Evaṃ me sutaṃ

Let us translate a few Pali sentences from the Suttas into English, paying special attention to conjugated forms of verbs in the Past Tense.

1. Agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitā brahmacariyamacariṃsu.

agārasmā anagāriyaṃ = from home to homelessness (ablative-accusative : from-to)
pabbajita (adj, pp) = one who is ordained, gone forth
brahmacariyamacariṃsu = brahmacariyaṃ + acariṃsu
brahmacariya = holy life
acariṃsu (past tense, third person, plural of carati) = (they) lived

Translation : The ones gone forth from home to homelessness lived (practised) a holy life.

2. Ekamantaṃ ṭhitā kho sā devatā bhagavato santike imaṃ gāthaṃ abhāsi.

ekamantaṃ = on one side
ṭhita = (one who is) standing
sā devatā = that deity
bhagavato santike = in vicinity of / in the presence of the Blessed One
imaṃ gāthaṃ = this verse
abhāsi (past tense, third person, singular of bhāsati) = (she) spoke / said

Translation : The deity (who was) standing on one side said this verse in the presence of the Blessed One (Buddha).

3. Na khvāhaṃ, āvuso, bhagavantaṃ iddhiyā upasaṅkamiṃ; napi maṃ bhagavā iddhiyā upasaṅkami.

khvāhaṃ = kho + ahaṃ
āvuso = O friend!
iddhiyā = by psychic power
ahaṃ bhagavantaṃ upasaṅkamiṃ
upasaṅkamiṃ (PT, first p, sing. of upasaṅkamati) = I approached
napi = na + api
maṃ bhagavā upasaṅkami
upasaṅkami (PT, third p, sing. of upasaṅkamati) = (he) approached

Translation : O friend! Neither I approached the Blessed One by psychic power, nor the Blessed One approached me by psychic power.

4. Atha kho mayaṃ, bhante, tesaṃ aññatitthiyānaṃ paribbājakānaṃ bhāsitaṃ neva abhinandimha nappaṭikkosimha.

tesaṃ aññatitthiyānaṃ paribbājakānaṃ = of those mendicants of other sects
bhāsita = speech
neva = na + eva
abhinandimha (PT, first p, pl. of abhinandati) = we approved
nappaṭikkosimha = na + paṭikkosimha
paṭikkosimha (PT, first p, pl. of paṭikkosati) = we rejected

Translation : Venerable Sir! Then we neither approved nor rejected the speech of those mendicants of (belonging to) other sects.

5. Udahārī ahaṃ sīte sadā udakamotariṃ.

udahārī = one who carries / fetches water
sīta = cold, winter
sadā = always
udakamotariṃ = udakaṃ + otariṃ
otariṃ (PT, first p, s. of otarati) = I descended

Translation : I, who fetched water, always descended into the water (even) during winter.

6. Bhūtapubbaṃ samaṇo gotamo anekasatāya parisāya dhammaṃ desesi.

bhūtapubbaṃ = in the past
anekasatāya parisāya = to an assembly of many hundreds
desesi = (PT, third p, s. of deseti) = (he) taught / preached

Translation : In the past, the ascetic Gotama (Buddha) taught dhamma to an assembly of many hundreds.

Please Note :
• We have learnt the conjugated form ‘desesi’ in the Present Tense, where it corresponded to the second person singular form (with the termination ‘si’) and was translated as You (s) teach.
In the Past Tense too, we come across this conjugated form – desesi – which corresponds to third and second person singular. Thus, it is translated as – He / She taught (third person) or You (s) taught (second person).
• In other words, when we come across the verb desesi with a subject in third person, we can easily identify the tense as Past Tense. However, if the subject of desesi is in second person, the sentence can be in Past Tense or Present Tense. In such cases, we need to identify the tense of the sentence from the context and translate it accordingly.
• The above observations hold good for all e-ending verbal bases, as they conjugate in the similar manner as the verbal base dese.

7. Buddho dhammamadesesi, jātiyā samatikkamaṃ;
Sabbadukkhappahānāya, so me sacce nivesayi.

dhammamadesesi = dhammaṃ + adesesi
adesesi (PT, third p, s. of deseti) = (he) taught / preached
jātiyā = of birth
samatikkama = overcoming, passing beyond, crossing over;
sabbadukkhappahānāya = for abandoning of all the dukkha
nivesayi (PT, third p, s. of niveseti / nivesayati) = (he) established
niveseti / nivesayati = establishes, causes to enter
sacce nivesayi = established in the truth

Translation : (by Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi)

8. Varo varaññū varado varāharo anuttaro dhammavaraṃ adesayi.

vara = excellent / best
varaññū = one who knows the (that which is) excellent
varada = one who gives the excellent
varāhara = one who brings the excellent
anuttara = unsurpassed
dhammavara = the excellent Dhamma
adesayi = (PT, third p, s. of deseti / desayati) = (he) taught

Translation : The excellent one, the knower of the excellent, the giver of the excellent, one who brings the excellent, the unsurpassed one taught the excellent Dhamma.

Please note the forms of verbal base ‘dese’ in the above three sentences (6, 7 & 8). All conjugated forms correspond to Past Tense, Third Person, Singular.
desesi – with termination ‘si’,
adesesi – with prefix ‘a’ and termination ‘si’, and
adesayi – from the alternate verbal base ‘desaya’, prefix ‘a’ & termination ‘i’

9. Evaṃ kho ahaṃ, bhante, bhikkhūnaṃ dhammiyā kathāya sandassesiṃ samādapesiṃ samuttejesiṃ sampahaṃsesiṃ.

dhammiyā kathāya = by / with / through a talk on Dhamma
sandassesiṃ (PT, first p, s. of sandasseti) = I instructed / explained
samādapesiṃ (PT, first p, s. of samāpadeti) = I roused / urged
samuttejesiṃ (PT, first p, s. of samuttejeti) = I roused / urged
sampahaṃsesiṃ (PT, first p, s. of sampahaṃseti) = I gladdened / delighted

Translation : Venerable Sir ! Thus I instructed, urged, roused, and gladdened the bhikkhus with a talk on Dhamma.

10. Appekacce maṃ paccuggantvā pattacīvaraṃ paṭiggahesuṃ, appekacce āsanaṃ paññapesuṃ, appekacce pādodakaṃ upaṭṭhapesuṃ.

appekacce = some
paccugantvā = having gone out to meet
paṭiggahesuṃ (PT, third p, pl. of paṭiggaheti) = (they) received / took
paññapesuṃ (PT, third p, pl. of paññapeti) = (they) prepared
pādodakaṃ = water for (washing of) feet
upaṭṭhapesuṃ (PT, third p, pl. of upaṭṭhapeti) = (they) provided / procured

Translation : Having gone out (come forward) to meet me, someone took my bowl and outer robe, someone / other prepared a seat, and another provided water for my feet.