A Reference Grammar of Modern Hebrew EDNA AMIR COFFIN Professor Emerita of Hebrew Langtage and Literature Department of Near Eastern Stes University of Michigan SHMUEL BOLOZKY Professor of Hebrew Depectnent of Judaic and Near Easier Studios University of Massachusetts CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESSPURLISHLD AY THE PRESS SYNDICAT# OF THE UNIVERSITY GF CaM The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom ‘The Evinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 449 West 20th Street, Now York, NY [00H1-4211, USA 477 Willismstown Road, Port Melhoume, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alston, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Afiice upc cambridge on ¥ dna Coffix and Shmuel Bolozky 2005 “This book isin copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the prosisios of relevant eofiecive livensing agreements, no reproductionof any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Pres Firs published 2005, Prince in the United Kingdom al the University Pres, Cambridge “Typoser by authors A cotalogue record ofthis hook ts usaituble from the British Library SBN 11921 $2232 ardaack ISBN 4 521 527335 paperback For Led For MicFor Leah, Jonah, Rachel, Aaron and Harlan For Michal and NoaCONTENTS: Preface Chapter 1 Preliminary discussion nem A Parts of speech arp 12 Grammatical functions nepypinyspna 3 13 Words and pattems ormomn 4 La Gender and number soomyn 7 1s ‘Open and closed word more om map 7 classes mmo 16 Phrase constituents paren 12 7 Rules of agreement foRAADSS 13 Chapter 2 Writing and pronunciation peoman 16 21 Introduction xp 16 2 Consonants and nw oranmomwy 17 corresponding sounds oan 23 The Hebrew vowel system) mmayamyMNANW. 2 24 Texts with and without smornoy DPD — 23 vowels men 28 Diacritic marks other than DyNY nan mr 25 vowels, myn 26 Syllables man 27 Stress patteens haven atan 28 28 Dialeetal variation in senna mepyrT ABW SI consonant articulation pay Chapter 3 The verb system bmn sown 33 31 Introduction: verb oman-poramn 33 components 32 Citation forms swaps M4 : 33 Verb tenses Suen net 35 34 Historical notes: Biblical own. ne yoMANMYA 40 tenses and aspects dynga D>OPOONI i 35 ‘Moods and verbal nouns Towa mn orm 44 i 3.6 ‘Verb pattern groups: oma 47 37 Verb categorization oem St 38 With and without linking verbs ryproarpy 52 w39 3.10 Chapter 4 4d 42 43 44 45 46 47 Chapter 5 Su 52 53 5A 55 5.6 37 58 59 Chapter 6 61 62 63 64 Contents Verbs with obligatory prepositions mia oy ayonsin om Active, stative and 9919 JDP POPN DIE inchoative verbs ayer aya Verb pattern groups nan pies Verb pattern: pa‘al (op) 99 ya Verb pattern: nifal sya ya Verb pattern: pie! oye) ye pa Verb pattern: pu‘al (oon0) v9 pa Verb pattern: hlipa ‘el syopa ya Verb pattern: hifi Dysa sa Verb pattern; inf'al overm bygn pa ‘The noun system pw nowe Introduetion to the noun system naw) sD own Indefinite and detinive Down oyTPA mine noun forms oyna Gender features yon avon Number features aopan neon Noun patterns yoy pron Nouns derived from verbs oye o> Mav Noun patterns associated mbya by nan with semantic teatures swren0 meron Significant patterns with wpa nv ov nPIA no semanti¢ association ror ‘Acronyms apron Pronouns ome Forms of personal pronouns pexpanono Independent subject mo qp pronouns Pronoun suffixes and ayn) oan oD profixes in verbs and in ynoa (more Ww existential expressions yp ora Pronouns suflixed to nouns —_nyaye> ONAN D>? and prepositions om mind ov? 33 34 56 a 81 90 7 108 9 Ds 125 132 137 139 143 17 153 155 158 158 160 64 os 65 66 67 Chapter 71 72 13 74 138 76 WF 78 Chapter: 81 82 83 84 85 86 Chapter‘ 9o 92io oro99 mmnsye on» PPOPN OVD woe as rent a {op} 2y9 PUT supa 379) 299 Pa nna) 89 73 Syana yes ‘Sygn ya inh ven yo pen nawe Pow NII ben >yiPm Maw oye pennpnan pon MON yoo VAN om mine ya oY HN omDD SPIN by ovnman rome pnpron oon? eonean no me qn PTA OM par (TPSNO IK. orp prea yan o> )mipnab avy 3h 56 56 n 81 90 ” 108 19 128 12s re 132 137 139 143 147 153 158 158 160 164 168 65 6.6 67 Chapter 7 1 12 13 14 15 16 a 18 Chapter 8 81 83 ka 85 86 Contents Demonstrative pronouns Interrogative and relative pronouns Impersonal pronouns Numerals Free counting Cardinal numbers Noun phrases with cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers Fractions Multiplication values Numeric value of letters Phrases: days of the week, dates, telling time, age Adjectives Introduetion: forming adjectives Comparative and superlative adjectives Forming adjectives by adding suffix -i Nouns and adjectives of affiliation Participles that function as adjectives ‘Special patterns Adverbs and adverbial expressions Introduction Adverbs grouped according to form a> DPI TONY YD bean oD enon nro fone) pawn D> 90D Dy D> Y OOTY Dn Dna ern onapn (omrro) ow ‘pe2 de mopin Tyr nym dp» Dory (awn yen >a aww (oun rnin) ain maw maw ney? NI awn Axnwn Sy On, yw sy ton mov my > nomi mynn oANM MU mow sporporennap smTpannn wa MNS paxna anytape npnan, sores dynan Mann won 30 vedy oe MD osmy 170 ia 16d. v7 ut 182 183 187 188 189 190 191 194 194 195 17 lox 202 204 209 209 20993 94 95 Chapter 10 10 10.2 103 104 10.5 106 107 Chapter 11 a M2 113 1a Is ne 4? 18. 19 1110 Wad Contents Adverbs grouped according.» Symon nD to funetion omrpon Adverbs and ‘degree’ words mp owen pp Sentential adverbs vow men Particles a> Introduction ran ‘The particle “et” betore eb HY Senn definite direct objects om Dany OOS pen emnow Prepositions: prefixes, ARON MPD independent prepositions YTS OM» nD Prepositions or adverbs? yn nxn NOM mM Coordinating and erp mo ‘correlative conjunctions Subordinators naw min Exclamation particles and roar mp nD expressions moap Noun phrases pony prorny Introduction to noun phrases Drops) aan ome Noun phrase: noun + 4 Dy OY oanw qYPE adjective awn ow Comparative and moan NIM NA ANID superlative adjcctives Apposition noun phrases amon ory Construct phrases min ary Phrases of possession yap ary Phrases with yer oy OOTY demonstrative pronouns Prepositional phrases on rors ‘Numerical and quantifier nd aspp 97s phrases ‘Noun phrases with ipa oy DMDW OOTY determiners mn Gerunds and infinitives in yna mewn abwwa nyw. noun phrases omy Derpsa 228 225 2s 228 2a 246 248 250 252 252 253 260 261 28 27 281 281 283 287 Chapter 11 122 123 124 125 126 127 Chapter 1B 132 1B3 134 BS Chapter Mt 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 14.10 laay ANON ND ‘anrppan mi>m) DINO ap vaum ion svhn wo Don" me D»DY DOTS wen NBN SY nn sore ms v9. OY MODI nx AY MIN awe myn ‘nowy mn NANMP I anne ray DION Diary N10 ome Dy Samy APS. won pe my MEIN aman sory m00 Ty yap rary, 9 BY DIAN, nny >) napn Oy any DEY myn py rows maw any OOPII 23 24 28 25 225 225 m4 246 248 250 252 252 253 257 260 261 25 a 281 281 283 287 Chapter 12 RA 122 123 125 126 127 Chapter 13 13.1 13.2 133 1B4 135 Chapter 14 141 142 143 4a l4s 146 147 148, $49 14.10 14.11 Contents Verb phrases Introduction to verb phrases ‘Verb phrases: verbs and objects Compound verb phrases Grouping verbs by semantic considerations Modal verbs Habitual aspect phrases Subjunctive and possibility phrases Modal verbs and expressions Introduction to modality Modal verb phrases Impersonal modal expressions ‘Temporal aspects in modality Modality expressed by phrases with an Clauses and sentences Jatroduction Verbal sentences Nominal sentences Equational sentences Existential sentences Sentences of possession Ellipticat sentences Classification of sentences by function Sentence classification by structure ple sentences Coordinate/compound sentences embsne pars am syio DeMyy NIA syn -proe Das Devin aon D> Dsrvs Deres Sy wD WPo ora BND OD pba) wpapn arys OND, PN OMDS mweNt povbxetig Brea) DrbYD DYONTIND NAD Dm eRTa and DOTY oan OMdNTDD OMT sINTINA IA VPIDN by oma AYN a vow mpros xD ‘omyye owwD Demy owavD amt wsuD erp pawn yap wewD ‘Don owswD rad owUD IP oPpan Dian ‘9 >y DOB D prowe owO"D mixn owavn fonminny 288 288 288 201 297 298 298 299 300 301 305 306 au a4 34 316 318. 318 323 324 330 332 334 335 337xii Contenss 1412 Complex sentences pases — 338 14.13 ‘Complement clauses moyen rps M0 a4 Attributive clauses wNMnypIOD 3M The main 14s Relative clauses npr mppis 345 Modern | 14.16 Adverbial clauses rhea nypIws 349 readers 4 14.17 Conditional sentences oxen veoun 357 ‘The inte 14.18 Integeatcd sentences mabwnovwe 37 who are comprehs Chapter 15 Language in context wpm pws 364 of Hebre 15.1 Introduction xmp 6d have a t 18.2 Sentence or utterance? waar vows 365 linguistic 153 Topie and comment ymin — 366 culture. P 154 Focus and topic Nv 369 possible, 155 Deixis — reference to Amd monmenm apm — 369 complex | person, titne and place piprin yo as possib 136 Reported speech —direct_ PPM! WPT 373 weight to and indisect 137 Language registers qwosbyp 377 “The book 158 Genres of text ope bem 38 spoken 159 Cohesion and coherence apo mp 382 Hebrew ( of text both as 15.10 Language in context: mont wens Ww? 384 equivalen sample texts Hebrew g Appendices pineps 390 A Refere Appendix 1 Verb tables poe nyys my — 390 Appendix 2 Noum tables mew AYO mM — 416 uses. ‘The Appendix 3 Particle tables nya mm 425 formal tu Appendix 4 Punctuation rules prornrsa 424 applied b Appendix 5 Plene writing Noa2ns 436 perceive formal 1 Index of grammatical topics DApNpT OWN OPIN — 438 particular normative more forn there isa languages The form: structuresDMDowID — 338 Preface Sun mvp 340 sngspies 344 The main purpose of this book is to serve as a reference grammar for APEnypIwD — 345 Modern Hebrew. Itis designed to teach about the language and to give nmeMPpID — 349 readers a reference toal for looking up specific details of the language. yon rose 357 ‘The intended audience is a varied one; it includes non-native speakers pwn oreo 337 who are students of Hebrew, native speakers of Hebrew who seek a comprehensive coverage of Hebrew grammar, instructors and teachers swpnawwy 364 of Hebrew, students and scholars of Biblical Hebrew who would like to mina 364 have a better understanding of contemporary Hebrew, students of yam wwovD — 365 linguistics, and the general public interested in Hebrew language and prmNeD 366 culture, Particular care was taken to make the presentation as simple as pee 369 possible, and to avoid use of excessive linguistic terminology or Sonm win 369 complex linguistic analyses, in order to make this volume as accessible oypahn yet? as possible to everyone, and to give pedagogical considerations equal yep nT 373 \weight to those of linguistic explanations and analysis, yworbun 377 ‘The book is based on the study of formal Hebrew and of Hebrew as a pv Iw MD 3K spoken language, and it includes some historical notes on pre-modemn Pay mP EM BRP : Hebrew (Biblical and Post-Biblical). We consider the Hebrew language : both as a system and as a communicative tool. Whenever possible, bana es 384 equivalent Hebrew terminology is given in order to facilitate use of Hebrew grammar and language textbooks. nop: 390 A Reference Grammar of Modern tlebrew combines modern and yoo? mms 390 : traditional approaches in the description of language structures and wv TIN — 416 uses. The term ‘normative’ is used to convey the adherence t0 the avy mny 425 formal rules of grammar, while ‘common use” alludes to the rules PIs! — 428 applied by educated speakers in their daily use. While most speakers Noon 436 i perceive ‘correct’ Hebrew to be the language usage as prescribed by the formal rules of Hebrew, in fact their own actual language usage, particularly in informal contexts, often departs somewhat from the nonmative rules. The language is thus described both in its written and tore formal contexts, and in the spoken conversational mode, where there is a relaxation of some of the normative rules, as is common to all languages in use, DRUM DPIIN. 438 | The formal presentation of rules and tables associated with language structures uses Hebrew texts with vowels, won ano kfiv haser, whilexiv Preface the cxamples, on the whole, use X91 2n9 Ktiv malé, without vowels, as in daily use in contemporary Hebrew adult texts, A Reference Grammar of Modern Hebresv is organized according to universal structural categories. The book describes the basic structures ‘of Modem Hebrew, and provides a generous number of examples, 1 based on the authors’ experience of teaching Hebrew to English- 1 speaking students, and research work in the field of Hebrew linguistics. | | We wish to acknowledge our colleague Robert Hoberman, Professor of Linguistics at the State University of New York Stony Brook, whose I feedback comments were very insightful and helpful from both ! linguistic and pedagogical aspects. We also wish to acknowledge Liz Brater, who as a student of Hebrew gave us much needed insight into 14 Par carers” needs, and as a professional editor, helped us with organizing One of t the text. We are particularly thankful to her, since she found time of langua during her busy schedule as a Michigan State Senator, to do careful of spect reading of large parts of the text. In addition, we thank Neta Bolozky in contex and Tris Coffin for their steady support during the writing of the book, parts-ofs We also wish to express our gratitude to Cambridge University Press subject 0 for the opportunity to write and publish this work. modifier tems bel present di June 2004 dependen The follo\ In many characteris Thus, fori ‘bo nounswithout vowels, as nized according to the basic structures mber of examples, ebrew to English- Hebrew linguistics. erman, Professor of tony Brook, whose helpful from both o acknowledge Liz, needed insight into hus with organizing ee she found time nator, to do careful hank Neta Bolozky aiting of the book. ge University Press Chapter 1 Preliminary discussion LL Parts of speech 1.2 Grammatical functions 1.3. Words and patterns 14 Gender and number 1.3 Open and closed word classes 1.6 Phrase constituents 1.7 Rules of agreement 1.4 Parts of speech One of the major issues in the presentation of grammar is the definition of language categories. Language categories can be described as parts of speech, ie. language units in isolation, or in terms of their function in context, For instance, a noun can be described as belonging to the parts-of-speech category ‘nout’, and also as functioning either as a subject or an object within the clause or sentence structure, as the modifier of another noun, etc. While we recognize that all language items belong to a whole network of interrelationships, we shall limit the present discussion to context-free (i.e., parts-of-speech), and context- dependent (ie., functional) relationships. The following are the main traditional categories of parts of speech: Verbs oye ‘Nouns nine Pronouns qnmnys Adjectives: cnn nie Adverbs Suan non Prepositions om nin Conjunetions san mye In many cases, the distinction between the _part-of-speech characterization of some item and its funetion in context is obvious. ‘Thus, for instance, in the noun phrase 5°90 mn ‘bookstore’, we have ‘wo nouns (part of speech), and although the second one is a modifier2 Chapror 1: Pretimtinary discussion of the first, and thus functions as if it were an adjective, itis still a noun from the part-of-speech point of view. On the other hand, there are words that even in isolation cannot be assigned unambiguously to a single category. Every word functions as at least one part of speech, but there are words that can serve as two or more parts of speech, depending on the context, For instance, some present participle forms can function as verbs én the present tense, as nouns or as adjectives: Noun The new worker did notarrive Opn yar No Winn BEA at work today, may? Verb ‘The computer does not work syxn> boi9 N> av properly. Adjective The executive (working) snbynd ona gran Tw committze decided (0 raise panna membership fees. ‘The same word can also function as both an adjective and an adverb: Adjvetive The director is a difficult man, DUP wx RIA drBAA Adverh He makes everyone work hard, _.0>v> nN WD “ayn AAA Below are some illustrations of parts of speech and grammatical functions, A more detailed discussion will follow in the main chapters of the book. Verbs ays Verbs in tense Dan huttied home, Awan 2p 1 ‘They will oppose the plan for snypon sP 2nd MP On ideological reasons. SWPWOTN Non-finite verbs Dan wants éo nun in the Boston jopaa yma yn S07 1T Marathon. Nouns and pronouns Brn Ame Nouns I have coffee and cake for you. ‘yoawa pawn 19299 w» Verbal nouns Dan is 2 cooking expert 21w39 AnD T She proved a profound understanding = Awa NPyAY Da ANIA of the subject. Persona He likes Demons This food Adjecti Adjective He is an. Adjective This stud Adverbs He cooks Particles Prepositi Dan goes Conjunet De you w ‘Subordin They wen recommer Interroga Who is th Interjectic Queht Ith 1.2 Grar Another + grammati describe tjective, it is still 2 e other hand, there snambiguously to a me patt of speech, pars of speech, nt perticiple forms fa adjectives: yn No wann ABT aay ITD BAY ND awNDA ro orn sign BAN aannowt nx and an adverb: AE WN RIN DNDBA > nN DUD PayD NIA and grammatical n the main chapters anys aman 2p 1 op spain YUP DA DVAODN yma nb ayn ont naw praya pan nap 1 w wa ANN 1 ny an AMDIA ON Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion 3 Personal pronouns He likes to cook and she likes to eat Demonstrative pronouns This food is Moroccan food. Adjectives Adjectives in noun phrases He is an excellent cook, Adjectives as predicates ‘This student is talente Adverbs He cooks a lot but eats litle. Partictes Prepositions Dan goes with friends to shows. Conjunetions Do you want to walk or to go by car? ‘Subordinators ‘They went to the restaurant that 1 recommended. Interrogatives Who is this? Imerjections Ouch! Ic hurts! 1.2 Grammatical functions any RD) va? IMR NID YON? oprye 9998 NOT TET 9ONNAL awn nme “Pap Pern wom mnpadAA ayioa in “yp YN Pan D970 DwIB NI neeninten smasng onan oy TINT syns) py Duna N99 OY OM onyonn moyy mypnd yadn On ey raya mr Another way to classify the components of an utterance is by their grammatical flmction. Here are some of the terms that are used to describe the oles the parts of speech play in sentences: Subject Predicate Attribute Object Adjunct ND nwa onnD Rew nov4 Chapter I: Preliminary discussion Subject xen Noun phrases ‘The new cook is from France. Tet NIN WINN Navn Subordinate clauses That he studied cooking in France is wy NP Nowa dws Hy Ninw of no interest to me. S922 NN Predicate xiv Verb predicates Dan started studying in the summer. sop3 1ya22 nnn yt Nominal predicates He is a student in law school. vovnd nvD PEA PHbN NIN Attribute od Expansion of phrases with additional information Dan met friends ftom work ata pub 39. aNo3 MAYA OMAN wD 17 ond onney Object complement aren xen Direct object Dan met his friends. Joy mana my voy Indirect abject Dan got together with his friends, Jw DIN oy wD) YT Adjunct nge2 Temporal ‘Dan was not at home this morning. (20a 933 AND WT Spatial ‘Dan traveled in England for three DIWNI OWTIN NWADY D0 IT months. 1.3 Words and patterns pent oa on All verbs, many nouns, and a good number of adjectives and adverbs are based on a combination of roots and pattems. The root wise shoresh is @ consonantal skeleton. Tt is a hypothetical sequence of consonants shared by related words. Roots do not constitute actual words. Each one is applied to a patter, from which actual words are formed. In the ver system the pattern is called 2 binyan, and elsewhere itis called Sper misieka. Verbs Gloss ‘wrote dictated Nouns ar Gloss magician charming ‘There are person sin ‘of these prototypic with the p paval nifal piel pwal hitpa'et nif hu at The root e second 10 ‘consonant Vert tow Or (orpxen nye min ying navn pay3 WP THY MAN 593 TON xa pa Tyabe nan yt > moped padn NIN nent hay Oran v39 7 pansy oven Kw py DyTanAL NN U9 YT pe oan py W999 17 ns01 apn 9a AE YT penn nerdy do 17 pent oa om jectives and adverbs hetical sequence of pot constitute actual jeh actual words are sd wna binan, aud Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion Verbs Gloss Word wrote a7? dictated pay Nouns and adjectives Gloss Word magician (noun) Dep charming (adjective) o> pPR wa bya ven baen Dyna. o yD ww 279 enw mop ‘There are seven verb pattern groups (binyanim) in Hebrew. The third person singular in the past tense is traditionally used to represent each of these groups. To label each of these groups generically, a prototypical root is used, The generic verb 599 is used in combination with the pattem of each Binyan, giving it its name. Binyan’s name pa‘al 7D nifal oe piel ora oye pwal connor rp hritpa’et dys hif'id 0 hua covery oo Citation Form Pt Wy fv) 780 (pore) pe von wepn (osm) npn ‘The root consonant is labeled byio7 °9 (marked in English as C\). The second root consonant is labeled sven ‘y (C2) and the third root consonant is byron > (Cs). Verb form Binyan Root pay pa wy DD (ovary ne qwiywe M09 anepa yann ae pr oy (oop) ereD_— yO cows seal ig > > v n a 2 sions v > v ° 2 2 26 Chapter &: Preliminary discussion A comparative note Pristing The verb pattern groups in Hebrew are somewhat similar to special New ver groups of verbs in English, where the base undergoes predictable Existing internal changes, and the modifications within the stem are regular. New vert ‘Some examples of such groups: (a) drive-drove-driven, write-wrote-weitten, ride-rode-ridden 1.4 Gen (b) speak-spoke-spoken, fieeze-froze-frozen, stcal-stole-stoten Nouns, a ender is Although the root does not exist on its own, many words sharing a between common root fend to have a common meaning or related meaning. contities: Verbs features, Gloss Citation form biovan Root and abst tie awe yo eP The biolo be tied wR yet feminine get in touch; get connected wea? yan Other no and canne Nouns and adjectives Gloss ‘There are tied, connected (adj.) wep wn singular n fie, connection (noun) mee ow feminine context (noun) owen oe Aa -a or suffixes ¢ swwth on ITA frequently New words in Hebrew, as in other Semitic languages, are formed in nouns, w hwo ways: necessaril |. Linearly, without affecting the base for derivation, For instance, the adjective "yay ‘public, in the public domain’ is derived from the noun 7123 “the public” Verb form past and There are also cases of chains of derivations personal Noun child my verb forms Abstract noun derived from -12» childhood mm Adjective derived from 177 omy ‘Abstract noun derived from »ma>>: childishness —_nvney: 1.5 Oper The parts 2. New verbs can also be derived from an existing root, by combining it categories: with an existing derivation pattem. For instance, the following recent consist of verbs were formed with existing roots and their new combination with various pa patterns:t similar «0 special dergoes predictable e stem are regular. de-ridden stole-stolen ny words sharing a Jated meaning. binyan — Root bye eP bya dyann Root an wD oe ow niw7n oven VTA tages, are formed in on. For instance, the erived from the noun ae ood mt sh oe shness mPa cool, by combining it the following recent ew combination with Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion 1 Existing verbs write 27? New verb in shifel pattern rewrite aney Existing verb act, do 9 New verb in fife patter: operate, activate byan 1.4 Gender and number wont yn Nouns, adjectives and verbs have gender and number features, The gender is either masculine 723 or feminine A3P2. A distinetion is made between two major noun categories: [1] nouns that represent living entities: human beings and other fiving beings with biological gender features, and (2) nouns that represent other entities, mostly inanimate and abstract nouns (for example, objects, concepts, plants and others). ‘The biological gender of tiving beings and theit inherent masculine or feminine features are reflected in their grammatical gender features, Other nouns have an assigned grammatical gender, which is prescribed and cannot be predicted. ‘There are regular number features, which indicate whether a noun is a singular noun APH» or whether it is @ plural noun mavoran. The feminine singular noun endings (n7>m) are frequently marked by a final i> -a or a final m- -1. The plural noun endings are represented by the suffixes © -im and nm -of, In nouns the plural ending © -im most frequently but not necessarily reflects the masculine gender of the nouns, while the plural ending m- -of most frequently but not necessarily reflects the feminine gender of the nouns. (See pp.130-139 for more information) Verb forms in Hebrew also have gender and number features, In most past and future tenses they also have subject person features, ic personal pronoun features (I, you, he), which are often affixed to the verb forms, (See pp.36-38 for more information) 4.5 Open and closed word classes The parts of speech can be classified as belonging to two large categories: to ‘open’ classes or to ‘closed’ classes. The open classes ‘consist of these parts of speech: verb, noun, adjective, and adverb, The various particles (prepositions and conjunctions and others) are closed8 Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion classes, The closed classes are fixed sets of a limited anmber of function words, whereas the open classes have a large membership. 1.5.1 Open classes ‘These are productive classes to which new words are continuously added, responding to the need for new vocabulary to serve the changing times. The new words are added cither according to existing rules of morphology for the formation of new words, or by borrowing words from other languages and either Jeaving them as they are, or adapting them (o Hebrew structures and patterns. The closed classes resist the addition of new members, Formation of verbs ‘Adaptation from existing words: Gloss Derived Verb Derived Root Gloss Base to market ey Pr < market pw to report mm eT < report en sn t- prefix added to existing roots: Gloss Derived Ver Derived Root Gloss Root to communicate apr een < tie ep tobrier wine Dat < guide ca sh- prefix added to existing roots: Gloss Derived Verb, Derived Root Gloss to subjugate yay aU < Work tw rewrite 2 ano < write Formation of nouns Derived from verbs Gloss Derived Noun Gloss Base Root frame mga close meee guard, watch syn guard apy Hew Derived from other nouns. Gloss DerivedNoun Gloss Base brotherhood mip brother ny privacy soy individual vy Derived ‘Gloss permissi health Borrow Direct bo high tect prime tn boss Deriving | Gloss subsidize sympathi Borrowed Plural Su Femi Adjective Note that languages litte alte “televisio borrowed system. F vowel m “subsidy” 1.5.2 Clo The closet such as:on limited number of ge membership, is are continuously > serve the changing to existing rules of yy borrowing words hey are, or adapting ed classes resist the loss Bass parket pte eport ret rite Base Ww ay Chapter t: Preliminary discussion 9 Derived from agjectives Gloss Derived Noun Gloss, Base permissiveness mmpnp permissive apap health meng healthy ya Borrowing words from other languages Direct borrowing of nouns: high tech poo prime time py oD boss oa Deriving new verbs from borrowed words: Gloss Derived Ver Extracted Root Gloss Base subsidize Tee TOD subsidy PERO sympathize venp — veas-0 sympathy «RPS Borrowed words with Hebrew suffixes Plural Suffixes intellectuals mnbenopronN Feminine ending Practice props Adjective endings digital myo mrrpoT Note that the noun system is the most open, aud nouns ftom other languages can be adopted into the language without alterations or with little alteration, such as DION ‘atom’, 1250 ‘telephone’, YM “television”, rpxiuae ‘technology’, and many others. However, new borrowed verbs and adjectives require adaptation into the existing system, For instance, the verb 7939 sibsed “to subsidize” above requires vowel modification from the borrowed noun nypeae suhsidya ‘subsidy’ in order to fit into a Hebrew verb pattern 1.5.2 Closed classes The closed classes of words consist of the grammatical function words, such as: 1. Pronouns At Nn aN 2. Prepositions 3-7 O3N 08 3. Conjunetions ban 4, Determiners n 5. Quantifiers ongon w na7,73 6. Subordinators awry10 Chaprer 1: Pretiminary discussion All of the above do not have gender or number features, and as a general rule, do not fill the slot of the head of a phrase. They are called closed because they contain a limited number of items, and their membership is not likely to be expanded. Function words are hardly ever borrowed from other languages, Prepositions ont nin Prepositions are usually followed by noun phrase or by a pronoun suffix, Prepositions function as heads of propositional phrases. Some verbs must be followed by obligatory prepositions. Some prepositions are followed by a subordinating particle -y that introduces a subordinate clause. Prepositional phrase After the holiday meal ann dv nAMNN AN ‘Subordinating item: preposition + clause After they ate the holiday meal, ANMNA TN WAN DAY Yan Determiners, articles and quantifiers gre nin Articles, determiners, and quantifiers precede and modify nouns: Not everyone agrees with you. ‘and’ and »> “because” and WN ‘or’, They an be found in several levels of the hierarchy: words, phrases, or clauses, Phrases Who is the boss here, you, or your PRN IN ANN ND DIA» brother? Are you and your brother going to swab ovadi7 pay aANN the office? Clauses There is. come and Subordi ‘The mos which as object (e but only clause, W Reporting We all kn say this. Ata press Secretary important place. Introducin The girl w is my cous The patien became va in its field Introducing He did not plane was | He came to was sick. Interrogat Interrogatiy statements “who?” of about time pose questi ask to quant; features, and as a ase. They are called of items, and their an words are hardly one nin se ot by a pronoun jonal phrases, Some . Some prepositions that introduces a ann by pnTANA ON P.M YPIKLOAY ON eee nion nodify nouns: pr IOH DHONI ND yan Yo wr aaMND NIT swe waa 7nd an nien and wv ‘or’. They words, phrases, or IW AAN pO DID D7 Dvsbin PMN} ANA Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion n Clauses ‘There is enough food, and you can all abn aK PDR v come and cat. DiaNd Pa? DD Subordinators. Taye nin ‘The most frequently used subordinator is the particle ~y ‘that’, after which a subordinate clause follows, When the subordinate clause is an ‘object (complement) clause, the word °3 can be used as a subordinator but only in higher registers. When the subordinate clause is a relative clause, “WH may be used in higher registers. Reporting We all know that you did not mean to. maMaAANY ANA DYTY WO say this, ava Ww Ata press conference the American JU 7ON COI REDD Secretary of State said that an dy on 22 9pMONA YAR important strategic change has taken anen nv7w0N place. Introducing a relative clause ‘The girl who is walking towards us -na xen wNAN_Y ANA’ TUNA ig my cousin, oom ‘The patient’s rights law, which (p92) WH MINA NM PIN became valid in 1996, is a pioneer Yon wn ,1996 mwa pre in its field yeinna Introducing an adverbial clause He did not arrive on time because his aan asyMAR NIT plane was late. anon wowny He came to the office even though he mayan? Twn’ xa NIA was sick, abn Interrogatives pinw mien Interrogatives are question words or phrases used to transform statements (© questions. They can be pronoun question words ‘who?’ or tmp ‘what?". They can also be adverbial question words about time Pm ‘when? or about location mane *where?”. They can pose questions about the reason for doing something tad ‘why’! or ask to quantify things +799 ‘how much? how many?"2 Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion ‘Questions about the subject or obj Who called you? YPN yorV 2» ‘What did he tell you on the phone? mayva 7 we NM AD ‘Questions about time or location: ‘When is Dan coming? aeiad avin yn Where is he going? spa NIE, Where will he be this evening? nym MP NN DMN, Questions about cause or reason: Why doesn’t Dan want to come? read nay ND YT ABS Why was he so late? Mp dD INN NIA ITD ‘Questions with prepositions: The question words »9 and np can be preceded by prepositions, as in 9¥ mip ‘about what?”, or 2 oy “with whom”, About whom did you talk? roNy2°T 9 Dy ith whom did you go to the movies? symdnp’ onabn vw py Interjections axng niin Interjections are words or phrases used to exelaim or protest or command, They sometimes stand by themselves, but they are often contained within larger structures, Most interjections are usually used in speech. Nice! You finished everything on yota don OMImo rn time. Wow! I won the lottery! sewn na nnn DBA We won ~ Hallelujah eman- yn How awful! Everything is lost. TYPND T9737 NINN 1.6 Phrase constituents Observe the following sentence: ‘Stall children go to kindergarten, Jp) BIN BILD DTD ‘The sentence can be clearly divided into two main constituents; verb phrase noun phrase yd mab Dp o> Each of form the is a-verb while th central it the prep inderga A phrase call the the syntac Only wor combine they cons organized componen Types of p Head word in contex Types of pl Head word In contex 1,7 Rules The head determines forms in the head noun « between any or beyond, Let's see ho features of s¢ + Head © Adjepon poo 2 neboa TP aN AON ND aN awn 7H Tp Nn PVA RIND apa? nya ND YTD? Mp9 MAK NIAID prepositions, as in 99 roma yy ynbipd oroon 2 oy aRng nn xelaim or protest or s, but they are often tions are usually used yor. 59n ony na pn nN onnMan 979 pnboa - wna phe on 937 ANY IN yo orm onwp on in constituents: un phrase = sop o> Chapter 1: Preliminary discussion B Each of these constituents is a phrase and the two of them together form the sentence, The first onc is a noun phrase, while the second one is a verb phrase. The central item of the noun phrase is 0°72? ‘children’, while the modifying item is t»x9p ‘small’, In the verb phrase, the central item is the verb or22yn “go”, and the destination is indicated by the prepositional phrase that completes the verb phrase 9 ‘to kindergarten’, ‘A phrase, as we saw above, consists of an obligatory item, which we call the head or nucleus, and itis always essential to the phrase. It sets the syntactic category of that phrase Other elements may be optional Only words that belong to open classes can be heads of phrases. They combine with other words to form larger units, and within the phrase they constitute the central item around which the other words are organized. Head nouns determine the gender and number of the other components in the phrase, as well as in the sentence. Types of phrase: noun phrase Head word - noun: na “language” In context: [The Hebrew language] changes. -n»nun (nmayn nevA] Types of phrase: verb phrase Head word - verb: wp “bought” In context; The children [bought ice cream]. Inpba yp) ora 1.7 Rules of agreement ‘The head of a syntactic unit, such as a phrase, a clause or @ sentence determines many of the features of the other nouns, adjectives or verb forms in these units. Beyond the phrase there is agreement between the head noun of a subject and its predicate (verb, noun or adjective), or between any noun and its co-referent pronoun anywhere in the sentence or beyond, Let’s see how the head noun in the following sentence determines the features of some other components in the sentence: Jy Disbin DEP DMD» © Head noun: 04%. Gender: masculine, Number: plural, © Adjective reflects the features of the head noun: 20>.4 Chaprer I: Preliminary discussion © The verb reflects the plural masculine features of the head aoun: O25%7 4.7.4 Gender agreement 1. Noun phrase: head noun + adjective ‘The new movie sounds interesting. yuyn yaw wInn wren The new exhibit is attracting a lot of” a2vin avinn panynn visitors. They say that itis very PY OMEN OAD interesting, sane PVD 2, Noun phrase: head noun + demonstrative pronoun Since demonstrative pronouns can modify nouns in a noun phrase, they agree in gender and number with the head nouns. ‘This pool is an Olympic pool. many NOMA NDAD DP That game was riveting. pmo mn ann pnwmr 3. Noun phrase + verb predicate Nira was accepted to work in the Sw Tena preys nbapnn mp office of an architectural firm. They yO AMEN arp YP hired her as soon as she finished her arm pin oy studies. Noam works in a bank. Many friends ow o»a9 oman .psma tay oy oLhis work there. ov ora 4. Noun phrase + adjective predicate Your choice (is) very good. cnx naw Tw ana ‘The voting rate (is) low. cpap twas we 1.7.2 Number agreement 1, Noun phrase: head noun + adjective ‘The new plays are interesting. oyye evn mmNN We strolled in the small streets of the yn bv pHopa mana we town. 2. Sentence: noun phrase + predicate: verb Moshe and Danny arrived late. amen wan yn AWD live in the dorms, -myyn2 pea Dn apy Aliza and Di 3. Senter ‘These flo Thesitls particular 1.7.3 Ag J will fini ‘You didn’ Personal person tha The girls Her parent hungry. 1.7.4 Defi ‘When the However, noun does Indefinite Theve are s there. We bought Did you vis ‘When the h definite, A ¢ atticle, or 0 when the nc not influene Definite hea The blossom His second y Our Tana ispum yobs yInn won wip WIN ADMD DvR.)3 OP PID Axa AI sun na noun phrase, they po7 en MAND DISA mn TPA NIN DAWA a rmayb poapEn a MIN IVD .DAYPOrDAN spre on oy y ovnan psa Tay DYN voy ‘pee paw 1 NIN “Dapryasan ww nome DIN wADA orvpT MINA BENE spin yon TDD, pstyna ND APT To Chapter 1: Pretiminary discussion Is 3, Sentence: noun phrase + predicate: adjective ‘These flowers are very prety. “nen ON ANA OHNADD The gitls in my class are not ymMan xb psa man particularly friendly. san 1.7.3 Agreement in person L will finish the paper tomorrow. nn mmtayA me RN Ke ‘You didn’t hear the bell? enbyn ne BABY No ONN Personal pronouns (subject, object, possessive, cte.) reflect the person that they represent. ‘The girl said that she was hungry. TAY? poe TN DT Her parents also said that they were peay9 On’ WN PN Br hungry. 1.7.4 Definite/Indefinite status When the head noun is indefinite, so is the adjective that modifies it However, when the noun modifier is a prepositional phrase, the head noun does not influence it Indefinite head noun ‘There are small and nice restaurants. MV7aN MBP AVVOR Ov v there. We bought an old house, wre Did you visit any art museums? IOWANS DNOINA ONIN When the head noun is definite, the adjectives that modify it are also definite, A definite concept consists of a noun introduced by a definite article, or one with a possessive soffix, or a proper name. However, when the noun modifier is a prepositional phrase, the head noun does not influence it. Definite head noun The blossoming trees are apple trees. _DMON*sY ON ONNDA His second wife was born in Canada. capa my AHA MYR ‘Out Ilana is a gifted musician. syamnis MNPYOIN NIT WY TNEChapter 2 Writing and pronunciation 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Consonants and their corresponding sounds 2.3 The Hebrew vowel system 2.4 Texts with vowels and without vowels 5 Diacritie marks other than vowets 26 Syllables 2.7 Stress patterns 2.8 Dialectal variation in consonant articulation 2.4 Introduction In Hebrew, as in other Semitic languages, consonants are regarded as the primary units that compose a word. There are twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet, with eight additional variations. Fach consonant is assigned a letter of the alphabet. Four consonants may also represent yowels, but generally, vowel signs are marked by dots and short lines inserted below, above, and inside the consonants. In contemporary Hebrew texts, sequences of consonants. represent words. Vowel signs are not used in most texts, with the exception of poetry, children’s literature, textbooks for early grades, and liturgical literature. In writing without vowels, each sequence of consonants can have more than ane vowel pattem assigned to it, and thus has several Possible pronunciations and consequently several possible meanings, e.g., ina sequence like “ov: Gloss With vowels Without vowels book; literary work s6fer 19 a (1) ell, narrate: talk about sipér n99 790 (2) t0 cu hair be recounted, be narrated supdir np ro count, enumerate Safir n99 00 count! fr 180 790 barber sapar a0 790 border, edge, fringe shir 7p 20 ‘The con vowel st word bel which configura a conson: Gloss number narrator 2.2 Con: In the tab traditional ‘come at th and sin are between th to also rep in both pris the sound the conver pronunciati Note Single Het When the | inverted do in the folloy for inserting of letters is neither an a there is no ¢ table,ation g sounds vels ticulation mans are regarded as e twenty-two letters in tions. Each consonant nts may also represent y dots and short lines consonants represent with the exesption of "grades, and liturgical mee of consonants can t, and thus has several ral possible meanings, yels Without vowels 790 730 oP 10 1 sow 3p neo 09 noo we neu y 7 Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation "7 ‘The consonantal skeleton of a word carries its basic sen! vowel string usually identifies the word grouping to which a particular word belongs. Pattern recognition is aided by affixes (attachments), which facilitate the reconstruction of the associated vowel configuration. The following example demonstrates the combination of ‘a consonantal skeleton with two different word patterns. Gloss Patiorns Root Prefix number mispar wen 0 2 narrator mesaper app FD ” 2.2 Consonants and sounds ory DY in the table below, you will find the Hebrew consonantal alphabet, traditionally arranged, Five consonants have a special form when they come at the end of the word (19 54 95199) j'T'2), Note thal shin and sin are represented by the same symbol (a dot is used to distinguish between them); and that some consonants were modified with diacritics to also represent non-native sounds (3 3). The letters ate displayed in both print and script forms. The transcription sign is displayed under the sound column, referring to the sound realization of that letter and the conventional way to transcribe it in English, Short notes about pronunciation are added in a separate column next to cach letter, Note Single Hebrew letters in isolation arc marked with an apostrophe, When the letters are referred to by name in texts, they often heve an inverted double comma inserted in between the last two letters, such as nthe following examples: yn 78 ,99 ,¥>9 ,T72.,9"9N. The reason for inserting the double inverted comma into the spelling of the names of letters is to avoid confusion with actual words. In the following table neither an apostrophe nor a double-inverted comma are inserted, since there is no confusion as to what they stand for when they appear in a table,18 Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation. Consonants oS ay Letter Sound Notes on pronunciation Namo xk | @ | It carries the sound of the following ‘lef 28 non vowel, as in »3¥ aviv. It is never realized at the end of words: N3@ kara. wna har, oe * | In detiberate speech itis realized as 2 — elotal stop with a stressed vowel: nay , hart. oy 2 @ | 6 | Aasinthe first sound of hoy, word bet ma nop intially: ya ben, or after a closed syllable: 7 99 harbe, or after an open syllable in some patterns: 139 diber. 3 @ | » | v, asin the first sound of vine, after a vet ™2 vowel ort the end of words: ne > saavla, 299 kata. a @ | g | gasin the first sound in green gimel 3 1? o’d¢ | j | asin the first sound in George (x71), 17 | di | das in the first sound in door délet Tey f mn 2 | & | Aspirated d, as in hello, before a stressed | he NO DW vowel, ¢.g.. 10 har; or when 7 is final, Dp preceded by «, preceded by another vowel: nis) gavéal; or to mark a fet, Ty sing, suffix: ri lah © | Atthe end ofa word, following ana or vs 2: NO: yal, N92 vafé, oF optionally before Se an unstressed vowel: 271N diel ~ del » 9 a t v | was in the first sound of 73) véred, or vav » after a vowel as in my Aiva, 1 kav. 91 | a | The vowel was in oyp Aan, wp ke 31 | & | The vowel oas in atp dof 13 bo. vy | v | Alternative for a single » consonant ve_| vn foreign words, Woxpen Washingtoncation Name ne, “lef Py asa AED cd bet m3 yllable: able in era | ver a 7 gimel PR 99), diler roy stressed | hé xa final, her fem, mma or y before bel dor [vav 1 a a shingion Chapter 2: Writing and promanciation 19 +5 | = | Zasin the first sound of zoo. ” 5’ | zh | In foreign (borrowed) words, such as the final sound in garage (182). nn | A | his pronounced as in Loch Ness. het mn For altemate pronunciation see explanation on page 31 v6 | + | rasin the first sound of table ter oe > + | y [yinany position, as in yearn, hawk — | yoo ~” +f | i | The vowel fas in speed, or in seal 22 | ey | The diphthong eyas in way > 1 |_y | Altetnative tor a single » consonant, 29 | & | kasin can: at the beginning ofa word 12 | kaf ” ken, or after a closed syllable: 399 ‘matka, or after aa open syllable in some patterns: ¥2p siken. 2 2 | kh | Khris pronounced as in Loch Ness, after a | kat oo vowel or at the end of words 1 Pp An orthographic variation at the end of | khaf ” words: Ta rakh sofit __svato s | f | 7 asinthe first sound of Jean. kimed 19% OW | m | mas inthe first sound of mother, mem Do oP An orthographic variation at the end of | men 2B words. soft ane > g | a | as in the first sound of never. nun wy ,o An orthographic variation of at the end | nun yp of words. sofit may p__0 | s | sasinthe first sound of sum. simeth 30 » ¥ | @ | Instandaed speech it only carries the | “avin w sound of the following vowel, just as°x, does. For alternative pronunciation see explanation on page 3120 Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation 2 2 | p | pasinthe first sound of peart: atthe | pe 9 2.3 Vor beginning of the word or after a closed 'srocll H syllable: 1979 parpar, or after an open more dif syllable in some patterns: 199 siper. avails i 22 | F [Sf asinthe firtsound of fen aftera | fe xe vowel: 9999 safsal or initially in Pronung borrowed words: 9pn9p9 festive [a (sins of Orthographic variation of fat the end of | fe sofit NO wont: 902 késef. 90 x 2] w | ss pronounced as one segment, as in the | ad oy © (asing first segment of p>ry usauik 1 ¢ ‘Orthographic variation of fs at the end of | tsadi oy words: Ep kibbutz soft ra%0 oe '$ 3! ch | ch in foreign words, such as Charlie 7 (as in de x boyy). 2p | K | kas inthe first sound of kid kof oe o @sinst 79 | 7 | rasimthe first sound of run. Itis resh ™ pronounced almost like the rin French or German, Some pronounce it like the rolling ras in Spanish asin se © | sh | sh as in the first sound of shop. sim w TO asin gl wv _@ | 5 | sasin the first sound of sun. sin pe short ¢ (a np | | rasin the first sound of tay an] In this tab The following letters, which were historically distinct, have the same sound today. Words with different spelling can have the same sound Note 1: Co There are | Pronounced Word 1 Word 2 Letters realization far cold 12} pillow 7” PP rule in a clo shote drink Amv | fool nyw nw ala went up rey | club, bat rip. aN Note 2: Cor sar minister ww) gowide ory | vp In Israeli Hi ahh to you 2! humid re an realized as ¢ dsav summons wy turtle ay va od.Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation he | pe Ne 2.3 Vowels nwon losed Israeli Hebrew has only five vowel sounds: fe ao a, There are many open more different vowel signs, reflecting historical differences in vowel ‘quality and length that no longer exist in contemporary use (other than i“ what is determined automatically by the stress pattern and the context), ra |e x9 Pronunciation Mowel Name ‘Sign ‘@ (as in start) amats ve? ? endof |jesafit 9 patah nino ° 910 hataf-patah nn9-990, n inthe | wad ny ¢ (as in get) segol op ° hataf-sego! oppo 9 eendot | tradi ny shva na any e - wn f BEE apy 2 soft a0 ey (asin may) sere pps lie 1 (asin dear) hirikhaser | NPD ° hivik male RID PTD, 2 fof. ap @ (asin stop) fholam haser | Wr On v resh vw holam malé | xonD>% 7 neh Aamats katan | yop YDR ° ve the hata kumats | __ Yop 10 2 1 (as in soup) buts a2 ° shuruk pnw. © sin yw © (asin glue) shva nah maw y sin yw. short ¢ (as inyeladim) | shvana* Nw av 0 In this table the letter ‘0 is used as a prototypical consonant, for a protonpical guttural jstinct, have she same ve the same sound: Note 1: Comment on kamats vowels There are two realizations of the yap kamats vowel: The normal Word 2 Letters realization of the vowel in f, for instance, is a, but in a few words (us @ ’ 2 Pe rule in a closed, unstressed syllable) it is pronounced 0. now pe rw DN Note 2: Comment on sego/ and related vowels wi ve In Israeli Hebrew, the segod, the Rataf-segol and the shva na” ate all Bn realized as ¢, and so are most cases of tsere that are not followed by B a vod.2 Chapter 2: Writing and promumciation Note 3: Comments on shva vowels ‘The usual realization of sf is no vowel, but in some environments where a sequence of consonants is difficult to pronounce (because of the nature of the consonant clusters involved), it is pronounced as a short ¢, Traditionally, the absence of a vowel at the end of a closed syllable, as in aIpH misdar or 73~D mavh-ber, is called mY NYWY shva ‘nak. When a shiva at the beginning of a syllable is realized as e, as in (D999 Jevanim, itis ealled yy xp sive ra Originally, every word-initial consonant cluster was split by a shva na": D219 ge-lo-lim: however, in Isracli Hebrew, which allows many initial consonant clusters, most initial shva’s are realized as zero vowels: OI < DIT] ge-do-lim > gda-lin. When the consonant clusters are difficult to pronounce, the shva will be pronounced as e, as in 0-2-9 Je-va-nim. This is true when a word begins with a consonant cluster the first member of which is », 1, "9, 9, 9, or when the second is’. m, or, which makes the consonant sequence hard to articutate. levanim Og? veladim Dry neshama apy mesibar m0 tehirut myn} vreshime ape she‘onim oy te'ma apNa The same applies 10 a shva that immediately Iollows another sivas *nivdka > niv-derka AUT Nisgre> tingere — aygn Note 4: Comments on vowels marked with hataf The four guttural consonants, 'y m7 yx, are hard to pronounce with No vowel (ie., a shva nah). There ate many word pattems which include a zero vowel in particular positions in the word, so to facilitate the pronunciation of each of the four guttural consonants where a zer0 vowel was supposed to occur, one of three auxiliary vowels is inserted: shorter versions of the kamats, patah and segol. These auxiliary vowels are known as harafim eaen, Teday, however, they are no longer short Replacem shataf pata hataf-sege uataf-karm Note 5: ‘h The furtiv when itis formation guttural, w ie, by the Here are so Pattern: cacic CaCuc CaCoC CoCeCiCat However, t CaCac Note on the When you s with a pataf stress is alw the furtive p A historical ‘The develop earlier than called axnp used to repre 1. The Jeter 1), as well as 2. The letter 023), and (diphthongs ain some environments: onounce (because of itis pronounced as a the end of a closed is called np Ny sive is realized as e. as in yas split by a shiva na’: which allows many are realized as zero . When the consonant be pronounced as ¢. a8 -gins with a consonant of when the second ce hard to articulate, adi Dre siba m392 hima ape na ayn sws another shyt > igere IQA taf ard to pronounce with word pattems which Je word, soto facilitate asonants where a 7ero ary vowels is inserted: These auxiliary vowels ey are no longer shot. Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation Replacement of @ by auxiliary vowels: hataf patah a nes-apn om = hataf-xeyol e oag-ago myer : Writing and pronunciation 3. The use of » and » as vowels applied in medial as well as in final position, 4, In Hebrew orthography as it eventually became stabilized, all final vowels are represented by letters, with " for 0 and 1, » for i, ev and ay, and ‘7 for a (793 and e (92). Similarly, ‘N is silent at the end of words {901 or syllables (149 ->nR77), but is still maintained in the spelling, ‘Vowel marks and other diacritical signs were added later to the Biblical Hebrew text to aid in the pronunciation of the text. 2.4 With or without vowel signs? Although native speakers can casily deduce the vowels from the morphological patterns in which words are realized and from the rest of the context, the optional use of vad and vav to represent the vowels / and av, respectively, has been a long tradition for many generations and has become the norm today. It is taught in schools, documented in all recent dictionaries, and used with complete regularity by publishers. ‘When this is done, we refer to the result as x>p 209 ktiv malé, *plene writing’, as opposed to 9p 29 driv fasér, which includes vowels marks (for a summary of plene writing rules, sce Appendix 5). In a text with Ariv malé most of vowels can be represented with a vav throughout, but the use of yod for 7 is generally restricted to open syllables, or to alternants of words with open syllables, c.g.. 77 and Mt, but waPNA, NOL wadFIN (see description of open and closed syllables on p. 27) Although the distinetion between bs 2979 iv malé and “Yon 3n9 kev Aasér only refers to the presence or absence of optional vowel letters for i and for oft, respectively, in practice the former is typically also characterized by the absence of any diacritic vowel marks, which Ativ hasér usually displays. Note, however, that a ‘hybrid’ practice is emerging, in which the two representations are merged when users feel the need for it, so as to achieve maximal redundancy, as in 33° alongside 127 and 7271, It should be emphasized that kriv malé only relates to optional vowels; many vowel signs are obligatory, as in Opp Pw WEP ,DIP? ete, Such vowels have always been obligatory. Also, note that the use of the matres | to the en in bom ‘sonata’, Another distingui represent Aiver) a xo wt yon Anon 2.5 Othe Along wi Hebrew, t variant pr function. 7 fazak and ofa letter, and functic 2.5.1 Dag Historicall ways, depe dagesh kal variant pro (Continuant elsewhere, (6, & p vs. lost that dis distinct vari but only the ¥ as in sevi Hh asin mi F asin siifil as well as in final me stabilized, all final du, » for i, ey and ay, nt at the end of words ned in the spelling, fed later to the Biblical Ct the vowels from the ed and from the rest of represent the vowels # for many generations chools, documented in gularity by publishers pnp ktiv malé, “pene which includes vowels Appendix 5). In a text presented with a vav lly restricted to open lables, e.g., 13°7 and 1 of open and closed med and Yor 30ND ky optional vowel letters emer is typically also pwel marks, which Aviv a ‘hybrid’ practice is merged when users feel edundancy, as in 397 tes to optional vowels; /2 BV DIZ? ete, Such pte that the use of the Chapter 2: Wriing and pronunciation -matres leetionis 1 and '® to represent a and ¢ is essentially s to the ends of words ~ although 'x is often used in rendering internal a in borrowed words and foreign names: yur ‘sultan’, TONNE ‘sonata’, mTeo ‘Sadat’, Another long-standing tradition associated with Aviv malé is to distinguish between consonants and their corresponding vowels by representing the former with a double letter, ie., 9 for v from vay (9 hhiver) and» for y from yod (3M hava xi yon 3 won non] yon] wow a1 “37 ny ap yw yon PN) NoPE nee | mona (wan nom pgp | et a] wy vp 2.5 Other diacritics Along with the vowel signs that were developed in post-biblical Hebrew, there are other diacritic marks that came to signify cither a variant pronunciation of a letter, or its length, or a grammatical function. These diacritic marks are the following: dagesh kal, dagesh azak and mapik. They are marked by insertion of a dot into the middle of a letter, The three have different labels, as they have different values and fimnctions. 2.5.1 Dagesh kat areat Historically, six Hebrew consonants were pronounced in two different ways, depending on their position in the word: 17-9 13-193. The dagesh kal consists of a dot inserted into these letters to distinguish two variant pronunciations: 9 9 °D °1 9 '2 (stops) and M9379 (continuants), respectively. The latter occurred after vowels, the former elsewhere, Three of the six, '9 2 "2, have maintained the two variants (8, kp vs. v, Hh f, respectively), while the other three, "9 1,9, have lost that distinction. In texts with vowels, all six letters keep the Dvo distinct variants, indicated by the presence or absence of dagesh kul, but only the following are maintained in current pronunciation: asin sevivon yiwap 3 | fh asin barvar ya kh asin mikitay —— ay3g > | asin Rartis oop 2 f asin siftiva prep 9 | p asin parish wee26 Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation 2.5.2 Dagesh hazak arn wat ‘The dagesh hazak usos the same sign as the dagesh kal, a dot in the middle of a leter, but has a totally different function. Historically the presence of a dagesit hacak reflected a doubling of the length of the letter. The dagesh could be inserted into most of the letters of the alphabet, with the exception of the “guttural” consonants ("1m 7 N). In Israeli Hebrew, the dagesh Razak no longer reflects « doubling of the Jength ofa consonant, but it still functions as part of the distinct pattem of some verb and noun groupings. It is also part of the d structure: in texts with vowel markings, dagesir hacak is the First consonant of the noun the definite article -7 is attached to (with the exception of > m7 — which could not be doubled De finite article + consonant with dagesh: haséfer noe] hatbeivin man Definite article followed by guttural consonant: he érets soxn | hati mp Because the length, or doubling, represented by a dugesh hazak no longer exists in Israeli Hebrew, all Hebeew consonants. including the ‘ones with dazesh azak, are considered and are pronounced “short” Note Since the dagesh cannot be inserted into the letters ym 11%, there were niles for compensating for the absence of the dagesh (way or>umn, ‘This process no longer makes any difference in pronunciation, but in writing, vowels often changed from what used to be short vowels to formerly tong vowels. In many cases the fotlowing changes occurred: Short vowel > tong vowel nw ayn < AayP AYN patah > kamats may tere own < 190 Anbuts > holam haser wines wen < 790 2.5.3 Mapik ron A dot (mapik), though looking the same as a dagesh, has a distinct function, It can be inserted into the letter 7 when it is in a final position in the word, to signal an audible / sound and to distinguish it from the that cont cases it noun, o7 pronoun In Israel those wh Note ‘The maps possessiy mapik in| her bo0 2.6 Sylk Words an mining mi Whereas i most Hebr the syllabl ‘the closed Note There are | ‘value to thi structure of may wish to pattern to proper is c¢ain wat gesh kal, a dot in the ition, Historically the g of the length of the t of the letters of the soats (99919 7). ects a doubling of the cof the disinet pattern tof the definite article ‘hazak is inserted into ris attached to (with e doubled). mn op by a dagesh Razak no nsonants, including the pronounced “short” fers Ay nme, there he dagesh (wx DIA. n pronunciation, but in [to be short vewels to ig changes occurred: x ARN < AYP AN my <230 awn cep fina wn < 9900 won dagesh, has a distinct n itis ina final position > distinguish it from the Chapter 2: Writing and promenciation 27 typical final ‘7, which is silent. 1 is used for the small number of items that contain a true A as their last root consonant, as in 132, but in most cases it also has a morphological function. It is attached at the end of a noun, or a preposition, to indicate a third person feminine singular pronoun suffix: Ae0 “her book’, A ‘to her’, Ay “her(s)", In Isracli Hebrew the final -m is silent. In formal readings, there arc those who may pronounce if as an aspirated A for stylistic reasons. Note ‘The mapik is only present in the ferninine singular third person form of possessive pronouns. When the pronoun is feminine plural, there is no ‘mapik in the pronoun suffix. without mapis with: mapik herbooks — sfaréha —aPIgH er book — sift ANSE 2.6 Syllables man Words ate composed of syllables. There are 1wo types of syllables, ining mgn ‘open syllables’ and nynay nM9Q ‘closed syllables’ Whereas in English, many syllables start with vowels (e.g.. apple) most Hebrew syllables start with @ consonant, Following the consonant, the syllable has one vowel. The open syllable ends with a vowel, while the closed syllable ends with a consonant (or consonants). ov sé = open syllable vé-fer 790 eve fer = closed syllable oy ‘yha = open syllable sha- mw cvee- mart closed mart syllable ccr= shi = open syllable shins mepRy cv ra= open syllable (€ stands for consimanis and ¥ for vowels) Note There are some moxphological arguments for assigning consonantal value fo the “guttural” consonants ‘7 ,3 ’X in describing the syllabic structure of a word, even when they are not actually realized. One may wish to do so because consonantal slots indicate the morphological pattem to which particular words belong. Insofar as syllable structure proper ix concemed, however. it depends on the likelihood of actualw® Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation realization. Since under certain circumstances, °X, ‘9 or 1 may be realized phonetically before a stressed vowel, as in nacyz kar'é ‘she read’, we may be justified in pranting them consonantal value, even though it is not always pronounced. At the end of a word, the same letiers are even less likely to have consonantal value insofar as the structure of the syllable is concerned: ° is never realized phonetically (eg. Npy same), nor is ‘n fiom original » (eg, m8) razé), and realization of »y is rare (e.g., 3) réga” > réga). Such words are thus regarded as ending with an open syllable. Final °y or ‘m preceded by a, itself preceded by another vowel, as in y7P or nia, is just as unlikely to be realized: yodéa’> vadéa, gavdah > gavéa. 2.7 Stress anyon Every word has a stressed vowel, which is usually pronounced as a longer vowel and often more emphatically, Stress is part of the pattern of the word. Two words can have the same sound sequence (not necessarily spelled alike), but still have a different stress pattern, and thus have different meanings. For instance, the sequence ho-ker can have two different stress patterns: The first syllable can be stressed: P2 Boker, which means ‘morning’, ot stress can fall on the second syllable: pia bokér, which means ‘cowboy’. (Note that both are ‘written p72 when they appear in texts without vowels). Hebrew stress normally falls on the final vowel of the word, regardless of the number of syllables. Final vowel stress is called sabe milrd’. Hebrew brit my secret sé a0 thing dvdr oe ‘There are well-defined word groups, where the siress falls on the vowel before last (penultimate), called byb% mi ¢i, but all other words follow the general rule, The largest group of mil'é words are the segolate nouns known by that name because of the prominence of the segol vowel as part of their pattern: CéCeC man ever 2 way derekh mW A detailed discussion of the segolate nouns can be found in Chapter 5, pp. 153-155. For additional examples, see the noun index. The femit bas a simi c Past tense start with aH So is the fi root conti Another cl ~dyim; ~ sound sequence (not ent stress pattern, and \@ sequence fo-ker can lable can be stressed: can full on the second * (Note that both are vowels). of the word, regardless called yy90 milra’ my Tio WT stress falls on the vowel it all other words follow words are the segolare rominence of the sexal a nm n be found in Chapter 5, 30un index. Chapter 2: Writing and pronunciation ‘The feminine singular conjugetion of many verbs in the present tense has a similar segola‘e pattem, and thus the same >y3%9 stress: -CéCet says oméret nop gels excited —mitragéshet_ — meRIDD ast tense forms in the first and second person (whose suffixes usually start with a consonant) are also stressed 2y2: Hi Twrote katevtt onan seta we spoke dibirna oat So is the final » Jor" w/o or ¢ of a past or future verb stem (or « whose Toot contains ” # ou) that is followed by a suffix vowel: they will run yarsiesie wm she explained —hisbira nyagn they gotup kann we they will come yavou ania she protected hegéna aya ‘Another class of items stressed Sy5p is forms with the dual-noun suffix -dyim: ~iyim legs ragléyion oN twice pavierdivion oreye Stress patterns in borrowed words Generally, borrowed nouns maintain the stress pattern they had in the original language, e.g., artist artist vero flashback fléshbek pay maniac manvak Pen, Certain forcign suffixes (especially from Eastern European languages) are associated with non-final stress in the source, and maintain it in Hebrew as well, as in nouns ending with +ika: politics politika pray ceramics Rerdimitea ney music misika nor30 Chapter 2: Writing and promunciation Changes when affixes are added When an affix is added to a native Hebrew word, stress normally shifis from the stem to that suffix: Native words: Stress > last syllable Suffixed Stress Base suse mare PIO stig horse ow shirim poems oy shir poem, vy Im borrowed words and in acronyms, however, stress remains on where it was in the word in isolation: Borrowed words Stress unchanged Sutfixed Stress Base tinkim tanks Dp tink tank Pw Jobim jobs orto job job aa ‘Acronyms Stress unchanged Sutfixed Stress Base mankatin CEO'S Deg mankil CBO bray makin radars Dep makin — radar opp Stress patterns in casual and rapid speech Speech is conveyed in a connected stream of words, rather than in vaular words, and therefore the stress pattem of words that are strung together may change from the stress pattom of each of these words viewed out of context, as single entities What do you mean? Engen nN AD Stross in individual words: pra orbn mdi 261 omérer INIBIN + PNY + PD Rapid speech: SpnB NDT mastoméret? angen It is not a right 7702 NST Stress in individual words: avo) 9 20 (és beséder 12+ ND 4 TP Rapid speech: spa WT 2lepséder very Primary There ar as die ¢ expressio strossed pronoune the first 0 oy nd - stress of stress elas 2.8 Diale In the earl 19" and Modern He “Ashicena Hebrew of European | general ten countries, » from the B Spanish (La language. \ registers, bu of their ori immigration countries, fo Hebrew, wit An even hig formal spcec! also several it a8 sttect Hebr ‘The term Miz, the spoken p speaking) back preservation articulated low between themstress normally shifts 5 Base horse oe poem vy yess remains on where s Base tank pe joo a Base ; CEO DR | radar DD h words, rather than in f words that are strung f each of these words imypsennt ae mmo) oH pin + mat + 719 syne mony ya ND At mms pn vpn 4ND+ TY yan WT area Chapter 2: Writing and promnctation Primary and secondary stress ‘There are two degrees of stress, which are noticeable in such sequences as the ones above: a primary stress, and a secondary stress. In expressions like in gIN TNT 7p, the primary stress still falls on the stressed vowel of amerer. whereas the secondary stress falls on md. tn pronouncing the sequence, the secondary stress is less dorninane than the first one, but is still audible. Also, note that in a sequence like x97 xe WON ai amir Kien shaldm “he said bello to us’, the secondary stress of Iéveu normally moves forward. resulting in lami, to avoid @ stress clash with the primary stress of aradr: it andr Janis shalénm. 2.8 Dialectal variation DAwey Nana Wop yet ne In the early days of the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language (late 19 and early 20" centuries), two main dialects were recognized in Modern Hebrew, and in the popular vernacular they were referred to as “Ashkenazi” and ‘Sepharadi’. The Ashkenazi dialect referred to the Hebrew of European Jews ot recent immigrants from mostly Easter European background, while the Sepharadi dialect was used as a general term to refer to the Hebrew of Jews from Arabic-speaking, countries, who spoke Arabic as their native tongue, as well as to Jews from the Balkans and parts of the Middle East who spoke Judeo- Spanish (Ladino), However, today Israeli Ilebrew is the one standard language. Most variations within Israeli Hebrew involve language registers, but may also reflect communities of speakers by the countries of their origin. (The sitwation is never stable, since the waves of immigration continue to bring groups of speakers from a variety of countries, for instance, Ethiopia and Russia). There is a formal standard Hebrew, which is used by the media: newspapers, radio and television, An even higher register is used for language of the courtroom and formal speeches and addresses. As in most spoken languages, there are also soveral informal registers and sub-dialects in Israeli Hebrew, such as street Hebrew, army jargon, pop culture and children’s language. ‘The term Mizrahi (Eastern) has now replaced Sepharadi, and it refers to the spoken pronunciation of Israelis from Bastern (mostly Arabic~ speaking) backgrounds. The main feature of the Micrahi dialect is the preservation of the original pronunciations of ‘7 andy. Both are articulated low, in the pharynx, and both are frieative. The difference between them is in voicing; when ¥y is pronounced, the vocal cordsChapter 2: Writing and pronunciation vibrate, while in they do not. Few older members of Eastem immigrant groups maintain the distinction between ‘> & and °p g that exists in Arabic, pronouncing the latter further back in the mouth (at the uvula), Even more rarely is the historical difference between ‘n and "0 maintained (this involves the articulation of Tike %, while simultaneously raising che back of the tongue, creating the impression of emphasis), The historical pronunciation of the letter iad? was s with the raising of the back of the tongue, and the articulation of the letter was w. However, in contemporary Hebrew, such features of pronunciation are extinct, There are some who pronounce " not in the back of the mouth as in standard Israeli Hebrew, but as a dental roll, like Spanish ot Polish r As a rule, these variations are not characteristic of all of the speakers of Eastem origin and depend a great deal on whether they are immigrant or native Israelis, and in the case of the former, of their age at the time of immigration, Standard Hebrew is gradually replacing other dialecis in daily speaking. Some special pronunciation is maintained in the folk tradition, particularly in popular and traditional music, folksongs and story-telling. 3.4 Inte Verbal fo stems any number. Gloss T closed ‘you will tolls to guard A teaditior words, but base for v pattems an Verbs be written be dictated Nouns handwriting corresponde dictationciation members of Basten ecn 3 k and ' q that ck in the mouth (at the nce between ‘7 and" of 79 like 1, while seating the impression letter tsadi was s with jculation of the letter w, such features of pronounce "not in the ws but as @ dental roll, ¢ variations are_ot igin and depend a great aelis, and in the case of on. Standard Hebrew is yeaking. Some special particularly in popular Chapter 3 The verb system 3.1, Introduction: verb components 3.2 Citation forms 3.3 Verb tenses 3.4 Historicat notes: Biblical tenses and aspects 3.5 Moods and verbal nouns 3.6 Verb pattern groups om92 3.7 Verb categorization 3.8 With and without linking verbs 3.9 Verbs with obligatory prepositions 3.10 Active, stative and inchoative verbs 3.1 Introduction: verb components Verbal forms in Hebrew are composed of two main components: verb stems and morphemes of inflection that denote person, gender and number, Gloss ‘Suffix Stem/base Prefix Verb form Lelosed on 3p omp ‘you will close - ot al tells we eR to guard toy 2 aw A traditional constituent of each verb is its root, Roots are not actual: words, but rather sequences of consonants, which provide the common base for verbs and nouns. Roots can be common to a number of verb. patterns and noun patterns; Verbs Root be written am) write any m3 be dictated an9] dictate mn correspond = apann Nouns Root handwriting a7 spelling pm a> correspondence nan letter ane dictation masa desk may34 Chapter 3: The verb system Verb stems are formations through which roots, which are not actual words but rather sequences of consonants, are organized into a variety of verb forms. The stem sequences are composed of vowel patterns combined with root consonants and in some cases additional consonants. Conjugation markers are added to verb stems in order to indicate person, gender, and tense or mood. For example, the verb form >B2Rp ‘I closed’ is made up of the stem -39p and the first person subject. suffix °n-, whieh designates first person singular in the past tense, The verb form 7139p “tells’ is composed of the stom 79p- and the -» prefix ‘marking the preseat tense of piel 3.2 Citation forms nan any Verbs are usually entered into the dictionary either by root or by the Past tense, third person singular form. Different dictionaries use different principles to organize lexical entries, even when alphabetization is by root. The sub-entries within each root are by the past tense form of the third person masculine singular, A verb form like ‘saa ‘they explained’, for instance. is never listed as such, One needs 4 look for the form Pay ‘he explained’, which would be listed either under the ‘root’ +-a-p, or as is, in simple alphabetical order, regardless of root. At times the present tense form apg ‘explain, masculine singular’ is included as a separate dictionary entry, also irrespective of Toot. In either case, the form is marked for category {a verb, in this case), and sometimes for verb pattern (here, iif il). This type of dictionary entry is referred to as som TAS, a “citation form’. An example of a minimal dictionary entry is. (0) ab “(to) study (vy". More information may be included, such as regarding a preposition that obligatorily follows the verb to Tink it with an object, as in (¥9)-a ne “trust Gin)’. The citation form, although it mirrors the third person past lense, refers to the general meaning of the verb, and to all the various possible actual uses, i. the entire verb paradigm. For instance, Pan is not only the past tense, meaning ‘he explained, but also stands for all the verbal forms associated with that hif if verb, In English similar representation is achieved by entering verbs under the infinitive ‘to explain’, or simply ‘explain’. Here is ‘These at Tensei Past Present Future Imperativ Infinitive As can h actual ver dynamic q 3.3 Verb Verbs can conjugated of the time The verb fi modem He completed past and w: the simple ¢ State, or ha contemplate 3.3.1 The ‘The present regularity, 0 four forms, feminine), ar any person a, Which are not actual ganized into a variety sed of vowel patterns me cases additional verb stems in order to ample, the verb form the first person subject, in the past tense. The n89- and the -1 prefix aiaten nn ther by root or by the rent dictionaries use entries, even when n each root are by the gular, A verb form like fed as such, One needs would be listed cither tical order, regardless p ‘explain, masculine , also irrespective of egory (a verb, in this hifi). This type of a ‘eitation form’. An “(to) study (vy. More ng a preposition that ject, as in (49) -3 m3 $ the third person past and to all the various n. For instance, 30 a, but also stands for , entering verbs under Chapter 3. The verb sestem Hore is an illustration of the above concepts: Gloss ea ww pate mw explain yan aD yaon These are the various forms associated with the dictionary entry 207: Tenso/mood Person Verb forms Stems Past 28 pape mavn Maye apD ymaPN ONTaPD ABER x yrapron mpapnRAPapANI PAPA Present all ntvape OapD RpIEB APD -PIDD Future singular “yayn vag? >a PapN PION plural roam NIIP) PAPA papn Imperati 2 (APD Apa YS0A BER >OET infinitive yapn> 390 AS can be seen in the above table, each verb stem is present in the ‘actual verb forms listed next to it. Verbs conjugated in tense have dynamic quality since they express different ongoing processes, 3.3 Verb tenses 4ayisa ont Verbs can be classified in two different groups: those that are conjugated in tense, and those that are not. Verb tense is the expression of the time fame for the action, state or event that the verb signifies. ‘The verb form itself denotes the time frame, There are three tenses in modem Hebrew: past, present and future. The past tense indicates a completed one-time action, or a process that started at some point in the past and was completed or ceased. Hebrew expresses past perfect by the simple past. The present tense indicates an ongoing action, event or slate, or habitual action. The future tense indicates actions or states contemplated, planned or considered for a future time. 3.3.1 The present tense aun jot The present tense refers to ati ongoing state or action repeated with rogulurity, oF a continuous action, The present tense of all verbs has four forms. These forms have gender attributes (masculine ot feminine), and number markings (singular or plural}. They do not have ‘any person attributes and thus do not include a subject (unlike the past36 Chapter 3: The verb sysiem and future tenses). In the following tables the present tense verb base (O09) and the suffixes that are added to it are represented, Present tense suffixes 2N oN nm + 09a nN Dor Anx. xn non pnw nn Meo me | O43 pM | nvo-an, on *DrDA. the Hebrew term for ‘stem’, stands for any present tense stem Here are some of the nuances conveyed by the use of the present tense: 1. The present moment of the speaker She cannot come to the phone %9 abo DwDy 27D AMD Nd NOT ow because she is working mayen 2. Ongoing progressive activity She has been sitting and waiting Sy 722 1h NIAID NAwY xn here for hours 3, Habitualirepetitive action Every day they leave home at yava nang D»NYY DA BY dD seven] 4. Completed action resulting in a state ‘The meal is ready. may aR The context for the above sentence is a process of meal preparation that took place and was completed, and the result is that now itis ready, 5. Action that started in the past and is ongoing ‘They have been teaching this won 722 nen PPA NN OMIDdD On course for five years, ow Grammatical functions of present tense forms The present tense forms can function as verbs, as adjectives, and as ‘agent nouns. They are referred to as participles »»0»3 mmm. 1. As verbs: She closes the door and leaves NSD) NM MN MMW .NIn We are looking for an apartment. PT Bren MN 2 Asad The dog The poo! 3. As no There ar the audie The orga 3.3.2Th The past the verb is someti singular a to be expr me we or oe In Hebrew. subject pro these pron would be r 1 finished ‘You finishe However, emphasis, a J found the J finished edpresent tense verb base presented. os Dos naw | afin na pnw moa ony | nilo'ay on ny present tense stem ¢ of the present tense: yay aan nar ND xOn maw 33 ND MOAB NAVY NIA man DAYP OA DY 22 aw ARMIN f meal preparation that nat now itis ready. ng n DPT AK OPN On pw orms, as adjectives, and as ya MIT, 3 TT AN DBI. PT pwaNP NIN Chapter 3: The verb system 2. As adjectives: ‘The dog is a faithful animal. smopno oN NIA ads ‘The cooked food is in the reftigerator. snpaa num Sumaon down 3. As nouns: There are many distinguished people in onpa pra nan w the audience, ‘The organizers did a good job. aman ATay Wy BMW 3.3.2 The past tense yay jnt ‘The past tense has nine forms, The subjects of the verbs are suffixed to ‘the verb stems in the first and second persons. Therefore the past tense is sometimes referred to as the suffixed tense. In the third person, both singular and plural, the subject is not included in the verb form and has to be expressed by a noun or pronoun or some other entity Past tense suffixes, on +002 oon on DOR x) n+oa ome Dp+oo2 (any) 7 +0ea wa wea Mm pepor tN) peopa (NIN) yea ony oneora (on) 1409 yn 24002, on “oro, the Hebrew term for ‘stem’, stands for any past tense stem In Hebrew, unlike in English, itis not necessary to have an independent subject pronoun in the first and second persons of the past tense, since these pronouns are already incorporated in the subject suffixes and thus would be redundant Subject Stem finished op +99) =n ND You finished a 400 =m (AMD However, it is possible to include them as separate pronouns. for emphasis, and in common use even without emphasis. L found the lost item, not he, JNVP NY , TNT NN NSD finished eating before you. “p292 OND TDD HN38 Chapter 3: The verb system ‘The past tense refers to an aspect of a completed action, an event or a situation that was completed and is no longer taking place. 1. Completed action Lread the book you wrote. RADU 790A NN MND 2. Duration of action The author had been writing the wy TwHI WEA ANAND aN book for ten years, ow 3. Past perfect 1 had read his fast novel, before 299 bw AANA YovIA MRC MRAP | started reading his first book. NTA 79DA AN NIE NANAW aby 3.3.3 The future tense ny jor The ftlure tense forms combine a prefix subject pronoun with the future stem of the verb, The feminine singular and the plural forms also have suffixes indicating yonder and number. Future tense affixes, bors x 428) Dor +N oy) a DeIE Nn inn) poitn fame) atone ooaen a pa by xm pwea+> fan pois) omy i+ wore ne | a soa4n form} nwa (m4 D2 + np Ve wDay yw) yepeae> oa (m+ wor 4.) “D103, the Hebrew teri for ‘stem’, stands for any future tense stem Note AS in the past tense, independent personal pronouns are redundant for the first and second persons, siace they are already incorporated in the sufixes of these forms. However, they may he added when the pronoun Fequires emphasizing, as well as in colloquial use. tt should be noted that in the first person singular, the independent pronoun > has become the norm in everyday speech. There ar person a The i third per evo, contempo normative sometime 2. The sh second an part of the 3.3.4 Plar The fatare anticipated Plans Dan will b during the Anticipatio Everybody strike, Contempla They may x nol) arrive late for the Conditional Tethere is (w able to get hi be running. A comparati Three tenses 1. Present to He goes to w 2. Present py He has been ¢d action, an event or a ng place, nangy yon MME pa Toon ANAND TaNHA ow nn yo MN PAT, On NX NvapS »onNAW wy. ny jar ject pronoun with the the plural forms also om fom) alum xn oroxy (ony) on any fire tense stem ous are redundant for ndy incorporated in the déed when the pronoun use. It should be noted dent pronoun ¥9N has Chapter 3: The verb system ‘There are two variants for the feminine plural meaning of the second person and third person: I. The first one employs a special form for the feminine second ancl third person plural: mg2yom yruabyp? yn srabvan wnwbyan ye. The form nyygn, which is found in biblical Hebrew, is rarely in use in contemporary Hebrew. It was considered for many years to be the normative form, but is now restricted to use in formal speech, and sometimes when addressing a female audience, 2. ‘The shared plural form for both masculine and feminine in the second and third persons is the standard form in ordinary speech and is part of the accepted norm: soy jAbys? OM; YON INN/DVOP DMN. 3.3.4 Planning, anticipation and contemplation The future tense refers to an action or process that is being planned, anticipated or contemplated. Plans Dan will be working on the program Jwpa Maran Sy T7 7 during the year. men Anticipation Everybody hopes that there will not be a an Noy oNPD DD? strike. say Contemplation They may not (it is fikely that they will yor2 yo3.N9 onW MND DID» not) arrive on time, and then we'll be JTAST IANI TAD late for the show. Conditionals rthere is (will be) a strike, we won't be and 2au NP AAW ANON able to get home, since the trains won"t ——_a9¥8» Nb magn D ARYaN be running, A comparative note ‘Three tenses in Hebrew cover eight categories of tense in English 1. Present tense - habitual action He goes to work at eight. sannws May» TW NI 2, Present progressive- action in ongoing present He has been driving for cight hours already. .myw nyu aaa an IT40 Chapter 3: The verh system 3, Past tense - action occurred in the past He drove all the way. jmy2am NN 4. Past progressive - ongoing action in past ‘He was driving along, and did not notice the wovwm A time. yor 5, Past perfect progressive He had been working there for eight reay onw Anny Ow Tay NIA years, and now he called it quits. anayn nN aMy2 wna OA 6. Past Perfect Before he started working here, he NYP. )NO-Tayb nn NIMW n9d had been working in another office ane Thea TY 7. Future He will work here if the conditions pry DrOMA ON WO Tay NIA will be satisfactory, pine pop 8. Future Continuous He will be working here in the next ysnawn Twa IND Nay NIT two weeks, oman 3.4 Historical notes L, Many linguists view Biblical Hebrew as having no tenses, only aspects: actions or states are considered as either complete or incomplete, perfect or imperfect, rather than being related to time and tense. 2, In Biblical Hebrew there are two additional verbal forms related to the imperfect: the jussive and the cohortative moods (see below). They are maintained in high registers of Israeli Hebrew, especially in written texts for stylistic reasons. 3. Past tense in Biblical Hebrew is normally indicated by the use of the imperfect form prefixed by the waw’ consecutive, Future tense can be indicated by the use of the perfect form prefixed by waw consecutive. (see discussion below for illustrations). 3.44 Jussive and short form of the imperfect .wigm ny In classical Hebrew, a brief form of the imperfect (and of some imperatives) exists in some of the “defective” (or non-regular) verb classes and in some regular hif'i forms. It is used in the third person, less commonly in the second person, and rarely in the first perso PIR

) mag MEN OP mwxva) 1M? ay Dynan ATH AID ) RAY WIN WAY? NI WHY (ex wena) yer ently used particles in 2 this particle to verbal equence (narrative and forms verb form, it places it in 10 the realm of the past. is particle in some verb fect form is maintained. patah, with a dagesh in nent isa guttural), which ne before a labial consonant (9 12,9 ,'3) or before a consonant cluster. eg., shim in DENDWA uashimartém. Iustrations: Cursed of the Lord be the man yg DIP? Way MYM 292 UARD-WAY ‘who shall undertake to fortify it ANTM NAD PYM, who will rise and will buitd) this {pu yum) city of Jericho. (“oshua, 6:26) For your part, take of everything DaRD WY PaNT-220 TD-nz ADD that is eaten and you shall gather TPDNY OD) Te MID PEN DOR) it, and it shall be for food for you (or nwa) and for them, (Genesis, 6:21) Since a very large number of verbs in the Bible are either constituents ofa verb sequence, and/or are part of a narrative, the forms with *waw consecutive’ prove to be prevalent. The simple imperfect and perfect without waw are generally used only in specific contexts: 1. Aller certain short words like N> ‘not’, »2 ‘because’, »9 “who”, a ‘what’, ry ‘then’, wwe Swhich/that’, &.g., 732 77D-Ny mipy "2 who has done this thing?” 2. When the subject precedes the verb, usually for focusing (normally, the verb precedes the subject in Biblical Hebrew), e.g.. NB -PNR TYR) syn ‘and his brother Esau came back from his hunting”, 3. When the verb refers to the past-of-the-past (past perfect), referring to an eatlict “pre-past” occurrence, e. ‘and God had blessed Abraham with everything” «when Daa opay-ny 12MChapter 3: The verb system 4. As the first verb in a verb sequence; the next oecurrence(s) would be with a “wenw consecutive’, as in my yp? “Who will rise and will build” above. 3.5 Moods and verbal nouns = avvo/ayio ninwi oT There are two moods other than the indicativeideclarative mood (which refers to the basic regular mode of verbs in tense): imperative, and infinitive, The temporal aspect of the activity or state is not a feature of these moods. 3.5.1 The imperative mood x Only five of the binyanim have an imperative form. The twa passive verb groups, pial and iu fa, do not have such a form. The imperative mood conveys commands, directions, orders, and instructions. For a negative command, the special negative particle 5x is used, and the future tense forms are added. Imperative mood: giving commands or directions Command Sit quietly! twopyaw wy Negative Dow'tsit near the door! inbtn PoyayDIN ne ‘To moderate the force of a command, words like nypaa can be added to the imperative Come in, please! snepaa ww In daily speech, the future forms are usually used in fiew of the iperative, but the same may apply in higher registers as well, as an altemative to adding mwpaa when issuing a polite request or a directive, rather than a command. Come in and make yourself at home! papa wn 3297, 3.5.2 The infinitive mood ayion ow ‘The infinitive 9x19n Ow is the form of a verb that has no inflection to indicate person, number, mood or tense; it only comtains information about the base of the verb and reflects the main idea or concept of the ‘verb. It is called “infinitive” because the verb is not made finite. or modified by inflection, Who want ‘You have Hebrew h infinitive an Englis some oth restricted the verb, Like the i The two 7 form, In | two biny kidnapped 3.5.3 Inf The infinit and inerea an abstract it in Englis mostly in individual Emphasis Emphatic Command Abstract Nc 3.5.4 Infin ‘As mentios generally 1 Who wants You have tocvurrence(s) would be will rise and will build” yo/ayi NNW DVT gclarative mood (which tense): imperative, and ‘slate is not a feature of any form, The two passive a form. The imperative and instructions, For a le $4 is used. and the tions rope wy npbysundN aby ke ny93q can be added snvpaa omen jy used in lieu of the ragisters as well, as an tc request or a directive, saa wenm wwI2"7 owen ow that has no inflection to ly contains information n idea or concept of the b is not made finite, or Chapter 3: The verb system Who wants to speak? pawasnn “3 You have to listen to us! Inbaepny DENN ETT? Hebrew has two infinitives, the infinitive absolute vss Typo and the infinitive construct »%2 7¥70, The infinitive construct is used much as an English infinitive, including being preceded by -> ‘to’, and with some other prepositions (see below); the infinitive absolute, which is restricted to the higher registers, is used to add emphasis or certainty to the verb, or as a verbal noun, or for emphatic commands (see below). Like the imperative, only five of the Ginyanim have an infinitive form. ‘The two passive hinyanim. pu al and hufal, do not have an infinitive form. In literary Hebrew, however, absolute infinitive forms of these two binyanim may occur, as in >, 2 “I have indeed been kidnapped’, or n7O}7 YD “you have (unequivocally) been warned!” 3.5.3 Infinitive absolute oonin vpn ‘The infinitive absolute is used either before a verb in tense, to intensify and increase the force of the statement, of on its own, to serve either as ‘an abstract noun, or as an emphatic command. There is no equivalent to in English, and therefore it is somewhat difficult to explain. It occurs mostly in Biblical Hebrew. It is not productive in Isracli Hebrew, but individual forms do occur, for example itn) TI90 “back and forth’ Emphasis We bave indeed eaten mR ry EN, You will say NF DY WON, He shall indeed die merino Emphatic Keep the Sabbath to ngygov-ny Tiny Ey Command honor it (Deut. 5:12) aun onan) yD? Abstract Noun Eating too much ao MAMVITA HY honey is not good. (p:a9 rem) 310 (Proverbs 25:27) 3.5.4 Infinitive construct ‘As mentioned earlier, when we refer to the infinitive mood, we ate generally referring to its ordinary use, similar to its function in English, Who wants to speak” nary mn BP !pypnb oan one {r102 vpn) SyIDA Bw vepny46 Chapter 3: The verb aystem 3.5.5 Infinitive as gerund The infinitive mood is used mostly with the particle -> *to’, and as such itis more often referred to as 197 Ow and not 1y92, However, there ‘are other uses for the infinitive, with one of the four prepositional prefixes ", > '2 ya. In such cases if acts as a gerund rather than an infinitive, It is not used often in such a form, except in some written texts, Paraphrasing with a verb in tense is much more common. gloss gerund while being snbma— dyin Dwr apnn 4a to the return of savy Synen oven aapan +5 from going “DgRe_— MoT OWI PDN 40 as (his) saying “WIND Syn BYMUM PON 19 Pronoun endings can be added, and they act as the subject of the gerund: gloss gerund while I was ornare Hyen DY 4a for your return beNv? qu TDD 4NEN OW 4d from her going PER MAREPD HNOW 4D as he said HIND gMNAYD eon OW 49 When Twas a tittle girl, lived abroad. ona oma,muop monn We waited for his return from abroad, Srna Saw? wan We avoided going to his home oa NyzP nD ‘The infinitives in the sentences above can be paraphrased by sentences with finite verbs: say aun 3 Infinitive + suffix while being abroad Donna snips Paraphrase when I was abroad Sema smn wR mate +9 Infinitive + sutfie We waited for his return Seana fared won from abroad, Paraphrases We waited till he retumed aw NAY TY won from abroad. San We waited for him to Sonne ane es aan return from abroud, 3.5.6 Ve Verbai n are assoc one or m associate reading, a agreemen excursion, explaining explanatio developme 3.6 Verb ‘Traditional groups, ca characteris Pattern gro “internal pa of actual y conjugated v ‘The third pe and serves ay form, a protet 3.6.1 Names Lach conjugajole > ‘to’, and as such 1 Wa, However, there “the four prepositional , gerund rather than an except in some written more common, aA Ow’ADIN NpIN + sion DYAYwIN WPA +7 yon DvP NPN HD ion oUPYwIN-NPIN +) t as the subject of the qpanopo eye ay +2 qu noro +n ov 49 gu nave +e ov +p gy napp +5ynan ov +9 LMA MEP AT APA bey yaw? IN yrpay men ws raphrased by sentences + 31pm + dena aha peyna omen wR xu tog +2 evn faw? DIN aun PIR enn pean any? ane Dn Chapter 3: The verb system 3.5.6 Verbal noun amya pe ‘Verbal nouns are abstract nouns that can be related fo verbal roots and are associated with various verbal groups and patterns. Each binyan has fone or more patterns of nouns that are derived fiom the roots and/or ate associated with that biryar. anys ow ‘wi ow ww teading, act of reading ormyrp Moe? D agreement, discussion ernngra nay yet excursion, trip mony Re? > explaining; propaganda. a) Mayo yaya? +240 explanation oy7agn development ormnnsnn nena? mero 3.6 Verb pattern groups ora ‘Traditionally Hebrew grammar classifies verbs into seven basic patter groups, called Ainyanim, each of which has special inflectional characteristics. In contemporary grammatical descriptions five major pattern groups are recognized, with the two additional ones being “intemal passives”. The verh conjugations are the various sets of forms of actual verbs. Some of the categories that dictale the form of a conjugated verb are person, gender, and number features The third person singular in the past tense is not marked by a suffix, and serves as the citation form for each bézyan, To capture the citation form, a prototypical root is used, most commonly Sys. 3.6.1 Names of verb pattern groups oman nme Each conjugation is named according to its citation form. Names of verb patterns Citation forms aval yp | tamaud wh nifat 999 | nilmad a piel ue | wide! on pwal ys gual ” if it evpin | hike wpa fnf'al yen fukdea 77 tppa’et . pyenn | ditkarhet 23pm48, Chapier 3: The verb system 3.6.2 Root composition: regular and irregular 3.6.3 Ver ‘There are two major root classifications; regular verbs and irregular While mo verbs. They are also known as “strong” verbs, and “weak” verbs, roots with respectively. In the same manner that each verb belongs to 4 particular order to : yma, it also belongs to a particular group of verbs, known as ny}? “consonan (plural m7) that classify them by their root composition. tti-conson ‘consonant 1. The regular verbs belong to a root composition group known as 0733 ‘pyneyo (‘whole’), as all consonants are present. Form * 2. Verbs that are not fully regular are labeled by the particular root ~ letter, which causes some deviation from a fully regular conjugation, The four e: ‘These classifications, the mV, provide a frame of reference for binyanim: addressing irregularitics in the verb system, There are two ways of binyanio, labeling them, either as -™3, which means that a root consonant, indicated by the label, undergoes some weakening, of as 70D, which Piel Coniug means that one of the consonants, indicated by the label. is omitted in| om § part of or in the entire verb conjugation. Root consonants undergo | eo changes in some, but not necessarily all forms in the conjugation | ha concemed, Pu Root classification groups omen 799 ys) Wwe wR BY ys} nqg2 173 7B < Te 9900 Hitpa'el Conju (eyonl brane (ORD wan"> 29 is also referred to as m> mp. The term ‘wy on assumes that the » which surfaces when suffixes are added is the actual underlying consonant, necessarily rep division of yx1- the word into tw There are differe are created:guiar ular verbs and irregular fos, and “weak” verbs, b belongs to a particular f verbs, known as 7313 position. jon group known as 13% 1 sd by the particular root uly regular conjugation. frame of reference for ‘There are two ways of 5 that 2 root consonant, ening, or as 7390, which Chapter 3: The verb system 3.6.3 Verb roots with four consonants While most roots in Hebrew consist of three consonants, there are also roots with four consonants (on occasion even five). Traditionally, in order to accommodate such roots, atl consonants fit into a three “consonant slot” structure, which is the norm set by the predominant {ri-consonantal verb pattern, In the case of 12, for instance, the root consonant slots and the aa! stem vowels are divided as follows: Form Slot3_ Vowel Slot2_ Vowel._~— Sot Root Ww a [oa a | oa vo | ove ‘The four consonant roots are accommodated by the three following binvanim: piel, pu'al and hiavet. They are not found in other binvanim, Biel Conjugation sy the label, is omitted in Form Siot3 Vowel Slot2_ Vowel ~— Slot Root Root consonants undergo ne) e ° 3 ° 30-0 orms in the conjugation one e n 7 7 nan ial Conjugation ups Form Shot Vowel Slot2_ Vowel Slot! Root wo) @ v u ° 105 maw wom vy} @ >” w e ow > 70D Hitpa‘el Conjugation ast) s san Form Slot3 Vowel + Slot2 Vowel Slot! Root ai < Dr3ed ” wpm a a > vey py < BD “oy om oo e 7 a 2 ver ip nye Note enn <1 on ‘The consonantal slots indicate how the extra consonants are Wr 2 3 pay saga > » a 2 babann > » a -m ——Syena, The slot division is 9-25-3, while she syllabic division is 43-Pa, 2. One way of creating new four letter roots is by adding an initial consonant to busic three letter roots, thus forming secondary derived roots having a related meaning. The three consonants used in this process are: ‘7 "Y/N Gloss Derivation oss Base diagnose ypan < ona tN examine ona rewrite amy < a4 write ane activate cyan < DDN act Dee 3, Other four letter roots are derived from native nouns and adjectives Gloss Derivation Gloss Base oxidize qn Dn conygen yen calculate yayn< sun ccaleulation avn 8 umber 3909 ‘enumerate spon < +! 4, A large number are derived from foreign words Gloss Derivation Gloss Base phone were < rao telephone sian catalogue op <--o-p catalogue so7 3.6.4 Some shared meanings of roots Although the root docs not exist ott its own, most words that share a commen root tend to have a common meaning core. These form-and- ‘meaning relationships are only tendencies, and often apply only in part. Some forms never followed the regularity to start with, and most departed from it with time, with varying degrees of deviation. Language is an ever-changing, living entity, and the relationship between form and meaning is not maintained for long, Exceptions consequent extension a Here is a 6 examinatiot ‘examiner diagnosis perception, diagnosticia 3.7 Verb ¢ Verbs in H meaning ar transitive a action and v change from of their com objects, and prepositions, verbs, which tense, and an be described 3.7.1 Trans A transitive y complement performed by the action. It object, which object ts inde definite, Indir remembered transitive vertwo consonants, repeat iy M osm vision is 53-72 is by adding. an initial ning secondary derived oasonants used in this loss Base amine 19 rite an ct bya e nouns and adjectives loss, Base xygen ayeD aleulation yawn umber r999 rds joss Base elephone wazp atslogue app most words that share a g core, These form-and- ‘often apply only in part. (0 start with, and most degrees of deviation. y. and the relationship ed for long, Exceptions Chapter 3: The verb system consequently abound, and meaning develops independently by extension and by association, Here is a common root with some shared meanings. ‘examination, test apna examine, test m examiner ton be examined cat) diagnosis yay diagnose yrax. perception, discernment nyp3n notice, di oan dingnostician ange be noticed yan 3.7 Verb categorization Verbs in Hebrew can be classified in a number of ways, by their ‘meaning and function, and by structural characteristics. There ato transitive and intransitive verbs, active and passive verbs, verbs of action and verbs that describe state. Some verbs describe the process of change from one state 10 another. Verbs can also be classified in terms of theic composition: There are verbs that have to be complemented by objects, and when these objects are not direct, they have obligatory prepositions, which link them with their objects. There are compound verbs, which are constructed of two verbs, usually one conjugated in tense, and another realized in infinitive form. These classifications will be described in the segments below 3.7.4 Transitive verbs DN oy9, A transitive verb is an action verb requiring a direet or indirect abject to complement its meaning in the sentence. The action of the verb, performed by the subject, is transferred to the object, the recipient of ‘the action. It is nol just a matter of meaning but also of form. The direct object, which directly follows the verb, is either unmarked when the object is indefinite, or is preceded by the particle my when the object is definite, Indirect objects require a preposition. However, it should be remembered that many indirect objects are not complements of transitive verbs. Transitive verbs with direct objects: Indefinte direct abject ‘The parents bought presents for the children, oD) munp yp AMAAChapter 3: The verb systems Definite direct object ‘The parents hid the presents manga ng wan DANA Transitive verbs with indirect objects: Indefinite indirect object ‘The truck driver hit a streetlight and 3iN2 D993 pa MAW AMD power line post. Down Tay Definite indirect object 1 did not meant to hurt Michael buowna yws> smanann No A.comparative note Notice that while there is an indirect object following the verb - 98 shurvhit’, in English an equivalent verb takes @ direct object. In both ceases, the fact that the action of the verb is transferred to the object inakes the verbs transitive in meaning, 3.7.2 intransitive verbs orm ots, An intransitive verb is one that does not transfer the action to a recipient. The subject is the person or things undergoing or experiencing the action of the verb. Typically, an adverb or prepositional phrase modifies an intransitive verb, or the verb ends the sentence. Nir and lana danced naw Afterwards they strolled in the park. Jprwoa WW ON 727K Nit’s grandfather was born in 1930. 1930 maa zon 7 by Aa ‘Some verbs can function as both transitive and intransitive verbs. Intransitive Nir and Ilana studied. wind MPN Transitive They learned new songs. vIn SYPY 11H oN 3.8 With and without linking verbs In the present tense in Hebrew, there are sentences without verbs. They usually have @ subject and a noun or noun phrase predicate, or an adjectival one. These sentences are often referred to as nominal sentences: Dan (is)a is wife The twins The cat (i 3.8.1 Linl Verbless s tature tens two parts 0 Dan was th His wit wi Their twins students, Note PD may al a mere linki There was Job, 3.8.2 Othe Why do you They remair This movie: Fe 3.9 Verbs There are a part of their object, whic cannot be co obligatory px citation form Examples of object follow The host hurtmann AN wanA OMAN ayy. 9003 399 PAWN aT Digwn Tnyay ‘puna ynaad nN2NA NS following the verb =2 9x9 sa direct object. In both transferred 10 the abject bem oy transfer the action 1 a things undergoing or ypically, an adverb or verb, or the verb ends the wip MANNY? prnoa by on 13 7NN 1930 mwa du Mav intransitive verbs, rid PNY? vIn DYN YEDY On ences without verbs. They 1 phrase predicate, of an referred to as_nominal Chapter 3: The verb system Dan (is) a bank director. pan yt His wife (is) @ lawyer. Pras wx The twins (are) high school students, ya D»PEdN OmINTA ‘The car (is) over there ow nmzan 3.8.1 Linking verb ‘to be’ Verbless sentences exist in the present tense, however, in the past and fanure tenses, the verb ‘to be’ is present and in addition to linking the two parts of the sentence, it marks the tense. Dan was the director. Spnoan mon yt His wife will be « lawyer. YT aoyy mon WN ‘Their twins will be university DMO YD OAD OMIT students, OPIN Note ‘on may also secve as a full-fledged verb meaning ‘exist’, rather than as a mere linking verb, as in the beginning of the Book of Job: ‘There was a man in the tand of Uz named aN, YAR TIA wR Job. vow 3.8.2 Other related linking verbs Why do you seem so sad? PO SY 7359 ONY OMN Nad ‘They remained our good friends. by oynon OMaNA Ew) OF This movie sounds melodramatic. >onrnon yaw mp vIvT Kor more information, see Chapter I, pp. 320-323 3.9 Verbs with obligatory prepositions ‘There are a number of verbs, which have a preposition as an intepral part of their form. The preposition is, by definition, followed by an object, whieh is a noun, a noun phrase or a pronoun, The meaning cannot be conveyed by the verb alone; it rust include the prescribed obligatory preposition that connects it to the following object. The citation form of the verb usually includes that preposition. Examples of verbs that cannot be used without a preposition and an ‘object following it: ‘The host hurt our feelings. ub mwMana MDA -2y934 Chapter 3: The verb system When will you help us get ready aN pnb ye MRD Sy for the party? monn 3.10 Action, stative and inchoative verbs Another way of dividing verbs is hy semantic categories like the following: action verbs, stative verbs, and inchoative verbs. 3.10.1 Non-stative verbs There are many types of dynamic verbs, and most of them describe activities or events, which can have beginning and completion points. Here are some examples: Activity Shira is playing tennis, wv DpnWD AWW Process The food is cooking, Deane wn Action He passed the ball T1737 EAB RIA 3.10.2 Stative verbs Stative verbs usually refer to an ongoing state or condition. ‘They can be divided into verbs of perception or cognition (which refer to things in the mind). or verbs of stale (which deseribe an ongoing state), Describing perception/feclinaattitude: Ayelet hates science fiction movies. Ta y7B YO MNNW TON She loves adventure movies. SMNPADIA WIV TIAN wn Ayelet prefers flumy movies. DypnsD BWID HoT NNN, Describing states: Everybody is asleep, Dy o> Nobody is awake al such a time JNND NYT AWD TAR ON, He has been sick for a week yp Naw 799 NAN» 3.10.3 Inchoative verbs Inchoative verbs are verbs that convey a transformation and change of stale, such as “fall asleep’. which indicates the provess of changing from being awake to being asleep. The change is usually an internal ‘one, the process of becoming, Describing Everybodi Nobody w When he g Afica The applesrb uzmnyn np by inven Tbs: tic categories like the ative verbs. ‘most of them describe rid completion points. one Apu AVY yan xn avin 202 817 1 condition. They can be (which refer to things in ongoing state) pra yng ow DAD NON, nNpRET WOW AAMK NN pny OO’ MWD AN spay no -ANID IUD NY TANG orm yay 22 DANN sformation and change of the process of changing yee is usually an internal Chaprer 3: The verb system Describing changes of state: Everybody fell asleep, awry om? Nobody woke up when we knocked. syporws TMTA NY INN AR When he yets well, we'll travel to APMONS yor AWD NAW Afica —_ “The apples ripened (became ripe) yuan wmonnChapter 4 Verb pattern groups In this chapter the seven major binyania (verb pattern groups) will be discussed. They will be presented first in the regular root groups G°n7y first, and then in the irregular verb categories. 4 paral prog yaa 42 nifal dupa pa 43 piel coo) ya ya 44 pwat oyna) 9y9 ya 4S hitpa’et bygna ya 46 hif'il yon 2 4 inal yam) p99 2 4.1 Pa’al conjugation qw9 92. The pa'al conjugation is taditionally considered the simplest or the most basic of the conjugations. It is an unmarked conjugation, since its verb forms do not contain any special identifying markers other than the root letters, usually tri-consonantal (ie. composed of three consonants} and the tense/mood/person markers. The pa'al conjugation is not identified with any particular semantic trait either and is broad ‘enough to incorporate such categories as: (1) transitive verbs (e.g. {ran mJ P2x eat’) (2) intransitive ones (3¥2 ‘sit") (3) stative verbs (ye? “sleep") (4) inchoative ‘change/become’ verbs 4.1.1 Regular verbs ony Regular verbs are verbs in which all the root consonants are present in all the verb forms, Present tense/participle tyio apeainna par In most pa'al conjugations, the stem of the present tense consists of the sequence CoC eC, (C = consonant) 2919, The vowel 9 NID DIN, between the first and the second consonant of the root, and the vowel mvs, belween the second and third consonants, are the stem vowels for most of the masculine plural [ In the sing roked and vowel, whi rokdst. Variation - In some ve instead of U [_ Note In collogui sequence 1a pyr om Passive p Many pres describe a ‘stolen’, ete broken ‘The passive suffixes are initial vowe which ferirups pattern groups) will be gular root groups ony 2 yma 3 ya 1 ym py ny aya oye [22 ered the simplest or the ced conjugation, since its fying markers other than .¢. composed of three 8. The paul conjugation trait either and is broad ") one consonanls are present in 4yio anrafaun jar esent tense consists of the The vowel 0 N52 Dd1N, ‘the root, and the vowel ¢ s, ae the stem vowels for Chapter 4: Verb patiern groups most of the present tense forms. There are four forms of present tense: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural to dance 179% EATEN GOA TN OY TPA (A ANN 2A) aver DYTPH ON INR, UPON) DTH (MN WMI) —eAVO!D In the singular forms the siress is on the second vowel of the stem: rokéd and rokédet. In the plural form the stress shifts to the suffix vowel, which brings about the loss of the fast stem vowel e: rokeliny and rok. Variation — first stem vowel 2 In some verbs in the present tense of pa ul the first stem vowel is « instead of the usual 9. It characterizes mostly stative verbs, STW? (OR MN PINT YB? (NIA TAN PIE avon iw? QT IMR BMAN) | POT DMN AMIN) —_eNVONI Note In colloquial Hebrew native speakers tend to use the prevalent o-e sequence rather than the normative one for such forms: . WY? ywr* aby pir, It is considered substandard Passive participle yo ona Many present tense forms in pa'al have passive counterparts that describe state, and generally function as adjectives, as ‘broken’, ‘stolen’, ete. do in English. broken, ninay o-vay may nay ‘The passive participle stem is b4y9, but when the feminine and plural suffixes are added, the stress moves to the last syllable, and the stem- initial vowel is omitted, resulting in a variation of the stem: ->99, to which feminine and plural suffixes are added38 Chapter & Verb pattern yroups Compare: Jam open to any interesting proposal. snap yn 93) Mino >on The door is open: close it please. PypIa NMA Tw ;AMITE ToT ‘When the first consonant is 9 "7 /, a hataf patah replaces the shva in the feminine singular and the plural: n-nay ,ovnay PAY TAY ‘The pa’ form also provides a base for many adjectives (all of which have four forms) clear aby ny important ma WwE-HwD imperfect Apng-ong steep app opy Past tense aay nt The sequence ->y9 provides the stem for the past tense (and the citation form, since 249 is also the third person singular form). A variation of this stem -dy9 occurs when a final suffix vowel is added, and the stress shifts to it, again causing deletion of the preceding stcm-vowel (gama AYR, gamirt yp). Stress remains on the last stem-vowel only in the first and second person forms (gamdirti *N99, gamdirta nM, ete. to finish_Ynx JEPSON) TIDHANN PAIN — AEN mo A,B NIT HADI OMA) “ONY (ONN) WDE MAN) — mI 19921739} OA “There are two variants for the plural form of the second person: gmariém omy and gamdriem opypy. The variant gmarén is considered normative, but it is rarcly used, except in formal speech. ‘The other variant gamériem (considered substandard by some) is commonly used, and is modeled afier all other first and second person forms in stem structure and in stress pattern, Ordinary speech Normative gamiirtem OBR (ORK) gmartém = oa KOFN) gamérten ya AN) gmartén yarn AN) Future t When ra divided i stem vow stem vou The pers the First p Verbs wit Note 1. The ov normative (Golan mal 2. There ar person and (i) the varia plural and { ordinary spe Gi) The Bibl yy IRN is ra somewhat ar Verbs with apony ABSA 93 MND 93N, army ;AMMNE AIT ‘patah ceplaces the shiva onay APN TAY. adjectives (al! of which ortant = ATW Pp Ppp yay jt ast tense (and the citation Jar form). A variation of 1 is added, and the stress ding stem-vowel (game { stem-vowel only in the gamirta BID, ete). wn ay Sn ery syn ye DF ni of the second person: Phe variant gmartém is except in formal speech, substandard by some) is er first and second person Normative jartém = OPN (ONN) yan Ona Chapter 4: Verb pautern groups Future tense sony wnt When regular verbs nrpey are conjugated in the fature, they can be divided into two main groups: the major group of verbs that have an 0 stem vowel (such as 7294), and a smaller group of verbs that have an stem vowel (such as in 2098). The personal pronoun prefixes have an # vowel, with the exception of the first person prefix, which has an ¢ vowel: 2X ,712v». Verbs with o stem vowel > apEN EN) yA (AMY TA (IN) ane Tym on ay NIA ARN) MOAN ANN MW CONN), Tap oN) sNVONN (nya BY 1H On Note 1. The 0 vowel of the future tense is represented by a Rolam haser in normative orthography, but in common use in writing the vowel + (holam male) is inserted instead; Wow -1DY WANN 2. There are «wo variants for the feminine plural form of the second person and third person: (j) the variant thar is commonly used is the same for both the masculine plural and feminine plural, They have become the standard forms in ordinary speech and are considered normative. (ii) The Biblical Hebrew variant with distinctive feminine plural suffix Ayyean is rarely used, except in formel speceh, and is now considered somewhat archaic. Verbs with a stem vowel: to learn, study 71099 Sina Gm) TOM TINNY TDR EIN) APN yn Na 7 I (nae) TDD NAR ATDND (ANY THY? (NEN) NYO (ayrgny in) ATE On60 Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups Which verbs have a stem vowel a? 1. There are a few verbs that simply have to be memorized as having a stem vowel a: the future of a2 “study” = ip>? “will study’, and 329 ‘Tie (downy = 3392 ‘will ie down" 2, When the second or third root letter is 171 third root letter guttural second root letter guttural DUA, RavD aa NIA WIA AOTD oma oxen Note 1, The future forms that end in a vowel (the forms of yon ,yORN 7N) lose the second vowel of the stem when vowel suffixes are added. Consequently, there are bwo sequential shva’s: YIN rTA, Since such a sequence is difficult to pronounce, the sccond shva is pronounced ¢ rather than zero: tilmedt tilmedi: 2. The vowel a is not reduced when the second or third root letter is @ guttural. The vowel nmna-qon is used SDyy YON AOYYR (YOR) »2NU CoN) The imperative mood "y Similar to the forms in the future tense, the imperative forms can be divided into two groups, according to the stem vowel. The division only affects the form of the masculine singular. Verbs with 0 stem vowel sony Na Dy MDD IP Verbs with a stem vowel “earn 2) 7109 77H HIN ‘The negative imperative To form negative imperatives one uses the future tense form with the imperative negative particle 2x ‘don’t! evayn Dx gn De Cova) AON ON, * Just like in the future, there are two variants for the ferninine plural form of the imperative: #73 and snyD4 ‘The variant that is commonly used is the same for both the masculine plural and feminine plural, It is the standard form in ordinary speech and is considered normative, The infini ‘The ‘dean the majorit including t a (except The verba In addition: hnominalizat to the verbs verbs is gen Variants w 4. The letter i, when they and inperat ii, when oce infinitive: 2. The letters i. when they imperative: ii, when they infinitive: if, when theymemorized as having a will study’, and 339 ‘lie a {root letter guttural NOTA ATR NPR ms of YOR .yONN ZT) wel suffixes are added. 's MIRON psd. Since 2. the second shiva is dF third root letter is @ en (VDRO pPWWD (7) aw imperative forms can be em vowel, The division 2) syne Lapa sey03) 83 singpo 9192 Hp? VTP ure tense form with the py 9 CEN) WAH I 5 fr the feminine ploral 2 for both the masculine form in ordinary speech Chapter 4: Verb paitern groups The infinitive mood ayion ow The “default” stem with o in the future tense and in the imperative of the majotity of pu'al verbs also serves to derive the infinitive 2¥92, including those verbs that belong to the group where the future vowel is «@ (except for isolated forms like 23¥9): nbwb Snwd adh. The verbal noun twa aw In addition to the infinitive, there are also verbal nouns (rw9 ma¥), or nominalizations, that are more ‘noun-like’, but are stil] closely related to the verbal pa'al form. The form of verbal nouns of regular pa ‘at verbs is generally of the form nzr¥9, e.g. ANP ADE. Variants with ‘9 ,'>,' 1. The letters 'p "9 ‘2 are realized as b. kp i, when they oceur as the first consonant of the present and pasi tenses and imperative: pms ania, Tia soy m2 ming aang Wy Twa npg anp p79 nay ing 139 #12 sy fi. when occurring as the second root letter in the future tense, or the infinitive: pam aap ay? ny van’ 2292 ayy dyin ow 2. The letters ‘o> Ja ate realized as v, kh, f i, when they occur as the second root letter in the present, past and imperative: oth 29h paw ans 97,399 9gy -739 wap 97 may ays ii, when they occur as the first root letter in the future tense, of the infinitive: vagy ang? pap? Pry wage TAP? PTA? so OW iii, when they are in the final position in the word or root DPOwIP AaNT amaChapter 4: Verh pattern groups Variants with guttural root letters ct When the first root letter is ‘x, the vowel e replaces the sia vowel in the future, imperative and infinitive, The prefix vowel in these verb forms is also affected: YAN? VRP TOR? : 29197 OW VaR? aA TORE PPB svg Tay bay TPS ci=y ‘When the first root letter is, the vowel « replaces the sitva vowel in the fulure, imperative and infinitive, The prefix vowel in these verb forms is also affected: nye vay? Taye bya OW Toys ayy Tay? Pry ry ay Tay ows c= When the first root letter is n the vowel a replaces the prefix vowel é The first root letter can either be zeto sin. or the shva may be replaced by a. Both forms are acceptable, but the pronunciation with the zero shva is more common in speech. (inne 29n2 awHY) IAN? ,aSO2 AWN -d9nEn Ow Ging? alsne awn) IANS asNe awM? PAY C2=y insane When the consonant is a guttural a haraf parah replaces the shiva: snep pengn DYED may C3='y na At the end of the word, if one of these gutturals is preceded by a vowel other than @, a “furtive? patah is inserted: yiaw? apy now 4.1.2 Irregular verbs om oon ninra The group of irregular verbs is composed of verbs where one or more of the root consonants are either missing or altered. Note 1, The | consona Fool von 2 The | marked: When th >”9, mea ‘The cate called m9 The roo These ar such 4s i consonant consonan infinitive, v1 for vy Aceonding ana that conjugatia a"y verbs Present Past 3 pe Future 3 Imperative Note In oer v even when warp, ktnei Tn the highelaces the shvw vowel in ix vowel in these verb xp ayy ben aw FANE Tay TOAD PNY ixaag ea DN OS, aces the siva vowel in fx vowel in these verb y2 ay Tay? «byw BW op aay tap pry Hing ray 732 laces the prefix vowel i. he vlna may be replaced nuociation with the zero pian aun sasnan ow rans ay awn? Pr replaces the suas nig) peQYA OOD TeNY Js is preceded by a vowel fan (new ona DON ITA verbs where one or more ered. Chapter 42 Verb patiern groups Note |. The classification Dyn stands tor verbs where one of the root consonants is absent, while O>n> stands for the classification when a root consonant is present in spelling but it is not pronounced. 2. The three root consonant letters by which the irregularities are marked are: consonant | = "9, consonant 2 = , and consonant 3 = *. When the first consonant is affected, the following label is given to it: wa, meaning the first consonant yod undergoes a change, and so on ‘The category of roots classified by irregularity of root consonants is called 7711 “root classification group’. The root classification: *"yh"y ‘These are roots with a second coot consonant , such as in B-Vp. oF ©. such as in 7+. The verb stems of the past and present tenses are bi- eonsonantal, ie, have only two consonants, as the second root consonant is omitted, such as in 9y 0p. In the future, imperative and infinitive, the second root consonants are realized as vowels: the vowel yw for 9 verbs, as in yp, or as the vowel * / in »y verbs, as in “Py Accordingly, this conjugation pattern is called »y71y n3%9, since it és 9 ‘non that undergoes changes and thus differs from the regular verb conjugations. My verbs. to get up mpy Root classification Verbal Noun Infinitive x» mee oN? on xa Present one mop Past 3° person, ane ne Future 3" person. wp) ppp ony IN Imperative mw op Note In >»y/1"9 verb forms, the stress usually stays on the (only) stem vowel, even when a suffix vowel is added: kdma gp. kému yop, yakrime warp, kali pI, Aeimac orp. This is always the case in regular speech. In the higher registers, the present tense feminine singular form np isChoprer 4: Verb patiorn groups distinguished from its identical past tense form by the movement of its Stress 0 the suffix (the same as in the plural - karim, kame) Ityoushe gets up famé mB ANON AMA she got up kama pp wn tay As is the ease with any verb in the formal register, stress also moves to the sulfix in kamtéim/n yor, bul not so in repular speech (kimdemn) Variation of 1"y verbs: The stem vowel of the future, imperative and infinitive is 0 when the final root tetter is to come nvay Root classification Verbal Noun {ofinitive Root vs na Nap era an xn a Future wins nap m7 ony aN Dow Imperative nia pra Nia *"y verbs: The stem vowel is 7 whan the medial root leter is ": tosing wy Root classification Verbal noun Infinitive ~y ae ye? x Future we yen YON aN Lnperative my pre The root classification: x"9 +n) The conjugation is called w9 my because ts first root consonant, is y0n has a final “guttural” consonant +y nm, such as in 9 ‘know’, the stem vowel ¢ changes to a. Compare the two: Imperative Future Infinitive Root ew maye we sry omy ee The root classification: *"9 'n3 When the first consonant of the root is » y, and that is not deleted, but rather weakened to the corresponding vowel 7 in the future tense and in the infinitive, we refer to the conjugation as %2 ny N73.66 Chapter 4: Yerb pactern yroups Unltke 9 *70n where the » is omitted, notice that the letter » is still included in the verb forms: ayy but won. to sleep Yury Rootclassitication Verbal Noun Infinitive Root vem nw yw we an xa wn Future yn wr we vonx os a Imperative my? ow nw The root classification: "5 This classification includes verbs which have " nun as theit first root letter, Such verbs can lose their initial yin the future and infinitive for a Phonological rexsom: the consonant +» is weakened al the end of SsTlables, i, when mo vowel follows. As a result it tends to be totally assimilated into the next consonant (ef, English historical assimilation in inlegal > illegal, inregular > irregular, ete). The group of verbs Whose * is assimilated in this manner is known as.9"9 on a7, to fall bia Root classification Verbal noun Infinitive Root women nay Dep con an xa x Future a9 on be Insome 29 en verbs, while the initial » is lost inthe future forms, the 2 is Kept in the imperative, such as in these verbs: “fall down!” 5199 9829999 oF “take” NOW) H5Ys Hoyo) Other verbs lose the initial» in both: ‘drive’ nye s¥v , won pyen sen {®. oF ‘give’ mn Han NN ann -anN AMM (see below). 2"9 verbs that keep their initial‘: 1. Verbs that keep the 9 in the future, imperative and infinitive are those that have a “guttural” second root consonant: 1 7 yt, as they, Cannot assimilate any consonants adjacent to them, Sloss deliver sp drive tack land (plan 2. There a initial », ¢ assimilates rebuke oppose Special v ‘There are « different ir 1. ‘to give? The verb 5 consonants when occur form not on ‘on a speciat Ln the pre does not lose 2. In the past the subject ps occurs only i ‘compensates nate oy 3. In the third 4. All the far the second ¢‘that the letter "is still fintive wr x wr wr mx anx pwr ner ur as their first root mare and infinitive for a akened at the end of tit tends to he totally historical assimilation ). The group of verbs 3210 MI. live Root oe 39 xa ain Dan ar in the future forms, the rps: “fall down!” "re D190 ; BON "YON Yon below). tive and infinitive ave nts 97 ITN, as they rn Chapter 4: Verb patiorn groups Gloss Infinitive Imperative Future Root deliver speech ony DN oN mx drive ayy am am car) tack wr na we we Jand (plane) sing in nny mo 2. There are other verbs that for no apparent a priori reason keep their initial », and that today actually outnumber those in which the 9 is assimilated. Among them are: rebuke 9 bark na germinate vp ‘oppose 33 bite oy» took steps wp Special verbs: ‘There are a number of special 39 ON verbs that combine features of different imegular verb groups, 1.to give’ nny: 3"h"9 ‘The verb na ‘to give’ is @ unique one, since both first and third consonants are 2, either of which assimilates into the next consonant when occurring at the end of the syllable. In addition, the infinitive form not only reflects the loss of the two A consonants, but also takes ‘on a special infinitive form partly associated with »9 verbs Yayo Ow ‘wp ow wa yeompn; ne om |. Tn the present tense the verb 3-n- is conjugated as a regular verb and does not lose any consonants: nian ort MID NB. 2, In the past tense the third consonant '2 is Tost, and is assimilated into the subject pronoun suffix: the expected »n+359* ends up as *mp}. This occurs only in the first and second person, A dugesh Razak in the suffix compensates for the loss of the first root consonant, mnu/onw naw ox pam wn vm 3. nthe third person all consonants are maintained: YN} ,9N» 7 4. All the future tense forms lose the first 9, which is assimilated into the second consonant (a dagesh hazuk in the second consonant68 Chapter 4: Verb paitern groups compensates for the lass of the first root consonant): yx instead of ry va wa an um vm we 5. The imperative forms echo the first consonant loss of the future tense: fone. De anx Imperative on pp on 2. ‘to touch’ viayr/nwat The infinitive form has two variants: nyxb loses the First consonant 1 and takes on a special infinitive form associated with >»9 verbs, while ‘yx has a regular verb infinitive and keeps all root consonants, » en AyayanD ma? ceed All the future tense forms lose the first m, which is assimilated into the Second consonant. The stem vowel is a, as it is in any such forms thal end with a guttural consonant: Future 20 O7UN, YP NIN, Yap TIN DREN 239) VON WAR YvONN yan mw Imperative DAM 3. to travel’ yoy ‘The infinitive form of this particular »"9 verb keeps all consonants, but the future and imperative lose the n, like the verbs above: Future 9) VMN YP NIA, YOR TAN YON ON, YP? VON WPA YONA pyER nN, Imperative 2p vO VE 4. ‘to take’ nngy, ‘The root of this verb is r-p->, and although it does not have a9 or a» Consonant, jt behaves like a "9 verb with a final guttural consonant. It 's conjugated just like the verb »32 “to touch’. The infinitive form loses the first consonant / and takes on a special infinitive form associated with 9 verbs. All the future tense forms lose the first °, which is assimilatec any such f Future Imperative The root In the no kept in spel Root classi mony Present Paul Past Future Imperative Note Notice that i >ayg, follow this is aot t well. Attim The root cl When the thi final positi elsewhere, it vowel, This v9 9 beeaywsonant): YD instead of wn wm onant loss of the future Bx any oy na 3 es the first consonant ed with 9 verbs, while got consonants. men ya h is assimilated into the sin any such forms that 392 NIN, SAN NNN YIN PON yOM WAP YORN NAAT wD seeps all consonants, but bs above: P NOT YER ANN. YER 92 a7 PA YONN AYER NN yoy DP joes not have a9 ora al guttural consonant, It he infinitive form loses fnitive form associated ¢ the first 2, which is Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups assimilated into the second consonant. The stem vowel is as itis in any such forms that end with a guttural consonant ‘y orn: Future :A BY WNIN.,NB? NIA AVN ANN NPS IN dnp? VOR ANPN YONA NEA AN Imperative snp ng.nP The root classification: x"9 ma In the x" conjugation, in which the third root consonant is °x, the mis kept in spelling, but is not pronounced at the end of the syllable. to find way Root classification Verbalnoun Infinitive wey mse ne9B? on x Present omeyta angina Paul Day nay Past oxy mse Future wy? Nyon vorw Imperative pxga Note Notive that in some x" verbs, the " substitutes for the 'N in the 2093 ‘we, following the »» pattern, as shown in the table above. However, this is not true for all 2") verbs, as forms such as NID2, AMY exist as well. At times there is even a ‘mixed’ case: 7391¥9,»1¥) ‘married”. The root classification: "4 +na When the third root consonant is p, itis realized as the vowel ¢ or a in final position, where it is represented in the spelling as "n, whereas elsewhere, it is realized as the vowel i, or is clided before another vowel. This conjugation is called >¥9>n. 11 is also commonly known as nv °m because of the final 7 of the citation form.0 Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups to buy niapy Root classification Verbal noun Jnfinitive Root 2 mI mbp> arp ap wa wa any Present op mip nite yp Pa'ul ome map op op Past oR ane mp we Future ap mpn mp nypn vane Dx any Imperative nap Note that in the third person feminine of the past tense, elision of the stem vowel would have merged the form with the masculine counterpart, "99. To prevent thal. the historical feminine 7 resurfaces, resulting inp. Marginal root class: u"y 4m some roots, the second and third root consonants are identical, jn geal, most of them behave like regular verbs in current usage, e, rae “I celebrated” from the rool 2+n, but a few maintain a separate form in which the two identical consonants are merged, e.. mop “I pardoned" from 3-n, For full conjugation see Appendix i 4.1.3 Associated meanings AS aoted above, pari verbs can be classified into two major proups, verbs of action and stative verbs, but itis hard to go inta any’ further semantic classification. since pa'al is the major default verb conjugation, and the meanings of other binyanim are often described in relation to the pa ‘al pattern, 4.2 Nifal The conjug nie to Facil stem. fs na form, its“ maintained | the first con infinitive, ac occurs att fit wigamer In the imper ‘Stom of the hi ‘Thus, instead future, imper: hazak in the f the prefix con visible, When pronoun sibje the first persor oO 1 The » does not sometimes eve 4.2.1 Regular Regular verbs 4 verb forms,Infinitive mp) mvp 7 me min my mp Root me am mip ome PR aD ip ast tense, elision of the » with the masculine feminine ‘n resurfaces, nants are identical, In in current usage, €.8., few maintain a separate e merged, e.g. 27H “1 into two major groups, 1 10 g0 into any further major default verb mare often described in Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups 4.2 Nifal conjugation yon ya The conjugation nif'al 2s Ysa is identified by a prefix, (realized as rni- to facilitate pronunciation), that is part of its past and present tense stem, Its name reflects the third person singular maseuline past tense form, its ‘citation form’: ni+CCaC syp4). The ni- prefix is not ‘maintained throughout the conjugation. Its 7 is totally assimilated into the first consonant of the stem in the future, the imperative, and in the infinitive, and the vowel pattern changes. It is assimilated because it ‘occurs at the end of the syllable in these sub-conjugations (e.g. itm gamer > riggamer > tigamer — ct. n assimilation in pa'al above). Inthe imperative and infinitive forms, there emerges am initial m pretix. ‘Stem of future. ‘Stem of past and present i+shamer ony? nitshmar ‘Wye Stein of the imperative and infinitive hitshamer apn Thus, instead of nfCCaC 2y9) of the past and present, the stem of the foture, imperative and infinitive is hi)-CaCeC 9y9-1n). The dagesh acak in the fitst root letter was intended to compensate For the loss of the prefix consonant 97. When the text has vowels. the dagesh hazak is visible, When the text has no vowels, the letter » is inserted after the pronoun subject prefix to reflect the vowel # (This, of course, excludes the first person singular personal pronoun, as the vowel of that prefix is @: pyr on wn von won wn ‘The » does not form part of the nifal pattern but is inserted for clarity sometimes even in vowclled texts, 10 indicate the / vowel, 4.2.1 Regular verbs onw Regular verbs are verbs in which the root consonants are present in all verb forms.n Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups Present tense awa jar ‘The present tense forms have a ni- prefix, which identifies them as nifal verbs. The stem vowel is yop a with the exception of the feminine form. to recall 3 793n> 92H (NOT WN NP | PH OM , AW .22N) neon SHEP ANAK AMUN; OND (OA, ORIN ETAR) emo" In the singular forms the stress of the word is maintained on the second vowel of the verb form: nizkar, and niskéret. In the plural form the stress shifts to the last vowel of the word: nizkarim and nizkarét. The second vowel (or stem vowel) remains a, and doesn't change to ¢ with the movernent of the siress, Past tense vay int ‘The past tense forms also have a ni= prefix, which identifies them as nif al verbs. The stem vowel is no a, with the exception of the forms that end ina vowel SDP ON MAPINAN) FPDP OB eH mB ADNAN AD}2H ANN) PDP (ond ,wIVp MUNA AVON now A NV On The stem of the past tense shares the citation form miCCaC-. Ht has a variant niCCeC- (the second shva is pronounced e), resulting from reduction of @ to e when the stress shifts to the last syllable of an added Vowel suifix (feminine and plural markers of the third person). Future tense Teny int In the fisture tense the mi- prefix is not present, and instead we find the stem i(e) + CaCeC-. As noted above, the n was there histotically, but as in other similar environments was assimilated into the subscquent consonant, resulting in a dagesh hazak when the letler is not guttural (guttural letters required that the previous vowel be lengthened instead). It has a variant -iCaCC- when the stress shifts to the last syllable (fer deletion of d As noted ab form tike m: will recall’ i vain and the The impera The Imperali aduition is p Recall! Beware! Wat Often a» isi ‘The future fo fen for pos ‘Come in, in Don’t enter t Limited use Directives ca meaning: Come in! Bewaret but not when Get broken! Be writen! The infinitiv The infinitive this case the sana jar ‘ich identities them as the exception of the PN. PON) nen AYN) VENT intained on the second in the plural form the arim and wickardt, The nesn’t change to ¢ with yay nr hich identifies them as exception of the forms nN) APP ON AVY on AIP NI ) ra (anIN) -M7E.29 pH ON orm niCCaC-. It has a ced ¢), resulting from st syllable of an added third person). ony nt and instead we find the there historically, but ed into the subsequent ie Tetter is not guttural vowel be iengthened tress shifts to the last Chapter 4: Verb pattorn groups syllable (feminine and plural markers of the third person), reflecting deletion of the last stem vowel, DIRE MN) IRAN) DREN) APY agnor aay AUREL) NPE, 7ABBN (OMNI WP OMNY VOT apy) NEP MEP oA AS noted above, the is usually present, as in 721m. Without the » a form like 7947 can be read as “you will remember” in pa‘al, or “you will recall’ in nial, There is no confusion if the pa ‘al form is written som and the mif'al form is written >2vn, The imperative mood nny, The Imperative shares part of the stem with the fature tense, and in addition is preceded by the prefix - hiCaCeC (hiCaCCy Recall! OM men me eT Beware! Watch out! Be carefull (pO MA MA TD Often a "is inserted after the prefix: 93071 ‘The future forms are used with negative commands, and in daily speech often for positive commands as well. Come in, immediately! Hen wn Don’t enter the room! rind oer Limited use Directives can occur in nifial only when the verb has an active meaning: Come in! son Beware! mara but not when it has a passive meaning: Getbrokent nae Be-writtent sara The infinitive mood oyisn De ‘The infinitive has the same stem as the future and imperative; in fact, in this case the stem is identical to the imperative stem: vizn2 “to enter’74 Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups | don't like recalling that story. 2D YN TDYIMD AMMA ND MON Iis impossible to come in; the 73 7S NOM WIDMY WRC opening is too narrow. He needs to beware of them. Lone and Paw MOA The infinitive form can also be translated by the gerund ‘doing’ (rather han by ‘to do’), though not as commonly: Entering his house is like entering px» wD NI AMIN YON ByONd a bank. pap Verbal noun aywon ow Not all verbs can generate a related verbal noun. Most nifal verbal nouns usc the same stem as the infinitive, plus the abstract nominalization suffix 7-, It is always a feminine noun. In these verbal noun forms, the ¢ vowel of the stem (of the infinitive, future and imperative) is deleted: Verbal noun Infinitive Citation form running into mena 2 9p Rn? a>pm state of readiness mown > Tyn? oT Some forms of the verbal noun are based on the present tense stem: Verbal noun Stem form detertvination mn determined ym willingness, readiness sma) correct 1 Some verbal nouns whose base is nif'al are realized in other patterns: Verbal noun form entrance, entry App enter, come in D7 caution myvay watch out DD Variants with '9 ,'3, 1 The letters '9 “3 'a are realized as b, kp When occurring as the second root consonant in the past and present, or the first root consonant is in the future, imperative and infinitive fem AIM Agy ears Jem 19 ,7ay2 Tay DEN WPT PIAA Ty T waen,2TET PY iat wagnd ,pran? -Synan ow 2. The letters i, When itis ii, When it imperative, a Variations 1 in the fict and there is n 2. The prefix from nis to ne echo’ vowel exception (in 3. When the: is replaced (feminine sin and in the se second person 4.2.2 Irregu Irregular verbs are missing, al The root cla: When the fir replaced by th converted to thTAG TODD ATIN ND PDN JAIN {DY WIN, ‘pnp ayn? Py AI gerund ‘doing’ (rather 9 mR nan VON posrAb pa? Aton oe un, Most mif'a! verbal plus the abstract ¢ noun, In these verbal infinitive, future and Gitation form em 2p resent tense stem: Stem form nined om yr ed in other patterns: ‘Stem form ier, come in I? watch out aH he past and present, or e and infinitive TAMER ABADI nem) 9p 798 Tay DIAN WHOA PTAA Pay DPT .WagT PTBA wy nony Ig? oso Ow Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups 2.The letters are realized as v. kh, f i, When itis the first root consonant in the present and past Feng) I? APY wa fonoy 0329 1092 ay ii, When it is the second or third root consonant in the future, imperative, and infinitive voy ayn ayn DAY sopy? Pa Wn jay? THY voyny rainy rayne -bynan oe Variations with guttural radicals 1. In the future, imperative and infinitive, the prefix vowel is always and there is no dagesh hazuk in the guttural consonants; 3¥00?. 2. The prefix vowel of nifal ni- in the past and present tenses changes from mi- (0 ne- when the first consonant of the verb is» "n/m JX. An echo’ vowel replaces the zero vowel of the first consonant, with the exception (in non-fonmal usage) of first radical n Syn) Nar | AY NOM; AABANA ;YADAI 3. When the second letter is *guttural’, the expected er vowel (shyt) is replaced by a Aataf patali in the third person of the past tense (feminine singular, and plural); in the second person singular feminine and in the second and third person plural of the future tense; and in second person singular feminine and plural of the imperative dA MAW NP M|! PEN NAB ny 4.2.2 Irregular Verbs om anon nna Irregular verbs are verbs in which one or more of the roots consonants are missing, altered or remain silent. The root classification: "9 "nz When the first consonant of the root is », it is never deleted; it replaced by the vowel o in the present and in the past tenses, and converted to the consonant " in the rest of the conjugation,6 Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups to be born 1304 Root tion Verbal noun fintive Root oon! mrp syn 1 EE xn anx Present ony wep mH Past ny Wb pry Future ep wy on The root classification: x" +n The final consonant +x is always silent in forms that end the word or syllable, or precede another consonant that ends the syllable: 1. The past tense first and second stem, and third person masculine Singular: x72 Q/ORa/-N/EVN) -x7e). Note: before a consonant, a> e. 2. The present tense singular: nergy Nap? 3. The future, imperative, and infinitive stem (except for forms that end ina suttix vowel): sop to be read/named xygny Root classification Verbal noun toot Mdm: men NoenY xp m0 xa mn any Present oN) Een) xp Np Past aNp} ayaa xD Dnt Future woe or soy? Nopn von 2x ang Imperative neipn pxgen 2990 The root classification: +" ina ‘When the third root consonant is », itis realized as the vowel e or a in final position, where it is represented in the spelling as n. Elsewhere, it is realized as the vowel > ey, in the past tense: 7779. oF in the singular feminine present tense sary 77. The final stem vowel is elided before a final vowel when a suffix is added, such as in Bp? OF 3p) BM, and a “7 separates the feminine apu39 form from 7739 Root classifi wong Present Past Future Imperative "The associat The nifal for ‘contemporary Combined in The verb ayy gutturals with Root classifica moma Present Past Future Imperative “While the ver and associated Marginal root In a few verbs consonant wher reflected in a | survived” In the literary re “T retreated", aInfinitive Root vey ~ ma any me 1 ca am wy en s that end the werd or the syllable: person masculine fore a consonant, a > 2. cept for forms that end Was the vowel « or ling as 0. Elsewhere, it many, or in the singular vowel is elided before Jnup? on ap} on, and a Chapier 4: Verb pauern groups Root classification Associated noun Infinitive ona ‘nga nbane an Present om > Past na mp ature man ma von mx Imperative fan oan The associated noun is often the verbal noun of the pa ‘al conjugation, ‘The nifal form of the verbal noun is magn, but it is rarely used in contemporary Hebrew. ‘Combined initial guttural and *"» verb: ‘The verb msn “to enjoy’ combines the features of verbs with initial gutturals with those of > 9 verbs. to enjoy may smnny Root classification Associated noun Infinitive Root wom mon anny ven xD pnw Present am mm Past nm DD Future np ama ay DN Imperative *While the verbal noun form mip exists, the noun commonly used and associated with this verb is adam “enjoyment” Marginal root classes: y"y I"y ,"9 on In a few verbs, the first 9 of the stem is assimilated to the next consonant when it occurs in syllable-final position, and its loss is reflected in a dagesh hazak, @g., from 3-¥3, MPs) < ones ‘T survived’. In the literary register, some Wy forms survived, e.g.. from 1-0, niyo? “T retreated”, x10) ‘he retreated’, There are also some high registerChapter 4. Verb paitern groups residues of yy verbs, eg, from a-a-B, omiagy ‘I tumed’, agp the turned” See Appendix ¢ 4.2.3 Associated meanings In contemporary Hebtew nifal generally refers to either one of two meanings ~ passive or inchoative (denoting a change of state}. In a few cases, it also carries a reciprocal meaning. The focus of most nifal verbs is on the teeipient of the action. a. Passive meaning ‘There are several verbs in nif'al which are counterparts of transitive verbs, usually in pa al Active meaning Dan gent the letter only yesterday. Dyan 99 aRDIN NN Nw YT Passive meaning The letter was sent only yesterday. Syene pr news aman When a nif'a/ verb carries a passive meaning, the grammatical subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action, rather than the agent that performs the action, The minimal components of a sentence with a passive verb are the subject of the verb, which is the recipient of the action, and the nifial passive verb: Anza : Nw {9920) 2909 VTeRWD (YEP 5D nywvanspa << amonme row yt ‘The presence or absenice of an agent (the one performing the act) is dependent on the context. There are many instances where the agent is as important a focus as the recipient, and thus js incladed in the passive sentence as well, as an indirect object. Agent: subject ‘The police interrogated suspects oenen aypn mowny ‘Agent: Indiract object ‘The suspects were interrogated by the op dy apy pNwni police. mown b. Inchoal Inchoative to a state ¢ change of s sent causi Dan semem close the do The patient difficult tes Thus, in a: breaking is cannot enki have been it A compara In both Heb the subject be realized form with a ‘The shops n The result 0 the passive f The shops 2 Tuesday afte The nifal | participle Sw person who undergoing i meanings of to register hi Dan is regist Joseph leanec» “I tured’, 293 she to either one of ovo mnge of state). Tu a few s focus of most nifat interparis of transitive PTAA DN NW TT oven prey angen ne grammatical subject her than the agent that 1 passive verb are the = action, and the nif‘al YrexwD Goyp) 999 < aman ndw iT performing the act) is nces where the agent is included in the passive anwn mph snowman oP ay npn) owHA pnownn Chapter 4: Verb panern groups b. Inchoative (change of state) meaning Inchoative verbs involve 4 change of state, e.g. going from wakefulness to a state of sleep, as expressed in a verb like “fall asleep’ OTD. A change of state may be ‘involuntary’; the process happens without an agent causing it, or without mentioning who caused it, Dan remembered that he Forgot to neta nN wave Nov NYAW ABDI close the door ‘The patient weakened after the mph avon AAW won} NAA difficule treatment. Thus, in a sentence like A73y) H~aVFD “the window pane broke", the breaking is assumed to have occurred on its own. In Hebrew you cannot make an agent out of an inanimate object. Even if someone may have been involved, their role isnot the locus of the statement. A comparative note In both Hebrew and English the recipient of the action may actually be the subject of the proposition, but in addition, in Fnglish, the verb can be realized as an active verb, whereas in Hebrew itis stated by a nif'al form with a passive meaning. ‘The shops never close, SWDO? NY OY gN APOAT ‘The result of the action is stated in Hebrew not in nif'al, but rather in the passive participle of pa’ ‘The shops are closed every nN wdY OP D>.-MBO INT Tuesday afiernoon. ommsa The wif'at form describes the process, whereas the pa'al passive participle 21y9 "92 describes the state resulting from that process. The person who is causing the action may be at the same time the one undergoing it, in which case the verb is referred to as ‘reflexive’ (ef. the meanings of hitpa’e! below). In the illustrations below, Dan can be said 10 register himself for school, and Joseph to Jean himself on the wall, Dan is rexistering for schoo! today. bya ona avy Joseph leaned on the wail. pn Dy wy aDChapter 4: Verb pastern groups ¢. Reciprocal meaning The nifal binvan shares another meaning with hitpa'el, that of reciprocity. There are a few reciprocal verbs in mifai, where the causer of the action and the recipient of it are not the same, but may shift roles {usually conveyed in English by ‘each other"). Reciprocal meaning can only occur when the verbs are in plural form, sinee the meaning ‘cach other" inyolves more than one entity. Dan and Rina get at work. -rpaya was a YT Moshe and Hanae separated after many = gw AR JAS) MANY AWD years, mm ‘The sentences above can have reciprocal pronouns as their object. This use of these pronouns is optional since they are redundant. Dan and Rina met each other at work, de py a yeaa man YT amnaya Moshe and Hanna separated from eac BAL TO AM Aw other after many years, -mNa1 DB ANN When the subject is singular these verbs must take an object, usually introduced by an obligatory preposition: Dan gets together with Rina every Jy 92 AY Dy vAS YT evening. Moshe separated fom Hanna after many av Sanaa Ta ne years, mat The feature of reciprocity is not a unique Feature of nif d. Other meanings Verbs in nif'al ate not necessarily passive, inchoative, or reciprocal Many involve none of the above semantic features and can be considered to have an active meaning, We opened the door and entered the amp rye aban AN une. room We hurried to help them, JBTTy non Britain fought the Nazi regime osnon NOwR MBN TEMA He wrestled with his conscience. oso By pay aA 43 Pred The by © masculine vowel soqu tense. This 337. Th oth dagesh haz vatious ten consonants A historical ‘The presene (geminated) the length « phonetically, which also 1 always reali 4.3.1 Regu The group of consonants a Present ten The present t marks it for p ™ Note The prefix 9 nif-al. The present many agjectiv Here are somevith hitpa’el, that of if al, where the causer me, but may shift roles eciprocal meaning ean nce tne meaning "each saya. wa 7 YT Pane TS FIM Aw ma ms as their object, This edundant. oy ne wD) APD YT anaya aunt yn aM Mw ma DY NN take an object, usually 3997 DY VIN YT YANN TEND TDN Aw ma of wif. choative, or reciprocal: features and can be 92 WOIDN NTA NN ANS omg yon) 9 owEE AND Twa nog by paXaNIn Chapter 4: Verh paern groups 4.3 Pi'el conjugation dys pas, ‘The 99 CiCeC sequence characterizes the stem of the third person masculine singular form in the past tense and gives it its name. The vowel sequence He (with its variants) provides the stem for the past tense. This includes @ dagest hazak in the second consonant, e.g. X17 727. In other tenses and moods the vowel sequence is ae: 731+, The dagesh hazat, which is part of the pattern, exists in al} forms of the various tenses and moods, with the exception of the ‘guttural ‘consonants (9,,'n /7 "NI, where a dagesi ean never be present. Ahistorical note ‘The presence of the dagesh hazak is a historical residue of the doubled (geminated) second radical, which originally marked the doubling of the length of a consonant, Today this feature is no longer in effect phonetically, but the dagesh hazak is still part of the pattern of the verb, which also means that when the consonant concerned is ,9 2, itis always realized as a stop, b. p. 4.3.1 Regular verbs one ‘The group of regular verbs is composed of verbs in whieh all the root eonsonants are present in all the verb forms. Present tense ua pat The present tense of this conjugation patter has a -2 me~ prefix, which marks it for present tense, SUBD (OOM WE PON) | TD (NIA TINE PIN nen SADE OT INN TMU) | ITH (ON DAN, WAI —NVETD Note The prefix -n is typical to all vor’ pattern groups, except for paat and nial. ‘The present tense forms of pi'ef not only act as verbs, but generate many adjectives and nouns. Here are some adjectives that have pied present tense forms:Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups Adiective Citation form fascinating PE fascinate pM reinforcing ping reinforee pan fantastic pow drive mad aw Speakers add new adjectives constantly, e.g. Adjective Citation form Root astonishing bane shock cnn oe Here are some nouns that have pie! present tense forms: Noun Gitation form immigrant wm immigrate wo trainer/coach = yD train wN narrator n900 tell, narrate 788 ‘gambler anne gamble aon Past tense vay ar ‘The past tense of piel has three stem variants: Masculine singular 3° person: diber yan 1 and 2™ person forms: dibar- “at 3” person feminine singular and plural (stem vowel dibr- at deleted when stress moves to sulin} to speak; to talk 1399 SMPTE NIAT ANY A IBT OWN) TP mat aen nag aga ADIT NN) ONION) IST NIN) VOT yn yron ‘The vowel stem / is indicated by the frequent addition of > following the first consonant; 72°. Jt is added not only to indicate the stem vowel, but also to further clarify the difference between piel verbs and pa'al verbs, such as between 72D ‘recounted/told” and “ap “counted”. ‘The » is often inserted even in texts with vowels Future ter ‘The future t 1. In all fits person plur 2. In the sec and third pe moves to su The imper ‘The imperat Future fore The infinit The pi'el is imperative: T want total happened ye Talking to t wall. Verbal nou The piel ve second vow Gerund ow ewtion forrn Root pm pm mn BEN wwe tion form Root ben eT : forms tion form Root wD an vex EN ny 0 ween vay jar diber ay dibar- 37 wel di ag NO OMIT ON) AP p07 aT NA ) ST OMONY VOT aT yn. Mayon addition of following y (0 indicate the stem petween pi'el verbs and 14° and 70 *courited’. Chapter 4: Verh pattern groups Future tense Teny jot ‘The future tense of piel has two stem variants: [In all first and second person singulars and first -daber Te person plurals 2, In the second person feminine singuler and second dab and third person plural (stem vowel deleted when stress moves to suffix) ISTP (AN) ABIDE TTYON) TT aeinton aT NNT AapgID MAIN AMY META OAN) ATT ON) emo (onary nan MT oA The imperative mood oes ‘The imperative shares the same stem with the future tense. doyaM maT oT aT Future forms used for negative and positive ones in speech: san Damp oy sum PATA DN om mar by The infinitive mood wip ow The pi'ef infinitive uses the same stem as the present, future, and imperative: nw? pan nate. J want to talk to him about what pV nD Dy INIT A AN happened yesterday. yon Talking to him is like talking to the »PN DN rTP IWAN wall Verbal noun Atnyoa ow ‘The pi'el verbal noun uses 2 form similar to the ‘citation form’, bul the second vowel is 2 rather than e: Gerund Stem Gerund Stem oe aw ony, 00 ae ape ae aweChapter 4: Verb patiern eroups Variants with ‘9,,">,'2 1. The letters ‘9 ,'9 ,'a are realized as b, k, p i, When itis the first root letor in the past and imperative: bp w2,apa Tae f0I2 99 PR VI ii. When itis the second root letter in all tenses and moods: 99 090 127 ay 72pp ,299p ,1379:AMM 790} ,0901,737) Ty DPT Py n90> 0902 1279 pn DY 2. The letters ‘9, "2 are realized as v, hh f i, When it is the first root letter, preceded by a prefix: in the present, future, and infinitive. PID, NOY ,W2:AM yO PAN TTY [802 0929 PIP: 9vt9n Dw ii, Whenever it is the last letter in the word or root: TAIV.OND.THP Variations with ‘guttural’ consonants ‘a ,'n,'n,,'y,'x 1. When the second root letter is or 9, the first vowel 7 is replaced by cin the past tense and in the verbal noun; wxE 7a; WE, 2, When the second root letter is a guttural, the expected zero vowel (shiva) is replaced by a hataf patah: Yay, YY ,7779 when the verb form ends in a stressed suffix vowel. 3. When the second root letter is or "9, the patah under the first one is replaced by a kamats, but the pronunciation remains the sam Dw 4, When the third root Jetter is +» 17 and no suffix is appended, the normative form has the stem vowel a: ng? dv; however in common specch the second stem vowel changes to e and a ‘furtive’ patah is inserted, as in nag? yaw. The form with a furtive patat is the only option in the present tense: NR9p ,ysw7 (note: Fem. NAVD NAA). 4.3.2 Irregu The root cla Verbs that be consonants, T Some of the y Gloss sharpen ‘warm up cool down embitter ‘The root cla In pi'el, paral ones, and unde and merged medial conson Gloss | spin around incite Note Some yyy 1 regular verb in ‘consonant, The Examples Gloss fulfil, realize incite, arouse Gloss aim, direct found, establish The root class When the thied the syllable, althperative: bn 799,7Pa ay rong fpa oy nd moods: 799,090,737 ay a9 0298 ,7aTR ANN 79m oRPr aT. PT yep 1090 NBT My 0299 "377 bya OY prefix: in the present, PR Wap VIDA OY ODN DIN PHY 2 0327 P99 «397 DY a7 POW TIP fain Se t vowel is replaced by cana wR Je expected zero vowel 9 TR) when the verb ah under the first one is mains the same: WWI, cuffix is appended, the y; however in common nd a furtive” para is, rtive patah is the only sn. yu TDI). Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups 4.3.2 Irregular Verbs ona oon nna The root classification: y"v ‘Verbs that belong to this group have identical second and shird root consonanis. They are conjugated as regular verbs. Some of the »»y roots are derived from bi-consonantal adjectives: Gloss Infinitive Future Prosont Past y'y any sharpen ne Im MRT EN warm up peo Dh? OPN op me yy roots have two forms of pel: one is conjugated as a regular verb in pi‘el, and the medial semi-vowel "or ” is realized as a ‘consonant. The other follows the merged »y/1"y/»"y pattem above. Examples Gloss Infinitive Citation form Prelroot — Souree fulfill, realize one DP mp DEP incite, arouse one? ow mp op Gloss Infinitive Citation form Source aim, direct we 1. o> found, establish pit pip aro The root classification: x" «ny When the third root consonant is ’x, it is not pronounced at the end of the syllable, although it is maintained in the spelling.Chapter 4: Verb puttern groups to fill up 999 Root classification Verbal noun Infinitive Root xeon Dxambn ron nD on xO nw Present omen pee Nope 7B Past ap yen ND DNED Future wn xa noe Noon Hone ay any Imperative ery oxo nee The root classification: "+ When the third root consonant is ”, itis realized as the vowel ¢ or a in final position, where it is represented in the spelling as ‘™, whereas elsewhere, itis realized as the vowel * i, or is clided before another vowel. to discover/reveal m4 Root classification Verbalnoun Infinitive Root » yn me a an ny xa anx Present od ape rip niu Past os nae oy wa Future ay rian ny aban vou De ane Imperative am on ime 4.3.3 Derived and newly created verbs ‘New verbal roots can be created for piel, which is a very productive binvan, There are various ways of eteating such new roots, most of which are listed below. Three-consonantal verbs derived from nouns: Several ayentive verbs (where the subject of the verb is the one camying out the action) with tri-consonantal roots were and are continuing to be derived from existing nouns, as in ifation form Noun Stem place (opr) opE place worn report (nwa) yt report ant mechanize 020) 29 machine ormpion file ons file opr Derived fou Most Hebrew earlier stages in peel: provide livel However, mi words oF root stem syllable a. First stem Root classic (oy9>W] O Present Past Future Imperative b. Four-cons Another way four consona erb meanin interest caloulate ensure, obtait c, Verbs der ‘The consona that are realiz telephone hypnotize fantasize flictnfinitive: nD? mn Non x08 1 oN Ne as the vowel ¢ or a in gelling as *n, whereas elided before another ane Wea b is a very productive ch new roots, most of uns: "the verb is the one roots were and are Noun Stem morn fmt ne ormyiap opr Chapter 4: Ver’ pattern groups Derived four-consonantal verbs Most Hebrew verbs can be traced to three-consonant roots, but even at earlier stages of the language, some four-letter roots can be attested, all in pie provide livelihood = os98 gnaw pene However, most four-consonant verbs were derived trom pre-existing words or roots. The oldest historical method was to reduplicate the first stem syllable, as in 2399 ‘rol (tr.)', 9323 “confuse’ a. First stem syllable reduplication: to roll b529 Root classification Verbal noun {oreown) oan ou x Present Cor mea pap Past win ain ne Future wie en per onx nN Imperative ni pan b, Four-consonantal verbs derived from existing nouns Another way is to derive such verbs from existing nouns with (at least) four consonants: Verb meaning — Citation form Boot Base Noun interest yy ey matter wy calculate yep Fw calculation —— pay, ensure, obtain yee armor wwe . Verbs derived from foreign words: ‘The consonants of the foreign words are adapted into root consonants that are realized in the pre! four or tive consonantal pattern: Citation form New root telephone wor Ae - yo very hypnotize ven . voon ayien fantasize rwi9 - yore moe flict vers - errs vrs88 Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups Note Most recently many new technology terms have been adapted from English, While technical terms are created by the Hebrew Language Academy based on Hebrew roots, these new terms come fron the field, and are created by necessity, They often have a short life as the Academy creates the necessary new roots or new technology replaces the existent one, requiring new terms. refresh vn — wr compile 907 — ppp Four-consonant roots expanded from three-consonant roots. Some new roots are derived from existing tri-consonantal verbal roots, to which an initial -v, -n, -x, or-m are added as the first consonant, to ‘create a new, but related meaning, a. Four-consonantal verbs: with -w as first consonant Adding an initial -v as the first consonant, creating a new, but related ‘meaning can create new roots, Verb meaning Citation form Root Gloss ‘convince MW yeeD-w surrender 9393 rewrite any ny write 207 duplicate. photocopy 398 9-5--Y multiply »997 b, Four-consonantal verbs: with initial letters n x .n ‘The prefixes -m -N ,-n characterize some new roots, which are either derived directly fiom existing nouns, ot trom existing tri-consonantal Verbal roots. New verbs are created, and they have a meaning related to their source words. Verb meaning Citation form Root ‘Noun rill, exercise aA yan exercise 7D function agen tpn function 999 diagnose yan onan check, test yn refer TN PON mention 247) enumerate 7P r9-0-0 number >g09 mortgage Yn en mortgage nya 4.3.4 Assc Piel may b var ‘speak’ rubric; the « activity, whi subject of th The director he got us go¢ The follow characterize a. Causativ The voluntee patients in m: ‘The danger p b. Repeated Some pi'el ve action to the Aipers is ‘jue the activity m “break? yay sf accounted for The clerks sor We didn't reac leafed through (One proserves ©. Removal A small group ‘noun). One should ue the schools, We'll remove¢ been adapted from he Hebrew Language s come from the field, e a short life as the w technology replaces van pope ~e-consonant roots nsonantal verbal roots, the first consonant, to nsonant ing a new, but related 098 Base render 32D ite any #n9 itiply 7937 SD nan roots, which are either isting ti-consonantal ve a meaning related to Noun exercise >yn funtion PpOR check, test we mention P31 number 7902 morgage mayo Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups 4.3.4 Associated meanings Piel may be either transitive, e.g. 179 ‘arrange’, or intransitive, e.g. 37 ‘speak’. It is difficult to place all the verbs under one semantic rubric: the closest is ‘agentive’, i.e. the verb designates a voluntary activity, which is initiated and controlled by the ‘actor/doer’, who is the subject of the sentence, The director is a friend of ours and wb YP NM Yow TaN -NDIN he got us good tickets for the show. magn? Daw pwr? The following subgroups have additional specific features. that characterize them. a. Causative: ‘cause to be’, or ‘cause to become’ ‘The volunteer physicians cure din DIND OTINDA NOTIN patients in many distant villages. Dn O23 ‘The danger unified the family. Jansyinn me armyN mDvA b. Repoated/intonsive action Some pi'el verbs that share roots with pa‘a! add the feature of repeated action to the meaning of the verb. Thus, if Yop kafass is ‘jump’, Yep ipets is “jump again and again, or jump back and forth’. Sometimes the activity may be characterized as intensive, so while 19y shavar is “break” “av shiber is ‘smash, shatter’. The intensive activity can also be accounted for by repetition, as ‘smash’ means ‘break again and again’ The clerks sorted all the files, _DPINND HN WD OYPPSA We didn’t read the book - we only 239791 D9 NODA TN ENAP NP leafed through it 2 One preserves fruit in this manner, yy nba M9 or c. Removal A small group of verbs in piel refer to removal (often related to a base noun). One should uproot violence from navn nan MOMdNA-NN woes prs the schools. We'll remove all the thugs. jyran 99 nN pow90 Chapter 4: Verb pauern gronps 4.4 Pu'al conjugation Sys poa, PFel and pw al ate related conjugations. All or almost all verbs in pu ‘al awe passive counterparts of existing pie! verbs, which in itself suggests that pu at is always pi‘el-based, However, not every pi'el verb has a passive counterpart in pw'al. The pu'al stem is characterized by the discontinuous 1-4 vowel sequence that internally matks it as being passive, The u-a vowel pattem simply replaces the parallel i-e one in the corresponding pi'e! erm. As in piel, the second root consonant is always marked with a dagesh Razak, which iy not audible in current Hebrow, but which at least means that when that consonant is one of the letters 9 2 /2, itis always realized as b, &, p — never v. kh, f Patter Form Root Form — Root CiCec ed Cla A) apn 310) 790 The dagesh Razak in the second root consonant of the verb is an integral part of the pu ‘a! pattern, just as itis an essential component of piel. The only exceptions are the *guitural” consonants (9 “M9 /¥), which can never have a dagesh. As noted above, the presence of the dagesh is an historical residue of the doubling in length of the second foot consonant. An important feature of the pur'al conjugation is that it is timited to the tenses only: present, past and future. This verb conjugation does not have the imperative or infinitive moods and does not have a verbal noun. The pi'ef infinitive and verbal nouns serve the #1 al conjugation. Due to the passive nature of pu ‘al, most forms used in the past, present and future teuses aro in the third person only. ‘There are only a few verbs that occur in the first and second person also, 4.4.1 Regular verbs one ‘The group of regutar verbs includes veths in which all the roat consonants are present in all the verb forms. Present tense aun jor All present tense forms are marked by a1 me- prefix. to be arranged/neat_ 79H niony DITO LON NN PM IVD (IAL ADN. 239 non OVOP OA. INN NAN); BIO (OP ANN WM) —_enVONN RETR OMI MTOR) OPP (OD ON WMAARI nora | When the vowel mar is inserted Many prese is particular obliged riveted connected signifiedima Past tense ‘The past tens In the first an Tn the third px In text without Future tense ‘The future ten vowel a is lost In text without yfytp aa, most all verbs in pu"al hich in itself suggests very piel verb has a characterized by the ly marks it as being the parallel ie one in ond mot consonant is not audible in current t consonant is one of “never % Bh f Form — Root ooo} 97 20 fore) rae nt oF the verb is an sential component of pants (9 9 7, e, the presence of the n Tength of the second conjugation is that it nd future. This verb itive moods and does verbal nouns serve the al, most forms used ird person only. There ond person also. on hall the root ama por refix. We PA TN) wen pA BMON) VEN Chapter 4: Verb panern groups When the text is without vowels, the 1 vowel replaces the kubuts [.] vowel inark. In ordinary writing, even when the texts have vowels, the 1 is inserted to make deciphering this form easier Shea DTD AINOD TED Many present tense forms of pial function as adjectives. This pattern is patticularly productive in generating new adjectives. Adjective Citation form Root obliged Gmmoraimp be obliged 2 7 riveted femirn) pay be riveted Pm pn connected qramne)7392 be connected «1g signified/marked (joven) OR be marked wo oD Past tense yay jor The past tense of pir'al has two variants of the past tense ste In the first and second person: puiar- “799 In the third person feminine singular and plural: putre 903 to be fired 199 nope PWR NN NTWS ANN! AMIVZ OUND APN TIE NM, WwYNIT DWE ARN. ONES (ONY) AIDED OMI -MVER sea Mw2en Tn text without vowels: New om MOND Ww HOW pNWwIO Future tense sony jnt ‘The future tense uses the following stem: -CuCaC. The second stem vowel a is lost when the stress shifts to the last syllable. PA—RR CON) AWAD CAMRY AWAY ON) TPR Jean TWP NIA Amy I) WDA AN) AWwOR (ENN) 9? ONIN) MvOP27 canon) ws M99} OM In text without vowels: ren WWI WON Wan AVION2D Chapier 4: Verb pastors groups Variants with ‘9 ,"2,'2 A. The letters ‘9 2 1 are realized as bk. p i, When itis the first root letter in the past tense pip.te9 say ji, When itis the second root leter in all tenses and moods: 9p 039,729 738 79Rd OPH TIVE ANIA 790) D2) ,TIB? TAY 2. The letters's > are realized as v, kh. f i. When it is the first root letter in the present and future tenses 928 ,0)20 YR -P >y aw OPA ID the manager. We also find some pu al verbs used in passive sentences even when the corresponding pi'el verb is not transitive, e.g.,.999 “talk, speak* and 197 ‘be talked about’: It was not talked about in the last rbwmnn naw 72 Sy a0 Ny meeting of the government. Amn A comparative note Active verbs in English have passive counterparts, This is not necessarily the ease in Hebrew. Dan did not pay Ron the moncy APIA NK DDWADIT ya Ron was not paid the money. ABSA OUR The money was not paid (by Ron). QM Sy) Bw ND qI7—Sy9 Other verbs act in a similar way in Hebrew and English: ‘The doctors immunized the ON AN BON ONsIA dys children against measles. DDN TD ‘The children were immunized PAW MRO OH dys against measles, Common use The use of pu‘a! is most offen restricted to a high register, which is used in news broadcasts, in formal documents or speeches and in literature. In practice, the use of sentences with third person subjects and the verb in pi'el is more characteristic of everyday speech to express the passive sense. More formal This bill was paid, omwatnpaenA sys vervday Use ARM AWAA Ne bwaD _dyN5 Pu'al participles as adjectives or nouns There are many participles (present tense forms) of the same verbs that function as adjectives, nouns, or adverbs, The stem of the unique marker: 1. Ttean bei 2. It can be oyna 3. In the funy 8s in the fol AS in piel a with a dage Hebrew, one letters 9 > 3 4.5.1 Regul Regular verbs are present in Present tens All present ten tense, and the f The stem of the |. Masculine, si 2. First and seco 3. Third person f (deletion resutinnvr AR MDW omnPIN Poy AAW BYTE fences even when the alk, speak? and 7137 napwra TD 99 WaT ND ann, erparts. This is not > OPYO TT AOE bw xb 037 lish: BON DNNTIN nome TD spon ON dpa oye oy oye igh register, which is or speeches and in third person subjects F everyday speech to saw nn WaeAA Dye TN WwW AI ya of the same verbs that Chapter 4: Verb pattern groups Adjective — The hour is already late. SAMI 739 AWWA Adverb —__Latrived late to the meeting. MAND NEM son Noun All the dignitaries have ‘yin prrayapn 99 arrived. Adjective Professor Schwartz isa highly = Ina HW TWOND regarded scholar. zaman 4.5 Hitpa’ef conjugation gvona joa ‘The stem of hitpa’e! has two components; -i + pa el. The prefix -it is the unique marker of hijpa’el, and it is always preceded by another marker: L. It can be initi 2. It can be pyar. 3. In the future tense, the subject person prefixes combine with it, such as in the following forms: Syarp wan. As in pi'ef and in pw al, the second root consonant is always marked with a dagesh hazak. Although the dagesh is imelevant in Israeli Hebrew, one consequence is that when that consonant is one of the letters "2 2 3, it is always realized as 6, k, p, respectively. ted by the present tense marker m: "y9n0. tiated by f in the past tense, imperative and infinitive 4.5.1 Regular verbs one Regular verbs are composed of verbs in which all the root consonants are present in al] the verb forms. Present tense Auta qat All present tense forms have @ mit- -313 prefix: the m indicates present tense, and the following £ indicates that it is itpa'et verb. (o get dressed waenny YIN (OM TN IN) WIND GAIT TAN aR) npn ivaeMG 7,INN ANN); ANB (ON,ONN WAIN) nyo Past tense yay nt The stem of the past tense of hitpa’el has three variants: 1. Masculine, singular third person hitlabesh wana 2, First and second person forms hitlabash- — -waann 3, Third person feminine singular and plural ——hitlabsh-— -wana (deletion resulting from stress shift to the suffix)98 Chapter 4: Verb pattere groups eDSTA (NN) WIND (AN) yma: ay39ND Nn ,wadnn mI J Y32790 ON) ,OPYIoNN (OMA) wwIdND OMA) nVONID augznn yn wana on A historical note In Mishnaic Hebrew a variant of Aigpa’el emerged in the pertect: niipa’el, with m replacing. hin the hit- prefix: take place, exist orm bediscovered am This variant became the profetsed realization in Mishnaic Hebrew, Few verbs maintained the dit- prefix in that period. It is very likely that the > n shift resulted from analogy with them of nifal. in modern Hebrew, ‘its is dominant in everyday use: nit- is more typical of higher registers. Future tense ny jor The stem of the future tense of hitpa’el has two variants: 1. In all first and second singular and first. -tlabesit wae person plural: 2. Inthe second person feminine singular and -itubsh- ~va2n- second and third person plural (deletion resulting from stress shit): ¢RIDM (Med wAPHA ARN) VEPAN OI) — AVDA wabnn ion uaene xin (yvaeng) WeR2AN CIM) weadDD (OMNI wom (UMN) enV {nqyaonmy wabm In wabm On The imperative mood x ‘The imperative, like the past and the infinitive, includes the prefix hi- of the hispa'et pattern in its forms, (yazan neaynn seapnn swabnn Like in the rest of the conjugation, the stem vowel is reduced from e to a zero vowel before a stressed suffix hidabesha * > hitlabshr The negative imperative ‘The negative imperative also uses the future tense form with the negative particle be “don't!” The infiniti The dippa’el imperative: § letter “> *to" I need to get home, He hopes tod University. As in other b English gerun Exercising ev. The verbal n ‘The hitpa'el \ stem. The stew stressed vowel Gerung swarm A verbal noun preposition as t Thave no objec Famitiavity wit important for th Alternate sten ‘There are ceria when the first c the sibilants are of their articulet of the prefix 9 consonant. It ma the articulation | them from mergi