2.4: `sabbanāma` (Pronouns and their relatives)
Every sentence of chapter 5 has one of these words: idaṁ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ (5: 4.1), yo cāyaṁ (5: 2.3),
me (5: 5.1), and chapter 7 turns on them: etaṁ mama, esohamasmi, eso me attā (7: 6.5). Kaccāyana calls them sabbanāma
(pronouns, literally “all-names”): a word that names nothing of its own but
stands for any noun, and takes that noun’s gender, number and ending. There
are twenty-seven (Appendix L); the ones on every page are ta (that; he,
she, it), eta (this), ima (this), ya (which, whoever: the relative),
kiṁ (who?, what?), sabba (all), añña (other), katama (which?), eka
(one), ubha (both), and the two without gender, amha (I) and tumha (you).
Ask of a pronoun what you ask of a noun, “what gender, number and ending?”,
and one thing more: “which noun does it stand for?” Beside a noun it carries
the noun’s ending, sā majjhimā paṭipadā (5: 3.3), ete ubho ante
(5: 2.4); alone, its ending
gives its job (chapter 4) and its noun is the one named before. The endings
are those of purisa, citta and kaññā (2.2) with a few
of their own {161}–{177}; the tables give each form’s rule.
The forms of ta (that; he, she, it)
Section titled “The forms of ta (that; he, she, it)”| ending | 🚹⨀ | 🚻⨀ | 🚺⨀ | 🚹⨂ | 🚻⨂ | 🚺⨂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ① | so {174} |
taṁ {219} |
sā {174} |
te {164} |
tāni {218} |
tā {118} |
| ② | taṁ {55} |
taṁ {219} |
taṁ {55} |
te {107} |
tāni {218} |
tā {118} |
| ③ | tena {103} |
tena {103} |
tāya {111} |
tehi {101} |
tehi {101} |
tāhi {55} |
| ④ ⑥ | tassa {61} |
tassa {61} |
tassā {179} |
tesaṁ {168} |
tesaṁ {168} |
tāsaṁ {168} |
| ⑤ | tasmā {110}, tamhā {99} |
tasmā {110} |
tāya {111} |
tehi {101} |
tehi {101} |
tāhi {55} |
| ⑦ | tasmiṁ {110}, tamhi {99} |
tasmiṁ {110} |
tassaṁ {179}, tāyaṁ {216} |
tesu {101} |
tesu {101} |
tāsu {55} |
The ⑤ and ⑦ keep -smā and -smiṁ, never the -ā and -e of purisā,
purise {110}. An n may stand for the t anywhere {175}: naṁ, nena,
ne; before -ssa, -smā, -smiṁ the whole ta may shrink to a {176}:
assa, asmā, asmiṁ, which ima shares {177}. At the end of a compound a
pronoun goes like a noun {165}–{167}; amu (that yonder: asu, amuṁ) {173}
is rare in the texts.
The other pronouns: where they differ from ta
Section titled “The other pronouns: where they differ from ta”| lemma | meaning | ① ⨀ 🚹, 🚻, 🚺 | shapes of its own | rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
eta |
this (just spoken of) | eso, etaṁ, esā |
the rest as ta with et-: etena, etassa, ete; 🚺 etissā |
{174}, {219}, {63} |
ima |
this (at hand) | ayaṁ, idaṁ, ayaṁ |
imaṁ; iminā, anena; imassa, assa; imasmiṁ, asmiṁ; ime; imesaṁ, esaṁ; imesu, esu; 🚺 imissā |
{172}, {129}, {171}, {177}, {170}, {63} |
ya |
which, who; whoever | yo, yaṁ, yā |
as ta with y-, and no s-forms: yena, yassa, ye, yāni, yesaṁ |
{104}, {219}, {220} |
kiṁ |
who?, what? | ko, kiṁ, kā |
ka- before the endings: kena, kassa, ke, kesaṁ; with ci added, “some, any”: koci, kāci, kiñci, kenaci |
{229}, {220}, {31} |
sabba, añña, katama, eka |
all; other; which?; one | sabbo, sabbaṁ, sabbā |
as ya: sabbe, sabbesaṁ, sabbesu; aññe, katame, eko |
{104}, {220}, {164}, {168} |
ubha |
both (plural only) | ubho, ubhe |
ubhinnaṁ ④ ⑥ |
{205}, {164}, {86} |
amha (I, we) and tumha (you)
Section titled “amha (I, we) and tumha (you)”| ending | amha ⨀ |
amha ⨂ |
tumha ⨀ |
tumha ⨂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ① | ahaṁ {140} |
mayaṁ {121}, amhe {164} |
tvaṁ {140} |
tumhe {164} |
| ② | maṁ {143} |
amhe {107}, no {147} |
taṁ {143} |
tumhe {107}, vo {147} |
| ③ ⑤ | mayā {145}, {270}; me {150} |
amhehi {101}, no {151} |
tayā {145}, {270}; te {150} |
tumhehi {101}, vo {151} |
| ④ ⑥ | mama {141}, me {148} |
amhākaṁ {161}, no {147} |
tava {141}, te {148} |
tumhākaṁ {161}, vo {147} |
| ⑦ | mayi {139} |
amhesu {101} |
tayi {139} |
tumhesu {101} |
They have no gender, so no noun agrees with them: ⚧ in the symbol line. The
short me, te, no, vo never open a sentence but lean on the word before
them, kho me, …saccan’ti me {147}–{151}. Rarer: mayhaṁ, tuyhaṁ ④ ⑥
{142}, tumhākaṁ ② {162}, tumhaṁ ④ ⑥ {163}.
yo … so: the pair that makes a clause
Section titled “yo … so: the pair that makes a clause”Pāḷi has no one word for “the one who” or “that which”: a ya word opens the
clause and a ta word of the same gender, number and ending picks it up, yo … so, yaṁ … taṁ, yā … sā, ye … te, and among the adverbs yathā … tathā
(as … so), yadā … tadā (when … then), yato … tato, yattha … tattha,
yasmā … tasmā (because … therefore: 7: 2.3).
Find the ya word, then its ta partner; what lies between is the “which”
clause: yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ, sabbaṁ taṁ nirodhadhammaṁ (5: 11.1). ima,
eta or sabba may stand where ta would: yo cāyaṁ (5: 2.3), “and that which is this …”;
yaṁ kiñci rūpaṁ … sabbaṁ rūpaṁ (7: 7.1), and in the other genders yā kāci vedanā … sabbā vedanā (7: 8.1), ye keci saṅkhārā … sabbe saṅkhārā (7: 9.2).
The adverbs made from them
Section titled “The adverbs made from them”A pronoun with an affix: ta answers, ya relates, kiṁ asks, ima points
to here, sabba says every (sabbattha everywhere {249}, sabbadhi {250},
sabbato from all sides {248}, sabbadā, sadā always {257}, {260}), and
the affix says where, whence, when or how. Kaccāyana names to and the rest
inflections {247}; the word made never changes.
| affix | ta |
ya |
kiṁ |
ima |
|---|---|---|---|---|
where: -ttha, -tra, -hiṁ, -dha |
tattha, tatra, tahiṁ there {249}, {253} |
yattha, yatra, yahiṁ where {249}, {255} |
kuhiṁ, kva where? {252}, {251} |
idha, iha here {254} |
from where: -to |
tato from that; then {248} |
yato from which; since {248} |
kuto from where? {248} |
ito from here {248} |
when: -dā {256} |
tadā then {258} |
yadā when {257} |
kadā when? {257} |
idāni, etarahi now {259} |
how: -thā, -thaṁ |
tathā so, thus {398} |
yathā as, like {398} |
kathaṁ how? {399} |
itthaṁ in this way {399} |
evaṁ (thus) and the pair yāva … tāva (as long as … so long: tāvāhaṁ,
5: 9.1) are particles, not made by these rules; 2.7 lists
them with the rule that drops their endings {221}.
Examples
Section titled “Examples”Dveme, bhikkhave, antā
⚧⨂①(dvi) *️⃣🤟🚹⨂①(ima) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) 🚹⨂①(anta)
two / these / bhikkhave / extremes
“These two extremes” (5: 2.1): dveme is dve + ime (2.1); ime, ima ①⨂ 🚹 {164}, agrees with antā.
yo tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodho
*️⃣🤟🚹⨀①(ya) *️⃣🤟🚺⨀⑥(ta) ⏏️(eva) 🚺⨀⑥(taṇhā) 🚹⨀①🆎(asesa+virāga+nirodha)
which / of that / very / craving / remainderless fading away and cessation
“Which is the … cessation of that very craving” (5: 4.3): tassāyeva is tassā + eva; tassā, ta ⑥⨀ 🚺 {179}, goes with taṇhāya, and yo {104} with nirodho.
etaṁ mama
*️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(eta) *️⃣👆⚧⨀⑥(ahaṁ)
this / mine
“This is mine” (7: 6.5): etaṁ, eta ①⨀ 🚻 {219}, points to the rūpaṁ under discussion and takes its gender; mama, amha ⑥⨀ {141}.
yaṁ kiñci samudayadhammaṁ sabbaṁ taṁ nirodhadhamman”ti
*️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(ya) *️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(kaci) 🚻⨀①🆎(samudaya+dhamma) *️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(sabba) *️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(ta) 🚻⨀①🆎(nirodha+dhamma) ⏏️(iti)
whatever / anything / subject to origination / all / that / subject to cessation / (end quote)
“Whatever is subject to origination, all that is subject to cessation” (5: 11.1): the pair yaṁ … taṁ, neuter ① {219}; kiñci is kiṁ + ci, “any” {31}; sabbaṁ {219} agrees with taṁ.
Exercises
Section titled “Exercises”Each is from the texts; the link beside it leads to the sentence. For each pronoun give its lemma, gender, number and ending, and the noun it agrees with or stands for; for an adverb, the pronoun and the affix.
- Kena ādittaṁ? (9: 2.5)
- Ete kho, bhikkhave, ubho ante anupagamma. (5: 2.4)
- Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā? (5: 3.1)
- Yo cāyaṁ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo. (5: 2.3)
- Imasmiñca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne (7: 12.3)
- neva tāvāhaṁ, bhikkhave (5: 9.1)
- Yadā have pātubhavanti dhammā (3: 6.1)
- Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanduṁ. (9: 10.2)
Answers
Section titled “Answers”Note: please do the exercises first before checking the answers.
-
Kena ādittaṁ?
*️⃣🤟🚻⨀③(kiṁ) 🚻⨀①🔽(ta)(āditta)
with what / burning
Burning with what?
kena, kiṁ ③⨀ 🚻: kiṁ is ka before this ending {229}, and -ena is the ③ of citta {103}; the answer, rāgagginā, is in ③ too (9: 2.6).
-
Ete kho, bhikkhave, ubho ante anupagamma.
*️⃣🤟🚹⨂②(eta) ⏏️(kho) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) *️⃣🤟🚹⨂②(ubha) 🚹⨂②(anta) 🔽(ya)(anupagacchati)
these / indeed / bhikkhave / both / extremes / not approaching
Without veering towards either of these two extremes, bhikkhave, …
ete, eta ②⨂ 🚹 {107}, and ubho, ubha ②⨂ {205}, both agree with ante.
-
Katamā ca sā, bhikkhave, majjhimā paṭipadā?
*️⃣🤟🚺⨀①(katama) ⏏️(ca) *️⃣🤟🚺⨀①(ta) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) 🚺⨀①(majjhima) 🚺⨀①(paṭipadā)
which / and / that / bhikkhave / middle / way
And what, bhikkhave, is that middle way?
katamā and sā {174}: 🚺⨀① like paṭipadā; the question word is a pronoun and agrees like one.
-
Yo cāyaṁ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo.
*️⃣🤟🚹⨀①(ya) ⏏️(ca) *️⃣🤟🚹⨀①(ima) 🚹⨂⑦(kāma) 🚹⨀①🆎(kāmasukhallikā+anuyoga)
which / and / this / in sensual pleasures / pursuit of sensual happiness
That which is this pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures …
cāyaṁ is ca + ayaṁ (2.1): yo {104} and ayaṁ {172}, both 🚹⨀① with kāmasukhallikānuyogo; yo opens the clause answering katame dve.
-
Imasmiñca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṁ bhaññamāne
*️⃣🤟🚻⨀⑦(ima) ⏏️(ca) ⏏️(pana) 🚻⨀⑦(veyyākaraṇa) 🚻⨀⑦🔽(māna)(bhaññamāna)
in this / and / moreover / detailed exposition / being spoken
And while this detailed exposition was being spoken, …
imasmiñca is imasmiṁ + ca {31}: imasmiṁ, ima ⑦⨀ 🚻, keeps -smiṁ {110} and agrees with veyyākaraṇasmiṁ; the ⑦ of “while” (4.3).
-
neva tāvāhaṁ, bhikkhave
⏏️(na) ⏏️(eva) ⏏️(tāva) *️⃣👆⚧⨀①(ahaṁ) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu)
not / indeed / so long / I / bhikkhave
so long, bhikkhave, I did not …
tāvāhaṁ is tāva + ahaṁ (2.1): ahaṁ, amha ①⨀ {140}, the subject of paccaññāsiṁ; tāva answers the yāva before it.
-
Yadā have pātubhavanti dhammā
⏏️(yadā) ⏏️(have) 🟢⨂🤟▶️(pātubhavati) 🚹⨂①(dhamma)
when / indeed / appear / phenomena
When indeed dhammā (phenomena) become manifest
yadā: ya + dā {257}, “when”, opening the clause that atha (“then”, 3: 6.3) answers.
-
Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanduṁ.
🚹⨂①🆎(atta+mana) *️⃣🤟🚹⨂①(ta) 🚹⨂①(bhikkhu) 🚹⨀⑥(bhagavant) 🚻⨀②🔽(ta)(bhāsita) 🟢⨂🤟⏮(abhinandati)
delighted / those / bhikkhū / of the Bhagavā / what was spoken / rejoiced in
Those bhikkhū, delighted, rejoiced in the Bhagavā’s words.
te, ta ①⨂ 🚹 {164}, “those”: it agrees with bhikkhū, a masculine plural noun in ①, so it is not the te “your” of tumha.