Prepositions

Hindi has none. It has postpositions, which come after the noun and force it into the oblique.

The oblique is compulsory

घर house → घर में. लड़का boy → लड़के को. लड़के boys → लड़कों को.

Skip this and the sentence is wrong. It is the most-corrected error in the language.

का agrees with what is owned

Not with the owner — which is the opposite of what English speakers expect.

• लड़के का घर — the boy's house (घर is masculine)
• लड़के की किताब — the boy's book (किताब is feminine)
• लड़के के दोस्त — the boy's friends (plural)

The boy has not changed. The thing owned decides.

से does far too much

One postposition, five jobs: from (दिल्ली से), with an instrument (चाकू से), by means of (बस से), than (मुझसे बड़ा), and adverb-maker (आराम से).

को

Marks the indirect object (लड़के को दो), a definite direct object (लड़की को देखा), and the experiencer in dative constructions (मुझे लगता है). Three unrelated jobs in one syllable.

Compound postpositions

The ones beginning के are really का plus a noun: के लिए is "of-the purpose", के पास is "of-the nearness". That is why they take the oblique too.

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