Lesson 7: Masculine Plural
Index · Lesson 6: Who and What · Lesson 8: Feminine Plural
Lesson 3 was “they go.” The noun was still one student. This lesson is more than one man: छात्राः, “students.” The verb is the “they” row from Lesson 3: सन्ति, गच्छन्ति, पठन्ति.
School calls this column बहुवचन (bahu bachan). In Sanskrit that is more than two. Two is द्विवचन (dui bachan), in Lesson 20: The Dual. Nepali uses बहुवचन for two people as well.
One woman, from Lesson 4, is छात्रा, with no visarga. More than one man is छात्राः, with the visarga. More than one woman is spelled छात्राः too. That column is Lesson 8: Feminine Plural.
Cases: masculine plural
| Case | Ending | Form | A whole sentence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | -आः | छात्राः | छात्राः पठन्ति। | विद्यार्थीहरू पढ्छन्। “The students study.” |
| Object | -आन् | छात्रान् | गुरुः छात्रान् पश्यति। | गुरुले विद्यार्थीहरूलाई हेर्नुहुन्छ। “The teacher sees the students.” The verb follows the doer. गुरुः is one, so the verb stays पश्यति. छात्रान् is who gets seen, the way Nepali uses लाई. If the students were the ones going, they would be छात्राः and the verb would be गच्छन्ति. |
| With, by | -ऐः | छात्रैः | अहं छात्रैः सह गच्छामि। | म विद्यार्थीहरूसँग जान्छु। “I go with the students.” |
| For | -एभ्यः | छात्रेभ्यः | इदं पुस्तकं छात्रेभ्यः अस्ति। | यो पुस्तक विद्यार्थीहरूका लागि हो। “This book is for the students.” This same form is also “from the students,” in the next row. |
| From | -एभ्यः | छात्रेभ्यः | अहं छात्रेभ्यः शृणोमि। | म विद्यार्थीहरूबाट सुन्छु। “I hear from the students.” |
| Of | -आनाम् | छात्राणाम् | इदं छात्राणां पुस्तकम् अस्ति। | यो विद्यार्थीहरूको पुस्तक हो। “This is the students’ book.” |
| In, at | -एषु | छात्रेषु | छात्रेषु ज्ञानम् अस्ति। | विद्यार्थीहरूमा ज्ञान छ। “Knowledge is in the students.” |
| Calling | हे छात्राः | हे छात्राः | हे छात्राः। | ए विद्यार्थीहरू। |
For and from are the same word, छात्रेभ्यः. इदं पुस्तकं छात्रेभ्यः अस्ति is “for.” अहं छात्रेभ्यः शृणोमि is “from.”
के means “who,” when you expect more than one man. It is the plural of कः from Lesson 6. के छात्राः सन्ति। “Who are the students?” विद्यार्थीहरू को हुन्?
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वयं छात्राः स्मः। | We are students. हामी विद्यार्थी हौं। |
| ते छात्राः सन्ति। | They are students. उनीहरू विद्यार्थी हुन्। |
| छात्राः गृहं गच्छन्ति। | The students go home. विद्यार्थीहरू घर जान्छन्। One woman is छात्रा, with no two dots, and her verb is गच्छति। छात्राः with the dots is more than one. A group of women is spelled छात्राः too. |
Practice
- Say छात्राः पठन्ति, “the students study.”
- Say that you go with them: अहं छात्रैः सह गच्छामि।
- Call them: हे छात्राः।
Next
Lesson 8: Feminine Plural is the same eight jobs for more than one woman.