Hebrew grammar

A person, place, thing, or idea.

An action or a state of being.

Describes a noun.

Says how, when, or where.

Shows a relationship: on, over, under, between.

Joins words or clauses: that, because, but.

Stands in for a noun: he, you, this, which.

A numeral: one, two, first.

An exclamation.

Marks the direct object of the verb. It has no English equivalent and is usually not translated.

Asks a question: what, where, why.

The speaker: I, we.

The one spoken to: you.

Anyone else: he, she, it, they.

Grammatical gender. Every Hebrew noun is masculine or feminine, whatever it refers to.

Grammatical gender. Many feminine nouns end in ה or ת.

Masculine or feminine: the same form serves for both, or the word can be either.

One.

More than one. Masculine plurals usually end in ים, feminine plurals in ות.

A pair, mostly for things that come in twos: hands, eyes, nostrils.

The simple, basic stem, and by far the most common.

The passive of the simple stem: “was ___.”

Passive or reflexive of the simple stem: “was ___ed” or “___ed oneself.” Marked by נ before the root.

Intensive or repeated action. The middle letter of the root is doubled.

The passive of the Piel.

Causes the action: “make ___,” “cause to ___.” Often marked by ה before the root.

The passive of the Hiphil: “was made to ___.”

Reflexive or reciprocal: acting on or for oneself. Marked by ת after the first letter.

A rare reflexive passive.

A completed action, usually translated as past.

An incomplete action: future, ongoing, or repeated.

“And he did…”: the imperfect joined to “and” (וַ), the usual way to tell a story in the past.

The perfect joined to “and” (וְ). It often continues a command or describes what will follow.

The imperfect joined to an ordinary “and.”

A command.

“Let him, let it”: a wish or a mild command.

“Let me, let us”: a resolve or a wish.

The “to ___” form, often after a preposition.

Often placed beside a verb from the same root for emphasis: “you shall surely…”

A verb used like an adjective or a noun: “___ing,” “one who ___s.”

Describes something that has been acted on: “written,” “blessed.”

ו at the start.

ה at the start, usually doubling the next letter.

ב at the start: in, with, by.

ל at the start: to, for.

כ at the start: like, as.

מ at the start: from, out of.

שׁ at the start: who, which, that.

Another attached preposition.

Usually י at the end.

One person: usually ךָ (masculine) or ךְ (feminine) at the end.

More than one person: usually כֶם or כֶן at the end.

Usually ו or הוּ at the end. Also “its.”

Usually ָהּ at the end. Also “its.”

Usually נוּ at the end.

Usually ם or הֶם at the end.