Lesson 4
4.1. Simple Yes/No Questions (Word Questions) and Answers
4.1.1. Interrogative Pronouns and Demonstrative Pronouns
4.1.1.1. Interrogative Pronouns (praśnārthakasarvanāma n. = प्रश्नार्थकसर्वनामन्)
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Neuter | kim = किम् | kāni = कानि |
| Masculine | kas = कस् | ke = के |
| Feminine | kā = का | kās = कास् |
4.1.1.2. Demonstrative Pronouns (nidarśakasarvanāmāni n. = निदर्शकसर्वनामानि)
| Stems | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| tad = तद् "he, she, it; the" (mentioned) | etad = एतद् "this" (very close to the speaker) | idam = इदम् "this" (close) | |
| Nominative singular | |||
| Neuter | tad = तद् | etad = एतद् | idam = इदम् |
| Masculine | sa, so saḥ = स सो सः | eṣa, eṣo, eṣaḥ = एष एषो एषः | ayam = अयम् |
| Feminine | sā = सा | eṣā = एषा | iyam = इयम् |
| Nominative plural | |||
| Neuter | tāni = तानि | etāni = एतानि | imāni = इमानि |
| Masculine | te = ते | ete = एते | ime = इमे |
| Feminine | tās = तास् | etās = एतास् | imās इमास् |
For Nom. sg. m.:
sa, eṣa (स एष) stands before all sounds except short -a
so, eṣo (सो एषो) stands before -a, which is elided (omitted) with Avagraha
saḥ, eṣaḥ (सः एषः) stands only in pause (end of sentence, end of verse)
In order to be able to form sentences with these pronouns (sarvanāman n.), knowledge of the following Sandhi rules is still necessary:
4.1.2. Sandhi of final -m
Final -m is replaced by Anusvāra (-ṃ) before consonants. At the end of a sentence or verse and before vowels, -m remains.
4.1.3. Sandhi of final -e
before a- -e remains unchanged: the initial a- elides with Avagraha:
e.g. ete + agnayas » ete 'gnayaḥ = एते ऽग्नयः "These fires"Before vowels other than short a- -e is usually replaced by -a with Hiatus. Replacement by -ay also occurs:
e.g. ime + īśvarās » ima īśvarāḥ = इम ईश्वराः (rarely: imay īśvarāh = इमयीश्वराः) "These LORDS"
4.1.4. Sandhi of final -d
Final -d is replaced by -t in pause as well as before voiceless gutturals (k, kh) and labials (p, ph).
The replacement before other consonants will be discussed later. Avoid such sound collisions for now!
4.1.5. Question formulas
Using these pronouns, one forms question formulas such as the following:
| Singular | Neuter | tat kim? /kiṃ tat? तत्किम्, किं तत्:bretat kim? /kim etat? एतत्किम्, किमेतत्:bridaṃ kim? / kim idam:brइदं किम्, किमिदम् | "What is that?" |
| Masculine | sa kaḥ? / kaḥ saḥ? स कः, कः सः:breṣa kaḥ? / ka eṣaḥ एष कः, क एषः:brayaṃ kaḥ? / ko 'yam? अयं कः, को ऽयम् | "Who is that?" "What is the?" | |
| Feminine | sā kā? / kā sā? सा का, का सा:breṣā kā? / kaiṣā? (= kā + eṣā) एषा का, कैषा:briyaṃ kā? / keyam? (= kā + iyam) इयं का, केयम् | "Who is that?" "Who is the?" | |
| Plural | Neuter | tāni kāni? / kāni tāni? तानि कानि, कानि तानि:bretāni kāni? / kāny etāni? एतानि कानि, कान्येतानि:brimāni kāni? / kānīmāni? (= kāni + imāni) इमानि कानि, कानीमानि | |
| Masculine | te ke? / ke te? ते के, के ते:brete ke? / ka ete? एते के, क एते:brime ke? / ka ime? इमे के, क इमे | ||
| Feminine | tāḥ kāḥ? / kās tāḥ? ताः काः, कास्ताः:bretāḥ kāḥ? / kā etāḥ? एताः काः, का एताः:brimāḥ kāḥ? / kā imāḥ? इमाः काः, का इमाः |
An example of other questions:
viṣṇuḥ kaḥ? = विष्णुः कः Answer: viṣṇur īśvaraḥ = विष्णुरीश्वरः. (Here, in a nominal sentence, the subject can be placed at the beginning to emphasize the connection to the question.)
NOTE: The answers you can give to such questions with your current Sanskrit knowledge do not, of course, yet correspond in every respect to idiomatic good Sanskrit.
4.2. Exercise
A) Form questions orally using the following words according to the pattern viṣṇuḥ kaḥ (विष्णुः कः) and answer the questions in Sanskrit:
śruti, śiva, brāhmaṇa, dvija (plural), indrāṇī, dhenu, tulādhara, kālidāsa
= श्रुति, शिव, ब्राह्मण, द्विज (बहुवचनम्), इन्द्राणी, धेनु, तुलाधर, कालिदास
B) Form questions for the following reading exercise according to the pattern etat kim (एतत्किम्) and answer the questions using the specified words and demonstrative pronouns, e.g. eṣa bālaḥ (एष बालः):
(Image source: Details)