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Lesson 3

1. The adjective (eg small, big)

The adjective conforms in gender and number to the noun it belongs to.

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Examples:

Big

  • Singular:

    • Male: גדול  gadol

    • Female: גדולה  gdolah

  • Plural:

    • Male: גדולים gdolim

    • Female: גדולות gdolot

Good

  • Singular:

    • Male: טוב tov

    • Female: טובה tovah

  • Plural:

    • Male: טובים tovim

    • Female: טובות tovot

Difficult, hard

  • Singular:

    • Male: קשה kasheh

    • Female: קשה kashah

  • Plural:

    • Male: קשים kashim

    • Female: קשות kashot

Nice

  • Singular:

    • Male: יפה yafeh

    • Female: יפה yafah

  • Plural:

    • Male: יפים yafim

    • Female: יפות yafot

Small

  • Singular:

    • Male: קטן katan

    • Female: קטנה ktanah

  • Plural:

    • Male: קטנים ktanim

    • Female: קטנות ktanot

Bad

  • Singular:

    • Male: רע ra

    • Female: רעה ra'ah

  • Plural:

    • Male: רעים ra'im

    • Female: רעות ra'ot

Light, easy

  • Singular:

    • Male: קל kal

    • Female: קלה kalah

  • Plural:

    • Male: קלים kalim

    • Female: קלות kalot

Terrible

  • Singular:

    • Male: נורא norah

    • Female: נוראה nora'ah

  • Plural:

    • Male: נוראים nora'im

    • Female: נוראות nora'ot

1. The adjective

2. The position of the adjective after the noun

An adjective is always placed after the noun and conforms in number and gender to the noun. The male form is generally also used as an adverb (example: he runs fast).

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Examples:

  • The small child:  הילד הקטן  ha-yeled ha-katan

  • A small child:  ילד קטן  yeled katan

  • The child is small:  הילד קטן  ha-yeled katan

  • The good boy:  הבחור הטוב  ha-bachur ha-tov

  • The girl is pretty:  הבחורה יפה  ha-bachurah yafah

  • Tough men:  אנשים קשים  anashim kashim

  • Nice relatives:  קרובים נחמדים  krovim nechmadim

  • Adverb: he runs fast:  הוא רץ מהר  hu ratz maher

2. The position of the adjective

3. Adjectives with the male ending –i, female –it

A group of adjectives has the ending -i :

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Adjectives with the male ending –i, female –it often denote the affiliation to a nation or a religion. The female ending –it also designates a language.

Hebrew adjectives ending in i and it

Also nouns can become adjectives with the ending –i

Noun

  • Money:  כסף  kesef​

  • Destiny/fate:  גורל  goral

  • Male:  עולם  olam​

Adjective​

  • Financial:  כספי  kaspi

  • Fateful:  גורלי  gorali

  • Global:  עולמי  olami​

And finally foreign words end in –i – in Hebrew: milim lo’aziot – not-asian words, stressed on the next to last syllable.

  • Objective:  אוביקטיבי  obyektivi​

  • Real:  ריאלי  re’ali

  • Constructive:  קונסטרוקטיבי  konstruktivi​

3. Adjectives with the male ending –i, female –it

4. Degrees of adjectives (eg good, better, best)

Very simple: prefix to the adjective the word yoter (more) and you get the comparative (eg: better, higher, faster). The word hachi (the most) before an adjective turns it into a superlative (eg the best, highest, fastest).

  • Good:  טוב  tov​

  • Better:  יותר טוב  yoter tov

  • The best:  הכי טוב  hachi tov​

Examples:

  • The best mom:  

האמא ההכי טובה  ha-ima ha-hachi tovah​

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  • I run faster than you (lit. “from you”): 

אני רץ יותר מהר ממך  ani ratz yoter maher mimchah

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  • The enemy of the good is the better: 

האויב של הטוב הוא היותר טוב  ha-oyev shel ha-tov hu ha-yoter tov​

4. Degrees of adjectives (eg good, better, best)

5. The dual-plural (eg oznayim – ears)

Body parts of which there are two form a special dual and end in –ayim and are of female gender.

Examples:

Hebrew dual plural Fem 1
Hebrew dual plural Fem 2

Also certain objects form a dual-plural, but their gender is mostly male.

Hebrew dual plural Male 1.png
Hebrew dual plural Male 2.png

Why the word hotplates is a dual? Probably, because in pioneer times stoves had only two hotplates. Bye the way: The dual form exists similarly also in Arabic: eg. Bahrain (spoken bachrayn) means two seas, from al bachr, the sea.

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Also, there are dual forms in notions of time.

Hebrew dual plural Time 2.png
Hebrew dual plural Time 1.png
5. The dual-plural (eg oznayim – ears)
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