RickBrannan/categorize_bib_lang_grammar huggingface dataset:
An "adverbial adjective" is an adjective that functions as an adverb, meaning that it describes a verb instead of a noun.
In Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, an "attributive adjective" almost always immediately follows the noun that it describes and has the same form in gender, number, and definiteness.
Thus, if the noun is masculine, the adjective is also masculine.
If the noun is singular, the adjective is also singular.
If the noun is definite, the adjective is also definite; and so on.
The most common use of adjectives is to describe a noun directly.
There are two kinds of adjectives that function in this way, attributive adjectives and predicative adjectives.
A "comparative adjective" expresses a comparison between two or more items.
The forms of the adjective closely resemble the forms of the common noun.
An "intensive adjective" has a stronger degree of meaning than a typical adjective.
A "nominal adjective" is an adjective that itself functions as a noun in the sentence rather than describing a noun.
Often the linking verb is not present in the Hebrew text and must be supplied when translating into English.
Like attributive adjectives, a predicative adjective usually has the same form as the noun it describes in both gender and number.
Unlike attributive adjectives, however, a predicative adjective can be indefinite even if it describes a definite noun.
An "adjective" is a word that describes a person(s), place(s), or thing(s).
Within a sentence, an adjective usually describes a noun.
A "superlative adjective" has a meaning strengthened to its greatest degree.
In Bibical Hebrew, adjectives match the noun they describe in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).
However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
If a noun is dual, its accompanying adjective will be plural.
Also, the gender of some nouns does not match their apparent form (as in נָשִׁים "women", which is grammatically-feminine although it appears grammatically-masculine); in these cases, an accompanying adjective will match the gender of the noun itself rather than the apparent form.
Similarly, for nouns with either collective singular (as in עַם, meaning "people") or majestic plural (as in אֱלֹהִים, meaning "God"), the accompanying adjective may match the implied number rather than the apparent form.
There are two different kinds of numbers: cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.
Cardinal numbers function as attributive adjectives, but they do not always follow the same grammatical rules.
They may appear either before or after the noun they describe, and they may not always have the same grammatical form (gender, number, definiteness) as the noun they describe.
As with other adjectives, a cardinal number can function as a noun and can appear in either the absolute the construct state.
The following example is a cardinal number functioning as a noun.
As would be expected, the number “two” in Biblical Hebrew always takes the dual form.
The following example is a cardinal number with a pronominal suffix.
The following table presents the possible forms of the cardinal numbers three through ten.
Note that this table presents the numbers as masculine or feminine according to their morphology.
When a cardinal number modifies a noun, it appears with the opposite morphological gender of the noun that it modifies.
This can be seen in the examples below the table as well as in the table for numbers 11-19, where the numbers 3-9 take the opposite gender morphology from the number 10 that follows.
The number ten in this combination will take the morphological gender of the noun that the combined number modifies.
The numbers 11-19 are formed by writing the number 1-9 followed by the number 10.
These numbers are written following the same rules as the numbers 11-19.
The nouns "hundred" (100) and "thousand" (1000) function the same as any other common noun with singular, dual, and plural forms.
Although the number for "hundred" uses feminine endings and the number for "thousand" uses masculine endings, both numbers should be classified as "gender both" because the same form can be both grammatically-masculine and grammatically-feminine.
In the following example, multiples of 1,000 are expressed by numbers in a construct phrase.
The names of spoken languages are the only terms that are considered by this grammar as proper "gentilic adjectives".
However, scholars disagree concerning which terms should be called gentilic nouns or gentilic adjectives.
This is because most gentilics in both Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic can legitimately be classified as either nouns or adjectives.
Some scholars call these gentilic adjectives as well (for example, "Ruth the Moabitess").
The name(s) of spoken language(s) are considered gentilic adjectives.
Biblical Hebrew contains two sets of numbers: cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers.
Ordinal numbers describe either a numeric rank/order or a portion of a whole.
Ordinal numbers function as attributive adjectives, but they may not always have the same grammatical form (gender, number, definiteness) as the noun they describe.
The following example is a definite ordinal number describing an indefinite noun.
The following examples show cardinal numbers functioning as ordinal numbers.
A "locative adverb" describes something about the place or location where the action of the verb happens.
An "adverb of manner" describes something about how the action of the verb happens.
A "nominal adverb" is an adverb that functions as a noun rather than describing the verb directly.
A "qualitative adverb" describes the value of something in relation to the action of the verb.
A "quantitative adverb" describes an amount of something in relation to the action of the verb.
A "sentential adverb" describes an entire clause or sentence rather than an individual verb.
Sentential adverbs are closely related to conjunctions.
An "adverb" is a word that describes a verb, or sometimes describes a sentence as a whole.
A "temporal adverb" describes something about the time when the action of the verb happens.
Biblical Hebrew does not contain many words that are classified directly as adverbs.
However, many different kinds of words can function as adverbs, including an infinitive absolute, an adjective, or even a noun.
Many particles are closely related to adverbs in Biblical Hebrew.
A general rule is that when a particle occurs after the verb, it functions as an adverb; but when a particle appears before the verb, then it functions in some other way (usually as a conjunction or a discourse marker).
But this rule is not universal; sometimes both adverbs and particles can appear before the verb rather than after the verb, as in the example below (GEN 32:11).
There are several different ways that an adverb can describe a verb.
Many adverbs in Biblical Hebrew have the potential to serve multiple functions.
Because Biblical Hebrew does not contain many adverbs, sometimes other kinds of words can function as adverbs.
This is called an adverbial adjective.
This is called an adverbial noun.
This kind of causal conjunction expresses the purpose for or intended outcome of an action/event.
In English, it is usually translated as "for" or “so that”.
This kind of causal conjunction expresses either the reason for or the result of an action/event.
In English, it is usually translated as "for" or "because".
These compounds should not be considered merely as the sum of the component terms.
Rather, they should be considered as a single grammatical entity with its own range of meanings which may or may not be different than the individual component terms.
An "actual condition" expresses an action or event that has actually happened in reality, and is usually translated as "when" or "while" in English.
Usually, this kind of condition indicates something that is happening concurrently with the main action/event being described, or something that has happened in the past in certain circumstances.
A "hypothetical condition" expresses an imaginary action or event that has not actually happened in reality.
This kind of conditional conjunction is usually translated as "if" in English.
Hypothetical conditions have potential to convey many different nuances of possibility and/or desirability.
An "alternative" conjunction compares two words/phrases/sentences as alternates and is usually translated as “or” in English.
An "asseverative" conjunction expresses an affirmation in response to what was stated previously.
It is very similar to an affirmative particle.
An affirmative particle expresses a simple affirmation.
An asseverative conjunction expresses an affirmation specifically in response to what was stated immediately previous.
Asseverative conjunctions are often translated into English in various ways, such as "surely," "but also," "and even," and others.
There are eight major categories of conjunctions.
A "causal" conjunction expresses a relationship of cause (of some kind) between two grammatical items.
These can include a relationship of reason or result as well as a relationship of purpose or goal.
However, sometimes it is extremely difficult to distinguish between a causal conjunction that expresses purpose/goal and one that expresses reason/result.
A "concessive" conjunction expresses an exception or disclaimer to what has been stated immediately previous.
A "conditional" conjunction introduces either a hypothetical situation or an actual situation, as determined by the context.
A "conjunctive" conjunction simply joins two words/phrases/sentences together and is usually translated as "and" in English.
This kind of conjunction can be used either comparatively (joining similar ideas) or contrastively (joining dissimilar ideas).
A "contrastive" conjunction contrasts two words/phrases/sentences as different in some way and is usually translated as “but” in English.
A "restrictive" conjunction sets apart a clause or phrase as unique within its context.
Sometimes this restrictive function emphasizes a particular item as the most important or most prominent; in these cases, the conjunction is similar in meaning to an affirmative conjunction.
At other times, however, this restrictive function introduces a particular limitation to something previously expressed; in these cases, this conjunction is similar in meaning to a concessive conjunction.
When a conjunctive conjunction connects two events that happen at the same time, it has a similar meaning to a conditional conjunction expressing an actual condition.
In these cases, the conjunction can be translated as “while” or “when” in English.
A "conjunction" is a word that shows a relationship between two different words, phrases, sentences, or even entire paragraphs.
In other words, conjunctions are grammatical connectors.
Conjunctions are closely related to both sentential adverbs and particles.
Biblical Hebrew contains only one primary conjunction (the prefix וְ), but a whole family of other words also function as conjunctions.
In Biblical Hebrew, particles and conjunctions are often combined with each other to form compound conjunctions.
Compound conjunctions should not be considered merely as the sum of the components, but rather as a single grammatical entity with its own range of meanings which may or may not be different than the individual component words.
Sentences in Biblical Hebrew often begin with the conjunction ו (as either a consonant or a shureq vowel).
This conjunction וְ ("and") cannot stand alone as an independent word but must be connected to another word as a prefix.
This can be added to a noun, a verb, a pronoun, or a particle.
The shewa in וְ can lengthen to a vowel, usually pathah (when paired with the definite article) or qamets (when paired with both the article and a ה prefix), but others are also possible.
Also, the conjunction is often added between every item of a list in Biblical Hebrew; but in English the וְ is not translated for each item.
The conjunction וְ can appear either as a prefix to a word or particle, or as part of a sequential verbal form.
The word אוֹ is the standard alternative conjunction in Biblical Hebrew, usually translated as "or" in English.
The word כִּי is the standard causal conjunction in Biblical Hebrew, and is usually translated as "for" in English.
However, it is also commonly used as a conditional conjunction (usually translated, "if").
Often,כִּי is conditional when it occurs at the beginning of a sentence and causal when it occurs in the middle (or toward the end) of a sentence, but there are notable exceptions to this general rule.
The word כִּי can also express other conjunctive meanings, often as an contrastive following a negated statement.
If in doubt, it is recommended to always consult a dictionary or lexicon for the exact meaning of the word in any specific instance.
The word אִם is the standard "conditional" conjunction in Biblical Hebrew.
It is most often used to describe a hypothetical condition and translated as "if" in English.
However, this term can can be nuanced and translated in a variety of specific ways, and it can be joined with various other particles to form different compound conjunctions.
Therefore, this word must be translated always with senstivity to the context to express the correct nuance.
The following example is a hypothetical condition as an affirmation of an actual condition.
This use of the conjunction אִם is often found in a question and is usually translated as "or" in English.
The word עַתָּה ("now") in Biblical Hebrew often functions as a temporal adverb, and sometimes as a sentential adverb.
However, when עַתָּה appears at the beginning of a sentence or clause, it usually functions not as an adverb but as a conjunction, either standing alone or as a compound conjunction (when paired with the prefix וְ or with particles such as גַּם or כִּי).
In either case, the term functions as a type of causal conjunction, indicating that what follows is based upon what has come before.
This conjunction must be translated always with great sensitivity to the context to express the correct nuance; in English, this conjunction can be translated as "now", "so", "so now", "and now", "therefore", and others.
A dictionary or lexicon will indicate the specific nuance of this term in individual contexts.
This term is a conditional conjunction, similar to אִם but used only to express hypothetical conditions.
The word can also appear in the alternate forms לוּא and לֻא.
This term is also a conditional conjunction, and it expresses a certain kind of hypothetical condition.
The word can be used in two different ways: either 1) in warnings to express a potential condition that will take place if the warning is not heeded, usually translated "lest" in English; or 2) to express the reason for a certain action to prevent a possible condition from taking place, usually translated as "so that...not" (or similar phrasing) in English.
Sometimes the words כִּי and אִם are paired together to form a compound conjunction that functions most often as a strong contrastive or a strong concessive ("except").
In English, it is usually translated as "but", "but if", or "except".
It is recommended to always consult a dictionary or lexicon for the exact meaning of any specific occurrence of this compound conjunction.
Sometimes the words אַף and כִּי are paired together to form a compound conjunction that functions as a strong affirmative (similar to an affirmation particle).
This compound conjunction can appear with or without the prefix conjunction וְ ("and").
The concept of definiteness in Biblical Hebrew is a way of referring to a person(s) or thing(s).
Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and participles can be either definite or indefinite, depending on several factors.
In Biblical Hebrew, nouns and pronouns either can be definite on the basis of their own intrinsic nature or can be made definite by some linguistic marking or grammatical construction.
Generally speaking, adjectives and participles (both active and passive) are always intrinsically indefinite, but they can be made definite by an attached definite article or pronominal suffix, or by being connected to a definite noun in a construct relationship.
However, these are only general designations and do not represent a comprehesive list.
There are three types of terms that are intrinsically definite: proper nouns, personal pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns.
Biblical Hebrew has three ways to make a term definite: by adding the definite article, by adding a pronominal suffix, or by connecting it to a definite term in a construct relationship.
In the example below, "the heavens and the earth" are made definite by the definite article, and "account" or "events" is therefore also definite.
In the example below, "Egypt" is an intrinsically definite word and "land" is therefore also definite.
Sometimes the definite article can indicate a demonstrative unit of time.
Sometimes a definite adjective can indicate a superlative member of a group.
Sometimes a definite term refers to an item that has been mentioned previously in some way, either directly or indirectly.
Sometimes a definite term refers to an unidentified item with the assumption that the reader already understands the referent, either from the context of the narrative or from simple knowledge of the world.
Sometimes a definite term refers to a general class or category instead to referring to a specific item.
Usually the meaning is clear from the context.
In the example below, the definite article is incorporated in the prepositions כַ and כָּ (like).
Sometimes the definite article is used in this way when a person directly addresses another person.
In Biblical Hebrew, when a definite common noun is followed by a definite attributive adjective, an adjectival participle, or a noun in apposition, the definite article on both terms shows that they belong together.
In other words, that particular adjective is describing that particular noun.
When the definite article is used in front of a verb, it refers to the person(s) doing the action described by the verb and is translated very much like a :ref:`particle_relative`.
The definite article is used in this way usually with infinitives (construct or absolute) or participles (active or passive), and only rarely with finite verbal forms.
The definite article is used very rarely in Hebrew poetry.
In poetry, therefore, definite terms and indefinite terms often look exactly alike and must be recognized based on other indicators or discerned simply from the context.
Some words appear in both a masculine and a feminine form.
Other words have only one form, but that single form can be either grammatically-masculine or grammatically-feminine.
These kinds of words are classified as "gender both", and they are usually nouns or adjectives.
A word is classified as "both gender" if it contains both a masculine and a feminine form, or if a single form is masculine in some contexts and feminine in other contexts.
In the following example, the noun אוֹר (light) is masculine in form and takes grammatically-masculine verbs (יְהִ֣י and וַֽיְהִי).
In the following example, the noun אוֹרָה (light) is feminine in form and takes a grammatically-feminine verb (הָֽיְתָ֥ה).
In the following example, the noun שֶׁמֶשׁ (sun) is grammatically feminine.
In the following example, the noun שֶׁמֶשׁ (sun) is grammatically masculine.
In the following example, the noun נֹגַהּ (brightness) could be either masculine or feminine.
In both Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, 1st person personal pronouns are "gender common".
In both Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic, finite verbs in 1st person conjugation are "gender common".
A word is parsed as "common" (in other systems sometimes "unmarked"), when it has potential to refer to either a masculine or a feminine person or thing.
Words classified as "common gender" are usually pronouns or verbs.
A word is classified as "common gender" if it can refer to either a grammatically-masculine or a grammatically-feminine person/thing.
In Biblical Hebrew, the plural demonstrative pronoun is "gender common".
Nouns, adjectives, finite verbs, participles, pronouns, pronominal suffixes, and some particles change their form is according to their grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine.
In Biblical Hebrew, nouns are classified according to gender, either masculine, feminine, or sometimes both.
Grammatical modifiers (such as adjectives, active and passive participles, pronouns, pronominal suffixes) change their endings in order to agree with the gender of the term they refer to.
A finite verb with feminine gender indicates a feminine subject.
All references to female persons in Biblical Hebrew are feminine.
However, other entities apart from people can also be classified as feminine.
Some particles are also marked for gender in Biblical Hebrew.
They appear to be masculine nouns, but they are actually feminine nouns.
A dictionary or lexicon will indicate the proper gender for each word.
Feminine singular nouns and adjectives usually end in either ־ָה (qamets-he) or ־ֶת (seghol-taw, for participles).
Feminine dual terms end in ־ַיִם (patach-yod-hireq-final mem), as in יָדַיִם (hands).
Feminine plural terms usually end in וֹת- (holem-taw), as in תּוֹרוֹת (laws).
There is a whole family of verbal prefixes and suffixes that indicate feminine gender for finite verbs.
Nouns, adjectives, finite verbs, participles, pronouns, pronominal suffixes, and some particles change their form according to grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine.
The masculine gender is usually indicated by the absence of any prefix or suffix.
However, various prefixes and suffixes can indicate masculine gender.
A finite verb with masculine gender indicates a masculine subject.
All references to male persons in Biblical Hebrew are masculine.
However, other entities apart from people can also be classified as maculine.
For example, the proper names of nations and tribes are often masculine in Biblical Hebrew.
These nouns are feminine even though they do NOT take feminine endings.
Masculine singular nouns and adjectives have no unique ending; they are the standard dictionary form.
Masculine dual terms end in ־ַיִם (pataq-yod-hireq-final mem), as in אַפַּיִם (nostrils).
Masculine plural terms usually end in ־ִים (hireq-yod-final mem), as in אֲנָשִׁים (men).
There is a whole family of verbal prefixes and suffixes that indicate masculine gender for finite verbs.
The infinitive absolute is an extremely flexible non-finite verbal form and can function as an adverb, a finite verb, a verbal complement, or a noun.
Its most common use is to express intensity or certainty of verbal action.
Of all the verbal conjugations in Biblical Hebrew, the Infinitive Absolute is the simplest in form but the most complex in function, demanding the most sensitivity to its context to determine its meaning.
The Infinitive Absolute is described as being in the absolute state because it stands on its own as an independent grammatical entity.
The form can appear with the conjunction, but it never occurs in any other kind of construction with a prefix or suffix, an attached preposition, or with a noun in a construct chain.
Grammatically, the Infinitive Absolute is considered a non-finite verbal form but can function as an adverb, a finite main verb, a verbal complement, or even as a noun.
The context must be carefully investigated to discern the precise meaning of an infinitive absolute in each instance.
The Infinitive Absolute can express the following range of meanings.
In most cases, the Infinitive Absolute is paired with a finite verb of the same root.
When used in this way, the infinitive absolute functions adverbially, either certifying or intensifying the action of the main verb, depending on the context.
Normally an infinitive absolute precedes the main verb, except with Imperative verbs and with participles; in those cases, an infinitive absolute follows.
The following example shows an infinitive absolute expressing intensity of action.
The following example shows an infinitive absolute expressing certainty of action.
The Infinitive Absolute often substitutes for a finite verb.
In these cases, an infinitive absolute can carry an emotive sense and should be treated with great sensitivity to the context for precise nuance of meaning.