Step Four: Next on the Gender

Well, my Hebrew re-sit happened last Tuesday (2nd September, which was a week later than originally planned because the other person re-sitting couldn’t make the week before) and you’ll be happy to hear, or well, at least, I’m happy to write that I passed! They rushed the marking through and told me within three days of taking it. So does that mean no more Hebrew posts. Well, I thought that rather than the module being a complete waste, I’d like to keep it going, at least on a basic level. So for today’s lesson children, we’re going to learn about different genders and pluralities in nouns and adjectives!

Step Three: Make it Definitely, Maybe

In English we have two articles, the definite (“the”) and the indefinite (“a”). In Hebrew there is only the definite article. Like the inseparable prepositions in the previous step, it is joined to the word it is referring to. It is the letter he  with a patah attached to the word with a dagesh forte in the next consonant, as in the image on the right where it is joined to the word we met last time meaning king.

Step Two: When the Time is Right, Prepose!

We’re talking about prepositions here not about romantic gestures that request marital union! Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns. If you want a fuller explanation of the grammar then check out the section called Grammar Overview in chapter three at AnimatedHebrew.com.

Step One: Learn the Letters

I failed my Hebrew this year. It’s hardly surprising since I never got to grips with even the basics. Consequently I have a re-sit on Tuesday 26th August. That means I’ve either got from now till then to learn enough to pass or I’ve got to pay an extra £400 for an extra module next year (or I drop out of college and reject academia altogether!) The benefits of having even a basic level of the original languages the Bible was written in are great though they are not essential.