# Ch7 — Adjective Usage Drill

BBH Chapter 7 · Hebrew Adjectives · 25 items

Instructions: For each Hebrew phrase, fill in all four columns, then click ▶ Answer to check.

1. Use — Attributive Def. / Attributive Indef. / Predicate / Substantival / Comparative / Superlative
2. Adjective — Copy the adjective form as it appears (pointed)
3. Agreement — Gender and number (ms / fs / mp / fp); note any irregularity
4. Translation — English translation of the full phrase

## Part A — Attributive Adjectives (Definite)

Both noun and adjective carry the definite article הַ. This is the definitive signal for attributive definite use.

# | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַגָּדוֹל | Attributive (def.) | הַגָּדוֹל | ms — matches מֶלֶךְ (ms) | the great king |
2 | הָאִשָּׁה הַטּוֹבָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַטּוֹבָה | Attributive (def.) | הַטּוֹבָה | fs — matches אִשָּׁה (fs) | the good woman |
3 | הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַגְּדוֹלָה | Attributive (def.) | הַגְּדוֹלָה | fs — matches עִיר (fs; feminine despite lacking ָה ending) | the great city |
4 | הָאֲנָשִׁים הַגִּבּוֹרִים |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַגִּבּוֹרִים | Attributive (def.) | הַגִּבּוֹרִים | mp — matches אֲנָשִׁים (mp) | the mighty men |
5 | הַדְּבָרִים הַטּוֹבִים |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַטּוֹבִים | Attributive (def.) | הַטּוֹבִים | mp — matches דְּבָרִים (mp) | the good words / the good things |

## Part B — Attributive Adjectives (Indefinite)

No article on noun or adjective. Adjective follows noun and agrees in gender and number.

# | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
6 | מֶלֶךְ גָּדוֹל |  |  |  |  |
✓ | גָּדוֹל | Attributive (indef.) | גָּדוֹל | ms — matches מֶלֶךְ (ms) | a great king |
7 | אִשָּׁה טוֹבָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | טוֹבָה | Attributive (indef.) | טוֹבָה | fs — matches אִשָּׁה (fs) | a good woman |
8 | אֶרֶץ גְּדוֹלָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | גְּדוֹלָה | Attributive (indef.) | גְּדוֹלָה | fs — matches אֶרֶץ (fs; irregular feminine noun) | a great land |
9 | עַם קָדוֹשׁ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | קָדוֹשׁ | Attributive (indef.) | קָדוֹשׁ | ms — matches עַם (ms collective noun) | a holy people |
10 | דָּבָר חָדָשׁ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | חָדָשׁ | Attributive (indef.) | חָדָשׁ | ms — matches דָּבָר (ms) | a new word / a new thing |

## Part C — Predicate Adjectives

The noun may be definite, but the adjective has no article. The adjective stands in the predicate position (before or after the noun). No verb "to be" is present — it is implied in translation as "is/are."

# | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
11 | הַמֶּלֶךְ גָּדוֹל |  |  |  |  |
✓ | גָּדוֹל | Predicate | גָּדוֹל | ms — agrees with מֶלֶךְ (ms); no article on adj. | The king is great |
12 | גָּדוֹל הַמֶּלֶךְ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | גָּדוֹל | Predicate | גָּדוֹל | ms — adjective-first word order; same meaning as #11 | The king is great |
13 | הָאִשָּׁה טוֹבָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | טוֹבָה | Predicate | טוֹבָה | fs — agrees with אִשָּׁה (fs); no article | The woman is good |
14 | טוֹב הַדָּבָר |  |  |  |  |
✓ | טוֹב | Predicate | טוֹב | ms — adjective-first; agrees with דָּבָר (ms) | The word / matter is good |
15 | הָאָרֶץ טוֹבָה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | טוֹבָה | Predicate | טוֹבָה | fs — agrees with אֶרֶץ (fs; irregular feminine); no article on adj. | The land is good |
16 | הַגִּבּוֹרִים חֲזָקִים |  |  |  |  |
✓ | חֲזָקִים | Predicate | חֲזָקִים | mp — agrees with גִּבּוֹרִים (mp); no article on adj. | The warriors are strong |
17 | יָשָׁר הַדֶּרֶךְ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | יָשָׁר | Predicate | יָשָׁר | ms — adjective-first; agrees with דֶּרֶךְ (ms) | The way is straight / upright |
18 | כָּבֵד הַדָּבָר |  |  |  |  |
✓ | כָּבֵד | Predicate | כָּבֵד | ms — adjective-first; stative form; agrees with דָּבָר (ms) | The matter is heavy / serious |

## Part D — Substantival Adjectives

The adjective stands alone as a noun — no explicit head noun. With the article: definite substantival. Without: indefinite substantival.

# | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
19 | הַטּוֹב |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַטּוֹב | Substantival | הַטּוֹב | ms with article; no head noun | the good (one / thing); that which is good |
20 | הָרָע |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הָרָע | Substantival | הָרָע | ms with article; no head noun | the evil (one / thing); that which is evil |
21 | הַקְּדֹשִׁים |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַקְּדֹשִׁים | Substantival | הַקְּדֹשִׁים | mp with article; no head noun | the holy ones; the saints |
22 | רַבִּים |  |  |  |  |
✓ | רַבִּים | Substantival | רַבִּים | mp without article; indefinite substantival | many (people); a multitude |

## Part E — Comparative and Superlative

Comparative: adjective + מִן + noun being compared against. Superlative: definite adjective alone, or adjective + מִכֹּל / בְּכֹל.

# | Hebrew | Use | Adjective | Agreement | Translation |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
23 | טוֹב מִדְּבַשׁ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | טוֹב | Comparative | טוֹב | ms; מִן following adj. = "than honey" | better than honey; sweeter than honey |
24 | הַקָּטֹן |  |  |  |  |
✓ | הַקָּטֹן | Superlative | הַקָּטֹן | ms with article; no head noun → superlative or substantival | the youngest; the smallest (cf. 1Sa 17:14) |
25 | עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | עָרוּם | Comparative / Superlative | עָרוּם | ms; מִכֹּל ("than all") = superlative in context | more crafty than any beast of the field (Gen 3:1) |

## Reflection Questions

1. Items 1 (הַמֶּלֶךְ הַגָּדוֹל) and 11 (הַמֶּלֶךְ גָּדוֹל) use the same noun and adjective roots but have different meanings. What single feature distinguishes them, and what rule does it illustrate?
2. Items 3 (הָעִיר הַגְּדוֹלָה) and 8 (אֶרֶץ גְּדוֹלָה) use nouns that are grammatically feminine even though they lack the feminine ending ָה on the noun itself. How does the adjective's form reveal the grammatical gender of the noun? Why does this matter for reading Hebrew?
3. In items 23 and 25, both use מִן to express comparison, but item 25 (עָרוּם מִכֹּל) functions more like a superlative ("the most crafty") even though it uses the comparative construction. How does Hebrew achieve a superlative meaning without a dedicated superlative form?