The word "sarvanam" breaks down as: sarva (all/every) + naam (name/noun). A sarvanam is a word that stands in place of a संज्ञा (noun) so you don't have to repeat the noun again and again.
Think of it like a substitute player in cricket — when a संज्ञा gets "injured" from overuse, the sarvanam steps onto the field and does the same job.
Without sarvanam: "Ramesh went to the market. Ramesh bought vegetables. Ramesh came home. Ramesh cooked food."
With sarvanam: "Ramesh went to the market. He bought vegetables. He came home. He cooked food."
That word "he" (वह) is a sarvanam.
In Hindi grammar, sarvanam replaces संज्ञा in a sentence and takes on vibhakti (case markers) when needed — so मैं becomes मुझे, मुझको, मेरा, etc. depending on the karak (case).
A key rule to burn into memory: Sarvanam never has a लिंग (gender) of its own in the way संज्ञा does. The word मैं (I) works whether you are male or female. This is how you can tell a sarvanam from a संज्ञा — the संज्ञा has its own intrinsic gender, the sarvanam borrows context from the sentence.
Hindi grammarians recognise six types of sarvanam. This is not a matter of debate in exam circles — the standard classification has exactly six, and UP Police papers test all six with at least one question per paper.
These pronouns refer to persons involved in a conversation. They are divided into three sub-types:
| Sub-type | Hindi Term | Examples | English Equivalent | |---|---|---|---| | First Person | उत्तम पुरुष | मैं, हम, मुझे, हमें | I, we | | Second Person | मध्यम पुरुष | तू, तुम, आप, तुझे | you | | Third Person | अन्य पुरुष | वह, वे, उसे, उन्हें | he, she, they |
Critical point for UP Police: When you see मैं or any oblique form like मुझे, मुझको, मेरा — it is उत्तम पुरुष. No exception.
These pronouns point to a specific, known person or thing — "this one here, not that one." The word निश्चय means certainty or definiteness.
Example: यह मेरी किताब है। — "यह" points to a specific, identifiable book.
Trap alert: वह appears both as personal pronoun (third person) and demonstrative pronoun. The context determines the type. If it replaces a named person mentioned earlier, it is personal. If it points to a thing or person at a distance, it is demonstrative.
These pronouns refer to a person or thing that is not specifically identified. The word अनिश्चय means uncertainty.
Example: दरवाज़े पर कोई आया है। — We don't know who — कोई. Example: उसने कुछ खाया। — We don't know what — कुछ.
These pronouns create a connection or relationship between two clauses in a sentence. They always appear as a pair: जो...वह / सो.
Examples:
The word जो (who/which/that) links the two parts of the sentence. In UP Police papers, look for the जो...वह/सो pair to identify this type instantly.
These pronouns are used to ask questions about a person or thing.
Example: वहाँ कौन खड़ा है? Example: तुमने क्या किया?
Note from the PYQ bank: क्यों and कब are also categorised as प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम in the UP Police exam's standard answer key, even though some textbooks treat them as क्रियाविशेषण (adverbs). Go with the answer key's classification in the exam hall.
This is the most frequently confused type. The word निज means "self" or "own." The reflexive pronoun in Hindi is आप — but not the आप used as a respectful form of "you." This आप means "oneself."
How to tell the difference:
मेरी, अपना, अपनी, अपने are possessive/reflexive adjective forms that often appear in questions. मेरी indicates self-possession, so in the exam answer key it can be coded as निजवाचक. Always check what the question is actually asking — the specific underlined word matters.
Knowing the oblique forms is essential because UP Police questions often give you an oblique form and ask you to identify the type:
| Mool Roop | Oblique Forms | |---|---| | मैं | मुझे, मुझको, मेरा, मेरी, मेरे, मुझसे | | तुम | तुम्हें, तुम्हारा, तुमसे | | वह | उसे, उसको, उसका, उससे | | कोई | किसी, किसी को | | जो | जिसे, जिसको, जिसका |
Remember the six types as P-N-N-S-P-N: Purushvachak, Nishchayavachak, Anishchayavachak, Sambandhvachak, Prashnavachak, Nijvachak. Say it as "Pen-Spin" in your head: P-N-A-S-P-N. Standard method (reading the list repeatedly): 3 minutes. This pattern: 20 seconds to recall all six in the exam hall.
Any word that turns a statement into a question — कौन, क्या, क्यों, कब, कहाँ — is प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम for UP Police purposes. In the exam, if the question asks you to identify a word and that word can introduce a question, mark प्रश्नवाचक and move on. This eliminates wrong options in under 5 seconds versus re-reading all options carefully (25 seconds).
When you see आप in a sentence and need to identify its type, substitute "खुद" (self) in its place. If the sentence still makes sense with the same meaning, it is निजवाचक. If खुद sounds wrong and "आप" there means a respected person being addressed, it is मध्यम पुरुष (personal). Example: आप भला तो जग भला → खुद भला तो जग भला — works perfectly, so निजवाचक. Standard approach: re-read the definition and try to match (40 seconds). Substitution test: 8 seconds.
The moment you see जो and वह (or सो) in the same sentence — connected across a comma — it is संबंधवाचक सर्वनाम. No need to analyse further. This pair is the fingerprint of relative pronouns in Hindi. Identifying by reading and reasoning: 30 seconds. Spotting the जो...वह pair: 3 seconds.
When an oblique form is given (मुझे, उसे, किसी, जिसे), convert it back to its root form: मुझे → मैं (उत्तम पुरुष), उसे → वह (personal or demonstrative), किसी → कोई (अनिश्चयवाचक), जिसे → जो (संबंधवाचक). Knowing these four conversions covers roughly 70% of oblique-form questions. Memorising all forms separately: 10 minutes of effort. This four-pair shortcut: 2 minutes, same accuracy in the exam hall.
When a UP Police sarvanam question appears, run this decision tree:
Step 1 — Is there a question word? If the underlined word is कौन, क्या, क्यों, कब, कहाँ → mark प्रश्नवाचक and move on.
Step 2 — Is the word जो or its oblique form (जिसे, जिसको)? Yes → संबंधवाचक.
Step 3 — Is the word मैं / हम or any form (मुझे, हमें, मेरा)? Yes → उत्तम पुरुष (personal).
Step 4 — Is the word कोई or कुछ? Yes → अनिश्चयवाचक.
Step 5 — Is the word यह / वह / ये / वे pointing to something specific? Yes → निश्चयवाचक (demonstrative).
Step 6 — Is the word आप meaning "oneself" (passes the खुद-substitution test)? Yes → निजवाचक. If it means a respected "you" → मध्यम पुरुष (personal).
Total decision time per question using this tree: under 20 seconds.
Why this question: This tests whether you know the oblique forms of पुरुषवाचक सर्वनाम. Many candidates panic seeing मुझे and forget it is just the oblique case of मैं.
Solving path: मुझे → root form is मैं → मैं is the speaker referring to themselves → this is उत्तम पुरुष (first person). The option "प्रथम पुरुष" is a distractor using an English-translated label — in standard Hindi grammar, "first person" is called उत्तम पुरुष, not प्रथम पुरुष. Don't fall for option C.
Why this question: The निजवाचक vs. मध्यम पुरुष confusion around आप is the single most tested distinction in sarvanam questions across UP Police papers.
Solving path: Apply the खुद-substitution test to each option. Option C: आप भला तो जग भला → खुद भला तो जग भला — meaning holds, so निजवाचक. Option A uses "अपनों" which is a possessive noun form, not a standalone reflexive pronoun usage in this context. Option C is the clean, unambiguous answer.
Why this question: This is a straightforward identification question — if you know your six types, you get this in 5 seconds.
Solving path: Check each option against the decision tree. कौन and क्या → प्रश्नवाचक (eliminates B and D). कुछ → अनिश्चयवाचक (eliminates C). यह → points to something specific and definite → निश्चयवाचक. Answer: A.
Why this question: क्यों and कब are sometimes misclassified as क्रियाविशेषण (adverbs) by candidates who studied from older textbooks. UP Police's standard answer key treats them as प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम.
Solving path: क्यों = why (asks a question), कब = when (asks a question). Both are question-forming words → प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम. Don't second-guess the answer key on this one — in UP Police exam context, go with B.
Why this question: This 2018 question tests मेरी as निजवाचक — a possessive form that reflects back on the subject. It is a slightly older question but the concept resurfaces every few years.
Solving path: The underlined word is मेरी (in the sentence यह मेरी पतंग है). मेरी indicates that the possession belongs to the speaker themselves — it reflects the subject's ownership back onto themselves. In the exam's classification framework, this possessive-reflexive function makes it निजवाचक सर्वनाम. The answer is D.
Confusing उत्तम पुरुष with प्रथम पुरुष: "First person" in English = उत्तम पुरुष in Hindi, not प्रथम पुरुष. Some options deliberately use the English-translated label to trip you up. Always use the Hindi term: उत्तम (first), मध्यम (second), अन्य (third).
Treating all आप as मध्यम पुरुष: When आप means a respected "you," it is personal (मध्यम पुरुष). When आप means "oneself" (as in the proverb आप भला तो जग भला), it is निजवाचक. The खुद-substitution test is your safeguard.
Mixing up यह/वह as personal vs. demonstrative: वह referring to a named person previously mentioned = personal pronoun (अन्य पुरुष). वह pointing to a thing or distant person = demonstrative (निश्चयवाचक). Spot the contextual clue — is a specific name given earlier in the sentence or question context?
Classifying कुछ as निश्चयवाचक: कुछ (something) is अनिश्चयवाचक because it does not specify exactly what. Only words that point to a definitively identified person or thing qualify as निश्चयवाचक.
Missing the oblique form trap: When the question gives मुझे, किसी, जिसे, उसे — many candidates read these as standalone words and cannot recall their type. Always convert back to root form first: मुझे → मैं, किसी → कोई, जिसे → जो, उसे → वह.
Forgetting that sarvanam has six types, not five: Under pressure, candidates often list only five types. The sixth — निजवाचक — is the one that slips. It is also the most frequently tested in recent UP Police papers, so the irony is costly.