Index 

Lesson I

A. Declension of Nouns ending in " a "

Nara*, m**. man

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Nominative

naro***
a man, or the man

narà
men, or the men

Accusative

naraü
a man, or the man

nare
men, or the men

Terminations

SINGULAR

PLURAL

Nominative

o

à

Accusative

ü

e

* In Pàëi nouns are declined according to the terminated endings a, à, i, ã, u, å, and o. There are no nouns ending in " e ". All nouns ending in " a " are either in the masculine or in the neuter gender.

** There are three, genders in Pàëi. As a rule males and those things possessing male characteristics are in the masculine gender, e.g., nara, man; suriya, sun; gàma, village. Females and those things possessing female characteristics are in the feminine gender, e.g., itthi, woman; gangà, river. Neutral nouns and most inanimate things are in the neuter gender, e.g., phala, fruit; citta, mind. It is not so easy to distinguish the gender in Pàëi as in English.

*** Nara + o = naro. Nara + à = narà. When two vowels come together either the preceding or the following vowel is dropped. In this case the preceding vowel is dropped.

Masculine Substantives :

Buddha

The Enlightened One

Dàraka

child

Dhamma

Doctrine, Truth, Law

Gàma

village

Ghaña

pot, jar

Janaka

father

Odana

rice, cooked rice

Putta

son

Såda

cook

Yàcaka

beggar

B. Conjugation of Verbs

PRESENT TENSE - ACTIVE VOICE

3rd person terminations

SING ti PLU anti

paca = to cook

SING.

So pacati*

he cooks, he is cooking

 

Sà pacati

she cooks, she is cooking

PLU.

Te pacanti,

they cook, they are cooking

* The verbs are often used alone without the corresponding pronouns since the pronoun is implied by the termination.

Verbs :

Dhàvati*

(dhàva)

runs

Dhovati

(dhova)

washes

Vadati

(vada)

speaks, declares

Vandati

(vanda)

salutes

Rakkhati

(rakkha)

protects

* As there are seven conjugations in Pàëi which differ according to the conjugational signs, the present tense third person singulars of verbs are given. The roots are given in brackets.

Illustrations*:

1. Sådo

 

pacati

The cook

 

is cooking

2. Sådà

 

pacanti

The cooks

 

are cooking

3. Sådo

odanaü

pacati

The cook

rice

is cooking

4. Sådà

ghañe

dhovanti

The cooks

pots

are washing

* In Pàëi sentences, in plain language, the subject is placed first, the verb last, and the object before the verb.

Exercise i

A

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH

  1. Buddho vadati.
  2. Dhammo rakkhati.
  3. Sà dhovati.
  4. Yàcako dhàvati.
  5. Sådà pacanti.
  6. Janakà vadanti.
  7. Te vandanti.
  8. Narà rakkhanti.
  9. Puttà dhàvanti.
  10. Dàrako vandati.
  11. Buddho dhammaü rakkhati.
  12. Dàrakà Buddhaü vandanti.
  13. Sådo ghañe dhovati.
  14. Narà gàmaü. rakkhanti.
  15. Sà odanaü pacati.
  16. Buddhà dhammaü vadanti.
  17. Puttà janake vandanti.
  18. Yàcakà. ghañe dhovanti.
  19. Te gàme rakkhanti.
  20. Janako Buddhaü vandati.

 

B

TRANSLATE INTO PALI

  1. He protects.
  2. The man salutes.
  3. The child is washing.
  4. The son speaks.
  5. The beggar is cooking.
  6. They are running.
  7. The children are speaking.
  8. The fathers are protecting.
  9. The sons are saluting.
  10. The cooks are washing.
  11. The men are saluting the Buddha.
  12. Fathers protect men.
  13. The cook is washing rice.
  14. The truth protects men.
  15. She is saluting the father.
  16. The Enlightened One is declaring the Doctrine.
  17. The boys are washing the pots.
  18. The men are protecting the villages.
  19. The beggars are cooking rice.
  20. The cook is washing the pot.