Introductory Sanskrit
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    • 11 -अ Pres. System
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    • 1 Script >
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      • Exercise 3
      • Exercise 4
      • Exercise 5
    • 2 The Sentence >
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      • 2 Predication
      • 2 Conjugation
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    • 3 Cases 1-2, S >
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      • 3 Case
      • 3 Nom./Acc.
      • 3 Apposition
      • 3 Sandhi
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    • 4 Gaṇas 4, 6, 10 >
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      • 4 4, 6, 10
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    • 5 Cases 3+ >
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      • 5 Cases 3-7, Voc.
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    • 6 P Impf/v Opt >
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      • Present System
      • Imperfect
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    • 7 123 Pron. >
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      • 123 Pronouns
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    • 8 यत्, -आ/ई/ऊ >
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    • 9 MF -इ/-उ, S >
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    • 10 Ā. Pres., S >
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  • 11-20
    • 11 Ā Imf/v/Opt >
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      • Impf., Opt., Impv.
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    • 12 Gerund, Inf. >
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      • Gerund
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    • 13 -ऋ, Cons. S >
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      • -ऋ Stems
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    • 14 N -इ / -उ / ऋ >
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      • N -इ / -उ / ऋ
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    • 15 उपसर्गाः >
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    • 16 Passive >
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  • 21-34
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      • 22 Formation (past ptc.)
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    • १ - बुद्धकथा
    • २ - शकुन्तलाकथा
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    • ५ - श्रावणकथा
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Lesson 20: English Present Participles

The Right “-ing”:
This lesson covers present and future participles in the Parasmaipada (Ātmanepada participles will be treated in Lesson 21). By “present participle,” the verbal adjective in “-ing” is meant:
  • That running man sure is fast! 
But it also covers our adverbial use (with “while”) of the same:
  • Do you ever walk while reading something on your phone?
In both cases, these “-ing” forms (“running” and “reading”) are descriptive in nature, one describing “that man” and the other describing your activity of walking. They are both represented in Sanskrit by the present participle (logically enough, since, as an adjective, the present participle’s main function is to describe). T
he first sentence would be rendered in Sanskrit:
  • क्षिप्र एव स धावन् नरः ।
    (note: the predicate often comes before the subject in nominal sentences)
where “running” (धावन्) is a present participle (i.e., an adjective) agreeing with “man” (नरः): i.e., it is in the m.s.nom. here.
The Wrong “-ing”:
On the other hand, the English verbal noun ending in “-ing” is an entirely different formation in Sanskrit, so we need to set it aside at the outset. Which is to say, we’re not concerned here with constructions like:
  • Flying is fun. (the verbal noun, “flying,” here is the subject)
  • I loved your reading. (the noun, “reading,” here is the direct object)
Such verbal nouns in “-ing” are called “gerunds” in English grammar—not to be confused with the Sanskrit (-त्वा, etc.) gerund! These nouns will be expressed in Sanskrit by a variety of verbal nouns—and especially by those formed with an -अन suffix: e.g., पठनम्, “reading” (see Whitney §1150). The second sentence above could be rendered in Sanskrit:
  • तव पठनं मे ऽतीवारोचत । lit., “Your reading was very appealing to me.”
where “reading” (पठनम्) is a noun, and the subject of “loved” or “was appealing” (अरोचत). As an adjective, the Sanskrit present participle could never be used to express “reading” here, as the latter is a verbal noun.
The Future Participle
English does not have a true future participle (a single-word verbal adjective expressing future action). As Deshpande notes, probably the closest constructions for that sense would be our “going to x” or “about to x” phrases. For example, “John, (who was) going to go home / about to go home, said the following.” As with the present participle, the time of the future participle is relative to the time of the finite verb. So “going to go” here is in the future relative to the time of the action of “said” in the speaker’s past. In fact, the going activity may still have been in the speaker’s past.
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The header image for this site (a manuscript of Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṃśa, 14.2-4) is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries (Ms. Coll. 390, Item 1547) under a CC Attribution 4.0 license
  • Course
    • Contents
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    • Syllabus
    • Subhāṣitāni
    • Flashcards
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    • Quizzes
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  • Tables
    • 11 -अ Pres. System
    • -V / Pron. Paradigms
    • External Sandhi
    • Internal Sandhi
  • Lessons 1-10
    • 1 Sound / Script >
      • Vowels & Semivowels
      • Sparśa & Spirants
      • Exercises
    • 1 Script >
      • Exercise 1
      • Exercise 2
      • Exercise 3
      • Exercise 4
      • Exercise 5
    • 2 The Sentence >
      • Flashcards (V/P)
      • 2 Predication
      • 2 Conjugation
      • Exercises
    • 3 Cases 1-2, S >
      • Flashcards (V/S)
      • 3 Case
      • 3 Nom./Acc.
      • 3 Apposition
      • 3 Sandhi
      • Exercises
    • 4 Gaṇas 4, 6, 10 >
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      • 4 4, 6, 10
      • Exercises
    • 5 Cases 3+ >
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      • 5 Cases 3-7, Voc.
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    • 6 P Impf/v Opt >
      • Flashcards (V/P)
      • Present System
      • Imperfect
      • Optative
      • Imperative
      • Handout
      • Exercises
    • 7 123 Pron. >
      • Flashcards (V/P)
      • 123 Pronouns
      • Handout
      • Exercises
    • 8 यत्, -आ/ई/ऊ >
      • Flashcards (V/P)
      • Relative Clauses
      • Handout
      • Exercises
    • 9 MF -इ/-उ, S >
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      • Sandhi
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    • 10 Ā. Pres., S >
      • Flashcards (V/P/S)
      • Ātmanepada Present
      • Vowel Sandhi
      • Exercises
  • 11-20
    • 11 Ā Imf/v/Opt >
      • Flashcards (V/P)
      • Impf., Opt., Impv.
      • Exercises
    • 12 Gerund, Inf. >
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      • Gerund
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    • 13 -ऋ, Cons. S >
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      • -ऋ Stems
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    • 14 N -इ / -उ / ऋ >
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      • N -इ / -उ / ऋ
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      • 17 Overview (General Future)
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    • 19 -C Nouns >
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      • 19 Overview (Cons-final Stems)
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    • 20 P. pres. ptc. >
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  • 21-34
    • 21 Ā. pres. ptc. >
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      • 21 Exercises
    • 22 Past ptc. >
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    • 23 P/-मत्/-अत् >
      • 23 Overview (इदम्/-मत्/-अत्)
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    • 25-31 Ath. >
      • 25-26 Class 2 >
        • 25 Exercises
        • 26 Exercises
      • 27 Class 3 >
        • 27 Exercises
      • 28 Class 5 >
        • 28 Exercises
      • 30 Class 8 >
        • 30 Exercises
      • 29 Class 7 >
        • 29 Exercises
      • 31 Class 9 >
        • 31 Exercises
    • 32 Compounds >
      • 32 Compounds (Example)
      • 32 Compounds (Overview)
      • 32 Exercises
    • 33 Absolutes >
      • 33 Video (restricted)
      • 33 Exercises
    • 34 Numerals >
      • 34 Video (restricted)
      • 34 Exercises
  • 35-44
    • 35 Gv/-आन/PF >
      • 35 Video (restricted)
      • 35 Exercises
    • 36 Perfect >
      • 36 Video (restricted)
      • 36 Exercises
    • 37 Aorist >
      • 37 Exercises
    • 38 Cond. / Ben. >
      • 38 Exercises
    • 40 Desid. >
      • 40 Exercises
    • 42 Freq. >
      • 42 Exercises
    • 43 Denom. >
      • 43 Exercises
  • कथाः
    • १ - बुद्धकथा
    • २ - शकुन्तलाकथा
    • ४ - रामकथा
    • ५ - श्रावणकथा
    • १० - सुभाषितानि
  • Reading
    • Verse
    • Dictionaries
    • Grammars, Primers, etc.
    • Commentary
    • मेघदूतम्
    • Of Interest