8.3: Commands and wishes

Info

Part of “A Beginner (Non-Linguist) Guide to Learning Pali”

Two of the eight sets of endings in 8.1 state no time; they state what the speaker wants. The pañcamī (the fifth set, ⏹) is for a command (āṇatti) and a blessing (āsīsa) {415}: karotu kusalaṁ (“let him do good”), sukhaṁ te hotu (“may there be happiness for you”). The sattamī (the seventh set, ⏯) is for permission (anumati) and supposition (parikappa) {416}: tvaṁ gaccheyyāsi (“you may go”), kimahaṁ kareyyāmi (“what should I do?”); in the texts it is also a wish for oneself (pabbajeyyaṁ, “I would go forth”) and the verb of an “if” (okanteyyuṁ, “if they were to cut off”).

Ask the question of 8.1, who and how many, and then: a command or blessing, or a may, should or would? The ending answers: -tu, -ntu, -hi and -eyy- are unmistakable, while -tha, -mi and -ma are the present’s too, and only the sense decides. Kaccāyana lists each set’s twelve endings in {424} and {425}, the active parassapada (🟢) six, then the attanopada (🔵) six. pañcamī and sattamī are also the names of the ⑤ and ⑦ noun endings; the symbols ⏹ and ⏯ keep the verb sets apart.

The pañcamī ⏹: commands and blessings {415}

what you see	person	number	example	rule
-tu	third	⨀	karotu, hotu (7: 2.3), desetu (“let him teach”), uppajjatu	{424}
-ntu	third	⨂	hontu (“may they be”, 7: 4.6), kamantu (“let them come”)	{424}
-hi, the a before it long {478}; hi sometimes dropped {479}	second	⨀	gacchāhi, gaccha (“go!”), ehi (“come!”)	{424}
-tha	second	⨂	etha (“come, all of you!”)	{424}
-mi, the a before it long {478}	first	⨀	jānāmi (“may I know”, Bonus: 18, 1.20)	{424}
-ma, the a before it long {478}	first	⨂	gacchāma (“let us go”)	{424}
-taṁ, -antaṁ, -ssu, -vho, -e, -āmase	the attanopada 🔵 set		none in our texts	{424}

The sattamī ⏯: may, should, would {416}

what you see	person	number	example	rule
-eyya	third	⨀	kareyya (“he would do”), saṁvatteyya (7: 2.2), padūseyya	{425}
-eyyuṁ	third	⨂	saṁvatteyyuṁ (7: 4.5), okanteyyuṁ	{425}
-eyyāsi	second	⨀	gaccheyyāsi	{425}
-eyyātha	second	⨂	vadeyyātha (“would you say”), uddiseyyātha	{425}
-eyyāmi	first	⨀	kareyyāmi	{425}
-eyyāma	first	⨂	none in our texts; they have the short vadema below	{425}
-eyyaṁ, the 🔵 ending, common for a wish	first	⨀	pabbajeyyaṁ, upapajjeyyaṁ	{425}
-etha, the 🔵 ending	third	⨀	paññāyetha (“it would be evident”, Bonus: 15, 2.1)	{425}
-eraṁ, -etho, -eyyāvho, -eyyāmhe	the rest of the 🔵 set		none in our texts	{425}

The sattamī is often shortened; {517} allows the short shapes, which are the ones a reader meets most:

what you see	stands for	example	rule
-e	-eyya, third person ⨀	kare (“he would do”), gacche (“he would go”)	{517}
-etha	-eyyātha, second person ⨂	vadetha (“would you say”, Bonus: 1, 24.14)	{517}
-ema	-eyyāma, first person ⨂	vadema (“would we say”, Bonus: 1, 24.5)	{517}
siyā	-eyya of atthi (“is”): “there would be”	siyā	{506}, {517}
jaññā, jāniyā	-eyya of jānāti (“knows”): “he would know”	jaññā	{508}

How to tell a command from a wish, and both from the present

-tu, -ntu and -hi are always ⏹; -eyy- is always ⏯. -tha, -mi and -ma are the present’s endings too: ‘yathābhūtaṁ jānāmi passāmī’ti is a wish, “may I know and see”, so ⏹, while yathābhūtaṁ jānāti passati in the next sentence is a statement, ▶️. The short -e (kare) looks like a ⑦ noun ending; a root in front of it, not a noun, tells. -etha is the 🔵 third person ⨀ (paññāyetha) or the short 🟢 second person ⨂ (vadetha); the subject decides. A prohibition is mā with a past ending, mā gamā (“do not go”), mā ahosi (“may it not be”, 7: 2.3) {420}, in chapter 1’s note on mā and in 8.4. siyā and assa are both “would be”, the sattamī of atthi (8.7).

flowchart TD
  E["the ending"] --> A["-tu, -ntu, -hi: pañcamī ⏹"]
  E --> B["-eyy-, short -e, -etha, -ema: sattamī ⏯"]
  E --> C["-tha, -mi, -ma: present or pañcamī"]
  C --> C1["a wish or a command: pañcamī ⏹"]
  C --> C2["a statement: vattamānā ▶️"]

All twelve endings of each set are in Appendix I and chapter 1’s verb terminations.

Examples

From chapters 7 and the bonus chapter; each citation links to the sentence.

evaṁ me saṅkhārā hontu

⏏️(evaṁ) *️⃣👆⚧⨀⑥(ahaṁ) 🚹⨂①(saṅkhāra) 🟢⨂🤟⏹(hoti)
thus / my / mental constructions / let be
“May my saṅkhārā be thus” (7: 4.6) hontu: ⏹ -ntu, third person ⨂ {424}; a wish {415}.

‘yathābhūtaṁ jānāmi passāmī’ti.

🚹⨀②(yathābhūta) ⏹👆⨀(jānāti) ⏹👆⨀(passati) 🔼(ti)
reality as it is / must know / must see
“May I see and know reality as it is.” (Bonus: 18, 1.20) jānāmi, passāmi: -mi, first person ⨀ {424}, the present’s ending too; the sentence is a wish, so ⏹ {415}.

“Api nu tumhe, bhikkhave, evaṁ jānantā evaṁ passantā evaṁ vadeyyātha—

🔼(apinu) *️⃣🤘⚧⨂①(tvaṁ) 🚹⨂⓪(bhikkhu) 🔼(evaṁ) 🚹⨂①(jānanta) 🔼(evaṁ) 🚹⨂①(passanta) ⏯🤘⨂(vadati)
are? / youse / bhikkhave / thus / knowing / thus / seeing / will say
“Thus knowing and thus seeing, bhikkhave, will you say -” (Bonus: 1, 24.4) vadeyyātha: ⏯ -eyyātha, second person ⨂ {425}; a supposition, “would you say” {416}.

nayidaṁ saṅkhārā ābādhāya saṁvatteyyuṁ,

⏏️(na) *️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(ima) 🚹⨂①(saṅkhāra) 🚹⨀④(ābādha) 🟢⨂🤟⏯(saṁvattati)
not / this / mental constructions / to affliction / would lead
“these saṅkhārā would not lead to ābādha (affliction),” (7: 4.5) saṁvatteyyuṁ: ⏯ -eyyuṁ, third person ⨂ {425}; the “would” that answers the “if” before it, a supposition {416}.

Exercises

Each of the following is a verb from chapter 7 or the bonus chapter, in the form it has there. Name the set, the ending, the person and the number, and say whether it is a command, a wish or a supposition. Look each up in a dictionary and check its ending against the tables.

Hint

You may find the Digital Pali Dictionary useful for looking up words, as well as doing the sandhi and compound word deconstruction.

1. hotu
2. padūseyya
3. saṁvatteyya
4. uddiseyyātha
5. pabbajeyyaṁ
6. paññāyetha

Answers

Note: please do the exercises first before checking the answers.

1. evaṁ me rūpaṁ hotu

⏏️(evaṁ) *️⃣👆⚧⨀⑥(ahaṁ) 🚻⨀①(rūpa) 🟢⨀🤟⏹(hoti)
thus / my / form / let be
“May my rūpa be thus” (7: 2.3) hotu: ⏹ -tu, third person ⨀ {424}; a wish {415}.

2. tatrāpi yo mano padūseyya

🔼(tatrāpi) 🚹⨀①(ya) 🚹⨀②(manas) ⏯🤟⨀(padūseti)
even in that situation / whoever / mind / will corrupt
“even in that case whoever will corrupt his mind” (Bonus: 45, 9.6) padūseyya: ⏯ -eyya, third person ⨀ {425}, the subject yo; a supposition {416}.

3. nayidaṁ rūpaṁ ābādhāya saṁvatteyya,

⏏️(na) *️⃣🤟🚻⨀①(ima) 🚻⨀①(rūpa) 🚹⨀④(ābādha) 🟢⨀🤟⏯(saṁvattati)
not / this / form / to affliction / would lead
“this rūpa would not lead to ābādha (affliction)” (7: 2.2) saṁvatteyya: ⏯ -eyya, third person ⨀ {425}; the “would” that answers the “if” before it, a supposition {416}.

4. aññaṁ satthāraṁ uddiseyyāthā”ti?

🚹⨀②(añña) 🚹⨀②(satthar) ⏯🤘⨂(uddisati)
another / teacher / appoint
“will you appoint another teacher?” (Bonus: 1, 24.10) uddiseyyātha: ⏯ -eyyātha, second person ⨂ {425}; “would you”, a supposition {416}; the -ā before ”ti is the join.

5. agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajeyyan”ti.

🚻⨀⑤(agāra) 🚻⨀②(anagāriya) 🔵⏯👆⨀(pabbajati) 🔼(ti)
from household life / to homeless state / renounce / quote
“What if I were to renounce from household life to homeless state” (Bonus: 26, 12.8) pabbajeyyaṁ: ⏯ -eyyaṁ, the 🔵 first person ⨀ {425}; a wish for oneself, after yannūnāhaṁ (“what if I”).

6. api nu kho kāmabhavo paññāyethā”ti?

🔼(apinu kho) 🚹⨀①(kāmabhava) 🔵⏯🤟⨀(paññāyati) 🔼(ti)
what / indeed / desire for becoming / is evident / quote
“would desire for becoming be evident?” (Bonus: 15, 2.1) paññāyetha: ⏯ -etha, the 🔵 third person ⨀ {425}, the subject kāmabhavo; a supposition {416}; the -ā before ”ti is the join.