a book, pen, notebook, bag, or mobile phone. Point to each object and ask:

यो कस्को हो?
yo kasko ho?
Whose is this?

Then answer:

यो मेरो हो।
yo mero ho.
This is mine.

Now practise with a noun:

यो मेरो किताब हो।
yo mero kitāb ho.
This is my book.

यो तपाईंको कलम हो।
yo tapāī̃ko kalam ho.
This is your pen.

यो साथीको झोला हो।
yo sāthīko jholā ho.
This is a friend’s bag.

Practice task

Practise this short exchange with a partner:

A: यो कस्को किताब हो?
yo kasko kitāb ho?

B: यो मेरो किताब हो।
yo mero kitāb ho.

A: त्यो कस्को झोला हो?
tyo kasko jholā ho?

B: त्यो साथीको झोला हो।
tyo sāthīko jholā ho.

A: यो तपाईंको कलम हो?
yo tapāī̃ko kalam ho?

B: हो, यो मेरो कलम हो।
ho, yo mero kalam ho.

Mini culture note

In Nepali, ownership is usually shown before the noun. For example, मेरो किताब (mero kitāb) means “my book,” and तपाईंको झोला (tapāī̃ko jholā) means “your bag.”

When asking about someone’s belongings, it is polite to use respectful forms such as तपाईंको (tapāī̃ko), especially with teachers, elders, strangers, or people you do not know well.

Common mistake

Do not place the possessive word after the noun in basic Nepali sentences.

Correct:

मेरो किताब
mero kitāb
my book

तपाईंको कलम
tapāī̃ko kalam
your pen

Not:

किताब मेरो
kitāb mero

कलम तपाईंको
kalam tapāī̃ko

Also remember that कस्को (kasko) means “whose?”

यो कस्को हो?
yo kasko ho?
Whose is this?

Say it aloud

Practise these sentences slowly. Then try saying them more naturally.

After you practise, use the audio recorder below to record yourself. Listen to your recording and try again if you want to improve your pronunciation.

कस्को?
kasko?
Whose?

मेरो।
mero.
Mine / my.

तपाईंको।
tapāī̃ko.
Yours / your.

यो मेरो हो।
yo mero ho.
This is mine.

यो तपाईंको हो।
yo tapāī̃ko ho.
This is yours.

यो कस्को किताब हो?
yo kasko kitāb ho?
Whose book is this?

यो मेरो किताब हो।
yo mero kitāb ho.
This is my book.

Rhythm practice

Read this short exchange aloud:

यो कस्को हो?
yo kasko ho?

यो मेरो हो।
yo mero ho.

यो तपाईंको किताब हो?
yo tapāī̃ko kitāb ho?

हो, यो मेरो किताब हो।
ho, yo mero kitāb ho.

Can-do checklist

By the end of this chapter, I can:

• ask “Whose is this?”
• ask “Whose book/pen/bag is this?”
• use कस्को (kasko) to ask about ownership
• use मेरो (mero) to say “my” or “mine”
• use तपाईंको (tapāī̃ko) to say “your” or “yours”
• use साथीको (sāthīko) to say “friend’s”
• place possessive words before nouns
• answer simple ownership questions
• ask about belongings politely in Nepali