The Qal perfect
You will know Qal as the basic verb stem and the perfect as the "complete" conjugation, recognise who did the action from the ending (person, gender, number), and read Qal perfects in verses such as Psalm 1:1 and Genesis 3:12.
Qal, the basic stem
In the last lesson you learned that a verb is built on a three-consonant root. The same root can be shaped into several stems, and each stem gives the root a different shade of meaning. The most basic and by far the most common stem is Qal. The name קַל means "light" in Hebrew: Qal is the plain pattern, with no added marks. The other stems (Niphal, Piel, Hiphil and so on) come in later lessons, so for now Qal is all you need.
In this lesson we meet Qal's perfect. Take , "bara'", in Genesis 1:1, "he created". The panel labels it "verb, qal, perfect, third, masculine, singular". The last three labels, person, gender and number, are the heart of this lesson, because in Hebrew the perfect shows all three by its ending.
What "perfect" means
The perfect usually presents an action as complete, as a whole, and so it is very often translated as a past tense. But scholars disagree about whether Hebrew verbs mark tense (when) or aspect (how the speaker views the action). This course uses a learner's rule of thumb: the perfect is "complete" and its partner, the imperfect, is "incomplete". English translations render the perfect as a simple past ("he gave"), a present perfect ("I have sinned"), and sometimes even a present ("he does not walk"). Always let the context decide.
The endings
The perfect marks the person by adding an ending to the root. The model verb is שָׁמַר, "shamar", "to keep".
| Who | Ending | Model | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd masc. singular (he) | none | שָׁמַר | he kept |
| 3rd fem. singular (she) | ־ָה | שָׁמְרָה | she kept |
| 2nd masc. singular (you) | ־ְתָּ | שָׁמַרְתָּ | you kept |
| 2nd fem. singular (you) | ־ְתְּ | שָׁמַרְתְּ | you kept |
| 1st singular (I) | ־ְתִּי | שָׁמַרְתִּי | I kept |
| 3rd plural (they) | ־וּ | שָׁמְרוּ | they kept |
| 2nd masc. plural (you all) | ־תֶּם | שְׁמַרְתֶּם | you all kept |
| 1st plural (we) | ־נוּ | שָׁמַרְנוּ | we kept |
Learn three first: no ending means "he", ־תִּי means "I", and ־ְתָּ means "you" (masculine singular). With those you can read a large share of the perfects you meet. The rest need only be recognised. Notice that endings can shorten the root's vowels (שָׁמַר becomes שָׁמְרָה), so the shape of the root shifts a little.
Hebrew usually does not need a separate word for "I" or "you", since the ending already says it. One word can be a whole sentence.
Finding the endings in real verses
, "hayetah", in Genesis 1:2 is "it was", from the root היה with the ending ־ָה: third feminine singular, because its subject, "the earth", is feminine. , "chatati", is root חטא plus ־תִּי, "I have sinned". David says it to Nathan.
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
2 Samuel 12:13
Genesis 4:9 has the same ending in , "yada'ti", "I know". Cain answers God, "I do not know". In Genesis 3:12, one verb, "to give" (, "natan", found over 1,300 times), appears with two different endings.
, "natatah", is "you gave" (second masculine singular; the final ה is a spelling this form sometimes has), and , "natenah", is "she gave" (third feminine singular). Adam says, "the woman you gave, she gave me". The same root changes its ending to say first "you" and then "she".
For a third plural, see Psalm 22:5. , "vatechu", is "they trusted": root בטח plus ־וּ.
Three perfects in Psalm 1:1
Psalm 1:1 has three Qal perfects in a row.
, "halakh", "walk"; , "'amad", "stand"; and , "yashav", "sit". All three are third masculine singular, with no ending, and each is preceded by לֹא, "not".
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
Psalm 1:1
These are perfects, yet the English is not a past tense. Here the perfect sums up a way of life in a general statement. So do not memorise "perfect equals past". Read the ending to learn who acts, and let the verse decide the translation. One more example: in Genesis 27:36 Esau says of Jacob, "he has taken my blessing". , "lakach", from root לקח, is third masculine singular.
Summary
Qal is the basic verb stem. The Qal perfect adds an ending to the root: none for "he", ־ָה for "she", ־ְתָּ for "you", ־ְתִּי for "I", ־וּ for "they". Perfect is "complete" as a rule of thumb, but the translation depends on context. Next lesson: the imperfect, which marks the person with a prefix.
Words in this lesson
- yashavto dwell1,079 times in the OT
- amadto stand: stand452 times in the OT
- chatato sin238 times in the OT
- natanto give: give1,315 times in the OT
- yadato know945 times in the OT
- laqachto take: take771 times in the OT
Practice
- Practice 1 of 14
In which stem is ?
- Practice 2 of 14
What does the ending ־תִּי in indicate?
- Practice 3 of 14
Who is the subject of ?
- Practice 4 of 14
Who is the subject of ?
- Practice 5 of 14
Why is , "it was", feminine in Genesis 1:2?
- Practice 6 of 14
How is best translated in Psalm 1:1?
- Practice 7 of 14
What does the ending ־וּ in mean?
- Practice 8 of 14
Which statement about the perfect is most accurate?
Word practice
- Practice 9 of 14
יָשַׁב (yashav) — What does it mean?
- Practice 10 of 14
עָמַד (amad) — What does it mean?
- Practice 11 of 14
חָטָא (chata) — What does it mean?
- Practice 12 of 14
נָתַן (natan) — What does it mean?
- Practice 13 of 14
יָדַע (yada) — What does it mean?
- Practice 14 of 14
לָקַח (laqach) — What does it mean?
Original text and grammar: STEPBible (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0). Pronunciation: Erasmian Greek, academic Hebrew. The listen button uses the device’s modern Greek/Hebrew voice. Scripture quotations: BSB.