3d pl. ending ate of the pres. indic. middle has in RV. the accent até in a number of verbs (see 613, 685, 699, 719); and an occasional instance is met with in other endings: thus, mahé (see 719, 735).
555. The secondary endings of the second and third persons singular, as consisting of an added consonant without vowel, should regularly (150) be lost whenever the root or stem to which they are to be added itself ends in a consonant. And this rule is in general followed; yet not without exceptions. Thus:
a. A root ending in a dental mute sometimes drops this final mute instead of the added s in the second person; and, on the other hand, a root or stem ending in s sometimes drops this s instead of the added t in the third person – in either case, establishing the ordinary relation of s and t in these persons, instead of s and s, or t and t. The examples noted are: 2d sing. aves (to 3d sing. avet), √vid, AB.; 3d sing. akat, √kṛ, ÇB. aghat, √ghas, JB. AÇS.; acakāt, √cakās, RT.; açāt, √çās, AB. MBh. R.; asrat, √sras, VS.; ahinat, √hiṅs, ÇB. TB. GB. Compare also the s-aorist forms ayās and srās (146 a), in which the same influence is to be seen; and further, ajāit etc. (889 a), and precative yāt for yās (837). A similar loss of any other final consonant is excessively rare; AV. has once abhanas, for -nak, √bhañj. There are also a few cases where a 1st sing. is irregularly modeled after a 3d sing.: thus, atṛṇam (to atṛṇat), √tṛd, KU., acchinam (to acchinat), √chid, MBh.: compare urther[errata 1] the 1st sing. in m instead of am, 543 a.
b. Again, a union-vowel is sometimes introduced before the ending, either a or i or ī: see below, 621 b, 631, 819, 880, 1004 a, 1068 a.
c. In a few isolated cases in the older language, this ī is changed to āi: see below, 904 b, 936, 1068 a.
556. The changes of form which roots and stems undergo in their combinations with these endings will be pointed out in detail below, under the various formations. Here may be simply mentioned in advance, as by far the most important among them, a distinction of stronger and weaker form of stem in large classes of verbs, standing in relation with the accent – the stem being of stronger form when the accent falls upon it, or before an accentless ending, and of weaker form when the accent is on the ending.
a. Of the endings marked as accented in the scheme, the ta of 2d pl. is not infrequently in the Veda treated as unaccented, the tone resting on the stem, which is strengthened. Much less often, the tam of 2d du. is treated in the same way; other endings, only sporadically. Details are given under the various formations below.
Subjunctive Mode.
557. Of the subjunctive mode (as was pointed out above) only fragments are left in the later or classical language: namely, in the
