-ai, -o, and -au stems
There are only a few stems that end in the vowels -ai, -o, or -au. They generally use the basic nominal endings we've seen.
-ai stems
The main example of an -ai stem is the masculine stem rai, which means “wealth” or “prosperity.” If its ending starts with a vowel, it stays the same. Otherwise, it becomes rā:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 | राः rāḥ | रायौ rāyau | रायः rāyaḥ |
| Case 2 | रायम् rāyam | रायौ rāyau | रायः rāyaḥ |
| Case 3 | राया rāyā | राभ्याम् rābhyām | राभिः rābhiḥ |
| Case 4 | राये rāye | राभ्याम् rābhyām | राभ्यः rābhyaḥ |
| Case 5 | रायः rāyaḥ | राभ्याम् rābhyām | राभ्यः rābhyaḥ |
| Case 6 | रायः rāyaḥ | रायोः rāyoḥ | रायाम् rāyām |
| Case 7 | रायि rāyi | रायोः rāyoḥ | राषु rāṣu |
| Case 8 | राः rāḥ | रायौ rāyau | रायः rāyaḥ |
-o stems
The two common -o stems are go (“cow”) and dyo (“sky”, “heaven”). go can be either masculine or feminine according to the animal's gender. And dyo is always feminine.
The -o stems generally use the basic endings, but they make many small changes, as well. You can see their endings below:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 | गौः gauḥ | गावौ gāvau | गावः gāvaḥ |
| Case 2 | गाम् gām | गावौ gāvau | गाः gāḥ |
| Case 3 | गवा gavā | गोभ्याम् gobhyām | गोभिः gobhiḥ |
| Case 4 | गवे gave | गोभ्याम् gobhyām | गोभ्यः gobhyaḥ |
| Case 5 | गोः goḥ | गोभ्याम् gobhyām | गोभ्यः gobhyaḥ |
| Case 6 | गोः goḥ | गवोः gavoḥ | गवाम् gavām |
| Case 7 | गवि gavi | गवोः gavoḥ | गोषु goṣu |
| Case 8 | गौः gauḥ | गावौ gāvau | गावः gāvaḥ |
-au stems
The main example of an -au stem is the feminine stem nau, which means “boat.” nau uses the normal endings and uses normal sandhi changes.
We learned about the stem nau when we studied the basic nominal endings. But for convenience, we will repeat it here:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 | नौः nauḥ | नावौ nāvau | नावः nāvaḥ |
| Case 2 | नावम् nāvam | नावौ nāvau | नावः nāvaḥ |
| Case 3 | नावा nāvā | नौभ्याम् naubhyām | नौभिः naubhiḥ |
| Case 4 | नावे nāve | नौभ्याम् naubhyām | नौभ्यः naubhyaḥ |
| Case 5 | नावः nāvaḥ | नौभ्याम् naubhyām | नौभ्यः naubhyaḥ |
| Case 6 | नावः nāvaḥ | नावोः nāvoḥ | नावाम् nāvām |
| Case 7 | नावि nāvi | नावोः nāvoḥ | नौषु nauṣu |
| Case 8 | नौः nauḥ | नावौ nāvau | नावः nāvaḥ |
Review
Which stems end in -ai?
Which stems end in -o?
Which stems end in -au?