tipitaka network ... his life, his acts, his words                 sabbe satta bhavantu sukhi-tatta

An Elementary Paa.li Course

Lesson I

A. Declension of Nouns Ending in a

1. In Paa.li nouns are declined according to the terminated endings a, aa, i, ii, u, uu, and o. There are no nouns ending in e. All nouns ending in a are either in the masculine or in the neuter gender.

2. There are three genders in Paa.li. As a rule males and those things possessing male characteristics are in the masculine gender, e.g., nara, man; suriya, sun; gaama, village. Females and those things possessing female characteristics are in the feminine gender, e.g., itthi, woman; ga`ngaa, 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 Paa.li as in English.

3. nara + o = naro. nara + aa = naraa. When two vowels come together either the preceding or the following vowel is dropped. In this case the preceding vowel is dropped.

B. Conjugation of Verbs

Present Tense - Active Voice

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

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

6. In Paa.li sentences, in plain language, the subject is placed first, the verb last, and the object before the verb.

Exercise 1-A

Translate into English.

1. Buddho vadati.
2. Dhammo rakkhati.
3. Saa dhovati.
4. Yaacako dhaavati.
5. Suudaa pacanti.
6. Janakaa vadanti.
7. Te vandanti.
8. Naraa rakkhanti.
9. Puttaa dhaavanti.
10. Daarako vandati.
11. Buddho dhamma.m rakkhati.
12. Daarakaa Buddha.m vandanti.
13. Suudo gha.te dhovati.
14. Naraa gaama.m rakkhanti.
15. Saa odana.m pacati.
16. Buddhaa dhamma.m vadanti.
17. Puttaa janake vandanti.
18. Yaacakaa gha.te dhovanti.
19. Te gaame rakkhanti.
20. Janako Buddha.m vandati.

Exercise 1-B

Translate into Paa.li.

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.