30 
LADAKHI GRAMMAR. 
Use of tliis compound tense : 
00 a few verbs use this tense exclusively for the past, for instance 
rgoshes (rgosces ), to must; inces and yodces, to he. Thus 
rgospin, must; inben and yodpin, was. 
Note.—I f there is an i in the stem of the verb, the termination is generally 
pronounced pen, ben. 
(6) all other verbs form their past tense in pin, bin, spin before the 
na, if, of the conditional. Example : hhyorangngis ngala hun 
tangspinna , if you had given me news; 
(c) in the principal sentence answering to the conditional sentence, 
it is good, but not necessary to form the past in bin, pin, 
spin . Examples : hhyorangngis ngala hun tangspinna, nga 
. • \ w ■ i' 
yongspin, if you had given me news, I should have come ; 
las gyogspa cospinna [Zas] cothsar, if you had done the 
work quickly, it would be finished ; 
{d) the past tense in bin, pin, spin is very much used in lively 
conversation, rather more for the first and second persons 
than for the third. In Lower Ladakh this form is used almost 
exclusively. 
Negation: ma is placed before the stem of the verb: ma cospin, did 
not do ; ma yongspin, did not come. 
2. thsar, finished, is joined to the present stem of the verb. Ex¬ 
amples : las de cothsar, the work is done (finished) ; shithsar, he died (is 
dead already); songthsar, he is gone (already). 
This form is perhaps the truest perfect of Ladakhi; it expresses an 
action, finished in the present. 
The verb zaces, to eat, uses the perfect stem ( a changed to o) with 
thsar ; zothar, eaten [up]. 
Negation : ma is placed before thsar. Examples : las de co ma thsar , 
the work is not done; sha darung stub ma thsar, the meat is not yet 
minced. 
3. song, gone, became, is joined to the perfect stem of the verb. Ex¬ 
amples ; cossong, made ; tangssong, gave; zossong , ate. 
This form, together with the form mentioned under ‘ Simple forms 9 
2 , is approximately the historical perfect of Ladakhi. It is used very , 
much for narrative and with the third person. 
Negation : ma is placed before the stem of the verb Examples : ma 
cossong, did not do ; ma tangssong, did not give. 
