The Hebrew Verb Object

The easiest way of identifying the object of a sentence is by looking for the identifying noun, pronoun or proper name. Also, remember that the object is the one to whom the action happens or to which they are submitted.

For example, in a sentence 'Job helped a man', it is the man which is the object of the verb as it is Job who is doing helping. Similarly, 'Job helped him' would have 'him' as the object, whereas with 'Job helped Jack', the object is Jack as he is being helped.

Finding the object of verb in Hebrew works exactly the same way as it does in English. However, if the object of the verb can be recognized from the pronoun usage, it can be written in a couple of different ways.

The word 'oto' (אתו) means 'him'. It could be used as the object of the sentence as in עזר יעקב אתו ('azar Ya'aqov oto') meaning 'Jacob helped him'.

Alternatively, the same could be done by adding a suffixed Vav could be added to the sentence to do exactly the same thing (this would also mean exactly the same as well) so you have עזרו יעקב

Another thing to note that is very important when reading Hebrew is that it is not uncommon for the subject, object and the verb itself to be run together into one word.

For example, the Aaronic blessing taken from Numbers starts with יברכך (yevarekhekha). This composite word is made up of the verb 'barak' which means 'to bless' prefixed by a Yod that indicates that the subject of the verb is masculine, singular and in the third person tense ('he').

On the other hand, the word is suffixed by a Kaf sofit (without a dagesh mark) which identifies that the subject of the verb is in the second person, masculine and singular ('you' in the masculine). Consequently, in one word, you have 'he will bless you'.

Below is a table of the pronoun suffixes that can be attached to a verb to indicate the object of it. Note however that these pronouns can also be used in conjunction with nouns as well:

If you are going to be able to read Hebrew fluently, you need to learn these suffixes so that you can recognize them. In this way, you will begin to recognize a noun with a pronoun added. This is important because recognizing these noun/ pronoun combinations will ensure that you get the correct meaning.

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