Page:Craven-Grey - Hindustani manual.djvu/34

 By changing ná into tá we have the present participle ; as, girtá (hú,á) falling. By leaving out the n of the infinitive we have the past participle ; as, girá (hú,á) fallen, except when either of the long vowels á or o precedes the ná ; in which case, the n is changed into y; as láná, to bring, láyá, brought. From these three principal parts of the verb, viz., gir, girtá, and girá, all the other parts are formed, either by the addition of terminations or by means of the following auxiliary tenses. These auxiliary tenses are two in number :

(b) In the first of the tenses there is no distinction between the masculine and feminine, but in the second or past tense, the forms thá and the are masculine and thí and thíN are feminine. In the first person plural, the (1) is also used for feminine instead of thíN. It is a universal rule, that except in the Aoristand the Imperative, the verb agrees with its nominative in gender as well as in number ; thus, the masculine singular is á, the feminine singular is í, the masc. plur. e, and the fem. plur. íN (contracted for iyáN). As a general rule, it is sufficient to add the nasal N to the last word of the feminines in the plural ; as, girtí thíN, not girtíN thíN.