सब (sab)

adjective/pronoun सब (sab) is a common all-purpose quantifier meaning 'all/everyone/everything' -- it works as an adjective before a noun and as a pronoun standing on its own.

Sense 1 : all, every (modifying a noun)

adjective

Synonyms: सारा (saaraa), तमाम (tamaam), पूरा (pooraa, whole)

Frequency: high

Cultural Note: You will hear सब (sab) constantly in everyday Delhi speech -- सब ठीक है (sab thiik hai, 'everything is fine') is practically a national reflex answer to 'how are things'.

Common Mistakes: 1) सब (sab) itself does not inflect, but when used with a plural noun the noun and verb still take normal plural agreement: सब लड़के (sab ladke, all the boys), not a special form of सब (sab). 2) Learners sometimes add लोग (log) redundantly out of habit -- सब (sab) alone before a noun is already 'all', though सब लोग (sab log, everyone) is also fine and extremely common.

Sample Sentences:

सब बच्चे पार्क में खेल रहे हैं। All the children are playing in the park.

(sab bachche paark men khel rahe hain।)

सब ठीक है? Is everything fine?

(sab thiik hai?)

उसने सब किताबें मेज़ पर रख दी। She put all the books on the table.

(usne sab kitaaben mez par rakh dii।)

सब मेहमान समय पर आ जाएँ, यह ज़रूरी है। It is necessary that all the guests arrive on time.

(sab mehmaan samay par aa jaaen, yah zaroorii hai।)

अगर सब दुकानें बंद न होतीं, तो हम आज ही सामान ले आते। If all the shops hadn't been closed, we would have brought the stuff today itself.

(agar sab dukaanen band n hotiin, to ham aaj hii saamaan le aate।)

सब कागज़ात कल तक जमा करवा दिए जाएँगे। All the documents will be submitted by tomorrow.

(sab kaagzaat kal tak jamaa karvaa die jaaenge।)

सब दरवाज़े बंद कर दो, बारिश आ रही है। Close all the doors, it's raining.

(sab darvaaze band kar do, baarish aa rahii hai।)

सब रास्ते इस मंदिर की ओर जाते थे। All the roads used to lead towards this temple.

(sab raaste is mandir kii or jaate the।)

सब समस्याओं का हल एक साथ नहीं निकाला जा सकता। A solution to all the problems cannot be found at once.

(sab samasyaaon kaa hal ek saath nahiin nikaalaa jaa saktaa।)

सब लोग मानते हैं कि मेहनत का फल मिलता है। All people believe that hard work bears fruit.

(sab log maante hain ki mehnat kaa phal miltaa hai।)

काश सब सपने इतनी आसानी से सच हो जाते। I wish all dreams came true this easily.

(kaash sab sapne itnii aasaanii se sach ho jaate।)

Sense 2 : everyone, everything (standing alone)

pronoun Used without a following noun, सब (sab) stands in for 'everyone' (people) or 'everything' (things) depending on context, and takes plural verb agreement: सब आ गए (sab aa gae, 'everyone has arrived').

Synonyms: सभी (sabhii), सारे (saare)

Frequency: high

Cultural Note: सब कुछ (sab kuchh) is a set phrase you'll hear in emotional contexts too -- like जीवन में सब कुछ (jiivan men sab kuchh, 'everything in life') -- so it's worth learning as a chunk rather than building it from scratch each time.

Common Mistakes: 1) Whether सब (sab) means 'everyone' or 'everything' is decided entirely by context -- there is no marking on the word itself, which can confuse learners expecting a grammatical cue. 2) सब कुछ (sab kuchh, 'everything') is the fixed way to unambiguously say 'everything'; bare सब (sab) alone often defaults to 'everyone' in conversation about people.

Sample Sentences:

सब ठीक है। Everything is fine.

(sab thiik hai।)

सब आ गए हैं, अब शुरू करते हैं। Everyone has arrived, let's start now.

(sab aa gae hain, ab shuroo karte hain।)

उसने सब खा लिया। He ate everything.

(usne sab khaa liyaa।)

जीवन में सब कुछ पैसे से नहीं मिलता। Not everything in life comes from money.

(jiivan men sab kuchh paise se nahiin miltaa।)

काश सब पहले जैसा हो जाता। I wish everything would go back to how it was before.

(kaash sab pahle jaisaa ho jaataa।)

सब मिलकर काम करेंगे तो जल्दी हो जाएगा। If everyone works together, it will get done quickly.

(sab milkar kaam karenge to jaldii ho jaaegaa।)

सबको बुला लो, कोई छूटना नहीं चाहिए। Call everyone, no one should be left out.

(sabko bulaa lo, koii chhootnaa nahiin chaahie।)

अगर सब सच बता दें, तो मामला सुलझ जाए। If everyone were to tell the truth, the matter might get resolved.

(agar sab sach bataa den, to maamlaa sulajh jaae।)

मेरा सब कुछ लुट गया। I lost everything.

(meraa sab kuchh lut gayaa।)

यह खबर सबको बता दी गई। This news was told to everyone.

(yah khabar sabko bataa dii gaii।)

भगवान की नज़र में सब बराबर हैं। In God's eyes, everyone is equal.

(bhagvaan kii nazar men sab baraabar hain।)

Morphology

Adjective (invariant)

invariant: सब (sab)