The Sanskrit optative (liṅ) — used for wishes, hypotheticals, polite commands and conditional clauses. Two formations: thematic (bhav-e-t) and athematic (s-yā-t).
Thematic optative: present stem + -e- (from -a- + -ī-) + secondary endings. √bhū → bhave-. Whitney §557, MacDonell §148.
| Thematic · bhū Parasmaipada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | bhaveyam | bhaveva | bhavema |
| 2nd | bhaveḥ | bhavetam | bhaveta |
| 3rd | bhavet | bhavetām | bhaveyuḥ |
| Thematic · bhū Ātmanepada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | bhaveya | bhavevahi | bhavemahi |
| 2nd | bhavethāḥ | bhaveyāthām | bhavedhvam |
| 3rd | bhaveta | bhaveyātām | bhaveran |
The thematic optative inserts -e- (a fusion of thematic -a- + optative -ī-) between the present stem and the secondary (non--mi) endings. The result is one of the most regular formations in Sanskrit — memorise bhaveyam, bhaveḥ, bhavet and you can form the optative of any thematic verb. Used for wishes, hypotheticals, polite commands, and conditional clauses.
Fill in the conjugation.
| Thematic · bhū Parasmaipada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | |||
| 2nd | |||
| 3rd | |||
| Thematic · bhū Ātmanepada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | |||
| 2nd | |||
| 3rd | |||
Athematic optative: weak stem + -yā- (strong) / -ī- (weak) + secondary endings. √as → syā-. Whitney §558, MacDonell §148.
| Athematic · as Parasmaipada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | syām | syāva | syāma |
| 2nd | syāḥ | syātam | syāta |
| 3rd | syāt | syātām | syuḥ |
The athematic optative uses the weak present stem + -yā- before the three singulars and 3rd du./pl., and -ī- (reduced) before other endings with initial consonant. For √as: weak stem s- + -yā- → syā-. Note the 3rd pl. syuḥ (not †syāṃs) — the -yā- shortens to -u- before the ending -ḥ. This formation appears constantly in Vedic and classical prose: syāt "it should be, it would be" is perhaps the most frequent optative in the language.
Fill in the conjugation.
| Athematic · as Parasmaipada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st | |||
| 2nd | |||
| 3rd | |||