Pāli Primer – Lesson 23

Lesson 23

1. The Causative

Causative verbs are formed by adding -e / -aya / -āpe / -āpaya to the root or verbal base.

Sometimes the vowel in the root is strengthened when the suffixes are added.
Verbal bases ending in -e / -aya invariably take the suffixes -ape / -āpaya to form the causative.

In sentences with causative verbs the agent carrying out the action is expressed by the accusative or the instrumental case.

2. Examples in sentence formation

Ammā bhaginiṃ bhattaṃ pacāpeti.
Mother gets the sister to cook rice.

Bhūpālo samaṇe ca yācake ca bhojāpesi.
The king fed the recluses and beggars.

Coro mittena kakacaṃ corāpetvā vanaṃ dhāvi.
The thief ran having got a friend to steal a saw.

Vejjo puttena āpaṇamhā khīraṃ kiṇāpesi.
The doctor got his son to buy milk from the market.

Upāsakā amaccena samaṇānaṃ vihāraṃ kārāpesuṃ.
Lay devotees got the minister to build a monastery for the monks.

Yuvati bhaginiyā ācariyassa mūlaṃ dāpetvā sippaṃ uggaṇhi.
The maiden got the sister to give money to the teacher and learnt an art.

Brāhmaṇo coraṃ / corena saccaṃ bhāsāpetuṃ vāyami.
The brahmin tried to make the thief speak the truth.

Exercise 23

3. Translate into English:

1. Ammā samaṇehi asappurise putte anusāsāpesi.
2. Tumhe manusse pīḷente core āmantāpetvā ovadatha.
3. Vāṇijo kassakena rukkhe chindāpetvā / chedāpetvā sakaṭena nagaraṃ netvā vikkiṇi.
4. Samaṇo upāsake sannipātāpetvā dhammaṃ desesi.
5. Mātulo kumārehi pupphāni ca phalāni ca ocināpesi.
6. Dārikā sunakhaṃ pokkharaṇiṃ otarāpesi.
7. Amacco vāṇije ca kassake ca pakkosāpetvā pucchissati.
8. Kaññāhi āhaṭāni pupphāni vanitāyo āsiñcāpesuṃ.
9. Bhariyāya kātabbaṃ kammaṃ ahaṃ karomi.
10. Luddako mittena migaṃ vijjhitvā mārāpesi.
11. Brāhmaṇo ācāriyena kumāriṃ dhammaṃ uggaṇhāpesi.
12. Ammā dārikaṃ khīraṃ pāyetvā mañce sayāpesi.
13. Vāṇijā assehi bhaṇḍāni gāhāpetva vikkiṇituṃ nagaraṃ gamiṃsu.
14. Vanitā sahāyakena rukkhassa sākhāyo ākaḍḍhāpetvā gehaṃ nesi.
15. Ammā puttena gehaṃ āgataṃ samaṇaṃ vandāpesi.
16. Upāsakā samaṇe āsanesu nisīdāpetvā bhojāpesuṃ.
17. Bhaginī bhinnapattassa khaṇḍāni (pieces) āmasantī rodantī gehadvāre aṭṭhāsi.
18. Udakaṃ āharituṃ gacchantiyo nāriyo sallapantiyo rukkhamūlesu patitāni kusumāni oloketvā modiṃsu.
19. Luddako tuṇḍena phalaṃ ocinituṃ vāyamantaṃ suvaṃ sarena vijjhi.
20. Sappurisena kārāpitesu vihāresu samaṇā vasanti.

4. Translate into Pāli:

1. The wicked man gets his sons to shoot birds.
2. The lay devotees will get the monk to preach the doctrine.
3. Women get their children to honour the Buddha’s disciples.
4. The young woman will get her sister to speak at the assembly.
5. The farmer caused the tree to fall into the pit.
6. You (pl.) will get the flowers sprinkled with water.
7. The king got his ministers to build a monastery.
8. The queen will live in the palace which the king got built.
9. The merchant got his wife to put the goods in boxes.
10. The brahmin got the Buddha’s disciple to preach to his people.

-ooOoo-