Page:Introductory Hebrew Grammar- Hebrew Syntax (1902).djvu/161

 SYNTAX OF THE SENTENCE

THE SENTENCE ITSELF

§ 102. A sent. consists of a subj. and pred. The subj. may be expressed separately, as אֲנִי יוֹסֵף  I am Jos., or in the case of the verbal sent. contained in the form, as מְכַרְתֶּם  ye sold. Besides the mere subj. and pred. sentences usually contain additional elements, such as an obj. under the regimen of the pred., or some amplifications descriptive either of subj. or pred.

The subj. may be a pron., or a noun, or anything equivalent to a noun as an adj. or adverb used nominally, or a clause. Gen. 39:9 אַתְּ אִשְׁתּוֹ  thou art his wife; 3:3 אָמַר אֱלֹהִים   God has said; 2:18 לֹא טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָֽאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ   that man be alone is not good. So 2 K. 9:33 וַיִּז מִדָּמָהּ  some of her blood spirted. Ex. 16:27, 2 S. 1:4; 11:17, 2 K. 10:10.

The pred. may be a pron., Jud. 9:28 מִי שְׁכֶם  who is Shechem? A noun, Gen. 39:9 (above), an adj. or ptcp., Gen. 2:10 נָהָר יִצֵא  a river went out, Is. 6:3 קָדוֹשׁ יהוה  holy is Je.; a finite verb, Gen. 3:3 (above); or an adverbial or prepositional phrase, Gen. 2:12 שָׁם הַבְּדֹלַח   there is bdolach; Ps. 11:4 בַּשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאוֹ   in heaven is his throne. The noun as pred. is very common, because the adj. is little developed in the earlier stages of the Shemitic languages. See Nom. Appos. § 29 e.

The simple sent. is either nominal or verbal. A verbal sent. is one whose pred. is a finite verb. All other sentences