Dear Florent and friends,

thanks for the questions. Please see my opinions below:

--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Florent Robert wrote:

> 1.Sons of the wealthy are not always wise.
> I wrote: Dhanavata.m puttaa pa~n~navanto na bhavanti.
> I am not too sure though where to insert "sadaa" and
> if there's a rule in this regard.

The order of a Pali sentence is S(ubject) O(bject) V(erb), as opposed
to SVO in English. 'sadaa' is an adverb and its position does not
distort its meaning. I would suggest:

Dhanavata.m puttaa sadaa pa~n~navanto na bhavanti.

Furthermore, while I am not a linguist, I think it is the position
of 'na' that will affect the meaning of the sentence.

E.g. Sons of the wealthy are always not wise.
Dhanavata.m puttaa sadaa na pa~n~navanto bhavanti.

Then, na pa~n~navanto would usually become a compound na-pa~n~navanto
or apa~n~navanto(?).

> 2.One who has relations does not fear ennemies
> Bandhumaa ariibhi na bhaayati.
> I am no too sure of the case following to fear. Is it
> ablative?

Yes, I am afraid it is ablative. See Duroiselle's #600(x).

> 6.Today the rich will go to a mountain in the
> Himalayas.
> Dhanavanto ajja Himavantesu giri.m ganissanti.
> I am not sure at all of the position of ajja,
> Himavantesu and giri.m

'ajja' is an adverb of time, so it is placed first in the sentence.
See remark under Duroiselle's #588.

> Thank you very much for your help. By the way, is
> anybody using, or has anybody used the same book. I
> haven't seen many references to it.

You are always welcome to post questions from the book. I have not
really worked through it, but would be glad to help within my means.
Since you are already working on it, if you are keen, you may like to
start a new Pali Day by Day series, and post your answers to the
group. I am sure many people would be happy to see it. There is no
need to post everyday as the name suggests. But, it is entirely up to
you.


metta,
Yong Peng.