Systematic Outline

The organization of Macdonell's A Vedic Grammar for Students comprises seven primary chapters, three philological appendices, and two registers.

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📑 Overview Table

Section / Chapter	Subject	Book Pages	PDF Pages
Front Matter	Title, Preface, Contents, Abbreviations, Additions	i–xii	1–12
Chapter I	Phonetic Introduction (Sounds, Vowels, Gradation, Consonants)	1–19	13–31
Chapter II	Euphonic Combination (External & Internal Sandhi)	20–46	32–58
Chapter III	Declension (Nouns, Stems, Degrees, Numerals, Pronouns)	47–117	59–129
Chapter IV	Conjugation (Present, Perfect, Aorist, Passive, Participles)	118–207	130–219
Chapter V	Indeclinable Words (Prepositions, Adverbs, Particles)	208–253	220–265
Chapter VI	Nominal Stem Formation & Compounds	254–282	266–294
Chapter VII	Syntax (Word Order, Concord, Cases, Tenses, Moods)	283–368	295–380
Appendix I	List of Verbs (Comprehensive root directory with attestations)	369–435	381–447
Appendix II	Vedic Metre (Metres of Vedic hymn poetry)	436–447	448–459
Appendix III	The Vedic Accent (Systematic accentuation principles)	448–470	460–482
Vedic Index	Two-column index of Vedic word forms	471–498	483–510
General Index	Two-column grammatical and subject index	499–508	511–520

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🔍 Detailed Chapter Breakdown

Front Matter (pp. i–xii)

• Title Page (p. i)
• Imprint (p. ii)
• Preface (pp. iii–viii)
• Contents (pp. ix–x)
• List of Abbreviations (p. xi)
• Additions and Corrections (p. xii)

Chapter I: Phonetic Introduction (§§ 1–66, pp. 1–19)

• Sounds of the Vedic Language (§§ 1–6)
• The Vowels (§§ 7–16)
• Vowel Gradation (§ 17)
• The Consonants (§§ 18–65)
• Ancient Pronunciation (§ 66)

Chapter II: Euphonic Combination (Sandhi) (§§ 67–75, pp. 20–46)

• External Sandhi
• Combination of Vowels (§§ 67–70)
• Combination of Consonants (§§ 71–74)
• Sandhi in Compounds (§ 75)
• Internal Sandhi
• Combination of Vowels
• Combination of Consonants

Chapter III: Declension (§§ 76–125, pp. 47–117)

• Nouns: Consonant Stems (Unchangeable Stems)
• Changeable Stems: Two Stems
• Changeable Stems: Three Stems
• Vowel Stems
• Degrees of Comparison
• Numerals (Cardinals, Ordinals, Numeral Derivatives)
• Pronouns
• Personal Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative & Relative Pronouns
• Possessive & Compound Pronouns
• Pronominal Adjectives

Chapter IV: Conjugation (§§ 126–177, pp. 118–207)

• Introductory & Classification
• The Present System (First and Second Conjugation)
• The Perfect System
• The Pluperfect
• The Aorist System (Simple, Reduplicated, Sigmatic)
• The Benedictive (Precative)
• The Future System (Simple & Periphrastic)
• The Conditional
• The Passive
• Participles, Gerunds & Infinitives
• Derivative Verbs (Causatives, Desideratives, Intensives, Denominatives)

Chapter V: Indeclinable Words (§§ 178–181, pp. 208–253)

• Prepositions
• Adverbial Case-forms
• Adverbs formed with Suffixes
• Conjunctive & Adverbial Particles
• Interjections

Chapter VI: Nominal Stem Formation & Compounds (§§ 182–189, pp. 254–282)

• Primary Suffixes
• Secondary Suffixes
• Nominal Compounds (Dvandva, Tatpuruṣa, Karmadhāraya, Bahuvrīhi, Upapada)

Chapter VII: Syntax (§§ 190–218, pp. 283–368)

• Introductory & Order of Words
• Concord
• Pronouns
• Case-Usage (Nominative, Accusative, Instrumental, Dative, Ablative, Genitive, Locative)
• Participles, Gerund & Infinitive
• Tenses & Moods (Present, Imperfect, Perfect, Aorist, Subjunctive, Optative, Imperative)

Appendices & Indexes (pp. 369–508)

• Appendix I: List of Verbs (pp. 369–435): Exhaustive catalogue of Vedic verbal roots, tense stems, and textual citations.
• Appendix II: Vedic Metre (pp. 436–447): Structural analysis of Vedic metrics (Gāyatrī, Triṣṭubh, Anuṣṭubh, Jagatī, etc.).
• Appendix III: The Vedic Accent (pp. 448–470): Detailed rules of accent placement and cadence in the Ṛgveda and other Saṃhitās.
• Vedic Index (pp. 471–498): Alphabetical glossary of attested forms.
• General Index (pp. 499–508): Subject and terminology register.