Ch4 Noun Parsing Drill — Hebrew Nouns

For each form, give: (1) Gender (m./f.), (2) Number (s./pl./du.), (3) State (abs./cstr.), (4) Lexical Form (dictionary form), (5) Gloss.

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Items 1–25

#	Form	Gender	Number	State	Lexical Form	Gloss
1	מֶלֶךְ
2	מְלָכִים
3	מַלְכֵי
4	תּוֹרָה
5	תּוֹרוֹת
6	דְּבָרִים
7	דִּבְרֵי
8	בָּנִים
9	בָּנוֹת
10	אֲנָשִׁים
11	נָשִׁים
12	יָדַיִם
13	עֵינַיִם
14	עָרִים
15	בָּתִּים
16	יָמִים
17	נֶפֶשׁ
18	נְפָשׁוֹת
19	סְפָרִים
20	שָׁנָה
21	שָׁנָתַיִם
22	אֲרָצוֹת
23	בְּנֵי
24	מַלְכַּת
25	שְׁנַת

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Answer Key

#	Form	Gender	Number	State	Lexical Form	Gloss	Notes
1	מֶלֶךְ	m.	s.	abs.	מֶלֶךְ	king	Classic segolate; sg. abs. = lexical form
2	מְלָכִים	m.	pl.	abs.	מֶלֶךְ	kings	Propretonic reduction: seghol → shewa; R2 qamets
3	מַלְכֵי	m.	pl.	cstr.	מֶלֶךְ	kings of	Construct pl.; ים- → ֵי
4	תּוֹרָה	f.	s.	abs.	תּוֹרָה	law, instruction	Feminine ָה- ending
5	תּוֹרוֹת	f.	pl.	abs. or cstr.	תּוֹרָה	laws	Feminine plural וֹת- (abs. and cstr. identical)
6	דְּבָרִים	m.	pl.	abs.	דָּבָר	words, things	R1 reduces: qamets → shewa
7	דִּבְרֵי	m.	pl.	cstr.	דָּבָר	words of	Construct pl.; both internal vowels short
8	בָּנִים	m.	pl.	abs.	בֵּן	sons	Irregular plural of בֵּן
9	בָּנוֹת	f.	pl.	abs.	בַּת	daughters	Irregular plural of בַּת (feminine pl.)
10	אֲנָשִׁים	m.	pl.	abs.	אִישׁ	men	Irregular plural of אִישׁ; suppletive form
11	נָשִׁים	f.	pl.	abs.	אִשָּׁה	women	Irregular plural of אִשָּׁה; suppletive form
12	יָדַיִם	f.	du.	abs.	יָד	two hands	Dual of יָד; patach under yod marks dual
13	עֵינַיִם	f.	du.	abs.	עַיִן	two eyes	Dual of עַיִן; paired body part
14	עָרִים	f.	pl.	abs.	עִיר	cities	Irregular plural; note vowel change (i → a)
15	בָּתִּים	m.	pl.	abs.	בַּיִת	houses	Irregular plural; dagesh forte in tav
16	יָמִים	m.	pl.	abs.	יוֹם	days	Vowel change in plural: holem waw → qamets
17	נֶפֶשׁ	f.	s.	abs.	נֶפֶשׁ	soul, life	Segolate; grammatically feminine despite form
18	נְפָשׁוֹת	f.	pl.	abs.	נֶפֶשׁ	souls	Feminine plural; propretonic reduction
19	סְפָרִים	m.	pl.	abs.	סֵפֶר	books	Segolate (Qitl); R1 reduces to shewa
20	שָׁנָה	f.	s.	abs.	שָׁנָה	year	Feminine ָה- ending; lexical form
21	שָׁנָתַיִם	f.	du.	abs.	שָׁנָה	two years	Dual of שָׁנָה; time expression
22	אֲרָצוֹת	f.	pl.	abs.	אֶרֶץ	lands, earth	Segolate; feminine pl.; hateph patach under aleph
23	בְּנֵי	m.	pl.	cstr.	בֵּן	sons of	Construct pl. of בֵּן; very frequent phrase (בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל)
24	מַלְכַּת	f.	s.	cstr.	מַלְכָּה	queen of	Construct sg. fem.; ָה- → ַת
25	שְׁנַת	f.	s.	cstr.	שָׁנָה	year of	Construct sg. fem.; both vowels reduce

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Reflection Questions

1. Items 10 and 11 (אֲנָשִׁים and נָשִׁים) share no consonants with their singular forms (אִישׁ and אִשָּׁה). What does the term suppletive mean, and why do grammarians use it for these pairs? How does knowing the plural form help you identify the singular in a lexicon?

2. Compare items 5 (תּוֹרוֹת) and 7 (דִּבְרֵי). Both are plurals, but only one can be either absolute or construct. What rule about feminine plural endings explains why תּוֹרוֹת is the same in both states? What makes the masculine plural construct so easy to identify (דִּבְרֵי)?

3. Items 12 (יָדַיִם) and 21 (שָׁנָתַיִם) are duals. One names a body part; the other names a time period. What do these two nouns have in common that makes the dual number appropriate for each? Can you think of two more Hebrew nouns that use the dual, and name their singular lexical forms?