The noun-copulatives fall, as regards their inflective form, into two classes:

1. a. The compound has the gender and declension of its final member, and is in number a dual or a plural, according to its logical value, as denoting two or more than two individual things.

b. Examples are: prāṇāpānāú inspiration and expiration, vrīhiyavāú rice and barley, ṛksāmé verse and chant, kapotolukāú dove and owl, candrādityāu moon and sun,hastyaçvāu the elephant and horse, ajāváyas goats and sheep, devāsurā́s the gods and demons, atharvān̄girásas the Atharvans and Angirases, sambādhatandryàsanxieties and fatigues, vidyākarmáṇī knowledge and action, hastyaçvās elephants and horses; of more than two members (no examples quotable from the older language),çayyāsanabhogās lying, sitting, and eating, brāhmaṇakṣatriyaviṭçūdrās a Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaiçya, and Çūdra, rogaçokaparītāpabandhanavyasanāni disease, pain, grief, captivity, and misfortune.

2. c. The compound, without regard to the number denoted, or to the gender of its constituents, becomes a neuter singular collective.

d. Examples are: iṣṭāpūrtám what is offered and bestowed, ahorātrám a day and night, kṛtākṛtám the done and undone, bhūtabhavyám past and future, keçaçmaçrú hair and beard, oṣadhivanaspatí plants and trees, candratārakám moon and stars, ahinakulam snake and ichneumon, çirogrīvam head and neck, yūkāmakṣīkamatkuṇam lice, flies, and bugs.