# 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?
