Verb classes

In the previous lesson, we learned that Sanskrit verbs can show ten different tense-moods. Four of these tense-moods use very similar stems. These four are:

• the present tense

• the ordinary past tense

• the command mood

• the potential mood

You can see examples of all four of these tense-moods below:

• नयति
  nayati
  (Someone) leads.

• अनयत्
  anayat
  (Someone) led.

• नयतु
  nayatu
  (Someone) should lead.

• नयेत्
  nayet
  (Someone) might or could lead.

In Sanskrit, we form the stems for these four tense-moods in ten different patterns. Each root typically uses just one of these ten patterns.

What are these ten patterns like? For most roots, we strengthen the root vowel and add -a. This is the most common of the ten patterns:

• भू → भवति, भवतु, अभवत्, भवेत्
  bhū → bhavati, bhavatu, abhavat, bhavet
  lead → (someone) leads, should lead, led, might lead

For other roots, we might add a different suffix instead:

• चुर् → चोरयति, चोरयतु, अचोरयत्, चोरयेत्
  cur → corayati, corayatu, acorayat, corayet
  steal → (someone) steals, should steal, stole, might steal

And for a few roots, we might even make a more drastic change:

• हु → जुहोति, जुहोतु, अजुहोत्, जुहुयात्
  hu → juhoti, juhotu, ajuhot, juhuyāt
  offer → (someone) offers, should offer, offered, might offer

Since roots change in ten different ways, we sort these roots into ten different verb classes. Each verb class has its own characteristic change.

In this lesson, we will learn the basics of each verb class. Don't worry about the details here. Instead, try to get a feel for the different ways we might change a root's sounds.

Simple verb classes

The four simple verb classes all create stems in a simple and straightforward way. All of their stems end in the letter -a.

The first of these four classes starts with the root bhū. So, it is called the bhū class. For the bhū class, we add -a to the end of the root and usually strengthen the root's vowel:

• भू → भवति, भवतु, अभवत्, भवेत्
  bhū → bhavati, bhavatu, abhavat, bhavet
  lead → (someone) leads, should lead, led, might lead

Next is the div class, which uses the suffix -ya. Sometimes, the root's vowel may become long:

• दिव् → दीव्यति, दीव्यतु, अदीव्यत्, दीव्येत्
  div → dīvyati, dīvyatu, adīvyat, dīvyet
  gamble → (someone) gambles, should gamble, gambled, might gamble

Third is the tud class, which uses the suffix -a with no vowel change:

• तुद् → तुदति, तुदतु, अतुदत्, तुदेत्
  tud → tudati, tudatu, atudat, tudet
  strike → (someone) strikes, should strike, struck, might strike

And last is the cur class, which uses the suffix -aya and a strengthened vowel:

• चुर् → चोरयति, चोरयतु, अचोरयत्, चोरयेत्
  cur → corayati, corayatu, acorayat, corayet
  steal → (someone) steals, should steal, stole, might steal

Complex verb classes

The four simple verb classes all create stems in a simple way. But as you might guess, the six complex verb classes all create stems in a slightly more complex way.

All of the complex verb classes use two different stems. One is a strong stem used with certain endings, and the other is a weak stem used with the remaining endings.

Here is an example of the root krī with its strong stem (krīṇā) and its weak stem (krīṇī):

• क्री → क्रीणाति, क्रीणातु, अक्रीणात्
  krī → krīṇāti, krīṇātu, akrīṇāt
  buy → (someone) buys, should buy, bought

• क्री → क्रीणीयात्, क्रीणीतः
  krī → krīṇīyāt, krīṇītaḥ
  buy → (someone) might buy; the two of them buy

Now, here are the six complex classes.

The ad class uses no special suffix. Its strong stem uses a strengthened vowel. Since ad does not show this difference clearly, we will demonstrate this class with the root dviṣ:

• द्विष् → द्वेष्टि, द्वेष्टु, अद्वेट्, द्विष्यात्
  dviṣ → dveṣṭi, dveṣṭu, adveṭ, dviṣyāt

The hu class doubles and might have a few small sound changes. Its strong stem uses a strengthened vowel:

• हु → जुहोति, जुहोतु, अजुहोत्, जुहुयात्
  hu → juhoti, juhotu, ajuhot, juhuyāt
  offer → (someone) offers, should offer, offered, might offer

The su class uses -no for its strong stem and -nu for its weak stem:

• सु → सुनोति, सुनोतु, असुनोत्, सुनुयात्
  su → sunoti, sunotu, asunot, sunuyāt
  extract → (someone) extracts, should extract, extracted, might extract

The rudh class inserts -na- for its strong stem and -n- for its weak stem:

• रुध् → रुणद्धि, रुणद्धु, अरुणत्, रुन्ध्यात्
  rudh → ruṇaddhi, ruṇaddhu, aruṇat, rundhyāt
  obstruct → (someone) obstructs, should obstruct, obstructed, might obstruct

The tan class uses -o for its strong stem and -u for its weak stem:

• तन् → तनोति, तनोतु, अतनोत्, तनुयात्
  tan → tanoti, tanotu, atanot, tanuyāt
  (someone) extends, should extend, extended, might extend

And the krī class uses -nā for its strong stem and -nī for its weak stem:

• क्री → क्रीणाति, क्रीणातु, अक्रीणात्, क्रीणीयात्
  krī → krīṇāti, krīṇātu, akrīṇāt, krīṇīyāt
  (someone) buys, should buy, bought, might buy

Other names for these classes

In Sanskrit, we can name these classes with the word gaṇa (“collection”). Thus we have bhū-gaṇa, ad-gaṇa, and so on. You may also see these classes named with the word ādi (“beginning with,” ”et cetera”). Thus we have bhvādi, adādi, and so on.

Here are the standard English names for the simple verb classes:

And the complex verb classes:

These numbers are based on the order in which these roots appear in the traditional lists. For example, the bhū class is listed first, which is why it is called class 1.

Review

1. How many verb classes are there?

2. What do all of the simple verb classes have in common?

3. How many different stems does each complex verb class use?