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Accusative (Case): The noun *case that marks the *direct object of a *transitive verb.
Active (Voice): When a verb is in active voice, the *subject of the sentence is carrying out an action.
Aorist: Verb form that expresses action but does not reveal whether it is complete or ongoing. Some-
times Aorist denotes *tense and *aspect but occasionally, only *aspect.
Apellative: A referential term, which can also function as the *subject or *object of a verb or the
*object of a *preposition, or an *appositive (a noun in *apposition).
Apposition: When two nouns are placed beside one another and one is explanatory.
Article: Indicates nouns and their applications (e.g. the word “the”).
Assimilation: Process of a sound (e.g. A vowel) being modified (often times replaced) by another
letter.
Attributive (Adj.): *Adjective that qualifies or *modifies another *adjective (& must be related to it).
Case: The function/role of a noun in a sentence (e.g. *Accusative, *Dative, *Nominative, etc.).
Causative: Expressed as the *subject of the verb causing another *subject to do something.
Conjugation: Parts of the verb that make it *person, *gender, *number, *aspect and action specific.
Coordinate: 1. When a term expresses equality. 2. Functions to link nouns together. 3. Functions to
link verbs together.
Declension: Forms given to nouns and *adjectives that give them person and gender functions.
Definite Article: A referential term that denotes specificity (e.g. the word “the).
Demonstrative: Term that specifies something being referred to (e.g. “these” or “that”).
Dependent Clause: Also *subordinate clause: a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Distributive: A term that singles persons, things, etc. out (especially from a group/collection).
Elide / Elision: When something is omitted in pronunciation (often the first or last sound of a word).
Euphonic: Term/part of speech with no other function than for sound effect.
Feminine: One of three *genders in language; often refers to female-classified persons/things, etc.
Finite: Form of a verb that can occur on its own in a main clause (expresses person, number, tense,
mood and voice).
Future (Tense): Tense of a verb that expresses an action that is yet to have taken place, but will.
Gender: Grammatical category that classifies nouns,*adjectives, *pronouns and verbs by animacy or
sex (*male, *female, *neuter).
Gerund: Noun derived from a verb having all of the *case forms except the *nominative.
Governing Verb: Initial verb in a *coordinating relationship that affects the *aspect of other verbs.
Hithpael: Form of a Hebrew verb that expresses the *reflexive action of a *Qal or *Piel.
Hophal: Form of a Hebrew verb that expresses the *passive action of a *Qal or *Piel.
Indefinite Article: An *article that does not fix the identity of a noun (e.g. The term “a”).
Independent Clause: *Clause containing a verb and a *subject and is able to stand alone.
Indicative: The *mood of a verb (or terms pertaining to the *mood) used in objective statements.
Indirect-Object: *An person/thing (*object) that is indirectly affected by the action of the verb.
Infinitive: Verb (form) that acts as a *substantive while retaining some of its verbal characteristics.
Often preceded by the word “to” (e.g. “to hit,” “to walk,” etc.). Un-*inflected terms.
Infinitive Absolute: Infinitival use in Hebrew to emphasize or add certainty to the verb.
Infinitive Construct: Infinitival use in Hebrew that is used after *prepositions and is *inflected to
agree with its *subject or *object.
Inflection / Inflexion: When the base of a term is modified by an *affix to indicate *person, *number,
*tense or *mood.
Intensive: A term, such as an *adverb, that intensifies another term (e.g. an action).
Intransitive (Verb): Verb that does not require a *direct-object to complete its meaning.
Masculine: One of three *genders in language; often refers to male-classified persons/things, etc.
Middle (Verb): A verb that is *active in form but often *passive in meaning.
Middle (Voice): Verb (form or set) that indicates the relationship between the *subject and the action.
Modal: Expressing or relating to the *mood of the verb. Often denoting contingency between actions.
Can pertain to an expression of wish or strong desire.
Mood: Verb (form or sets) that reveal the speaker's attitude towards the likelihood of the action being
expressed or wished to be carried out. Often used with *modal or *volitional verbs.
Morpheme: Word element that cannot be broken down or it will lose its meaning.
Neuter: One of three *genders in language; often refers to genderless-classified persons/things, etc.
Niphal / Nifal: Hebrew verb form that is usually rendered as *passive or *reflexive.
Ordinate / Ordinal: The initial or first of a group (e.g. numbers; statements, etc.).
Particle: 1. Words with small functions (e.g. *articles, *prepositions, etc.). 2. Un-*inflected part of
term that does not belong to any of the major parts of speech.
Passive (Voice): *Voice used when the subject of the sentence is acted upon (as denoted by the verb).
Past (Tense): *Tense of a verb that expresses an action that has already taken place.
Perfect (Tense): *Tense used to express that an action took place before a fixed point in time.
Permissive: Action permitted to occur by the *subject and is agreeable to the *object.
Phoneme: Smallest unit of sound in a term (e.g. the sound of each letter of a word).
Piel: Form of a Hebrew verb that expresses the simple *active action of a *Qal.
Pluperfect: Verb *tense used to express the complete of an action before a specific or implied time.
Predicate: Part of a sentence or *clause that modifies and reveals what is being said about the
*subject.
Predicate Adjective: *Adjective used to *modify the some attribute of the *subject.
Prefix: An *affix attached to the beginning of the word that causes *inflection.
Preposition: Term placed before a *substantive that reveals its relationship to another *substantive, a
verb or an *adjective. (e.g. at, by, with, etc.)
Present (Tense): Verb *tense used to express the notion that an action is occurring right now.
Preterite: Verb tense (esp. in Heb.) that denotes a past action or state.
Pronomial: When a *pronoun (or pronoun ending) acts as a *suffix (esp. in Heb.).
Pronoun: Part of speech that acts as a substitute for a noun (e.g. he, she, etc.).
Pual: Form of a Hebrew verb that is a *causative/*passive stem that is the counterpart of the *Piel.
Reflexive: Denotes when the speaker does something to him or herself; when the *subject and *direct-
object are identical with the verb.
Root: The part of the term to which *affixes, etc. are added; element of term carrying main component
of meaning.
Second-Person: Part of speech that allows one person to refer to another (e.g. “you”).
Stem: Vowel pattern (esp. in Heb.) applied to a verbal *root that denotes an action.
Strong (Verb): Verbs, esp. in German, that are marked to denote past-tense (usually by an *ablaut).
Subject: *Agent that performs the action of a verb.
Subordinate Clause: *Clause that cannot stand alone as a full sentence but serves a nounal,
*adjectival or *adverbial purpose.
Suffix: An *affix attached to the end of the word that causes *inflection.
Superlative: The best or greatest of any number of items when compared to one another.
Third-Person: Part of speech that allows one person to refer to another (e.g. he/ she).
Umlaut: A change in a term's vowel sound, often caused by *assimilation. Diacritic mark placed over
a vowel ( ¨ ).
Voice: Verb or verb set indication the relationship between the *subject and the action expressed by the
verb.
Volitional: Verbal form denoting a choice that is being or will be carried out by the speaker.
Weak (Verb): Form that designates a *conjugation or *declension when a language employs two
parallel systems.