3 ms·

Are you talking about phrases like "please do the needful"?

• OJFord 5y ago
  That's not one I've heard. Examples that come to mind are 'even I' (which seems closer to 'I too' than the 'you'd scarcely believe it but I' that it naturally sounds to me), 'he himself' (or similar subject emphasis), and adverb repetition. I'd say it's mostly subtler (I suppose that should be the expected distribution!) things I've noticed though, they're just harder to recall as a result. (Just want to emphasise I'm not making fun of anybody or saying anything's wrong, in case it's not clear in text. I'm just enjoying learning Hindi, fairly interested in language generally, and interested/amused to notice these things.)
  • OJFord 5y ago
    Just thought of another - '[something is] very less' - which comes, presumably, from कम being used for both little/few and less than. Hindi is much more economical, to put it literally, one says things like 'than/from/compared to orange, lemon is sour', and 'orange is little/less [without comparison] sour'. Which, I believe, is what gives rise to InE sentences like 'the salt in this is very less' (it needs more salt, there's very little).