Hebrew - Verb forms - introduction
The normal verb root has 3 consonants in its simplest root form (usually Qal perfect). The first syllable is open, with vowel â. The second syllable is closed with vowel a, unless it ends with ’ or h in which case it is open with â. Typical examples are ’âkhal (he ate), or hâyâh (he was).
Exceptions are:
- Stative verbs (describing a condition or state of being), in which the second vowel may be a, ê or ô, eg. zâqên (he was old), qâtôn (he was small),
- Some monosyllabic verbs which originally had y or v as the middle consonant, over time contracted to make a diphthong with the preceding vowel. These are called hollow verbs and are listed in a lexicon under the Qal infinitive construct rather than Qal perfect. Examples are bô’ (to go), mûth (to die). Some verbs ending in h or ch have kept the middle consonant and so have avoided becoming hollow (eg hâyâh).
Strong and weak verbs
Strong verbs show no irregular consonantal changes with tense etc. Weak verbs show a variety of changes. Classes of weak verbs are: hollow verbs, verbs with gutturals in one or more places, verbs with any of the letters r, y, v, or n in one or more places, or geminate verbs. Nomenclature has changed regarding these: traditionally the designation was pased on the verb pâ‘al (he did/made), and used the letters thereof, whereas the modern trend is to use the consonant place index to specify. Classes of weak verbs are:
| Traditional | Modern |
|---|
| Pe guttural | I guttural |
| ‘ayin guttural | II guttural |
| Lamed guttural | III guttural |
| Pe ’aleph | I aleph |
| Lamed ’aleph | III aleph |
| Pe nun | I nun |
| ‘ayin vav/‘ayin yod | II vav/II yod/Hollow |
| Pe vav/Pe yod | I vav/I yod |
| Double ‘ayin | Geminate |
Some verbs exhibit doubly weak behaviour, with peculiarities from both sources, eg hâyâh.
Stages in identification of perfect forms
- Are there any prefixes other than ve or û?
- No - must be one of Qal, Pi‘êl or Pu‘al
- Yes - must be one of Niph‘al, Hithpa‘êl, Hiph‘îyl, Hoph‘al - use the prefix to identify which
- Is there doubling in the middle of the stem?
- Yes - must be one of Pi‘êl, Pu‘al or Hithpa‘êl
- Identify the suffix to specify person and number
- Reconstruct the verb root remaining.
With weak verbs this is usually a less straightforward process.
