The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit

THE FUTURE TENSE

The future tense has the same function as its English equivalent: it talks about things that will be. It does not use the present stem (as present and imperfect did), but is formed by means of:

• – a verbal root in guṇa (–› Chapter 7 on vowel gradation)

• – the future marker -sya- or -iṣya-

• – primary endings (i.e. the same endings as those used in the present tense).

Compare the future of √गम् ‘to go’:

The -i- in -iṣya- (with -ṣ- due to ruki; –› Chapter 6) is comparable to the -i- that appears in front of other suffixes that begin with a consonant (such as -ta, -tvā or -tum; –› Chapter 8). As in those other forms, one cannot predict which of the two suffixes (-sya- or -iṣya-) a verb takes. One may even find two futures of the same verb, such as गंस्यति and गमिष्यति ‘he will go’ from √गम् ‘to go’.

While the future stem just described is unrelated to the present tense stem, the future of Class X verbs and causatives is formed by adding -iṣya- to the present stem minus the thematic vowel: कथयति ‘he tells’ –› कथयिष्यति ‘he will tell’; पातयति ‘he causes to fall, throws’ –› पातयिष्यति ‘he will cause to fall, throw’.

Where -sya- is used (rather than -iṣya-), internal sandhi results:

• – Before -s-, stops lose any voicing and/or aspiration, and palatals become velars; after a velar, s turns into ṣ according to ruki (e.g.‘to join’: 3rd SG FUT ACT *yoj-sya-ti > *yok-sya-ti > योक्ष्यति ‘he will join’).

• – ś turns into k (also turning the following s into ṣ according to ruki): √विश् ‘to enter’ –› 3rd Sg Fut वेक्ष्यति ‘he will enter’; √दृश् ‘to see’ –› 3rd SG FUT द्रक्ष्यति ‘he will see’.

• – h also turns into k: √स्निह् ‘to love’ –› स्नेक्ष्यति ‘he will love’.

• – Rarely, s turns into t: √वस् vas ‘to dwell’ –› 3rd SG FUT वत्स्यति ‘he will dwell’.

In some verbs whose root-final consonant loses its aspiration (including h > k) through such sandhi, the closest preceding consonant becomes aspirated.