The Option Mood

Also known as: present optative, vidhi ("injunction"), liṅ

Introduction

Now we will study the option mood. This term refers to verbs that let us state what we could do, should do, or would do. It is used to talk about situations that haven't occurred and things that might not exist.

तदा गच्छेयम्

tadā gaccheyam

Then I should go
नरा भाषेरन्

narā bhāṣeran

The men should speak.

Conjugation

Each group of endings will be compared with its counterpart in the ordinary past tense.

P Endings

The P endings are similar to the past endings, but they're not exactly the same. Take a look:

bhū (a+, P, option mood)
भू	Singular	Dual	Plural
Third Person	भवेत् bhavet	भवेताम् bhavetām	भवेयुः bhaveyuḥ
Second Person	भवेः bhaveḥ	भवेतम् bhavetam	भवेत bhaveta
First Person	भवेयम् bhaveyam	भवेव bhaveva	भवेम bhavema

These endings differ from the past endings in only three ways.

In the first person, āma becomes īma and āva becomes īva
ī is attached to the front of every ending. This ī merges with the a of the stem to produce e.
The third-person plural uses -īyus.

Now for the complex verb classes. The strong stem is not used.

su (no, P, option mood)
सु	Singular	Dual	Plural
Third Person	सुनुयात् sunuyāt	सुनुयाताम् sunuyātām	सुनुयुः sunuyuḥ
Second Person	सुनुयाः sunuyāḥ	सुनुयातम् sunuyātam	सुनुयात sunuyāta
First Person	सुनुयाम् sunuyām	सुनुयाव sunuyāva	सुनुयाम sunuyāma

These endings differ from the endings of the ordinary past tense in two ways.

yā is attached to the front of every ending.
The third-person plural uses -yus (not *-yāyus).

A Endings

In the atmanepada version of the option mood, all verbs use the same endings. These endings are identical to the endings of the ordinary past tense, with some changes. Take a look:

labh (a+, A, option mood)
लभ्	Singular	Dual	Plural
Third Person	लभेत labheta	लभेयाताम् labheyātām	लभेरन् labheran
Second Person	लभेथाः labhethāḥ	लभेयाथाम् labheyāthām	लभेध्वम् labhedhvam
First Person	लभेय labheya	लभेवहि labhevahi	लभेमहि labhemahi

su (no, A, option mood)
सु	Singular	Dual	Plural
Third Person	सुन्वीत sunvīta	सुन्वीयाताम् sunvīyātām	सुन्वीरन् sunvīran
Second Person	सुन्वीथाः sunvīthāḥ	सुन्वीयाथाम् sunvīyāthām	सुन्वीध्वम् sunvīdhvam
First Person	सुन्वीय sunvīya	सुन्वीवहि sunvīvahi	सुन्वीमहि sunvīmahi

These endings differ from the past endings of the simple verb classes in three ways:

āmahi becomes īmahi and āvahi becomes īvahi.
ī is attached to the front of every ending. If the ending starts with a vowel, then īy is attached instead.
The third-person plural uses -īran.