MacDonnell II - Wilbourhall.org

212-213] PRESENT 341much more usually umitted, ha sma alone expressing the same sense,especially often with the pres. perf. aha ; e.g. etfid dha sma va ahanaradfih (MS.) loith regard to this Ndrada used to saij. (The AB. uses theperf. and the impf. with ha sma in the same sense.) The particles hasma, which originally only accompanied it,have thus acquired, whenused alone, the sense which is inherent in pura only.c. The pres. ind. is also sometimes used for the fut. orthe subj. ; e. g. aham api hanmi^iti ha^uvaca he said :I too ivill ski// lihn (SB.); indras ea rusamas ca^amsamprasyetam yataro nau purvo bhumim :paryeti sa jayati^itiIndra and liukima proposed a ivager: whichever of usshall go round the earth first shall ivin (PB.).Past Tenses.213. Each of the past tenses (except the pluperfect) hasa distinctive meaning of its own, though occasional examplesof aor. and perf. forms occur that are almost indistinguishablein sense from the impf.A. The perfect characteristically expresses the conditionattained by the sul^jectas the result of a preceding action.If that action (often a repeated or continuous one)is continuedinto the present so as to include the latter, itmay betranslated by the present ;if it is regardedas concludedbefore the present, by the present perfect. It can expressboth these senses when accompanied by the adverbs puraformerly and nunam now ;e. g. pura nunam ca stutayarsinam pasprdhre tlie praises of the seers have vied togetherin past times and (do so) now (vi. 34^) ;sasvad dhi va utibhirvayam pura nunam bubhujmahe we have constantly enjoyedyour aids and (do so) now (viii. 67'®) ;the same sense appearswith the adverb satra always ; e. g. tiibhyam brahmanigira indra tubhyam satra dadhire : jusasva to theeprayers, Indra, to thee songs have always been offered (andstill are): accept them kindly (iii. 51"). But even withouta particle this double sense is not infrequently apparent: