Hebrew 1 - Lesson 10

Lesson 10 introduces three themes in Hebrew grammar:
  • Verbs and nouns' roots
  • Roots' classification
  • Verbs Structures

    Discussing the above themes spans a course of a number of lessons. During those lessons, the rules of conjugating roots will be introduced. Understanding the principles roots' conjugation reduces the amount of vocabulary that has to be memorized. Furthermore, it explains the reason behind the different voweling and sometimes consonant structure of verbs.

    Lesson 10 introduces just a few new words but it also introduces the combination of auxiliary and a main verbs, to convey a thought of an action. Roots Most verbs and nouns in Hebrew evolve from three letters roots. A root is an abstract item without sound and vowels. To the roots, vowels and sometimes consonants are added to create recognized word. Words that share the same root relate to one another in sound and meaning.

    As roots integrate in words they maintain there original order. Letter # 3 never precedes letter #2, and # 2 never precedes letter # 1. Many times a letter that is not a root letter will be inserted between letters # 1 and # 2. Other letters can be inserted between #2 and #3, or at the beginning of the word or at its end. Nevertheless, original order never changes.
    Instead of using #1, #2, #3, the convention is "Pay" , "Ayin", "Lamed" Those letters are the roots letters of the Hebrew word (verb).
    If one of the root letters is "A,H,O,Y,N" try to sigh as you make a word from it. The root will not compose a regular verb, rather it will compose a verb for one of the irregular or incomplete verbs.
    The incomplete includes groups such as "Lamed-Hay" , "Ayin-Vav", and so forth. A verb is a verb that it's 3rd root letter is "Hay". The correct terminology is: "Lamed HaPoal" of its root is "Hay". The name of the group is defined by the letter that makes it to be irregular and the root letter that represent the position of this "Ahoyn" letter. A root that it's second root letter is Vav composed verbs that classified in the group.

    For regular roots:
  • is voweled with a "Vav" (O sound).(see next chart)
    • Masculine Singular form
  • is voweled with a "Tzaireh" ("Eh" sound).
  • is unvoweled.
    • Feminine Singular form
  • is voweled with a "Segol" ("Eh" sound).
  • is voweled with "Segol" too..
  • F/s forms of verbs are completed with a suffix "Tav".
    • Masculine Plural form
  • is voweled with a "Shva" and it is practically unvoweled.
  • is voweled with a "Chiric" ("Ee" sound).
  • M/p forms of verbs are completed with a suffix "Final Mem".
    • Feminine Plural form
  • is voweled with a "Shva" and it is practically unvoweled.
  • is voweled with a "Vav".
  • F/p forms of verbs are completed with a suffix "Tav".

    • The characters of voweling structures of other groups will be discussed in lessons 11 and lesson 13.

    Infinitive forms of regular roots:
    In addition to the conjugated forms (M/s, F/s, M/p, F/p) each verb has an infinitive form
  • Infinitive forms of verbs begin with a prefix "Lamed".
  • Most prefix "Lamed" in the infinitive form are voweled with a "Chiric".
  • In most verbs is voweled with a "Shva" and it is practically unvoweled.
  • Most of the verbs vowel their with a "Vav" ("O" sound).
  • In the infinitive form "Lamed HaPoal" is left unvoweled.


    This is not the case when "Pay Hapoal" is one of the following throaty letters: "Alef", "Hay" "Chet" "Ayin". (That is because such letters do not sound well with a "Shva").
    In stead of a "Shva" "Alef" gets a yellow "Eh" sound, and the "lamed" will get a similar (ot identical!) sound.
    In stead of a "Shva" "Hay" gets a red "Ah" sound, and the "lamed" will get a similar (ot identical!) sound.
    In stead of a "Shva" "Chet" gets a red "Ah" sound, and the "lamed" will get a similar (ot identical!) sound.
    In stead of a "Shva" "Ayin" gets a red "Ah" sound, and the "lamed" will get a similar (ot identical!) sound.


    • (F/P)
    ...
    (M/P)
    ...
    (F/S)
    ...
    (S/M)
    ...
    (Inf.)
    ...
    Understanding this concept saves the need to memorize five Hebrew words for one word in English. in the future in the vocab list you are going to see the following:
    Dance
    Understanding this concept enables you to to derive,- "Lrkod" "Roked", "Rokedet", "Rokdim", "Rokdot".
    (F/P)
    DKR
    (M/P)
    DKR
    (F/S)
    DKR
    (S/M)
    DKR
    (Inf.)
    DKR

    Complete verbs that have been introduced in previous lessons are:
    StudySee if you can tell what are the root letters of each.
    Write

    Other verbs' classes and structures

    Irregular or incomplete verbs conjugate according to a different voweling (and letter adding/dropping) patterns. Conjugation of incomplete roots is discussed in lessons 11 and 13.
    Roots conjugation is effected by another important factor - type of structure. If groups of verbs are families, than structures are tribes. Each "tribe" has regular verbs and irregular (L"H, A"V, etc'). Most of the material in this class is discusses verbs that are conjugated in Paal Structure (as do most of the verbs in Hebrew). Having Pay Hapoal voweled with a "Vav" indicates that a root is conjugated in "Paal". "Medaber", "Metayelet" are not verbs that are conjugated in "Paal"!

    Auxilary verb plus a main

    Like in English, in Hebrew, there is a need for and Auxiliary verb and a main verb to convey certain thoughts. Such thoughts are need to act, or desire to act, or joy or hatered of action.

    He has to study.
    She wants to write.
    He likes to dance.
    She hates to fight.

    In those combination the first verb is the Auxiliary verb and the second verb (in the infinitive form) is the main verb. In Hebrew, auxiliary verb has to agree with the subject of the sentence therefor comes in different forms (M/s, F/s, M/p, F/p).

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