Page:Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar (1910 Kautzsch-Cowley edition).djvu/183



The beginner should first practise connecting the suffixes with these forms and then go on to unite them to the  (see d).

2. The addition of the suffix generally causes the tone to be thrown forward towards the end of the word, since it would otherwise fall, in some cases, on the ante-penultima; with the heavy suffixes (see e) the tone is even transferred to the suffix itself. Considerations of tone, especially in the Perfect, occasion certain vowel changes: (a) the of the first syllable, no longer standing before the tone, always becomes vocal ; (b) the original  of the second syllable, which in the 3''rd sing. fem. and 3rd plur. had become, reappears before the suffix, and, in an open syllable before the tone, is lengthened to ; similarly original ĭ (as in the 3rd sing. masc. without a suffix) is lengthened to ē'', e.g. ,.

The forms of the perfect of Qal consequently appear as follows:—

The connexion of these forms with all the suffixes is shown in Paradigm C. It will be seen there also, how the in the Perfect  changes sometimes into, and sometimes into.

Rem. 1. The suffixes of the 2nd and 3rd pers. plur. and, since they end in a consonant and also always have the tone, are distinguished as heavy suffixes (suffixa gravia) from the rest, which are called light suffixes. Compare the connexion of these (and of the corresponding feminine forms and ) with the noun, § 91. With a perfect alone occurs,. The form which is usually given as the connective form of the 3rd sing. masc. before and  is only formed by analogy, and is without example in the O.T.

2. In the 3''rd sing. masc.'' (especially in verbs ; in the strong verb only in  in ) is mostly contracted to, according to ; likewise in the 2nd sing. masc. to .—As a suffix of the 1st sing. occurs several times with the 3rd sing. masc. perf. Qal of verbs, not only in (as  ;   with ), but even with a