Verbs

Words in Sanskrit can be either तिङ्न्त (verbs) or सुबन्त (nouns, pronouns, adjectives etc). Words (verbs and nouns) are formed by combining two groups of letters:

प्रकृति + प्रत्यय

For verbs the प्रकृति is called धातु and for nouns it is called प्रातिपदिकम्

Verb forms exist for three numbers - singular, dual, plural - and for three persons - first (उत्तम पुरुष), second (मध्यम पुरुष) and third (प्रथम पुरुष)

When used in active voice (कर्मणि प्रयोग) verbs can be conjugated in one of two forms - परस्मैपदि or आत्मनेपदि. Some verbs can use both forms (उभयपदि). In passive voide (भावे प्रयोग) all verbs take आत्मनेपदि form.

There are 18 प्रत्यय for verbs. The first 9 are for परस्मैपदि forms and the second 9 are for the आत्मनेपदि forms.

परस्मैपदि
एकवचनद्विवचनबहुवचन
प्रथम पुरुषतिप्तिस्झि
मध्यम पुरुषसिप्थस्थ
उत्तम पुरुषमिप्वस्मस्

आत्मनेपदि
एकवचनद्विवचनबहुवचन
प्रथम पुरुषतआताम्झ
मध्यम पुरुषथास्आथाम्ध्वम्
उत्तम पुरुषइङ् (इट्)वहिङ्महिङ्

The verb roots (धातु) are catagorized into 10 गण (groups). Of these, groups 1, 4, 6 and 10 form a related group.

List of all गण

NumberNameविकरणExample
1भ्वादिःअपठ्-अ-ति
2अदादिः-अद्-ति
3जुहोत्यादिः-जुहो-ति
4दिवादिःयनृत्-य-ति
5स्वादिःनुसु-नु-ते
6तुदादिःअलिख्-अ-ति
7रुधादिःनभिनद्-ति
8तनादिःउतन्-उ-ते
9क्र्यादिःनापु-ना-ति
10चुरादिःअकथय्-अ-ति

Verb Conjugation

वद् is a धातु that means to speak. It belongs to the first गण (भ्वादिः). For these verbs a विकरण is placed between the धातु and the प्रत्यय during conjugation. For भ्वादिः verbs the विकरण is अ/आ.

The third person (प्रथम पुरुष) singular (एकवचन) form of वद् is forme this way:

वद् + अ + तिप् = वदति (he/she speaks)

The प् in तिप् is dropped.

In गण 1, 4, 6, and 10 the विकरण is lengthened to आ for the terminations in उत्तम पुरुष

So for present tense (कर्तरि प्रयोग), sigular (एकवचन), first person (उत्तम पुरुष)

वद् + आ + मिप् = वदामि

पठति - लट्

अपठत् - लङ्

पपाठ - लिट्

अपाठीत - लुङ्

पठिष्यति - लृट्

पठिता - लुट्

पठतु - लोट्

पठेत् - लिङ्

अपठिष्यत - लृङ्

पठाति - लेट्