Hebrew 1001

Exam 1 Study Guide

Fall 2012

I. Sounds and Spelling

i. Consonants and the Alphabet

bêt ’alef
ḥet z̄ayîn vav heh dalet gimel
/ḥ/ /z/ /v/ /h/ /d/ /g/ /b,v/ /’/

‫ח‬ ‫ז‬ ‫ו‬ ‫ה‬ ‫דּ‬ ‫גּ‬ ‫בּ‬ ‫א‬

‫ד‬ ‫ג‬ ‫ב‬
ayîn‘ sameḵ nûn mem lamed kaf /yûd tet
/‘/ /ś/ /n/ /l/ /k,ḵ/ yôd /t/
/m/
nun* /y/
mem* kaf*
sofit
sofit sofit

‫ע‬ ‫ס‬ ‫נ‬ ‫מ‬ ‫ל‬ ‫כּ‬ ‫י‬ ‫ט‬

‫כ‬

‫ן‬ ‫ם‬ ‫ך‬

tav sîn šîn rēš qûf ṣadeh peh
/t/ /s/ /š/ /r/ /q/ /ṣ/ /p,f/
ṣadeh* peh *
sofit sofit
‫תּ‬ ‫שׂ‬ ‫שׁ‬ ‫ר‬ ‫ק‬ ‫צ‬ ‫פּ‬

‫ת‬ ‫פ‬

‫ץ‬ ‫ף‬
 ii. Vowels and Niqqudot
There are five basic vowel sounds observed in Modern Hebrew
car -ָ- -ַ- -ֲ- a
set -ֵ- -ֶ- -ֱ- e
deep ‫ י‬-ִ- -ִ- i
no ‫וֹ‬-- ֹ-- -ָ- -ֳ- o
room ‫וּ‬-- -ֻ- u

remote -ְ- no sound (or short e)

Historical and grammatical differentiations:
In the earlier stages of development of the Hebrew writing system a series of long and short
vowels was observed. Classifications of each are useful in determining grammatical processes.
composite or reduced historically short historically long

-ֲ- -ַ- -ָ- a

-ֱ- -ֶ- -ֵ- e

‫י‬-ִ- -ִ- i

-ֳ- -ָ- ‫וֹ‬-- ֹ-- o

‫וּ‬-- -ֻ- u
Special forms for foreign words and dipthongs:
day ‫יי‬-ַ- ay

eye ‫י‬-ַ- ai

they ‫י‬-ֵ- ey

they ‫י‬-ֶ- ey

boy ‫וֹי‬-- oy

chewy ‫וּי‬-- uy
 iii. Spelling
Modern Hebrew is written without the use of nîqqûd, also known as vowel markings. This system is not difficult to
adapt to because much of what you learn about pronunciation of words will guide you in anticipating simple sound
patterns.
For example words like:

‫ילד‬ ‫ספר‬ ‫מלך‬ ‫דלת‬ ‫כסף‬ ‫רגל‬

are called segholates (based on a characteristic vowel, seghol -ֶ-) and are all pronounced with e+e vowels.
Accent falls on the first syllable.

yèled sēpher mèlek dèlet kèseph règel

‫יֶ ֶלד‬ ‫ֵס ֶפר‬ ‫ֶמ ֶלך‬ ‫ֶד ֶלת‬ ‫ֶכּ ֶסף‬ ‫ֶרגֶ ל‬

Other words that belong to this family of pronunciation deviate slightly from the known pattern. Their
pronunciation can be anticipated based on a simple rule that some consonants, namely gutturals, prefer "a" class
vowels when they are present.

nà‘ar ḥàḇēr pètaḥ

‫נַ ַער‬ ‫ַח ֵבר‬ ‫ֶפ ַתח‬
The rule is that guttural letters prefer "a" class vowels, pàtaḥ, beneath and before them.

iv. Guttural Letters- ‫א ה ח ע ר‬:

There are four true guttural consonants (‫ע‬,‫ח‬,‫ה‬,‫ )א‬and quasi-guttural (‫ )ר‬that exhibit peculiar
features and restrictions. These consonants cannot be doubled (resist taking a dagesh) and, with
the exception of -‫ר‬- cannot accept a full shewa (-ְ-), but must take composite/reduced vowels
(-ֲ- -ֳ- -ֱ-) in such an instance.

The following words contain a guttural letter at the of the word and therefore add an additional vowel, called a
"furtive pàtaḥ" based on the rule that guttural letters prefer "a" class vowels, pàtaḥ, beneath and before them.

yôdēa‘ nôśēa‘ šômēa‘ pôtēaḥ

‫יוֹד ַע‬
ֵ ‫נוֹס ַע‬
ֵ ‫שוֹמ ַע‬
ֵ ֵ
‫פוֹת ַח‬
Also, in cases where a schewa is applied to a guttural it will usually take a composite form (most likely with an "a"
class vowel):
Based on the standard form We would expect to see But the correct form is actually

yeladîm ḥeḇarîm ḥǎḇarîm

‫יְ ַל ִדים‬ ‫ְח ַב ִרים‬ ‫ֲח ַב ִרים‬
eḵtôḇ e‘môd e‘ǎmôd
‫ֶא ְכתוֹב‬ ‫ֶא ְעמוֹד‬ ‫ֶא ֲעמוֹד‬
 iii. Beged Kephat- ‫בגד כפת‬:
There are six letters in the Hebrew alphabet (b,g,d,k,p,t) whose pronunciations vary between
aspirated (soft sounds, fricatives such as the ph in phone) and unaspirated sounds (hard sounds,
plosives such as the p in pop) based on their phonological environments. That is to say, where
these letters fall within a word dictates whether they will be pronounced as b,g,d,k,p,t or as
v,gh,dh,kh,f,th.
Unaspirated forms are represented with a dagesh -ֹ-- in the letter.
‫בּ גּ דּ כּ פּ תּ‬
t p k d g b
Aspirated forms are left graphically unmarked.
‫ג ד כ פ ת‬ ‫ב‬
t p /f k d g bh/v
h h h h h

Phonological Environments:
Word initial- at the beginning of a word the pronounced form will be unaspirated, hard
b,g,d,k,p,t
‫ִבּ ָירה‬ ‫גְּ ִל ָידה‬
bîrāh glîdāh
beer ice cream
Following closed syllable- unaspirated, hard b,g,d,k,p,t prevail after a syllable ending with a
consonant.
‫לפּל‬
ֵ ‫ִפּ‬
pilpel
pepper
Following a consonant that does not end a syllable- the second consonant in a consonant cluster
will be aspirated.
‫גְּ ִבינָ ה‬ ‫ְדּ ָבשׁ‬
gevināh devāš
cheese honey
Following a vowel or open syllable- aspirated, soft v,gh,dh,kh,f,th follow open syllables (those
that end in vowels instead of consonants).
‫ָח ָלב‬ ‫ָק ֶפה‬
ḥālāv qāfeh
milk coffee

In most modern dialects pronuciation variances are observed only for consonants [‫]ב כ פ‬, the
remaining consonants [‫( ]ג ד ת‬though graphically marked based on the above stated rules of
environment) will be pronounced only as unaspirated, hard sounds.
II. Nouns
all nouns have gender and number which can be detected by the following suffixes:

feminine masculine

‫ה‬-ָ- none singular

‫ית‬-ִ-
‫ת‬-ֶ-
‫וֹת‬-- ‫ים‬-ִ- plural

Animate Inanimate
‫נקבה‬ ‫זכר‬ ‫נקבה‬ ‫זכר‬
‫ישּׁה‬
ָ ‫ִא‬ ‫ִאיש‬ ‫יתה‬
ָ ‫ִכּ‬ ‫ִשיעוּר‬
woman man classroom class

‫טוּדנְ ִטית‬
ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫טוּדנְ ט‬
ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫ִס ְפ ִרייָ ה‬ ‫ֵס ֶפר‬
student (f) student (m) library book

‫גְּ ֶב ֶרת‬ ‫ָאדוֹן‬ ‫ַמ ְח ֶב ֶרת‬ ‫ַמ ְח ֵשׁב‬

Ms., Ma'am Mr., Sir notebook computer

consider a few of the following common noun patterns:

student (ms) ‫ַתּ ְל ִמיד‬ ‫טוּדנְ ט‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ (guy) ‫ָבּחוּר‬ (boy) ‫יֶ ֶלד‬

student (fs) ‫טוּדנְ ִטית ַתּ ְל ִמ ָידה‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ (girl) ‫חוּרה‬
ָ ‫ַבּ‬ (girl) ‫יַ ְל ָדה‬

students (mp) ‫טוּדנְ ִטים ַתּ ְל ִמ ִידים‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ (guys) ‫חוּרים‬
ִ ‫ַבּ‬ (boys) ‫יְ ָל ִדים‬

students (fp) ‫טוּדנְ ִטיוֹת ַתּ ְל ִמידוֹת‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ (girls) ‫ַבּחוּרוֹת‬ (girls) ‫יְ ָלדוֹת‬
 ii. Adjectives:

Adjectives usually follow the nouns that they modify and agree in number and gender.
Consider the previous set of nouns modified with the adjective ‫" טוֹב‬good."

‫ַתּ ְל ִמיד טוֹב‬ ‫טוּדנְ ט טוֹב‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫ָבּחוּר טוֹב‬ ‫יֶ ֶלד טוֹב‬

‫טוֹבה‬
ָ ‫ַתּ ְל ִמ ָידה‬ ‫טוֹבה‬
ָ ‫טוּדנְ ִטית‬
ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫טוֹבה‬
ָ ‫חוּרה‬
ָ ‫ַבּ‬ ‫טוֹבה‬
ָ ‫יַ ְל ָדה‬

‫טוֹבים‬
ִ ‫ַתּ ְל ִמ ִידים‬ ‫טוּדנְ ִטים טוֹבים‬
ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫חוּרים טוֹבים‬
ִ ‫ַבּ‬ ‫יְ ָל ִדים טוֹבים‬

‫ַתּ ְל ִמידוֹת טוֹבוֹת‬ ‫טוּדנְ ִטיוֹת טוֹבוֹת‬

ֶ ‫ְס‬ ‫ַבּחוּרוֹת טוֹבוֹת‬ ‫יְ ָלדוֹת טוֹבוֹת‬

Some nouns are irregular, i.e., they don't follow the normal patterns of gender and number.
Beware, adjectives agree in grammatical gender with nouns, not necessarily what the gender of
a noun may appear to be. For example:

‫ַליְ ָלה טוֹב‬ ‫טוֹבה‬

ָ ‫ִעיר‬ ‫נָ ִשים טוֹבוֹת‬ ‫ָאבוֹת טוֹבים‬
"a good night" "a good city" "good women" "good fathers"

iii. Possessives:

The possessive "yours," "mine," "ours," etc. is formed with the particle ‫"( ֶשל‬of") +
pronominal suffix.

‫רבים‬ ‫יחיד‬
ours ‫ֶש ָלנוּ‬ ‫ֶש ִלי‬ mine
y'alls ‫ֶש ָל ֶכם‬ R‫ֶש ְל‬ yours

y'alls ‫ֶש ָל ֶכן‬ S‫ֶש ָל‬ yours

theirs ‫ֶש ָל ֶהם‬ ‫ֶשלוֹ‬ his

theirs ‫ֶש ָל ֶהן‬ ‫ֶש ָלה‬ hers
 iv. Subject pronouns
‫רבים‬ ‫יחיד‬
we ‫ֲאנַ ְחנוּ‬ I ‫ֲאנִ י‬ ‫נ‬/‫ז‬
y'all ‫ַא ֶתּם‬ you ‫ַא ָתּה‬ ‫ז‬
y'all ‫ַא ֶתּן‬ you ‫ַא ְתּ‬ ‫נ‬
they ‫ֵהם‬ he ‫הוּא‬ ‫ז‬
they ‫ֵהן‬ she ‫ִהיא‬ ‫נ‬

III. Verbs
i. Participle (Present Tense Types):
The vowel patterns for each type, or binyan, are consistent and is used with various roots
pā‘al __o__ ē__ ‫עוֹבד‬ֵ ‫כוֹתב‬
ֵ ‫אוֹכל‬
ֵ ‫יוֹשב‬
ֵ
pî‘ēl me__a__ē__ ‫ְמ ַד ֵבּר‬ ‫ְמ ַל ֵמּד‬ ‫ְמ ַב ֵקּש‬ ‫ְמ ַח ֵפּשׂ‬
hitpa‘ēl mît__a__e__ ‫ִמ ְתנַ ֵדּב‬ ‫ִמ ְת ַכּ ֵתּב‬ ‫ִמ ְת ַק ֵשּר‬ ‫ִמ ְת ַע ֵמּל‬
hiph‘il ma __ __ î__ ‫ַמ ְח ִליט‬ ‫ַמ ְס ִפיק‬ ‫ַמ ְת ִחיל‬ ‫ַמזְ ִכּיר‬

There is no copula (the verb "to be" in present tense) hence no "is," "am," or "are"
‫אני יושב‬
I sit = I am sitting

Notice the vowel pattern and suffixes of these types of present tense verbs
the first type, called pa’al, follows a general o + ē vowel pattern
√ ‫ך‬.‫ל‬.‫ה‬
walk(s)/walking m.s., i.e., "he, you, I" -- -ֵ- ‫ וֹ‬-- ← ‫הוֵֹלך‬
walk(s)/walking f.s., i.e., "she, you, I" ‫ת‬-ֶ- -ֶ- ‫ וֹ‬-- ← ‫הוֶֹל ֶכת‬
walk(s)/walking m.p., i.e., "they, y'all, we" ‫ים‬-ִ- -ְ- ‫ וֹ‬-- ← ‫הוְֹל ִכים‬
walk(s)/walking f.p., i.e., "they, y'all, we " ‫וֹת‬-- -ְ- ‫ וֹ‬-- ← ‫הוְֹלכוֹת‬
 the second type, called pi’el, has a me -‫מ‬-
ְ prefix and follows an a + ē vowel pattern
√ ‫ד‬.‫מ‬.‫ל‬
teach(es)/teaching m.s., i.e., "he, you, I" -- -ֵֹ- -ַ-‫ְמַלֵמּד ← ְמ‬
teach(es)/teaching f.s., i.e., "she, you, I" ‫ת‬-ֶ- -ֶֹ- -ַ-‫ְמַלֶמּ ֶדת ← ְמ‬
teach(es)/teaching m.p., i.e., "them, y'all, we" ‫ים‬-ִ- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ְמַלְמּ ִדים ← ְמ‬
teach(es)/teaching f.p., i.e., "them, y'all, we" ‫וֹת‬-- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ְמַלְמּדוֹת ← ְמ‬

the third type, called hithpa’el, follows the same vowel pattern as pi’el, but has a "mît" -‫מ ְת‬-
ִ
prefix with an a + ē vowel pattern
√ ‫ב‬.‫ד‬.‫נ‬
volunteer(s)/volunteering m.s.,i.e.,"he, you, I" -- -ֵֹ- -ַ-‫ִמ ְת ַנ ֵדּב ← ִמ ְת‬
volunteer(s)/volunteering f.s.,i.e.,"she, you, I" ‫ת‬-ֶ- -ֶֹ- -ַ-‫ִמ ְת ַנ ֶדֶּבת ← ִמ ְת‬
volunteer(s)/volunteering m.p., i.e., "them, ‫ים‬-ִ- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ִמ ְת ַנ ְדּ ִבים ← ִמ ְת‬
"y'all, we
volunteer(s)/volunteering f.p., i.e., "them, ‫וֹת‬-- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ִמ ְת ַנ ְדּבוֹת ← ִמ ְת‬
y'all, we"

Roots beginning with sibilant letters (‫צ‬,‫ס‬,ֹ‫ש‬,‫ )ש‬in this binyan take a non-standard form. The
first root letter of this type metathesizes, i.e., transposes/changes places, with the -‫ת‬- of the
prefix.

instead of... ‫ִמ ְת ַש ֵמּש‬

we see... ‫ִמ ְש ַתּ ֵמּש‬

√‫שׁ‬.‫ת‬.‫שׁ‬
use(s)/using m.s.,i.e.,"he, you, I" -- -ֵֹ- ‫ ַתּ‬-ְ-‫ִמ ְש ַתֵּמּשׁ ← ִמ‬
use(s)/using f.s.,i.e.,"she, you, I" ‫ת‬-ֶ- -ֶֹ- ‫ ַתּ‬-ְ-‫ִמ ְש ַתֶּמֶּשת ← ִמ‬
use(s)/using m.p., i.e., "them, y'all, we" ‫ים‬-ִ- -ְֹ- ‫ ַתּ‬-ְ-‫ִמ ְש ַתְּמּ ִשׁים ← ִמ‬
use(s)/using f.p., i.e., "them, y'all, we" ‫וֹת‬-- -ְֹ- ‫ ַתּ‬-ְ-‫ִמ ְש ַתְּמּשׁוֹת ← ִמ‬

This is a phenomenon that is peculiar to the hitpa‘el verb and occurs in all tenses.
 ii Perfect (Past Tense Types)
Past tense verbs of all kinds are inflected for PGN. Each binyan shares the same set of suffixes.
plural singular
‫ נוּ‬- we 1st person ‫ ִתּי‬- I
‫ ֶתּם‬- y'all ‫ ָתּ‬- you
2nd person
‫ ֶתּן‬- y'all ‫ ְתּ‬- you
‫ה‬Wָ - she
‫וּ‬- they 3rd person
none he

Hitpa'el Pi'el Pa'al

‫תּי‬-ְ
ִ - -ַֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫תּי‬-ְ
ִ - -ַַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫תּי‬-ְ
ִ - -ַ- -ָ-
‫תּ‬-ְ
ָ - -ַֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫תּ‬-ְ
ָ - -ַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫תּ‬-ְ
ָ - -ַ- -ָ-
‫ ְתּ‬-ְ- -ַֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫ ְתּ‬-ְ- -ַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫ ְתּ‬-ְ- -ַ- -ָ-
‫ה‬-ָ- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫ה‬-ָ- -ְֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫ה‬-ָ- -ְ- -ָ-
-- -ֵֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ -- -ֵֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- -- -ַ- -ָ-

‫נוּ‬-ְ- -ַֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫נוּ‬-ְ- -ַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫נוּ‬-ְ- -ַ- -ָ-
‫תּם‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַֹ- -ְ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫תּם‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫תּם‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַ- -ְ-
‫תּן‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַֹ- -ְ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫תּן‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫תּן‬-ְ
ֶ - -ַ- -ְ-
‫וּ‬-- -ְֹ- -ַ-‫ִה ְת‬ ‫וּ‬-- -ְֹ- ‫י‬-ִ- ‫וּ‬-- -ְ- -ָ-
Many of the suffixes for the past tense correspond to forms of the subject pronouns:

‫תּי‬-ְ
ִ - -ַ- -ָ- ‫אני‬
ִ
‫ ָתּ‬-ְ- -ַ- -ָ- ‫ַא ָתּה‬
‫ ְתּ‬-ְ- -ַ- -ָ- ‫ַא ְתּ‬
‫ה‬-ָ- -ְ- -ָ- ‫ִהיא‬
-- -ַ- -ָ- ‫הוּא‬

‫נוּ‬-ְ- -ַ- -ָ- ‫ֲאנַ ְחנוּ‬

‫ ֶתּם‬-ְ- -ַ- -ְ- ‫ַא ֶתּם‬
‫ ֶתּן‬-ְ- -ַ- -ְ- ‫ַא ֶתּן‬
‫וּ‬-- -ַ- -ָ- ‫הן‬/‫ם‬
ֵ ‫ֵה‬