I find Optative really straightforward … I look for lots of yys and translate it into English with either English conditional tense or a modal verb, whatever seems to fit the context. 
Perhaps we don’t have ‘Optative’ mood in Thai. The closest I know is ‘Subjunctive’ (not exactly existing in Thai, but I’m used to it in English.)
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This makes me cross (grumpy old lady hat on): these old 20thC linguists muddling Pali Grammar and English Grammar. They are two different grammars.
“Gerund” in Pali is better called the absolutive and refers to things already done, so in English the equivalent is “Having done X, she did Y” or “She did X then Y” or “She did X and Y.”
“Gerund” in English refers to the present participle which basically refers to things in process, “She was Xing, but now she is Ying.” More specifically … “She loves Xing.”
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It is, and I’m so glad I’ve discovered it!
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Oxford dictionary: Gerund = a noun in the form of the present participle of a verb (that is, ending in -ing) for example travelling in the sentence I preferred travelling alone.
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Exactly. A present particlple used not a noun tho, (a substantive!)
I’m going to make a banner that says:
DON’T LEARN ENGLISH GRAMMAR … LEARN PALI GRAMMAR.
I would add that the Pali Optative generally seems equivalent to both the Conditional and the Subjunctive cases in French. The Optative definitely feels like the “moody” verb tense that is the French subjunctive.
I’ve only found Wijayaratna’s translations to be original; the others seem to be French translations of English translations. Malheureusement, Wijayaratna’s first volume only contains D. I 111-149 and D. II 55-71, offering limited opportunities to verify my conclusion. (That is, using Warder’s exercises.) I’ve got the second (and only other) volume on its way; hopefully there’ll be some more DN translations.
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As I remember French, yes.
English subjunctive is dying out, in favour of phrasal verbs. There’s no subjunctive in Australian English, tho I thinks it still gets used in the USA a bit.
Ahhhh…this helps clears up my present participle conundrum in the DPD. I am no longer going to think gerund when it comes to Pali. Way too confusing.
There are heaps upon heaps of interpersonal communications models in the US that perpetuate this, I think. I mean, I feel. Presumably this helps everyone over here communicate better. Hmmm.
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Thank you so much, Bhante @sujato for your teachings today and the past few months. It’s truly valuable to me.
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Were I to use the subjunctive here in New York, I would be understood. But perhaps a bit retro.
Still quite common in the UK though.
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Thank you Bhante Sujato for a stimulating Pali immersion. As the timing is somewhat challenging we will pause for the rest of the year and look forward to joining John Kelly’s class in the new year.
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Decades ago my British professor told me that the subjunctive mood was mainly used in the US, while the UK preferred using modals.
Being old, I don’t think the subjunctive mood is retro. 
https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2015/03/revisiting-the-subjunctive-mood-great-for-persuasion/
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Correct. And in Australia even more so.
Shakespeare would absolutely agree with you.
Where is Marquette Law School tho? … There’s no mention of the subjunctive in this randomly chosen Aussie guide to legal writing:
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Correct! Correct! Correct! (20 character minimum!)
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Marquette is in the US. Honestly I never hear people using the subjunctive anymore. It was taught as the proper way to speak/write but there aren’t that many people who would even know what it is these days. In French, as I alluded to earlier, it’s intrinsic to everyday parlance. Native English speakers struggle with its use (and with it’s horrific – yet beautiful – construction).
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Mr Paliś egs for the Interrogative pronouns in Lesson 12:
Ko dhammam deseti = Who teaches the Dhamma?
Kam buddho deseti = What does the Buddha teach?
Kesam buddho deseti = To whom does the Buddha teach?
Responding to Warderś explanation of the indefinite pronoun in Lesson 14 might it be possible to make these sentences?
Koci dhammam deseti = Someone teaches the Dhamma.
Kamci buddho deseti = The buddha teaches something.
Kesamci buddho deseti = The Buddha teaches anyone (willing to listen).
or
Kassaci eso patto = This bowl is someone’s.