Skip to content

Active Past Participle

Active Past Participle

There is a rare verbal form that we have not discussed yet. It is called the Active Past Participle or app.

The most common example is the word dassāvī.

If the present tense verb is translated as he sees (passati), and the passive past participle is translated as seen (diṭṭha), how would you translate the meaning of this active past participle?

dassāvī

has seen / had seen / who has seen

Like the passive past participle, they occur mostly as adjectives.

sīlavā … aṇumattesu vajjesu bhayadassāvī

virtuous person … who has seen the danger in the smallest faults

katamo ca, bhikkhave, pariññātāvī puggalo?

Monks, who is the person who has completely understood?

How To Construct Active Past Participle

root + āvī > app

root + tāvī > app

base + āvī > app

       
√ñā ājānāti aññātāvī has understood
√ñā parijānāti pariññātāvī has perfectly understood
√dis passati dassāvī has seen
√bhuj bhuñjati bhuttāvī has eaten
√ji vijināti vijitāvī has conquered
√i abhisameti abhisametāvī has realized

How to Decline Active Past Participle

Active Past Participles are declined in all three genders. They are very regular. The masculine declension is like pakkhī, in feminine like nadī and the neuter like aṭṭhi

  Masculine Feminine Neuter      
nom dassāvī dassāvino dassāvinī dassāviniyo dassāvi
dassāviṃ
dassāvīni
dassāvī
acc dassāviṃ
dassāvinaṃ
dassāvino dassāviniṃ dassāviniyo dassāvi
dassāviṃ
dassāvīni
dassāvī
instr dassāvinā dassāvihi
dassāvīhi
dassāviniyā dassāvinīhi dassāvinā dassāvihi
dassāvīhi
dat dassāvino dassāvinaṃ
dassāvīnaṃ
dassāviniyā dassāvinīnaṃ dassāvino dassāvinaṃ
dassāvīnaṃ
abl dassāvinā
dassāvismā
dassāvimhā
dassāvihi
dassāvīhi
dassāviniyā dassāvinīhi dassāvinā
dassāvito
dassāvismā
dassāvimhā
dassāvihi
dassāvīhi
gen dassāvino dassāvinaṃ
dassāvīnaṃ
dassāviniyā dassāvinīnaṃ dassāvino
dassāvissa
dassāvinaṃ
dassāvīnaṃ
loc dassāvini
dassāvismiṃ
dassāvimhi
dassāvisu
dassāvīsu
dassāviniyā
dassāviniyaṃ
dassāvinīsu dassāvismiṃ
dassāvimhi
dassāvisu
dassāvīsu

Please translate and highlight the syntax of the following:

SN3.13 doṇapākasuttaṃ

tena kho pana samayena rājā pasenadi kosalo doṇapākaṃ sudaṃ bhuñjati.

atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhuttāvī mahassāsī yena bhagavā tena upasaṅkami.