Hebrew Plural NounsAs suggested in the previous section, masculine nouns become plurals with the addition of ים as a suffix. Feminine names on the other hand are changed from the singular to the plural by the addition of וֹת. You can see how this works if we consider the masculine noun for 'a tree', עץ. This is converted from the singular to the plural by the addition of the masculine character, meaning that 'trees' is עץים. Similarly, the feminine singular noun for the wind is רוּח which would become רוּחוֹת in the plural. This general rule is not however universal. For instance, there are a small number of masculine nouns that will take the feminine character that converts a singular noun to the plural instead of the masculine character. They will nevertheless remain masculine even in this slightly odd plural form. As an example, אוֹר ('or' = light) is a masculine noun that is converted to the plural by the addition of the feminine character introduced a couple of paragraphs ago. Consequently, the plural version (i.e. 'lights') is אוֹר וֹת but the noun nevertheless remains masculine. Another plural noun formation that you need to be aware of is known as the 'dual plural' which is generally used for things that come in pairs like your eyes, your hands, your feet etc. In this scenario, the plural uses the appropriate masculine or feminine character to convert the single version of the plural but the pronunciation changes. As an example, if the noun is masculine, the normal pronunciation of the character that converts the singular to the plural ('iym') becomes 'yim'. Consequently, עַינַיִם is 'eyes' which is as you would expect in written form. Nevertheless, be aware that the presence of a 'dual plural' changes the pronunciation although this is not something that you will necessarily be aware of when reading. If the first noun in the construct is masculine, the ם character is dropped when the singular is converted to the plural. As an example, the Biblical phrase 'sons of Jacob', the standard plural noun for 'sons' (בֵּנִים) is altered so that the phrase is written בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב. Introduction to Reading Hebrew The first basics The Hebrew AlephBet The Letters of the AlephBet Aleph Bet (Beyt) Gimmel Dalet Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yod Kaf Lamed Mem Nun Samekh Ayin Pey (Fey) Tsade (Tsadik) Qof Resh Shin Tav The Significance of the Alephbet The Basics of Hebrew Verbs The Hebrew Verb Subject The Hebrew Verb Object Hebrew Verb Tenses Hebrew Verb Voices and Moods Hebrew Verb Participles The Infinite Verb Version Hebrew Nouns Hebrew Noun Constructs Using Prefixes With Nouns Hebrew Pronouns Hebrew Plural Nouns Hebrew Adjectives Identifying Hebrew Questions Adverbs, Prepositions and Conjunctions Hebrew Reading Conclusion |