Pronoun Bits: idam

Introduction

In the chapter on noun cases, we discussed small portions of larger topics in Sanskrit so that we could reap their benefits without spending much time in their details. Here, we'll do something similar for the Sanskrit pronouns.

As we've seen by now, the Sanskrit pronoun system is extensive, and with it we can refer to things both close at hand and far away. Here, we will study some common forms of idam, which is used to discuss things that are close by.

• एतद् → इदम् → अदस् → तद्

  etad → idam → adas → tad

  this (right near us) → this (close at hand) → that (within sight) → that (remote)

  The four main Sanskrit pronouns, in order of distance. Pronouns that refer to closer objects are on the left. We haven't studied the adas pronoun, and we will not until much later in the guide; it is quite rare, and a knowledge of its behavior will not benefit you much.

Unlike the pronouns we've already studied, idam is highly irregular, probably because it is a blend of two older pronouns. Here are some common forms that you should know:

Masculine

Note the a element that appears at the beginning of most of these forms. We can use this a to form many other words. For example, we can use it to form the word atra, meaning "here," much as we formed tatra and the others.

Neuter

As usual, the neuter pronoun has the same forms in case 1 and case 2.

Note the i element at the beginning of each form. This i, too, will appear again in several different forms.