Hebrew Verb Voices And MoodsVerbs have voices and moods. In our initial study of Hebrew verb is in the previous chapter, it was noted that every Hebrew verb identifies several characteristics, being a person, gender, whether the verb is being used in a singular or plural form, the tense and sometimes the number and/or gender of the object as well. There are a couple more characteristics that can be seen with Hebrew words as well. These are:
You need to learn to recognize the voice and mood of the verb usage. Let's get started. As suggested, there are three different voices that are referred to in connection with Hebrew verbs. When a verb is being used with an active voice, it suggests or imparts the action of the verb. For example, in the last chapter, every verb was used with an active voice, so that the phrase 'Jacob cut' (קצר יעקב - qatsar ya'aqov) it is a clear indication of the activity taking place for example. When the verb is being used with the passive voice however, it suggests that the subject of the verb is the recipient or subject of the action taking place. For example, to apply the passive voice to the previous example, נקצר יעקב (niq'tsar ya'aqov) would suggest that it is Jacob that is being cut. When the verb usage is reflexive, the suggestion is that the action is taken by the subject of the verb and imparted on the subject as well. For example, the phrase התקצר יעקב tells you that 'Jacob cut himself'. As a general observation, the passive voice is often identified by the prefix נ (nee) when it is used in the perfect tense, whilst the reflexive voice can be recognized by the addition of הת"(heet) in the perfect tense. Verbs using the active voice are most common and should be easily recognized. The rules for verbs being used in the imperfect tense are however a little more complex. For example, there is little to differentiate between the passive and active voices apart from a change in vowel sounds that will be heard in spoken Hebrew. Obviously, this is not a change that you can easily recognize when reading. Similarly, when a verb has a reflexive voice in the imperfect tense, the first letter of the reflexive prefix (ה) is dropped. The second letter of the prefix (ת) is then moved so that it is in front of the prefix which identifies the verb subject. As you'd imagine, adding another two characteristics to Hebrew verbs makes understanding the various conjugations a little more complex. However, there are a couple of simple rules that you can learn which should help you identify what is going on.
In terms of verb 'moods', the most widely used is the simple mood. For example, the verb voices that have already been highlighted in this section are all simple mood. When the verb is causative and being used with an active voice, it is the verb subject that is the cause of the action described by the verb. If however it is a combination of a causative mood and a passive voice, the action happens to the subject of the verb. Finally, intensive moods always make the verb action stronger or more intensive. For instance, instead of being 'cut', the tree might be 'slashed' or 'hewn' when the verb is used in an intensive, active manner. 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 |