8. Hebrew Pronouns

Question 1

What is a pronoun?

Answer 1

A word that replaces a noun.

Question 2

What is the antecedent?

Answer 2

The noun that a pronoun refers back to.

‘Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died’

he** is the **pronoun** that refers to **Moses**, the **antecedent

Question 3

What are the different kinds of pronouns in Hebrew?

Answer 3

1. Personal
2. Demonstrative
3. Relative
4. Interrogative

Question 4

Why is the independent personal pronoun labeled independent?

Answer 4

Because it stands alone and is not prefixed or suffixed to another word.

Question 5

Describe the independent personal pronoun

Answer 5

Personal pronouns can be first, second, or third person and either singular or plural.

First person pronouns are common, meaning that they may refer to either masculine or feminine nouns, whereas second and third person pronouns have both masculine and feminine forms.

Question 6

What are the two uses of the independent personal pronoun?

Answer 6

1. They occur in conjunction with verbs.
2. They occur in a predicative relationship – a form of the verb ‘to be’ must be supplied (see example)

Question 7

What are the English demonstratives?

Answer 7

This, these, that and those

Question 8

How do demonstratives affect a word’s specificity?

Answer 8

They increase the level of specificity

No article: a man

Definite article: the man

Demonstrative pronoun/adjective: this man

Question 9

How is the demonstrative used as an adjective in English?

Answer 9

This man, those women

Question 10

How is the demonstrative used as a pronoun in English?

Answer 10

This is the man, those are the women

Question 11

What does ‘common’ mean in Hebew?

Answer 11

Not inflected for gender

Question 12

What will happen when a demonstrative functions as an adjective?

Answer 12

It will follow the noun it modified, and agree in gender, number, and definiteness.

Question 13

What is the word order when an attributive adjective is introduced into a demonstrative adjective?

Answer 13

Noun > Adjective > Demonstrative adjective

Question 14

What will happen when a demonstrative functions as an pronoun?

Answer 14

It will precede the noun and agree in gender and number but not definiteness

Question 15

What is the word order when an attributive adjective is introduced into a demonstrative pronoun?

Answer 15

Demonstrative adjective > Noun > Adjective

Question 16

What are the major relative pronouns in English?

Answer 16

Who, whom, whose, that and which

Question 17

What does a relative pronoun do?

Answer 17

It introduces a relative clause that modifies a noun.

E.g. Happy is the person who studies Hebrew

Question 18

Does the **relative pronoun **ever change in form?

Answer 18

No, it does not inflect to indicate gender and number of its antecedent.

Question 19

In the following examples, when the relative pronoun introduces a relative clause, it immediately follows the noun it is modifying.

Answer 19

Question 20

What are interrogative pronouns?

Answer 20

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a question.

Question 21

What does the interrogative particle do?

Answer 21

The interrogative particle is prefixed to the first word of a sentence to turn the sentence into a question.

Question 22

When does the interrogative particle appear with Hateph Pathach?

Answer 22

When it is prefixed to most consonants

Question 23

When does the interrogative particle appear with Pathach?

Answer 23

When it is prefixed to a guttural, or any consonant with Shewa

Question 24

When does the interrogative particle appear with Seghol?

Answer 24

When it is prefixed to a guttural consonant followed by Qamets

Question 25

How do you distinguish the interrogative particle from the definite article?

Answer 25

1. The interrogative particle does not normally have an associated Daghesh Forte
2. Often the interrogative particle will be prefixed to a verbal form or another particle – which do not take the definite article
3. The Hateph Pathach of the interrogative particle is not one of the spellings of the definite article