Modern Hebrew: An Essential Grammar

Level Two1 Where , , are middle letters, Hebrew bolsters them by givingthem ‘more breathing space’, that is, by preventing another consonantfrom following immediately. The problem arises mainly in verbs witha stressed ending, e.g.vowel: , , . The remedy is to insert a ‘helping’ aPast Present FuturePA’AL ,, , NIF’AL, , HUF’AL , , PI’EL, , , PU’AL , , , HITPA’EL. . . , , However, the letter is somewhat anomalous (recall 51(b)(2)) andtends not to require a ‘helping -a-’, particularly in casual speech.Hence , ‘play’.2 In the PA’AL future of some middle guttural verbs, -o- becomes -a-,e.g. , ‘choose’ etc. and , ‘ask’ etc. – whereasin some other verbs -o- holds its ground: , ‘squeeze’ etc.There is no simple rule. Consult a major dictionary or ask an Israeli.3 Where the PI’EL has a middle or , the vowels in the respectiveaction noun will commonly be e-u, not i-u. Thus:88 description expulsion detail despair