Causative Conjugation

07:52 A special conjugation of verbs has the meaning to cause someone or something else to do the action of the root, to have something done, and is called the "causative" (kārita).

08:34 There is, a distinctive causative suffix (ā)p which is sometimes added to roots. Roots conjugated in any conjugation for the ordinary present indicative may appear in causative meanings with the stem in e or a "fuller" form aya (or pe, āpe, paya, āpaya).

10:03 The meaning may be the straightforward causative one or a more specialised and idiomatic one.

Thus from vac, "to speak", we have the causative vāceti, ("he makes speak"), "he reads aloud", "he recites",

whilst from vad, "to say", we have the causative vādeti ("he makes say"), "he plays (a musical instrument)."

11:47 Sometimes it is not easy to decide whether to class a verb as an independent seventh conjugation root or as the causative form of some other verb of perhaps widely divergent meaning. There is a certain amount of disagreement among grammarians over the proper classification (e.g. of vādeti).

13:05 With (ā)p we have from chid chedāpayati ("he causes to cut"); from (ṭ)ṭhā ṭhapayati, in which the root vowel (first a) is usually shortened (as opposed to most causatives) and which often has the meaning "he leaves aside", "he excepts", instead of the more literal meaning "makes stand", "erects".

13:52 Besides the possibility of a "double" formation with (ā)p alongside a causative form in e (which may have double meaning as well as double form), "triple" forms are sometimes made by adding (a)p twice, thus from ruh "grow", we have a causative form (with elision of h) ropeti, "he plants" (causes to grow), and another causative form ropāpeti, meaning "he causes to cause to grow", "he has planted".

14:52 As with ordinary verbs, the agent of a causative verb (hetukattar) goes in the nominative case. The person or "instrument" through whom the action is performed goes usually in the accusative (the instrumental may be used instead, on account of the sense of "instrument"); thus a causative verb may take one patient more than the equivalent ordinary verb: the causative of an intransitive verb may take one patient (the verb may be said to "become transitive"), the causative of a transitive verb may take two patients, the causative of a verb which ordinarily takes two accusatives may take three patients.

15:40 For example:

"To be" is intransitive and takes no patient; "to cause to be" (i.e. to develop, etc., as "to develop 1 the mind") takes one.

"To enter" may take one patient (enter 1 a house); "to cause to enter" may take two (cause to enter 1 a man 2 a house).

"To take", "to lead", etc., may take two patients (take 1 to a village 2 a goat); in theory (in practice the extravagance seems to be avoided) "to cause to take" may take three (cause to take 1 (by) a man 2 to a village 3 a goat: puriso (agent) 1 purisaṃ 2 gāmaṃ 3 ajaṃ nāyeti, or puriso purisena gāmaṃ ajaṃ nāyeti with instrumental).

16:59 The causative conjugation includes the various tenses and participles, formed from causative stems as from seventh conjugation stems.

Present causative of bhū:

17:30 Causatives:

21:49 Other tenses of the causative:

Imperative: kappāpehi

Aorist: kārāpesi - ṭhapesuṃ - ārocāpesi, ārocāpesuṃ - ropāpesi - āropesuṃ

Future: jhapessati - bhāvessati

23:18 Participles:

Present: kārento, kārayato (genitive) - chedāpento, chedāpayato (genitive) - dāpento - pācento (pac = cook, torment), pācayato (genitive) - yojāpento

Past: kappita - kārita, kārāpita - bhāvita - pavattita - pavedita (usually in ita, as with the seventh conjugation)

Gerund: kārāpetvā - āmantāpetvā - paṭiyādāpeṭvā - yojāpetvā - āropetvā - pavesetvā

25:00 Despite the mechanical appearance of the causative in theory, as a kind of tense of the ordinary verb, in practice the meaning and usage of causative verbs is highly idiomatic and each one requires careful attention.