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?