Nominal System

The stem contains the nominal’s basic meaning. This includes: gender, number, and case.

A stem + an ending creates a complete word. Example:

simha + h → simhah

the lion

simha + sya → simhasya

of the lion

simha + aih → simhaih

by the lions

Gender

Three genders

Masculine → simho (lion, masculine)

Feminine → simhaa (lion, female)

Neuter → vanam (forest)

Nominal stems use any gender, but noun stems generally have a fixed gender (even if they don’t physically have a gender)

Yoga - yoga (masc.)

Niiti - wise conduct (fem.)

Nirvaana - nirvana (neut.)

DETERMINING GENDER

• Words ending in ‘-a’ are never feminine
• Words ending in ‘-aa’, ‘-ii’, and ‘-uu’ are almost always feminine
• Nouns made with the ‘tra’ and ‘ana’ suffixes are usually neutral

Number (vachana)

Three numbers

Singular → Simhah pashyati (the lion sees)

Dual → Simhau pashyatah (the two lions see)

Plural → Simhaah pashyanti (the many lions see)

Cases

• Case 1 “Prathamaa”
• Case 2 “Dvitiiyaa”
• Case 3 “Trtiiyaa”
• Case 4 “Chaturthii”
• Case 5 “Panchaami”
• Case 6 “Shashthii”
• Case 7 “Saptamii”
• Case 8 “Prakaranm Ashtam”

Stem Families

• Can end with many different kinds of sounds
  • Simha (male lion)
  • Agni (fire)
  • Manas (mind)