-ā, -ī, and -ū nouns
Stems that end in -ā, -ī, and -ū are almost always feminine. They follow the pattern of the feminine pronoun, which we will also study here. Since the -ū stems are the most regular and the -ā stems are the least regular, we will study them in reverse order:
-ū stems
Among the three stem types above, the -ū stems are the most regular. Here is how they behave:
| चमू | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | चमूः camūḥ |
चंवौ caṃvau |
चंवः caṃvaḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | चमूम् camūm |
चंवौ caṃvau |
चमूः camūḥ |
| Case 3 ("with") | चंवा caṃvā |
चमूभ्याम् camūbhyām |
चमूभिः camūbhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | चंवै caṃvai |
चमूभ्याम् camūbhyām |
चमूभ्यः camūbhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | चंवाः caṃvāḥ |
चमूभ्याम् camūbhyām |
चमूभ्यः camūbhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | चंवाः caṃvāḥ |
चंवोः caṃvoḥ |
चमूनाम् camūnām |
| Case 7 ("in") | चंवाम् caṃvām |
चंवोः caṃvoḥ |
चमूषु camūṣu |
| Case 8 (address) | चमु camu |
चंवौ caṃvau |
चंवः caṃvaḥ |
The dual endings are completely regular. The plural endings are mostly regular. The exception is the case 2 plural ending, which is just ḥ.
The singular endings are trickier:
- e (case 4 singular) → ai
- aḥ (case 5/6 singular) → āḥ
- i (case 7 singular) → ām
Note that the case 1 singular uses a visarga. Note, too, that the case 8 singular uses a short vowel. And, note that mv is written as ṃv.
-ī stems
the -ī stems are almost as regular as the -ū stems. Here is how they behave:
| वापी | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | वापी vāpī |
वाप्यौ vāpyau |
वाप्यः vāpyaḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | वापीम् vāpīm |
वाप्यौ vāpyau |
वापीः vāpīḥ |
| Case 3 ("with") | वाप्या vāpyā |
वापीभ्याम् vāpībhyām |
वापीभिः vāpībhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | वाप्यै vāpyai |
वापीभ्याम् vāpībhyām |
वापीभ्यः vāpībhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | वाप्याः vāpyāḥ |
वापीभ्याम् vāpībhyām |
वापीभ्यः vāpībhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | वाप्याः vāpyāḥ |
वाप्योः vāpyoḥ |
वापीनाम् vāpīnām |
| Case 7 ("in") | वाप्याम् vāpyām |
वाप्योः vāpyoḥ |
वपीषु vāpīṣu |
| Case 8 (address) | वापि vāpi |
वाप्यौ vāpyau |
वाप्यः vāpyaḥ |
The endings here are the same as the ones above. But, note that the case 1 singular does not use a visarga.
-ā stems
The -ā stems are still quite regular, but they do have some odd features:
| विद्या | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | विद्या vidyā |
विद्ये vidye |
विद्याः vidyāḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | विद्याम् vidyām |
विद्ये vidye |
विद्याः vidyāḥ |
| Case 3 ("with") | विद्यया vidyayā |
विद्याभ्याम् vidyābhyām |
विद्याभिः vidyābhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | विद्यायै vidyāyai |
विद्याभ्याम् vidyābhyām |
विद्याभ्यः vidyābhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | विद्यायाः vidyāyāḥ |
विद्याभ्याम् vidyābhyām |
विद्याभ्यः vidyābhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | विद्यायाः vidyāyāḥ |
विद्ययोः vidyayoḥ |
विद्यानाम् vidyānām |
| Case 7 ("in") | विद्यायाम् vidyāyām |
विद्ययोः vidyayoḥ |
विद्यासु vidyāsu |
| Case 8 (address) | विद्ये vidye |
विद्ये vidye |
विद्याः vidyāḥ |
The plural endings follow the pattern of the nouns above. The singular and dual forms, however, are much trickier. The difference is in the stem used:
- vidyay (case 3 singular; case 6/7 dual)
- vidyāy (case 4-7 singular)
Also note the use of the -e ending, which appears in both the singular and the dual.
The feminine tad
The feminine version of tad is nearly identical to the -ā stems:
| तद् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | सा sā |
ते te |
ताः tāḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | ताम् tām |
ते te |
ताः tāḥ |
| Case 3 ("with") | तया tayā |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
ताभिः tābhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | तस्यै tasyai |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
ताभ्यः tābhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | तस्याः tasyāḥ |
ताभ्याम् tābhyām |
ताभ्यः tābhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | तस्याः tasyāḥ |
तयोः tayoḥ |
तासाम् tāsām |
| Case 7 ("in") | तस्याम् tasyām |
तयोः tayoḥ |
तासु tāsu |
As before, there are multiple stems:
- tay (case 3 singular; case 6/7 dual)
- tasy (case 4-7 singular)
As before, the -e ending appears in the dual. The one major difference is that the case 6 plural is tāsām, not *tānām