Sanskrit/Basic grammar
'Basic' grammar in Sanskrit may be an oxymoron, but here are some fundamentals.
Sanskrit is an inflected language, meaning that the nouns are declined and the verbs are conjugated.
The Sanskrit language tends toward the subject-object-verb word ordering, but does allow for multiple type of sentence formulations particularly in the sutra form.
There are three principal numbers used in the inflection of the Sanskrit language. These are singular (1 thing), dual (2 things), and plural (many things).
In declining Sanskrit nouns, there are eight cases used. These are nominative, accusative, instrumental, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, and vocative.
Nouns are declined according to their endings, with the exception of pronouns which have specific declensions.
The short a masculine declension:
| deva-, god | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | devas / devaḥ | devau | devās / devāḥ |
| Accusative (Erg./Abs.) | devam | devau | devān |
| Instrumental (Obl.+u9aI») | devena | devābhyām | devais / devaiḥ |
| Dative (Obl. + Un) | devāya | devābhyām | devebhyas / devebhyaḥ |
| Ablative (Obl) | devāt | devābhyām | devebhyas / devebhyaḥ |
| Genitive (Obl. + akh) | devasya | devayos / devayoḥ | devānām |
| Locative | deve | devayos / devayoḥ | deveṣu |
| Vocative | deva | devau | devās / devāḥ |
The short a neuter declension:
| phala-, fruit | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | phalam | phale | phalāni |
| Accusative (Erg./Abs.) | phalam | phale | phalāni |
| Instrumental (Obl.+u9aI») | phalena | phalābhyām | phalais / phalaiḥ |
| Dative (Obl. + Un) | phalāya | phalābhyām | phalebhyas / phalebhyaḥ |
| Ablative (Obl) | phalāt | phalābhyām | phalebhyas / phalebhyaḥ |
| Genitive (Obl. + akh) | phalasya | phalayos / phalayoḥ | phalānām |
| Locative | phale | phalayos / phalayoḥ | phaleṣu |
| Vocative | phala | phale | phalāni |
The long ā feminine declension:
| mālā-, garland | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mālā | māle | mālās / mālāḥ |
| Accusative (Erg./Abs.) | mālām | māle | mālās / mālāḥ |
| Instrumental (Obl.+u9aI») | mālayā | mālābhyām | mālābhis / mālābhiḥ |
| Dative (Obl. + Un) | mālāyai | mālābhyām | mālābhyas / mālābhyaḥ |
| Ablative (Obl) | mālāyāḥ | mālābhyām | mālābhyas / mālābhyaḥ |
| Genitive (Obl. + akh) | mālāyāḥ | mālayos / mālayoḥ | mālānām |
| Locative | mālāyām | mālayos / mālayoḥ | mālāsu |
| Vocative | māle | māle | mālās / mālāḥ |