Download Infinitive Construct

The Infinitive Construct of Hebrew Verb
Usages of the Infinitive Construct
The Infinitive Construct is used:
1. to express purpose (such as to, in order to, for the purpose of):
The infinitive may be used to express the purpose or goal of the action or state
of being of its controlling verb. It answers question such as "Why?" which
looks ahead to the anticipated and intended result.
2. to denote an action which is about to happen, generally the outcome produced
by the controlling verb, prompting a sense of urgency. This usage is usually
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
used with ‫( הָ יָה‬to be);
as subject of verb (substantive use of the Infinitive Construct);
as object of a verb;
to express a temporal idea: when, while;
for instrumental, obligatory, or manner expression;
to offer complementary clause to the controlling verb.
Additional Notes: How to Use the Infinitive Construct
¶ The Infinitive Construct could be used as a noun and a verb. It may take both
subjects and objects. Pronouns may be suffixed to the infinitive. A noun following an
infinitive may be either the subject or object, though the subject is more likely.
¶ Inseperable preposition like ‫ ל‬,‫ כ‬,‫ ב‬could be attached to the front of the verb e.g. –
‫לִ ְׁשמֹר‬.
¶ With preposition ‫( ל‬lamed), in which case making the Infinitive Construct functions
like the English infinitive, a wide range of meanings, such as purpose or result
clause could be formed. This is its most frequent use in Modern Hebrew.
¶ Temporal clause could be formed by attaching ‫ ּב‬and or ‫ ּכ‬to the Infinitive
Construct.
¶ Personal pronoun (pronominal) suffixes on verbs could be added to the Infinitive
Construct to form verbal clauses. Such a suffix may function either as the subject or
as the object of the infinitive.
¶ In a special combination, infinitive+l ( ... ‫הָ יָה‬+) is used for the expression
of "to be about to," "to be compelled to".
¶ The Infinitive Construct has no person, gender, or number. It may be used like the
English gerundial meaning with the addition of "-ing".
¶ A negative infinitive clause is formed by placing ‫לְ בִ לְ ִתי‬, "so as to not," or "in order
not," before the infinitive construct.
The Form and Default Vowels for Qal Infinitive Construct
¶ Hebrew verbs are expressed in seven stems, of which are the Qal stem and six
derived stems: Niphal, Pi’el, Pual, Hitpa’el, Hiphil, and Hophal. These stems apply
equally to both the strong and weak verbs.
¶ To facilitate learning, these stems could be re-grouped into three headings. The three
groupings are:
§ The simple group, which includes the Qal (Active) and Niphal (Passive);
§ The Intensive group, which consists of Pi’el (Active), Pual (Passive) and the
Hitpa’el (Reflexive) (some grammar textbooks place Hitpa’el into a separate
group by itself);
§ The Causative group, which consists of Hiphil (Active) and Hophal (Passive).
§ There are other minor groupings.
Both strong and
weak verbs
Simple
Intensive
Causative
Active Passive Reflective
Qal
Pi’el
Hiphil
Niphal
Pu’al
Hitpa’el
Hophal
The Infinitive Construct
Hophal
‫ָה ְק ַטל‬
The Infinitives of the Strong or Regular Verb
Hiphil
Hitpa’el
Pu’al
Pi’el
Ni’phal
not
‫ ִה ְת ַק ֵּטל ַה ְק ִטיל‬attested
‫ק ֵּטל ַק ֵּטל‬
ִָ ‫ה‬
ִִ
Qal
‫ְקטֹל‬
Infinitive Construct of the Simple Stems: Qal and Niphal
¶ The shape of the Infinitive Construct is the shorten form of the Infinitive Absolute.
The default vowels in the Infinitive Construct could be used independently without
reference to the Infinitive Absolute. Its mechanic is very simple: The vowel [ָ] (qamets)
under the first consonant is shorten to [ְ] (shewa: vocal shewa), as in the case with
construct state of the noun. The second vowel [‫( ]ֹו‬holem wav) is the shorten verson of
[ֹ] (holem qatan), placing the holem from an unchangeable to a changeable state, thus:
The Base Form:
‫ְקטֹל‬
¶ The pair of default vowels in the Infinitive Construct is going to be the base form
for the Imperative, the Imperfect, the Cohortative, the Jussive and the Vaw
Consecutives, make adjustment to the vocal shewa in all these forms in the Qal stem,
replacing it for composite shewa in response to the presence of weak or guttural
consonants. As the shewa beneath it is vocal, this move is required whenever a weak
consonant sits on to the first position of the root. Only four weak consonants
whenever coming atop a position of vocal shewa require this maneuver.
¶ Some Derived Stems of the verb do not have an example of the Infinitive Construct,
at least not being used in the Tanakh, probably because sentences composed in the
Tanakh did not warrant the use of those forms Infinitive Construct which are not
attested: the Infinitive Absolute is to be used in such cases.
The Infinitives of the Strong or Regular Verb with propositions
Hiphil
Hitpa’el
Pu’al
Pi’el Ni’phal
Qal
Hophal
‫הָ קְ טֵ ל‬
‫הַ קְ טֵ ל‬
‫הִ ְתקַ טֵ ל‬
or ‫הִ ְתקַ טֹ ל‬
‫הָ קְ טַ ל‬
‫הַ קְ ִטיל‬
‫הִ ְתקַ טֵ ל‬
*
‫לְ הִ ְתקַ טֵ ל לְ הַ קְ ִטיל‬
‫ּבְ הִ ְתקַ ְטלֹו ּבְ הַ קְ ִטילֹו ּבְ הָ קְ ְטלֹו‬
‫קֻ טֹ ל‬
*not in use
*
*‫†ּבְ קֻ ְטלֹו‬
‫קַ טֹול‬
‫נִ קְ טֹול‬
‫הִ קָ טֹול‬
‫הִ קָ טֵ ל קַ טֵ ל‬
‫לְ הִ קטֵ ל לְ קַ טֵ ל‬
‫ּבְ קַ טַ לֹו‬
*
‫**קָ טֹול‬
Inf Ab
‫***קְ טֹ ל‬
‫לִ קְ טֹ ל‬
‫ּבְ קָ ְטלֹו‬
Infc
Infc + ‫ל‬
Infc (+ b)+
suffix
*Not attested in biblical Hebrew.
**The spelling ljoq' is also attested frequently.
***The spelling lAjq. is also attested frequently.
†Only one example found in the Hebrew Bible: AtAN[u (his being afflicted; Psa 132:1).
Hophal Hophal
The Infinitive Construct of the Hebrew Weak Verbs
Hiphil Hithpa’el Pu’al Pi’el Ni’phal Qal
Qal
Stative
(dynamic)
‫טיל‬
ִַ ‫תקטַל הַ ְׁק‬
ְַׁ ‫ִה‬
‫ֲמיד‬
ִַ ‫הַע‬
‫הקַטל קטַל‬
ִַ
‫הַעזב‬
‫ְׁקטֹל‬
Stem
Inf Cons
I-Gutt
ַ‫אֱ מֹר‬
‫אֱ כֹל‬
‫אֱ סֹר‬
I-‫א‬
‫הַצִַיל‬
‫הנַצל‬
ִַ
I-‫נ‬
‫שיב‬
ִַ ‫הֹו‬
‫הוַשב‬
ִַ
I-‫י‬
‫תנַחַם‬
ְַׁ ‫ִה‬
‫תברְך‬
ְַׁ ‫ִה‬
ַ ‫הַ ְׁש ִלַי‬
‫ח‬
‫הַ ְׁמצִַיא‬
‫תּגלַֹות הַגְׁ לֹות‬
ְַׁ ‫ִה‬
‫נח ם‬
‫ברְך‬
‫שלח‬
‫המַצא מ ַצא‬
ִַ
‫ה ַבנֹות ּגלֹות‬
ִַ
II-Gut
II-Gut
III-‫ ח‬/‫ע‬
III-‫א‬
III-‫ה‬
‫תפלל‬
ְַׁ ‫ִה‬
‫הלל‬
‫קים‬
ִַ ַ‫ה‬
Geminate
Hollow
(bicon)
Hints:
 In both the weak and strong verbs, use this pair: [‫ ]ָ ֹו‬of vowels for all two
syllable verb on the Qal Infinitive Absolute except single-syllable verbs,
which use [‫( ]ֹו‬holem wav) in the syllable as the default vowel.

Some examples of Infinitive Construct of weak verbs in Derived Stems
‫ לִ קְ טֹ ל‬Qal infinitive construct from a strong verb;
‫ּבִ גְ לֹות‬
‫גִ ׁשתֹו‬
‫לְ קַ טֵ ל‬
‫לְ הִ קָ טֵ ל‬
‫לְ ִׁשבְ תֹו‬
‫לְ הַ צֵ ל‬
Qal infinitive construct with a preposition from a lamed he verb
Qal infintive construct with a 3ms suffix from ‫נגש‬
Piel infinitive construct
Niphal infinitive construct
Qal infinitive construct from Peh Yod with a 3ms suffix
Hiphil infinitive construct from a Peh Nun verb
Note: Infinitive constructs of Lamed Heh verbs end in ‫ֹות‬
Infinitive constructs of Peh Yod and Peh Nun verbs end in ‫ ת‬but with
different stem vowel.