Hebrew Pronominal Suffixes
"Pronominal suffixes are shortened forms of the personal pronouns." You can brush up on your personal pronouns here on Biblical Hebrew Made Easy!
Continuing on Kelley states, "They may be attached directly to the end of prepositions, particles, nouns, and verbs."
(Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar, 68)
If you don't know your Hebrew prepositions, you'll want to brush up with our blog on the inseparable preposition.
There are three important things to keep in mind about Hebrew pronominal suffixes:
(Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar, 68)
The Good News About Hebrew Pronominal Suffixes
Considering that pronominal suffixes are attached to prepositions, nouns and verbs you'd think you'd have to memorize three sets of paradigms or more. Wrong! You only need to learn one paradigm in Hebrew. There are only very minor changes in the paradigms for the different parts of speech.
Compare these charts to see the minor variations (and rejoice you don't need to learn more than one paradigm!):
"Pronominal suffixes are shortened forms of the personal pronouns." You can brush up on your personal pronouns here on Biblical Hebrew Made Easy!
Continuing on Kelley states, "They may be attached directly to the end of prepositions, particles, nouns, and verbs."
(Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar, 68)
If you don't know your Hebrew prepositions, you'll want to brush up with our blog on the inseparable preposition.
There are three important things to keep in mind about Hebrew pronominal suffixes:
- When attached to prepositions they act as objects of the preposition
- When attached to nouns, they act as possessive pronouns
- When attached to verbs they generally act as direct objects of the verb
(Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar, 68)
The Good News About Hebrew Pronominal Suffixes
Considering that pronominal suffixes are attached to prepositions, nouns and verbs you'd think you'd have to memorize three sets of paradigms or more. Wrong! You only need to learn one paradigm in Hebrew. There are only very minor changes in the paradigms for the different parts of speech.
Compare these charts to see the minor variations (and rejoice you don't need to learn more than one paradigm!):
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Notes on the Paradigms:
- The plural form on nouns takes a yod before each of the suffixes. This is easy to remember, the yod reminds you of "y'all," the plural of "you" in English.
- There are other minor variations in the pronominal suffixes when attached to verbs -- such as verbs ending in a verb (displayed above) and verbs ending with a consonant. The differences are so minor that additional paradigms are not necessary. See any standard Hebrew grammar to see the differences.
Memorization Strategies and Mnemonics for Pronominal Suffixes
In my publication, The Triad System, also contained in The Complete System, I give specific mnemonic techniques for you to visually learn the pronominal suffixes.
Here are some other helpful tips when learning the Hebrew pronominal suffixes:
I hope this article on Hebrew pronominal suffixes has helped you! For more powerful memory helps in learning Biblical Hebrew grammar, vocabulary and Hebrew paradigms be sure to visit Biblical Hebrew Made Easy! Or visit my author homepage, Boost Your Memory! While you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter that has exclusive discounters for our members!
In my publication, The Triad System, also contained in The Complete System, I give specific mnemonic techniques for you to visually learn the pronominal suffixes.
Here are some other helpful tips when learning the Hebrew pronominal suffixes:
- Note that in the 2nd Person, singular and plural, the consonant is always a kaf (final kaf in singular, kaf-final mem in plural). If you turn the kaf on its side, it is a reminder of "you" (looks like the English letter "u").
- The he in the 3 mp and 3 fp forms are in themselves a phonetic cue of "them" ("hem" sounds like "them").
- Study the given paradigms. Look for and find the common patterns across all paradigms. What is repeatable or predicable is easier to remember!
I hope this article on Hebrew pronominal suffixes has helped you! For more powerful memory helps in learning Biblical Hebrew grammar, vocabulary and Hebrew paradigms be sure to visit Biblical Hebrew Made Easy! Or visit my author homepage, Boost Your Memory! While you're there, be sure to sign up for our newsletter that has exclusive discounters for our members!
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