# Chapter 24 — Stem-ID Drill (Strong Roots)

*Identifying Qal and Niphal forms of strong roots*

---

## Instructions

For each Hebrew form below, identify:

1. **Stem** — Qal or Niphal
2. **Conjugation** — Perfect, Imperfect, Wayyiqtol, Imperative, Inf. Absolute, Participle
3. **PGN** — person/gender/number (write **—** for non-finite forms)
4. **Root** — the three-letter lexical root

> **Note on items 18 and 20:** הִשָּׁמֵר is ambiguous — Niphal Imperative 2ms and Niphal Infinitive Absolute are identical in form. Both are accepted.

---

## Exercise

| # | Hebrew | Stem | Conjugation | PGN | Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | קָטַל | | | | |
| 2 | נִקְטַל | | | | |
| 3 | שָׁמַר | | | | |
| 4 | נִשְׁמַר | | | | |
| 5 | מָכַר | | | | |
| 6 | נִמְכַּר | | | | |
| 7 | כָּרַת | | | | |
| 8 | נִכְרַת | | | | |
| 9 | יִשְׁמֹר | | | | |
| 10 | יִשָּׁמֵר | | | | |
| 11 | יִמָּכֵר | | | | |
| 12 | יִמְכֹּר | | | | |
| 13 | וַיִּשְׁמֹר | | | | |
| 14 | וַיִּשָּׁמֵר | | | | |
| 15 | וַיִּמָּכֵר | | | | |
| 16 | וַיִּמְכֹּר | | | | |
| 17 | שְׁמֹר | | | | |
| 18 | הִשָּׁמֵר | | | | |
| 19 | שָׁמוֹר | | | | |
| 20 | הִשָּׁמֵר | | | | |
| 21 | הִנָּתֵן | | | | |
| 22 | נָתוֹן | | | | |
| 23 | שֹׁמֵר | | | | |
| 24 | נִשְׁמָר | | | | |

---

## Answer Key

| # | Hebrew | Stem | Conjugation | PGN | Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | קָטַל | Qal | Perfect | 3ms | קטל |
| 2 | נִקְטַל | Niphal | Perfect | 3ms | קטל |
| 3 | שָׁמַר | Qal | Perfect | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 4 | נִשְׁמַר | Niphal | Perfect | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 5 | מָכַר | Qal | Perfect | 3ms | מכר |
| 6 | נִמְכַּר | Niphal | Perfect | 3ms | מכר |
| 7 | כָּרַת | Qal | Perfect | 3ms | כרת |
| 8 | נִכְרַת | Niphal | Perfect | 3ms | כרת |
| 9 | יִשְׁמֹר | Qal | Imperfect | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 10 | יִשָּׁמֵר | Niphal | Imperfect | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 11 | יִמָּכֵר | Niphal | Imperfect | 3ms | מכר |
| 12 | יִמְכֹּר | Qal | Imperfect | 3ms | מכר |
| 13 | וַיִּשְׁמֹר | Qal | Wayyiqtol | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 14 | וַיִּשָּׁמֵר | Niphal | Wayyiqtol | 3ms | שׁמר |
| 15 | וַיִּמָּכֵר | Niphal | Wayyiqtol | 3ms | מכר |
| 16 | וַיִּמְכֹּר | Qal | Wayyiqtol | 3ms | מכר |
| 17 | שְׁמֹר | Qal | Imperative | 2ms | שׁמר |
| 18 | הִשָּׁמֵר | Niphal | Imperative / Inf. Absolute | 2ms / — | שׁמר |
| 19 | שָׁמוֹר | Qal | Inf. Absolute | — | שׁמר |
| 20 | הִשָּׁמֵר | Niphal | Inf. Absolute / Imperative | — / 2ms | שׁמר |
| 21 | הִנָּתֵן | Niphal | Inf. Absolute | — | נתן |
| 22 | נָתוֹן | Qal | Inf. Absolute | — | נתן |
| 23 | שֹׁמֵר | Qal | Participle | ms | שׁמר |
| 24 | נִשְׁמָר | Niphal | Participle | ms | שׁמר |

---

### Key Patterns to Remember

- **Niphal Perfect** — נִ prefix + patach under second root letter (נִקְטַל pattern)
- **Niphal Imperfect** — יִ + dagesh forte in first root letter + tsere (יִשָּׁמֵר)
- **Niphal Wayyiqtol** — וַיִּ + dagesh forte in first root letter (וַיִּשָּׁמֵר)
- **Niphal Imperative / Inf. Absolute** — הִ prefix + dagesh forte in first root letter (הִשָּׁמֵר) — these two forms are identical
- **Niphal Inf. Absolute** with נ roots — הִנָּתֵן (assimilation of נ)
- **Qal Inf. Absolute** — internal ō vowel pattern (שָׁמוֹר, נָתוֹן)
- **Niphal Participle** — נִ prefix, qamets under middle root letter (נִשְׁמָר)
