Hindi for Non-Hindi Speaking People (English and Hindi Edition) Paperback – January 1, 1997

This book is not for beginners. There is no transliteration, so you must know the Devanagari script well. I have just finished a beginners grammar and was looking for a book that would be my "go-to book" on any questions of grammar and usage. However, I wanted something very clear and concise--not a lot of verbiage. This is such a good reference I bought 2 extra copies to give as gifts to others who are studying Hindi. I have quite a library of books I picked up about Hindi. For me, this is the best of the lot. Easy to use and everything answered and illustrated.

I really like this book! It has grammar explanations, example sentences, exercises and reading practice. There is no transcription so you must be able to read devanagari script. However, Kavita Kumar does go over the alphabet and pronunciation. I have been taking Hindi lessons for a few months now and this book is perfect for consolidating everything I have learned.

Overall this book is very good. The only real downfall, like most books written on Hindi instruction is the lack of exercises and/or answer keys. The book does however have many examples of each grammatical concept introduced. I ordered the book not really expecting much being it was a fairly cheap book to begin with price wise. It was however much more than I thought it would be. It does give you alot of examples as I said both in Hindi and English. There is a fairly decent explanation of each grammatical point. You must know the script though to be able to have any use out of this book. Which is no problem for me because I am fairly well versed in Hindi and the script. If you need help with the script I still recommend "Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Script" by Rupert Snell. But if you are familiar with the script it is a great book to supplement your studies. For the most thourough introduction to Hindi Grammar I would still recommend "Introduction to Hindi Grammar" by Usha R. Jain. I have bought and use most of the Hindi books out there and with Usha R Jain's book especially this would be a great supplemental study aid.

I took private lessons with Ms. Kumar for a period in 2006; while she is a sweet lady and quite erudite, her textbook is really more suited as a companion to her private lessons than a general teaching text. Indian thought tends to be much more non-linear than Western paradigms; thus the Western student will likely find the progression of lessons reckless and illogical at best. It does make a handy shelf reference for someone who has studied the language rather deeply and is familiar with Eastern thought processes, being partially arranged in a workbook style.

This book is a great book for someone who wants an overview of the Hindi language. In some ways it is similar to "Outline of Hindi Grammar" by Mcgreggor but much more accessible. This would be great for people already familiar with grammar terminology or for people who already have some basis in the Hindi language but would like a fairly complete overview of the grammar. This book is not for the absolute beginner to Hindi Grammar. For that I would recommend "Introduction to Hindi Grammer" by Usha Jain.This book is very formulaic and contains tons of tables for people who like the table method of grammar learning.I also want to add, if I had found this book first, I would not have bought all the other Hindi books on my bookshelf.

I like the format of this book. It progresses quickly, so especially helpful is the Workbook which is written to accompany Hindi for Non-Hindi Speaking People. I was also able to learn to read Hindi just by using this book. A larger index would be helpful, however.