Pali summary

Declension of a-stems

Pali a-stem masc Singular Plural

Nominative -o -ā
Accusative -ṃ -e
Instrumental -ena -ehi/-ebhi*
Dative -ā/-mhā/-smā -ehi/-ebhi*
Ablative -āya/-ssa -ānaṃ
Genitive -ssa -ānaṃ
Locative -e/-mhi/-smiṃ -esu
Vocative -ø -ā
*Archaic

Pali a-stem masc Singular Plural

Nominative naro narā
Accusative naraṃ nare
Instrumental narena narehi/narebhi
Dative narāya/narassa narānaṃ
Ablative narā/naramhā/narasmā narehi/narebhi
Genitive narassa narānaṃ
Locative nare/naramhi/narasmiṃ naresu
Vocative nara narā

Stem: nara

Formation of the gerundive:

The suffix -tvā is added to the root, sometimes with the connecting -i- vowel

Pac (cook) + i + tvā = pacitvā (having cooked)

Han + tvā = hantvā (having killed)

There are irregular ones

Gam + tvā = gamtvā (having gone)

If there is an upasarga/suffix, then one uses -ya

ā+gam+ya = āgamma (*āgamya) (having gone)

ā+dā+ya = ādāya (having taken)

ā+ruh+ya = āruyha (having climbed) (with metathesis!)

Formation of the infinitive:

The suffix -tuṃ is added to the root (rarely the base). The connecting vowel is used sometimes.

Pac + I + tuṃ = pacituṃ

Khād + I + tuṃ = khādituṃ

Dā + tuṃ = dātuṃ

Pā + tum = pātuṃ OR pivituṃ (piva is base, pivati = he drinks)!

Formation of the present participle:

The suffix -nta (active) or -māna is added to the verbal base

Gaccha + nta = gacchanta (going)

Gaccha + māna = gacchamāna (going)

Paca + nta = pacanta (cooking)

Paca + māna = pacamāna (cooking)

Conjugation of the present tense for thematic verbs:

Pali paca- (to cook) Singular Plural

3rd person pacati pacanti
2nd person pacasi pacatha
1st person pacāmi pācāma

Some verbs end in -e. In Sanskrit, this would’ve been -aya, and sometimes in Pali -aya is still found

Compare coreti, चोरयति (corayati)

Pali core- (to steal) Singular Plural

3rd person coreti corenti
2nd person coresi coretha
1st person coremi corema

Or alternatively

Pali coraya- (to steal) Singular Plural

3rd person corayati corayanti
2nd person corayasi corayatha
1st person corayāmi corayāma
The verb to buy = kiṇāti is conjugated like a verb in -nā

Pali kiṇā- (to buy) Singular Plural

3rd person kiṇāti kiṇanti
2nd person kiṇāsi kiṇātha
1st person kiṇāmi kiṇāma

Hoti/bhavati and karoti and atthi frequently occur, they’re cognate to भवति, करोति, अस्ति (bhavati,
karoti, asti) in Sanskrit.

Pali ho- (to be(come)) Singular Plural

3rd person hoti honti
2nd person hosi hotha
1st person homi homa

Pali as- (to be) Singular Plural

3rd person atthi santi
2nd person asi attha
1st person asmi/ahmi asma/amha

Pali karo- (to do) Singular Plural

3rd person karoti karonti
2nd person karosi karotha
1st person karomi karoma

A note to be made, the verbs in -eti or -ayati always use their verbal base instead of their root in e.g
the gerundive, as is customary in Sanskrit.

Coretvā – having stolen

Note also that the form in -e is used, not in -aya

The formation of the future tense

The suffix is -ssa. This is sometimes added with the suffix -i- to the root or verbal base

pac-i-ssa-ti = pacissati, he will cook

core-ssa-ti = coressati, he will steal

kiṇa-i-ssa-ti = kiṇissati, he will buy

The root:

Gam-i-ssa-ti = gamissati, he will go

Dadāti (root dā) = dadā-i-ssa-ti = dadissati (he will give) or da-ssa-ti = dassati (he will give)

The optative mood:

Pali paca- (to cook) Singular Plural

3rd person Paceyya paceyyuṃ
2nd person Paceyyāsi Paceyyātha
1st person Paceyyāmi Paceyyāma

The optative is used for giving advice (you should do... you should go), for probability (he might go)
or hypothetical situations (if he were to go...)

The imperative

Pali paca- (to cook) Singular Plural

3rd person Pacatu Pacantu
2nd person Paca/pacāhi Pacatha
1st person Pacāmi Pacāma

This can be negated with the participle mā, as in Sanskrit

Mā paca = do not cook!

The past tense (supposedly aorist?)

Pali paca- (to cook) Singular Plural

3rd person apaci/paci apaciṃsu/paciṃsu
2nd person apaci/paci apacittha/pacittha
1st person apaciṃ/paciṃ apacimha/pacimha
Nouns in -ā

Pali ā-stem fem Singular Plural

Nominative -ā -ā/-āyo
Accusative -aṃ -ā/-āyo
Instrumental -āya -āhi/ābhi*
Dative -āya -ānaṃ
Ablative -āya -āhi/-ābhi*
Genitive -āya -ānaṃ
Locative -āya/-āyaṃ -āsu
Vocative -e -ā/-āyo
*Archaic

Pali a-stem masc Singular Plural

Nominative vanitā vanitā/ vanitāyo
Accusative vanitaṃ vanitā/vanitāyo
Instrumental vanitāya vanitāhi/ vanitābhi*
Dative vanitāya vanitānaṃ
Ablative vanitāya vanitāhi/ vanitābhi*
Genitive vanitāya vanitānaṃ
Locative vanitāya/-āyaṃ vanitāsu
Vocative vanite vanitā/vanitāyo
*archaic

The past participle

The past participle is formed by adding -ta mostly to the root. Sometimes the vowel -i- is found

From transitive verbs, it has a passive meaning. From intransitive verbs, it instead has an active
meaning.

Pac+i+ta=paccita (cooked)

Nī+ta=nīta (led)

Han+ta=hata (killed)
Verbs in the present:

To derive the present base, simply:

FIRST conjugation

Type 1):

It ends in a consonant. To get the stem, simply add a to the root.

Type 2):

It ends in a vowel. To get the stem, simply do not add anything.

Some roots in this type ending in I, u and their long counterparts, become either e or o, or stay aya or
ava

Nī -> nava or ne

Ku -> kava or ko

Type 3:

Reduplicated root. The rules are:

1) A guttural becomes the corresponding palatal

2) Unaspirate reduplicated as unaspirate
3) Initial h is reduplicated to j
4) An aspirate is reduplicated as unaspirate
5) V is generally reduplicated by u
6) A long vowel may or may not be shortened
A or ā become a
I becomes i i
U and ū become ū, rarely a
I and u can become o occasionally
A of root following consonant sometimes lengthened to ā

Second conjugation
These roots involve the adding of ṃ (niggahīta)

After this is added, sandhi is taken and then a is added as usually

Third conjugation:

This uses the sign -ya. Assimilation rules are applied.

Sometimes, roots ending in long -ā are given as -e.

Ge + a = gāya (note how it is lengthened)

Fourth conjugation:
The sign of this conjugation is ṇu or ṇā if the root ends in a vowel, but uṇā or uṇu if it ends in a
consonant.

The long -ā is retained before the personal endings, but not for the third person plural. Sometimes it
is found shortened to a.

Sometimes the ṇ is dentalised to n, following Sanskrit (cf. 5 th/8th gana)

Fifth conjugation:

The sign of this conjugation is nā, added to roots always ending in a vowel. If this vowel is long, it is
shortened. Due to influence of Sanskrit ऋ, ॠ, र्, Sometimes it becomes ṇ, e.g in kiṇāti (sanskrit root
krī)

The long ā is, again, retained except before the third person plural. Sometimes it is also found
shortened.

Sixth conjugation:

Add u to root, often strengthened to o, which becomes va

Seventh conjugation:

Add -e/-aya to root, -e being more common (cf. Sanskrit 10 th gana)

If the root vowel is u, if not procdeded by a conjunct, it becomes o

Radical a if followed by a single consonant, often lengthened, but sometimes kept short

Present active Singular Plural

3rd person -ti -anti
2nd person -si -tha
1st person -mi -ma

Present middle Singular Plural

3rd person -te -ante, -re
2nd person -se -vhe
1st person -e -mhe

Imperfect active Singular Plural

3rd person -a -u
2nd person -o -ttha
1st person -a, -aṃ -amhà

Imperfect middle Singular Plural

3rd person -ttha -tthuṃ
2nd person -se -vhaṃ
1st person -iṃ -mhase

Imperative active Singular Plural

3rd person -tu -ntu
2nd person -hi -tha
1st person -mi -ma

Imperative middle Singular Plural

3rd person -taṃ -ntaṃ
2nd person -ssu -vho
1st person -e -āmase

Optative active Singular Plural

3rd person -eyya -eyyuṃ
2nd person -eyyāsi -eyyātha
1st person -eyyāmi -eyyāma

Optative middle Singular Plural

3rd person -etha -eraṃ
2nd person -etho -eyyahvo
1st person -eyyaṃ -eyyāmhe

Before -hi, a -> ā. Sometimes the bare stem is used (e.g paca)