iii. The Grammar of Avestan
The morphology of Avestan nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs is, like that of the closely related Old Persian, inherited from Proto-Indo-European via Proto-Indo-Iranian (Proto-Aryan), and agrees largely with that of Vedic, the oldest known form of Indo-Aryan. The interpretation of the transmitted Avestan texts presents in many cases considerable difficulty for various reasons, both with respect to their contexts and their grammar. Accordingly, systematic comparison with Vedic is of much assistance in determining and explaining Avestan grammatical forms.
Old Avestan (OAv.) or Gathic Avestan, the language of Zarathustra, the founder of the Zoroastrian religion, is particularly archaic. Young Avestan (YAv.) is the language of the later texts, the earliest of which may date from the sixth century B.C. It already shows numerous innovations when compared with OAv.
A particular difficulty of Avestan is caused by the fact that many sound changes took place which obscure the original structure of the forms. Note that words ending in -ā, -ī, -ū, -ē are OAv., while those ending in -a, -i, -u, -e are YAv. Forms that are otherwise identical in OAv. and YAv. are indicated by -ā/ă, -ī/ĭ, -ū/ŭ, -ē/ĕ. Apart from forms with these endings, forms that are common to both OAv. and YAv. are not specified.
1. Nominal inflection.
Like Vedic and Proto-IE., Avestan distinguishes three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Words designating male and female beings are masculine and feminine respectively, but also many words that designate inanimate objects and concepts are masculine or feminine and not neuter as might be expected. Avestan has three numbers: singular, dual, and plural. The dual is used to refer to two persons or objects. Avestan has eight cases: nominative for the subject, accusative for the direct object, dative for the indirect object, genitive to indicate possession or relation, instrumental to indicate means or association, ablative to indicate separation, locative to indicate location, and vocative used in addressing a person, less commonly, a thing.
The basis of the nominal inflection is the noun stem, which not only conveys the lexical meaning but in most cases also the gender. In general, inflectional categories are marked by endings, most of which indicate at the same time number, case, and, in part, gender. Thus a particular ending may be characteristic of the genitive sing. masc. Neuter nouns are inflected like masc. nouns, except that they have different endings in the nom. and acc. for all three numbers. The nom. and acc. of neuter nouns are always identical. Some noun stems remain unchanged throughout the paradigm, whereas others have different ablaut grades according to the case.
The paradigm followed by a noun or adjective is usually determined by the final sound of its stem. Thus, there are masculines and neuters in -a-, feminines in -ā-, -ī-, -ū-, masculines and feminines in -i-, -u-, masculines in -n- and -r-, neuters in -man- and -ah-, and words of all three genders ending in consonants (e.g., -p-, -t-, -k-, -g-, -s-).
The addition of the case ending to the final sound of the stem often involves special sound changes. Thus, the original Proto-IE. ending of the nom. sing. masc. and fem. of most noun stems is -s, and this -s is retained in the case of -a- stems before -ca “and” (in sandhi), but otherwise -as developed via -ah to -ō. After -ī/ĭ-, -ū/ŭ- and some consonants, -s became -š, e.g., gairiš “mountain,” aŋhuš “life,” vāxš “voice” ( < *ṷāk + s).
a-stems. The thematic stems in -a- are particularly numerous. Examples are masc. nouns: ahura- “lord,” maṧiia “mortal,” yasna– “worship,” vīra- “man,” zasta- “hand;” neuter nouns: aṧa- “truth,” uxδa- “word,” xšaθra- “rule,” šˊiiaoθna “action;” and adjectives: aka- “bad,” aniia- “other,” hauruua– “entire.”
The masc. a-stem inflection is as follows. Sing.: nom. ahurō, yasnas-ca; —acc. ahurəm (maṧīm < *maṧiiəm; haurum < *hauruəm), —inst. ahurā/ă; —dat. ahurāi, OAv. ahurāi; —abl. yasnāṱ, yasnāaṱ-ca, -aṱ haca; —gen. OAv. ahurahiiā, -ax́ iiā-cā, YAv. ahurahe; —loc. yesnē/ĕ (zastaiia < *-aḭ + ā); OAv. ōi; —voc. ahurā/ă. —Dual: nom. ahurā/ă; —inst./dat./abl. ahuraēibiia; —gen. vīraiiǡ; —loc. OAv. zastaiiō. —Plur.: nom. maṧiiā, maṧiiǡŋhō, ahura-ca; —acc. OAv. maṧiiə̄ṇg, maṧiiąs-ca, YAv. -ą/-ə̄ (zastə̄); —inst. zastāiš; —dat./abl. OAv. -ōibiiō, YAv. -aēibiiō; —gen. yasnanąm; —loc. maṧiiaēšū, YAv. -aēšuua ( < *-aišu + ā); —voc. OAv. ahurǡŋhō.
Neuter a-stem inflection differs from masc. a-stem inflection only in having special forms in the nom./acc., e.g. sing. xšaθrəm “rule;” dual OAv. šˊiiaoθnōi “the two actions;” plur. uxδā “words.”
ā- and ī-stems. The inflection of fem. ā-stem words, e.g., gaēθā- “living being,” daēnā- “religion,” and the inflection of fem. ī-stem words, e.g., nāirī- “woman,” aṧaonī- “righteous” (fem. adjective from aṧauuan-) are largely parallel.
The fem. ā-and ī-stem inflection is as follows. Sing.: nom. daēnā/ă, nāirī; —acc. daēnąm, aṧaonīm; —inst. daēnā/ă, daēnaiiā/ă, -iiā/ă; —dat. daēnaiiāi, aṧaoniiāi; —abl. YAv. -aiiāṱ, YAv. -iiāṱ; —gen. daēnaiiǡ, nāiriiǡ; —loc. grīuuaiia “on the neck;” —voc. daēne, sūra, aṧaoni. —Plur.: nom./acc./voc. gaēθǡ, aṧaonīs; —inst. gaēθābīš; dat./abl. gaēθābiiō, aṧaonibiiō; —gen. gaēθanąm, aṧaoninąm; —loc. gaēθāhu, gaēθBāhuua, -išu, -išuua.
i- and u-stems. Similarly formed are the paradigms of masc. and fem. stems ending in -i- (e.g., aṧi- “reward,” axti- “pain,” gairi- “mountain,” paiti- “master”) and in -u- (e.g., aŋhu- “life,” xratu- “mental vigor,” dax́ iiu-/ daŋ́hu- “land, country,” mainiiu- “spirit,” vaŋhu-/vohu- “good”). The stem final shows the ablaut grades -i-, -aḭ-, -āḭ- and -u-, -aṷ-, -āṷ- respectively.
The i- and u-stems inflect as follows. Sing.: nom. aṧiš, xratuš; —acc. aṧīm, xratum; —inst. aṧī, xratū; —dat. ( < *-aḭ-aḭ) OAv. axtōiiōi, YAv. opatə̄e; ( < *-aṷ-aḭ) vaŋhauuē; —abl. YAv. garōiṱ, xratanṱ; —gen. ( < *-aḭ-š) patōiš; ( < *-aṷ-š) xratə̄uš; —loc. (*-ā < *-ā(ḭ)) gara; vaŋhāu; —voc. ( < *-aḭ) paite; ( < *-aṷ) mainiiō. —Dual: nom./acc. paiti, mainiiū; —inst. aṧibiiā, ahubiiā; —gen. mainiuuǡ ( < *mańḭuṷ-āh); —loc. aŋhuuō ( < *ahuṷ-aṷ). —Plur.: nom. ( < *-aḭ-ah) garaiiō; ( < *-aṷ-ah) xratauuō; —acc. ( < *-i-Nš) gairīš; ( < -u-Nš) xratūš; —dat. gairibiiō, daŋ́hubiiō; —gen. gairinąm, vohunąm; —loc. vaŋhušu.
The nom./acc. of neuter stems in -i- and -u- has in all three genders the endings -ī/ĭ and -ū/ŭ respectively.
The only i-stem word that is declined irregularly is paiti- in the sense of “husband,” which in the dat. sing. has the ending -ḭ-aḭ instead of -aḭ-aḭ: YAv. paiθiiaē-ca, paiθe (Vedic pátye). Several u-stem words have exceptional forms: nom. sing. OAv. darəgō.bāzāuš “long-armed;” inst. sing. xraθβā (Vedic krátvā); dat. sing. xraθβe (Vedic krátve), OAv. aŋhuiiē, YAv. aŋᵛhe ( < *ahṷ-aḭ); loc. sing. daŋ́huuō, daŋ́hauua ( < *dahḭaṷ + ā, cf. Vedic dásyav-i) reflecting the ending *-aṷ (+ ā).
Root nouns, etc. A large group of masc. and fem. nouns are monosyllabic “root nouns” (that is, nouns whose stem consists of the root alone), and other nouns, not all monosyllabic, that end in -ā-, -ī-, -ū- (e.g., xā- “source,” ərəžə-jī- “right-living,” tanū- “body”) or in a consonant (except -n- and -r-). The case endings are the same in almost all paradigms. As mentioned above, the original ending -s of the nom. sing. appears in various forms: -ā + s > -āh > Av. -ǡ (raθaē-štǡ “charioteer”); -ī + s, -ū + s > Av. -īš, -ūš (ərəžə-jīš, tanūš ); -p + s > Av. -fš (afš < ā/ăp- “water”); –k (g) + s > Av. -xš (vaxš < vā/ăc- “voice,” druxš < druj- “lie”); -ś + s > Av. -š (vīš < vis-, Vedic víś-, “settlement”); -t (d) + s > Av. -s (hauruuatās < hauruuata!- “completeness”).
The other endings of this group are: Sing.: acc. -əm (āpən, vācəm), -im (drujim); —inst. -ā/ă (visa = Vedic viśā); —dat. OAv. -ōi, -ē, YAv. -ē = *-aḭ (vīse = Vedic viśé); —abl. (OAv. = gen.), YAv. -aṱ (vīsaṱ); —gen. -ō < *-ah < *-as (vīsō = Vedic viśáḥ); —loc. -ī, -iia < *-i + ā (vīsi, vīsiia; Vedic viśi). —Dual: nom./acc. -ā/ă (ratu-friia “delighting the Ratus”); —inst./dat./abl. -biiā/ă (vaγžibiia); —gen./loc. -ǡ (amərətātǡ). —Plur.: nom. -ō < *-ah < *-as < Proto-IE. *-es (āpō); —acc. -ō < Proto-IE. *ṇs (vīsō); —inst. -bī/ĭš (vaγ`ibiš); —dat./abl. -biiō (vīžibiiō); —gen. -ąm (vīsąm); —loc. -hu/-šu < Proto-IE. *-su (nafšu “among the grandsons” < *napt-su).
In a number of paradigms the noun stem shows ablaut. The “strong” cases are the sing. nom., acc., and loc.; the dual nom.-acc.; and the plur. nom. The remaining cases are “weak,” that is, they show zero grade or a short vowel in the stem. Thus, among the root nouns, we find nom. sing. āfš, vāxš; acc. sing. āpəm, vācim, but inst. sing. apa, vaca.
Ablaut is particularly well preserved in the case of the possessive suffixes *-ṷant- / *-mant- “having,” which in the “weak” cases appear as *-ṷat- / *-mat- ( < Proto-IE. *-ṷṇt- / *-mṇt-). Thus, OAv. has acc. sing. drəguuaṇtəm but gen. sing. drəguuatō from drəguuaṇt- “deceitful.” The same ablaut is found in the case of the participles of athematic temporal stems (*-ant- / *-at-) and in the case of the adjective bərəzaṇt-/bərəzat- “high.” The nom. sing. masc. takes various forms. The participles have -ąs in OAv. ( < *-ant-s: pərəsąs “asking,” hąs “being”) but usually -ō in YAv. (pərəsō, bərəzō), only rarely -ą (hą “being”). The expected form *-ṷąs / *-mąs ( < *-ṷant-s / *-mant-s) is attested only in OAv. θβāuuąs “like you” and in YAv. cuuąs “how big” ( < *cī-ṷant-s). Elsewhere it is replaced by *-uṷǡ / *-mǡ ( < *-ṷāh / *-māh): OAv. drəguuǡ, YAv. druuǡ “deceitful” ( < *drugṷāh); YAv. xratumǡ “having mental vigor.”
Stems in -an- and -ar-. Masc. and fem. stems in -an- (-man-, -ṷan-) and in -ar- (-tar-) form the nom. sing in -ā (YAv. -a) < Proto-IE. *-ē/*-ō with loss of the final consonant, e.g., tašā “carpenter” (Vedic tákṣā, Greek téktōn); OAv. ptā, YAv. pita “father” (Vedic pitāˊ, Greek patḗr). In the other “strong” cases we find both -an-, -ar- ( < Proto-IE. *-en-, *-er-) and -ān-, -ār– ( < Proto-IE. *-on-, *-or-), e.g., OAv. tašānəm (Vedic tákṣānam, Greek téktona); OAv. patarəm, YAv. pitarəm (Vedic pitáram, Greek patéra). In the “weak” cases the stem ends in simple -n-, -r- before an ending beginning with a vowel but in -a- ( < Proto-IE. *-ṇ-), -ər- ( < Proto-IE. *-ṛ-) before an ending beginning with a consonant, e.g., dat. sing. tašne (Vedic tákṣṇe); OAv. aṧāunē (Vedic ṛtāˊvne) “to the righteous one;” OAv. fəδrōi, OAv., YAv. piθrē/ĕ (Vedic pitré); —dat. plur. aṧauuabiiō (with -ṷabiiō < *-ṷṇ-bhḭos); YAv. ptərəbiiō (Vedic pitṛ′bhyaḥ). The rare gen. sing. YAv. -arš ( < -ṛ-š) corresponds to Vedic -ur: zaotarš “of the sacrificer” = Vedic hótur.
Neuter n-stems have in the nom.-acc. sing. -ā/ă ( < Proto-IE. *-ṇ), e.g., YAv. nąma “name” (Vedic nāˊma, Latin nōmen), in the nom.-acc. plur. both -ə̄nī/ĭ, e.g., nāmə̄nī/ĭ and -ąn (-mąn/-mąm), e.g., nāmąm. A peculiarity of the nt. n-stems is the formation of the gen. sing. in OAv. -ə̄ṇg, YAv. -ą[n] ( < *-ənh < *-an-s), e.g., cašmə̄ng < cašman– “eye;” barəsmąn < barəsman “bundle of twigs.” Note also YAv. zrū gen. sing. of zruuan- masc. “time,” from *zruṷū < *zruṷə̄ < *zruṷəŋh, and abl. sing. barəsmən < *-man + t.
Neuter r-stems are well attested in Avestan in the nom.-acc. sing. with the ending -arə, e.g., aiiarə “day”, Vedic áhar), karšuuarə “continent,” yākarə “liver” (Vedic yákrt, Greek hēpar), vadarə “weapon” (Vedic vádhar). The remaining cases were formed from an n-stem in Proto-IE. and Proto-Aryan. Only a few such forms are attested in Avestan, e.g., OAv. rāzarə “directive” has n-stem forms in the inst. sing. (rāšnā), gen. sing. (rāzə̄ṇg), and gen. plur. (rāšnąm); huuarə “sun” (Vedic súvar) contrasts with gen. sing. OAv. xᵛə̄ṇg (disyllabic, < *huṷəŋh), YAv. hū ( < *huṷū < *huṷə̄ < *huṷəŋh); YAv. aiiarə “day” contrasts with gen. sing. aiiąn ( < *aḭəŋh); *azar “day” (Vedic áhar) contrasts with dat. sing. asne (Vedic áhne) and gen. plur. asnąm (Vedic áhnām). In the nom.-acc. plur. we find both -ārə and -ąn, -ə̄ni, e.g., OAv. aiiārə “days,” YAv. aiiąn (cf. Vedic áhāni).
h-stems. Neuter h-stem words with -ah- < *-as- have in the nom.-acc. sing. the ending -ō < *-ah, e.g., manō “thought” (Vedic mánaḥ, Greek ménos). Before endings beginning with a vowel, -ah- usually becomes -aŋh-, e.g., inst. sing. manaŋhā, dat. sing. manaŋhe, gen. sing. manaŋhō. Noteworthy are: nom.-acc. plur. OAv. manǡ with –ǡ < *-ās, inst. YAv. manə̄biš, and loc. plur. YAv. ązahu “in distresses” (Vedic áṁhasu). When ah-stems are used as masculines, e.g., in the case of the comparative suffix -ḭah-, the nom. sing. ends in -ǡ < *āh, e.g., OAv. vax́ iiǡ, YAv. naŋ́hǡ < *ṷahḭāh “the better one.” Contrast the neuter sing. O.Av. vahiiō, YAv. vaŋ́hō, Vedic vásyaḥ.
The suffix -ṷāh- of the perfect participle active takes the form -uš- in the “weak” cases. Sing.: nom. masc. OAv. vīduuǡ “knowing” (cf. Vedic vidvāˊn); —acc. YAv. vī’uuǡŋhəm (Vedic vidvāˊṁsam); —dat. OAv. vīdušē (Vedic vidúṣe); —gen. OAv. vīdušō (Vedic vidúṣaḥ). —Plur.: nom. YAv. vī’uuǡŋhō (Vedic vidvāˊṁsaḥ).
Irregular nouns. For historical reasons a number of words are inflected irregularly. The most important are:
Mazdā- (Ahura-) “the Wise (Lord).” Voc. Mazdā, nom. Mazdǡ, acc. Mazdąm, dat. Mazdāi, gen. Mazdǡ. The last three cases have disyllabic endings -ąm, -āi, -ǡ.
paṇtā-/paθ- “way, path.” Sing.: nom. paṇtǡ (cf. Vedic pánthāḥ), acc. paṇtąm (cf. Vedic pánthām), inst. paθa (Vedic pathāˊ), gen. paθō (Vedic patháh), loc. paiθī (Vedic pathī). —Plur.: acc. paθō (Vedic patháḥ), inst. padəbīš (cf. Vedic pathíbhiḥ), gen. paθąm (Vedic pathāˊm).
kauuaii- “seer” and haxāii- “companion.” Sing.: nom. kauuā, huš.haxā, YAv. haxa (Vedic sákhā); acc. kauuaēm, huš.haxāim (Vedic sákhāyam); inst. YAv. haša (Vedic sákhyā); dat. YAv. haše (Vedic sákhye). —Plur.: nom. OAv. kāuuaiias-cīṱ (Vedic kávayaḥ), YAv. haxaiiō (Vedic sákhāyah); gen. YAv. kaoiiąm ( < *kaṷḭ-āˊm), hašąm ( < *sákhḭ-ām).
*raḭi- “wealth” has “weak” stem *rāḭ-. Sing.: acc. YAv. raēm (Vedic rayím), inst. YAv. raiia (Vedic rāyāˊ), gen. OAv. rāiiō (Vedic rāyáḥ). —Plur.: gen. YAv. raiiąm (Vedic rāyāˊm).
āiiū/ŭ “life” (nom.-acc. sing. nt.) has oblique forms in OAv.: inst. yauuā, dat. yauuōi, yauuē, gen. yaoš.dāuru “wood” (Vedic dāˊru) has gen. sing. YAv. draoš (Vedic dróḥ). zānu “knee” (Vedic jāˊnu) has abl. plur. YAv. žnubiias-ciṱ.
gauu- masc. fem. “ox, cow.” Sing.: nom. gāuš (Vedic gáuḥ), acc. gąm (Vedic gāˊm), inst. gauua (Vedic gávā), dat. OAv. gauuōi, YAv. gauue (Vedic gáve); abl. OAv. gə̄uš (Vedic góḥ), YAv. gaoṱ, gen. gə̄uš (Vedic góḥ), voc. YAv. gao-spəṇta. —Dual: nom. gāuuā (Vedic gāˊvā). —Plur.: nom. YAv. gauuō (Vedic gāˊvaḥ), acc. gǡ (Vedic gāḥ), inst. gaobīš (Vedic góbhiḥ), gen. gauuąm (Vedic gávām).
zam- “earth,” ziiam- “winter,” dam- “house,” ham- “summer.” Sing.: nom. zǡ (Vedic kṣāˊḥ), ziiǡ; acc. ząm (Vedic kṣāˊm), ziiąm; inst. YAv. zəmā (Vedic jmāˊ), hama; abl. YAv. zəmaṱ; gen. zəmō (Vedic jmáḥ), zimō, OAv. dəṇg (Vedic dán < *dám-s); loc. zəmē (Vedic kṣmay-āˊ), zəmi (Vedic kṣámi), OAv. dąm, YAv. dąmi.
-yan-/-γn- “striking,” in vərəθra-jan- “breaking the resistance.” Sing.: nom. masc. vərəθra-jā (Vedic vṛtra-hāˊ); acc. vərəθrā-janəm (Vedic vṛtra-hánam); dat. vərəθra-γne (Vedic vṛtra-ghné).
YAv. span-/sun- “dog.” Sing.: nom. spā (Vedic śvāˊ); acc. spānəm (Vedic śvānam); dat. sūne (Vedic śúne); gen. sūnō (Vedic śúnaḥ). —Dual: nom. spāna (Vedic śvāˊnā). —Plur.: nom. spānō (Vedic śvāˊnaḥ); gen. sunąm (Vedic śúnām).
nar- “man” and star- “star.” Sing.: nom. OAv. nā, acc. narəm (Vedic náram), YAv. stārəm; dat. OAv. narōi, YAv. naire (Vedic náre); gen. OAv. nərəš, YAv. narš; voc. YAv. narə. —Plur.: nom. OAv. narō (Vedic náraḥ), YAv. stārō; acc. OAv. nərąš, YAv. nərə̄š, incorrect nərə̄uš (cf. Vedic nṝ´n), YAv. strə̄š, incorrect strə̄uš; dat. OAv. nərəbiias-cā, YAv. nərəbiiō, nəruiiō (Vedic nṛbhyaḥ); abl. stərəbiiō; gen. YAv. narąm (Vedic nárām); OAv. strə̄m-cā, YAv. strąm.
ātar- masc. “fire” has been remodeled from an old neuter. Sing.: nom. OAv., YAv. ātarš ( < *ātṛ-š); acc. OAv. ātrə̄m, YAv. ātrəm (<*ātṛ-m); inst. OAv. āθrā ( < *āθr-ā); dat. YAv. āθre; abl. OAv. āθras-cā, YAv. āθraṱ; gen. OAv., YAv. āθrō; voc. OAv., YAv. ātarə ( <*ātṛ). —Plur.: acc. ( < nom.) YAv. ātaro; inst. YAv. ātərəbiiō; gen. YAv. aθrąm.
Pronouns. The irregularity of the Avestan pronominal inflection is almost entirely inherited from Proto-Indo-Ir. and Proto-IE. Thus the personal pronouns for the first and second persons have in all three numbers stem forms in the nominative differing from the stems of the remaining cases (cf. English I : me, we : us). In the case of the personal pronouns no distinction of gender is made, but masculine, feminine, and neuter are distinguished in the demonstrative, relative, and interrogative pronouns.
Personal pronoun for the first person (“I, we both, we”). Sing.: nom. azə̄m; acc. mąm; dat. OAv. maibiiā, maibiiō, YAv. māuuōiia, māuuaiia-ca ( < *maṷḭa < *maβḭa); abl. maṱ (OPers. -ma); gen. OAv. mə̄.nā, YAv. mana (OPers. manā). Enclitic forms: acc. mā; gen., dat. OAv. mōi, YAv. mē (OPers. -maiy). —Dual: nom. OAv. vā; acc. āuuā. Enclitic gen. nā. —Plur.: nom. vaēm ( < *ṷaḭəm, cf. OPers. vayam); acc. OAv. ə̄hmā, YAv. ahma; inst. OAv. ə̄hmā; dat. OAv. ahmaibiiā; abl. OAv. ahmaṱ; gen. YAv. ahmākəm. Enclitic forms: acc. OAv. nǡ, YAv. nō; gen., dat. OAv. nə̄, YAv. nō.
Personal pronoun for the second person (“you”). Sing.: nom. OAv., YAv. tū, OAv. tuuə̄m, YAv. tūm (OPers. tuvam); acc. θβąm (OPers. θuvām); inst. θβā; dat. OAv. taibiiā-cā, taibiiō; abl. OAv. θβaṱ; gen. tauuā/ă. Enclitic forms: acc. θβā; gen., dat. OAv. tōi, YAv. tē (OPers. -taiy). —Dual: gen. YAv. yauuākəm. —Plur.: nom. yūžəm, OAv. yūš; inst. OAv. xšmā; dat. OAv. xšmaibiiā, YAv. xšmāuuōiia; OAv. yūšmaibiiā, YAv. yūšmāoiiō; abl. OAv. xšmaṱ, OAv., YAv. yūšmaṱ; gen. OAv., YAv. xšmākəm, YAv. yūšmākəm. Enclitic forms: acc. OAv. vǡ, YAv. vō; gen., dat. OAv. və̄, YAv. vō.
Personal pronouns for the third person (“he, she, it; they”) are represented by various forms of the stems i-, h(i)-/š(i)-, di-. All forms are enclitic except for OAv. hī (sing. nom. fem. and dual nom. nt.). Sing.: acc. masc. fem. īm, hīm, YAv. dim (OPers. dim); gen., dat. OAv. hōi, YAv. hē/šē (OPers. -šaiy). —Dual: acc. OAv. ī. —Plur.: acc. OAv. īš, OAv., YAv. hīš (OPers. -šīš), YAv. dīš (OPers. -dīš). —Neuter forms: acc. sing. OAv. īṱ, YAv. iṱ, diṱ: plur. YAv. ī, dī. —Reflexive sing. dat. YAv. huuāuuōiia ( < *huṷaβḭa).
Demonstrative pronouns: ta- “this,” aēta- “this,” auua– “that one over there (yonder);” relative pronoun ya- “who, which;” interrogative pronoun ka-/ca- “who, which” (when followed by the enclitics -cā/ă, cī/ĭṱ, this becomes an indefinite pronoun “whoever, whichever”). The case endings of all these pronouns are largely the same in the masc. and nt. as those of the a-declension nouns and in the fem. as those of the ā-declension nouns. Examples: masc. sing. nom. OAv. yə̄, kə̄, YAv. yō, kō; acc. tə̄m, kə̄m, OAv. yə̄m, YAv. yim, aom ( < *aṷəm, OPers. avam); gen. YAv. aētahe, auuaŋ́he, OAv. yehiiā, YAv. yeŋ́he, OAv. kahiiā, cahiiā, YAv. kahe, kahiiā-ciṱ; —plur. acc. OAv. tə̄ṇg, tą, YAv. tə̄, tą, YAv. auuū, aū ( < *aṷə̄).
Characteristic pronominal forms are, e.g., masc. sing. (from the pronoun ta-, aēta-) YAv. hā, hō (Vedic sá), YAv. aēšō (Vedic eṣá); (from the pronoun auua-) OAv. huuō ( < *haṷ), YAv. hāu ( = fem.) (OPers. hauv); —inst. kana; —dat. aētahmāi, yahmāi, kahmāi, cahmāi (Vedic yásmai, kásmai); —abl. aētahmāṱ, yahmāṱ, kahmāṱ (Vedic yásmāt); —loc. aētahmi, yahmī/ĭ, kahmi, cahmi (cf. Vedic yásmin, kásmin). —Plur. nom. OAv. tōi, YAv. tē, aēte (Vedic té, eté), auue (OPers. avaiy), OAv., YAv. yōi, kōi (Vedic yé, ké); —gen. aētaēšąm (OPers. avaišām), yaēšąm (Vedic yéṣām). —Neuter sing. nom./acc. OAv., YAv. taṱ (Vedic tát), YAv. auuaṱ, OAv. hiiaṱ, YAv. yaṱ (Vedic yát), kaṱ (Vedic kát). —Fem. sing. nom. hā, aēša (Vedic sāˊ, eṣāˊ), YAv. hāu (OPers. hauv); —inst. aētaiia (Vedic etáyā); —dat. YAv. auuaŋ́hāi ( < *aṷahḭāi); —abl. auuaŋ́haṱ; —gen. aētaŋ́hǡ ( < aitaḥĭāh, Vedic etasyāḥ); —loc. yeŋ́he ( < *ḭahḭā, cf. Vedic etásyām). —Plur. gen. YAv. aētaŋąm (Vedic etāˊsām).
A special pronoun with the meaning “this one here” is based on the stems a- and i-/aḭ-: masc. sing. nom. OAv. aiiə̄m, YAv. aēm (Vedic ayám); —acc. YAv. iməm; —inst. anā (OPers. anā); —dat. ahmāi (Vedic asmai); —abl. ahmāṱ; —gen. OAv. ahiiā, YAv. ahe, aŋ́he (Vedic ásya); —loc. ahmī/ĭ, ahmiia. —Dual nom./acc. ima; —dat. ābiia; —gen. aiiǡ. —Plur. nom. ime; —acc. ima; —inst. OAv. āiš, anāiš, YAv. aēibiš; —dat. aēbiiō; —gen. aēšąm; —loc. aēšu, aēšuua. —Neuter sing. nom./acc. imaṱ. —Plur. nom./acc. OAv. ī, imā/ă. —Fem. sing. nom YAv. īm (< *iḭəm, Vedic iyám); —acc. imąm; —inst. OAv. ōiiā, YAv. ā/ăiia (Vedic ayāˊ); —dat. OAv. ax́ iiāi, YAv. aŋ́hāi (Vedic asyái); —abl. aŋ́hāṱ; —gen. aŋ́hǡ; —loc. aŋ́he ( < ahḭā). —Dual dat. OAv. ābiiā. —Plur. nom./acc. imǡ; —inst. OAv. ābīš; —dat. ābiiō; —gen. ǡŋhąm (Vedic āsāˊm); —loc. āhū, āhuua.
In addition to the interrogative pronoun ka-/ca- there is a stem ci- (ci- + cā/ă “someone,” naē-ci- “no one”): sing. nom. masc. ciš, ciš-cā/ă, naē-ciš (Latin quis, quis-que, nīquis); —acc. cīm, naē-cim. —Nom./acc. nt. ciṱ (Latin quid), naē-ciṱ. —Plur. nom. masc. caiiō, caiias-cā; —nom./acc. nt. cī/ĭ-cā/ă.
The possessive pronouns OAv. ma- “my,” OAv. θβa- “your” (sing.), and OAv., YAv. xᵛa-, YAv. hauua-, huua- “one’s own” also have some pronominal endings, e.g., masc. sing θβahmāi, θβahmāṱ, θβahmī, xᵛahmi. —Plur. nom. θβōi. —Fem. sing. nom. θβōi ( < *tṷā + i), xᵛaē-cā ( < *sṷā + i); —inst. maiiā; —dat. OAv. xᵛax́ iiāi; —gen. θβax́ iiǡ. Note also the pronominal endings used with aēuua- “one,” aniia- “other,” and vīspa- “all:” sing. aniiahmāi, vīspəmāi ( < *-əhmāi, Vedic víśvasmai), aēuuahmāṱ, aēuuahmi. —Plur. aniie, vīspe (Vedic anye, víśve), aniiaēšąm, vīspaēšąm (Vedic anyéṣām, víśveṣām). —Fem. sing. gen. aēuuaŋ́hǡ.
2. Verbal inflection.
Many Avestan verbal forms have counterparts in the Vedic language. Since Vedic is attested by an extensive literature that enables its grammatical forms to be determined with exactitude, it is possible to establish the complicated Avestan verbal system with considerable certainty by comparing it systematically with Vedic. With the exception of certain nominal forms such as participles, every verbal form terminates with a personal ending. The personal endings determine the first, second, and third persons in singular, dual, and plural. In addition, they indicate at the same time the diatheses active (e.g., English “I praise”) and middle (e.g., English “I praise in my own interest, we praise each other, I am praised”). The middle may be reflexive, reciprocal, or passive, etc. There are four kinds of personal endings: the primary and secondary endings, the imperative endings, and the perfect endings. The secondary endings indicate only the person and the diathesis whereas the primary endings indicate also present time (e.g., English “I am praising”). The special perfect endings indicate, together with the perfect stem, the state arrived at as a result of an action (“I have praised”). The basis of a verb form is the so-called “verb root,” which conveys the lexical meaning of the verb. By means of changes of the verb root or by the addition of suffixes the so-called “tense stems” are formed. These are known as the present, aorist, and perfect stems. The future stem is typologically a present stem.
When an imperative ending is added to a present stem the verb form expresses a command (imperative present). The addition of a primary ending to the present stem results in an indicative present whereas the addition of a secondary ending to the present stem results in an injunctive present. The injunctive present is used to mention an action without reference to time, one which is general or adhortative, past or future. The preterite is expressed by the imperfect, which is formed by prefixing to the verbal stem the augment a-. Whereas the augment a- is common in Vedic and OPers., it is seldom found in Avestan.
Originally the aorist stem was used to indicate the perfective aspect of an action, that is the view of a completed action in its entirety, but this function of the aorist is usually no longer evident in the Avestan texts. The aorist stem can take only imperative or secondary endings. With secondary endings the aorist is known as the injunctive aorist, which has functions corresponding to those of the injunctive present. The aorist stem with prefixed augment a- and secondary endings forms the indicative aorist, which has preterite meaning.
The moods of the verb are: indicative, injunctive, imperative, subjunctive, and optative. The subjunctive expresses volition and futurity. It is characterized by the addition of the suffix -a- to the high-grade present, aorist, and perfect stems. The subjunctive may take either primary or secondary endings, no difference in meaning being discernible. The optative expresses volition and potentiality. It is formed by adding to the low-grade tense stems the suffix -ḭā-/-ī- and the secondary endings.
The present system. Since the Proto-IE. period, present stems have been formed in many different ways, but it has in most cases not been possible to determine the reason for any particular formation. From the point of view of morphology two broad groups can be distinguished: the thematic and the athematic present stems. The thematic present stems end in the thematic vowel -a-, which with certain variations is retained before the personal endings. In the case of the athematic present stems the personal endings and the suffixes for subjunctive and optative are added directly to the various present stems instead of being preceded by the thematic vowel.
Thematic present stems. To the full or zero grade of the verb root is added the thematic vowel -a- alone or a suffix ending in -a-: -ḭa-, -aḭa-, -sa- ( = Vedic -cha-). Examples: bar-a- “carry,” spas-iia- “espy,” kir-iia- (passive) “be done,” xš-aiia- “rule,” vaxš-aiia- (causative) “make grow,” ja-sa- “come” ( = Vedic gáccha- < Proto-IE. gwṃ-skˆé-). The root can receive an infixed -n-, e.g., kərəṇta- “cut” (Vedic kṛ-n-ta-). The desideratives are characterized by reduplication and the addition of the suffix *-sa- (-ha-, -ša-), e.g., su-srū-ša- “wish to hear.” In some cases the present stems look quite different from the root, e.g., sixša- (Vedic śikṣa-) “wish to be able (sak), learn,” diβža- (Vedic dipsa-) “wish to cheat (dab).” The future stem in *-sḭa- (-hḭa-, -šḭa-) can also be classified as a thematic present, e.g., vax-šiiā “I shall say.”
Inflection of the thematic present stems. Active: indic. pres. sing. 1. barāmi (OAv. pərəsā “I ask”), 2. barahi, 3. baraitī. —Dual 3. baratō. —Plur. 1. barāmahi, 2. -aθā, 3. barəṇti. —Inj. pres. sing. 1. barəm, 2. barō, 3. baraṱ. —Dual 3. -atəm. —Plur. 2. -ata, 3. barən. —Subj. pres. sing. 1. barāni, 2. barāhi, 3. -āiti, barāṱ. —Dual 1. -āuua, 3. barātō. —Plur. 1. barāma, 2. āθā, 3. barǡṇti, barąn. —Opt. pres. sing. 2. barōiš, 3. barōiṱ. —Plur. 1. -aēma, 2. -aēta, 3. baraiiən. —Imv. pres. sing. 2. bara, 3. baratu. —Plur. 2. barata, 3. barəṇtu. —Part. pres. barəṇt-.
Middle: indic. pres. sing. 1. baire, 2. -ahe, 3. baraite. —Dual 3. baraēte. —Plur. 1. barāmaide, 2. OAv. dīdraγžō.duiiē “you wish to fasten” ( < *-a-dṷaḭ, Vedic -a-dhve), 3. barəṇte. —Inj. pres. sing. 1. baire, 2. -aŋha (< *-a-sa), 3. barata. —Dual 3. -aētəm. —Plur. 3. -əṇta. —Subj. pres. sing. 1. -āi, āne, 2. -ǡŋhe ( < *-āhaḭ), 3. -aite.-Plur. 3. -āite. —Opt. pres. sing. 2. -aēša, 3. baraēta. —Plur. 1. -ōimaidī, 2. -ōiδβəm, 3. -aiiaṇta. —Imv. pres. sing. 2. baraŋᵛha, 3. OAv. vərəziiātąm ( < *-a-tąm). —Plur. 2. OAv. gūšōdum “listen” ( < *-a-dṷəm), 3. -əṇtąm. —Part. pres. barəmna-.
Athematic present stems. In the case of the athematic present stems the personal endings are added to the root or to the present suffix directly, that is, without the intervention of the thematic vowel -a-. The most important classes of these present stems are: 1 . the root presents; 2. the reduplicated presents; 3. the present stems containing infixed -n-; 4. the present stems ending in -nā-; 5. the present stems ending in -nu-. These present stems are affected by ablaut: they have the full grade of the root or the infix or suffixes in the case of the active singular forms of the indic., the inj., and, in part, of the imv. as well as throughout the active and middle paradigms of the subj. The remaining forms have the zero grade as far as that is phonologically possible.
1. The root presents. In this case the pres. stem is identical with the verb root, e.g., ah-/h- “to be” (Vedic as-/s-), mrauu-/mrū- “to speak” (Vedic bravi–/brū-); vas-/us- “to wish” (Vedic vaś-/uś-). A subgroup has the long grade in the act. sing. indic. and inj. and otherwise the full grade, e.g., stāuu-/stauu- “to praise,” tāš-/taš “to fashion;” aog- “to speak;” sāh- “to instruct.”
Active inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. ahmī/ĭ, mraomī/ĭ, vasəmī; stāumi, 2, ahī/ĭ, vašī/ĭ, 3. astī/ĭ, mraoiti, vaštī; tāšti, sāstī. —Dual 1. usuuahī, 3. stō (Vedic s-taḥ), mrūtō. —Plur. 1. mahī/ĭ < *hmahi (Vedic s-masi), usə̄mahī (Vedic úsmási), 2. stā (Vedic s-tha), uštā, 3. həṇtī/ĭ (Vedic s-ánti). —Inj. pres. sing. 1. mraom, 2. mraoš, 3 mraoṱ; tāšt. —Plur. 2 mraotā, uštā. —Subj. pres. sing. 1 anhā, mrauua, mrauuāni, 2. aŋhō, 3. aŋhaṱ, aŋhaitī, vasaṱ. —Plur. 1. ǡŋhāmā (< *aŋhāma), 3. aŋhən, vasən. —Opt. pres. sing. 1. OAv. x́ iiə̄m (Vedic s-yāˊ-m), 2. x́ iiǡ, mruiiǡ, 3. x́ iiāṱ/YAv. hiiāṱ, usiiāṱ, sāhīṱ. —Plur. 1. x́ iiāmā, 2. x́ iiātā, 3. YAv. hiiārə. —Imv. pres. sing. 2. OAv. zdī (<*s + dhi) “be!,” mrūi’i, 3. astū, mraotū/ŭ. —Plur. 2. staota, 3. hə̄ṇtu. —Part. pres. haṇt- (sing. nom. masc. hąs, acc. həṇtəm, gen. hatō. —Plur. gen. hātąm. —Fem. stem hā/ăitī-), usaṇt-; stauuat- ( < *stéṷ-ṇt-).
Middle inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. mruiie ( < mruṷaḭ); aojōi, 3. mrūite. —Plur. 1. mrūmaidē; aogəmadaē-cā, staomaide, 3. aojaite (Vedic óhate < *-ṇtoḭ). —Inj. pres. sing. 1. aojī, 2. aoγžā ( < *aṷgh + sa), 3. OAv. aogədā ( < *aṷgh + ta), YAv. aoxta, staota. —Subj. pres. sing. 1. aojāi, mrauuāne, stauuāne. —Opt. pres. sing. 2. mruuiša, 3. mruuīta; aojīta. —Part. pres. mruuāna-, aojana-.
2. Reduplicated present stems. The commonest such verb is *da-dā-, which continues both Indo-Ir. dā “to give” and dha “to put.”
Active inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. da’ąmi, 2. daδāhi, 3. dadāitī, daδāiti. —Plur. 1. dadəmahī, YAv. dąnmahi, 3. dadaitī (Vedic dád(h)ati with -ati from *-ṇti). —Inj. pres. sing. 1. daδam, 2. OAv. dadǡ, 3. OAv. dadāṱ, YAv. daδāṱ. —Plur. 3. dadaṱ ( < *d(h)a-d(h)-ṇt). —Subj. pres. sing. 1. daθāni, 3. OAv. dadaṱ, YAv. daθaṱ. —Plur. 1. daθāma, 3. daθən. —Opt. pres. sing. 1. dai’iiąm, 2. daidīš, daiθiiǡ, 3. OAv. daidīṱ, YAv. dai’īṱ, YAv. dai’iiāṱ, daiθiiāṱ. —Dual 3. dai’ītəm. —Plur. 3. daiθiiąn, daiθiiārəš. —Imv. pres. sing. 2. dazdi ( < *d(h)a-d(h)z-dhi), 3 dadātū. —Plur. 2. dasta. —Part. pres. daδat- (sing. nom. masc. daδō, daθō).
Middle inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. dadē, daiθe, 3. dastē (Vedic datté), dazdē ( < *dha-dhz + tai). —Plur. dadəmaidē. —Inj. pres. sing. 3. dazdā ( < *dha-dhz + ta), dasta. —Subj. pres. sing. 3. daθaite. —Plur. 3. dadəṇtē. —Opt. pres. sing. 2. daiθīša, 3. daidītā, daiθīta. —Imv. pres. sing. 2. dasuuā (Vedic d(h)atsva). —Plur. 2. mąz-dazdūm (<*dha-dhz-dhṷam) “bear in mind!” —Part. pres. daθāna-.
3. Present stems containing infixed -n-. In the act. sing. forms of the indic. and inj. and throughout the subj., -na- is infixed but elsewhere only -n-, e.g., vi-na-d-/vi-ṇ-d- “to find,” ci-na-h-, ci-na-s-/cīš- ( < ci-N-š-) “to assign,” mərə-ṇ-c- “to destroy.”
Active inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. cinahmi, 3. cinasti, vinasti. —Plur. 1. cīšmahī, 3. viṇdəṇti. —Inj. pres. sing. 3. cinas. —Plur. 3. viṇdən. —Opt. pres. sing. 3. cīšiiāṱ, mərąsiiāṱ ( < *mṛṇčḭāt). —Plur. 3. čīšiiąn. —Imv. sing. 2. cīždī.
Middle inflection: indic. pres. sing. 3. mərəγəṇte ( < *mərəŋ(g)te). —Plur. 1. cīšmaide, 2. mərəṇgəduiiē ( < *mṛng-dhṷaḭ), 3. mərəṇcaitē (with -aitē < *-ṇtoḭ). —Opt. pres. sing. 3. mərəṇcīta, viṇdīta. —Part. pres. viṇdāna-.
4. Present stems in -na-. In the act. sing. forms of the indic. and inj. and throughout the subj. the affix -nā- is used but elsewhere only -n-, e.g., frī-nā-/frī-n- “to delight,” gərəβ-nā-/gərəβ-n- “to seize,” pərə-nā-/pərə-n- “to drive away,” vərə-n- “to choose.”
Active inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. frīnāmi, 3. gərəβnāiti. —Plur. 1. friiąnmahī ( < *frinmahi), 3. frīnəṇti. —Subj. pres. sing. 1. frīnāni, 3. frīnāṱ. —Plur. 3. gərəβnąn. —Imv. plur. 3. frīnəṇtu.
Middle inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. vərənē, 3. vərəṇtē. —Inj. pres. sing. 3. vərəṇta. —Plur. 3. OAv. vərənātā (with -ātā < *-ata). —Subj. pres. sing. 1. frīnai, pərənāne, 3. pərənāite.
5. Present stems in -nu-. The suffix appears in the full grade as -naṷ- in the sing. forms of the indic. and inj. active. In the subj. it takes the form -naṷ-a- and elsewhere it appears as nu- or -nṷ-. The commonest such verb is kar “to make, do.”
Active inflection: indic. pres. sing. 1. kərənaomi, 3. kərənaoiti. —Plur. 3. kərənuuaiṇti. —Inj. pres. sing. 3. (a-)kərənaoṱ. —Subj. pres. sing. 1. kərənauuāni. —Plur. 3. kərənaon (with -naon < *-noṷən). —Opt. pres. sing. 3. kərənuiiāṱ. —Imv. pres. 2. kərənūi’i. —Part. pres. kərənaṇt-.
The aorist system. As shown by Vedic, the aorist stem indicates the perfective aspect. Apart from the consideration of aspect, the inj., subj., opt., and imv. forms of the aorist have the same functions as the corresponding forms in the present system. The indic. aor. is formed by prefixing the augment a- to the injunctive. The indic. aor. is restricted to the past. Three types of aorist are found in Avestan: 1. thematic aorists, 2. athematic root aorists, 3. sigmatic aorists.
1. The thematic aorist. There are three kinds of thematic aorist. The thematic vowel may be added to the full grade of the root (e.g., taša- “to fashion,” Vedic tákṣa-; hana- “to acquire,” Vedic sána-) or to the zero grade of the root (e.g., sīša- “to instruct,” Vedic śiṣa-, from the root sāh, Vedic śās; xša- “to rule” from the root xšā, Vedic kṣā; xsa- “to look” from the root xsā, Vedic kśa) or to the reduplicated root (e.g., vaoca- “to speak,” Vedic vóca- < *ṷa-ṷč-a- from vac).
The thematic aorist inflection corresponds to that of the thematic present stems. Noteworthy forms are: active inj. ā-xšō “look at,” tašaṱ “he fashioned,” ā-uuaocāma (Vedic á-vocāma) “we spoke.” —Subj. hanānī “I shall acquire,” fra-uuaocāmā “we will proclaim.” —Opt. sīšōiṱ “may he instruct,” hanaēmā “may we earn.” Middle inj. mā . . . xšəṇtā “they shall not rule.” —Subj. xsāi “I shall look.” —Opt. xšaētā “may he rule.” —Imv. xšəṇtąm “let them rule.”
2. The athematic root aorist. Thirty-seven verbs use the verb root as aorist stem without the addition of any further morphological feature. Their inflection is largely the same as that of the athematic root present stems. The following examples are attested forms of dā 1. “to give,” 2. “to put” and gam “to go.”
Active inflection: inj. aor. sing. 3. dāṱ. —Plur. 2. dāta, 3. dąn, gmən. —Subj. aor. sing. 1. jimā, 2. dāhī, 3. dāitī, dāṱ, jimaitī, jimaṱ. —Plur. 1. dāmā, 3. daiṇtī, dąn, jimən. —Opt. aor sing. 1. OAv. diiąm, 2. jamiiǡ, 3. diiāṱ, jəmiiāṱ. —Plur. 1. jamiiāmā, 2. dāiiata, 3. YAv. jamiiąn, jamiiārəš. —Imv. aor. sing. 2. dāidī, gaidī, 3. dātū. —Plur. 2. dātā. —Part. pres. daṇt-.
Middle inflection: inj. aor. sing. 2. dǡŋhā, 3. dātā. —Dual. 1. duuaidī ( < *dh-ṷadhi) “we two destined.” —Subj. aor. sing. 1. dānē, 2. dǡŋhē, 3. dāitē. —Dual 3. jamaētē. —Plur. 2. daduiiē ( < dh-a-dhṷaḭ), 3. dǡṇtē. —Opt. aor. sing. 1. diiā ( < *dh-īḭa), 2. dīšā. —Imv. aor. sing. 2. dāhuuā.
Some special forms for the 3. sing. passive also belong to the root aorist: a-uuāci “it has been called,” srāuuī “it has been heard;” ərəž-ucam (imv. sing. 3.) “it shall be cortectly told” (from the root vac).
3. The sigmatic aorist. Whereas the thematic aorist and the athematic root aorist can be distinguished from similarly formed present stems only on the basis of comparison with Vedic, the sigmatic aorist is clearly marked. Proto-IE. -s-, which may appear in Avestan as -h- or -š-, is affixed to the verb root. The root has the long grade in the indic. and inj. but the full grade elsewhere. The inflection is athematic. About twenty-seven verbs have attested sigmatic aorists. The following verbs have been selected to illustrate the inflection: xšnu “to satisfy” (xšnāuš-/xšnaoš-), dis “to show” (dāiš-/dōiš-), fras “to ask” (fraš-), man “to consider” (məṇgh-, mąs-), van “to overcome” (vəngh-, vąs-), varz “to work” (varš-), rā “to present” (rāh-, rǡŋh-), uruuaj “to walk” (uruuāxš-), sand “to appear” (sąs-, Vedic chā/ănts-).
Active inflection: inj. aor. sing. 2. dāiš, 3. xšnāuš, sąs. —Plur. 3. uruuāxšaṱ (with -aṱ from *-ṇt). —Subj. aor. sing. 1. dōišā, 3. və̄nghaitī, və̄nghaṱ, varəšaiti. —Plur. 3. xšnaošən. —Imv. aor. 2. dōišī ( < daiś + ši). —Plur. 2. sąstā ( < sśānd-s-ta).
Middle inflection: inj. aor. sing. 1. frašī, mə̄ṇghī, 3. fraštā, mąstā. —Plur. 1. (a-)məhmaidī. —Subj. aor, sing. 1. mə̄ṇghāi, varəšānē, 2. rǡŋhaŋhōi, 3. varəšaitē. —Plur. 2. maz-dǡŋhō.dūm. —Imv. aor. sing. 2. fərašuuā. —Part. aor. maŋhāna-.
The perfect system. The perfect originally designated the state arrived at as the result of an action but it came to be used as a preterite tense. It is found with fifty-six verbs in Avestan. In the perfect stem the verb root has the full grade in the sing. forms of the active and throughout the subj. but elsewhere it has the zero grade. With the one exception of vaēd/vid– “to know” all the perf. forms are reduplicated, that is, the first consonant of the root followed by the vowel -ā/ă- (occasionally -i-, -u-) is prefixed to the root. The perf. differs from the present-aorist system also in having special endings in the indic. active and middle. The following are examples of perf. stems: āh- ( < ah “to be”), dadā-/dā/ăδ– ( < dā “to give; put”), mamn- ( < man “to think”), yaiiat-/yaēt-, yōit- ( < yat “to take a firm stand”), vāuuarəz-/vāuuərəz- ( < varz “to work”), vaēd-/vid- ( < vid “to know”).
Active inflection: indic. perf. sing. 1. vaēda, 2. vōistā, dadāθā, 3. vaēdā. —Dual 3. yaētarə. —Plur. 1. yōiθmā, 3. ǡŋharə, vīδarə. —Opt. perf sing. 1. dai’iiąm, 3. vīdiiāṱ. —Dual. 3. aŋ́hāṱ.təm ( < *āh-ḭā-tām). —Part. perf. (suffix -ṷāh-, -uš-, fem. -ušī-) sing. nom. masc. vīduuǡ, daδuuǡ, gen. vīdušō, dadušō, fem. vīθušī-.
Middle inflection (rare): indic. perf. sing. 3. vāuuərəzōi “it has been worked.” —Dual 3. mamnāitē. —Opt. perf. plur. 3. vaozirəm “they would have driven” (from root vaz). —Part. perf. mamnāna- “having thought,” vāuuərəzāna- “having been done.”
Infinitives. Infinitives are formed by the addition of various suffixes either directly to the root or to a tense stem: *-ai: OAv. pōi ( < *pH-aí) “to protect,” YAv. buiie ( < *buṷ-ai) “to become;” *-ṷaḭ: OAv. dāuuōi “to give,” vīduiiē (<*ṷid-ṷai) “to know;” *-ṷanaḭ: OAv. vīduuanōi “to know;” *-taḭ: OAv. itē “to go,” mrūitē “to say,” stōi “to be;” *-ah: OAv. auuō “to aid,” vərəziiō “to work;” *-ahaḭ: OAv. vaocaŋ́hē “to say” (from aorist stem vaoca-), srāuuaiieŋ́he “to recite” (from caus. stem srāuuaiia-), *-dhḭāḭ (Vedic -dhyai): OAv. jaidiiāi “to be killed” (from root jan), diβžaidiiāi “to be deceived,” vərəziieidiiāi “to do, be done.”
Verbal adjectives. Verbal adjectives ending in -ta have almost always passive meaning, but there are exceptions such as gata- (= Vedic gatá-) “gone.” If phonologically possible the root appears in the zero grade, e.g., -uxta- “said” (Vedic uktá- < vac); vista “found” (< *ṷidz-tá-, cf. Vedic vitttá- < vid); vərəzda “increased” (Vedic vṛddhá- < *ṷṛdzdhá- < *ṷṛdhz-tó-); jata– “slain” (Vedic jātá- < han) from root jan; zāta– “born” (Vedic jātá- with -ā- < ṇH-) from root zanH. Roots ending in -ā- do not show ablaut, e.g., dāta- “given; put” (But Vedic hitá < *dhə-tó-).
Bibliography
Chr. Bartholomae, Awestasprache und Altpersisch, in Geiger and Kuhn, Grundr. Ir. Phil. I, pp. 188-241.
A. V. W. Jackson, An Avesta Grammar in Comparison with Sanskrit, Stuttgart, 1892, repr. Darmstadt, 1968, pp. 62-200.
H. Reichelt, Awestisches Elementarbuch, Heidelberg, 1909, repr. Darmstadt, 1967.
H. G. Herzenberg, Morfologicheskaya struktura slova v drevnikh indoiranskikh yazykakh, Leningrad, 1972.
S. Sokolov, “Yazyk Avesty,” in V. I. Abaev, ed., Osnovy iranskogo yazykoznaniya I: Drevneiranskie yazyki, Moscow, 1979, pp. 161-94.
E. Benveniste, Les infinitifs avestiques, Paris, 1935.
J. Kellens, Les noms-racines de l’Avesta, Wiesbaden, 1974.
Idem, Le verbe avestique, Wiesbaden, 1985.
On other aspects of Avestan grammar, not treated here, consult the works listed above. On composition see J. Duchesne-Guillemin, Les composés de l’Avesta, Liège and Paris, 1936.
See also J. Duchesne-Guillemin, Kratylos 7, 1962, pp. 11-38; J. Kellens, ibid., 16, 1971, pp. 9-17; 18, 1973, pp. 1-2.
K. Hoffmann, Aufsätze zur Indoiranistik I-II, Wiesbaden, 1975-76 (consult the index pp. 688-704).