Lesson 7 | Qal Perfect
[2] Weak Verbs
But while the paradigm chart on the previous step serves as a model of the qal perfect for most verbs, certain words with “weak” letters change a bit differently. And it just so happens that these “weak” verbs are some of the most common words in Hebrew. Thus, let’s take a look at two other charts with the key weak forms of the qal perfect.
Hollow verbs
qal perfect for בּוֹא
| 1cs |
בָּאתִי |
I came |
| 1cp |
בָּאנוּ |
we came |
| | |
| 2ms |
בָּאתָ |
you [sir] came |
| 2fs |
בָּאתְ |
you [ma’am] came |
| 2mp |
בָּאתֶם |
you all came |
| 2fp |
בָּאתֶן |
[ladies] you all came |
| | |
| 3ms |
בָּא |
he came |
| 3fs |
בָּאָה |
she came |
| 3cp |
בָּאוּ |
they came |
If you compare this charts to the one you learned on the previous step, the only significant difference you will note is that words with a י or ו as the second letter in their root (called “hollow” verbs) drop that middle letter when used in the qal perfect. You don’t need to memorize this chart, but do spend some time reading through these forms of בּוֹא, noting what exactly you are saying with each form.
Weak final letter
The second weak form we will look at is representative of words with a י ,ו ,ה or נ as the final letter in their root. The most common of these is also the most common verb in the Hebrew Bible: הָיָה.
qal perfect for הָיָה
| 1cs |
הָיִיתִי |
I was |
| 1cp |
הָיִינוּ |
we were |
| | |
| 2ms |
הָיִיתָ |
you [sir] were |
| 2fs |
הָיִיתְ |
you [ma’am] were |
| 2mp |
הֱיִיתֶם |
you all were |
| 2fp |
הֱיִיתֶן |
[ladies] you all were |
| | |
| 3ms |
הָיָה |
he was |
| 3fs |
הָיְתָה |
she was |
| 3cp |
הָיוּ |
they were |
As you can see in this chart, the last letter of the root is replaced by a י in most forms. It is dropped in the 3cp. Finally, the ה is turned into a ת in the 3fs (as ה has the habit of doing). You should learn this word well. You will see it everywhere and it will serve as a model to you for how other verbs with a weak third letter in their root appear in the qal perfect.
Now take some time to practice identifying and producing these forms.
Other weak forms
While there certainly are a few other weak forms of the qal perfect, the paradigms above are enough to cover the vast majority of cases. When you find other minor differences in the qal perfect, they will typically be due to guttural letters (ע ,ח ,א and ר) preferring a-class vowels as mentioned in this step of Hebrew I, Lesson 3.