Present Participles
Introduction
Now we will study the present participles. These are words like "remembering" and "seeing." These participles are the easiest to understand and the easiest to form. The present participle is highlighted in the examples below:
वयं स्मरन्तं नरं पश्यामः
vayaṃ smarantaṃ naraṃ paśyāmaḥ
We see the man who is remembering.
वयं नरं स्मरन्तः पश्यामः
vayaṃ naraṃ smarantaḥ paśyāmaḥ
We, remembering, see the man.
The first example is simple, but the second is more confusing. After all, why can't the participle "remembering" just be a gerund? The distinction between the gerund "remembering" and the participle "remembering" is a subtle one, and it doesn't help that the two forms are identical in English.
Essentially, the gerund marks a separate action that usually occurs before the main verb; the gerund never describes anything. Instead, it defines one of the several actions that a subject performs before the main verb. Meanwhile, the participle is a description that is part of what defines some noun. The participle is not always what the noun does in the sentence; but it is always what he is, was, or will be.
It may also help to note that the Sanskrit gerund also translates to "having remembered." This fact may help you keep the two distinct.
In parasmaipada
Recall from our study of consonant stems that some stems ending in consonants use strong and weak stems. The present participle is the same way. The strong stem is easy to find: to produce it, inflect a verb in the 3rd-person plural of the present tense. Then, remove the final i of the verb.
भू → भवन्ति → भवन्त्
bhū → bhavanti → bhavant
become → they become → becoming
To produce the weak stem, remove the n at the end of the strong stem.
भवन्त् → भवत्
bhavant → bhavat
becoming (strong stem) → becoming (weak stem)
These participles follow the pattern of nouns ending in -mat or -vat. (The -at ending that we skipped over is the ending of the present participle.) But, there are two important exceptions:
The masculine case 1 singular uses no "special" stem. gacchat becomes gacchan even though bhagavat becomes bhagavān.
The feminine stem, as you might expect, is formed by adding ī to the end of the stem. But, it is added to the strong stem, not the weak stem!
गच्छत् → गच्छन्
gacchat → gacchan
going (stem) → going (masculine case 1 singular)
भवत् → भवन्ती
bhavat → bhavantī
become (masc., neut.) → become (fem.)
With all of that said, here is an example, as a reminder of the consonant noun endings:
Masculine
| गच्छत् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | गच्छन् gacchan |
गच्छन्तौ gacchantau |
गच्छन्तः gacchantaḥ |
| Case 2 (object) | गच्छन्तम् gacchantam |
गच्छन्तौ gacchantau |
गच्छतः gacchataḥ |
| Case 3 ("with") | गच्छता gacchatā |
गच्छद्भ्याम् gacchadbhyām |
गच्छद्भिः gacchadbhiḥ |
| Case 4 ("for") | गच्छते gacchate |
गच्छद्भ्याम् gacchadbhyām |
गच्छद्भ्यः gacchadbhyaḥ |
| Case 5 ("from") | गच्छतः gacchataḥ |
गच्छद्भ्याम् gacchadbhyām |
गच्छद्भ्यः gacchadbhyaḥ |
| Case 6 ("of") | गच्छतः gacchataḥ |
गच्छतोः gacchatoḥ |
गच्छताम् gacchatām |
| Case 7 ("in") | गच्छति gacchati |
गच्छतोः gacchatoḥ |
गच्छत्सु gacchatsu |
| Case 8 (address) | गच्छन् gacchan |
गच्छन्तौ gacchantau |
गच्छन्तः gacchantaḥ |
Neuter
| गच्छत् | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 1 (subject) | गच्छत् gacchat |
गच्छती gacchatī |
गच्छन्ति gacchanti |
| Case 2 (object) | गच्छत् gacchat |
गच्छती gacchatī |
गच्छन्ति gacchanti |
| Case 8 (address) | गच्छत् gacchat |
गच्छती gacchatī |
गच्छन्ति gacchanti |
The present parasmaipada participle can be a source of great confusion. For example, consider the word gacchati. As we have learned and studied, this is a 3rd-person singular present tense verb that means "he goes." But wait! This could also be a case 7 singular present participle that means "in the one who is going." The confusion doesn't end there; words like bhavate could also be either participles or regular verbs.
If you ever have trouble with a present tense verb, ask yourself: could this be a participle? You will save yourself plenty of trouble by doing so.
In ātmanepada and the passive
To form this version of the present participle, we add -māna to the verb stem. The result is used like an adjective ending in -a. Its feminine form ends in -ā.
Here are some examples for the ātmanepada verbs:
भू → भवमान
bhū → bhavamāna
become → becoming
लभ् → लभमान
labh → labhamāna
obtain → obtaining
And, here are some examples for the passive verbs:
भू → भूयमान
bhū → bhūyamāna
become → being become (i.e. being caused, being created)
लभ् → लभ्यमान
labh → labhyamāna
obtain → being obtained
कृ → क्रियमाण
kṛ → kriyamāṇa
do → being done
In Sanskrit, the atmanepada verbs and the passive verbs share some fundamental similarities. One is that both types of verbs use the same endings; so, we have both labhate and labhyate. Likewise, they both use the same participle suffix; so, we have both labhamāna and labhyamāna.
Why do these similarities exist? We can't be sure; but it is likely that passive verbs developed from the atmanepada verbs. This fact finds support in a comparison with Greek, which often uses identical forms in both types of verbs. For this reason, both are often described together as the mediopassive verbs when discussing Greek or Proto-Indo-European. (In Greek grammar, the equivalents to the atmanepada verbs are referred to as being in the "middle voice.")
The present participle and "simultaneous action"
One of the most common uses of the present participle is to show that one action happens at the same time as another. This notion is expressed in two different ways:
With Case 7
Consider the examples below.
तेषु वनं चरत्सु वयं ग्रामं गच्छामः
teṣu vanaṃ caratsu vayaṃ grāmaṃ gacchāmaḥ
As they walk to the forest, we go to the village.
सूर्ये काशमाने वयं ग्रामं गच्छामः
sūrye kāśamāne vayaṃ grāmaṃ gacchāmaḥ
As the sun shines, we go to the village.
Notice that the participle and its noun are both completely separated from the rest of the sentence. Both are in case 7, and both also agree in gender and number.
More importantly, notice that the phrase is separated in time from whatever follows it. When we change the main sentence from the present tense to the past tense, the construction remains the same. It does not matter whether the main part of the sentence is in the present, the past, or the future.
तेषु वनं चरत्सु वयं ग्रामं गमिष्यामः
teṣu vanaṃ caratsu vayaṃ grāmaṃ gamiṣyāmaḥ
When they will be walking to the forest, we will go to the village.
सूर्ये काशमाने वयं ग्रामं गमिष्यामः
sūrye kāśamāne vayaṃ grāmaṃ gamiṣyāmaḥ
When the sun will be shining, we will go to the village.
With Case 6
Less commonly, case 6 is used to express the same idea of simultaneous action. But, the implication of the action is a little different. Consider the example below.
नरस्य वनं चरतो वयं ग्रामं गच्छामः
narasya vanaṃ carato vayam grāmaṃ gacchāmaḥ
(Even) as the man walks to the forest, we go to the village.
This usage emphasizes that even as one thing happens, another thing happens despite it. So, it shows a contrast between the two events.
With no participle at all!
When no participle is present, the participle "being" is implied.
क्रोधे गजं तुदति
krodhe gajaṃ tudati
(Being) angry, he strikes the elephant. (Or, "In anger, he strikes the elephant.")
This structure here doesn't mean the same thing as the yadā-tadā pair. That pair shows that one action happens only when another happens. The structure above shows that two actions coincidentally occur at the same time.
Review
In this lesson, we learned that participles are verbal adjectives. They match the gender, case, and number of the noun they describe. We studied the present participle in all three of its forms: parasmaipada, ātmanepada, and the passive form.
| भू | parasmaipada | ātmanepada | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past Tense | ??? ??? |
??? ??? |
भूत bhūta |
| Present Tense | भवत् bhavat |
भवमान bhavamāna |
भूयमान bhūyamāna |
| Future Tense | ??? ??? |
??? ??? |
??? ??? |