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.
#HebrewUseAdjectiveAgreementTranslation
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.
#HebrewUseAdjectiveAgreementTranslation
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."
#HebrewUseAdjectiveAgreementTranslation
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.
#HebrewUseAdjectiveAgreementTranslation
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.
#HebrewUseAdjectiveAgreementTranslation
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?