# Ch5 Exercise — Definite Article and Conjunction ו

BBH Chapter 5 · 25 items · Definite Article and Conjunction Waw

Instructions: For each Hebrew word or phrase, fill in all five fields:
(1) Article? Yes / No | (2) Article Form — הַ+dagesh / הֶ / הָ / none | (3) Conj. ו? Yes / No | (4) Conj. Form — וְ / וּ / וָ / none | (5) Translation
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## Part A — Article Before Normal Consonants

Default article form: הַ (patah) + dagesh forte in the following consonant.

# | Hebrew | Article? | Article Form | Conj. ו? | Conj. Form | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | הַמֶּלֶךְ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַמֶּלֶךְ | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the king |
2 | הַבַּיִת |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַבַּיִת | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the house |
3 | הַיּוֹם |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַיּוֹם | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the day |
4 | הַדָּבָר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַדָּבָר | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the word / the thing |
5 | הַלַּיְלָה |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַלַּיְלָה | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the night |
6 | הַבֵּן |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַבֵּן | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the son |
7 | הַסֵּפֶר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַסֵּפֶר | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the book / the scroll |
8 | הַנָּבִיא |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַנָּבִיא | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | No | — | the prophet |

## Part B — Article Before Gutturals

Gutturals (א ה ח ע) and ר cannot take dagesh forte. The article vowel shifts to הֶ (segol) or הָ (qamets).

# | Hebrew | Article? | Article Form | Conj. ו? | Conj. Form | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
9 | הָאִישׁ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הָאִישׁ | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh) | No | — | the man |
10 | הָאָרֶץ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הָאָרֶץ | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh) | No | — | the land / the earth |
11 | הֶעָם |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הֶעָם | Yes | הֶ (segol; no dagesh) | No | — | the people |
12 | הָהָר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הָהָר | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh) | No | — | the mountain |
13 | הָרוּחַ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הָרוּחַ | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh) | No | — | the spirit / the wind / the breath |

## Part C — Conjunction ו Only

No definite article present. Identify the specific form of the conjunction.

# | Hebrew | Article? | Article Form | Conj. ו? | Conj. Form | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
14 | וְדָבָר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְדָבָר | No | — | Yes | וְ (sheva — default) | and a word |
15 | וּמֶלֶךְ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וּמֶלֶךְ | No | — | Yes | וּ (shureq — before labial מ) | and a king |
16 | וּבֵן |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וּבֵן | No | — | Yes | וּ (shureq — before labial ב) | and a son |
17 | וְאִישׁ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְאִישׁ | No | — | Yes | וְ (sheva — א is not a labial) | and a man |
18 | וָאֹמַר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וָאֹמַר | No | — | Yes | וָ (qamets — before accented 1cs form) | and I said / then I said |

## Part D — Both Article and Conjunction ו

Each item has both the conjunction ו prefix and the definite article. Identify each separately.

# | Hebrew | Article? | Article Form | Conj. ו? | Conj. Form | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
19 | וְהַמֶּלֶךְ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְהַמֶּלֶךְ | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | Yes | וְ (sheva — ה is not a labial) | and the king |
20 | וְהָאָרֶץ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְהָאָרֶץ | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh — before א) | Yes | וְ (sheva) | and the land / and the earth |
21 | וְהָאִישׁ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְהָאִישׁ | Yes | הָ (qamets; no dagesh — before א) | Yes | וְ (sheva) | and the man |
22 | וְהַיּוֹם |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְהַיּוֹם | Yes | הַ + dagesh forte | Yes | וְ (sheva) | and the day |
23 | וְהֶעָם |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | וְהֶעָם | Yes | הֶ (segol; no dagesh — before ע unaccented) | Yes | וְ (sheva) | and the people |

## Part E — Neither Article Nor Conjunction (Contrast)

These bare nouns have no prefixed article or conjunction. Translate as indefinite.

# | Hebrew | Article? | Article Form | Conj. ו? | Conj. Form | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
24 | מֶלֶךְ |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | מֶלֶךְ | No | — | No | — | a king |
25 | דָּבָר |  |  |  |  |  |
✓ | דָּבָר | No | — | No | — | a word / a thing |

## Reflection Questions

1. In item 11, why does the article appear as הֶ rather than the expected הַ? What phonological constraint causes this change, and which other consonant follows the same rule in unaccented syllables?
2. Items 15 and 16 both show the conjunction as וּ (shureq). State the rule governing this change and list the three consonants that trigger it. Why does item 14 (וְדָבָר) NOT trigger the same rule?
3. Compare items 24–25 with items 1 and 4. Both sets use מֶלֶךְ and דָּבָר, but the translations differ. What does the presence or absence of the definite article signal grammatically? How does Hebrew indicate indefiniteness differently from English?