RickBrannan/categorize_bib_lang_grammar huggingface dataset:
A sentence with an intransitive verb is complete without an object.
Dynamic verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, but stative verbs are always intransitive.
A "linking verb" is a verb that either equates two nouns, or equates a noun and an adjective.
A linking verb can be implied by the context in all three biblical languages: Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, and Koiné Greek.
This is not the case in English, however.
In English, linking verbs must be explicitly expressed.
Therefore, in many sentences a linking verb must be supplied when translating the Bible into English.
Properly speaking, "non-finite verbs" are verbal complements that require a finite verb to form a complete sentence.
Rather than describing a specific action, a "stative verb" describes the subject's state of being (the way the subject is).
The subject is not doing anything.
A "verb" is the grammatical entity that describes the subject of a sentence.
A verb can describe either an action that the subject performs or the state (or condition) of the subject.
A transitive verb is a dynamic verb that requires an object that receives the verbal action.
A sentence with a transitive verb is not complete without the object.
Stative verbs are never transitive.
Grammarians often distinguish between different types of verbs.
When considering the best way to translate a sentence, it is helpful to understand what type of verb is being used in any given instance.
In Biblical Hebrew, the root of a verb consists of three consonants, sometimes called the tri-literal (meaning "three letters") root.
In "strong" verbs, the three root consonants always stay the same and are easy to recognize, but "weak" verbs have one or more consonants that disappear in certain forms.
Generally speaking, changes in verb forms happen by adding prefixes/suffixes, by changing the vowels, or both.
These changes in form show the stem formation of a verb with its conjugation, which includes the person (first, second, or third), the gender (masculine or feminine), the number (singular or plural), and sometimes the state (absolute or construct).
The person, gender, and number of a verb always agree with the subject.
Unlike English (but similar to other languages like Spanish), verbs in Biblical Hebrew do not require a separate personal pronoun if the subject is not identified; this is because the form of the verb itself includes the subject.
A pronominal suffix attached to a verb can function as its object.
Their form shows tense as well as person and number.
Biblical Hebrew has 7 finite verb forms: Perfect, Imperfect, Sequential Perfect, Sequential Imperfect, Imperative, Jussive, and Cohortative.
The non-finite verb forms in Biblical Hebrew include the infinitive_absolute`, the :ref:`infinitive_construct`, and the participles (both :ref:`active and passive ).
Non-finite verbs can sometimes describe an action or an event in such a way that the word functions like a noun .
When considering the best way to translate a sentence, it is helpful to understand what kind of verb is being used in any given instance.
Dynamic verbs describe a subject performing an action.
Rather than describing a specific action, stative verbs describe the subject's state of being (the way the subject is).
The phrase "And they lifted up" is unclear without an object.
The phrase "[you must] keep" is unclear without an object.
An intransitive verb is a verb that does NOT require an object to receive the verbal action.
Linking verbs are verbs that link two noun, or a noun and an adjective.
Hebrew has very few linking verbs, so often a linking verb has to be supplied in English.
Helping verbs are extra verbs that "help" express the meaning of the main verb.
Biblical Hebrew does not use helping verbs, but English does.
Often, it is necessary to supply a helping verb in English to express the meaning of a Hebrew verb.
English uses helping verbs to express varying degrees of possiblity or desirability of verbs.
This includes a vast range from strong possibility (He can do this or He would do this) to weak possibility (He might do this or He could do this) or from strong desirability (He should do this or Let him do this) to weak desirability (May he do this or He wants to do this).
In Biblical Hebrew, this sense of possibility or desirability is implied by the context and already present in the form of the verb itself.
The cohortative form is used to express indirect commands and other similar actions with varying degrees of desirability as determined by the context.
The Cohortative form looks very similar to the Imperfect but functions in a sentence more like an Imperative.
Cohortative verbs appear only in first person forms.
The meaning is somewhere in the middle.
Thus, the Cohortative verb functions as an indirect command; the reader must examine the context to determine the strength of desirability being expressed in each specific instance.
An imperative verb is used to express direct commands, instructions, and other similar actions with varying degrees of desirability as determined by the context.
In Biblical Hebrew, the Imperative form is used to express positive commands or instructions directed to another person(s).
Thus, Imperative verbs always appear only in the second person.
The context must determine the nuanced meaning of each instance of an Imperative verb.
Biblical Hebrew does not use the Imperative form to express negative commands.
Rather, prohibitions are expressed either with the Imperfect (with particle_negative-lo`) or with a Jussive verb in the 2nd person (with :ref:`particle_negative-al`).
Occasionally, the Imperative form will appear with a :ref:`paragogic ה suffix; in these cases, the meaning of the ה suffix is unknown but probably functions to strengthen the force of the verb in some way.
An Imperfect verb is used generally to indicate an action that is not complete, or an action that either occurs in the present or will occur in the future.
However, an Imperfect verb can also be used to describe other kinds of actions.
In Biblical Hebrew the Imperfect conjugation is used generally to describe actions that are not completed or actions that occur in the present or future.
However, the Imperfect conjugation is also used to describe several other kinds of actions as determined by the context.
These include frequentive or durative actions, negative commands, indirect commands, potential actions, and actions of greater or lesser desirability (similar to Jussive verbs and Cohortative verbs).
The normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction waw (וְ "and") as a prefix is different from the Sequential Imperfect, which utilizes a specialized form of the conjunction and contains a different meaning.
Sometimes a verb with Imperfect conjugation occurs within a clause after another finite verb (as in Gen 49:27 below, supplying the linking verb to be).
In these cases, the context must determine whether the Imperfect verb is functioning as a non-finite verb to complement the preceding main verb, or whether it is functioning as a second main verb.
These may be in past time, present time, future time, or without a specified time frame.
A jussive verb is used to express indirect commands, direct negative commands limited by time, and other similar actions with varying degrees of desirability as determined by the context.
The Jussive form looks very similar to the Imperfect but functions in the sentence more like an Imperative.
Jussive verbs usually appear in third person forms.
Thus, the Jussive verb functions as an indirect command; the reader must examine the context to determine the strength of desirability being expressed in each specific instance.
Rather, negative commands are always expressed using either the Imperfect conjugation form or the Jussive form.
In cases where the Jussive form is being used to express a negative command, the verb will appear in a 2nd person form rather than a 3rd person form.
When used in this way, the Jussive form takes the negative particle :ref:`particle_negative-al` in nearly all instances.
A Perfect verb usually expresses a completed action in the past.
However, the Perfect conjugation can also be used to describe other kinds of actions.
In Biblical Hebrew a Perfect verb is normally used to describe actions that have occurred in the past or actions that are seen as completed (even in present or future time).
However, the Perfect conjugation is also used to describe a variety of other kinds of actions.
Thus, a Perfect verb has the potential to be translated with the past tense, the present tense, or even the future tense.
The context must determine the proper meaning for each instance of a Perfect verb.
When the conjunction waw (וְ "and") is added to the Perfect conjugation as a prefix, this can indicate either the Perfect copulative or the Sequential Perfect.
The meaning of the verb is different in either case, and the context must be carefully considered to determine if it is a Perfect copulative verb or a Sequential Perfect verb.
The Perfect conjugation can be translated as simple past action ("he did"), present completed action ("he has done"), or past completed action ("he had done").
This is an action described as a hypothetical situation.
This kind of action describes a state or a condition, often (but not always) with a passive stem formation.
This is an action that is performed by speaking it.
This is a very rare use of the Perfect conjugation, occurring in prophetic utterances.
This form adds the conjunction waw (וְ "and") to the normal Perfect conjugation and can express any of the above meanings.
This form appears identical to the Sequential Perfect.
A Sequential Imperfect verb functions generally like a verb with Perfect conjugation, but it also connects to an earlier verb to form either a sequence of time or a sequence of thought.
The Sequential Imperfect conjugation of a verb looks similar to the normal Imperfect verb, but it is a separate verbal form and must be treated as such.
A Sequential Imperfect verb does not function like a normal Imperfect verb, but it functions similar to a Perfect verb.
The difference is an added sense of being connected to an earlier verb to form a sequence of time or a sequence of thought.
In Hebrew narratives, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation also serves the function of controlling the flow of a story and often occurs at the beginning of a sentence.
The endings of the Sequential Imperfect conjugation are the same as the normal Imperfect conjugation but the sequential form also has an extra prefix, which is a specialized form of the conjunction.
The difference between the Sequential Imperfect and the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction is in the vowel pattern.
The normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction looks exactly like what one would expect: a normal conjunction (וְ) is added to the beginning of a normal Imperfect verb (יִקְטֹל) to make a single word (וְיִקְטֹל).
However, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation looks different (וַיִּקְטֹל).
In contrast to the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation usually contains (1) a vowel (usually pathach) under the conjunction instead of the shewa, and (2) a daghesh in the prefix consonant of the verbal form (see table below).
This kind of action describes a state or condition, often (but not always) with a passive stem formation.
A Sequential Perfect verb often expresses the same kinds of action as the Imperfect conjugation, but it also connects to an earlier verb to form either a sequence of time or a sequence of thought.
However, in Biblical Hebrew a Sequential Perfect verb has an additional and unique potential to express the same kind of action as the verb immediately preceding it.
The Sequential Perfect conjugation looks very similar to the normal Perfect form, but it is a separate verbal form and must be treated as such.
The Sequential Perfect conjugation takes the same verbal endings as the normal Perfect conjugation but includes the conjunction waw (וְ "and") as a prefix.
A Sequential Perfect verb does not function like a normal Perfect conjugation verb.
Rather, it functions more like an Imperfect verb, because it often appears in a series following a clause with an Imperfect verb.
A Sequential Verb often, but not always, expresses the same kind of action as the preceding verb.
This is often the case when a Sequential Perfect verbs are used to express a sequence of incomplete actions, a sequence of imperatives, or a sequence of verbal actions expressing possibility or desirability.
There is a difference between (1) the Sequential Perfect conjugation, (2) the Perfect copulative, and (3) the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction.
The Sequential Perfect conjugation ((1) above) forms a sequence with the verb in the clause before it, but the normal Imperfect conjugation ((3) above) with the conjunction does not.
In poetry it can take on a variety of functions, here it clearly continues the previous Imperfect.
It expresses an habitual action that is not (never) completed.
These may be in past time, present time, future time, or without a specified timeframe.
In the following example, the Sequential Perfect conjugation is translated with imperative meaning.
In the following example, the Sequential Perfect conjugation is translated with jussive meaning.
In the following example, the Sequential Perfect conjugation is translated with cohortative meaning.
In Biblical Hebrew the verb normally comes first in a sentence or clause.
In cases where another grammatical element precedes the verb, especially the subject, the context must determine whether or not a new narrative or section of text is being introduced, or whether or not the narrator is introducing a break in the narrative.
In verbal sentences (that is, sentences with a verb), the structure of the sentence in Biblical Hebrew is: (1) the :ref:`verb`, in first position; (2) the subject, in second position; (3) the object, in third position.
In most cases, variations from the standard word order are for literary reasons or to add some emphasis (usually on the word moved to the beginning of the sentence), but this does not fundamentally change the meaning.
Sometimes however, if a grammatical element (often the subject) is placed before the verb, it has implications for the general structure of a narrative and/or how to best divide up the text in smaller blocks.
In these cases, the context must determine whether this introduces a new narrative or section of text, or if it indicates a break in the narrative.
Poetic portions of the Hebrew Bible generally not follow the standard structure for several reasons.
For example, they use a lot of nominal sentences that do not have a verb, they use parallelisms where the same thought is repeated twice, as well as other poetic tools.
Not indicating a break in the narrative, because here the deviation happens in the middle of a sentence.
Though it is common to begin a book or major portion of a book with the sequential imperfect verb, it is also possible to put the subject of the first sentence at the beginning of the book.
A subject placed before the verb can also indicate a new, smaller section of a narrative, or a continuation after there has been a short break in the narrative.
Sometimes a grammatical element (usually the subject) placed before the verb can indicate a break in the narrative action to provide the reader with some extra information about the story being told.
Usually, these instances will be clearly discerned from the context.
An "ascriptive adjective" is an adjective that functions as an attributive adjective and is NOT paired with the definite article.
In Koiné Greek, an "attributive adjective" may come either before or after the noun it describes.
Attributive adjectives are usually paired with the definite article, but not always.
As state above, attributive adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, case, and number.
Often the linking verb is not present in the Greek text and must be supplied when translating in English.
Predicte adjectives must agree with the noun they are modifying in gender and number.
Some languages need a verb in every sentence, so the understood verb may be added to the translation in order to make the sentence grammatically correct in the target language.
Restrictive adjectives are definite adjectives that describe definite nouns.
In Koiné Greek, adjectives generally match the noun they describe in gender and number.
Attributive adjectives specifically must also match the noun they describe in case.
Any Greek adjective can take the form of all three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Adjectives show these various forms by using the same kinds of word endings as nouns.
Greek adjectives are listed in a lexicon according to the masculine nominative singular form.
For example, the feminine dative singular form of the adjective πάς is always πάςῃ.
The form will not change when describing any feminine dative noun.
This remains true regardless of the kind of feminine dative word ending that appears on the noun.
Most adjectives in Koiné Greek use one of the following sets of word endings.
However, there are more sets of word endings for adjectives in Greek than are listed here.
In the above example the adjectives πάςῃ and πνευματικῇ are in feminine singular form.
They agree with the noun εὐλογιᾳ in gender and number.
These adjectives are both attributive.
Therefore, they also agree in case.
The adjective always appears in the form that represents the true gender of the noun.
The above example is a statement of Jesus (a man).
The pronoun ἐγώ ("I") is in masculine singular form.
Therefore, any adjective describing ἐγώ must also appear in masculine singular form.
In this example, the adjective ποίμην appears to be feminine because it ends with “ην”.
However, the adjective ποίμην uses a different set of word endings than listed above.
In this example, both ποιμήν and καλός are nominative masculine singular.
The noun being described by an ascriptive adjective may or may not be paired with the definite article.
The noun being described by a restrictive adjective may or may not be paired with the definite article but is always a definite noun.
When an adjective itself functions as a noun in a sentence, the adjective is describing some unnamed person or object.
It is NOT describing some other noun in the sentence.
Therefore, there is no other noun with which the adjective can agree in gender, case, or number.
When an adjective functions as a noun, its case word ending is determined by how the word functions within the sentence.
Its gender and number word ending is determined by the actual unnamed person or object to which the adjective refers.
In Koiné Greek, nominal adjectives are often paired with the definite article, but not always.
When an adjective is used as an adverb, usually the adjective will have the neuter accusative (or sometimes neuter dative) word ending.
In Koiné Greek, a comparative adjective is often formed by adding a specific kind of word ending to the base form of that adjective.
You must always be observant of the context and take it into account when translating an adjective with a comparative word ending.
In this grammar, an adjective is classified as "ascriptive" if it is an indefinite adjective (that is, it does NOT take the definite article) and functions attributively.
Some resources will describe an adjectival clause as restrictive if it narrows down (or identifies) the noun it is modifying.
In other words it directs the reader to a specific person or thing (or persons or things) from a larger group.
In contrast an ascriptive adjective provides additional information about a person or thing that has already been clearly identified.
In this grammar, an adjective is classified as "restrictive" if it is definite (i.e.
The noun may or may not take the definite article.
An "adjectival adverb" is an adverb that functions as an adjective, meaning that it describes a noun instead of a verb.
A "comparative adverb" expresses a comparison between two or more actions.
A "superlative adverb" has a meaning strengthened to its greatest degree.
In Koiné Greek, adverbs can be formed from any number of different kinds of word endings.
However, any one particular adverb usually has only one single form that is always used.
A "correlative adverb" is an adverbial particle used with a correlative conjunction to join together two different words, phrases, or clauses.
In Koiné Greek, the "case" ending of a word indicates how that term functions within the sentence.
Koiné Greek uses various kinds of word endings.
The term "case" in Koiné refers to one of these varieties of word endings.
Case endings in Koiné Greek indicate the function of a word in a sentence.
Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, participles, and definite articles all require a case ending.
Verbs and adverbs do not require a case ending.
There are five different case endings in Koiné Greek: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative.
Generally, the Nominative case indicates the subject of a sentence and other words that describe the subject, such as a predicate nominative or predicate adjective.
It is also used for adjectives and participles modifying the subject of the sentence.
Generally, the Genitive case indicates possession.
However, the genitive can also be used to indicate many other kinds of relationships between two entities in a sentence.
Some prepositions take their complement in the genitive case.
Generally, the Dative case indicates the indirect object of a verb.
However, the dative case is also commonly used to express location, means, or agency.
Some prepositions take their object in the dative case.
Generally, the Accusative case indicates the Direct Object of a verb.
However, the accusative case is also commonly used to express the object of an infinitive.
Some prepositions take their object in the accusative case.
The Vocative case indicates the addressee of a speech, that is, the person being spoken to.
The case of a noun, pronoun, adjective, article, or participle is indicated by the case ending (or suffix) attached to the end of the word.
First declension nouns have a feminine gender for the most part and in the nominative singular end in an alpha or an eta.
A few masculine nouns end in an -ας or –ης.
These words also follow a first declension pattern.
Second declension nouns end in –ος or –ον in the nominative singular.
Almost all words ending in –ος in the nominative singular are masculine gender.
All words that end in –ον in the nominative singular are neuter gender.
Third declension nouns have stems that end in a consonant or the vowels (ι, υ, ευ).
They are made up of all three genders.
Adjectives and pronouns agree in case and number with the noun they are modifying (or to which they are referring).
Sometimes, the changes may be more significant.
Because the Greek language has a case system, the order of the words in a sentence can be changed to place an emphasis on a particular word or clause.
The normal word order is conjunction – verb – subject – object.
When this order is changed there is probably a slight emphasis being made on the words that are moved forward.
Note: In this sentence the phrase “if you are the son of god” has been moved to the first position in the sentence.
The movement of the phrase to the front of the sentence places a slight emphasis or stress on the condition.
In Koiné Greek, the "accusative" case ending of a word indicates either the direct object of a verb (including participles) or the object of a preposition.
It can also be used to indicate the subject of an infinitive verb.
In Koiné Greek, the accusative case ending indicates the direct object of a verb.
This includes both infinitives and participles.
Thus, when a participle requires a direct object, that term takes the accusative case ending.
The accusative case ending can also indicate the object (or complement) of a preposition.
Some infinitives in Koiné Greek take a subject.
In these cases, the subject of an infinitive verb takes the accusative case ending.
The accusative case ending can also indicate that that word is functioning as an adverb describing the verb.