Bible HebrewQal Perfect
Basic verb stem, completed action.
Perfect (qatal): the action is complete
The perfect usually describes finished action. Who did it is shown by an ending:
| In English | שׁמר “keep” | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| he kept | שָׁמַר | — |
| she kept | שָׁמְרָה | ־ָה |
| you kept (said to a man) | שָׁמַרְתָּ | ־תָּ |
| you kept (said to a woman) | שָׁמַרְתְּ | ־תְּ |
| I kept | שָׁמַרְתִּי | ־תִּי |
| they kept | שָׁמְרוּ | ־וּ |
| you all kept | שְׁמַרְתֶּם | ־תֶּם |
| we kept | שָׁמַרְנוּ | ־נוּ |
With וְ in front (weqatal) the perfect often looks forward: וְאָהַבְתָּ “and you shall love” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
The verb matches the one who acts: a man (or a king) takes the “he” form, הָלַךְ “he walked”; a woman takes the “she” form, with ־ָה at the end.
Short codes. Grammar books, and some questions here, name a form with a code: the person (1 = I or we, 2 = you, 3 = he, she or they), then m or f (masculine, feminine; c = common, for both), then s or p (one or many). So 3ms is “he”, 3fs “she”, 2ms “you” said to a man, 1cs “I”, 3cp “they”, 1cp “we”.
Check yourself
Which ending means “I” in the perfect?
✓ ־תִּי · ־תָּ · ־נוּ · ־וּ
The ending ־תִּי means “I”: שָׁמַרְתִּי “I kept”.
The angel stops Abraham: כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי “for now ___ know” (Genesis 22:12). Who knows?
✓ I · you · he · we
The ending ־תִּי means “I”: יָדַעְתִּי “I know”.
Isaac’s servants dig a well and report מָצָאנוּ מָיִם (Genesis 26:32). What do they say?
✓ We have found water. · They found water. · He found water. · I found water.
The ending ־נוּ means “we”: מָצָאנוּ “we found”.
God says to Adam, “because you listened to the voice of your wife” (Genesis 3:17). Which word is “you listened”, said to a man?
✓ שָׁמַעְתָּ · שָׁמַעְתִּי · שָׁמְעוּ · שָׁמַע
The ending ־תָּ means “you”, said to a man: כִּי שָׁמַעְתָּ לְקוֹל אִשְׁתֶּךָ.
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