An Introductory Grammar of the Pāḷi Language: Bomhard

A formated & hyperlinked version of Bomhard's An Introductory Grammar of the Pāḷi Language (2018) with some minor corrections. Note: comments in { } are my own. Paragraph and list numbering has been retained throughout.

An Introductory Grammar of the Pāḷi Language

PREPARED BY

Allan R. Bomhard

Charleston Buddhist Fellowship
Charleston, SC USA
2018 (2562)

Table of Contents

1	Phonology
	1.1	Alphabets
	1.2	Phonological System
	1.3	Pronunciation
	1.4	Vowels
	1.5	Consonants
	1.6	Sandhi
	1.7	Accent
2	Declension
	2.1	Introduction
	2.2	Vowels Stems
		2.2.1	Case Endings — First Declension
		2.2.2	Masculines and Neuters in -a
		2.2.3	Feminines in -ā
		2.2.4	Adjectives in -a
		2.2.5	Case Endings — Second Declension
		2.2.6	Masculines and Neuters in -i
		2.2.7	Masculines in -ī
		2.2.8	Feminines in -i
		2.2.9	Feminines in -ī
		2.2.10	Adjectives in -i and -ī
		2.2.11	Case Endings — Third Declension
		2.2.12	Masculines and Neuters in -u and -ū
		2.2.13	Feminines in -u and -ū
		2.2.14	Adjectives in -u and -ū
		2.2.15	Special Nouns
	2.3	Consonant Stems
		2.3.1	Stems Ending in Nasals
		2.3.2	Stems in -ant
		2.3.3	Adjectives in -at and -ant
		2.3.4	Stems in -r
		2.3.5	Stems in -s
	2.4	Comparison of Adjectives
	2.5	Word Formation
3	Pronouns
	3.1	First and Second Person Personal Pronouns
	3.2	Demonstrative Pronouns
	3.3	Relative Pronoun
	3.4	Interrogative Pronouns
	3.5	Indefinite Pronouns
	3.6	Other Pronouns
	3.7	Pronominals
	3.8	Adverbial Derivatives
4	Numerals
	4.1	Cardinals
	4.2	Ordinals
5	Conjugation
	5.1	Structure of the Pāḷi Verb
		5.1.1	General Structure
		5.1.2	The Present System
		5.1.3	The Remaining Systems
	5.2	Personal Endings
		5.2.1	Endings of the Present System
		5.2.2	Endgins of the Aorist System
		5.2.3	Endings of the Perfect System
		5.2.4	Endings of the Future System
		5.2.5	Non-Finite Forms
	5.3	Conjugational Paradigms
	5.4	Defective Verbs
	5.5	Secondary Verbs
	5.6	Compound Verbs
	5.7	Past Passive Participle
		5.7.1	Past Passive Participle -ta
		5.7.2	Past Passive Participle -na
		5.7.3	Two Forms of the Past Passive Participle
	5.8	Perfect Participle Active
	5.9	Infinitives
		5.9.1	The Suffix -tuṁ
		5.9.2	The Suffixes -tave, -tuye, -tāye
	5.10	Gerunds
		5.10.1	The Suffixes -tvā, -tvāna, -tūna
		5.10.2	The Suffixes -ya and -tya
	5.11	Participle of Necessity
		5.11.1	The Suffix -tabba
		5.11.2	The Suffix -ya
		5.11.3	The Suffix -anīya
	5.12	Denominative Verbs
	5.13	Verbal Prefixes
6	Indeclinables
	6.1	Introduction
	6.2	Adverbs
	6.3	Prepositions and Postpositions
	6.4	Conjunctions
	6.5	Interjections
7	Compounds
	7.1	Introduction
	7.2	Dvanda Compounds (Copulative Compounds)
	7.3	Tappurisa Compounds (Determinative Compounds)
	7.4	Upapada Compounds
	7.5	Kammadhāraya Compounds (Descriptive Compounds)
	7.6	Digu Compounds (Numeral Compounds)
	7.7	Abyayibhāva Compounds (Adverbial Compounds)
	7.8	Bahubbīhi Compounds (Relative, or Possessive, Compounds)
	7.9	Anomalous Compounds
	7.10	Complex Compounds
	7.11	Changes of Certain Words in Compounds
	7.12	Verbal Compounds
8	Syntax
	8.1	Definition of Terms
	8.2	The Syntax of Nouns
		8.2.1	Nominative Case
		8.2.2	Vocative Case
		8.2.3	Accusative Case
		8.2.4	Genitive Case
		8.2.5	Dative Case
		8.2.6	Instrumental Case
		8.2.7	Ablative Case
		8.2.8	Locative Case
		8.2.9	The Genitive and Locative Absolute
	8.3	The Syntax of Adjectives
	8.4	The Syntax of Pronouns
		8.4.1	Personal Pronouns
		8.4.2	Demonstrative Pronouns
		8.4.3	Relative Pronoun
		8.4.4	Interrogative Pronoun
		8.4.5	Indefinite Pronoun
	8.5	Repetition
	8.6	The Syntax of Verbs
		8.6.1	Active Voice
		8.6.2	Reflexive Voice
		8.6.3	Present Tense
		8.6.4	Imperfect Tense
		8.6.5	Aorist Tense
		8.6.6	Perfect Tense
		8.6.7	Future Tense
		8.6.8	Optative
		8.6.9	Conditional
		8.6.10	Imperative
		8.6.11	Participles
		8.6.12	Infinitive
		8.6.13	Gerund
		8.6.14	Participle of Necessity
	8.7	The Syntax of Indeclinables

1

Phonology

1.1. The Alphabets

Pāḷi does not have its own alphabet. The Pāḷi manuscripts are written in the following alphabets: (1) Sinhalese; (2) Burmese; (3) Thai; and (4) Cambodian. They are all derived from the alphabet used in the ancient Indian inscriptions composed during the reign of the Emperor Asoka (Sanskrit Aśoka). The Devanāgarī alphabet, which is used to write Sanskrit, is never used in Pāḷi manuscripts. In this book, only the standard Roman transliteration of Pāḷi is used.

1.2. Phonological System

Pāḷi has the following sounds:

A.	Vowels:	a	i	u	e	o
		ā	ī	ū

B.	Consonants:	Voiceless	Voiceless Aspirated	Voiced		Voiced Aspirated	Nasal
	Gutturals:	k	kh	g		gh	ṅ
	Palatals:	c	ch	j		jh	ñ
	Cerebrals:	ṭ	ṭh	ḍ		ḍh	ṇ
	Dentals:	t	th	d		dh	n
	Labials:	p	ph	b		bh	m

	Liquids:	r	l	ḷ
	Semivowels:	y	v
	Sibilant:	s
	Aspirate:	h
	Niggahīta	ṁ

Note:  The niggahīta (ṁ) is always used:  (1) medially before a sibilant, thus:  saṁsāra ‘round of rebirths; cyclic existence’; and (2) at the end of words, thus (Dhammapada, verse 67):  na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu yaṁ katvā anutappati yassa assumukho rodaṁ vipākaṁ paṭisevati “That deed is poorly done if one feels remorse for having done it and if it brings suffering in its wake.” Before other consonants, the nasal of the corresponding class (column 5 above) may be used instead, thus: saṁkhāra = saṅkhāra ‘formation’. The niggahīta is sometimes also transliterated as ṃ.

1.3. Pronunciation

The vowels a, i, u are short, and ā, ī, ū are long; e and o are long in open syllables, that is, before a single consonant. In closed syllables, that is, before two consonants, they are short. a is pronounced like the a in English sofa, i like the i in English sit, and u like the u in English put. ā is pronounced like the a in English father, ī like the ee in English feed, and ū like the u in English rude. e is pronounced like the ei in English eight, and o like the o in English hole.

Aspiration is very frequent in Pāḷi. Both voiceless and voiced aspirates occur. The voiceless aspirates are pronounced like the corresponding plain voiceless consonants except that they are followed by a slightly forceful puff of air. Thus, th is never pronounced like the th in English thin. Rather, it is pronounced like the th in English hothouse. Similarly, ph is never pronounced like the ph in English philosophy. Instead, it is pronounced like the ph in English loophole. kh is pronounced like the kh in English sinkhole. The voiced aspirates are pronounced like the corresponding plain voiced consonants except that they are followed by a slightly forceful puff of air. Thus, dh is pronounced like the dh in English bloodhound, bh like the bh in English abhor, and gh like the gh in English jughead.

The sound transliterated as c has the same pronunciation as c in Italian ciao ‘hello!, hi!; farewell!, good-bye!’ (borrowed in English, with the same pronunciation as Italian), while ch is pronounced like the second ch in the English family name Churchill. j is pronounced like the j in English joy or the g in gesture, while jh is pronounced like the dgeh in English hedgehog. s is pronounced like the s in English son.

The gutturals are formed in the throat, the palatals with the tongue placed against the front palate, the dentals with the tip of the tongue placed against the back of the upper teeth, and the labials with the lips. Among the liquids, ḷ is cerebral (retroflex), and l is dental.

It is often difficult for Westerners to pronounce the cerebrals correctly.  They are formed by bending the tip of the tongue upwards and backwards so that it makes contact with the roof of the mouth just behind the alveolar ridge. Hence, these sounds are often referred to as “retroflex”.

The nasals are pronounced in accordance with the class to which they belong. The guttural nasal never occurs alone, but is always followed by a corresponding consonant of its class, thus:  ṅk, ṅg, ṅkh, ṅgh.  Hence, it is often transliterated simply as n without the overdot.  It is pronounced like the n in English sink or single.  The palatal nasal ñ is pronounced like ny in English canyon or banyan.  It sometimes occurs written double (ññ) when assimilation has taken place.  “Assimilation” means that it has replaced another sound, that is, the other sound has been made similar to the ñ.  The dental nasal n is pronounced like n in English net.  The labial nasal m is pronounced like m in English mother.  Finally, the niggahīta (ṁ) is pronounced, in accordance with the Sinhalese tradition, like ng in English king.

When preceded by a consonant, v is pronounced like the w in English wick. For example, in dvi, dvā ‘two’, the dv is pronounced like the dw in English dwell. Elsewhere, v is pronounced like the v in English vine.

Double consonants (“geminates”) must be strictly pronounced as such, like the nn in English unnecessary.

1.4. Vowels

The vowels found in Pāḷi are the same as those found in Sanskrit, with the exception of ṛ and the diphthongs ai and au. Sanskrit ṛ is mostly represented in Pāḷi by one of the other vowels, while the Sanskrit diphthongs ai and au become e and o, respectively, in Pāḷi.

Long vowels before a double consonant are generally shortened. This rule, however, is not always followed in the manuscripts, where we often find a long vowel before a double consonant, especially when the long vowel is the result of a contraction.

Lengthening of vowels occurs mainly in prepositions. There are, however, some other instances of vowel lengthening, typically due to metrical considerations.

A vowel in the middle of a word may be dropped as in agra = agāra ‘house, hut’, used only in compounds.

1.5. Consonants

Pāḷi has one sound belonging to the cerebral class which does not exist in Classical Sanskrit, though it is found in the dialect of the Vedas, namely, cerebral ḷ. It is very difficult to give exact rules for the use of this ḷ, since the manuscripts are rather inconsistent in this regard. Generally speaking, ḷ or ḷh between two vowels represent Sanskrit ḍ, ḍh, but it is also often used in place of the dentals d, dh.

The sound d is often changed to l and r, even sometimes ḷ, as in: dasa = rasa, lasa, ḷasa ‘ten’; ekādasa = ekārasa ‘eleven’; tedasa = terasa, telasa ‘thirteen’; pañcadasa = paṇṇarasa, pannarasa ‘fifteen’; etc.

The sequence dv sometimes becomes b as in: dvārasa = bārasa ‘twelve’.

Only vowels and nasals can occur at the end of Pāḷi words. Consequently, every nasal is changed into niggahīta (ṁ), and a preceding long vowel is shortened. Very often, niggahīta is dropped altogether, especially in verse when a short syllable is required by the meter.

Before a word beginning with a consonant, the niggahīta can be changed into the nasal of the corresponding class, as in hirin tarantaṁ. Before a word beginning with a vowel, the niggahīta may be changed into m, as in caram atandito.

The ending -as generally becomes -o no matter what consonant occurs at the beginning of the next word, as in the nominative singular of a-stems, almost regularly. There are a few apparent exceptions to this rule, and these are considered to be Magadhisms by most scholars. Another Magadhism is the use of -e in the nominative singular of neuter nouns. Also, the vocative singular in -e, as in bhante ‘Venerable Sir’ and bhikkhave ‘Monk’, are taken over directly from Magadhi. In addition to these nominatives in -e, there are several adverbs that end in -e, such as suve ‘tomorrow’, tadahe ‘on that day’ (also tadahu), atippage ‘too early’ (also atippago).

The final -s is dropped, and the -a- alone remains in okamokata ‘from the water’, tāva- tiṁsa ‘thirty-three’. The final -as is changed to -u through an intermediate -o in tadahu ‘on that day’, mithu ‘mutually’.

Other consonants at the end of a word are simply dropped, and the remaining vowel generally is not changed. There are, however, some cases where it is lengthened, shortened, or a nasal added. Lengthened: dhī ‘fie’, brahā ‘mighty’, parisā ‘assembly’. Shortened: kayira for kayirā. Nasal added: sanaṁ ‘always’, visuṁ ‘separately’, manaṁ ‘nearly’.

Consonant clusters are normally assimilated. The assimilation is generally progressive, so that the first consonant is assimilated to the second. Sometimes, the assimilation is avoided by inserting a vowel. Examples:  -kt- becomes -tt-, as in mutta ‘released’; -kth- becomes -tth-, as in satthi ‘thigh’; -gdh- becomes -ddh-, as in duddha ‘milk’; -gbh- becomes -bbh-, as in pabbhāra ‘a cave’; -ḍg- becomes -gg-, as in khagga ‘a sword’; -dg- becomes -gg-, as in puggala ‘person, individual’; -pt- becomes -tt-, as in vutta ‘shaven’; -bdh- becomes -ddh-, as in laddha ‘taken’; etc.

The assimilation is generally retrogressive when a nasal is the second member of the cluster, or it is avoided by the insertion of a vowel. Examples: -kn- becomes -kk- in sakkoti or sakkuṇāti ‘to be able’, kukkusa ‘grain’; -gn- becomes -gg- in aggi or aggini ‘fire’; -dm- becomes -dd-, as in chadda ‘roof’; etc. Examples of vowel insertion: paduma ‘lotus’; idhuma ‘fire- wood’; supina (also soppa) ‘sleep’; pāpimā ‘sinful’; etc.

Consonant clusters containing y generally assimilate the y to the other consonant. If, however, the first consonant is a dental (t, th, d, dh), the whole group passes into the palatal class. In many cases, the assimilation is avoided by the insertion of an i. Examples (gutturals): ussukka ‘zeal’; (palatals) vuccati ‘said, spoke’; (cerebrals) kuḍḍa ‘a wall’; (dentals) āhacca ‘having told’, ekacca ‘a certain’; (labials) tappati ‘shone, brightened’; etc.

When an r stands before another consonant, it is always assimilated. Examples: sakkharā ‘sugar’; vagga ‘class’; kaṇṇa ‘ear’; gabbha ‘comb’; dassana ‘sight’; etc. When an r follows another consonant, it is also generally assimilated, but there are several examples where the r is retained or a vowel is inserted.

After gutturals, palatals, and cerebrals, v is assimilated. Examples: pakka ‘ripe’; kaṭhati ‘boils’; jalati ‘blazes’; kiṇṇa ‘yeast’. After dentals, v is also usually assimilated. Examples: cattāro ‘four’; taco ‘bark, skin’. However, it remains unchanged in the suffixes -tvā and -tvāṇa, as in ititvija ‘the officiating priest’. Likewise in the pronoun of the second person tvaṁ ‘you’, which also occurs as tuvaṁ and taṁ. The cluster -tv- is changed to -cc- in caccara ‘court’. Though dv is typically assimilated as well, it sometimes remains unchanged, as in dve ‘two’ and dvāra ‘door’. The cluster -nv- is changed to -mm-, as in dhammantari ‘moving in a curve’ (= Sanskrit dhanvantari). After a sibiliant, -v- is generally assimilated, as in assa ‘horse’.

A sibilant preceding or following an explosive is assimilated by the same and generally produces aspiration of the group. Examples: cakkhu ‘eye’; vaccha ‘a tree’; khudda ‘small’; etc.

The rules regarding clusters involving three or more consonants are, on the whole, the same as those involving two consonants. When assimilation takes place, an explosive prevails over the other consonants.

The preceding discussion represents but a small sampling of the modifications that have taken place regarding consonants. For details, more advanced grammars should be consulted.

1.6. Sandhi

The Sanskrit word “sandhi” is used to describe the modification of grammatical forms when they come together in a sentence.  It may be translated as ‘junction’.  The rules concerning sandhi in Pāḷi may be divided into rules of vowel sandhi and rules on mixed sandhi, involving a vowel and a consonant. Consonantal sandhi does not occur in Pāḷi. All of the following rules deal exclusively with so-called “external sandhi”. Here, only the sandhi involving words will be discussed — the sandhi of compounds will be discussed in the chapter on stem formation.

Word sandhi is not as strict in Pāḷi as it is in Sanskrit; it only takes place in certain cases, and the manuscripts vary greatly concerning its use. In prose, it is almost always confined to indeclinables and pronouns, in juxtaposition or in connection with a verb or a noun, as, for instance, in my ayaṁ = me ayaṁ; yan mūna = yad mūna; tasseva = tassa eva. The particles that are most often found in sandhi are ca, iti (ti), api (pi), and eva, as in: kathañ ca = kathaṁ ca; kiñcid eva = kiñci eva; tathāpi = tathā api; etc. The negative na, when followed by a vowel, is generally contracted to n’ as in: n’atthi; n’eva; etc.

The other cases of word sandhi in prose, without any indeclinable or pronoun, are divided into three categories: (1) a vocative beginning with a vowel is preceded by a word ending in a vowel, as in gacch’āvuso; pañcah’Upāli; etc.; (2) a verb is preceded or followed by a noun in grammatical relation to it, as in asana vuṭṭhāya; upajjhāyass’ārocesuṁ; etc.; (3) two nouns are in grammatical relation, as in dukkhass’antaṁ; dvīh’ākārehi.

In verse, word sandhi is much more frequent than is prose, under the influence of metrical requirements. In later texts, it is not uncommon for whole syllables to be lost in sandhi when it is required by the meter, as in chaṅgula = chaḍaṅgula, etc.

A. Vowel Sandhi: 

The rules regarding vowel sandhi are as follows:

1. a + a or ā becomes ā when followed by a single consonant, as in nāhosi = na + ahosi; nāsakkhi = na + asakkhi. When followed by a double consonant, an apostrophe is generally put after the ending consonant of the first word to show that a vowel has been dropped, as in n’atthi = na + atthi; pan’aññaṁ = panna + aññaṁ. In a few cases, ā is also found before a double consonant, as in nāssa = na + assa. A short a is also found before a single consonant in a few instances, such as in c’ahaṁ = ca + ahaṁ; n’ahosi = na + ahosi.
2. a or ā + i or ī becomes e, as in neresi = na + īresi. An exception is iti ‘thus’, which always becomes āti when preceded by a, as in Tissāti = Tissa + iti. However, i is elided by a preceding a in yena’me = yena + ime; pana’me = pana + ime. Finally, ā + i sometimes becomes ī, as in seyyathīdaṁ = seyyathā + idaṁ.
3. a or ā + u or ū becomes o, as in nopeti = na + upeti; pakkhanditodadhiṁ = pakkhanditā + udadhiṁ.  In rare cases, ū occurs instead, as in cūbhayaṁ = ca + ubhayaṁ.
4. a is frequently lost when followed by i or u, as in passath’imaṁ = passatha + imaṁ; yass’indriyāni = yassa + indriyāni.
5. a is generally lost before e and o, as in gaṇhath’etaṁ = gaṇhatha + etaṁ; iv’otataṁ = iva + otataṁ.
6. i, u, or e are sometimes lost after ā, as in disvā’panissayaṁ = disvā + upanissayaṁ; sutvā’va = sutvā + eva. In general, ā is lost before or a long vowel or before a short vowel followed by a double consonant, as in tath’eva = tathā + eva; tay’ajja = tayā + ajja; in rare cases, ā is also lost before a short vowel followed by a single consonant, as in muñcitv’ahaṁ = muñcitvā + ahaṁ.
7. i is generally lost before a following vowel, whether short or long, as in gacchām’ahaṁ = gacchāmi + ahaṁ; idān’ime = idāni + ime; dasah’upāgata = dasahi + upāgata; etc. Some- times, i remains, and the following vowel is lost, as in phalanti’saniyo = phalanti + asaniyo; idāni’ssa = idāni + assa. i + a occasionally becomes ā, as in kiñcāpi = kiñci + api; pāhaṁ = pi + ahaṁ.
8. ī is seldom lost.  There are, however, a few cases of loss, such as:  tuṇh’assa = tuṇhī + assa; dassāhaṁ = dāsī + ahaṁ.
9. i + i becomes ī, as in palujjīti = palujji + iti. i preceded by t (or tt) and followed by another vowel may become y, as in jīvanty elaka = jīvanti + elaka; gutty atha = gutti + atha. In general, however, the cluster ty is changed to cc, especially when the first word is iti, as in iccevaṁ < ity evaṁ = iti + evaṁ. api followed by a vowel may become app, as in app eva = api + eva.
10. u is lost before a vowel, as in samet’āyasmā = sametu + āyasmā; tās’eva = tāsa + eva. In rare cases, a following vowel is lost, as in nu’ttha = nu + attha; kinnu’mā = kinnu + imā.  u + i sometimes becomes ū, as in sadhūti = sadhu + iti. Before a or e, u can be changed to v, as in vatthv ettha = vatthu + ettha; sesesv ayaṁ = sesesu + ayaṁ.
11. e may be lost before a long vowel or before a short vowel following a consonant cluster, as in m’āsi = me + āsi; sac’assa = sace + assa.  Sometimes, a following vowel is lost, as in te’me = te + ime; sace’jja = sace + ajja. Occasionally, e + a becomes ā, as in sacāyaṁ = sace + ayaṁ. e can also be turned into y and a following a lengthened when a single consonant follows, as in tyāhaṁ = te + ahaṁ; myāyaṁ + me + ayaṁ; tyāssa = te + assa — an exception is ty ajja = te + ajja.
12. o is lost before a long or short vowel followed by a double consonant, as in kut’ettha = kuto + ettha; tay’assu = tayo + assu; tat’uddhaṁ = tato + uddhaṁ. A following vowel is sometimes lost, as in so’haṁ = so + ahaṁ; cattāro’me = cattāro + ime, etc. o + a becomes ā, as in dukkhāyaṁ = dukkho + ayaṁ. o can also be turned into v and a following a lengthened when a single consonant follows, as in yvāhaṁ = yo + ahaṁ; svāssu = so + assu; khvāssa = kho + assa — exceptions include khvassa (with short a) = kho + assa; yveva = yo + eva.
13. y and v are often inserted when two vowels come together to avoid a hiatus. y is inserted between a word ending in a or ā when followed by idaṁ or any of the oblique cases of this pronoun which begin with i, as in na yidaṁ = na + idaṁ; mā yime = mā + ime; yatha yidaṁ = yathā + idaṁ (with shortening of the final ā). The same process takes place with eva and iva, the latter of which, however, is changed to viya by metathesis. When a or ā is followed by u or ū, v may be inserted, as in bhantā vudikkhati = bhantā + udikkhati.
14. Sometimes, an m is inserted between two vowels, as in parigaṇiya-m-asesaṁ = parigaṇiya + asesaṁ; idha-m-āhu = idha + āhu. On the other hand, an r is inserted if the following word is iva, as in āragge-r-iva = āragge + iva; sāsapo-r-iva = sāsapo + iva; sikhā-r-iva = sikhā + iva. A preceding final ā is shortened before this r in yatha-r-iva = yathā + eva; tatha-r-iva = tathā + eva.
15. In a great many cases, a lost consonant is restored in order to avoid a hiatus, as in yasmād apeti; etc.

B. Mixed Sandhi:

Original double consonants simplified through assimilation at the beginning of a word can once again be doubled after a word ending in a vowel, as in yatra tthitaṁ = yatra + thitaṁ (Sanskrit yathra sthitam). This is often done in verse when a long syllable is required.

In a few cases, a lost final consonant is restored before another consonant, as in yāvañ c’idaṁ = yāva + ca + idaṁ; etc.

Sometimes,  niggahīta  (ṁ)  replaces  another  consonant,  and,  when  standing  before  a vowel, the original consonant can be restored, as in tad for taṁ, yad for yaṁ, sakid for sakiṁ, etc.

In verse, when a short syllable is required by the meter, niggahīta (ṁ) can be lost before a consonant, as in no ce muñceyya’candimaṁ =  no ce muñceyyaṁ + candimaṁ, or the whole syllable may be dropped, as in piyān’adassanaṁ for piyānaṁ; pāpān’akaraṇaṁ for pāpānaṁ; etc. When the niggahīta is dropped, the remaining a can be contracted with a following a, becoming ā, as in labheyyāhaṁ = labheyyaṁ + ahaṁ; idāhaṁ = idaṁ + ahaṁ.

In late texts only, a vowel following niggahīta can be lost, as in cīrassaṁ’dhunā for adhunā.

1.7. Accent

No doubt, Pāḷi had a distinctive system of accentuation, but this is no longer known. Consequently, the recitation of the texts, and even the pronunciation of individual letters, can differ considerably from region to region.

In reading or reciting the texts, it is now customary to emphasize all long syllables. ■

2

Declension

2.1. Introduction

In Pāḷi, as in Sanskrit, a distinction is made between stems ending in vowels and stems ending in consonants. The whole declension of nouns and adjectives is arranged according to this division. It must, however, be remarked that the vowel stems have expanded at the expense of the consonantal stems and that, therefore, only fragments of the consonantal declension remain. Root-nouns, especially, which are frequent in Sanskrit, have almost entirely disappeared from Pāḷi and have been replaced by dissyllabic stems ending in a vowel. A careful investigation of the old texts has yielded only the following examples of root-nouns: taco (pl.) ‘skin’; pādā (instr.) ‘foot’; vācā (instr.) ‘speech’; pamudi (loc.) ‘joy’; and parisati(ṁ) (loc.) ‘assembly’.

There are two ways in which the consonantal stems have been turned into vowel stems: (1)the final consonant has been dropped and (2) the stem has been augmented by the addition of an -a, and the word is now inflected as an a-stem, masculine, feminine, or neuter, in accordance with the gender of the original noun.

There are only a very few vestiges of the dual in Pāḷi. Examples include: to idh’āgato ‘these two having come’; ubho ‘both’; mātāpitu ‘father and mother’. In general, the plural has replaced the dual, even in such cases as jayampatī and tudampatī ‘man and wife’, where the meaning clearly points to duality.

Pāḷi has three genders: (1) masculine, (2) feminine, and (3) neuter. Pāḷi does not follow the natural division of male and female in assigning gender to nouns, but, rather, has so-called “grammatical gender”. Originally, Pāḷi had three numbers: (1) singular, (2) dual, and (3) plural. However, as pointed out above, there are only a very few remnants of the dual. Thus, for all practical purposes, Pāḷi has only two numbers: (1) singular and (2) plural.

There are eight cases in Pāḷi:

1. Nominative: subject;
2. Vocative: used in addressing persons;
3. Accusative: direct object;
4. Genitive: indicates possession;
5. Dative:  indirect object; indicates the object or person to or for whom something is given or done;
6. Instrumental: indicates the object or person with or by whom something is performed;
7. Ablative: generally indicates separation, expressed by ‘from’;
8. Locative: indicates place (‘in, on, at, upon, etc.’).

2.2. Vowel Stems

There are three declensions for nouns ending in vowels:

1. First declension: nouns ending in -a or -ā;
2. Second declension: nouns ending in -i or -ī;
3. Third declension: nouns ending in -u or –ū.

2.2.1. Case Endings — First Declension

The following are the case endings, which, joined to their bases, make up the forms of the first declension:

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	-o	-ā	-aṁ
Vocative	-a -ā	-a -ā -e	-a
Accusative	-aṁ	-aṁ	-aṁ
Genitive	-assa	-āya	-assa
Dative	-assa -āya	-āya	-assa -āya
Instrumental	-ena	-āya	-ena
Ablative	-ā -asmā -amhā -ato	-āya	-ā -asmā -amhā -ato
Locative	-e -asmiṁ -amhi	-āya -āyaṁ	-e -asmiṁ -amhi
PLURAL
Nominative	-ā	-ā -āyo	-ā -āni
Vocative	-ā	-ā -āyo	-ā -āni
Accusative	-e	-ā -āyo	-e -āni
Genitive	-ānaṁ	-ānaṁ	-ānaṁ
Dative	-ānaṁ	-ānaṁ	-ānaṁ
Instrumental	-ehi -ebhi	-āhi -ābhi	-ehi -ebhi
Ablative	-ehi -ebhi	-āhi -ābhi	-ehi -ebhi
Locative	-esu	-āsu	-esu

Notes:

1. The case ending -bhi is mostly used in poetry.
2. A very old masculine plural nominative ending -ase also occurs.

2.2.2. Masculines and Neuters in -a

dhamma (m.) ‘teaching, doctrine’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	dhammo	dhammā, dhammāse
Voc.	dhamma, dhammā	dhammā
Acc.	dhammaṁ	dhamme
Gen.	dhammassa	dhammānaṁ
Dat.	dhammassa (dhammāya)	dhammānaṁ
Instr.	dhammena	dhammebhi, dhammehi
Abl.	dhammā, dhammasmā, dhammamhā	dhammebhi, dhammehi
Loc.	dhamme, dhammasmiṁ, dhammamhi	dhammesu

rūpa (n.) ‘form’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.-Voc.	rūpaṁ	rūpāni, rūpā
Acc.	rūpaṁ	rūpāni, rūpe
Gen.	rūpassa	rūpānaṁ
Dat.	rūpassa (rūpāya)	rūpānaṁ
Instr.	rūpena	rūpebhi, rūpehi
Abl.	rūpā, rūpasmā, rūpamhā	rūpebhi, rūpehi
Loc.	rūpe, rūpasmiṁ, rūpamhi	rūpesu

rajja (n.) ‘kingship, royalty; kingdom, empire’

	Singular	Plural
Nom	rajjaṁ	rajjāni, rajjā
Voc.	rajja	rajjāni, rajjā
Acc.	rajjaṁ	rajjāni, rajje
.Gen.	rajjassa	rajjānaṁ
Dat.	rajjassa (rajjāya)	rajjānaṁ
Instr.	rajjena	rajjebhi, rajjehi
Abl.	rajjā, rajjasmā, rajjamhā	rajjebhi, rajjehi
Loc.	rajje, rajjasmiṁ, rūpamhi	rajjesu

Notes:

1. The form given in the tables as “dative” is, properly speaking, a “genitive”, which has taken up the functions of dative in Pāḷi. The old dative in -āya, which is shown in parentheses in the above tables, is only used to denote the intention, and is almost synonymous with an infinitive; there are only a few instances in which the dative has a terminative meaning, as in Dhammapada, v. 174, saggāya gacchati ‘goes to (finds one’s way to) the world of the gods’ and Dhammapada, v. 311, nirayāya upakaḍḍhati ‘can send one on the downward course’.
2. The dative atthāya is frequently used in the meaning ‘for the good of, for the sake of’, as in Buddhassa atthāya jīvitam pariccajāmi ‘I will lay down my life for the sake of the Buddha’. There is also an abbreviated dative form atthā used in the same sense, as in bhojanatthā ‘for the sake of food’. Other examples of this abbreviated dative include esanā = esanāya ‘in search of’; anāpucchā = anāpucchāya ‘without asking leave’; lābhā in such sentences as lābhā vata no ‘this is for our advantage’; etc.
3. The ablative represents the instrumental in javā ‘speedily’ and ahiṁsā ‘without harm, harm- lessness’.
4. The ending -sā is often used to indicate an instrumental, as in vāhasā ‘on account of’; talasā ‘by the sole of the foot’; rasasā ‘by taste’; balasā ‘by force’.
5. The ablative endings -asmā and -amhā are taken from the pronominal inflection. 
6. There are two other endings for the ablative, -to and -so, which are found mostly in later texts, though a few examples also occur in the Jātaka and Dhammapada. Examples with -to: gaṇanāto ‘by number’; cāpāto ‘from the bow’; devato ‘from a celestial being’; mettāto ‘from friendship’; orato pāraṁ gacchati, pārato oram āgacchati ‘goes from this end of the field to the further end and back again from the far end to this’. Examples with -so: bhāgaso ‘by portion’; parivattaso ‘by turns’; tīṇi yojanaso ‘three yojanas wide’ (a yojana is a measure of length equivalent to the distance that can be traveled with one yoke [of oxen], that is, a distance of about seven miles). 
7. In the locative, the forms in -e and in -smiṁ or -mhi occur with almost equal frequency, even in the earlier texts. 
8. Besides the instrumental plural endings -ebhi and -ehi given in the above tables, there is also an instrumental ending -e, which is found in older texts. 
9. In the plural of the neuter, in addition to the regular ending -āni for the nominative and accusative, the endings -ā for the nominative and -e for the accusative also occur, both of which have been taken from the masculine declension. Thus: satte dukkhā pamocayi ‘he released the beings from suffering’; pāṇe vihiṁsati = pāṇāni hiṁsati ‘he hurts living creatures’.

2.2.3. Feminines in -ā

kaññā (f.) ‘a young (unmarried) woman, maiden, girl’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	kaññā	kaññā, kaññāyo
Voc.	kaññe	kaññā, kaññāyo
Acc.	kaññaṁ	kaññā, kaññāyo
Gen.	kaññāya	kaññānaṁ
Dat.	kaññāya	kaññānaṁ
Instr.	kaññāya	kaññābhi, kaññāhi
Abl.	kaññāya,	kaññābhi, kaññāhi
Loc.	kaññāyaṁ, kaññāya	kaññāsu

ammā (f.) ‘mother’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	ammā	ammā, ammāyo
Voc.	amma, ammā, amme	ammā, ammāyo
Acc.	ammaṁ	ammā, ammāyo
Gen.	ammāya	ammānaṁ
Dat.	ammāya	ammānaṁ
Instr.	ammāya	ammābhi, ammāhi
Abl.	ammāya,	ammābhi, ammāhi
Loc.	ammāyaṁ, ammāya	ammāsu

Notes:

1. The ending -ā is used to denote the vocative in: ammā, annā, ambā, tātā, all meaning ‘mother’. Besides ammā, a vocative form amma (with short -ă) is also found, especially in the Dhammapada.
2. The locative kaññāya is taken from the genitive.

2.2.4. Adjectives in -a

bāla (adj.) ‘ignorant, foolish, lacking in reason; immature, childish’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	bālo	bālā	bālaṁ
Vocative	bāla, bālā	bāla, bālā, bāle	bāla
Accusative	bālaṁ	bālaṁ	bālaṁ
Genitive	bālassa	bālāya	bālassa
Dative	bālassa (bālāya)	bālāya	bālassa (bālāya)
Instrumental	bālena	bālāya	bālena
Ablative	bālā, bālasmā, bālamhā, bālato	bālāya	bālā, bālasmā, bālamhā, bālato
Locative	bāle, bālasmiṁ, bālamhi	bālāya, bālāyaṁ	bāle, bālasmiṁ, bālamhi
PLURAL
Nominative	bālā	bālā, bālāyo	bālā, bālāni
Vocative	bālā	bālā, bālāyo	bālā, bālāni
Accusative	bāle	bālā, bālāyo	bale, bālāni
Genitive	bālānaṁ	bālānaṁ	bālānaṁ
Dative	bālānaṁ	bālānaṁ	bālānaṁ
Instrumental	bālehi, bālebhi	bālāhi, bālābhi	bālehi, bālebhi
Ablative	bālehi, bālebhi	bālāhi, bālābhi	bālehi, bālebhi
Locative	bālesu	bālāsu	bālesu

Notes:

1. Adjectives ending in -a ~ -ā ~ aṁ are entirely regular throughout the paradigm — all are declined by adding the appropriate endings of the first declension.
2. The masculine and neuter stems end in -a, and the feminine ends in -ā.

2.2.5. Case Endings — Second Declension

The following are the case endings, which, joined to their bases, make up the forms of the second declension:

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	-i	-ī	-i	-ī	-i -iṁ
Vocative	-i	-ī	-i	-ī	-i
Accusative	-iṁ	-iṁ -inaṁ	-iṁ		-iṁ
Genitive	-issa -ino		-iyā		-issa -ino
Dative	-issa -ino		-iyā		-issa -ino
Instrumental	-inā		-iyā		-inā
Ablative	-inā -ismā -imhā		-iyā		-inā -ismā -imhā
Locative	-ismiṁ -imhi		-iyā -iyaṁ		-ismiṁ -imhi
PLURAL
Nominative	-i -iyo -ayo	-ī -ino	-ī -iyo		-ī -īni
Vocative	-i -iyo -ayo	-ī -ino	-ī -iyo		-ī -īni
Accusative	-ī -iyo -ayo	-ī -ino	-ī -iyo		-ī -īni
Genitive	-īnaṁ		-īnaṁ		-īnaṁ
Dative	-īnaṁ		-īnaṁ		-īnaṁ
Instrumental	-īhi -ībhi		-īhi -ībhi		-īhi -ībhi
Ablative	-īhi -ībhi		-īhi -ībhi		-īhi -ībhi
Locative	-īsu		-īsu		-īsu

Notes:

1. Where two sets of endings are given, the first set belongs to stems in -i, the second to stems in -ī; where only one set is given, it belongs equally to stems in -i and to those in -ī.
2. When feminine endings follow a dental stop, they may drop i before y, which can then either remain as a consonant cluster or assimilate according to the regular rules (see Chapter 1).

2.2.6. Masculines and Netuers in -i

aggi (m.) ‘fire, flame, conflagration’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	aggi	aggayo, aggī
Voc.	aggi	aggayo, aggī
Acc.	aggiṁ	aggī, aggayo
Gen.	aggino, aggissa	aggīnaṁ
Dat.	aggino, aggissa	aggīnaṁ
Instr.	agginā	aggībhi, aggīhi
Abl.	agginā, aggismā, aggimhā	aggībhi, aggīhi
Loc.	aggismiṁ, aggimhi	aggīsu

akkhi (n.) ‘eye’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	akkhi, akkhiṁ	akkhīni, akkhī
Voc.	akkhi	akkhīni, akkhī
Acc.	akkhiṁ	akkhīni, akkhī
Gen.	akkhino, akkhissa	akkhīnaṁ
Dat.	akkhino, akkhissa	akkhīnaṁ
Instr.	akkhinā	akkhībhi, akkhīhi
Abl.	akkhinā, akkhismā, akkhimhā	akkhībhi, akkhīhi
Loc.	akkhismiṁ, akkhimhi	akkhīsu

aṭṭhi (n.) ‘bone’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	aṭṭhi, aṭṭhiṁ	aṭṭhīni, aṭṭhī
Voc.	aṭṭhi	aṭṭhīni, aṭṭhī
Acc.	aṭṭhiṁ	aṭṭhīni, aṭṭhī
Gen.	aṭṭhino, aṭṭhissa	aṭṭhīnaṁ
Dat.	aṭṭhino, aṭṭhissa	aṭṭhīnaṁ
Instr.	aṭṭhinā	aṭṭhībhi, aṭṭhīhi
Abl.	aṭṭhinā, aṭṭhismā, aṭṭhhimhā	aṭṭhībhi, aṭṭhīhi
Loc.	aṭṭhini, aṭṭhismiṁ, aṭṭhimhi	aṭṭhīsu

Notes:

1. Beside the regular nominative plural aggayo, the form aggino is also found.
2. In the oblique cases of the plural, a short i is occasionally found in poetry, as in ñātihi ‘a relation, a relative’; paṭisanthāvaruttinaṁ; etc.
3. Examples of the nominative-accusative singular neuter ending -ṁ, formed after the analogy of the a-stems, are not very frequent, but numerous enough to show that the form really exists.

2.2.7. Masculines in -ī

senānī (m.) ‘a general’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	senānī	senānī, senānino
Voc.	senānī	senānī, senānino
Acc.	senāniṁ	senānī, senānino
Gen.	senānissa, senānino	senānīnaṁ
Dat.	senānissa, senānino	senānīnaṁ
Instr.	senāninā	senānībhi, senānīhi
Abl.	senānismā, senānimhā	senānībhi, senānīhi
Loc.	senānismiṁ, senānimhi	senānīsu

2.2.8. Feminines in -i

ratti (f.) ‘night’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	ratti	rattiyo, rattī
Voc.	ratti	rattiyo, rattī
Acc.	rattiṁ	rattī, rattiyo
Gen.	rattiyā	rattīnaṁ
Dat.	rattiyā	rattīnaṁ
Instr.	rattiyā	rattībhi, rattīhi
Abl.	rattiyā	rattībhi, rattīhi
Loc.	rattiyaṁ, rattiyā	rattīsu

jāti (f.) ‘birth’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	jāti	jātī, jātiyo, jatyo, jacco
Voc.	jāti	jātī, jātiyo, jatyo, jacco
Acc.	jātiṁ	jātī, jātiyo, jatyo, jacco
Gen.	jātiyā, jatyā, jaccā	jātīnaṁ
Dat.	jātiyā, jatyā, jaccā	jātīnaṁ
Instr.	jātiyā, jatyā, jaccā	jātībhi, jātīhi
Abl.	jātiyā, jatyā, jaccā	jātībhi, jātīhi
Loc.	jātiyā, jatyā, jaccā, jātiyaṁ, jatyaṁ, jaccaṁ	jātīsu

Notes:

1. The nominative plural rattī is formed exactly like the corresponding form of the masculine stems, as in aggī cited above, most probably after the analogy of the a-stems.
2. In the genitive singular, the form kasino (f.) ‘agriculture’ also occurs, like aggino.
3. There is also a locative singular in -o, ratto; the locative singular rattiyā is, properly speaking, a genitive. Confusion between these two cases has taken place, as also in kaññāya, genitive and also locative singular of kaññā.
4. In place of the sequence -iy-, simple -y- is also found, and, when combined with a preceding dental, this may yield -cc-, as in nikacca (with shortened final -ā) ‘fraud, deceit, cheating’ from nikatyā; jaccā for jātiyā ‘birth’; sammuccā for sammutiyā ‘consent, permission’; ratyā for rattiyā ‘night’; etc.

2.2.9. Feminines in -ī

The declension of stems ending in -ī is similar to the stems ending in -i:

nadī (f.) ‘river

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	nadī	nadī, nadiyo, nadyo, najjo
Voc.	nadī	nadī, nadiyo, nadyo, najjo
Acc.	nadiṁ	nadī, nadiyo, najjo
Gen.	nadiyā, nadyā, najjā	nadīnaṁ
Dat.	nadiyā, nadyā, najjā	nadīnaṁ
Instr.	nadiyā, nadyā, najjā	nadībhi, nadīhi
Abl.	nadiyā, nadyā, najjā	nadībhi, nadīhi
Loc.	nadiyā, nadyā, najjā, nadiyaṁ, nadyaṁ, najjaṁ	nadīsu

Notes:

1. In the ablative singular, there is a contracted form pesī for pesiyā ‘a lump, a mass of flesh’.
2. An ablative in -to also exists, as in sirito from sirī ‘splendor, beauty’.
3. From dabbī ‘spoon’, there is the genitive davyā.
4. There is also a rare enlarged form of the genitive plural in -iyānaṁ, as in bhaginīyānaṁ ‘sister’; tevīsatiyānaṁ ‘twenty-three’; caturasītiyānaṁ ‘eighty-four’.
5. In general, the declension of itthī or thī ‘woman’ is identical to that of nadī. However, in the accusative singular, there is an additional form itthiyaṁ; in the genitive singular, thiyaṁ; and, in the locative singular, itthiyā.

2.2.10. Adjectives in –i and -ī

hari (adj.) ‘green, tawny’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	hari	harinī	hari
Vocative	hari	harinī	hari
Accusative	hariṁ	hariniṁ	hariṁ
Genitive	harissa, harino	hariniyā	harissa, harino
Dative	harissa, harino	hariniyā	harissa, harino
Instrumental	harinā	hariniyā	harinā
Ablative	harinā, harismā, harimhā	hariniyā	harinā, harismā, harimhā
Locative	harismiṁ, harimhi	hariniyā, hariniyaṁ	harismiṁ, harimhi
PLURAL
Nominative	harī, hariyo, harayo	harinī, hariniyo	harī, harīni
Vocative	harī, hariyo, harayo	harinī, hariniyo	harī, harīni
Accusative	harī, hariyo, harayo	harinī, hariniyo	harī, harīni
Genitive	harīnaṁ	harinīnaṁ	harīnaṁ
Dative	harīnaṁ	harinīnaṁ	harīnaṁ
Instrumental	harīhi, harībhi	harinīhi, harinībhi	harīhi, harībhi
Ablative	harīhi, harībhi	harinīhi, harinībhi	harīhi, harībhi
Locative	harīsu	harinīsu	harīsu

vādī (vādin) (adj.) ‘speaking (of), asserting, talking’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	vādī	vādinī	vādi
Vocative	vādī	vādinī	vādi
Accusative	vādiṁ, vādinaṁ	vādiniṁ	vādiṁ
Genitive	vādissa, vādino	vādiniyā	vādissa, vādino
Dative	vādissa, vādino	vādiniyā	vādissa, vādino
Instrumental	vādinā	vādiniyā	vādinā
Ablative	vādinā, vādismā, vādimhā	vādiniyā	vādinā, vādismā, vādimhā
Locative	vādini, vādismiṁ, vādimhi	vādiniyā, vādiniyaṁ	vādini, vādismiṁ, vādimhi
PLURAL
Nominative	vādī, vādino	vādinī, vādiniyo	vādī, vādīni
Vocative	vādī	vādinī	vādī
Accusative	vādī, vādino	vādinī, vādiniyo	vādī, vādīni
Genitive	vādīnaṁ	vādinīnaṁ	vādīnaṁ
Dative	vādīnaṁ	vādinīnaṁ	vādīnaṁ
Instrumental	vādīhi, vādībhi	vādinīhi, vādinībhi	vādīhi, vādībhi
Ablative	vādīhi, vādībhi	vādinīhi, vādinībhi	vādīhi, vādībhi
Locative	vādīsu	vādinīsu	vādīsu

Notes:

1. Adjectives ending in -i have masculine and neuter stems in -i and are regularly declined by adding the appropriate case endings of the second declension.
2. The feminine is formed from the masculine stem by adding -nī. The feminine is declined with the case endings of the second declension.
3. Adjectives ending in -ī really belong to the consonantal declension, having masculine and neuter stems in -in-. The feminine is formed from the masculine by adding -ī and is declined with the case endings of the second declension.

2.2.11. Case Endings — Third Declension

The following are the case endings, which, joined to their bases, make up the forms of the third declension:

	Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	-u	-ū	-u	-ū	-u -uṁ
Vocative	-u	-ū	-u	-ū	-u
Accusative	-uṁ		-uṁ		-uṁ
Genitive	-ussa -uno		-uyā		-ussa -uno
Dative	-ussa -uno		-uyā		-ussa -uno
Instrumental	-unā		-uyā		-unā
Ablative	-unā -usmā -umhā		-uyā		-unā -usmā -umhā
Locative	-usmiṁ -umhi		-uyā -uyaṁ		-usmiṁ -umhi
PLURAL
Nominative	-ū -avo	-ū -uvo	-ū -uyo		-ū -ūni
Vocative	-ū -avo	-ū -uvo	-ū -uyo		-ū -ūni
Accusative	-ū -avo	-ū -uvo	-ū -uyo		-ū -ūni
Genitive	-ūnaṁ		-ūnaṁ		-ūnaṁ
Dative	-ūnaṁ		-ūnaṁ		-ūnaṁ
Instrumental	-ūhi		-ūhi		-ūhi
	-ūbhi		-ūbhi		-ūbhi
Ablative	-ūhi		-ūhi		-ūhi
	-ūbhi		-ūbhi		-ūbhi
Locative	-ūsu		-ūsu		-ūsu

2.2.12. Masculines and Neuters in -u and -ū

bhikkhu (m.) ‘Monk’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	bhikkhu	bhikkhavo, bhikkhū
Voc.	bhikkhu	bhikkhavo, bhikkhū
Acc.	bhikkhuṁ	bhikkhū, bhikkhavo
Gen.	bhikkhuno, bhikkhussa	bhikkhūnaṁ
Dat.	bhikkhuno, bhikkhussa	bhikkhūnaṁ
Instr.	bhikkhunā	bhikkhūbhi, bhikkhūhi
Abl.	bhikkhunā, bhikkhusmā, bhikkhumhā	bhikkhūbhi, bhikkhūhi
Loc.	bhikkhusmiṁ, bhikkhumhi	bhikkhūsu

cakkhu (n.) ‘eye (as organ of sense)’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	cakkhu, cakkhuṁ	cakkhūni, cakkhū
Voc.	cakkhu	cakkhūni, cakkhū
Acc.	cakkhuṁ	cakkhūni, cakkhū
Gen.	cakkhuno, cakkhussa	cakkhūnaṁ
Dat.	cakkhuno, cakkhussa	cakkhūnaṁ
Instr.	cakkhunā	cakkhūbhi, cakkhūhi
Abl.	cakkhunā, cakkhusmā, cakkhumhā	cakkhūbhi, cakkhūhi
Loc.	cakkhusmiṁ, cakkhumhi	cakkhūsu

pabhū (m.) ‘lord, master, ruler, owner’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	pabhū	pabhuvo, pabhū
Voc.	pabhū	pabhuvo, pabhū
Acc.	pabhuṁ	pabhū, pabhuvo
Gen.	pabhuno, pabhhussa	pabhūnaṁ
Dat.	pabhhuno, pabhussa	pabhūnaṁ
Instr.	pabhunā	pabhūbhi, pabhūhi
Abl.	pabhunā, pabhusmā, pabhumhā	pabhūbhi, pabhūhi
Loc.	pabhusmiṁ, pabhumhi	pabhūsu

Notes:

1. In the vocative singular, the ending -o is also found, as in Sutano ‘O Sutanu’.
2. A remnant of the old genitive singular ending -os is found in hetu (= hetos) ‘cause’s, reason’s, condition’s’.
3. The -ū- found in the oblique cases of the plural is occasionally shortened to -ŭ- in poetry, as in jantuhi (instr.-abl. pl.), jantunaṁ (dat.-gen. pl.) ‘creatures, living beings, persons’; bhikkhusu (loc. pl.) ‘Monks’; etc.
4. Irregular forms of the nominative plural include jantuno, jantuyo ‘creatures, living beings, persons’; mittaduno ‘those who injure or betray their friends’; hetuyo ‘causes, conditions’.
5. Masculine nouns ending in -ū keep the long vowel in the nominative singular but shorten it in the remaining cases, as in abhibhū (nom. sg.) ‘one who has power over another or others; a lord or master’. The nominative plural is abhibhū or abhibhuvo; from sabbaññū ‘omni- science’, the nominative plural is sabbaññū or sabbaññuno; from sahabhū ‘arising together with’, the nominative plural is sahabhū, sahabhuvo, or sahabhuno.
6. The neuters in -u form the nominative-vocative-accusative plural either in -ū or -ūni, as in (nom. pl.) madhū, madhūni ‘honey’. The nominative-accusative singular can take -ṁ, like the corresponding forms of the i-stems.

2.2.13. Feminines in -u and -ū

dhenu (f.) ‘a milch cow’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	dhenu	dhenū, dhenuyo, dhenuvo
Voc.	dhenu	dhenū, dhenuyo, dhenuvo
Acc.	dhenuṁ	dhenū, dhenuyo
Gen.	dhenuyā	dhenūnaṁ
Dat.	dhenuyā	dhenūnaṁ
Instr.	dhenuyā	dhenūbhi, dhenūhi
Abl.	dhenuyā	dhenūbhi, dhenūhi
Loc.	dhenuyaṁ, dhenuyā	dhenūsu

vadhū (f.) ‘daughter-in-law’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	vadhū	vadhū, vadhuyo
Voc.	vadhū	vadhū, vadhuyo
Acc.	vadhuṁ	vadhū, vadhuyo
Gen.	vadhuyā	vadhūnaṁ
Dat.	vadhuyā	vadhūnaṁ
Instr.	vadhuyā	vadhūbhi, vadhūhi
Abl.	vadhuyā	vadhūbhi, vadhūhi
Loc.	vadhuyaṁ, vadhuyā	vadhūsu

Notes:

1. The locative singular of bhū ‘earth’ is bhuvi.
2. Though neuter rather than feminine, the genitive singular of massu ‘beard’ is massuyā, in agreement with the feminine genitive singular.
3. There is also an ablative singular ending -to, as in nathuto ‘from the nose’; jambuto ‘from the rose-apple tree’; etc.
4. From dhātu ‘element’, there is a locative singular dhātuyā.
5. The feminines ending in -ū follow the declension of dhenu except that the nominative singular may end in -ū, as in vadhū ‘son’s wife, daughter-in-law’, though vadhu is also found; sarabhū (the name of a river, that is, ‘the Sarabhū River’); camū ‘a kind of small army’; pādū ‘shoe’; sassū ‘mother-in-law’ (also sassu).

2.2.14. Adjectives in -u and -ū

garu (adj.) ‘heavy’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	garu	garunī	garu
Vocative	garu	garunī	garu
Accusative	garuṁ	garuniṁ	garuṁ
Genitive	garussa, garuno	garuniyā	garussa, garuno
Dative	garussa, garuno	garuniyā	garussa, garuno
Instrumental	garunā	garuniyā	garunā
Ablative	garunā, garusmā, garumhā	garuniyā	garunā, garusmā, garumhā
Locative	garusmiṁ, garumhi	garuniyā, garuniyaṁ	garusmiṁ, garumhi
PLURAL
Nominative	garū, garavo	garunī, garuniyo	garū, garūni
Vocative	garū, garavo	garunī, garuniyo	garū, garūni
Accusative	garū, garavo	garunī, garuniyo	garū, garūni
Genitive	garūnaṁ	garunīnaṁ	garūnaṁ
Dative	garūnaṁ	garunīnaṁ	garūnaṁ
Instrumental	garūhi, garūbhi	garunīhi, garunībhi	garūhi, garūbhi
Ablative	garūhi, garūbhi	garunīhi, garunībhi	garūhi, garūbhi
Locative	garūsu	garunīsu	garūsu

abhibhū (adj.) ‘overcoming, conquering, vanquishing, having power over’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	abhibhū	abhibhunī	abhibhū
Vocative	abhibhū	abhibhunī	abhibhū
Accusative	abhibhuṁ	abhibhuniṁ	abhibhuṁ
Genitive	abhibhussa, abhibhuno	abhibhuniyā	abhibhussa, abhibhuno
Dative	abhibhussa, abhibhuno	abhibhuniyā	abhibhussa, abhibhuno
Instrumental	abhibhunā	abhibhuniyā	abhibhunā
Ablative	abhibhunā, abhibhusmā, abhibhumhā	abhibhuniyā	abhibhunā, abhibhusmā, abhibhumhā
Locative	abhibhusmiṁ, abhibhumhi	abhibhuniyā, abhibhuniyaṁ	abhibhusmiṁ, abhibhumhi
PLURAL
Nominative	abhibhū, abhibhuvo	abhibhunī, abhibhuniyo	abhibhū, abhibhūni
Vocative	abhibhū, abhibhuvo	abhibhunī, abhibhuniyo	abhibhū, abhibhūni
Accusative	abhibhū, abhibhuvo	abhibhunī, abhibhuniyo	abhibhū, abhibhūni
Genitive	abhibhūnaṁ	abhibhunīnaṁ	abhibhūnaṁ
Dative	abhibhūnaṁ	abhibhunīnaṁ	abhibhūnaṁ
Instrumental	abhibhūhi, abhibhūbhi	abhibhunīhi, abhibhunībhi	abhibhūhi, abhibhūbhi
Ablative	abhibhūhi, abhibhūbhi	abhibhunīhi, abhibhunībhi	abhibhūhi, abhibhūbhi
Locative	abhibhūsu	abhibhunīsu	abhibhūsu

Notes:

1. Adjectives ending in -u and -ū have masculine and neuter stems in -u and -ū and are regularly declined by adding the appropriate case endings of the third declension.
2. The feminine is formed from the masculine stem by adding -nī, before which -ū- is always shortened. The feminine is declined with the case endings of the second declension.

2.2.15. Special Nouns

go (m.-f.) ‘cow, ox, bull; (pl.) cattle’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	go	gavo, gāvo
Voc.	go	gavo, gāvo
Acc.	gaṁ, gavaṁ, gāvaṁ, gāvuṁ	gavo, gāvo
Gen.	gavassa, gāvassa	gavaṁ, gonaṁ, gunnaṁ
Dat.	gavassa, gāvassa	gavaṁ, gonaṁ, gunnaṁ
Instr.	gavena, gāvena	gobhi, gohi
Abl.	gavā, gāvā, gavasmā, gāvasmā, gavamhā, gāvamhā	gobhi, gohi
Loc.	gave, gāve, gavasmiṁ, gāvasmiṁ, gavamhi, gāvamhi	gosu, gavesu, gāvesu

Notes:

1. A variant stem, gava or gāva, which is inflected like a masculine a-stem, appears throughout the paradigm.
2. The nominative plural form gavā is also found.
3. The nominative plural of the feminine stem gāvī ‘cow’ is gāviyo.
4. All of the other old diphthong stems found in Sanskrit have disappeared in Pāḷi: nau ‘boat, ship’ has been replaced by nāvā, which follows the declension of the feminine ā-stems; dyu ‘day’ has become diva, which follows the declension of the neuter a-stems, with the only exception being the instrumental singular divā ‘by day’, which is used like an adverb in Pāḷi.

sakhi (m.) ‘friend’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	sakhā	sakhāyo, sakhāno, sakhino
Voc.	sakha, sakhā, sakhi, sakhī, sakhe	sakhāyo, sakhāno, sakhino
Acc.	sakhānaṁ, sakhaṁ, sakhāram	sakhī, sakhāyo, sakhāno, sakhino
Gen.	sakhino, sakhissa	sakhārānaṁ, sakhīnaṁ
Dat.	sakhino, sakhissa	sakhārānaṁ, sakhīnaṁ
Instr.	sakhinā	sakhārebhi, sakhārehi, sakhebhi, sakhehi
Abl.	sakhinā	sakhārebhi, sakhārehi, sakhebhi, sakhehi
Loc.	sakhe	sakhāresu, sakhesu

Notes:

1. The ablative singular forms sakhārasmā and sakhito also occur.

2.3. Consonant Stems

Except for adjectives in -mā and -vā and stems in -mant and -vant, there are relatively few words belonging to the consonantal declension. Moreover, most of these take the endings of the vowel declensions in most of their forms, having special endings in only a few forms.

2.3.1. Stems Ending in Nasals

attan (m.) ‘self’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	attā	attāno
Voc.	atta, attā	attāno
Acc.	attānaṁ, attanaṁ, attaṁ	attāno, attano
Gen.	attano	attānaṁ, attanaṁ
Dat.	attano	attānaṁ, attanaṁ
Instr.	attanā [attena]	attanebhi, attanehi
Abl.	attanā, attasmā, attamhā	attanebhi, attanehi
Loc.	attain, attasmiṁ, attamhi	attanesu

Notes:

1. Stems ending in nasals are considered by the native grammarians to belong to the vowel- stems.
2. A parallel form is ātuman ‘self’, with the same inflection.

brahman (n.) ‘Brahmā; a state like that of Brahmā’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	brahmā	brahmāno
Voc.	brahme	brahmāno
Acc.	brahmānaṁ, brahmaṁ	brahmāno
Gen.	brahmuno, [brahmassa]	brahmānaṁ, brahmunaṁ
Dat.	brahmuno, [brahmassa]	brahmānaṁ, brahmunaṁ
Instr.	brahmanā, brahmunā	brahmebhi, brahmehi
Abl.	brahmanā, brahmunā, brahmasmā	brahmebhi, brahmehi
Loc.	brahmani, brahmuni, brahmasmiṁ	brahmesu

Notes:

1. The vocative singular brahme ‘O Brahmā’ is formed after the analogy of the ā-stems.

rājan (m.) ‘king’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	rājā	rājāno
Voc.	raja, rājā	rājāno
Acc.	rājānaṁ, rājaṁ	rājāno
Gen.	rañño, rājino, [rājassa]	raññaṁ, rājūnaṁ, rājānaṁ
Dat.	rañño, rājino, [rājassa]	raññaṁ, rājūnaṁ, rājānaṁ
Instr.	raññā, rājenā	rājūbhi, rājūhi, rājebhi, rājehi
Abl.	raññā, rājasmā	rājūbhi, rājūhi, rājebhi, rājehi
Loc.	raññe, raññi, rājini	rājūsu, rājesu

Notes:

1. The oblique cases in the plural are derived from a stem rāju-.
2. There is also an instrumental singular muddhanā from (m. nom. sg.) muddhā ‘head’ and a locative singular muddhani. This stem exhibits a mixture of -a- and -an- forms.

yuvan (m.) ‘a youth, a young man’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	yuvā	yuvāno, yuvānā
Voc.	yuva, yuvā, yuvāna, yuvānā	yuvāno, yuvānā
Acc.	yuvānaṁ, yuvaṁ	yuvāne, yuve
Gen.	yuvānassa, yuvassa	yuvānānaṁ, yuvānaṁ
Dat.	yuvānassa, yuvassa	yuvānānaṁ, yuvānaṁ
Instr.	yuvānā, yuvānena, yuvena	yuvānebhi, yuvānehi, yuvebhi, yuvehi
Abl.	yuvānā , yuvānasmā, yuvānamhā	yuvānebhi, yuvānehi, yuvebhi, yuvehi
Loc.	yuvāne, yuve, yuvānasmiṁ, yuvānamhi, yuvasmiṁ , yuvamhi	yuvānesu, yuvāsu, yuvesu

Notes:

1. Most of the cases are built from a stem yuvāna.

san (m.) ‘dog’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	sā	sā, [sāno]
Voc.	sa	sā
Acc.	saṁ, [sānaṁ]	se
Gen.	sassa	sānaṁ
Dat.	sāya, sassa	sānaṁ
Instr.	sena	sābhi, sāhi
Abl.	sā, sasmā, samhā	sābhi, sāhi
Loc.	se, sasmiṁ, samhi	sāsu

Notes:

1. The following nominative singular forms also occur: sāno, svāno, suvāno, soṇo, and sūṇo.
2. Several nouns form only some cases according to the nasal declension, while the other cases are formed according to another declension, as in kamma (n.) ‘action, deed’, which has the following cases: (instrumental singular) kammunā, kammanā, kammena; (genitive singular) kammuno and kammassa; (ablative singular) kammā; (locative singular) kammani. Likewise, thāma (n.) ‘strength’ forms part of its cases according to the nasal declension, such as (instru- mental singular) thāmunā, but generally follows the a-declension. Other examples include addhan (m.) ‘road, way’ and bhasma(n) (n.) ‘ashes’.

puman (m.) ‘a male, a man’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	pumā	pumāno
Voc.	pumā, pumaṁ	pumāno
Acc.	pumaṁ, pumānaṁ	pumāno
Gen.	pumuno, pumassa	pumānaṁ
Dat.	pumuno, pumassa	pumānaṁ
Instr.	pumānā, pumunā, pumena	pumānebhi, pumānehi
Abl.	pumunā	pumānebhi, pumānehi
Loc.	pumāne, pume, pumasmiṁ, pumamhi	pumāsu, pumesu

Notes:

1. There is also a nominative singular pumo.

daṇḍin (m.) ‘a Brahmin; a type of ascetic’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	daṇḍī	daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Voc.	daṇḍī	daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Acc.	daṇḍiṁ, daṇḍinaṁ	daṇḍī, daṇḍino
Gen.	daṇḍissa, daṇḍino	daṇḍīnaṁ
Dat.	daṇḍissa, daṇḍino	daṇḍīnaṁ
Instr.	daṇḍinā	daṇḍībhi, daṇḍīhi
Abl.	daṇḍinā, daṇḍismā, daṇḍimhā	daṇḍībhi, daṇḍīhi
Loc.	daṇḍī	daṇḍīsu

Notes:

1. The accusative plural of brahmacārin ‘leading the holy life, chaste, pious’ is brahmacariye.
2. The nominative plural of dīpin ‘panther, leopard, tiger’ is dīpiyo.
3. The oblique cases of the plural have a short i only in poetry.
4. A nominative singular with short i occurs in seṭṭhi ‘a treasurer, banker; a wealthy merchant’.
5. Examples of enlarged stems are nominative singular sāramatino from sārin ‘wandering’; locative plural verinesu from verin ‘hostile, inimical’.

2.3.2. Stems in -ant

bhavant (m.) ‘Venerable Sir, Lord’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	bhavaṁ	bhavanto, bhonto, bhavantā
Voc.	bho, bhonto	bhavanto, bhonto, bhante
Acc.	bhavantaṁ, bhotaṁ	bhavante, bhonte
Gen.	bhavato, bhoto, bhavantassa
Dat.	bhavato, bhoto, bhavantassa
Instr.	bhavatā, bhotā, bhavantena
Abl.	bhavatā, bhotā
Loc.

Notes:

1. The feminine singular forms are bhavantī, bhavatī, bhotī; plural bhotiyo.

2.3.3. Adjectives in -at and -ant

guṇavat, guṇavant (adj.) ‘virtuous’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	guṇavā, guṇavanto	guṇavatī, guṇavantī	guṇavaṁ, guṇavantaṁ
Vocative	guṇavaṁ, guṇava, guṇavā	guṇavatī, guṇavantī	guṇava, guṇavā, guṇavaṁ
Accusative	guṇavantaṁ, guṇavaṁ	guṇavatiṁ, guṇavantiṁ	guṇavaṁ, guṇavantaṁ
Genitive	guṇavato, guṇavantassa	guṇavatiyā, guṇavantiyā	guṇavato, guṇavantassa
Dative	guṇavato, guṇavantassa	guṇavatiyā, guṇavantiyā	guṇavato, guṇavantassa
Instrumental	guṇavatā, guṇavantena	guṇavatiyā, guṇavantiyā	guṇavatā, guṇavantena
Ablative	guṇavatā, guṇavantasmā, guṇavantamhā	guṇavatiyā, guṇavantiyā	guṇavatā, guṇavantamā, guṇavantamhā
Locative	guṇavati, guṇavantasmiṁ, guṇavantamhi	guṇavatiyā, guṇavatiyaṁ, guṇavantiyā, guṇavantiyaṁ	guṇavati, guṇavantasmiṁ, guṇavantamhi
PLURAL
Nominative	guṇavantā, guṇavanto	guṇavatī, guṇavavatiyo, guṇavantī, guṇavantiyo	guṇavantā, guṇavantāni
Vocative	guṇavantā, guṇavanto	guṇavatī, guṇavavatiyo, guṇavantī, guṇavantiyo	guṇavantā, guṇavantāni
Accusative	guṇavante	guṇavatī, guṇavavatiyo, guṇavantī, guṇavantiyo	guṇavantā, guṇavantāni
Genitive	guṇavataṁ, guṇavantānaṁ	guṇavatīnaṁ, guṇavantīnaṁ	guṇavataṁ, guṇavantānaṁ
Dative	guṇavataṁ, guṇavantānaṁ	guṇavatīnaṁ, guṇavantīnaṁ	guṇavataṁ, guṇavantānaṁ
Instrumental	guṇavantebhi, guṇavantehi	guṇavatībhi, guṇavatīhi, guṇavantībhi guṇavantīhi	guṇavantebhi, guṇavantehi
Ablative	guṇavantebhi, guṇavantehi	guṇavatībhi, guṇavatīhi, guṇavantībhi guṇavantīhi	guṇavantebhi, guṇavantehi
Locative	guṇavantesu	guṇavatīsu, guṇavantīsu	guṇavantesu

mahat, mahant (adj.) ‘great, large’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	mahā, mahaṁ† mahanto	mahatī, mahantī	mahaṁ, mahantaṁ
Vocative	maha, mahā, mahaṁ	mahatī, mahantī	maha, mahā, mahaṁ
Accusative	mahantaṁ	mahatiṁ, mahantiṁ	mahaṁ, mahantaṁ
Genitive	mahato, mahantassa	mahatiyā, mahantiyā	mahato, mahantassa
Dative	mahato, mahantassa	mahatiyā, mahantiyā	mahato, mahantassa
Instrumental	mahatā, mahantena	mahatiyā, mahantiyā	mahatā, mahantena
Ablative	mahatā, mahantasmā, mahantamhā	mahatiyā, mahantiyā	mahatā, mahantamā, mahantamhā
Locative	mahati, mahante, mahantasmiṁ, mahantamhi	mahatiyā, mahatiyaṁ, mahantiyā, mahantiyaṁ	mahati, mahante, mahantasmiṁ, mahantamhi
PLURAL
Nominative	mahantā, mahanto	mahatī, mahatiyo, mahantī, mahantiyo	mahantā, mahantāni
Vocative	mahantā, mahanto	mahatī, mahatiyo, mahantī, mahantiyo	mahantā†, mahantāni†
Accusative	mahantā, mahanto	mahatī, mahatiyo, mahantī, mahantiyo	mahantā, mahantāni
Genitive	mahataṁ, mahantānaṁ	mahatīnaṁ, mahantīnaṁ	mahataṁ, mahantānaṁ
Dative	mahataṁ, mahantānaṁ	mahatīnaṁ, mahantīnaṁ	mahataṁ, mahantānaṁ
Instrumental	mahantebhi, mahantehi	mahatībhi, mahatīhi, mahantībhi mahantīhi	mahantebhi, mahantehi
Ablative	mahantebhi, mahantehi	mahatībhi, mahatīhi, mahantībhi mahantīhi	mahantebhi, mahantehi
Locative	mahantesu	mahatīsu, mahantīsu	mahantesu

{^† Corrected}

Notes:

1. Participles in -ant follow this declension except for the nominative singular, which appears as -aṁ or -anto, as in gacchaṁ, gacchanto ‘going’.
2. A nominative from the weak form is found in jīvato for jīvanto ‘living’ and, in the accusative, in vajataṁ ‘going, proceeding’.
3. From the root kar- ‘to act, to perform, to make, to do’, a participle nominative plural masculine karontā ‘acting, doing’ is found, as well as nominative singular feminine karontī and genitive singular masculine karoto.
4. The nominative singular forms of arahant ‘Arahat’ are arahaṁ and arahā, the former being the regular form. In the nominative plural, arahanto and arahā are found.
5. The regular nominative singular mahā ‘great, extensive, big, important, venerable’ occurs separately and in compounds. There is a single instance of a nominative singular mahaṁ.
6. The following forms occur in the neuter nominative singular: brahā ‘very great, lofty, high’; madhuvā ‘honeyed’; asaṁ ‘being’.

2.3.4. Stems in -r

pitar (m.) ‘father’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	pitā	pitaro
Voc.	pita, pitā	pitaro
Acc.	pitaraṁ, pituṁ	pitaro, pitare
Gen.	pitu, pituno, pitussa	pitarānaṁ, pitānaṁ, pitūnaṁ, pitunnaṁ
Dat.	pitu, pituno, pitussa	pitarānaṁ, pitānaṁ, pitūnaṁ, pitunnaṁ
Instr.	pitarā, pitunā	pitarebhi, pitarehi, pitūbhi, pitūhi
Abl.	pitarā, pitu	pitarebhi, pitarehi, pitūbhi, pitūhi
Loc.	pitari	pitaresu, pitūsu

mātar (f.) ‘mother’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	mātā	mātaro
Voc.	māta, mātā	mātaro
Acc.	mātaraṁ	mātaro, mātare
Gen.	mātu, mātuyā, mātyā	mātarānaṁ, mātānaṁ, mātūnaṁ, mātunnaṁ
Dat.	mātu, mātuyā, mātyā	mātarānaṁ, mātānaṁ, mātūnaṁ, mātunnaṁ
Instr.	mātarā, mātuyā, mātyā	mātarebhi, mātarehi, mātūbhi, mātūhi
Abl.	mātarā, mātuyā, mātyā	mātarebhi, mātarehi, mātūbhi, mātūhi
Loc.	mātari, mātuyaṁ, mātyaṁ, mātaresu, mātūsu	mātuyā, mātyā

Notes:

1. The ablative singular forms pitito and mātito also occur.
2. The declension of dhītar ‘daughter’ is, on the whole, the same as that of mātar, except for vocative singular dhīte and accusative plural dhītā. In composition, the following forms are found: dhīti-, as in dhītiṭṭhāna, and dhītu-, as in dhītuhetu.

satthar (m.) ‘teacher, instructor’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	satthā	satthāro
Voc.	satthā, sattha	satthāro
Acc.	sattharaṁ, satthāraṁ	satthāro, satthāre
Gen.	satthu, satthussa	satthānaṁ, satthārānaṁ
Dat.	satthu, satthussa	satthānaṁ, satthārānaṁ
Instr.	satthārā, sattharā, satthunā	satthārebhi, satthārehi
Abl.	satthārā, sattharā	satthārebhi, satthārehi
Loc.	satthari	satthāresu

Notes:

1. Here also, some stems have been converted to the a-declension, as in sallakatta ‘a physician, a surgeon’, literally, ‘one who works on the poisoned arrow’; nāhapita ‘a barber’; theta ‘firm, reliable, trustworthy, true’; etc.
2. In composition, the stem generally ends in -u, as in sotu = sotar ‘hearer’; bhattu = bhattar ‘husband’; etc.
3. A genitive plural ending -ūnaṁ is found in sotūnaṁ ‘of the hearers’.
4. An instrumental singular satthāya ‘by the teacher’ also occurs.

2.3.5. Stems in -s

manas (n.) ‘the mind’

	Singular
Nom.	mano, manaṁ
Voc.	mano, manaṁ
Acc.	mano, manaṁ
Gen.	manaso, manassa
Dat.	manaso, manassa
Instr.	manasā, manena
Abl.	manasā, manasmā, manamhā
Loc.	manasi , mane, manasmiṁ, manamhi

Notes:

1. The plural of manas is not in use. Other s-stems form the plural after the a-declension.
2. Comparatives in -yo, -iyyo follow the declension of manas, as in seyyo ‘better’; etc.

āyus (n.) ‘life’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	āyu, āyuṁ	āyūni, āyū
Voc.	āyu, āyuṁ	āyūni, āyū
Acc.	āyu, āyuṁ	āyūni, āyū
Gen.	āyussa, āyuno	āyūnaṁ, āyusaṁ
Dat.	āyussa, āyuno	āyūnaṁ, āyusaṁ
Instr.	āyusā, āyunā	āyūbhi, āyūhi
Abl.	āyusā, āyunā	āyūbhi, āyūhi
Loc.	āyusi, āyuni	āyūsu

2.4. Comparison of Adjectives

In Pāḷi, as in Sanskrit, adjectives agree in case, gender, and number with the nouns they qualify. Adjectives have three degrees of comparison:

1. Positive: expresses the simple quality;
2. Comparative: expresses a higher or lower degree of the quality;
3. Superlative: expresses the highest or lowest degree of the quality. Adjectives ending in a vowel form their comparison as follows:

Adjectives ending in a vowel form their comparison as follows:

1. The comparative is formed from the positive by adding the suffixes -tara or -iya. They are regularly declined with the case endings of the first declension.
2. The superlative is formed from the positive by adding the suffixes -tama, -iṭṭha, or -issaka. They are regularly declined with the case endings of the first declension.

Thus, the comparative of pāpa ‘evil, bad, wicked, sinful’ can be either pāpatara or pāpiyo ‘more evil’, while the superlative can be either pāpatama or pāpiṭṭha ‘most evil’. Moreover, the first comparative may be combined with the second superlative, yielding pāpiṭṭhatara. The second comparative may be augmented by the addition of the suffix -ika, yielding pāpiyyaskia, as in tassa-pāpiyyasikā-kammaṁ karoti ‘to carry our proceedings against someone guilty of a certain legal offense’ and, with contraction, pāpissika.

Adjectives ending in -mant, -vant, and -vin drop these suffixes before the comparative and superlative suffixes, as, for example, positive guṇavant ‘possessed of good qualities, virtuous’, comparative guṇiyo, superlative guṇiṭṭha; positive medhāvin ‘intelligent, wise’, comparative medhiyo, superlative medhiṭṭha.

Some adjectives form their comparative and superlative from entirely different bases:

Positive		Comparative	Superlative
antika ‘near’		nediya	nediṭṭha
bāḷha ‘strong’		sādhiya	sādhiṭṭha
vuddha (also vuḍḍha) ‘old’		jeyya	jeṭṭha
appa ‘small’ yuvan ‘young’	}	kaniya	kaniṭṭha
pasattha (also pasaṭṭha) ‘excellent’		seyya	seṭṭha

2.5. Word Formation

In Pāḷi, almost every declinable stem can be traced back to a primary element called a “root”. A “root” may be defined as the base form of a word. It carries the basic meaning, and it cannot be further analyzed without loss of identity. A “stem”, on the other hand, may be defined as an inflectional base.

Declinable stems are divided into two broad categories: (1) primary (kita) stems and (2) secondary (taddhita) stems.

Primary stems are formed from the root by some modification — either by an internal change in the root itself or by the addition of a suffix to the root; in some cases, both by internal change and the addition of a suffix. Sometimes, a connecting vowel is inserted between the root and the suffix. The connecting vowel is generally, though not always, -i-. The bare root itself can also be used as a primary stem. Primary stems may be either simple or compounded (see Chapter 7 for details).

A secondary stem is developed from a primary stem by the addition of a new suffix or by the replacement of an existing suffix, with or without change in the root element. ■

3

Pronouns

3.1. First and Second Person Personal Pronouns

First Person: ‘I, me; we, us’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	ahaṁ	vayaṁ, mayaṁ, amhe
Acc.	maṁ, mamaṁ	asme, amhe, amhākaṁ
Gen.	mama, mamaṁ, mayhaṁ, amhaṁ	amhākaṁ, amhaṁ
Dat.	mama, mamaṁ, mayhaṁ, amhaṁ	amhākaṁ, amhaṁ
Instr.	mayā	amhebhi, amhehi
Abl.	mayā	amhebhi, amhehi
Loc.	mayi	amhesu

Second Person: ‘you’

	Singular	Plural
Nom.	tvaṁ, tuvaṁ	tumhe
Acc.	tvaṁ, tuvaṁ, taṁ, tavaṁ	tumhe, tumhākaṁ
Gen.	tava, tavaṁ, tuyhaṁ, tumhaṁ	tumhākaṁ, tumhaṁ
Dat.	tava, tavaṁ, tuyhaṁ, tumhaṁ	tumhākaṁ, tumhaṁ
Instr.	tvayā, tayā	tumhebhi, tumhehi
Abl.	tvayā, tayā	tumhebhi, tumhehi
Loc.	tvayi, tayi	tumhesu

Notes:

1. In addition to the above, the following enclitic forms are found: (first person) me and (second person) te for the instrumental, dative, and genitive singular; (first person) no and (second person) vo for the accusative, dative, and genitive plural.
2. The accusative plural forms (first person) amhākaṁ and (second person) tumhākaṁ are borrowed from the genitive plural.
3. The enclitic forms no and vo may also be used for the nominative plural.

3.2. Demonstrative Pronouns

ta ‘this’

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	so, sa;	taṁ (tad)	sā
Acc.	taṁ;	taṁ (tad)	taṁ
Gen.	tassa		tassā, tassāya, tissā, tissāya, tāya
Dat.	tassa		tassā, tassāya, tissā, tissāya, tāya
Instr.	tena		tāya
Abl.	tasmā, tamhā		tāya
Loc.	tasmiṁ, tamhi		tassaṁ, tāsaṁ, tissaṁ, tāyaṁ
PLURAL
Nom.	te;	tāni	tā, tāyo
Acc.	te;	tāni	tā, tāyo
Gen.	tesaṁ, tesānaṁ		tāsaṁ, tāsānaṁ
Dat.	tesaṁ, tesānaṁ		tāsaṁ, tāsānaṁ
Instr.	tebhi, tehi		tābhi, tāhi
Abl.	tebhi, tehi		tābhi, tāhi
Loc.	tesu		tāsu

Notes:

1. The stems na ‘this’, ena ‘this’, and eta ‘him, this one, the same’ are inflected like ta.

ima, ayaṁ ‘this’

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	ayaṁ;	idaṁ, imaṁ	ayaṁ
Acc.	imaṁ;	idaṁ, imaṁ	imaṁ
Gen.	imassa, assa		imissā, imissāya, imāya, assā, asāya
Dat.	esaṁ, esānaṁ		imissā, imissāya, imāya, assā, asāya
Instr.	iminā, anena		imāya
Abl.	imasmā, imamhā, asmā		imāya
Loc.	imasmiṁ, imamhi, asmiṁ		imissaṁ, imāsaṁ, imāyaṁ, assaṁ
PLURAL
Nom.	ime;	imāni	imā, imāyo
Acc.	ime;	imāni	imā, imāyo
Gen.	imesaṁ, imesānaṁ, esaṁ, esānaṁ		imāsaṁ, imāsānaṁ
Dat.	imesaṁ, imesānaṁ, esaṁ, esānaṁ		imāsaṁ, imāsānaṁ
Instr.	imebhi, imehi, ebhi, ehi		imābhi, imāhi
Abl.	imebhi, imehi, ebhi, ehi		imābhi, imāhi
Loc.	imesu		imāsu

amu, asu ‘that’

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	asu	aduṁ	asu
Acc.	amuṁ	aduṁ	amuṁ
Gen.	amussa		amussā, amuyā
Dat.	amussa		amussā, amuyā
Instr.	amunā		amuyā
Abl.	amusmā, amumhā		amuyā
Loc.	amusmiṁ, amumhi		amussaṁ, amuyaṁ
PLURAL
Nom.	amū, amuyo		amū, amūni
Acc.	amū, amuyo		amū, amūni
Gen.	amūsaṁ, amūsānaṁ
Dat.	amūsaṁ, amūsānaṁ
Instr.	amūbhi, amūhi
Abl.	amūbhi, amūhi
Loc.	amūsu

Notes:

1. New stems can be formed from the nominative asu and from the stem amu of this pronoun by adding a suffix -ka. These stems are regularly declined with the case endings of the first declension.

3.3. Relative Pronoun

ya ‘who, which, what’

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	yo;	yaṁ (yad)	yā
Acc.	yaṁ;	yaṁ (yad)	yaṁ
Gen.	yassa		yassā, yāya
Dat.	yassa		yassā, yāya
Instr.	yena		yāya
Abl.	yamhā		yāya
Loc.	yasmiṁ, yamhi		yassaṁ, yāyaṁ
PLURAL
Nom.	ye, yāni		yā, yāyo
Acc.	ye, yāni		yā, yāyo
Gen.	yesaṁ		yāsaṁ
Dat.	yesaṁ		yāsaṁ
Instr.	yebhi, yehi		yābhi, yāhi
Abl.	yebhi, yehi		yābhi, yāhi
Loc.	yesu		yāsu

3.4. Interrogative Pronouns

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	ko;	kiṁ	kā, kāyo
Acc.	kaṁ;	kiṁ	kaṁ
Gen.	kassa, kissa		kāya, kassā
Dat.	kassa, kissa		kāya, kassā
Instr.	kena		kāya
Abl.	kasmā, kamhā		kāya
Loc.	kasmiṁ, kamhi, kismiṁ, kimhi		kāya, kassā, kāyaṁ, kassaṁ
PLURAL
Nom.	ke;	kāni	kā, kāyo
Acc.	ke;	kāni	kā, kāyo
Gen.	kesaṁ, kesānaṁ		kāsaṁ. kasānaṁ
Dat.	kesaṁ, kesānaṁ		kāsaṁ. kasānaṁ
Instr.	kebhi, kehi		kābhi, kāhi
Abl.	kebhi, kehi		kābhi, kāhi
Loc.	kesu		kāsu

Notes:

1. The inflection of ka is like that of ya with the following exceptions: the nominative singular neuter is kiṁ; the dative and genitive masculine and neuter singular are kassa, kissa; and the locative is kasmiṁ, kamhi, kismiṁ, kimhi.

3.5. Indefinite Pronouns

koci ‘whoever; anyone, anybody’

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
SINGULAR
Nom.	koci;	kiñci	kāci
Acc.	kañci;	kiñci	kañci
Gen.	kassaci, kissaci		kāyaci, kassāci
Dat.	kassaci, kissaci		kāyaci, kassāci
Instr.	kenaci		kāyaci
Abl.	kasmāci, kamhāci		kāyaci
Loc.	kasmiñci, kamhici, kismiñci, kimhici		kassañci, kāyaci
PLURAL
Nom.	keci	kānici	kāci, kāyoci
Acc.	keci	kānici	kāci, kāyoci
Gen.	kesañci		kāsañci
Dat.	kesañci		kāsañci
Instr.	kebhici, kehici		kābhici, kāhici
Abl.	kebhici, kehici		kābhici, kāhici
Loc.	kesuci		kāsuci

Notes:

1. The indefinite pronouns are formed by adding the suffixes -ci, -api, and -cana to the declined forms of the interrogative pronoun ka ‘who?, which?, what?’, in accordance with the rules of assimilation and sandhi.
2. The numeral eka ‘one’ also follows the pronominal declension (see Chapter 4).

3.6. Other Pronouns

attā ‘self, own, oneself’ is used much like a reflexive pronoun, as is ātumā ‘self, own, oneself’, which is merely another form of attā, and is very rarely used. tuma, with the same meaning, is even less frequently used. In composition, the bases are: atto, ātuma, tuma. Properly speaking, attā, ātuma, tuma are nouns used pronominally.

sayaṁ ‘oneself, by oneself’ and sāmaṁ ‘self’, both indeclinable, are often used as reflexive emphatic pronouns.

A few other nouns are also used pronominally. The following are the most common:

1. bhavaṁ ‘lord, sir’. This is a very respectful term of address, used in place of the second person personal pronoun. The verb is put in the third person.
2. ayya ‘lord, master’. This is used chiefly in addressing Buddhist monks and is often used with bhante. The feminine form ayyā ‘lady, mistress’ is used in addressing Buddhist nuns.
3. āvuso ‘friend, brother’. This is also sometimes used as a pronoun. It is used mostly by senior monks when addressing junior monks. āvuso is indeclinable.

3.7. Pronominals

There are also a number of words that, although not pronouns strictly speaking, still follow the pronominal inflection. Among these are possessives like madīya, māmaka ‘mine’ and amhadīya ‘our’, but, of these, only nominatives are found in the texts. Next, there are the adjectives composed with -disa, as in mādisa ‘like me’; etādisa or etārisa or īdisa ‘like this’; kīdisa ‘like what?’; cirassaṁ ‘at last’; etc.

The pronominal adjectives katara ‘which one?’ and katama ‘which?, which one?’ are formed by adding the suffixes -tara and -tama to the interrogative stems, but these do not differ much in meaning from the regular pronoun.

These words are called “pronominals”. Pronominals are adjectives that follow the pronominal declension. Most of them are derived from pronouns by the addition of the following suffixes:

-īya, -aka: expression possession;
-disa, -di (-dī), -risa: expressing likeness or similarity;
-ti: expressing the idea ‘many’;
-ka, -tara, -tama: these suffixes do not change the meaning of the pronoun.

The possessive pronouns include the following:

Base	Possessive Pronoun
mad-	madīya ‘mine; my; my own’
mam-	māmaka, mamaka ‘mine; my; my own’
amhad-	amhadīya ‘ours; our own’
tad-	tadīya (sg.) ‘yours; your; your own’
tava-	tāvaka (sg.) ‘yours; your; your own’

Examples of the suffixes -disa, -di (-dī), -risa expressing likeness or similarity are:

Base	Adjective
ma-	mādī, mādisa, mārisa ‘like me; such as I’
ta-	tādi, tādisa, tādisaka ‘like him; like that; such as him’
amha-	amhādisa ‘like us’
tumha-	tumhādisa ‘like you’
i-	īdī, īdisa, īrisa, īdisaka ‘like this; such as this’
e-	edī, edisa, erisa ‘like this; such as this’
eta-	etādisa, etārisa ‘such as this or that; such’
ki-	kīdī, kīdisa, kīrisa ‘like what?; of what kind?’

The suffix -dikkha has the same meaning as -disa, -di (-dī), -risa, hence:

tādikkha = tādisa kīdikkha = kīdisa edikkha = edisa īdikkha = īdisa

Some adjectives take a rather irregular form, such as the following:

kittaka, kīvatāka ‘how much?, how many?, how great?’

ettaka, etāvāka ‘so great, so much, so many’

tattaka, tāvatāka ‘as many, as great, as big or large’

yattaka, yāvatāka ‘however much; however big or large’

There is also a form etta = ettaka, which has dropped the final -ka. The adverb etto ‘thence, hence’ is probably contracted from etato (ablative of etaṁ). In ettavatā = etāvat, the consonant of the base is doubled.

Other adjectives inflected according to the pronominal inflection include sabba and vissa ‘all, every, entire’; añña ‘other’, with its derivatives aññatara, aññatama; itara ‘other’; uttara, uttama ‘higher’; adhara ‘inferior’; apara, para ‘another’; dakkhiṇa ‘right’; pubba ‘former’; anuka and asuka ‘such a one, this or that’.

Prononimals whose stems end in -a follow the pronominal declension (see sabba below). However those ending in -i follow the second declension, while those ending in -ti are only found in the plural and have only the form in -ti in the nominative, accusative, and vocative.

sabba (adj.) ‘all, whole, entire’

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	sabbo	sabbā	sabbaṁ
Accusative	sabbaṁ	sabbāṁ	sabbaṁ
Genitive	sabbassa	sabbāya, sabbassā	sabbassa
Dative	sabbassa	sabbāya, sabbassā	sabbassa
Instrumental	sabbena	sabbāya	sabbena
Ablative	sabbasmā, sabbamhā	sabbāya	sabbasmā, sabbamhā
Locative	sabbasmiṁ, sabbamhi	sabbassaṁ, sabbāyaṁ	sabbasmiṁ, sabbamhi
PLURAL
Nominative	sabbe	sabbā, sabbāyo	sabbāni
Accusative	sabbe	sabbā, sabbāyo	sabbāni
Genitive	sabbesaṁ	sabbāsaṁ	sabbesaṁ
Dative	sabbesaṁ	sabbāsaṁ	sabbesaṁ
Instrumental	sabbehi, sabbebhi	sabbāhi, sabbābhi	sabbehi, sabbebhi
Ablative	sabbehi, sabbebhi	sabbāhi, sabbābhi	sabbehi, sabbebhi
Locative	sabbesu	sabbāsu	sabbesu

3.8. Adverbial Derivatives

Adverbial derivatives from pronominal bases constitute a large and useful class of words. The principle suffixes used are: -dā; -dāni; -tra; -tha; -thā; -dha; -thaṁ; -ti; -to; -va (-vat); -rahi; -haṁ; -ha; -hiṁ; -va; -vaṁ; -di.

The suffixes -dā; -dāni; -rahi express time:

Base	Adverb
ka-	karahi, kadā ‘when’
i-	idāni ‘now; at this time’
ta-	tarahi, tadā, tadāni ‘then; at that time’
eta-	etarahi ‘now’

The suffixes -to; -tra; -tha; -dha; -ha; -haṁ; -hiṁ form adverbs of place. Before a short vowel, the -t- of -tha is doubled:

Base	Adverb
ka-, ku-	kattha, kutra, kuttha, kahaṁ, kuhaṁ, kuhiṁ ‘where?, whither?, wherein?, in what place?’
ya-	yatra, yattha ‘where, wherein, whither’
ya-	yato ‘from what’
e-	ettha ‘here, herein’
a-	atra, attha ‘here’
ta-	tattha, tatra, tahaṁ, tahiṁ ‘there, thither’
ta-	tato ‘thence, from that place’
i-	ito ‘hence, from this place’
eta-	etto ‘thence, hence’ etato ‘from here; therefore’

The suffixes -thā; -thaṁ; -ti; -va; -vaṁ form adverbs of manner:

Base	Adverb
ta-	tathā ‘thus, so, like that’
ka-	kathaṁ ‘how?’
i-	itthaṁ ‘thus, in this manner’
i-	iva ‘like this, as, as it were’
i-	iti ‘thus, in this manner’
e-	eva, evaṁ ‘so, just so’
ya-	yathā ‘as, like’

The suffix -va (-vat) forms adverbs of time and cause. The final -t of -vat is dropped in accordance with the regular phonetic laws of Pāḷi, which does not allow consonants to remain at the end of a word, except -ṁ. Before a vowel, however, the final -t is retained as -d, as in, for instance: tāva ‘so long, still, yet’; but tāvad eva ‘just now, instantly, at once’. The final -a of the pronominal base is lengthened before -va (-vat).

Base	Adverb
ya-	yāva ‘until, as long as, in order that’
ta-	tāva ‘so long, still, yet’

The ablative singular suffix -tā can also be added to these forms:

Base	Adverb
ya-	yāvatā ‘as far as, because’
ta-	tāvatā ‘so far, to that extent, on that account’

The suffix -tā can be added to other pronominal bases as well:

Base	Adverb
eta-	ettāvatā ‘to that extent, so far, thus’
ki-	kittāvatā ‘to what extent?, how far?’

The suffix -di, expressing condition, is found only in yadi ‘if’.

The suffix -ti is found in the following:

Base	Adverb
ka-	kati ‘how many?’
ya-	yati ‘as many’
ta-	tati ‘so many’

■

4

Numerals

4.1. Cardinals

1	eka
2	dvi
3	ti
4	catu
5	pañca
6	cha
7	satta
8	aṭṭha
9	nava
10	dasa
11	ekādasa, ekārasa
12	dvādasa, bārasa
13	tedasa, terasa, telasa
14	catuddasa, coddasa, cuddasa
15	pañcadasa, paṇṇarasa, pannarasa
16	soḷasa, sorasa
17	sattadasa, sattarasa
18	aṭṭhādasa, atthārasa
19	ekūnavīsaṁ, ekūnavīsati
20	vīsaṁ, vīsati
21	ekavīsaṁ, ekavīsati
22	dvāvīsati
23	tevīsati
24	catuvīsati
25	pañcavīsati
26	chabbīsati
27	sattabīsati, sattavīsati
28	aṭṭhavīsati
29	ekūnatiṁsati, ekūnatiṁsaṁ
30	tiṁsaṁ, tiṁsati
40	cattārīsaṁ, cattālīsaṁ
50	paññāsaṁ, paññāsa
60	saṭṭhi, saṭṭhiṁ
70	sattati, sattari
80	asīti
90	navuti
100	sataṁ
200	dvāsataṁ, bāsataṁ
1000	sahassaṁ
10000	dasasahassaṁ
100000	satasahassaṁ
1000000	koṭi

Notes:

1. The forms vīsaṁ, tiṁsaṁ, etc. indicate that the ending -ti can be replaced by niggahīta (ṁ). The niggahīta is also occasionally found where it should not be, as in dvādasaṁ ‘12’; saṭṭhiṁ ‘60’. When the -ṁ is dropped, the preceding a may be lengthened.
2. The intermediate numerals between ‘20’ and ‘30’, etc., are regular, with the only exception that dvā, bā (or dva, ba before a double consonant) appear instead of dvi, as in dvāvīsati, bāvīsati ‘22’; dvattiṁsa, battiṁsa ‘32’; dvenavuti ‘92’. Also, te- is found instead of ti-, as in tevīsati ‘23’. For ‘84’, the form is cullāsīti, and for ‘25’, paṇṇuvīsaṁ.
3. The plural of cha ‘6’ is chaḷāni and, for ’12’, dviccha.

For eka ‘one’, the declension is similar to that of the pronouns (see Chapter 3):

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
SINGULAR
Nominative	eko	ekā	ekaṁ
Vocative	eka	eke	eka
Accusative	ekaṁ	ekaṁ	ekaṁ
Genitive	ekassa	ekissā, ekissāya	ekassa
Dative	ekassa	ekissā, ekissāya	ekassa
Instrumental	ekena	ekāya	ekena
Ablative	ekasmā, ekamhā	ekāya	ekasmā, ekamhā
Locative	ekasmiṁ, ekamhi	ekāya, ekissaṁ	ekasmiṁ, ekamhi
PLURAL
Nominative	eke	ekā, ekāyo	ekāni
Vocative	eke	ekā, ekāyo	ekāni
Accusative	eke	ekā, ekāyo	ekāni
Genitive	ekesaṁ	ekāsaṁ	ekesaṁ
Dative	ekesaṁ	ekāsaṁ	ekesaṁ
Instrumental	ekebhi, ekehi	ekābhi, ekāhi	ekebhi, ekehi
Ablative	ekebhi, ekehi	ekābhi, ekāhi	ekebhi, ekehi
Locative	ekesu	ekāsu	ekesu

Notes:

1. eka is frequently used as an indefinite article ‘a, an’. In this sense and as a numeral proper, it only appears in the singular. In the plural, it is used as an adjective with the meaning ‘ones; some’

The declensions of dvi ‘two’ and ubho ‘both’ are as follows:

Nom.	dve, duve	ubho, ubhe
Acc.	dve, duve	ubho, ubhe
Gen.	dvinnaṁ, duvinnaṁ	ubhinnaṁ
Dat.	dvinnaṁ, duvinnaṁ	ubhinnaṁ
Instr.	dvībhi, dvīhi	ubhobhi, ubhohi, ubhebhi, ubhehi
Abl.	dvībhi, dvīhi	ubhobhi, ubhohi, ubhebhi, ubhehi
Loc.	dvīsu	ubhosu, ubhesu

Notes:

1. There is only one set of forms for all genders for the numeral ‘two’, and they are used only in the plural.
2. ubho ‘both’ is one of the few dual forms remaining in Pāḷi.

The numerals ti ‘three’ and catu ‘four’ have separate forms for the feminine, as follows:

	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
Nom.	tayo;	tīni	tisso
Acc.	tayo	tīni	tisso
Gen.	tiṇṇaṁ, tiṇṇannaṁ		tissannaṁ
Dat.	tiṇṇaṁ, tiṇṇannaṁ		tissannaṁ
Instr.	tībhi, tīhi		tībhi, tīhi
Abl.	tībhi, tīhi		tībhi, tīhi
Loc.	tīsu		tīsu
	Masculine and Neuter		Feminine
Nom.	cattāro, caturo;	cattāri	catasso
Acc.	cattāro, caturo	cattāri	catasso
Gen.	catuṇṇaṁ		catassannaṁ
Dat.	catuṇṇaṁ		catassannaṁ
Instr.	catubbhi, catūbhi, catūhi		catubbhi, catūbhi, catūhi
Abl.	catubbhi, catūbhi, catūhi		catubbhi, catūbhi, catūhi
Loc.	catūsu		catūsu

The declension of pañca ‘five’ is:

Nom	pañca
Acc	pañca
Gen	pañcannaṁ
Dat	pañcannaṁ
Inst	pañcahi
Abl	pañcahi
Loc	pañcasu

Notes:

1. There is only one set of forms for all genders for the numeral ‘five’.
2. All numerals ending in -a follow the declension of pañca ‘five’.
3. Numerals ending in -i are declined like feminine i-stems, while sataṁ ‘100’ and sahassaṁ ‘1,000’ are declined like neuters in -aṁ.
4. Another form of sahassa ‘1,000’ is sahassī, which is used especially as a masculine or feminine in connection with cakkavāla ‘world-systems’ or vasudhā ‘wealth’, as in dasa- sahassī-cakkavāle ‘in 10,000 world-systems’. Sometimes, the substantive is omitted, and dasasahassī is treated like a feminine noun, as in dasasahassī pakampati ’10,000 [world- sytems] quake’.
5. When used in conjunction with nouns, sataṁ and sahassaṁ can be joined to the nouns in the following ways:
1. With a noun in the genitive plural, as in itthīmaṁ pañca satāni ‘500 women’.
2. With a noun in the nominative plural, as in pañca sataṁ yatī ‘500 monk-guides’; pañca satā bhikkhū ‘500 Bhikkhus’.
3. With a noun in the singular, as in chacattālīsaṁ vassaṁ atikamma ‘after the lapse of 46 years’.
4. As a compound, with the numeral being the last part, as in gāthāsataṁ ‘100 verses’.
5. As a compound, with the numeral being the first part sahassajaṭilā ‘1,000 ascetics with matted hair’.

4.2. Ordinals

The ordinals for five, and from seven upwards, are formed by adding the suffix -ma to the

cardinal, as in pañcama ‘fifth’; sattama ‘seventh’. The feminine ends in -ī, and the neuter in -aṁ, and they are declined like the corresponding substantives.

The ordinal forms of the first ten numerals are:

1st	paṭhama
2nd	dutiya
3rd	tatiya
4th	catuttha
5th	pañcama
6th	caṭṭha, chama
7th	sattama
8th	aṭṭhama
9th	navama
10th	dasama
11th	ekarasama
12th	bārasama
13th	tedasama
14th	catuddasama
15th	pañcadasama
16th	soḷasama
17th	sattadasama
18th	aṭṭhādasama
19th	ekūnavīsatima
20th	vīsatima
30th	tiṁsatima
40th	cattālīsatima
50th	paññasama
60th	saṭṭhima
70th	sattatima
80th	asītima
90th	navutima
100th	satama
1,000th	sahassama
10,000th	dasashassma
100,000th	satasahassama
1,000,000th	koṭima

Notes:

1. From twenty upwards, there are two forms of the ordinals, one formed by adding the suffix -ma to the cardinal in -ti, as in vīsatima ‘twentieth’, and the other formed by dropping the -ti, as in vīsa ‘twentieth’; tiṁsa ‘thirtieth’; etc.
2. The feminine ordinals in -ī are used to designate the day of the month, as in pañcamī ‘the fifth day’; ekādasī ‘the eleventh day’; etc. ■

5

Conjugation

5.1. Structure of the Pāḷi Verb

5.1.1. General Structure

The inflection of verbs is known as “conjugation”. It consists of changes in form to show differences in person, number, tense, mood, and voice.

The Pāḷi verb distinguishes three persons:

1. The person(s) speaking (= ‘I’, ‘we’);
2. The person(s) spoken to, that is, the person(s) being addressed (= ‘you’);
3. The person(s) or thing(s) spoken about, that is, everyone or everything else (= ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’; ‘they’).

The persons are distinguished by a special set of personal endings. These personal endings will be discussed in detail below.

As with the noun, two numbers are distinguished in the verb: singular and plural. Unlike Sanskrit, dual verbal forms do not exist in Pāḷi. The singular agrees with the subject when it denotes only one; the plural agrees with the subject when it denotes more than one.

Tense marks the time when an action takes place. There are six tenses in Pāḷi:

1. Present: occurring in the present;
2. Imperfect: occurring at some definite point in the past; the imperfect is rarely used;
3. Perfect: occurring at some indefinite point in the past; this tense is of very rare occurrence;
4. Aorist: occurring in the recent past; this is the only true past in Pāḷi, and it is extensively used;
5. Future: referring to an action or an event that will occur at some unspecified point in the future;
6. Conditional: referring to a future event or circumstance relative to something that is past or to an action to be performed due to some difficulty obstructing its performance. The conditional is often classified as a mood rather than a tense.

Pāḷi has three moods, which are used to express the speaker’s attitude toward the action:

1. Indicative: used to express something that the speaker believes is true;
2. Optative: used by the speaker to express wishes or hopes;
3. Imperative: used by the speaker to express commands.

All three of these moods exist in the present tense. Each of the other tenses has only one mood.

There is also the category of voice, which is used to express the role that the subject plays in the action. There are two voices in Pāḷi:

1. Active (parassapada): the subject is performing the action but is not being acted upon;
2. Reflexive (attanopada) (also called “middle”): the subject is being acted upon — the subject is performing the action on or for himself/herself, that is to say that the action of the verb is being directed back to the subject.

The reflexive has lost much of its importance in Pāḷi, and the distinction between active and reflexive has mostly disappeared. It is rarely found in prose, though examples are common in poetry.

Several other terms should be defined as well: a “finite” verbal form denotes an action, an event, or a state and is marked for tense, number, mood, aspect, etc. A finite verbal form can occur on its own in an independent clause. A “non-finite” verbal form is not marked for tense, number, mood, aspect, etc. and can only occur on its own in a dependent clause. Non-finite forms include participles, infinitives, verbal nouns (gerunds), and verbal adjectives (gerundives). A “transitive” verb takes a direct object, while an “intransitive” verb does not. A direct object denotes the goal, beneficiary, or recipient of the action of a transitive verb. An indirect object denotes the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb.

“Reduplication” means the repetition of a part of a word. In Pāḷi, reduplication consists of a repeated syllable at the beginning of a word, formed according to the following rules:

1. If the root begins with a vowel, the reduplication will consist of that vowel which will unite with the root according to the regular rules of sandhi.
2. When the root begins with a consonant, the first letter of the reduplication will be that consonant, except that:
   1. An aspirate is replaced by its corresponding non-aspirate;
   2. A guttural is replaced by the corresponding palatal;
   3. h is replaced by j.

   The vowel of the reduplicated syllable is typically the vowel of the root, except that:

   1. A long vowel is shortened;
   2. a coming after kh, ch, or s is changed to i;
   3. u is sometimes replaced by a.

   Finally, the root vowel in the reduplicated stem is sometimes lengthened.

The present, perfect, and future tenses each have a participle. The perfect participle, formed mostly from the root, is principally of past and passive meaning. According to the stem on which they are formed, the present and future participles may be either active or passive in

meaning. There is also a “participle of necessity”, also called the “future passive participle” or the “potential participle”, which is actually a verbal adjective (gerundive). Depending upon the base upon which it is formed, the present and future participles may be active or passive in sense. There are two verbal nouns in Pāḷi: (1) the infinitive, usually in the accusative case, sometimes (rarely) in the dative case; and (2) a gerund, which is actually the case form of a

derivative noun having the force of an absolute participle.

There are four main tenses in Pāḷi: present, aorist, perfect, and future. The other two are preterite tenses, the imperfect accompanying the present and the conditional accompanying the future.

Every primary verb is conjugated in four stems, in accordance with the four main tenses:

1. Present stem;
2. Aorist stem;
3. Perfect stem;
4. Future stem.

On this basis, there are four systems in the conjugation of Pāḷi verbs, as follows:

1. The present system, composed of:
   1. The present indicative;
   2. The imperfect;
   3. The present imperative;
   4. The present optative;
   5. The present participle.
2. The aorist system, composed of the aorist tense only.
3. The perfect system, comprising:

All three of these moods exist in the present tense. Each of the other tenses has only one mood.

There is also the category of voice, which is used to express the role that the subject plays in the action. There are two voices in Pāḷi:

1. Active (parassapada): the subject is performing the action but is not being acted upon;
2. Reflexive (attanopada) (also called “middle”): the subject is being acted upon — the subject is performing the action on or for himself/herself, that is to say that the action of the verb is being directed back to the subject.

The reflexive has lost much of its importance in Pāḷi, and the distinction between active and reflexive has mostly disappeared. It is rarely found in prose, though examples are common in poetry.

Several other terms should be defined as well: a “finite” verbal form denotes an action, an event, or a state and is marked for tense, number, mood, aspect, etc. A finite verbal form can occur on its own in an independent clause. A “non-finite” verbal form is not marked for tense, number, mood, aspect, etc. and can only occur on its own in a dependent clause. Non-finite forms include participles, infinitives, verbal nouns (gerunds), and verbal adjectives (gerundives). A “transitive” verb takes a direct object, while an “intransitive” verb does not. A direct object denotes the goal, beneficiary, or recipient of the action of a transitive verb. An indirect object denotes the person or thing that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb.

“Reduplication” means the repetition of a part of a word. In Pāḷi, reduplication consists of a repeated syllable at the beginning of a word, formed according to the following rules:

1. If the root begins with a vowel, the reduplication will consist of that vowel which will unite with the root according to the regular rules of sandhi.
2. When the root begins with a consonant, the first letter of the reduplication will be that consonant, except that:
   1. An aspirate is replaced by its corresponding non-aspirate;
   2. A guttural is replaced by the corresponding palatal;
   3. h is replaced by j.

   The vowel of the reduplicated syllable is typically the vowel of the root, except that:

   1. A long vowel is shortened;
   2. a coming after kh, ch, or s is changed to i;
   3. u is sometimes replaced by a.

   Finally, the root vowel in the reduplicated stem is sometimes lengthened.

The present, perfect, and future tenses each have a participle. The perfect participle, formed mostly from the root, is principally of past and passive meaning. According to the stem on which they are formed, the present and future participles may be either active or passive in

meaning. There is also a “participle of necessity”, also called the “future passive participle” or the “potential participle”, which is actually a verbal adjective (gerundive). Depending upon the base upon which it is formed, the present and future participles may be active or passive in sense. There are two verbal nouns in Pāḷi: (1) the infinitive, usually in the accusative case, sometimes (rarely) in the dative case; and (2) a gerund, which is actually the case form of a

derivative noun having the force of an absolute participle.

There are four main tenses in Pāḷi: present, aorist, perfect, and future. The other two are preterite tenses, the imperfect accompanying the present and the conditional accompanying the future.

Every primary verb is conjugated in four stems, in accordance with the four main tenses:

1. Present stem;
2. Aorist stem;
3. Perfect stem;
4. Future stem.

On this basis, there are four systems in the conjugation of Pāḷi verbs, as follows:

1. The present system, composed of:
   1. The present indicative;
   2. The imperfect;
   3. The present imperative;
   4. The present optative;
   5. The present participle.
2. The aorist system, composed of the aorist tense only.
3. The perfect system, comprising:
   1. The perfect tense;
   2. The perfect participle.

   Note: The regular perfect participle has almost entirely disappeared. Its place is generally filled by a derivative in -vant- or -vin- from the past passive participle. Neither this derivative nor the past passive participle itself really belongs to the perfect system.

4. The future system, composed of:
   1. The future tense;
   2. The conditional;
   3. The future participle.

The aorist stem, the perfect stem, and the future stem are each formed in one general way for all verbs, and the four tenses belonging to those three systems are, therefore, called “general tenses”.

5.1.2. The Present System

The present system is by far the most important, and it serves as the basis of the different conjugations of verbs. The present stem is formed in ten different ways for different verbs. In accordance with the special treatment of the present stem, the four tenses belonging to the present system are called “special tenses”. Present verbs are divided into seven classes, the first of which has four divisions.

1. Verbs of the first class form the present stem as follows:
   1. First division, having roots ending in -i, -ī; -u, -ū, which strengthen the root vowel to -ay- and -av-, respectively, and add -a-.

      Examples

      Roots	Bases
      nī- ‘to lead’	nay-a-
      ji- ‘to conquer’	jay-a-
      bhū- ‘to be’	bhav-a-
      ku- ‘to make a sound’	kav-a-
      khi- ‘to govern’	khay-a-

   2. Second division, consisting of roots ending in a consonant, add -a- either with or without lengthening of the root vowel.

      Examples

      Roots	Bases
      pac- ‘to cook’	pac-a-
      labh- ‘to obtain’	labh-a-
      mar- ‘to die’	mar-a-
      rakkh- ‘to keep, to guard’	rakkh-a-
      yāc- ‘to entreat, to beg’	yāc-a-
      vad- ‘to tell, to say’	vad-a-
      tar- ‘to cross’	tar-a-
      jīv- ‘to live’	jīv-a-
      bhar- ‘to carry’	bhar-a-

      Also included here are those roots containing the root vowels -i- or -u-, directly followed by a consonant: -iC- and -uC-. These are divided into two types:

      1. Those in which the root vowels are not changed in the base forms (without “strengthening”): (roots) -iC- and -uC- > (bases) -iC-a- and -uC-a-;
      2. Those in which the root vowel -i- is changed to -e- and -u- to -o- in the base forms (with “strengthening”): (roots) -iC- and -uC- > (bases) -eC-a- and -oC-a-:

         Examples: (1) root vowels unchanged in base forms

         Roots	Bases
         tud- ‘to strike with an instrument’	tud-a-
         phus- ‘to touch’	phus-a-
         likh- ‘to write’	likh-a-
         nud- ‘to remove’	nud-a-

         Examples: (2) root vowels changed in base forms

         Roots	Bases
         gup- ‘to keep, to watch’	gop-a-
         subh- ‘to shine, to be beautiful’	sobh-a-

   3. Third division, which use the bare root with or without lengthening of the root vowel. Since the vowel -a- is not added to the root, the base forms are thus the same as the roots.

      Examples

      Roots	Bases
      yā- ‘to go’	yā-
      vā- ‘to blow’	vā-
      ṭhā- ‘to stand’	ṭhā-
      khyā- ‘to tell’ (used with prefix ā-)	khyā-
      brū- ‘to speak’	brū-

      Notes
      1. Roots ending in -i, -ī, or -u, -ū can also belong to this class. When -a- is added to them, they do not take the semivowel substitute as in the first division, but their root vowels are merely changed:

         Examples

         Roots	Bases
         nī- ‘to lead’	ne-
         ji- ‘to conquer’	je-
         hū- ‘to be’	ho-
         ku- ‘to sound’	ko-

      2. The personal endings are added directly to these transformed roots. Thus, these roots can assume two different bases: one in -e- (third division) or -ay-a- (first division) and one in -o- (third division) or -av-a- (first division), according to whether the ending vowel is -i-, -ī, or -u, -ū, respectively.
   4. Fourth division, which simply reduplicate the root. The reduplication is accordance with the general rules for reduplication given below. In a root compounded with an indeclinable, the reduplication comes after the indeclinable and before the root.

      Examples

      Roots	Bases
      ṭhā- to stand’	tiṭṭhā-
      dā- ‘to give’ dadadhā- ‘to put, to place’	dadhā-
      hā- ‘to forsake’	jahā-
      hū- ‘to sacrifice’	juho

      Notes:
      1. These bases retain the long -ā- before the personal endings of the present and imperative.
2. Verbs of the second class form the present stem by inserting a nasal before the final consonant of the root and then adding -a-. The nasal assumes the form of the nasal of the class to which the consonant belongs.
3. Verbs of the third class form the present stem by adding -ya- to the root. The -y- of the suffix assimilates to a final consonant of the root according to the rules outlined in Chapter 1.
4. Verbs of the fourth class form the present stem by adding -ṇu- or -ṇā- to the root, if the root ends in a vowel, or -uṇu- or -uṇā-, if the root ends in a consonant. -ṇu- and -uṇu- strengthen to -ṇo- and -uṇo-, respectively, before endings.
5. Verbs of the fifth class form the present stem by adding -nā- to the root, which always ends in a vowel.
6. Verbs of the sixth class form the present stem by adding -u- to the root, usually strengthening the -u- to -o- before endings.
7. Verbs of the seventh class form the present stem by lengthening the root vowel and adding -aya- or -āpaya-, which, in turn, may contract to -e- or -āpe-, respectively, before endings beginning with a consonant, or drop the final -a- before endings beginning with a vowel.

5.1.3. The Remaining Systems

The aorist stem consists of the bare root with or without lengthening of the root vowel The aorist stem is sometimes replaced by the present stem.

The perfect stem consists of the reduplicated root with or without lengthening of the root vowel.

The future stem is formed by adding -ssa- to the root. When the root ends in a consonant, the connecting vowel -i- is generally inserted, but, sometimes, assimilation takes place. In the formation of the future stem, the -ssa- is frequently added to the present stem instead of being added directly to the root.

The imperfect, aorist, and conditional generally prefix an “augment”, a-, but the augment is frequently omitted, especially in poetry. If stems form a compound with an indeclinable, the augment comes before the indeclinable and the root.

5.2. Personal Endings

5.2.1. Endings of the Present System

A verb is fully conjugated by adding the following personal endings to its appropriate stems:

PRESENT INDICATIVE ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-mi	-ma	-e	-mhe (-mahe, -mha)
2.	-si	-tha	-se	-vhe
3.	-ti	-nti	-te	-nte, -re

Notes:

1. The fuller form in -mahe is sometimes found in the first person plural of the intransitive, as in bhasmībhavāmahe ‘we became dusty’. The shortened form -mha occurs in dadamha ‘we give’; maññamha ‘we think’.
2. The personal ending -are is frequently found in the third person plural intransitive instead of -ante, as in miyyare ‘they die’; udiccare ‘they looked’; abhikīrare ‘they overwhelm’.
3. The stem vowel -a- becomes -ā- before the first person singular and plural endings: -ā-mi, -ā-ma, -ā-mhe-, etc.

IMPERFECT ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-a, -aṁ	-mhā	-iṁ	-mhase
2.	-o	-ttha	-se	-vhaṁ
3.	-a	-u	-ttha	-tthuṁ

Notes:

1. The stem vowel is dropped before endings beginning with a vowel.

IMPERATIVE ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-mi	-ma	-e	-mase
2.	-hi	-tha	-ssu	-vho
3.	-tu	-ntu	-taṁ	-ntaṁ

Notes:

1. The stem vowel -a- becomes -ā- before -mi, -ma, -hi, -tha, and -mase.
2. The ending -hi may be dropped in the active second person singular, and the bare stem used instead.

OPTATIVE ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-eyyāmi	-eyyāma	-eyyaṁ	-eyyāmhe
2.	-eyyāsi	-eyyātha	-etho	-eyyavho
3.	-eyya	-eyyuṁ	-etha	-eraṁ

Notes:

1. The form -e may replace any one of the forms in the active singular.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
-aṁ,	-atī,	-aṁ,	-māno,	-mānā,	-mānaṁ,
-anto	-antī	-antaṁ	-āno	-ānā	-ānaṁ

Notes:

1. The active participle follows the consonantal declension — it is similar to mahat, mahant ‘great, large’ (see Chapter 2, §2.3.3), except in the nominative masculine singular.
2. The reflective participle follows the first declension throughout.

5.2.2. Endings of the Aorist System

AORIST ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-iṁ	-imhā	-i	-imhe
2.	-i	-ittha	-ise	-ivhaṁ
3.	-i, -ī	-uṁ, -iṁsu	-ittha	-uṁ, -iṁsu

Notes:

1. When a stem ends in a vowel, an -s- is inserted between the vowel and the personal endings given above.

5.2.3. Endings of the Perfect System

PERFECT ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-a	-mha	-i	-mhe
2.	-e	-ttha	-ttho	-vho
3.	-a	-u	-ttha	-re

Notes:

1. Verbs ending in a consonant insert -i- between the root and the personal endings beginning with a consonant: active: -i-mha, -i-ttha; reflexive: -i-ttho, -i-ttha; -i-mhe, -i-vho, -i-re.

PERFECT PARTICIPLE

Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
-vā,	-vatī,	-vaṁ,	-māno,	-mānā,	-mānaṁ,
-vanto,	-vantī,	-vantaṁ,	-āno	-ānā	-ānaṁ
-vi	-vinī	-vi

Notes:

1. The first two forms of the active participle follow the consonantal declension — they are similar to guṇavat, guṇavant ‘virtuous’ (see Chapter 2, §2.3.3). The third form follows the second declension.
2. The perfect reflexive participle forms are identical to those of present participle.

5.2.4. Endings of the Future System

FUTURE ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-mi	-ma	-ṁ	-mhe
2.	-si	-tha	-se	-vhe
3.	-ti	-nti	-te	-nte, -re

Notes:

1. As in the present, the stem vowel -a- becomes -ā- before the first person singular and plural endings: -ā-mi, -ā-ma, -ā-mhe-, etc.

CONDITIONAL ENDINGS

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	-aṁ	-mhā	-aṁ	-mhase
2.	-e	-tha	-se	-vhe
3.	-ā	-ṁsu	-tha	-ṁsu

Notes:

1. The stem vowel may be dropped before endings beginning with a vowel. It may or may not be lengthened before -mhā and -mhase.
2. The bare stem may appear in place of the second and third person active singular endings.

FUTURE PARTICIPLE

Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
-aṁ,	-atī,	-aṁ,	-māno,	-mānā,	-mānaṁ,
-anto	-antī	-antaṁ	-āno	-ānā	-ānaṁ

Notes:

1. The declension is the same as in the present participle.

5.2.5. Non-Finite Forms

1. Infinitive: -tuṁ; -tave; -tuye; -tāye. The suffix -tuṁ is the most common form.
2. Gerund (verbal noun): -tvā; -tvāna; -tūna; -ya or -tya (-cca). The suffix -tvā is the most common form. The other forms are used as substitutes for -tvā and are found in poetry much more than in prose. Gerunds are indeclinable.
3. Participle of necessity: -tabba; -īya; -ya; -anīya. These forms are declined in accordance with the first declension.

5.3. Conjugational Paradigms

Conjugation of khan- (also written khaṇ-) ‘to dig, to dig out, to uproot; to destroy’:

Present System

PRESENT INDICATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1	khanāmi	khanāma	khane	khanāmhe
2	khanasi	khanatha	khanase	khanavhe
3	khanati	khananti	khanate	khanante, khanare

IMPERFECT

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1	akhana, akhanaṁ	akhanamhā	akhaniṁ	akhanamhase
2	akhano	akhanattha	akhanase	akhanavhaṁ
3	akhana	akhanu	akhanattha	akhanatthuṁ

IMPERATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1	khanāmi	khanāma	khane	khanāmase
2	khanāhi	khanātha	khanassu	khanavho
3	khanatu	khanantu	khanataṁ	khanantaṁ

OPTATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1	khaneyyāmi	khaneyyāma	khaneyyaṁ	khaneyyāmhe
2	khaneyyāsi	khaneyyātha	khanetho	khaneyyavho
3	khaneyya	khaneyyuṁ	khanetha	khaneraṁ

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
khanaṁ,	khanatī,	khanaṁ,	khanamāno,	khanamānā,	khanamānaṁ,
khananto	khanantī	khanantaṁ	khanāno	khanānā	khanānaṁ

Aorist System

AORIST

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	akhaniṁ	akhanimhā	akhani	akhanimhe
2.	akhani	akhanittha	akhanise	akhanivhaṁ
3.	akhani,	akhanuṁ,	akhanittha	akhanuṁ,
	akhanī	akhaniṁsu		akhaniṁsu

Perfect System

PERFECT

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	cikhana	cikhanmha	cikhani	cikhanimhe
2.	cikhane	cikhanittha	cikhanittho	cikhanivho
3.	cikhana	cikhanu	cikhanittha	cikhanire

PERFECT PARTICIPLE

Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
khatavā,	khatavatī,	khatavaṁ,	khanamāno,	khanamānā,	khanamānaṁ,
khatavanto, khatavi	khatavantī, khatavinī	khatavantaṁ, khatavi	khanāno	khanānā	khanānaṁ

Future System

FUTURE

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	khanissāmi	khanissāma	khanissaṁ	khanissāmhe
2.	khanissasi	khanissatha	khanissase	khanissavhe
3.	khanissati	khanissanti	khanissate	khanissante, khanissare

CONDITIONAL

	Active		Reflexive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1.	akhanissaṁ	akhanissamhā	akhanissaṁ	akhanissāmhase
2.	akhanisse	akhanissatha	akhanissase	akhanissavhe
3.	akhanissā	akhanissaṁsu	akhanissatha	akhanissaṁsu

FUTURE PARTICIPLE

Active
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
khanissaṁ, khanissanto	khanissatī, khanissantī	khanissaṁ, khanissantaṁ
Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
khanissamāno, khanissāno	khanissamānā, khanissānā	khanissamānaṁ, khanissānaṁ

Non-Finite Forms

INFINITIVE	GERUND	PARTICIPLE OF NECESSITY
khanituṁ	khanitvā	khanitabbo

Practically speaking, conjugation is the same for all verbs, consisting merely of adding the case endings to the appropriate stems. In the above example, the complete conjugation of khanati (also written khaṇati) ‘to dig, to dig out, to uproot; to destroy’ has been given, a verb of the second division of the first class, where the great majority of Pāḷi verbs belong.

In what follows, a synopsis will be given of a verb of each class and division to illustrate how the endings are to be joined to the various stems described above. The following verbs will be used as examples:

bhavati (root bhū-) ‘to become, to be, to exist’
pacati (root pac-) ‘to cook, to boil, to roast’
neti (nayati) (root nī-) ‘to lead, to guide, to conduct’
jahāti (root hā-) ‘to leave, to abandon, to lose’
rundhati (root rudh-) ‘to restrain, to hinder, to prevent, to obstruct, to keep out’
dibbati (root div-) ‘to sport, to play, to amuse oneself’
suṇoti (root su-) ‘to hear’
kiṇāti (root kī-) ‘to buy’
tanoti (root tan-) ‘to stretch, to extend’
coreti (root cur-) ‘to steal’

The classes are numbered on the left, and the divisions in parentheses following the classes. The third singular forms are given.

Present System

PRESENT INDICATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhavati (2) pacati (3) nayati; neti (4) jahāti	1	(1) bhavate (2) pacate (3) nayate; nete (4) jahāte
2	rundhati	2	rundhate
3	dibbati	3	dibbate
4	suṇoti	4	suṇote
5	kiṇāti	5	kiṇāte
6	tanoti	6	tanote
7	corayati; coreti	7	corayate; corete

IMPERFECT

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) abhava (2) apaca (3) anaya (4) ajahā	1	(1) abhavattha (2) apacattha (3) anayattha, anettha (4) ajahattha
2	arundha	2	arundhattha
3	adibba	3	adibbattha
4	assuṇuva	4	assuṇuttha
5	akkiṇā	5	akkiṇattha
6	atanuva	6	atanuttha
7	acoraya	7	acorayattha, acorettha

IMPERATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhavatu (2) pacatu (3) nayatu, netu (4) jahātu	1	(1) bhavataṁ (2) pacataṁ (3) nayataṁ, netaṁ  (4) jahātaṁ
2	rundhatu	2	rundhataṁ
3	dibbatu	3	dibbataṁ
4	suṇotu	4	suṇotaṁ
5	kiṇātu	5	kiṇātaṁ
6	tanotu	6	tanotaṁ
7	coretu	7	coretaṁ

OPTATIVE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhaveyya (2) paceyya (3) nayeyya; neyya (4) jaheyya	1	(1) bhavetha (2) pacetha (3) nayetha; netha  (4) jahetha
2	rundeyya	2	rundhetha
3	dibbeyya	3	dibbetha
4	suṇeyya	4	suṇetha
5	kiṇeyya	5	kiṇetha
6	taneyya	6	tanetha
7	corayeyya; coreyya	7	corayetha; coretha

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhavaṁ, bhavanto (2) pacaṁ, pacanto  (3) nayaṁ, nayanto, nento (4) jahaṁ, jahanto	1	(1) bhavamāno, bhavāno (2) pacamāno, pacāno (3) nayamāno, nayāno, nemāno  (4) jahāmāno, jahāno
2	rundhaṁ, rundhanto	2	rundhamāno, rundhāno
3	dibbaṁ, dibbanto	3	dibbamāno, dibbāno
4	suṇaṁ, suṇanto, suṇonto	4	suṇamāno, suṇono
5	kiṇaṁ, kiṇanto	5	kiṇamāno, kiṇāno
6	tanaṁ, tananto	6	tanomāno, tanono
7	corayaṁ, corayanto, corento	7	corayamāno, corayāno, coremāno

Aorist System

AORIST

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) abhavi (2) apaci (3) anayi, anesi (4) ahāsi	1	(1) avhavittha (2) apacittha (3) anayittha, anesittha (4) ahāsittha
2	arodhi	2	arodhittha
3	adevi	3	adevittha
4	assosi	4	assosittha
5	akkesi	5	akkesittha
6	atani	6	atanittha
7	(acoresi)	7	(acoresittha)

Perfect System

PERFECT

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) babhuva (2) papaca (3) ninaya (4) jahāra	1	(1) babhuvittha (2) papacittha (3) ninettha (4) jahārittha
2	rurodha	2	rurodhittha
3	dideva	3	didevittha
4	sussosa	4	sussosittha
5	cikaya	5	cikayittha
6	tatana	6	tatanittha
7	cucora	7	cucorittha

PERFECT PARTICIPLE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhūtavā (2) pacitavā (3) nitavā (4) hīnavā	1	(1) bhavamāno, bhavāno (2) pacamāno, pacāno (3) nayamāno, nayāno, nemāno (4) jahāmāno, jahāno
2	ruddhavā	2	rundhamāno, rundhāno
3	divitavā	3	dibbamāno, dibbāno
4	sutavā	4	suṇamāno, suṇono
5	kītavā	5	kiṇamāno, kiṇāno
6	tatavā	6	tanomāno, tanono
7	curitavā	7	corayamāno, corayāno, coremāno

Future System

FUTURE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhavissati (2) pacissati (3) nayissati (4) (jahissati)	1	(1) bhavissate (2) pacissate (3) nayissate (4) (jahissate)
2	rodhissati	2	rodhissate
3	devissati	3	devissate
4	sossati	4	sossate
5	(kiṇissati)	5	(kiṇissate)
6	tanissati	6	tanissate
7	(coressati)	7	(coressate)

CONDITIONAL

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) abhavissā (2) apacissā (3) anayissā, anessā (4) (ajahissā)	1	(1) abhavissatha (2) apacissatha (3) anayissatha, anessatha (4) (ajahissatha)
2	arodhissā	2	arodhissatha
3	adevissā	3	adevissatha
4	asossā	4	asossatha
5	(akiṇissā)	5	(akiṇissatha)
6	atanissā	6	atanissatha
7	(acoressā)	7	(acoressatha)

FUTURE PARTICIPLE

	Active		Reflexive
1	(1) bhavisaṁ, bhavissanto (2) pacissaṁ, pacissanto (3) nessaṁ, nessanto (4) (jahissaṁ, jahissanto)	1	(1) bhavissamāno, bhaissvāno (2) pacissamāno, pacissāno (3) nessamāno, nessāno (4) (jahissamāno, jahissāno)
2	rodhissaṁ, rodhissanto	2	rodhissamāno, rodhissāno
3	devissaṁ, devissanto	3	devissamāno, devissāno
4	sossaṁ, sossanto	4	sossamāno, sossāno
5	(kiṇissaṁ, kiṇissanto)	5	(kiṇissamāno, kiṇissāno)
6	tanissaṁ, tanissanto	6	tanissamāno, tanissāno
7	(coressaṁ, coressanto)	7	(coressamāno, coressāno)

Non-Finite Forms

	INFINITIVE	GERUND	PARTICIPLE OF NECESSITY
1	(1) bhavituṁ (2) paciituṁ (3) netuṁ (4) jahituṁ	bhavitvā pacitvā netvā jahitvā, hitvā	bhavitabbo pacitabbo netabbo hātabbo
2	rodhituṁ	rodhitvā	rodhitabbo
3	devituṁ	devitvā	devitabbo
4	sotuṁ	sutvā	sottabbo
5	(kiṇituṁ)	(kiṇitvā)	(kiṇitabbo)
6	tanituṁ	tanitvā	tanitabbo
7	(coretuṁ)	(coretvā)	(coretabbo)

Notes:

1. General tense forms enclosed in parentheses are made on the basis of the present stem.

5.4. Defective Verbs

The verbs atthi (root as-) ‘to be, to exist’ and hoti (root bhū-) ‘to become, to be, to exist’ belong to the first class, second division, and are exceedingly frequent. Inasmuch as both show irregular forms and are defective, they will be conjugated in full below.

atthi (root as-) ‘to be, to exist’

Present System

PRESENT INDICATIVE

	Singular	Plural
1	asmi, amhi	asma, amha
2	asi	attha
3	atthi	santi

IMPERATIVE

	Singular	Plural
1	asmi, amhi	asma, amha
2	ahi	attha
3	atthu	santu

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

	Active			Reflexive
Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
santo	santī	santaṁ	samāno	samānā	samānaṁ

Aorist System

AORIST

	Singular	Plural
1	āsiṁ	āsimha
2	āsi	āsittha
3	āsi	āsuṁ, āsiṁsu

Future System

CONDITIONAL

	Singular	Plural
1	assaṁ	assāma
2	assa	assatha
3	assa, siyā	assu, siyuṁ

---

hoti (root bhū-) ‘to become, to be, to exist’

Present System

PRESENT INDICATIVE

	Singular	Plural
1	homi	homa
2	hosi	hotha
3	hoti	honti

IMPERFECT

	Singular	Plural
1	ahuva, ahuvaṁ	ahuvamhā
2	ahuvo	ahuvattha
3	ahuva	ahuvu

IMPERATIVE

	Singular	Plural
1	homi	homa
2	hohi	hota
3	hotu	hontu

OPTATIVE

	Singular	Plural
1	heyyāmi	heyyāma
2	heyyāsi	heyyātha
3	heyya	heyyuṁ

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
honto	hontī	hontaṁ

Aorist System

AORIST

	Singular	Plural
1	ahosiṁ, ahosuṁ	ahosimhā, ahumhā
2	ahosi	ahosittha
3	ahosi, ahu	ahesuṁ, ahuṁ

Future System

FUTURE

	First Form		Second Form
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1	hemi,	hema,	hehāmi,	hehāma,
	hessāmi	hessāma	hehessāmi	hehessāma
2	hesi,	hetha,	hehasi,	hehatha,
	hessasi	hessatha	hehessasi	hehessatha
3	heti,	henti,	hehati,	hehanti,
	hessati	hessanti	hehessati	hehessanti

Non-Finite Forms

INFINITIVE	GERUND	PARTICIPLE OF NECESSITY
hotuṁ	hutvā	hotabbo

5.5. Secondary Verbs

Primary verbs are formed directly from roots by various modifications of the root itself and by the addition of different suffixes. Secondary verbs, on the other hand, are built on a secondary stem rather than directly on the root.

Every primary verb is accompanied by five secondary stems:

1. Passive: The passive is used to indicate that the subject is the recipient of the action expressed by the simple root.
2. Causative: The causative is used to indicate causation. It is extensively used in Pāḷi.
3. Desiderative: The desiderative is used to indicate the wish or the desire to do or be what is expressed by the simple root. The desiderative is not extensively used in Pāḷi.
4. Intensive: The intensive (also called “frequentive”) is used to indicate the frequent repetition or the intensification of the action expressed by the simple root. The intensive is not extensively used in Pāḷi.
5. Denominative: Denominatives are nouns that have been converted into verbs. They occur frequently in Pāḷi.

Except for the causative, derivative verbs are not conjugated in all tenses and all voices. The passive stem is made by adding the suffix -ya- to the root as follows:

1. When the root ends in a vowel, -ya- is added directly, the root vowel frequently undergoing change.
2. When the root ends in a single consonant, -ya- is generally added directly, and the preceding consonant may be changed in accordance with the regular rules of assimilation.
3. When the root ends in a consonant cluster or a single consonant that does not readily double (generally r or h), -ya- is added with the connecting vowel -ī-, yielding -īya-.  Sometimes, -īya- is added to the present stem.

The causative stem is formed by lengthening the root vowel and adding the suffixes -aya- or -āpaya-, which may contract, respectively, to -e- or -āpe-, respectively, before consonant endings, but remain, dropping final -a- before vowel endings.

The desiderative stem is formed by reduplicating the root and adding the suffix -sa-, with or without -i- as a connecting vowel. In this reduplication, the consonant follows the regular rules for reduplication, but the vowel of the reduplicated syllable is generally -i-. Sometimes, the reduplicated syllable and the root are contracted into one syllable, which, together with assimilation with -sa-, gives some unusual forms.

The intensive stem is formed by a peculiar reduplication of the root with or without the addition of the suffix -ya-. In this reduplication, the first consonant of the root is repeated according to the regular rules of reduplication given above, but:

1. The vowel is lengthened;
2. A consonant, generally r or a nasal, taken from the end of the root, may or may not be inserted between the vowel of the reduplicated syllable and the root;
3. i or ī, according to whether the root begins with a consonant cluster or a single consonant, may or may not be still further inserted between this final consonant of the reduplicated syllable and the root.

Denominate stems are formed by adding one of the following suffixes to a noun stem: -aya-, -āya-, -iya-, or -īya-.

The following is a synopsis of the derivatives of khan- (also written khaṇ-) ‘to dig, to dig out, to uproot; to destroy’: (passive) khaññati; (causative) khāneti. The third singular forms are given.

Present System

PRESENT INDICATIVE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khaññati	khaññe
Causative	khāneti	khāne

IMPERFECT

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	akhañña	akhaññattha
Causative	akhānaya	akhānayattha

IMPERATIVE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khaññatu	khaññataṁ
Causative	khānetu	khānetaṁ

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khaññaṁ, khaññanto	khaññamāno, khaññāno
Causative	khaññaṁ, khaññanto	khaññamāno, khaññāno

Aorist System

AORIST

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	akhaññi	akhaññittha
Causative	akhānesi	akhānesittha

Perfect System

PERFECT

[Not Formed]

PERFECT PARTICIPLE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khato	khaññamāno, khaññāno
Causative	khānitavā	khaññamāno, khaññāno

Future System

FUTURE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khaññissati	khaññissate
Causative	khānessati	khānessate

CONDITIONAL

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	akhaññissā	akhaññissatha
Causative	akhānessā	akhānessatha

FUTURE PARTICIPLE

	Active	Reflexive
Passive	khaññissaṁ, khaññissanto	khaññissamāno, khaññissāno
Causative	khānessaṁ, khānessanto	khaññissamāno, khaññissāno

Non-Finite Forms

	INFINITIVE	GERUND	PARTICIPLE OF NECESSITY
Passive	khaññituṁ	khaññitvā	khaññitabbo
Causative	khānetuṁ	khānetvā	khānetabbo

5.6. Compound Verbs

In addition to the secondary verbs just discussed, Pāḷi has compound verbs. Compound verbs are formed from verb roots to which adverbs and prepositions have been prefixed.

5.7. Past Passive Participle

The so-called “past passive participle” (also called the “passive perfect participle”) has the force of a perfect participle but, in its formation, has no connection with either the perfect stem of the primary conjugation or the special passive stem of the secondary conjugation. It is a primary derivation formed directly from the root by adding the suffixes -ta or -na. Of the two, the suffix -ta is by far the most frequently used. All forms of this participle are declined with the case endings of the first declension. The past passive participle is widely used in Pāḷi.

The past passive participle is often used with some form, generally present, aorist, or future, of the verbs atthi, hoti, or bhavati ‘to be, to become’, either expressed or understood, as a regular periphrastic conjugation.

The suffix -ta is affixed to the root in several ways. If the root ends in a vowel, -ta is added directly to it. If the root ends in -ā, however, that vowel is generally changed to -i or -ī.

If the root ends in a consonant, -ta may either be joined to it by means of the connecting vowel -i- (yielding -ita), or it may become assimilated to the consonant according to the following rules:

1. When -ta is added to roots ending in -g-, the past passive participle takes the form -gga
2. When -ta is added to roots ending in -c-, the past passive participle takes the form -tta
3. When -ta is added to roots ending in -cch-, the past passive participle takes the form -ṭṭha
4. When -ta is added to roots ending in -j-, the past passive participle takes the form -tta
5. When -ta is added to roots ending in -dh-, the past passive participle takes the form -ddha
6. When -ta is added to roots ending in -n-, the -n is dropped, and -ta is added to what is left
7. When -ta is added to roots ending in -p-, the past passive participle takes the form -tta
8. When -ta is added to roots ending in -bh-, the past passive participle takes the form -ddha
9. When -ta is added to roots ending in -m-, the past passive participle takes the form -nta, or they drop the -m- before -ta
10. When -ta is added to roots ending in -s-, the past passive participle takes the form -ṭṭha
11. When -ta is added to roots ending in -h-, the past passive participle takes the form -ddha or -ḷha

When the suffix -na is added to roots ending in a consonant, it may become assimilated to the consonant as follows:

1. When -na is added to roots ending in -d-, the past passive participle takes the form -nna
2. When -na is added to roots ending in -r-, the past passive participle takes the form -iṇṇa or drop the -r and add -ta to what is left

5.7.1. Past Passive Participle -ta

The suffix -ta is by far the most commonly used formation.

Examples:

1. Roots ending in a vowel:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   nahā- ‘to bathe’	nahāyati ‘he/she bathes’	nahāta ‘bathed’
   bhū- ‘to be, become’	to bhavati ‘he/she is, he/she becomes’	bhūta ‘been, become’
   nī- ‘to lead’	neti, nayati ‘he/she leads’	nīta ‘led’
   ji- ‘to conquer’	jeti, jayati ‘he/she conquers’	jita ‘conquered’
   ci- ‘to collect’	cināti ‘he/she collects’	cita ‘collected’
   bhī- ‘to be afraid’	bhāyati ‘he/she is afraid’	bhīta ‘afraid, frightened’
   yā- ‘to go, to undergo’	yāti ‘he/she goes, undergoes’	yāta ‘gone, undergone’
   ñā- ‘to know’	jānāti ‘he/she knows’	ñāta ‘known’

2. Roots ending in -ā:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   pā- ‘to drink’	pibati ‘he/she drinks’	pita ‘drunk’
   ṭhā- ‘to stand’	tiṭṭhati ‘he/she stands’	ṭhita ‘stood’
   dhā- ‘to put’	dahati ‘he/she puts’	hita ‘put, placed’
   dā- ‘to give’	dadāti ‘he/she gives’	dinna ‘given’

3. Roots ending in a consonant and inserting -i- before -ta:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   pac- ‘to cook’	pacati ‘he/she cooks’	pacita ‘cooked’
   cal- ‘to shake’	calati ‘he/she/it shakes’	calita ‘shaken’
   gah- ‘to take’	gaṇhāti ‘he/she takes’	gahita ‘taken’
   kapp- ‘to arrange’	kappeti ‘he/she arranges’	kappita ‘arranged’
   khād- ‘to eat’	khādati ‘he/she eats’	khadita ‘eaten’
   likh- ‘to write’	likhati ‘he/she writes’	likhita ‘written’
   maṇḍ- ‘to adorn’	maṇḍeti ‘he/she adorns’	maṇḍita ‘adorned’
   gil- ‘to swallow’	gilati ‘he/she swallows’	gilita ‘swallowed’
   kath- ‘to tell’	katheti ‘he/she tells’	kathita ‘told’

   Notes:
   1. Participles like pacita ‘cooked’, calita ‘shaken’, etc. are declined like purisa (m.) ‘man’.
   2. In the neuter, these participles are often used as nouns: (root) has- ‘to smile’, (past passive participle) hasita ‘smiled’, (neuter) hasitaṁ ‘a smile’; (root) gajj- ‘to roar, to thunder’, (past passive participle) gajjita ‘thundered’, (neuter) gajjitaṁ ‘the thunder’; (root) jīv- ‘to live’, (past passive participle) jīvita lived’, (neuter) jīvitaṁ ‘life’.
4. Roots ending in a consonant in which -ta is assimilated to the final consonant:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   bhuj- ‘to eat’	bhuñjati ‘he/she eats’	bhutta ‘eaten’
   muc- ‘to release’	muñcati ‘he/she releases’	mutta ‘released’
   is- ‘to wish’	icchati ‘he/she wishes’	iṭṭha ‘wished’
   kas- ‘to plow’	kasati ‘he/she plows’	kaṭṭha ‘plowed’
   ḍas- ‘to bite’	ḍasati, ḍaṁsati ‘he/she bites’	daṭṭha ‘bitten’
   dam- ‘to tame’	dāmyati ‘he/she tames’	danta ‘tamed
   kam- ‘to walk’	kamati ‘he/she walks’	kanta ‘walked’
   rudh- ‘to obstruct’	rundhati ‘he/she/it obstructed’	ruddha ‘obstructed’
   budh- ‘to awaken’	bujjhati ‘he/she awakens’	buddha ‘awakened’
   labh- ‘to obtain’	labhati ‘he/she obtains’	laddha ‘obtained’
   majj- ‘to wipe, to clean, polish’	majjati ‘he/she wipes, cleans, to polishes’	maṭṭha (also maṭṭa) ‘wiped, cleaned, polished’
   muh- ‘to err, to go astray’	muyhati ‘he/she errs, goes astray’	mūḷha (also muddha) ‘erred, gone astray’
   ruh- ‘to grow’	rūhati ‘he/she/it grows’	rūḷha ‘grown’
   lih- ‘to lick’	lihati ‘he/she licks’	līḷha ‘licked’
   jhas- ‘to hurt’	jhasati ‘he/she/it hurts’	jhatta ‘hurt’
   pat- ‘to fall’	patati ‘he/she/it falls’	patta ‘fallen’
   tap- ‘to burn’	tapati ‘it burns’	tatta ‘burned’
   duh- ‘to milk’	dohati ‘he/she milks’	duddha ‘milked’

5. Roots ending in -r generally drop the -r before -ta:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   kar- ‘to do’	karoti ‘he/she does’	kata ‘did’
   sar- ‘to remember’	sarati ‘he/she remembers’	sata ‘remembered’
   mar- ‘to die’	marati ‘he/she dies’	mata ‘dead’

6. Roots ending in -n general drop the -n before -ta:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   man- ‘to think’	maññati ‘he/she thinks’	mata ‘thought’
   khan- (also khaṇ-) ‘to dig’	khanati (also khaṇati) ‘he/she digs’	khata (also khāta) ‘dug’
   han- ‘to strike, to kill’	hanati ‘he/she strikes, kills’	hata ‘stricken, killed’

7. Sometimes, final -ṁ is also dropped before -ta:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   gam- ‘to go’ ram- ‘to enjoy oneself’	gacchati ‘he/she goes’ ramati ‘he/she enjoys himself/ herself’	gata ‘gone’ rata ‘enjoyed, amused, delighted’

5.7.2. Past Passive Participle -na

The suffix -na is far less common than -ta. Like -ta, the suffix -na may be added to roots ending in a consonant by means of a connecting vowel -i-, or it may be added directly to roots ending in a vowel. When -na is added directly to roots ending in a consonant, either that consonant is assimilated to the -n- of -na, or the -n- of -na is assimilated to the final consonant. The suffix -na is added mainly to roots ending in -d- and -r-.

Examples:

1. The suffix -na added to roots ending in -d-:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   sad- ‘to sink, to subside, to yield’	sīdati ‘he/she/it sinks, subsides, yields’	sanna ‘sunk, subsided, yielded’
   pasad- ‘to be calm, pleased’	pasīdati ‘he/she is calm, pleased’	pasanna ‘calmed, pleased’
   nisad- ‘to sit down’	nisīdati ‘he/she sits down’	nisinna ‘sat down’
   chid- to cut off’	chindati ‘he/she cuts off’	chinna ‘cut off’
   chad- ‘to cover’	chādati ‘he/she/it covers’	channa ‘covered’

2. The suffix -na added to roots ending in -r-:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   tar- ‘to cross’	tarati ‘he/she crosses’	tiṇṇa ‘crossed’
   car- ‘to walk, to move about’	carati ‘he/she walks, moves about’	ciṇṇa ‘walked, moved about’
   kīr- ‘to scatter’	kirati ‘he/she scatters’	kiṇṇa ‘scattered’

3. The suffix -na added to roots ending in a vowel:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   lī- ‘to stick to, to cling to’	līyati ‘he/she/it sticks to, clings to’	līna ‘stuck to, clung to’
   lū- ‘to cut, to reap’	lunāti ‘he/she/it cuts, reaps’	lūna ‘cut, reaped’
   khī- to waste away, to be exhausted’	khīyati ‘he/she/it wastes away, is exhausted’	khīṇa ‘wasted away, exhausted’
   hā- ‘to leave, to abandon’	jahāti (also jahati) ‘he/she leaves, abandons’	hīna ‘low, inferior’

4. The suffix -na added to roots ending in a consonant other than -d- or -r-:

   Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
   bhaj- ‘to divide’	bhajati ‘he/she divides’	bhagga ‘divided’

5.7.3. Two Forms of the Past Passive Participle

Sometimes, there are two forms of the past passive participle for the same root.

Examples:

Root	Present (3rd person singular)	Past Passive Participle
lag- ‘to adhere’	lagati (also laggati) ‘it adheres’	lagga ~ lagita ‘adhered’
gam- ‘to go’	gacchati ‘he/she goes’	gata ~ gamita ‘gone’
dā- ‘to give’	dadāti ‘he/she gives’	dinna ~ data ‘given’
kas- ‘to plow’	kasati ‘he/she plows’	kaṭṭha ~ kasita ‘plowed’

5.8. Perfect Participle Active

The perfect participle active is formed by adding -vā to the past passive participle.

Examples:

Root	Past Passive Participle	Perfect Participle Active
pac- ‘to cook’	pacita ‘cooked’	pacitavā ‘having cooked’
bhuj- ‘to eat’	bhutta ‘eaten’	bhuttavā ‘having eaten’
kar- ‘to do’	kata ‘done’	katavā ‘having done’
kas- ‘to plow’	kasati ‘he/she plows’	kaṭṭha ~ kasita ‘plowed’

Notes:

1. The perfect participles active are declined like (nom. sg. m.) guṇavā (adj.) ‘virtuous’.
2. These participles can also be formed with the suffix -vī, in which case the -a- before the -vī is lengthened to -ā-, thus: pacitāvī ‘having cooked’; bhuttāvī ‘having eaten’; etc.

5.9. Infinitives

Infinitives serve to express the meaning of the verb in the abstract, without regard to tense, aspect, mood, or person. They may be translated into English by “to …” or “for the purpose of …”, “in order to …” Infinitives are formed by adding one of the following suffixes to the root: -tuṁ; -tave; -tuye; -tāye. Infinitives are used both actively and passively.

5.9.1. The Suffix -tuṁ

The suffix -tuṁ is by far the most common form. The other suffixes are extremely rare, though -tave occurs more frequently than the remaining two. The suffix -tuṁ is added directly to roots ending in a vowel. When roots end in a consonant, it may be added by means of the connecting vowel -i-. When added directly to roots ending in a consonant without the connecting vowel -i-, the initial -t- of -tuṁ is assimilated to or assimilates the final consonant of the root in exactly the same way as in the formation of the past passive participle.

Examples:

Root	Infinitive
pac- ‘to cook’	pacituṁ ‘to cook’
khād- ‘to chew, to bite’	khādituṁ ‘to chew, to bite’
thar- ‘to spread’	tharituṁ ‘to spread’
budh- ‘to awaken’	bodhituṁ (also bujjhituṁ) ‘to awaken’
chid- ‘to cut’	chindituṁ (also chettuṁ) ‘to cut’
dā- ‘to give’	dātuṁ ‘to give’
ṭhā- ‘to stand’	ṭhātuṁ ‘to stand’
yā- ‘to go’	yātuṁ ‘to go’
i- ‘to go’	etuṁ ‘to go’
ji- ‘to conquer’	jetuṁ ‘to conquer’
nī- ‘to lead’	netuṁ ‘to lead’
sī- ‘to lie down, to sleep’	setuṁ (also sayituṁ) ‘to lie down, to sleep’
su- ‘to hear’	sotuṁ (also suṇituṁ) ‘to lead’
labh- ‘to receive’	laddhuṁ ‘to receive’
bhu-j ‘to eat’	bhottuṁ ‘to eat’
gam- ‘to go’	gantuṁ ‘to go’

Notes:

1. Both the roots and the infinitives cited above are translated with infinitive meanings.
2. Roots ending in -i, -ī strengthen these vowels to -e before -tuṁ.
3. Roots ending in -u, -ū strengthen these vowels to -o before -tuṁ.

5.9.2. The Suffixes -tave, -tuye, -tāye

Examples:

Root	Infinitive
nī- ‘to lead’	netave (also netuṁ) ‘to leave’
hā- ‘to leave, to abandon’	vippahātave ‘to leave, to abandon’
nam- ‘to bend’	unnametave ‘to rise up, to ascend’
dhā- ‘to put’	nidhetave ‘to hide, to bury (a treasure)’
mar- ‘to die’	marituye (also marituṁ) ‘to die’
gaṇ- ‘to count, to reckon’	gaṇetuye ‘to count, to reckon’
das- ‘to see, to perceive’	dakkhitāye (also dakkhituṁ) ‘to see, to perceive’

Notes:

1. Several forms of the infinitive are often found for the same root.

5.10. Gerunds

Gerunds are formed by means of the suffixes: -tvā; -tvāna; -tūna; -ya or -tya (-cca). The suffix -tvā is the most common form. The other forms are used as substitutes for -tvā and are found in poetry much more than in prose. Gerunds are indeclinable.

5.10.1. The Suffixes -tvā, -tvāna, -tūna

The suffixes -tvā, -tvāna, and -tūna are added directly to roots ending in a vowel. When a root ends in a long vowel, it is shortened before these suffixes.

When roots end in a consonant, these suffixes may be added by means of the connecting vowel -i-. When they are added directly to roots ending in a consonant without the connecting vowel -i-, the initial -t- of these suffixes may be assimilated to the final consonant of the root. Occasionally, the final consonant of the root is dropped before these suffixes.

Examples:

Root	Gerund
pac- ‘to cook’	pacitvā ‘having cooked’
khād- ‘to chew, to bite’	khāditvā ‘having chewed, bitten’
labh- ‘to receive’	labhitvā (also laddhā) ‘having received’
nī- ‘to lead’	netvā ‘having led’
chid- ‘to cut’	chetvā ‘having cut’
kar- ‘to do’	katvā (also kātūna, kattūna) ‘having done’
ṭhā- ‘to stand’	ṭhitvā (also ṭhatvā) ‘having stood’
bhī- ‘to fear’	bhitvā ‘having feared’
dā- ‘to give’	datvā (also daditvā, daditvāna) ‘having given’
bhuj- ‘to eat’	bhutvā ‘having eaten’
ji- ‘to conquer’	jitvā (also jetvā) ‘having conquered’
su- ‘to hear’	sutvā (also sotūnaṁ, suṇitvā, suṇitvāna) ‘having heard’

5.10.2. The Suffixes -ya and -tya

Though the suffix -ya is used with simple roots in a few cases, it is mostly used with roots compounded with prefixes. When added directly to roots ending in a consonant, the initial -y- of -ya is assimilated to the final consonant of the root. This suffix is added directly to roots ending in -ā, and it may also be added to any root or to the base by means of the connecting vowel -i-. The suffix -tya is regularly changed to -cca.

Examples:

Root	Gerund
sic- ‘to sprinkle’	nisiñciya ‘having besprinkled’
jān- ‘to know’	vijāniya ‘having known’
ikkh- ‘to look, to see’	samekkhiya ‘having considered, having looked for’
cint- ‘to perceive’	cintiya ‘having perceived’
bhuj- ‘to eat’	bhuñjiya ‘having eaten’
dā- ‘to give’	ādāya (also ādiya) ‘having received’
hā- ‘to leave, to abandon’	vihāya ‘having left, having abandoned’
ñā- ‘to know’	abhiññāya ‘having known’
gah- ‘to take’	gayha ‘having taken’
gam- ‘to go’	gamma ‘having gone’
vis- ‘to enter’	pavissa ‘having entered’
sad- ‘to sit down’	nisīdiya (also nisajja and nisīditvā) ‘having sat down’
kam- ‘to walk, to travel’	akkamma ‘having walked, having traveled’
i- ‘to go’	pecca (< pa+i+tya) ‘having gone’ abhisamecca (< abhi+sam+ā+i+tya) ‘having comprehended’ paṭicca (< paṭi+i+tya) ‘following from, following upon’
han- ‘to strike, to kill’	āhacca ‘having struck, having killed’ upahacca ‘having destroyed’ ūhacca ‘having cut off’
har- ‘to carry off, to take away’	āhacca (< ā+har+tya) ‘having carried off, having taken away’

Notes:

1. The verb vis- ‘to enter’ is only used in combination with prefixes.
2. Sometimes the -ya is dropped, as in: abhiññā ‘having known’ (for abhiññāya); paṭisankhā ‘having pondered, having considered’ (for paṭisankhāya); anupādā ‘not having clung to, not having grasped’ (for anupādāya).
3. As is evident from the above, there are often several forms from the same root, as in: dā- ‘to give’, (gerund) datvā, daditvā, daditvāna, dajjā ‘having given’; kar- ‘to do’, (gerund) kariya, karitvā, katvā, katvāna, kātūna, kattūna ‘having done’; etc.

5.11. Participle of Necessity

The participle of necessity (also called the “future passive participle”, the “gerundive”, or the “potential participle”) is formed by adding one of the following suffixes to the root: -tabba; -ya; -anīya; -īya.

This participle is passive in sense and expresses suitability, fitness, or propriety. It may be translated into English by “fit to be …”, “must be …”, “ought to be…”, “to be …” that which is expressed by the root.

These participles, like the others discussed above, are adjectives and are treated as such.

5.11.1. The Suffix -tabba

The suffix -tabba is the most common. It is added directly to roots ending in a vowel. When roots end in a consonant, it may be added by means of the connecting vowel -i-. When added directly to roots ending in a consonant without the connecting vowel -i-, the initial -t- of -tabba is assimilated to or assimilates the final consonant of the root in exactly the same way as in the formation of the past passive participle.

Examples:

1. The suffix -tabba added to roots ending in a vowel:

   Root	Participle of Necessity
   hā- ‘to leave, to abandon’	hātabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be abandoned’
   dā- ‘to give’	dātabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be given’
   pā- ‘to drink’	pātabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be drunk’

   Notes:
   1. Roots ending in -i, -ī strengthen these vowels to -e before -tabba: (root) nī- ‘to lead’, (participle of necessity) netabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be led’; (root) i- ‘to go’, (participle of necessity) etabba ‘fit to be, that must be gone to’.
   2. Roots ending in -u, -ū change these vowels to -avi before -tabba: (root) bhū- ‘to be’, (participle of necessity) bhavitabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be’; (root) ku- ‘to sing’, (participle of necessity) kavitabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be sung’.
   3. For su- ‘to hear’, the -u is merely strengthened: (participle of necessity) sotabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, must be heard’.
2. The suffix -tabba added to roots ending in a consonant by means of the connecting vowel -i-:

   Root	Participle of Necessity
   pac- ‘to cook’	pacitabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be cooked’
   khan- ‘to dig’	khanitabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be dug’
   pucch- ‘to ask’	pucchittaba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be asked’

3. The suffix -tabba added directly to roots ending in a consonant without the connec- ting vowel -i-:

   Root	Participle of Necessity
   gam- ‘to go’	gantabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be gone to’
   kar- ‘to do’	kattabba, kātabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be done’
   labh- ‘to receive’	laddhabba ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be received’

5.11.2. The Suffix -ya

As a general rule, when the suffix -ya is added directly to roots ending in a consonant, the initial -y- becomes assimilated to the final consonant of the root according to the usual rules of assimilation. Sometimes, the vowel of the root is strengthened (as in bhū- ‘to be’ below).

Examples:

Root	Participle of Necessity
gam- ‘to go’	gamma (< gam+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be gone to’
sak- ‘to be able’	sakka (< sak+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be possible’
khād- ‘to chew, to bite’	khajja (< khād+ya, with vowel shortening) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be chewed, bitten’
vaj- ‘to avoid’	vajja (< vaj+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be avoided’
bhū- ‘to be’	bhabba (< bhav+ya, with strengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be proper, possible’
labh- ‘to obtain’	labbha (< labh+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be obtained’
bhuj- ‘to eat’	bhojja (< bhoj+ya, with strengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be eaten; edible’
bhid- ‘to break’	bhijja (< bhid+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be broken’
lih- ‘to lick’	leyya (< leh+ya, with strengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be licked’
has- ‘to laugh’	hassa (< has+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be laughed at’
gah- ‘to take’	gayha (< gah+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be taken’
kar- ‘to do’	kayya (< kar+ya) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be done’

In a few cases, the suffix -ya is added to roots by means of the connecting vowel -i-.

Examples:

Root	Participle of Necessity
kar- ‘to do’	kāriya (with lengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be done’; also kayīra (with metathesis)
bhar- ‘to bear, to support’	bhāriya (with lengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be supported’

After roots ending in -ā or -i, -ī, the initial -y- of the suffix -ya is doubled, and the vowel of the root is changed to e.

Examples:

Root	Participle of Necessity
hā- ‘to abandon’	heyya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be abandoned’
pā- ‘to drink’	peyya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be drunk’
dā- ‘to give’	deyya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be given’
ji- ‘to conquer’	jeyya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be conquered’
nī- ‘to lead’	neyya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be led’

5.11.3. The Suffix -anīya

The suffix -anīya is added to the root or the base.

Examples

Root	Participle of Necessity
pac- ‘to cook’	pacanīya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be cooked’
puj- ‘to honor’	pujanīya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be honored’
kar- ‘to do’	karaṇīya ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be done’
bhū- ‘to be’	bhavanīya (with strengthening of the root vowel) ‘fit to be, that ought to be, that must be proper, possible’

Notes:

1. The -n- is changed to -ṇ- under the influence of -r- in kar- ‘to do’.

5.12. Denominative Verbs

Denominative stems may be created from any noun, primary or secondary, in the language. Denominative stems are regularly conjugated by adding the personal endings and prefixing, as required, the augment and reduplication.

The suffixes used to create denominative stems are as follows: (a) -āya, -aya, -e; (b) -a; (c) -īya, -iya; (d) -āra, -āla (these two are rather rare and are simply alternative forms of -āya); and (e) -āpe.

The denominative stems generally express:

1. ‘to act as, to be like, to wish to be like’ that which is denoted by the noun;
2. ‘to wish for, to desire’ that which is denoted by the noun;
3. ‘to change or make into’ that which is denoted by the noun;
4. ‘to use or make use of’ that which is denoted by the noun. Examples:

Noun Stem	Denominative Verb (3rd person singular present active)
uṇha ‘heat’	uṇhapeti ‘to heat up, to warm’
upakkama ‘plot, plan’	upakkamālati ‘to plot, to make plans’
karuṇā ‘compassion’	karuṇāyati ‘to feel compassionate, to show compassion’
gaṇa ‘crowd, multitude, following’	gaṇayati ‘to wish for a following or disciples’
cīvara ‘monk’s (upper) robe’	cīvarīyati ‘to desire a robe’
taṇhā ‘craving’	taṇhāyati ‘to crave’
dukkha ‘pain, suffering’	dukkhāpeti ‘to cause pain, suffering’
dhana ‘wealth, riches’	dhanayati, dhanāyati ‘to desire wealth, riches’
patta ‘bowl, alms-bowl’	pattīyati ‘to wish for a bowl’
pabbata ‘a mountain, hill, rock’	pabbatāyati ‘to be like a mountain’
pariyosāna ‘end, conclusion’	pariyosānati ‘to bring to an end’
putta ‘son’	puttīyati ‘to desire a son, to treat as a son’
macchara ‘avarice, greed’	maccharāyati ‘to be avaricious, greedy, selfish’
mettā ‘loving-kindness’	mettāyati ‘to feel friendly, to show loving-kindness’
vīṇā ‘lute’	vīṇāyati ‘to play on the lute’
samudda ‘sea, ocean’	samuddāyati ‘to be like the ocean’
samodhāna ‘combination’	samodhāneti ‘to combine, to put together’
sukha ‘happiness’	sukhāpeti ‘to make happy’

Notes:

1. Denominatives can also be formed from adjectives and adverbs.
2. There is an uncommon way of forming denominative verbs from nouns. The first, second, or third syllable of the noun is reduplicated, and the suffixes -yisa or -īyisa are added to the word thus reduplicated. The vowels -u- or -i- may or may not be inserted between the reduplicated syllables. Examples include:

   Noun Stem	Denominative Verb
   putta ‘son’	pupputtīyisati, puttittīyisati ‘to wish to be (as) a son’
   kamala ‘lotus flower’	kakamalāyisati, kamamalāyisati, kamalalāyisati ‘to wish to be (as) a lotus flower’

3. The passive and causative of all denominative verbs are formed in the usual manner.

Synopsis of the denominative verb puttīyati ‘to desire a son, to treat as a son’ (all finite forms are 3rd person singular):

	Active	Reflexive
Present	puttīyati	puttīyate
Imperfect	aputtīya	aputtīyattha
Imperative	puttīyatu	puttīyataṁ
Optative	puttīyeyya	puttīyetha
Present Participle	puttīyaṁ, puttīyayanto	puttīyamāno, puttīyayāno
Aorist	aputtīyī	aputtīyīttha
Perfect	[not formed]	[not formed]
Future	puttīyissati	puttīyessate
Conditional	puttīyissā	puttīyissatha
Future Participle	puttīyissaṁ, puttīyissanto	puttīyissamāno, puttīyissāno

Infinitive	Gerund	Participle of Necessity
puttīyituṁ	puttīyitvā	puttīyitabbo

5.13. Verbal Prefixes

Verbal prefixes, or prepositions, are called “upasagga” in Pāḷi. They are prefixed to verbs and verbal derivatives. In general, they modify the meaning of the root or intensify it, and, sometimes, they totally alter it. In other cases, they add little to the original meaning of the root.

The usual rules of sandhi apply to these prefixes. When a prefix is placed before a tense with the augment a-, the augment does not change its original position but remains between the prefix and the root.

The verbal prefixes are as follows:

ā ‘to, at, towards, near to, until, as far as, away, all around’.

ati (before vowels = acc) ‘beyond, across, over, past, very much, very’ — it expresses excess.

adhi (before vowels = ajjh) ‘over, above, on, upon, superior to, great’ — it expresses superiority.

anu ‘after, along, according to, near to, behind, less than, in consequence of, beneath’.

apa ‘off, away, away from, forth’ — it also implies detraction, hurt, reverence.

api ‘on, over, unto, close upon’ — This prefix is rarely used. It is mostly prefixed to the roots dhā- ‘to put, to set, to lay’ and nah- ‘to bind, to join’. In most instances, it is abbreviated to pi.

abhi (before vowels = abbh) ‘to, unto, towards, against, in the direction of’ — it also expresses excess, reverence, particularity.

ava ‘down, off, away, back, aside, little, less’ — it also implies disrespect, disregard.

ud ‘upwards, above, up, forth, out’.

upa ‘unto, to, towards, near, with, by the side of, as, like, up to, below, less’.

ni (sometimes lengthened to nī; before vowels = nir) ‘out, forth, down, into, downwards, in, under’.

pa ‘onward, forward to, forth, fore, towards, with’ — it expresses beginning’.

pati (also paṭi) ‘against, back to, in reverse direction, back again in return to, towards, near’.

parā ‘away, back, opposed to, aside, beyond’.

pari (often written pali) ‘around, all around, about, all about, all over’ — it expresses completeness, etc.

vi ‘asunder, apart, away, without’ — implies separation, distinctness, dispersion.

sam ‘with, along, together, fully, perfectly’

Notes:

1. These prefixes are not only used with verbs but also with verbal derivatives, nouns, and adjectives.
2. pari, vi, and sam very often merely add an intensive force to the root.
3. After the prefixes samupa, parā, pari, and the word purā ‘in front, before’, the verb kar- ‘to do’ sometimes assumes the form khar-, as in: purakkharoti ‘to put in front, to revere, to honor’; parikkhāra ‘requisite, accessory, equipment’.

Two, and sometimes three, of the above prefixes may be combined. The most common combinations are:

ajjho (= adhi+o; o = ava) anupa (= anu+pa) anupari (= anu+pari) anusam (= anu+sam) upasam (= upa+sam)

vyā (written byā) (= vi+ā) samabhi (= sam+abhi) samā (= sam+ā)

samud (= sam+ud) samudā (= sam+ud+ā) samupa (= sam+upa)

Several adverbs are used in much the same way as the verbal prefixes, but their use is restricted to a few verbs only. They are:

atthaṁ (adverb and noun) ‘home; setting, disappearing’ — often used to indicate ‘setting (of the sun, moon, and stars)’, an idiomatic expression derived from ‘going home’, as in anatthamite suriye ‘before sunset’, suriyass’atthagamanā ‘at sunset’.

antara ‘among, within, between’ — used with dhā- ‘to put, to place’: antaradhāyati ‘to vanish, to disappear’.

alaṁ ‘fit, fit for’ — used with the verb kar- in the sense of ‘decorating’, as in: alankaroti ‘to adorn, to embellish, to decorate’.

āvi ‘in full view, in sight, in view, manifestly, visibly’ — it is prefixed to the verbs bhū- ‘to be, to become, to exist’ and kar- ‘to do’, as in: āvibhavati ‘to become manifest, visible; to appear, to be evident’; āvikaroti ‘to make manifest, clear, evident; to explain, to show’.

tiro ‘out of sight; across, beyond’ — prefixed to the verbs kar- ‘to do’ and dhā- ‘to put, to place’ in the sense of ‘covering, hiding, etc’, as in : tirodhāpeti ‘to cover, to veil, to put out of sight’; tirodhānaṁ ‘a covering, a veil’; tirokaroti ‘to cover over, to draw across; to veil, to screen’; tirokaraṇī ‘a curtain, a veil’.

pātu (before vowels = pātur) ‘forth to view, manifestly, evidently’ — it is mostly used with the verbs bhū- ‘to be, to become, to exist’ and kar- ‘to do’, as in: pātubhavati ‘to become manifest, evident, clear; to appear, to arise’, pātubhāva ‘appearance, manifestation’; pātukaroti ‘to make manifest, clear, evident; to produce’.

purā ‘in front, before’ — used almost exclusively with kar- ‘to do’, as in: purakkharoti ‘to put or place in front, to appoint or make a person a leader’. ■

6

Indeclinables

6.1. Introduction

The indeclinables (“nipāta” in Pāḷi) include adverbs, prepositions and postpositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

1. Adverbs are words used to modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, phrases, or clauses by expressing time, place, manner, degree, cause, etc. They answer the questions “how?”, “when?”, and “where?”
2. Prepositions and postpositions are relation or function words that connect nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns to other elements of a sentence. Prepositions precede the nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns they connect, while postpositions follow. The combination of a preposition and its object is called a “prepositional phrase”.
3. Conjunctions are uninflected words used to connect other words, phrases, and sentences. Conjunctions may be: (a) “coordinating” (and, but, or, etc.); (b) “subordinating” (if, when, as, because, though, etc.); or (c) “correlative” (either…or, both…and, etc.).
4. Interjections are exclamations, such as: ah!, oh!, ouch!, well!, etc.

6.2. Adverbs

There is a large body of words and forms in Pāḷi used as adverbs, and some of these sometimes seem to have a distinct prepositional force. There are also a few that seem to have a distinct conjunctive force.

There are four classes of words and forms used as adverbs:

1. Case-form adverbs;
2. Derivative adverbs;
3. Prefixes;
4. Miscellaneous adverbs.

Case-form adverbs consist of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and absolute words that have become fixed as adverbs. The cases thus used are: (1) the accusative, most frequently; (2) the instrumental, quite frequently; (3) the ablative and locative, less frequently; (4) the dative, more rarely; and (5) the genitive, quite rarely.

Examples:

Accusative case:

idaṁ ‘here’
kiṁ ‘why?’
taṁ ‘there’
yaṁ ‘because, since’
divasaṁ ‘during the day’
rattiṁ ‘at night’
saccaṁ ‘truly’
khippaṁ ‘quickly’
ciraṁ ‘a long time’
mandaṁ ‘stupidly’
araṁ ‘presently’
alaṁ ‘enough’
isaṁ ‘a little, somewhat’
jātu ‘surely, certainly’
tuṇhī ‘silently’
bahi ‘outside’
mitho, mithu ‘one another, mutually’
raho ‘in secret, secretly’
sajju ‘immediately’
sāyaṁ ‘a little, somewhat’

Instrumental case:

tena ‘therefore’
yena ‘because’
divasena ‘in a day’
māsena ‘in a month’
divā ‘by day’
sahāsā ‘suddenly’
antarena ‘within’
uttarena ‘to the north’
cirena ‘long’
dakkhiṇena ‘to the south’

Ablative case:

arā ‘far off’
kasmā ‘why?’
tasmā ‘therefore’
pacchā ‘behind’
yasmā ‘because’
heṭṭhā ‘below’

Locative case:

avidūre ‘not far’
dūre ‘far’
bāhire ‘outside’
bhuvi ‘on earth, on the earth’
rahasi ‘privately, secretly’
samīpe, santike ‘near’

Dative case:

atthāya ‘for the sake of, for the purpose of’
cirāya ‘for a long time’
hitāya ‘for the benefit of’

Genitive case:

kissa ‘why?’
cirassa ‘long’
hetussa ‘causally’

Derivative adverbs are formed, to some extent, from nouns and adjectives and a few from other adverbs and prepositions. However, the majority of them are formed from pronouns. The suffixes used are as follows:

1. Suffixes of place: -to; -tra; -tta; -ttha; -dha; -ha; -haṁ; -hiṁ.
2. Suffixes of time: -dā, -di; -dāni, -dāniṁ; -rhi, -rahi.
3. Suffixes of manner: -thā; -iti, -ti; -iva, -va, -viya; -eva, -yeva, -heva; -evaṁ.
4. Suffixes of distribution: -dha, -dhi; -khattuṁ; -so, -sā.
5. Suffixes of indefiniteness: -ci; -apa; -cana.

Examples:

abhito ‘near’
orato ‘from the near shore’
dakkhiṇato ‘southerly, on the south’
parato ‘further’
pācīnato ‘easterly, on the east’
pārato ‘from the further shore’
piṭṭhito ‘from the surface, from the back, etc.’
sabbato ‘everywhere’
aññatha, aññatara ‘everywhere’
ubhayattha ‘in both places’
sabbattha ‘everywhere’
ekadā ‘once’
sadā, sabbadā ‘at all times, always’
sabbadhi ‘everywhere’
balasā ‘forcibly’
atthaso ‘according to the sense’
bahuso ‘in a great degree’

Adverbial prefixes are indeclinables that are prefixed to the roots from which verb stems and, less frequently, noun stems are formed. In general, when a prefix is part of a noun stem, it assumes the force of an adjective. The following prefixes are among the most common:

a- (an- before vowels) ‘not’
ati- ‘over, beyond, past, in excess’
adhi- ‘above, over, on, on to’
anu- ‘after, under, along, toward’
anto-, antara- ‘within, between, among’
apa- ‘away, forth, off’
api- ‘unto, on, upon, over’
abhi- ‘to, unto, toward, against’
ava-, o- ‘down, off’
ā- ‘to, toward, unto’ (this prefix reverses the meaning of a few roots)
āvi- ‘manifestly, openly’
u-, ud- ‘up, out, forth, away’
upa- ‘below, under, less; near to’
tiro- ‘across, beyond, over’
du- (dur- before vowels) ‘bad, ill; hard, difficult’
ni- ‘down’
ni-, nir- ‘outward, away; not’
pa- ‘forward, forth, towards’
pati-, paṭi- ‘backward, reversed, in return’
parā- ‘away, forth, at a distance’
pari- ‘around, about’
pātu- (pātur- before vowels) ‘manifestly, openly’
vi- ‘apart, asunder, away, from; not’
saṁ-, sa- ‘along with, together’
su- ‘well, favorable, easy’

Notes:

1. Frequently, two or more of these prefixes are used at the same time in combination with a single root (see Chapter 5, §5.13, for additional information).
2. Only the most general meanings are given above. Many variations in meaning occur, especially when these prefixes are combined with each other.
3. Frequently, the meaning of the root to which the prefix is attached is not changed but merely intensified.
4. Initial consonants are generally doubled after du- ‘bad, ill; hard, difficult’ but rarely after su- ‘well, favorable, easy’.

Miscellaneous adverbs consist of a number of words used as adverbs which do not fit in the other classes. A few of the most common and important are:

atha, atho ‘and, also, then, etc.’

kira, kila ‘they say, we are told that’

kva ‘where?’

khalu ‘indeed’

kho ‘indeed, really, surely, perhaps’

tu ‘now, indeed’

na ‘no, not; un-, non-; in-, im-, il-, ir-; etc.’ (negative particle)

nanu — used to ask questions for which an affirmative answer is expected

nana ‘variously’

nu ‘now’ — also used to ask simple questions

nūna ‘surely, perhaps’

mā ‘do not …’ (prohibitive particle; it is often used with the aorist)

hi ‘for, because; indeed, surely’

6.3. Prepositions and Postpositions

As discussed in Chapter 5, §5.13, verbal prefixes are properly prepositions, and they can be used with nouns as well as with verbs.

There is no special class of words in Pāḷi used to govern nouns. For the most part, the case forms are used to indicate relationships with other elements in a sentence. However, some adverbs, especially the adverbial prefixes listed above, are frequently used with prepositional force, some of the most important being: ati; adhi; anu; anto, antara; apa; ā; āvi; upa; tiro; and pati, paṭi. To these may be added the following:

adho ‘under, below’

purato ‘in front of, before’

bahi, bahiṁ ‘out of, without’

rite ‘except, without’

vinā ‘without, except’

saddhiṁ ‘with, together with’

saha ‘together with, accompanying’

Case forms of nouns, when not fixed in adverbial or prepositional usage, frequently determine the case of nouns with which these words are used. Words used as prepositions may govern any case except the nominative and vocative. Most of the verbal prefixes require that the nouns be in one case or another.

Words with prepositional force follow the nouns that they govern.

6.4. Conjunctions

There are very few conjunctions in Pāḷi. The frequent use of compounds, of the absolute construction, of the particle iti ‘thus’, and especially of the gerund, greatly reduces the need for conjunctions.

Many adverbs, especially derivatives from the relative pronoun stem, have a conjunctive force.

Examples include:

1. Copulative:

   atha ‘and, then, now’

   atho ‘and also, then’

   ca ‘and, also, but, even’ (never used at the beginning of a sentence)

2. Disjunctive:

   atha vā ‘or else, rather’

   uda ‘or’

   uda vā or vā … vā ‘either … or’

   tathā vā ‘nevertheless’

   na vā ‘or not’

   yadi vā ‘whether’

   yadi vā … yadi vā ‘whether or’

   vā ‘or’ (never used at the beginning of a sentence)

3. Conditional:

   ce ‘if’ (never used at the beginning of a sentence)

   noce ‘if not’

   yadi evaṁ, yajj’evaṁ ‘if so’

   yadi sace ‘if’

4. Causal:

   hi ‘for, because; certainly’

6.5. Interjections

Pāḷi has the following interjections:

are, re ‘I say!, hey!’

ahaha ‘alas!, oh!, ah!’

aho vata ‘oh!, ah!’

dhi, dhī ‘shame!, fie!, woe!’

bhaṇe ‘I say!, to be sure!’

bho ‘friend!, sir!’

maññe ‘why!, methinks!’

sadhu ‘well done!, well said!, excellent!, very good!’

he ‘oh!’ ■

7

Compounds

7.1. Introduction

Declinable noun stems are frequently joined together to form compounds. In the older language, compounds are simple and rarely consist of more than two or three stems, but they become more complicated in the later language. The case endings of the first member or members of a compound are generally dropped. There are only a few instances in which they are preserved.

Compounds may also have an indeclinable as the first member. There are even a few compounds made up entirely of indeclinables.

There are six kinds of compounds in Pāḷi:

1. dvanda: copulative compounds;
2. tappurisa: determinative compounds;
3. kammadhāraya (also called missakatappurisa): descriptive compounds;
4. digu: numeral compounds;
5. abyayibhāva: adverbial compounds;
6. bahubbihi: relative, or possessive, compounds.

7.2. Dvanda Compounds (Copulative Compounds)

The members of these compounds are co-ordinate syntactically. In their uncompounded state, each member would be connected with the other by means of the conjunction ca ‘and’.

There are two kinds of dvanda compounds:

1. The compound is a plural and takes the gender and declension of its last member;
2. The compound takes the form of a neuter singular and, no matter how many members it contains, becomes a collective. Such compounds are called “samāhāra” in Pāḷi. This is generally the case with the names of: birds; parts of the body; persons of different sexes; countries; trees; herbs; the cardinal points; domestic animals; things that form an antithesis; etc. Sometimes, these compounds appear as plurals like those in (1). Such compounds are called “itaritara” in Pāḷi. Those compounds that can take either the neuter singular or the plural are called “vikappasamāhāra” in Pāḷi.

The following rules determine the order of the members of dvanda compounds:

1. Words ending in -i and -u are placed first;
2. Shorter words are placed before longer ones;
3. ī and ū are usually shortened to ĭ and ŭ in the middle of a compound;
4. Sometimes, a feminine noun in the middle of a compound is changed to the masculine form (as in candimasuriyā ‘the sun and the moon’); sometimes, a feminine noun in the middle of a compound remains unchanged (as in jarāmaraṇaṁ ‘decay and death’).

Examples of dvanda compounds in which the compound is a plural:

samaṇabrāhmaṇā = samaṇā ca brāhmaṇā ca ‘ascetics and Brahmins’

devamanussā = deva ca manussā ca ‘gods (celestial beings) and men’

devamanussānaṁ = devānañ ca manussānañ ca ‘of gods and men’

candimasuriyā = candimā ca suriyo ca ‘the sun and the moon’

aggidhūmā = aggi ca dhūmo ca ‘fire and smoke’

dhammatthā = dhammo ca attho ca: attha refers to the primary meaning of the word, while dhamma refers to interpreted meaning of the text, to its bearing on the doctrine and disciplinary rules: ‘the letter and the spirit (of the doctrine and the disciplinary rules)’

sāriputtamoggallāne = sāriputte ca moggallāne ca ‘in Sāriputta and in Moggallāna’

Examples of dvanda compounds which take the form of a neuter singular:

mukhanāsikaṁ = mukhañ ca nāsikā ca ‘the mouth and the nose’

chavimaṁsalohitaṁ = chavi ca maṁsañ ca lohitañ ca ‘the skin, flesh, and blood’

jarāmaraṇaṁ = jarā ca maraṇañ ca ‘old age and death’

hatthapādaṁ or hatthapādā = hatthā ca pādā ca ‘the hands and the feet’

hatthinassaṁ = hatthino ca assā ca ‘elephants and horses’

kusalākusalaṁ or kusalākusalā = kusalaṁ akusalañ ca ‘wholesome and unwhole- some’

7.3. Tappurisa Compounds (Determinative Compounds)

In these compounds, the first member is a substantive in any case except the nominative and vocative, qualifying, explaining, or determining the last member.

Notes:

1. The case ending of the first member is generally elided.
2. In a few cases, the case ending of the first member is not elided. Such compounds are called “alutta tappurisa” in Pāḷi.
3. The -ā of words such as rājā ‘king, sovereign’, mātā ‘mother’, pitā ‘father’, bhātā ‘brother’, etc. is shortened when they are the first member of a tappurisa compound.
4. Generally, a tappurisa compound takes the gender of the final member.

Examples of tappurisa with the accusative case (dutiya tappurisa):

arañnagato = araññaṁ gato ‘gone to the forest’

sukhapatto = sukhaṁ patto ‘attained happiness’

saccavādi = saccaṁ vādi ‘speaking the truth’

kumbhakāro = kumbhaṁ kāro ‘a pot-maker, a potter’

pattagāho = pattaṁ gāho ‘receiving a bowl’

atthakāmo = atthaṁ kāmo ‘wishing the welfare of’

Examples of tappurisa with the instrumental case (tatiya tappurisa):

buddhabhāsito = buddhena bhāsito ‘spoken by the Buddha’

viññugarahito = viññuhi garahito ‘censured by the wise’

sukāhaṭaṁ = sukehi āhaṭaṁ ‘brought by parrots’

jaccandho = jātiyā andho ‘blind from birth’

urago = urena go ‘going on the chest’, that is, ‘a snake’

pādapo = pādena po ‘drinking with the foot (root)’, that is, ‘a tree’

asikalaho = asinā kalaho ‘a combat with swords’

Notes:

1. In some tappurisa compounds, a word necessary to express the full meaning, is completed elided, as in:

   guḷodano = guḷena saṁsaṭṭho odano ‘rice mixed with molasses’

   assaratho = assena yutto ratho ‘a carriage yoked with horses, a horse carriage’

Examples of tappurisa with the dative case (catuttha tappurisa):

kathinadussaṁ = kathinassa dussaṁ ‘cloth of the kathina robe’

sanghabhattaṁ = sanghassa bhattaṁ ‘rice (prepared) for the Sangha’

buddhadeyyaṁ = buddhassa deyyaṁ ‘worthy to be offered to the Buddha’

rājārahaṁ = rañño arahaṁ ‘worthy of the king’

Notes:

1. In these compounds, the final member designates the object destined for or attributed to that which is expressed by the first member.
2. Compounds formed by adding kāmo ‘desirous (of)’ to an infinitive are considered to belong here. Examples include:

   kathetukāmo = kathetuṁ kāmo ‘desirous to speak’

   sotukāmo = sotuṁ kāmo ‘desirous to hear’

   gantukāmo = gantuṁ kāmo ‘desirous to go’

Examples of tappurisa with the ablative case (pañcama tappurisa):

nagaraniggato = nagaramhā niggato ‘gone out of town’

rukkhapatito = rukkhasmā patito ‘fallen from the tree’

sāsanacuto = sāsanamhā cuto ‘fallen away from the religion’

corabhīto = corā bhīto ‘afraid of the thief’

pāpabhīruko = pāpato bhīruko ‘fearing evil’

pāpajigucchī = pāpato jigucchī ‘loathing evil’

bandhanamokkho = bandhanasmā mokkho ‘freedom from the bonds’

lokaggo = lokato aggo ‘greater than the world’

mātujo = mātito jo ‘born from a mother’

Examples of tappurisa with the genitive case (chaṭṭha tappurisa):

rājaputto = rañño putto ‘the king’s son’

dhaññarāsi = dhaññānaṁ rāsi ‘a heap of grains’

naditīraṁ = nadiyā tiraṁ ‘the bank of the river’

bhikkhunisangho = bhikkhunīnaṁ sangho ‘the Bhikkhunī Sangha’

naruttamo = narānaṁ uttamo ‘the greatest of men’

Notes:

1. tappurisa compounds in the genitive are by far the most common.
2. Final -ī and -ū of the first member are usually shortened to -ĭ and -ŭ, respectively.
3. The word ratti ‘night’ takes the form rattaṁ at the end of a tappurisa compound.

Examples of tappurisa with the locative case (sattama tappurisa):

araññavāso = arañe vāso ‘living in the forest’

dānajjhāsayo = dāne ajjhāsayo ‘inclined to alms-giving’

dhammarato = dhamme rato ‘delighting in the teachings’

vanacāro = vane cāro ‘walking in the woods’

thalaṭṭho = thale ṭho ‘standing on firm ground’

pabbataṭṭho = pabbatasmiṁ ṭho ‘standing on a mountain’

Irregular tappurisa compounds:

1. Sometimes the first member of a tappurisa compound is placed last:
   rājahaṁso (also haṁsarājā) = haṁsānaṁ rājā ‘the swan-king’.
2. In alutta tappurisa compounds, the case endings are not dropped:

   pabbankaro = pabbaṁ karo ‘making light’, that is, ‘the sun’

   vessantaro = vessaṁ taro ‘crossing over to the merchants’ (the name of a king)

   parassapadaṁ = parassa padaṁ ‘word for another’, that is, the ‘active voice’

   attanopadaṁ = attano padaṁ ‘word of oneself’, that is, the ‘reflexive voice’

   kutojo = kuto jo ‘sprung from where?’

   antevāsiko = ante vāsiko ‘a pupil within’, that is ‘a resident pupil’

   urasilomo = urasi (locative) lomo ‘having hair on the chest, hairy-chested’

   Notes:
   1. The case of the first member may be any case except the nominative and vocative.

7.4. Upapada Compounds

When the second member of a dutiya tappurisa compound is a primary (kita) derivative, and the first member of a noun is in the accusative relation, the compound is called “upapada”. Such a compound may be called indifferently: “upapada”, “upapadatappurisa”, or, simply, “tappurisa”.

Examples:

atthakāmo = atthaṁ kāmo ‘wishing for the welfare of’ (kāmo is a kita derivative)

kumabhakāro = kumbhaṁ kāro ‘a pot-maker, a potter’ (kāro is a kita derivative)

pattagāho = pattaṁ gāho ‘receiver of the bowl’

rathakāro = rathaṁ kāro ‘carriage maker, cartwright’

brahmacārī = brahmaṁ cārī ‘one who leads the holy life’

dhammaññū = dhammaṁ ñū ‘he who knows the teaching’

7.5. Kammadhāraya Compounds (Descriptive Compounds)

In kammadhāraya compounds, the adjective mahant ‘great, big, extensive, important’ assumes the form mahā-, or, if the consonant which follows is doubled, maha-. In certain compounds, the combination with mahā- has become so established and customary that the compound is viewed as an inseparable unity in which the second member either no longer occurs as an independent word or, if it does occur, only very rarely.

The word sant ‘being, existing; good true’ becomes sa-. The word puman ‘man, male’ becomes pum-. The prefix na ‘not’ becomes a- before a consonant and an- before a vowel. The stem ku (kud-, kum-) ‘bad, wrong, little’ may be replaced by ka- before a consonant and kad- before a vowel.

When two members of a kammadhāraya compound are feminine, the first one takes the form of a masculine. Sometimes, the last member of a kammadhāraya compound is also changed from the feminine form to the masculine form.

kammadhāraya compounds are divided into nine classes:

1. visesanapubbapada kammadhāraya, in which the determining or qualifying word is placed first, as in:

   mahāpuriso = mahanto puriso ‘a great person’

   mahānadī = mahantī nadī ‘a large river’

   mahabbhayaṁ = mahantaṁ bhayaṁ ‘great fear’

   aparapuriso = aparo puriso ‘another person’

   kaṇhasappo = kaṇho sappo ‘a black snake’

   nīluppalaṁ = nīlaṁ uppalaṁ ‘a blue lotus’

2. visesanaparapada, or vivesanuttarapada, kammadhāraya, in which the second member determines or qualifies the first, as in:

   naraseṭṭho = naro seṭṭho ‘the oldest man’

   purisuttamo = puriso uttamo ‘the most important person’

   buddhaghosācariyo = buddhaghoso ācariyo ‘the teacher Buddhaghosa’

   sāriputtathero = sāriputto thero ‘the elder Sāriputta’

3. visesanobhayapada kammadhāraya, in which both members are determinate or qualifying. In such compounds, a word (such as so or he) is generally understood to stand between the two members of these compounds. Examples include:

   sītuṇhaṁ = sītaṁ (tañ ca) uṇhaṁ ‘hot (and) cold’

   khañjakhujjo = khañjo (ca so) khujjo ‘lame (and) hump-backed’

   andhabadhiro = andho (ca so) badhiro ‘blind (and) deaf’

   katākataṁ = kataṁ (ca taṁ) akataṁ ‘done (and) not done’

4. sambhāvanāpubbapada kammadhāraya, in which the first member indicates the origin of the second member, or the relationship of the second term to the first. In such compounds, words such as the following are generally understood to stand between the two members of these compounds in order to bring out the full meaning: iti ‘namely, thus’; evaṁ ‘thus’; saṁkhāto ‘called, named’; hutvā ‘being’. Examples include:

   hetupaccayo = hetu (hutvā) paccayo ‘the term being, or considered as, the cause; the term which is the cause or condition’

   aniccasaññā = anicca iti saññā ‘the perception, namely, impermanence’

   hinasamato = hino hutvā samato ‘equal in being low, unworthy, inferior’

   dhammabuddhi = dhammo iti buddhi ‘knowledge (arising from) the teachings’

   attadiṭṭhi = attā itti diṭṭhi ‘the false view of Self’

5. upamā, or upamānuttarapada, kammadhāraya, in which analogy is expressed between the two terms. In such compounds, the word viya ‘like’ is understood to stand between the two members. Examples include:

   buddhādicco = ādicco viya buddho ‘the sun-like Buddha’

   munisīho = sīho viya muni ‘lion-like sage’

   saddhammaraṁsi = raṁsi viya saddhammo ‘light-like good teachings’

   Notes:
   1. The words ādicca ‘sun’, sīha ‘lion’, pungava ‘bull’, usabha ‘bull’, nāga ‘elephant’, are frequently used in such compounds to denote superiority, greatness, excellence, or eminence, so that buddhādicco may be translated as ‘the eminent Buddha’, munisīho ‘the great sage’, munipungavo ‘the eminent sage’, etc.
6. avadhāranapubbapada kammadhāraya, in which the first member specifies a general term. In order to resolve these compounds, the native grammarians insert the word eva ‘just, even’ (but which cannot be properly translated into English) between the two members. In English, these compounds must be translated as if they were in a genitive relationship. Examples include:

   guṇadhanaṁ = guṇo eva dhanaṁ ‘a wealth of virtues’

   sīladhanaṁ = sīlaṁ eva dhanaṁ ‘the treasure of morality’

   paññāsatthaṁ = paññā eva satthaṁ ‘the sword of wisdom’

   paññāpajjoto = paññā eva pajjoto ‘the light of wisdom’

   avijjāmalā = avijjā eva malaṁ ‘the stain of ignorance’

7. kunipātapubbapada kammadhāraya, the first member of which is ku. Examples include:

   kuputto = ku+putto ‘a bad son’ kudāsā = ku+dāsā ‘bad slaves’

   kadannaṁ = kad+annaṁ ‘bad food’

   kāpuriso = kā+puriso ‘a low, vile, or contemptible person’

   kadariyo = kad+ariyo ‘ignoble’

   kalavaṇaṁ = ka+lavaṇaṁ ‘a little salt’

8. nanipātapubbapada kammadhāraya, in which the prefix a- (before a consonant) / an- (before a vowel) ‘not’ is the first member of the compound. Examples include:

   anariyo = an+ariyo ‘ignoble’

   anīti = an+īti ‘free from calamity’

   anūmi = an+ūmi ‘not having waves, waveless’

   anatikkama = an+atikkama ‘not transgressing’

   anatthakāmo = an+atthakāmo ‘not wishing for the welfare of’

9. pādipubbapada kammadhāraya, in which the first member is pa (pā) ‘forth, forward; to a higher degree’, or any other prefix. Examples include:

   pāvacanaṁ = pa+vacanaṁ ‘the excellent word’, that is, ‘the word of the Buddha’

   pamukho = pa+mukho ‘facing, in front of, first, foremost, chief’

   vikappo = vi+kappo ‘thinking over, considering; thought, consideration’

   atidevo = ati+deva ‘supreme god’

   abhidhammo = abhi+dhammo ‘higher doctrine’

   uddhammo = ud+dhammo ‘wrong or false doctrine’

   ubbinayo = ud+vinayo ‘wrong discipline’

   sugandho = su+gandho ‘good smell, fragrance’

   dukkataṁ = du+kataṁ ‘a bad deed’

Notes:

1. Nouns in apposition are considered to be kammadhāraya compounds. Example include:

   vinayapiṭakaṁ = vinaya+piṭakaṁ ‘the Vinaya Piṭaka’

   angājanapadaṁ = angā+janapadaṁ ‘the Province of Bengal (Angā)’

   magadhāraṭṭhaṁ = magadhā+raṭṭhaṁ ‘the Kingdom of Magadhā’

   cittogahapati = cito+gahapati ‘Citta, the householder’

2. Sometimes, when the last member of a kammadhāraya compound is feminine, it assumes the masculine form, as in:

   dīghajangho = dīghā+janghā (feminine) ‘long-legged’

7.6. Digu Compounds (Numeral Compounds)

When a numeral occurs as the first member of a digu compound, the stem only is used. There are two kinds of digu compounds:

1. samāhāra digu, which, considered as a collective, takes the form of a neuter singular. Examples include:

   tilokaṁ = ti+lokaṁ ‘the three worlds’ (collectively)

   tiratanaṁ = ti+ratanaṁ ‘the Three Jewels’ (collectively)

   catusaccaṁ = catu+saccaṁ ‘the Four Truths’ (collectively)

   sattāhaṁ = satta+ahaṁ ‘seven days’ (collectively), hence, ‘a week’

   pañcasikkhāpadaṁ = pañca+sikkhāpadaṁ ‘the Five Precepts’ (collectively)

   dvirattaṁ = dvi+ratti (see note below) ‘two nights’

   tivangulaṁ = ti(+epenthetic v)+anguli (see note below) ‘three fingers’

   navasataṁ = nava+sataṁ ‘nine hundred’

   catusahassaṁ = catu+sahassaṁ ‘four thousand’

   Notes:
   1. When they occur as the last member of a digu compound, some words change their final vowel to a, if it is other than a.
2. asamāhāra digu, which takes the form of a plural. Examples include:

   tibhavā = ti+bhavā ‘the three states of existence’

   catudisā = catu+disā ‘the four quarters’

   pañcindriyāni = pañca+indriyāni ‘the five faculties’

   sakaṭasatāni = sakaṭa+satāni ‘one hundred carts’

   catusatāni = catu+satāni ‘four hundreds’

   dvisatasahassāni = dvi+sata+sahassāni ‘two hundred thousand’

7.7. Abyayibhāva Compounds (Adverbial Compounds)

In abyayibhāva compounds, the first member is an indeclinable. The last member generally assumes the form of the accusative singular in -ṁ, and the entire compound is, itself, indeclinable.

If the final vowel of the last member is -ā, it is replaced by -aṁ. Other long vowels are shortened.

Examples include:

upagangaṁ = upa+gangāyaṁ (locative) ‘near the Ganges’

upanagaraṁ = upa+nagaraṁ (locative) ‘near the town’

upagu = upa+gunnaṁ (plural) ‘near the cows’

anurathaṁ = anu+rathe ‘behind the chariot’

yāvajīvaṁ = yāva+jīvā (ablative) ‘as long as life lasts’

antopāsādaṁ = anto+pāsādassa ‘within the palace’

anuvassaṁ = anu+vassaṁ ‘year after year, every year’

anugharaṁ = anu+gharaṁ ‘house after house, in every house’

yathābalaṁ = yathā+balena ‘according to (one’s) power’

pativātaṁ = pati+vātaṁ (accusative) ‘against the wind’

tiropabbataṁ = pabbatassa+tiro ‘across the mountain’

uparipabbataṁ = pabbatassa+upari ‘upon the mountain’

paṭisotaṁ = sotassa+paṭilomaṁ ‘against the stream’

adhogangaṁ = gangāya+adho ‘below the Ganges’

upavadhu = upa+vadhū ‘near (his) wife’

adhikumāri = adhi+kumara ‘the young girl’

Sometimes, however, the case ending is retained. The cases thus retained are mostly the ablative and locative. The ablative ending, in particular, may be retained when the indeclinable is one of the following: pari, apa, ā, bahi, yāva, etc. In many cases, a parallel neuter form also occurs for the same compound. Examples include:

yāvajivā or yāvajivaṁ ‘as long as life lasts’

apapabbatā or apapabbataṁ ‘away from the mountain’

bahigāmā or bahigāmaṁ ‘outside the village’

ābhavaggā or ābhavaggaṁ ‘the highest state of experience’

purāruṇā or purāruṇaṁ (= aruṇamhā+pure) ‘before daylight’

pacchābhattā or pacchābhattaṁ ‘after the meal’

tiropabbatā or tiropabbate (locative) or tiropabbataṁ ‘on the other side of the mountain’

anto avīcimhi (locative) ‘in hell’

anutīre ‘along the bank’

antaravithiyaṁ (locative) ‘in the street’

bahisāṇiyaṁ (locative) ‘outside the curtain’

7.8. Bahubbīhi Compounds (Relative, or Possessive, Compounds)

When bahubbīhi compounds are resolved into their component parts, they often require the addition of pronouns such as: ‘one, who, that, which, etc.’ in order to express their full meaning when translated into English — these compounds take the place of a relative clause. A bahubbīhi compound is used as an adjective and, therefore, the final member takes on the forms of the three genders, that is, it agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it qualifies.

In effect, all of the compounds discussed above (dvanda, tappurisa, kammadhāraya, dīgu, abyayibhāva) become bahubbīhi compounds if used as adjectives.

The following are the different kinds of bahubbīhi compounds:

1. pathamā-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word which it qualifies a nominative relation:

   lohitamakkhitaṁ mukhaṁ = lohitena makkhitaṁ mukhaṁ ‘a mouth besmeared with blood’; lohitamakkhitaṁ ‘blood-besmeared’ is the bahubbīhi

   susajjitaṁ puraṁ ‘a well-decorated city’; susajjitaṁ ‘well-decorated’ is the bahubbīhi

2. dutiyā-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word which it qualifies an accusative relation:

   āgatasamaṇo sanghārāmo = imaṁ sanghārāmaṁ samaṇo āgato ‘the monastery into which the ascetic came’; āgatasamaṇo ‘came-into-ascetic’ is the bahubbīhi

   ārūḷhanaro rukkho = so naro imaṁ rukkhaṁ ārūḷho ‘the tree into which the man climbed’;

   ārūḷhanaro ‘climbed-into-man’ is the bahubbīhi

3. tatiyā-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word it qualifies an instrumental relation:

   jitindriyo samaṇo = yena jitāni indriyāni samaṇo ‘the ascetic by whom the senses have been subdued’; jitindriyo ‘subdued-senses’ is the bahubbīhi

   vijitamāro bhagavā = so bhagavā yena māro vijito ‘the Blessed One by whom Māra has been vanquished’; vijitamāro ‘vanquished-Māra’ is the bahubbīhi

4. catutthā-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word it qualifies a dative relation:

   dinnasunko puriso = yassa sunko dinno so ‘the one to whom tax, or tribute, is given’, that is, ‘a tax collector’; dinnasunko ‘tax-given; tribute-given’ is the bahubbīhi

   upanītabhojano samaṇo = so samaṇo yassa bhojanaṁ upanītaṁ ‘the ascetic to whom food is given’; upanītabhojano ‘food-given’ is the bahubbīhi

5. pañcamī-bahubbīhi —the bahubbīhi gives the word it qualifies an ablative relation:

   niggatajano gāmo = asmā gāmasmā janā niggatā ‘the village from which people have departed’; niggatajano ‘departed-people’ is the bahubbīhi

   apagatakāḷakaṁ vatthaṁ = idaṁ vatthaṁ yasmā kāḷakā apagatā ‘the cloth from which the black spots have been removed’, that is, ‘a cloth free from black spots’; apagatakāḷakaṁ ‘removed-black spots’ is the bahubbīhi

6. chaṭṭhī-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word it qualifies a genitive relation:

   chinnahattho puriso = so puriso yassa hattho chinno ‘one whose hands have been cut off’;

   chinnahattho ‘hands-cut off’ is the bahubbīhi

   visuddhasīlo jano = so jano yassa sīlaṁ visuddhaṁ ‘one whose conduct is pure’; visuddha- sīlo ‘pure-conduct’ is the bahubbīhi

7. sattamī-bahubbīhi — the bahubbīhi gives the word it qualifies a locative relation:

   sampannasasso janapado = yasmiṁ janapade sassāni sampannāni ‘a district in which crops are abundant’; sampannasasso ‘abundant-crops’ is the bahubbīhi

   bahujano gāmo = yasmiṁ gāme babū janā honti ‘a village in which there are many people’;

   bahujano ‘many-people’ is the bahubbīhi

Notes:

1. The word qualified by the bahubbīhi compound is often understood or implied and not expressed. Examples include:

   dinnasunko ‘the one to whom tax, or tribute, is given’, that is, ‘a tax collector’

   jitindriyo ‘the ascetic by whom the senses have been subdued’

   lohitamakkhito ‘besmeared with blood’

   sattahaparinibbuto ‘dead for a week’

   somanasso ‘joyful’, literally, ‘one in whom joy has arisen’

   chinnahattho ‘one whose hands have been cut off’

   māsajato ‘a month old’, literally, ‘one who was born one month ago’

   vijitamāro ‘the one by whom Māra has been vanquished’, an epithet of the Buddha

2. In some bahubbīhi compounds, the qualifying word may be placed either first or last without any change in meaning, as in:

   hatthachinno or chinnahattho ‘one whose hands have been cut off’

   jātamāso or māsajāto ‘a month old’

3. Feminine nouns ending in -ī or -ū, as well as stems ending in -tu (= -tā), generally add the suffix -ka when they are the last member of a bahubbīhi. These vowels are then shortened to -ĭ and -ŭ, respectively, before the -ka. Possession is then implied. Examples include:

   bahukattuko deso ‘a place where there are many artisans’; bahukattuko ‘many-artisans’ is the bahubbīhi

   bahukumārikaṁ kulaṁ ‘a family in which there are many girls’; bahukumārikaṁ ‘many- girls’ is the bahubbīhi

   bahunadiko janapado ‘a district in which there are many rivers’; bahunadiko ‘many-rivers’ is the bahubbīhi

4. When a feminine noun is the last member of a bahubbīhi, it takes the masculine form if it is qualifying a masculine noun, and the first member, if also feminine, drops the mark of the feminine, as in:

   dīghā janghā ‘a long leg’: dīghajanghā itthī ‘a long-legged woman’, but dīghajangho puriso ‘a long-legged man’

5. The adjective mahā ‘great’ may be used as the first member of a bahubbīhi, as in:

   mahāpañño ‘very wise’, literally, ‘(of) great-wisdom’

6. Sometimes, -ā is added to the words dhanu ‘a bow’ and dhamma ‘teaching, doctrine’ when they are the last members of a bahubbīhi compound:

   gandhivadhanu = gandhivadhanvā ‘one who has a strong bow’, an epithet of Arjuna

   paccakkhadhammā besides paccakkhadhammo ‘one to whom the teaching is apparent’

7.9. Anomalous Compounds

A few compounds occur which are anomalous in their formation in that they are made up of words not usually compounded together. Such compounds are probably very early formations and, consequently, must be reckoned among the oldest in the language. Examples include:

vitatho = vi+tathā ‘false, unreal’

yathātatho = yathā+tathā ‘real, true, as it really is’

itihā = iti+ha (lengthened to hā) ‘thus indeed’

itihāsa = iti+ha+āsa ‘thus indeed it was’

itihītihā = iti+ha+itithā: the same as itihā,

itihāsa itivuttaṁ = iti+vuttaṁ ‘thus it was said’

itivuttaka = iti+vuttaṁ+ka (suffix): the same as itivuttaṁ; the name of a book in the Pāḷi scriptures

aññamaññaṁ = aññaṁ+aññaṁ ‘one another’

paramparo = paraṁ+para ‘successive’, as in uppattiparamparā ‘successive births’

ahamahamikā = ahaṁ+ahaṁ+ka (suffix) ‘egoism, arrogance, conceit’

7.10. Complex Compounds

Compounds may themselves become either the first or the last member of another compound, or two compounds may be joined together to form a new one, and this new one again may become a member of another compound, and so on to almost any length, thus forming compounds within compounds. These compounds are mostly used relatively, that is, they are bahubbīhi compounds. It should be noted that, the older the language is, the fewer complex compounds there are, and, the later the language, the more numerous they become. It therefore follows that the presence of long compounds is an indication of the relatively late age of a text.

Examples:

varaṇarukkhamūle ‘at the foot of the varaṇa tree (Crataeva roxburghii)’ is a tappurisa compound in the genitive relation, and is resolved as follows: varaṇarukkhasa mūle; varaṇarukkhasa is itself a kammadhāraya compound = varaṇa eva rukkha. Thus, it is a tappurisa compound, the first member of which is a kammadhāraya compound.

maraṇabhayatajjito ‘terrified by the fear of death’ is a bahubbīhi qualifying an implied noun; it is a tappurisa compound in the instrumental relation: maraṇabhayena tajjito; maraṇabhayena is itself a tappurisa in the ablative: maraṇā bhaya.

sīhalaṭṭhakathāparivattanaṁ ‘the translation of the Sinhalese Commentaries’ is, first, a tappurisa compound: sīhalaṭṭhakathāya parivattanaṁ; second, another tappurisa: sīhalāya aṭṭhakathā ‘the Sinhalese Commentaries’.

aparimitakālasañcitapuññabalānibbattāya ‘produced by the power accumulated during an immense period of time’ is a feminine bahubbīhi in the instrumental. It is resolved as follows:

aparimitakālasañcitapuññabala is a tappurisa qualifying nibbattāya;

aparimitakālasañcitapuñña is a kammadhāraya qualifying bala;

aparimitakālasañcita is a kammadhāraya qualifying puñña;

aparimitakāla is a kammadhāraya qualifying sañcita;

aparimita is a kammadhāraya = a+parimita.

In its uncompounded state, it would run as follows:

aparimite kāle sañcitassa puññassa balena nibbattāya.

7.11. Changes of Certain Words in Compounds

Some words, when compounded, change their final vowel. Some of the most common are as follows:

go ‘a cow, bullock’ becomes gu, gavo, or gavaṁ:

pañcagu ‘battered by five cows’ = pañcahi gohi kito

rājagavo ‘the king’s bullock’ = rañño go

dāragavaṁ ‘wife and cow’ = dāro ca go

dasagavaṁ ‘ten cows’

bhūmi ‘place, stage, stage, degree, storey’ becomes bhūma:

jātibhūmaṁ ‘birth place’ = jātiyā bhūmi

dvibhūmaṁ ‘two stages’ = dvi bhūmiyo

dvibhūmo (also dvibhūmako) ‘two storeyed’

nadī ‘a river’ becomes nada:

pañcanadaṁ ‘five rivers’

pañcanado ‘having five rivers’

anguli ‘finger’ becomes angula:

aṭṭhangulo ‘eight inches’, that is, ‘the length of eight fingers’

ratti ‘night’ becomes ratta:

dīgharattaṁ ‘for a long time’, literally, ‘long nights’ = dīghā rattiyo

ahorattaṁ ‘Oh!, the night’ = aho ratti

aḍḍharatto ‘midnight’ = rattiyā aḍḍhaṁ ‘the middle of the night’

akkhi ‘eye’ becomes akkha:

visālakkho ‘large eyed’ = visālāni akkhīni yassa honti

virūpakkho ‘having horrible eyes’ (epithet of the king of the Nāgas) = virūpāni akkhīni yassa ‘to whom (are) horrible eyes’

sahassakkho ‘the thousand-eyed’ (epithet of Sakka) = akkhīni sahassāni yassa

parokkhaṁ ‘invisible, imperceptible’, literally, ‘beyond the eye’

sakhā (m.) ‘friend, companion’ becomes sakho:

vāyusakho ‘fire’, literally, ‘a breeze’s friend’ = vāyuno sakhā so

sabbasakho ‘the friend of all’ = sabbesaṁ sakhā

attā ‘self, oneself’ becomes atta:

pahitatto ‘resolute, one whose mind is bent upon’ = pahito pesito attā yena

ṭhitatto ‘of firm mind’ = ṭhito attā assa

puma ‘male, man’ becomes puṁ (the final -ṁ is assimilated to the following consonant according to the normal rules):

pullingaṁ (= puṁ+lingaṁ) ‘the male sex; manhood; masculine gender’

punkokilo (= puṁ+kokilo) ‘a male cuckoo’

saha ‘with’ generally becomes sa, which is placed at the beginning of compounds — the suffix -ka is sometimes added at the end:

sapicuka ‘of cotton, with cotton’, as in -sapicukaṁ maṇḍalikaṁ ‘a ball of cotton’

sadevako ‘with the celestial worlds’

sahodaka ‘with water, containing water’ = saha udaka

santa ‘good, pious’ becomes sa:

sappurisa ‘a good or pious person’

sajjano ‘well-born, virtuous’

samāna ‘same, similar, equal’ likewise becomes sa:

sajāti, also sajātika ‘of the same species, of the same class’

sajanapado ‘of, or belonging to, the same district’

sanāmo ‘of the same name’ = samāno nāmo

sanābhika ‘having a nave (of a wheel)’

mahant ‘great’ becomes mahā (maha before a double consonant):

mahāpuriso ‘a great person’ = mahanto puriso

mahānadī ‘a large river’ = mahantī nadī

mahabbhayaṁ ‘great fear’ = mahantaṁ bhayaṁ

jāyā ‘wife’ becomes jāni, jaṁ, jayaṁ, and tudaṁ before the word pati ‘husband’:

jānipati and tudampati (m.) ‘husband and wife’

jāyāpatī and jayampatī (m. pl.) ‘husband and wife’

jayampatikā and jāyampatikā (pl.) ‘a married couple’

7.12. Verbal Compounds

Many nouns and adjectives are compounded with the verb roots kar ‘to do’ and bhū ‘to be, to become’ or with their derivatives very much in the manner of verb prefixes. The noun or adjective stems so used change final -a to -i or -ī. Examples include:

daḷhikaroti ‘to make firm’ (daḷha ‘firm, hard’ + karoti ‘to make’)

daḷhikaraṇaṁ ‘making firm, strengthening’

bahulīkaroti ‘to increase, to enlarge’ (bahula ‘abundant’ + karoti ‘to make’)

bahulīkaraṇaṁ ‘increasing, enlarging’

bahulīkato ‘increased, enlarged’

bhasmibhavati to be reduced to ashes’ (bhasmaṁ ‘ashes’ + bhavati ‘to be, to become’)

bhasmibhūto ‘reduced to ashes’ ■

8

Syntax

8.1. Definition of Terms

Syntax (kāraka) is the set of rules that defines how words are combined to form sentences. Nearly all the relations of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns which will be described in this chapter have already been discussed in the chapter dealing with compounds. Thus, those who understand the formation of compounds should also understand ordinary prose without too much difficulty. However, there are some special rules that will be explained in this chapter.

Word order is relatively simple in Pāḷi, compound sentences being the exception rather than the rule.

A “sentence” is a combination of words expressing a complete thought. There are three types of sentences in Pāḷi:

1. A “simple sentence”, expressing a single thought.
2. A “complex sentence”, expressing one primary (independent) thought, with one or more dependent thoughts.
3. A “compound sentence”, expressing two or more independent, connected thoughts, with or without dependent thoughts.

In the expression of every thought, whether independent or dependent, two elements are absolutely essential:

1. The “subject” — the person, place, or thing about which something is expressed; the subject may also be described as the doer of the action.
2. The “predicate” — that which is expressed concerning the subject. The predicate may be:
   1. A finite verb, as in: bhikkhu gahapatiṁ ovādi ‘Monk+householder+admonished’ = ‘The Monk admonished the householder’.
   2. A substantive with a form of the verb hoti ‘to be’ understood after it, as in: yadi ete guṇā ‘if+these+virtues(+are)’ = ‘if these (are) virtures’.
   3. An adjective with a form of the verb hoti ‘to be’ understood after it, as in: tvaṁ atibālo ‘you+very foolish(+are)’ = ‘you (are) very foolish’.
   4. A past passive participle used as a finite verb, as in: so pi gato ‘he+also+gone’ = ‘he also went’.

In Pāḷi, the predicate must always come last. In a simple sentence containing an object, the word order is: (a) subject, (b) object, (c) predicate, as in: dāso kammaṁ karoti ‘slave+work+does’ = ‘the slave does the work’.

A few more terms must be defined:

1. A “substantive” is a noun and any item which can function as a noun.
2. An “appositive” is a word or expression placed beside another so that the second explains and has the same grammatical construction as the first. An example would be: “Bertrand Russell, the noted philosopher and mathematician, was an atheist.” Here, there are two noun phrases, both of which have identity of reference and the same syntactic function.
3. An “object” is a general term denoting the recipient of an action.
4. A “direct object” denotes the recipient of the action of a transitive verb.
5. An “indirect object” denotes the person or thing which is indirectly affected by the action of the verb.
6. A “transitive verb” carries an action over to and has an effect on some person or thing; a transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning.
7. An “intransitive verb” does not require a direct object to complete its meaning.

   Note: Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending upon how they are used.

8.2. The Syntax of Nouns

A substantive in the predicate must agree with the subject in case and gender. An appositive must agree in case and gender with the noun it qualifies.

When a substantive takes the place of the predicate, it does not have to agree with the subject in gender and number: appamado nibbānapadaṁ ‘vigilance+nibbāna-path’ = ‘vigilance (is) the path to nibbāna’.

Though there are no words in Pāḷi corresponding to the English indefinite article ‘a, an’ or the definite article ‘the’, the words eko, ekacce ‘one, a certain one’ are often used in the sense of an indefinite article, and so, eso ‘that, this’ function as a definite article, as in: so puriso ‘the man, the person’; sā itthī ‘the woman’. Substantives not preceded by the above words may, according to context, be translated into English as if preceded by articles, thus: puriso ‘a man, a person; the man, the person’; itthī ‘a woman; the woman’.

8.2.1. Nominative Case

1. The subject of a verb must be in the nominative case, and the verb must agree with it in person and number. Notes:
   1. Every verb has a pronominal subject implied in its personal ending; hence, a separate pronominal subject does not have to be expressed except when desired for emphasis, and a substantive may be omitted if it is understood from the context.
   2. The verb vaṭṭati ‘should, ought to’ is used impersonally with the infinitive and the instrumental of agent, as in: dametuṁ vaṭṭati ‘(he) ought to be subdued’, or ‘(he) is worth conquering’; mokkhadhammaṁ pana gavesantehi ekā pabbajjā laddhuṁ vaṭṭati ‘the ascetic life alone ought to be adopted by those who seek final liberation’.
2. The nominative case is always used in titles, headings, etc.

8.2.2. Vocative Case

1. The vocative case is used in direct address, just as in English.

8.2.3. Accusative Case

1. The accusative is used as a direct object with transitive verbs, as in: rathaṁ karoti ‘a carriage+he makes’ = ‘he makes a carriage’.
2. Verbs of making, choosing, appointing, and the like take two accusatives of the same person or thing.
3. Causative verbs may take two accusatives — one of the person or thing caused to act, and one of the action itself, as in: puriso purisaṁ gāmaṁ gamāyati ‘man (nom.)+man (acc.)+to the village (acc.)+causes to go (caus.)’ = ‘the man causes the man to go to the village’.
   Note: In such examples, the instrumental may be used instead of the factitive object, as in:

   sāmiko dāsena (or dāsaṁ) khajjaṁ khādāpeti ‘master (nom.)+slave (instr./acc.)+food (acc.)+causes to eat (caus.)’ = ‘the master causes the slave to eat the food’.
4. Verbs expressing or implying motion or action towards a place or thing govern the place or thing in the accusative, as in: nagaraṁ gacchati ‘to town+he goes’ = ‘he goes to town’.
5. Duration of time and extent of space are expressed in the accusative.
6. The accusative may be used adverbially to denote time at which and other circumstances.
7. The accusative is frequently used with prepositions and adverbs.

8.2.4. Genitive Case

1. A substantive is frequently qualified by another noun in the genitive case. The qualifying genitive may be:
   1. Possessive genitive: denoting possession of that which is designated by the substantive it qualifies, as in: rukkhassa sākhā ‘of a tree+branch’ = ‘the branch of a tree’; suvaṇṇassa rāsi ‘of gold+heap’ = ‘a heap of gold’.
   2. Subjective genitive: denoting the cause or origin of that which is designated by the noun it qualifies.
   3. Objective genitive: denoting the object towards which the action is directed or the feeling designated by the noun it qualifies.
   4. Genitive of quality: denoting some quality or characteristic of the noun it qualifies.
   5. Partitive genitive: denoting a part of the whole which is designated by the noun it qualifies, as in: sabbayodhānam atisūro ‘of all-warriors+bravest’ = ‘of all the warriors, he is the bravest’; brāhmāṇaṁ so paṇḍito ‘among Brahmins+he+wise’ = ‘among Brahmins, he is wise’.
   6. Genitive of definition: having the force of an appositive and defining the noun it qualifies.

   Note: Any of the above may be turned into a predicate of the subject by means of any form of the verb ‘to be’.

2. The genitive is used to complete the meaning of many adjectives denoting:
1. Desire or aversion.
2. Knowledge, proficiency, skill, or their opposites.
3. Remembering and forgetting.
4. Participation, guilt, fullness, mastery, and their opposites.
5. Equality and inequality.
3. The genitive is governed by some verbs expressing:
1. Remembering and forgetting.
2. Mastering and ruling.
3. Filling and emptying.
4. Sharing, tasting, seeing, cleaning, and many others when the action expressed only partially affects the object.
4. The substantive in the genitive and another in the accusative are governed at the same time by a few transitive verbs:
1. Verbs expressing fullness or want take an accusative of the receptacle with a genitive of the material.
2. Verbs expressing accusation, condemnation, acquittal, and the like, take an accusative of the person and a genitive of the crime.
5. A substantive with a participle in agreement may be used in the genitive to denote some attendant circumstance. This is called the “genitive absolute”. It is much less frequent than the “locative absolute”. Note: The absolute construction generally denotes time. But it may denote cause, consequence, or other attendant circumstances.
6. Genitives are often compounded with the nouns they quality, as in (see possessive genitive above): suvaṇṇarāsi (= suvaṇṇassa rāsi) ‘a heap of gold’.
7. The genitive is used with adverbs and prepositions.
8. The genitive can also be used, albeit rarely, adverbially.

8.2.5. Dative Case

1. The dative case is used as an indirect object with intransitive verbs and with transitive verbs having a direct object in the accusative. The dative may be:
   1. Dative of influence: denoting the person to whom something is or is done.
   2. Dative of interest: denoting the person for whom something is or is done.
   3. Dative of purpose or end: denoting the object or end for which something is or is done.
2. The dative is used with atthi, hoti ‘to be’ and verbs of related meaning to express possession, as in: puttā me n’atthi ‘sons+to me+not+are’ = ‘I have no sons’.

   Note: When the verbs atthi, hoti ‘to be’ are used with the dative to express possession, they are generally put in the singular, even when, as in the preceding example, what is expressed is plural.

3. The dative may be governed by verbs expressing: hearing; request or worship; praise blame; pleasure or displeasure; obedience or resistance.
4. The dative may denote the purpose for which, in which case, it governs a genitive, as in: dārassa bharaṇāya ‘of a wife (gen.)+for (the purpose of) maintaining (dat.)’ = ‘for the purpose of maintaining a wife’, or ‘to maintain a wife’.
5. The dative is used in expressions of salutation and blessing.
6. The dative may be governed by an indeclinable.
7. The dative may be used adverbially.

8.2.6. Instrumental Case

1. The agent by whom, or the instrument with which, an action is performed is put in the instrumental case, as in: cakkhunā rūpaṁ passati ‘with the eye (instr.)+form (acc.)+he sees’ = ‘he sees a form with the eye’; hatthena kammaṁ karoti ‘with the hands (instr.)+work (acc.) +he does’ = ‘he does work with the hands’.
2. A substantive, adjective, or verb may take an instrumental to show in what respect it is applicable. This is the “instrumental of specification”, and it is especially used in specifying bodily defects and ailments, as in: hatthena kuṇi ‘hand (instr.)+crooked’ = ‘having a crooked hand’; akkhinā so kāṇo ‘eye (instr.)+he+blind’ = ‘he is blind in one eye’.
3. Words denoting sufficiency or lack take the instrumental of that which is sufficient or lacking.
4. The instrumental is used to express cause, reason, or motive, as in: kammuna vasalo hoti ‘(by reason of) work (instr.)+outcaste+he is’ = ‘he is an outcaste by reason of the kind of work he does’; rukkho vātena oṇamati ‘tree+(on account of) wind (instr.)+bends’ = ‘the tree bends on account of the wind’.
5. Substantives expressing price or value are put in the instrumental, as in: satasahassena kiṇitvā ‘for 100,000 (instr.)+having bought (gerund)’ = ‘having bought it for 100,000 (pieces of money)’.
6. Time or space within which may be expressed in the instrumental, as in: divasena patto ‘in one day (instr.)+arrived’ = ‘arrived in one day’.
7. Also, time or space at which may be expressed in the instrumental, as in: tena samayena ‘at that (instr.)+time (instr.)’ = ‘at that time’; aparena samayena ‘subsequent+time’ = ‘later’.
8. The instrumental may be used to express manner.
9. The word attho (also aṭṭho) ‘desire, want, need’ takes an instrumental of the object desired, wanted, or needed and a dative of the person, as in: maṇinā me attho ‘a jewel (instr.)+to me (dat.)+want’ = ‘I want a jewel’; agginā me attho ‘fire (instr.)+to me (dat.)+want’ = ‘I want fire’.
10. The instrumental is used to express that in accordance with which anything is or is done.
11. Measure of difference is expressed in the instrumental.
12. The instrumental is frequently governed by prepositions and adverbs.
13. The indeclinables saha, saddhiṁ, samaṁ ‘with, together with’ and vinā ‘without’ govern the instrumental, as in: vinā dosena ‘without fault, innocent’; tumhehi saha gacchāmi ‘you (instr. pl.)+with+I go’ = ‘I will go with you (pl.)’.

    Note: saha sometimes expresses equality, as in: puttena saha dhanavā pita ‘son (instr.)+ equal+wealthy+father’ = ‘a father as rich as his son’.

14. The word alaṁ ‘enough, sufficient’ also governs the instrumental, as in: alaṁ buddhena ‘sufficient+Buddha (instr.)’ = ‘the Buddha is sufficient for me’; alaṁ iddha vāsena ‘enough+ here+living (instr.)’ = ‘enough of living here’.
15. The instrumental is often used adverbially.

8.2.7. Ablative Case

1. Place or time from which is denoted by the ablative.
2. The ablative is used to express separation, as in: gāmā apenti ‘village (abl.)+they left’ = ‘they left the village’; so assā patati ‘he+from horse (instr.)+falls’ = ‘he fell from the horse’.
3. The ablative is also used to express motive, cause, or reason, and can be translated by ‘for, on account of, by reason of, because of, due to, etc.’, as in: vācāya marati ‘speech (abl.)+he dies’ = ‘he died on account of his speech’; sīlato naṁ pasaṁsanti ‘virtue (abl.)+him (acc.)+ they praise’ = ‘they praise him for his virtue’.
4. Verbs meaning ‘to be born, to originate from, to arise from, etc.’ govern the ablative, as in: corā bhayaṁ jāyati ‘from a thief (abl.)+fear+arises’ = ‘fear arises from a thief’.
5. Verbs meaning ‘to abstain from, to refrain from, to avoid, to release, to fear, to abhor’ also govern the ablative, as in: corehi bhāyāmi ‘of thieves (abl. pl.)+I am afraid’ = ‘I am afraid of thieves’; pāpadhammato viramati ‘from evil (abl.)+he refrains’ = ‘he refrains from evil’.
6. That with which a comparison is made is put into the ablative in conjunction with adjectives in the comparative.
7. The ablative is sometimes used instead of the instrumental to express means or agency.
8. The following indeclinables govern the ablative: araka ‘far from, afar’; upari ‘above’; pati ‘against, instead, in return’; rite ‘except, without’; nānā ‘different, away from’; puthu (puthag before vowels) ‘separately, without, except’; ā ‘till, as far as’; yava ‘till, as far as’.
9. The ablative is frequently used adverbially.

   Note: The ablative is very frequently used in place of the instrumental, accusative, genitive, and locative, as in, for example: vinā saddhammā (abl.) = vinā saddhammaṁ (acc.) = vinā saddhammena (instr.) ‘without+good doctrine’ = ‘without good doctrine’.

8.2.8. Locative Case

1. Place or time in which is denoted by the locative.
   Notes:
   1. This “in” idea includes all that may be expressed in English by a variety of prepositions of location, such as ‘at, on, near, among, in respect to, etc.’
   2. The locative is extensively used in place of other cases and is very often encountered where one would expect to find some other case. The very frequent substitution of the locative for other cases, as well as its adverbial uses, grows out of the broad ground covered by the “in” idea denoted by it.
2. That with which a comparison is made is put into the locative (or genitive) in conjunction with adjectives in the superlative, as in: manussesu kkattiyo sūratamo (loc.) = manussānaṁ khattiyo sūratamo (gen.) ‘of men+the Khattiya (a member of the warrior caste)+most valiant’ = ‘the Khattiya is the most valiant of men’.
3. The following words govern the locative (and the genitive) as well: sāmī ‘owner, master, husband’; issaro ‘lord, ruler’; adhipati ‘chief, lord’; dāyādo ‘heir’; patibhū ‘surety’; pasūto ‘offspring, child’; kusalo ‘clever, expert, skillful’; as in: goṇesu sāmī (loc. pl.) = goṇānaṁ sāmī (gen. pl.) ‘of oxen+owner’ = ‘an owner of oxen’.
4. Like the ablative, the locative is be used to express the cause, reason, or motive of an action, as in: kuñjaro dantesu haññate ‘elephant+for tusks (loc. pl.)+is killed’ = ‘the elephant is killed for his tusks’.
5. The locative denotes the time when an action takes place, as in: sāyaṇhasamaye āgato ‘in the evening (loc.)+he came’ = ‘he came in the evening’.
6. Words signifying reverence, respect, love, delighting in, saluting, taking, seizing, striking, kissing, being fond of, and adoring govern the locative, as in: bhikkhūsu abhivādenti ‘the Monks (loc. pl.)+they salute’ = ‘they salute the Monks’; purisaṁ sīse paharati ‘man (acc.) +on the head (loc.)+he struck’ = ‘he struck the man on the head’.
7. The locative is used to denote superiority or inferiority, with the words upa ‘below’ and adhi ‘above, over’, respectively, as in: adhi devesu buddho ‘over+gods (loc. pl.)+Buddha’ = ‘the Buddha is superior to the gods’.
8. The locative is used to denote proximity, as in: tassa paṇṇasālāya hatthimaggo hoti ‘there+near leaf-hut (loc.)+elephant-trail+is’ = ‘there is an elephant trail near the leaf hut’.
9. Words denoting fitness or suitability govern the locative, as in: tayi na yuttaṁ ‘for you+not +suitable’ = ‘not suitable for you’. The genitive can also be used in the same sense: tava na yuttaṁ ‘not suitable for you’.
10. Certain prepositions and adverbs require the locative.
11. The locative is frequently used adverbially.

8.2.9. The Genitive and Locative Absolute

1. When a noun or a pronoun in the locative or genitive cases is used with a participle in the same case as itself, the construction is called the “locative absolute” and the “genitive absolute”, respectively. The locative absolute occurs more frequently than the genitive absolute. Now and then, a nominative absolute is also found, but it is far less common than the other two.
   

   Note: A noun clause may take the place of the substantive, and the participle alone in the locative is frequently used impersonally with an adverb or an instrumental of agent.

2. The locative, genitive, and (sometimes) nominative absolute, may be translated by ‘when, while, since’ and sometimes by ‘although’, as in: suriye atthangate ‘sun+set’ = ‘when the sun had set’, that is, ‘after sunset’; asaniyā pi sīse patantiyā ‘thunderbolt+although+on head+falling’ = ‘although the thunderbolt was falling on their head’; gavisu duyhamānāsu gato ‘the cows+being-milked+gone’ = ‘he went when the cows were being milked’.
3. Besides having the above meanings, sati, the locative singular of santo ‘being’ may also be translated by ‘if, such being the case’, as in: atthe sati ‘need+being’ = ‘if there is need’; evaṁ sati ‘such+being’ = ‘such being the case’; payoge sati ‘occasion+being’ = ‘when there is occasion’.

8.3. The Syntax of Adjectives

1. Adjectives (and participles), when not compounded with the nouns they quality, must agree with those nouns in case, gender, and number.
2. Adjectives are frequently used without nouns, thus, apparently acting as substantives. In general, it is best to consider the missing substantives as understood.
3. Adjectives in the comparative degree require an ablative, as in: sīlaṁ eva sutā seyyo ‘virtue (nom. sg.)+even so+from learning (abl. sg.)+better’ = ‘virtue is better than learning’.
4. Comparison can also be expressed by the indeclinable varaṁ ‘better’ with an ablative, as in: tato varaṁ ‘from that (abl. sg.)+better’ = ‘better than that’.
5. Comparison is also expressed by an ablative followed by an adjective in the positive degree, as in: mādhurā pāṭaliputtakehi abhirūpā ‘Mādhurans (nom. pl.)+from Pāṭaliputtans-sort (abl. pl.)+attractive (positive degree; nom. pl.)’ = ‘the Mādurans are more attractive than the Pāṭaliputtans’, or ‘the people of Mādhura are more attractive than those of Pāṭaliputta’.
6. Adjectives in the superlative degree are used with the genitive or locative.
7. When the better of two is to be expressed, the genitive is used with the positive degree, as in: tumhākaṁ dvinnaṁ ko bhaddako ‘of you (gen. pl.)+of two (gen. pl.)+who (nom. sg.)+good (positive degree; nom. sg.)’ = ‘of the two of you, who is better?’
8. When an adjective or a past passive participle takes the place of the predicate, the adjective or past passive participle must agree with the subject in gender and number, as in: so gato ‘he+gone’ = ‘he went’, but sā gatā ‘she+gone’ = ‘she went’; so taruṇo ‘he+young’ = ‘he is young’, but sā taruṇā ‘she+young’ = ‘she is young’, taṁ taruṇaṁ ‘it+young’ = ‘it is young’.

8.4. The Syntax of Pronouns

1. All the rules which apply to substantives apply equally to pronouns when they are used as substantives. Those applying to adjectives apply equally to pronouns when they are used as adjectives.
   

   Note: All pronouns, except personal pronouns, may be used either as substantives or as adjectives.

2. When pronouns are used as substantives, they must agree with the antecedent in person, gender, number, and case.

8.4.1. Personal Pronouns

1. The enclitic forms of ahaṁ ‘I’, namely, me (sg.) ‘me’ and (pl.) no ‘us’, and tvaṁ ‘you’, namely, te (sg.) ‘you’ and vo (pl.) ‘you’, are never used at the beginning of a sentence nor immediately before the particles ca ‘and’, vā ‘or’, and eva ‘so, just so’. Examples: detu me ‘let him give+to me’ = ‘let him give to me’; tava vā me hotu ‘yours+or+mine+let it be’ + ‘let it be yours or mine’; kammaṁ no niṭṭhitaṁ ‘task+our+finished’ = ‘our task is finished’; kahaṁ vo raja ‘where+your (pl.)+king?’ = ‘where is your king?’; ko te doso ‘what+your (sg.)+fault?’ = ‘what is your fault?’
2. The personal pronouns are usually understood with verbs, inasmuch as the personal endings indicate the person, as in: gaccheyyāmi = ahaṁ gaccheyyāmi ‘I should go’; gacchati = so gacchati ‘he goes’ ~ sā gacchati ‘she goes’.
3. The pronoun so, sā, taṁ is used as the third person personal pronoun, as a demonstrative, and as a definite article. Hence, so puriso can mean ‘the man’ or ‘that man’ according to context.

8.4.2. Demonstrative Pronouns

1. The demonstrative pronouns eso, esā, etaṁ, as well as asu and ayaṁ, are used to indicate that which is near or adjacent, as in: esā itthī ‘this woman’; nirupakāro eso ‘useless+this’ = ‘this man is useless’.
2. The ablative form tasmā is used adverbially in the sense of ‘therefore, accordingly, thereby’. It has the same range of meanings when followed by hi and ti ha (= iti ha), as in: tasmā hi paññā ca dhanena seyyo ‘therefore+wisdom+and+wealth (instr.)+better’ = ‘and therefore, wisdom is better than wealth’; tasmā ti ha bhikkhave ‘accordingly+O Monks’ = ‘accordingly, O Monks’.
3. The instrumental form tena is used with the same meanings as tasmā. When followed by hi, it means ‘well!, very well!, all right!, well then!’, as in: tena hi khādāpessāmi nan ti ‘very well then+I will make devour+it’ = ‘very well then, I will make you devour it’.
   

   Note: The forms na and ena ‘this’ are used when someone or something already mentioned is referred to.

4. The neuter form etad ‘this’ is used idiomatically with the verb hoti ‘to be’ and the genitive of the person to mean ‘to think’, as in: tassa etad ahosi ‘of his+this+was’ = ‘he thought’.
5. The demonstrative so and, less frequently, the relative yo are used redundantly for emphasis with substantives and other pronouns used as substantives.

8.4.3. Relative Pronoun

1. The relative yo ‘who, which, what’ is regularly used in correlation with the demonstrative so. The clause containing the relative regularly precedes that containing the demonstrative.
2. The relative yo ‘who, which’ is used with the indefinite koci ‘whoever, anyone, anybody’, as in yo koci ‘whoever, anyone’; yaṁ kiñci ‘whatsoever, anything’.
3. The neuter singular yaṁ is frequently used adverbially in the sense of ‘as, that, because, since, seeing that, if, when’, as in: taṁ bahuṁ yaṁ pi jīvasi ‘it+much+that (adv.)+even+you live (sg.)’ = ‘it is much that you live’.
4. The instrumental yena is used adverbially in the sense of ‘whereby, because, by which, for which’, as in: yena naṁ gaṇhissāmi ‘by which+him+I shall catch’ = ‘by which I shall catch him’.
5. yena ‘where’ is used together with tena ‘there’ to express motion to a definite place, as in: yena bhagavā ten’upasankati ‘where+Lord+there+he approached’ = ‘he approached where the Lord (Buddha) was’.
6. yasmā ‘because’ is generally used together with tasmā ‘therefore’, as in: yasmā tvaṁ na jānāsi tasmā bālo ‘because+you+not+you understand+therefore+fool’ = ‘because you do not understand, therefore, you are a fool’.
7. The pronouns so, yo, and ko are used adverbially in the accusative, instrumental, and ablative — ko is also sometimes used adverbially in the genitive.
8. Relative pronouns must agree with their antecedent in gender, number, and person.
9. In general, the clause containing the relative is placed first. However, the clause containing the correlative may be placed first instead for emphasis, as in: na so pitāyena putto na sikkhāpiyati ‘no+he+father by whom+son+not+is made to learn’ = ‘he is no father by whom the son is not made to learn’.

8.4.4. Interrogative Pronoun

1. The interrogative pronoun ko ‘who?, which?, what?’ may be used by itself or with a noun or other pronoun, as in: ko pana tvaṁ? ‘who+now+you (sg.)?’ = ‘and who are you?’; ke ete? ‘who+these?’ = ‘who are these?’; kā dārikā ‘which+girl?’ = ‘which girl?’
2. The instrumental kena is used with attho ‘need, want, desire’ and the dative of the person to form expressions such as: kena te attho? ‘what+you (dat.)+want?’ = ‘what do you want?’
3. The instrumental kena, ablative kasmā, and genitive kissa are used adverbially with the meaning ‘why?’, ‘wherefore?’
4. kiṁ is quite often used with the instrumental to express ‘what is the use of?’, as in: kiṁ me jīvitena? ‘what use+to me+life (instr.)?’ = ‘what is the use of life to me?’

8.4.5. Indefinite Pronoun

1. The indefinite pronoun koci ‘whoever; anyone, anybody’ does not present any difficulty. Examples include: mā idha koci pāvisi ‘do not+here+anyone+let enter’ = ‘do not let anyone enter here’; kiñci bhayaṁ ‘any+danger’ = ‘any danger’; yāni kānici bhayāni ‘whatever dangers’; yo koci ‘whoever, anyone’; yaṁ kiñci ‘whatsoever, anything’.

8.5. Repetition

1. To express plurality, totality, distribution, variety, multiplicity, etc., words are sometimes repeated, thus: tesu tesu ṭhānesu ‘in these (loc. pl.)+in these (loc. pl.)+in places (loc. pl.)’ = ‘in various places’; taṁ taṁ kathaya mānā ‘this+this+saying+with conceit’ = ‘saying this and that conceitfully’; gatagataṭhāne = gata+gata+ṭhāne ‘gone+gone+in place (loc. sg.)’ = ‘in every place’; yena yena ‘wherever’.
2. When yo is repeated, it means ‘whoever, whatever, whichever’, as in: yaṁ yaṁ gāmaṁ upeti ‘what+what+village+he approaches’ = ‘whatever village he approaches’.

8.6. The Syntax of Verbs

1. Verbs must agree with their subjects in person and number.
2. When there are two or more subjects, the verb may agree with one and be understood by the rest, or it may take a plural form in agreement with all conjointly.

8.6.1. Active Voice

1. 1. A verb is used in the active voice (parassapada) to represent the subject as simply acting or existing, stating such simple action as fact, question, or supposition.

8.6.2. Reflexive Voice

1. A verb is used in the reflexive voice (attanopada) to represent the subject acting upon itself or as acting or existing with special reference to itself.
   

   Note: Frequently, the reflexive idea is not readily apparent, and it is probable that reflexive forms were used, especially in poetry, for mere convenience or variety of expression.

2. The reflexive is frequently used in a passive sense, especially in the “general tenses”.

8.6.3. Present Tense

1. Action or existence actually in progress at the present time is designated by the present indicative, as in: so bhāyati ‘he+is afraid’ = ‘he is afraid’; sā pacati ‘she+is cooking’ = ‘she is cooking’.
2. The present tense often expresses continuance of an action and is, thus, equivalent to the progressive present in English, as in: sā gabbhe nisīdati ‘she+in room+is sitting’ = ‘she is sitting in her room’.
3. Habit, custom, and general truths are expressed by the present indicative, as in: bhikkhu sīlaṁ ācarati ‘Monk+virtue+he practices’ = ‘a Monk (is one who) practices virtue’; sabbe maranti ‘all+they die’ = ‘all (men) die’.
4. When past action or existence is, for effect, represented as progressing into the present time, it is put into the present indicative.
5. The so-called “historical present” is very much more frequent in Pāḷi than in English. Indeed, in most narrative, it very largely displaces the past tenses, as in: so pañcamāṇa- vakasatāni sippaṁ uggaṇhāpeti ‘he+five hundred young men+a trade+he teaches’ = ‘he taught five hundred young men a trade’.
6. When no interrogative particle is used, questions are sometimes asked by placing the present tense at the beginning of a sentence, as in: socasi tvaṁ upāsaka? ‘grieve+you+layman?’ = ‘are you grieving, O layman?’
   

   Note: Other tenses may be used in the same way to ask questions.

7. The present indicative is sometimes used with a future signification. This future signification is especially common in questions, as in: kiṁ karomi? ‘what+I do?’ = ‘what shall I do?’
8. The present imperative is used in commands, exhortations, and entreaties. With the particle mā ‘do not’, it expresses prohibition.

8.6.4. Imperfect Tense

1. Theoretically, the imperfect refers to a recent definite past time not included in the current day. In practice, however, the imperfect is entirely interchangeable with the aorist.

8.6.5. Aorist Tense

1. Theoretically, the aorist refers to indefinite past time, including the current day. In practice, however, it is used to designate all kinds of past time. This is the only true past in Pāḷi, and it occurs frequently. In general, it may be translated into English by the past indefinite or by the present perfect. Examples: mukhe pahari ‘on the mouth+you struck’ = ‘you struck (him) on the mouth’; kena kāraṇena rodi ‘on what (instr.)+account (instr.)+you cry?’ = ‘what made you cry?’, or ‘why did you cry?’’ brāhmaṇo eḷakena saddhiṁ vicari ‘Brahmin+with a goat (instr.)+with+walked about’ = ‘the Brahmin walked about with a goat’.
2. The aorist is sometimes used with mā in prohibitions, as in: eḷaka mā bhāyi ‘goat+do not+be afraid’ = ‘do not be afraid, O goat’; mā puna evarūpaṁ akāsi ‘do not+again+such+do’ = ‘do not do so again’; tāta, mā gāmi ‘dear one+do not+go’ = ‘dear one, do not go’.

8.6.6. Perfect Tense

1. The perfect represents remote and definite past time. This tense is of very rare occurrence.

8.6.7. Future Tense

1. The future refers to an action or an event that will occur at some unspecified point in the future, as in: ahaṁ gacchissāmi ‘I+shall go’ = ‘I shall go’; te marissanti ‘they+will die’ = ‘they will die’.
2. The future is sometimes used as a mild form of imperative, as in: tvaṁ tassa bandhanaṁ dantehi khādissasi ‘you+his+bonds+with teeth+cut’ = ‘cut his bonds with your teeth’.
3. The future is often used to express what must be or what must be done, as in: ayaṁ me putto bhavissati ‘this+my+son+he must be’ = ‘he must be my son’.
4. The future is used with the particles ce ‘even, if’, sace ‘if’, and yadi ‘if’ to express simple, direct suppositions or conditions, as in: yadi tvaṁ yāguṁ pacissasi ahaṁ pivissāmi ‘if+you+ rice gruel+will cook+I+shall drink’ = ‘if you will cook the rice gruel, I shall drink it’; so tañ ce labhissati, tena saddhiṁ gaccha ‘he+it+if+will get+him (instr.)+with+go’ = ‘if he gets it, go with him’.
5. When bhavissati is preceded by the negative particle na ‘not’, it may be translated ‘it cannot be’, as in: nāyaṁ issarabheri bhavissati ‘not-this (na+ayaṁ)+ruler’s-drum (issara+bheri) +it can be’ = ‘this cannot be the ruler’s kettle-drum’.
6. The first person singular future jānissāmi (from jānāti ‘to know’) is often used idiomatically in the sense ‘I shall see’, as in: hotu, pacchā jānissāmi ‘let it be+afterwards+I shall see’ = ‘let it be, I shall see (to it) afterwards’, or ‘I shall take care (of it) later’.

8.6.8. Optative

1. The present optative is used to express possibility, probability, fitness, agreement, and permission and may be translated ‘should, would, may’, as in: api ca nāma gaccheyyāmi ‘perhaps+I should go’ = ‘perhaps, I should go’.
2. The present optative may be used to express affirmation modestly or doubtfully.
3. The present optative may be used to mildly express command, entreaty, exhortation, and (with mā) prohibition, as in: tvaṁ idāni gaccheyyāsi ‘you+now+should go’ = ‘you should go now’; udarena nipajjeyyāsi ‘belly+you should lie on’ = ‘lie on your belly’.
4. The present optative may be used to express condition or supposition with implied possibility.
   

   Note: To express supposition, the word yathā ‘as, like, how, when’ is sometimes used with the optative.

5. The optative may also be used to lay down rules and precepts.

8.6.9. Conditional

1. The conditional is often classified as a mood rather than a tense.
2. The conditional refers to a future event or circumstance relative to something that is past or to an action to be performed due to some difficulty obstructing its performance, as in: so ce taṁ yānaṁ alabhissa agacchissā ‘he+if+that+vehicle+could get+would go’ = ‘he would go if he could get that vehicle’.

8.6.10. Imperative

1. The imperative is used for simple commands, as in: tena hi, gaccha ‘very well+go!’ = ‘very well, go!’, or ‘in that case, go!’
2. It is used to express entreaty, as in: bhante bhagavā apposukko viharatu ‘Lord+Blessed One+free from cares+let him live’ = ‘Lord, let the Blessed One (now) live free from cares’.
3. The imperative is used for benedictions and blessings, as in: vassasataṁ jīva ‘years-one hundred+may you live!’ = ‘may you live a hundred years!’
Combined with mā ‘do not’, the second person imperative expresses simple prohibition, as in: mā evaṁ karotha ‘do not+so+do!’ = ‘do not do so!’
4. The third singular imperative of the verb ‘to be’ is often used idiomatically with the meaning ‘very well’, as in: hotu, ahaṁ jānissāmi ‘very well+I+shall see’ = ‘very well, I shall see (to it)’, or ‘very well, I shall take care (of it)’.

8.6.11. Participles

1. Participles are verbal adjectives (gerundives) governing the same cases as the verbs from which they are derived, as in: agacchantaṁ taṁ disvā pi ‘coming+him+saw+although’ = ‘although he saw him coming’; avīcinirayaṁ gacchantā sattā ‘Avīci-Hell+going to+beings’ = ‘beings going to the Avīci Hell’.
2. Participles denote present, past, and future time only relatively to that of the principal verb.
3. The present participle may generally be translated in English as ‘while’. This participle always expresses contemporaneous action, as in: attano gāmaṁ gacchanto corāṭaviṁ patvā ‘his own+village+(while) going to+thieves-forest (corā+aṭavī)+came upon’ = ‘while going to his village, he came upon a forest inhabited by thieves’.
4. The past passive participle, especially in the periphrastic conjugation, frequently has the force of a present active participle.

8.6.12. Infinitive

1. Infinitives are verbal nouns, usually in the accusative case, sometimes (rarely) in the dative case.
2. A verb may take an infinitive to complete its action.
3. After an infinitive, the verb dadāti ‘to give’ means ‘to let, to allow’, and the verb labhati ‘to obtain’ means ‘to be allowed’, as in taṁ paharituṁ na dassāmi ‘him+to be struck+not+I will allow’ = ‘I will not allow him to be struck’; gehabahi nikkhamituṁ alabhanto ‘house-out of+to go out+not being allowed’ = ‘not being allowed to go out of the house’.
4. The indeclinables labbhā ‘possible, allowable’ and sakkā ‘able, possible’ are used with an infinitive and instrumental of agent in impersonal constructions, as in: idaṁ na labbhā evaṁ katuṁ ‘this+not+possible+thus+to do’ = ‘it is not possible to do it in this way’; na sakkā so (dhammo) agāramajjhe pūretuṁ ‘not+possible+this (teaching)+in a household (agāra+ majjhe)+to be fulfilled’ = ‘this (teaching) cannot be fulfilled in a household’.
   

   Note: The infinitive is used in the same form with either active or passive meaning.

5. The infinitive is used with verbs meaning ‘to wish, to try, to strive, to begin, to be able’, as in: na koci mayā saddhiṁ sallapituṁ sakkoti ‘not+anyone+me (instr.)+with+to talk+is able’ = ‘no one can talk with me’; sā rodituṁ ārabhi ‘she+to cry+began’ = ‘she began to cry’.
6. Verbs like vaṭṭati ‘to behoove; to be fit, right, proper’ are used a great deal with the infinite, as in: taṁ harituṁ vaṭṭati ‘him+to kill+it is best’ = ‘it is best to kill him’; ettha dāni mayā vasituṁ vaṭṭati ‘here+now+me+to live+it behooves’ = ‘it now behooves me to live’.

8.6.13. Gerund

1. The gerund (verbal noun) is used as an adjunct to the logical subject of a sentence in which it is found and denotes some action accompanying or (more generally) preceding what which is signified by the verb in the sentence. Thus used, the gerund is the most common connective in Pāḷi and, for all practical purposes, does away with the conjunction equivalent of English ‘and’ connecting two sentences. Thus: so taṁ ukkhipitvā gharaṁ netvā catudhā vibhajitvā dānādīni puññāni katvā yathākammaṁ gato ‘he+it+lifted+home+took+into four parts (adv.)+ divided+alms-giving+good deeds+practicing+according to (his) deeds+gone’ = ‘he lifted it up, took it home, divided it into four parts, and, practicing alms-giving and other good deeds, went according to his deeds’.
   

   Note: The gerundial clause is sometimes an adjunct of a noun in some case other than the nominative, when the grammatical construction puts the real agent, or logical subject, into a dependent clause.

2. The gerund frequently has merely prepositional force.
3. The word va (= eva ‘just, quite, even’) may be translated into English as ‘as soon as’ when it follows a gerund, as in: taṁ vacanaṁ sutvā va ‘these+words+heard+as soon as’ = ‘as soon as he heard these words’.
4. The particle api ‘also, even, though, merely’ may be translated as ‘although, even though’ when it comes after a gerund, as in: akataññū puggalo cakkavattirajjaṁ datvā pi tosetuṁ na sakkā ‘an ungrateful man+universal-power (wheel+turning+sovereignty)+given+even though +be satisfied+not+possible’ = ‘an ungrateful man cannot be satisfied even though he is given power over the entire world’.

8.6.14. Participle of Necessity

1. The participle of necessity, like other declinable adjectives, must agree with its noun in case, gender, and number.
2. The participle of necessity is most frequently used with some form of atthi, hoti ‘to be’, or other verb of related meaning in a periphrastic formation.

8.7. The Syntax of Indeclinables

1. Adverbs generally qualify whole clauses, but they sometimes qualify only particular words in a clause.
2. The adverbial particle iti is added at the end of quoted speech, or even quoted thought, which is always given in the form of direct discourse, as in: maṁ sandhāya bhāsatīti ñatvā ‘me+about+he speaks (bhāsati+iti)+perceiving’ = ‘perceiving that he speaks about me’.
   

   Note: The initial vowel of iti generally contracts with a preceding vowel, lengthening it if short.

3. Prepositional words govern cases of nouns.
4. Conjunctions join words and clauses. ■