Re: [tied] Sanskrit and Vedic

From: P&G
Message: 13787
Date: 2002-06-05

> I have been making a start at learning Sanskrit
Good luck! I struggled with the script for some time until I found the
right book.

> What is the situation with Sanskrit prepositions? My Vedic textbook
> has a good list of them, but my Classical Sanskrit textbook does not.

You're right. The older langauge does show more "prepositional" use of its
adverbs. I quote from Whitney:
"The class of prepositions hardly has a real existence, but is represented
by certain adverbial words which are to a greater or lesser extent used
prepositionally."
and:
"There is no proper class of prepositions (in the modern sense of that term)
... But many adverbial words are used with nouns in a way which approximates
them to the more fully developed prepositions of other languages."
and especially:
"Most of the verbal prefixes have their prepositional or quasi-prepositional
uses with cases; but much more widely in the older time than in the later:
in the classical language the usage is mainly restricted to prati, anu and
a:."

Hope that helps.
Peter