Lesson 19: Numbers, More About the Definite Article and the Conjunction

The Numbers From 11 and up

And so on. This is the pattern for the numbers above ten.

The numbers from 30 to 90 are expressed by the plural forms of the units (so that the plural indicates ten times the unit), thus, שְׁלשִׁים 30, אַרְבָּעִים 40, חֲמִ֫שִּׁים 50, שִׁשִּׁים 60, שִׁנְעִים 70, שְׁמֹנִים 80, תּשְׁעִים 90. But twenty is expressed by עֶשְׂרִים, the plural of עֶ֫שֶׂד ten.

hundred = מֵאָה
two hundred = מָאתַ֫יִם
thousand = אֶ֫לֶף
ten thousand, myriad = רְבָבָה

More About the Definite Article

Under most conditions, the definite article is formed by prefixing a he ה, placing the vowel patah beneath it, and placing a daggesh in the first consonent of the noun it is prefixed to. However, if the initial letter of the noun happens to be a resh ר, ayin ע or aleph א, then the definite article is formed by prefixing a he ה and placing the vowel qamats beneath it, with no daggesh since resh ר, ayin ע and aleph א cannot take a daggesh. If the first consonent happens to be an unaccented het ח, he ה, or ayin ע, then the vowel placed under the prefixed he ה is a seghol; and again, no daggesh appears in the initial consonent of the noun.

More About the conjunction vav וְ

If the conjunction vav וְ is placed in front of a word beginning with a bet ב, vav ו, mem מ, or pe פ, or if the first syllable of the word begins with a shva, then the vav ו of the conjunction will be וּ instead of וְ.

Reading

Please read pages 154-160 in Biblical Hebrew Step-by-Step.

Exercises

1. Memorize the vocabulary and numbers.

2. Do the Exercises on pages 160-162.