Qal Imperative Paradigms¶
BBH Chapter 18 · Reference file
Qal Imperative — Strong Verbs¶
Derived from the Qal Imperfect by removing the 2nd-person prefix (תּ–).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | שְׁמֹר | sh'mor |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | שִׁמְרִי | shim'ri |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | שִׁמְרוּ | shim'ru |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | שְׁמֹרְנָה | sh'mor'nah |
Key marker: No prefix; begins with the root. 2ms has shewa under R1 + holem (A-class). 2fs adds ִי; 2mp adds וּ; 2fp adds נָה.
Qal Imperative — B-class (Guttural / Patach)¶
Root: שָׁמַע (hear) — gutt. R3 forces patach in 2ms.
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | שְׁמַע |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | שִׁמְעִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | שִׁמְעוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | שְׁמַעְנָה |
Key marker: Patach (not holem) in 2ms when R2 or R3 is a guttural or R3 is resh. Same suffix pattern as A-class.
Qal Imperative — III-ה¶
Root: עָשָׂה (do/make).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | עֲשֵׂה | ה retained in 2ms; I-gutt. chateph under ע |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | עֲשִׂי | ה drops before -ִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | עֲשׂוּ | ה drops before -וּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | עֲשֶׂינָה | ה drops; seghol-yod before נָה |
Root: רָאָה (see).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | רְאֵה |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | רְאִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | רְאוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | רְאֶינָה |
Key marker: 2ms retains ה with tsere or seghol before it. The ה drops in all other forms before the vowel suffix.
Qal Imperative — Biconsonantal¶
Root: קוּם (arise).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | קוּם | Full long vowel retained |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | קוּמִי | + ִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | קוּמוּ | + וּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | קוּמְנָה | + נָה |
Root: בּוֹא (come/enter).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | בֹּא |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | בֹּאִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | בֹּאוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | בֹּאנָה |
Root: שׁוּב (return).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | שׁוּב |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | שׁוּבִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | שׁוּבוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | שׁוּבְנָה |
Key marker: Biconsonantal imperatives retain the full long vowel of the root (shureq/holem-waw). No prefix; root begins immediately.
Qal Imperative — I-י¶
Root: הָלַךְ (go) — behaves as I-י.
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | לֵךְ / לֶךְ | Extremely short; tsere; ה drops |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | לְכִי | |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | לְכוּ | |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | לֵכְנָה |
Root: יָשַׁב (sit/dwell).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | שֵׁב |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | שְׁבִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | שְׁבוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | שֵׁבְנָה |
Root: יָצָא (go out) — I-י + III-א.
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | צֵא |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | צְאִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | צְאוּ |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | צֵאנָה |
Key marker: I-י imperatives use tsere under the first visible consonant (לֵךְ, שֵׁב, צֵא). The original yod (or ה of הלך) is absent from the surface form.
Qal Imperative — I-נ¶
Root: נָתַן (give) — nun assimilates completely.
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | תֵּן | Both nuns drop/assimilate; very short |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | תְּנִי | |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | תְּנוּ | |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | תֵּנָּה |
Root: נָסַע (set out, travel).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | סַע |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | סְעוּ |
Root: נְשָׂא (lift, carry) — I-נ + I-aleph.
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | שָׂא | נ drops; aleph quiesces; very short |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | שְׂאוּ |
Key marker: I-נ imperatives are often strikingly short because the nun assimilates or drops. תֵּן (give!) appears frequently in Torah.
Qal Imperative — I-aleph¶
Root: אָמַר (say).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | אֱמֹר | Hateph-seghol under aleph |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | אִמְרִי | |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | אִמְרוּ | |
| 2nd | Plural | Feminine | אֱמֹרְנָה |
Root: אָכַל (eat).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | אֱכֹל |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | אִכְלִי |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | אִכְלוּ |
Key marker: I-aleph imperatives have hateph-seghol (or hateph-patach) under the aleph in the 2ms form. The aleph is pronounced but takes a composite shewa.
Qal Imperative — Geminate¶
Root: סָבַב (surround/turn around).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | סֹב | Dagesh forte in R2 (= R3) |
| 2nd | Singular | Feminine | סֹבִּי | |
| 2nd | Plural | Masculine | סֹבּוּ |
Root: תָּמַם (be complete/finished).
| Person | Number | Gender | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Singular | Masculine | תֵּם |
Key marker: Geminate imperatives are very short. The doubled root consonant carries dagesh forte. Less common than other weak classes.
Summary Table¶
| Root Type | 2ms Form | Key Feature | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strong A-class | שְׁמֹר | Shewa + holem | guard |
| Strong B-class | שְׁמַע | Shewa + patach | hear |
| III-ה | עֲשֵׂה / רְאֵה | ה retained (2ms only) | do / see |
| Biconsonantal | קוּם / שׁוּב | Full long vowel | arise / return |
| I-י | לֵךְ / שֵׁב | Tsere; yod absent | go / sit |
| I-נ | תֵּן / סַע | Nun drops/assimilates; short | give / travel |
| I-aleph | אֱמֹר | Hateph-seghol under א | say |
| Geminate | סֹב | Dagesh forte in R2 | turn |