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212 views42 pagesElements Syriac Grammar
Syriac Grammar
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© © All Rights Reserved
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/ 42
THE ELEMENTS
or
SYRIAC GRAMMAR
wir
READING LESSONS
CONSISTING OF COPIOUS
EXTRACTS BROM THE PESHITTA VERSION OF
THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
AND THE
CRUSADE OF RICHARD I
FROM THE CHRONICLES OF BAR HEBRAEUS
Grammatically Analysed and Translates
NEW AND REVISED EDITION
B
Mult terricolis linguae, coclestibus una
LONDON
SAMUEL BAGSTER AND SONS LIMITED
NEW YORK: JAMES POTT AND CO.
1906 PREFACE
‘TuE-presént Work forms one of a series of “Reading
Lessons,” of which the Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic
have already appeared,
The plan of these works is simple, but, it is
hoped, complete. They consist of the elements of
the Grammar with copious extracts from the lan-
guage. Tho extracts are grammatically analysed
word by word, and an exact translation into English
is added,
To the present Work, the prefixed Syriac Grammar
is more than usually extensive, on account of the
scareity of introductory grammars to tho Syriac
language. ELEMENTS OF SYRIAC GRAMMAR.
1, THE ALPHABET.
SYRIAG. powrrs. ae
Nanrs. |
‘1 Separate. | 2 Joined. Hebrew. | English, |YALUB.
— a | a
1 Tlo | Alaph x 1
2 2 | ano [Beth | 4 [bhi 9
WH] TOOL Gamal 3 | & eb 3
? 3,2. | Dilath 5 | 4 db 4
a | ois | He nm]ok 5
° eas | Vau ) | vorw 6
1 no | Zain T 5 7
wow | wan | Heth n h 8
4} AbS | Toth bd} ¢ 9]
ry ae | Yud * Jyin yot] 10
y 2 Xe Kiph 132] k, kh } 20
SS , 5] 1 | ao
$o So | Satoo | Mim ob] m | 40}
or a | Nun 13 n | 50
co om | mom | Semkath D 8 60
wos Ws } vio | 70!
2 2 | 222 | Pe 5} 5B | pph| 80
$ | $8? |tside | YF ¥ | ts | 90
© Oo | 200 | Kuph P | 100
3 dps | Rish 5 r 200,
Yoo | mee | shin w | sh | 300
2] 25 | than n | 6th | 400 it ALPHABET,
The Table, as given here, exhibits a striking similarity
between the Syriac and Hebrew alphabets, with respect to
order of succession and names and powers of the letters.
‘The Syriac, however, differs first in the greater number of final
letters, and secondly in the connecting of the letters belonging
to one word. The learner has therefore to observe that—
1, Nine of the final letters differ from the ordinary ones
only ina slight additional stroke, or hook, at the end; but
the remaining fire assume a different form.
2. Each letter may (whenever the position will allow it) be
joined either to the preceding letter only, or to both the pre-
ceding and following, We thus obtain two classes of letters,
distinguished likewise by another peculiarity, that those of
the former have no finals; those of the latter have,
The column, No. 2, of the alphabet exhibits every possible
position and manner of connecting of cach letter, Those of
the first class need be repeated but twice, those of the second,
with their finals, three times.
8. One letter is joined to another by a small horizontal
line drawn from its extremity, with the exception of four, viz.,
2, 4, 3, and 2, which assume another form when joined to a
preceding \ctter.
Nore.—It is advisable that the learner copy the alphabet a few
times, especially the column, No.2. In doing so, or in writing
‘any Syriac word, he has to form merely the tops of as many
letters as are joined on both sides, and then to connect them by
‘a horizontal line drawn from the last to the first. Thus, in
forming the Beths in succession, let him write the three tops
first, ~-y-, and then the line underneath from left to right,
—_, and he will obtain one ii one medial. and one
final Beth.
‘The tollowing compound letters are frequently used: SX, VOWELS. iii
D, W (nai), and 5x, which stand for SJ, PX, SS, ana 18;
the last when a word terminates with Limad final, and the
next begins with Alaph.
2. VOWELS.
There are two ways of indicating the vowels. Ono is
tho Nestorian. This consists of points placed in various
positions, and has developed out of the practice of using a
single point above or below a letter. ‘Tho other system is
the Jacobite, invented by Jacob of Edessa (+708). This
consists of the Greek vowels in a reversed dircetion. Its
invention has also been ascribed to Theophilus of Edessa
(#785-786), but with less probability.
Both systems are now sometimes used indiscriminately.
We have so used them in some of our pages, as a practice
for the learner.
Greek. Syriac,
a road ah
©» ay
i, e
@ 4 ah
Adorama 6 or &
Norm.—In giving tho pronaneiation ot Syriac words in English
characters, we have represented Zekitd by & throughout (ep.
Maran-atha in 1 Cor. 16, 22).
The position of the Greek vowels as given above is tho
usual one, but they are by no means confined to it.
‘The vowol ‘ Ktaitsa is always accompanied with ©, oxcept iv DIPHTHONGS—CONSONANTS.
in two words, W5 kul, Who m'ful This is also the case
with Zeki in foreign words and proper names, as «aos.
Opsvos, 0030301 Herod.
3. DIPHTHONGS.
‘They are ©” au, Qa— cu, wai, wai, Qa— ty
00” ow. * *
It is, however, by no means certain how these diphthongs.
were sounded,
4, CONSONANTS.
1. As in Hebrew, the consonant is always sounded before
the vowel. The exception is with } and S (also Yud in a
certain position), where their respective vowels merely are
audible; the first on account of its feebleness, the last because
of its pronunciation being doubtful.
Norg.—In the pronunciation of Syriac words in English characters,
‘we insert s., but omit |, which is represented by its vowel.
2. ] between two vowels is pronounced like Yud)'as SOLO
ka-yem.
3. w at the beginning of a word is sounded é, not yi, as
_Xa tiled.
4. ] and u as feeble letters at the beginning of a word,
when analogy would require them to L. without a vowel, are
sounded, Alaph with ’ or *, Yud with +, “BE before He fol-
lows the same analogy in 21S for 2018. For the same cause CONSONANTS—LINES, v
they do not retain their vowel when a vowelless consonant
precedes, but their vowel is remitted to that consonant.
oF for do} he said; with conj. 0, Lolo for Kolo; TS
for Tss}o in the oarth. . *
5. 1, ©, and w lose their power as consonants, or become
quiescent, Alaph after ’, *, *, *; Yud after * and >; Vau
after *.
6. Oand w at the end of a word, when the preceding letter
has no vowel, are otiose, i.e. are not pronounced; as aNSo,
abo, Fal.
7. The letters Bgaik'phath are, as in Hebrew, pro-
nounced either with or without an aspiration, This is
indicated by a point above the letter, Kushshayd, to take
away the aspiration, or by one under the letter, Rukkalha,
to preserve it. The rules are not quite so simple as those
for Dagesh in Hebrew, but at this introductory
will suffice if the student applies the same rules
Noldeke, Syriac Grammar).
8. As in Hebrew, two vowelless consonants cannot be
sounded; or, in other words, there is no syllable which
begins with more than ¢wo consonants, and few end with
15
more than one consonant (except the form of the 2nd pers
pret.). Such two letters are sounded as a syllable by the
introduction of a new vowel, usually ’, after the first; ¢. g.,
p Wo hing, with pref. 2, pS8o% for pS%a5 in a hing.
5. LINES.
1. A line is often found above or beneath a letter, to i
dicate that it is not to be pronounced; as 2¢ bath
line is called tinea occultans. It is frequently found with | at
t vi RIBUI—TONE—INTERPUNCTION.
the beginning of a word: with a vowelless 2 before 2; with
1 in the pronominal forms, and in the subst. verb (]6c1)
when it is the logical copula, or it assists in forming certain
tenses; with 3 closing a syllable; and with the first of two
geminate letters, as eaSOSOX nations (ep. p. xvii. line 3).
2, Above a letter this line is placed in abbreviated words,
and when letters are used to indicate numbers; e. g- pO for
Tad holy, \D 27.
6. RIBUI.
This is the name of two points (~) placed above a word to
denote the plural number.
‘When placed over Rish it coalesces with the point of this
letter, thus 3; over Lamad it is placed obliquely, thus S.
7. THE TONE.
The tone generally rests on the penultimate, except in
words of two syllables, when the first ends in a-vowel and
the second in a consonant; e. g. #80] emdr.
8. READING,
The student should now turn to the first of the Reading
lessons, and practise realing (with the help of the trans-
iterations given in the analysis). THe should write down
the words again and again, until he can read and write
the Syriac with ease, He may then proceed to study
the Noun. NOUNS.*
i 9. GENDER OF NOUNS.
Masculine nouns generally end with the third radical letter,
but they are found also with the following augments, c wen §
rarely
Feminine nouns terminate in)’, 0°, a , and 2”
10. NUMBER OF NOUNS.
1, The masculine nouns make the plural by adding ga, to
the singular, except those ending in |, or a4’, which throw
away these terminations and add <> instead; c.g. ako
book, Wy disaoverer, pl. oie, a
2, The feminines change their terminations
V into (e.g. HEAD viryin, pl. Soto
ons © G9} victory, 4 ei
+» < 93 usury, , oo
Exceptions are when masculine nouns take the pl. fem. termi-
nation, and, vice versa, when ferninines take the pl. mase.
termination; e. g. lol’ physiciun, pl. aot et cubit, pl
tol! Others are’ formed irregularly; ¢. g. 72 son, pl.
Se
11, STATES OF NOUNS.
There are three states of the Syriac noun, the absolute,
constructive, and emphatic. ‘The last is equivalent to the
article 3 before the Hebrew noun.
© ‘This comprises both nouns subst:intive and nouns adjective, ns their
inflexions are the same vii NOUNS.
1. Masculine nouns have, in the singular, the absolute and
constructive states the same. ‘The emphatic is indicated by
the ending ]’, except nouns of 1” in the absol. state, which
change this termination into La; c.g. 2A, he ‘emph.
]Sh9, LAY
‘The emph. and constr. plural are formed from the abs. by
changing
. into ), loho
< } inthe empha a | 5
Bere, HS
on =} in the constr as {ae
ean uty
2. The form which the noun assumes, when these termi-
nations are added, depends on the character of its vowels and
their position. Unchangeable are (a) *, 0”, a , and the diph-
thongs, as 249, ead evil, DLO? inhabitant ; (b) 7 and >
in a closed or imperfect syllable, in the ultimate or anti-
penultimate, fr) and AS in ws attar, SbOhso slain ;
(c) when the letter from the analogy of the Hebrew should
have Dagesh forte, as $08 people, thief (Heb. 333).
‘The noun with no other vowel than these will retain its
form,
But ” or * in the last syllable cither falls away or is remitted
to the preceding letter, as SASS perpetuity, 2O1SD witneds,
omph. BaXs, pou; a specves, emph. 151, pl. hl, constr.
05) (emph, LEN irr.) ; ¢22@ morning, emph. jas. In some
nouns these vowels are interchanged, ;2260 book, emph. 200,
DS servant, emph, Yas. NOUNS. ix
3. OF fommnine nouns, those ending”in the singular abs. in
1’ change it in the constr. into 2”; those in 0” or w_ take
an additional 2. :
In the emph. state |" of the abs. is changed into 12, Ls
into VAs ,; those in © “or a, take Y2.
In the plural, of the abs. is changed in the constr. state
into 2, and in the emph. into 72; e.g. WOAS. constr.
ANAS, emph. YAXSAD, pl. SdA9, constr. ANSAD,
emph. TASSAD ; G94, 405, constr, 269, emph. Yai,
Vand, (from Hand abiise), pl. ¢QD4, constr. Aisi,
emph. st. 12@94, Thine.
4. In order to facilitate ae pronunciation when, in conse-
quence of these accessions, the letters beeome crowded, one
of the" and *is offen adopted to form a new syllable; 6. g.
Who51 widow, emph. TASso37; we chariot, emph. Tae.
In other forms the vowel is shifted to the next wllos Sg
letter, as |j2o%0 companion, he heifer, emph. \2z2as,
=
NOTE.
INTERCHANGE OF CONSONANTS,
‘The student who is acquainted with Hebrew will find it helpful at
this stage to remember some of the laws for the interchange of con.
sonants. For instance: Heb, = Syr. 'B (rated = rd); Heb.
Teade = Syr. Teth (tabAt = faby@) ; Heb. Zayin = Syr. Dalath
(cabah = d’bah) ; Heb, Shin = Syr. Thau (shdbhar = ebhar), THE PRONOUNS.
12.
“EL § 99s ‘saxwns jourMoL ay Oy ! HE § O06 ‘soxyyns TeqIeA OT Jo AIEINOMAN ar13 LOT
“3 a
eS
g
“vd
wey *
ay
“ou ,
"aq gd
shu
saveang xa0x,
or
eat
pa
‘
“
[omg xa0y
OL,
~w| et + + + + + + atquiedeg
no « a at )
Lo Qe top) 1
fm Me eg! Lan Ne
‘pang
ee ieee ~ 10,/6.¢* 9p 108" to”
many IDR “§ OLR DIOR ZS eDIDF » “10
f "oT ees tows tow
0? eae I, his eee
Bite
ou LPG Ire i eres ow
sanynburg
i sore iam
‘w ior) ‘|ro)
nok | 4 (ey
“a lego)
mo
saxiaaas T
ON
‘saXIddas Vaud
‘ATAVUVAASNI
|
“aTaVuvags |
‘NQONOUY IVNosaTq “1 PRONOUNS. xi
2. Demonstrative Pronouns.
a ba
ee am
Lior ha
(0ict | tiese, masc. cao
2101 | these, fom. oT
.
} this, mase. this, fem.
these, com.
Norr.—aacr is compounded of oor aon this is, m.; but for this
oo
4s, fem. won [yon (hadi) is used.
3. ReLarive Pronoun
Is the pref. 2, before a vowelless letter 3, who, which, of both
genders and numbers; e.g. So who slew, Say who begat.
4, InterRogATIVE Pronouns.
1. <8, AHS who? of the’ person, of both genders ani
numbers.
2. ao bw (QD what? of the thing.
3. Wal’m. Tal fem. who, which, what? of the person and
thing, in the sing. numb.; the pl. numb. is eaSa’ who,
whiok, what ? *
5, Possessive Pronoun.
A Possessive Pronoun has heen formed by combining 9 (442)
with \Y and the suffixes, So Nu (mine), »X3, wad,
oraz, oSa3, XQ}, aN}, ASG), oo}, LG. xii
13. NOUNS WITH SUFFIXES.
We subjoin two paradigms, of a noun masculine and «
noun feminine with suffixes, preceded by their various states.
Mascunins. FEMININE,
sing Plu. sing. Flr.
Styne Le at ee
Abs. pdto gals Wdto = Sdho
Constr. — uaa} ASdto = ASShAo
Emph. a\% Tadso YaXoha = YANdda
With Surrixes.
1oom.s, wads wadt| uASoto ubSdio
2masc. yadto yaad! yAddho yAScAo
Qfem, wood uaaats) acidso uciSdto
3mase. — raS8 amraaXso/ abSého abSdAo
3 fem. oa cuaits| oiXsho aikXso
Teom.pl ait alts} ASdia ASSAo
2mase. Gaadto aarsito) GoAXsie GoASoio
fem, eana\oeanad\to) oASGho oiSéio
Smase, SoA SousW| doutNcha goutssio
Bfem, aoradt .ond8%| oitSéhe worbSsio VERBS. xn
Mascunine WITH SuFFIXES.
1. The suffixes are added to the masc, noun in the cmph.
.
state, displacing the termination {°
2. Nouns which terminate in the emph. sing. in
(see
sect. 11, 1) have their Yud quiescent before a (1 com.) and
those suffixes which form an ‘independent syllable; thus
‘y, with suff. S “my —, é S sy ete.
3. Nouns having changeable ’ or * in the last syllable
retain the vowel before the suff. a, as SANS, yous. «J; thus
ataXS ete.
Femiuntne with Surrrxss.
1. The suffixes are added to the fem. noun in the constr
state,
2, Y2:d retains ” in its place, except before the suff. u,
thus alia my daughter.
M4. RBS.
‘The Syriac verb possesses most of the characteristics of the
Hebrew verb. The roots are chiefly triliteral; there is one
simple conjugation corresponding to Kal, and the rest are
derived conjugations; there are but two tenses, Porfect
and Imperfect, in which the third pers. sing. m. is the
leading form. They are: xiv REGULAR VERB.
Active. Passive.
1. Peal “So — Fthpeel SQod}
2, Pal SSO Ethpal SQd2)
3. Aphel “Wgol’ — thtaphat Wgo22)
4. Shaphel WJas — Eshtaphal “Bode!
‘Lhe simplest form of these is Peal, answering to the Heb.
Kal: the rest are derived conjugations. Ethpeel is the
passive of Peal. Pacl is equivalent to Piel of the Hebrew ;
Aphe] and Shaphel to Hiphil, each having an appropriate
passive.
15. REGULAR VERB.
1. Cony. Pgan.
| Imperfect.
Nagas
2’ | aSagod .
l Wagod
2 fer. ubSjo al Mol =
ie t,| “Wal
3m. pl. adjo o eSbo °.
3 fom. uSho a. | har”
2 mase. eidto ee Mol ° *
2 fom, oAdbo ot shel
Loom = So (od Nagar
Perfect.
3m, sing.
3 fem. bSgo
2 mase.
1 com. REGULAR VERB. xv
Imperative, ; Infinitive.
2 mase. Nadgo Whaso
2fem, abou Parti.
2m pl aXago o go Act,
2fem = aGho o Sago Pass.
‘This paradigm shows that the 3 pers. sing. m. “Qo, o
the root, is the leading form of the Perfect, Wahay of tho
Imperfect. The characteristic vowel of exch is retained
throughout the inflexion, except before those afformatives
which have a union vowel. Tho effect of this vowel is this,
that taking the 3rd radical to itself, the 2nd loses its vowel
so that, in the Perf. the Ist and 2nd require an additional
vowel, *, by which they are formed into one syllable (comp.
sect. 4, 8). The imperative differs in this respect.
‘Tho preformative letters of the Imperf. have properly no
vowel of their own; but on account of their position, befor
another vowelless letter, they take > (sce above), and the
syllable thus obtained remains unchangeable.
2. Derivep Consucarions.
It is to be remarked in general, that (1) the afformatives
and preformatives, in these conjugations, are the same as
those of Peal. (2) The last vowel only of the les
may be affected by the accession of the afformatives. (3) The
3 pers. sing. m. is the ground form throughout each conju-
gation.
1. Perfect—The ground forms, or leading forms, are
given sect, 14, We can form (see p. xxxvii, f.) the para
ling form xvi REGULAR VERB.
digmss of all the perfects by adding the afformatives as siven
above in Peal. In doing so, we have to omit the last vowel
of the leading form wherever the afformative has a union
vowel. In Ethpeel, where Z{'is unchangeable (compare sect.
11,2 c,), there remains but one vowel in the root, Wyo ;
when this vowel is dropped on account of the accession of
the union vowel, the first radical takes ’ to form a syllable
with the second. Hence, e.g. 3 fem. AXJOZY? but 2 mase.
ASJoL], Pact 3 fem. ANJA, but 2m. ASRS (from WJ).
No1k.—From what has been said, it will result that the 3 fem. of
Ethpeel and Ethpaal assume one and the same form,
2. Impery.—The Imperf. are formed from their respective
ground forms of the Perfect (1) by adding the afformatives
in the manner described above. (2) ‘The preformative letters
require no vowel in Pael and Shaphel, and are prefixed
without it, as Sox. Sod, excepting 1 com. sing. which is
sisi (sect. 4, 4). (3) Before the ground forms beginning
with Alaph, the preformative displaces this letter and adopts
its vowel. Hence Ethpe. SJoZT, fat. Modi; Aph. Whol,
fat. WJas. (4) In the Ethtaphal, MOLI, the first of the
two ‘Taus is rejected in the five forms which have 2 for their
preformative; thus fut. Who2As, but 3 fem. Whod? (read
tetattal) instead of \OLZD (tethtaktal),
3. Imperative.—(1) The three active conj. have the 2 masc.
sing. as the leading form, precisely the same as the ground
form, viz. the 3 m. of the Perfect, and the vowel in the last
syllable (,) is retained throughout; thus Pacl “Jo, 2 fem. REGULAR VERB. xvii
aS$o; Aph. c.g. pl. 2m. aSfoy; Shaph. e.g. pl. 3 fom.
oSkas. (2) The passives invariably reject the last vowel
of the ground form, and the second radical is marked with the
linea occultans, to show that it is to be read without the
vowel. Hence Fthpaal 2m. WQOZ]} Ethtaph. e. g. 2 fem.
aXgo2/], Bshtaph.c.g. pl. 2m. OAS], f. aXQods},
But observe :—Ethpeel, which on losing its vowel becomes
SQolT? and requires © to take the vowel ’, assumes there-
fore the form of Ethpaal throughout the imperative.
4. The Jnfinitives are formed (a) by prefixing $0 to their
respective ground forms, in the manner of the preformatives
of Imperf.; () by changing the vowel of the second radical
t0%; and (c) by auiling the vowel 6 to the third radical. Hence
Ethpeel GXfoAS, Pacl AXLaLD ete.
5. The Participles take, like the infinitives, $0 for their
preformative, attached to the ground form. ‘The active con-
jugations have, besides the active, a passive participle, dis-
tinguished by the vowel ’, instead of ,. Hence Ethpecl
hod; Pact Nhat, pass, Whdso; rthpaal Wbodso:
Aph. SJaxs, pass. What ete. This distinetion ceases to
exist, when any of these are put cither in the emph, state
mase., the abs. fem., or when some of the suffixes are added.
Thus the form Pgaso may be cither the emph. m. or the
abs. fem,
Nore in general. (1.)—Instead of the vowel * in the root \}o,
tm ser,
sone, expecially intransitive verbs, have *; a8
eto dhoelt, These take * intheImpert.andimp.; ax we 5
imp. pl. aay xviii IRREGULAR VERBS.
2% Verbs which have for their third radical oy yy,‘ or j, take for
the most part 7, throughout the conjugations, instead of 6 or ">
€.8 Woe he heard, fut. Wom» imp. pl g&vigs Pael perf.
ie he sent,
Inrecutar VeRss.
The number of irregular verbs is about the same as in
Hebrew, since the causes by which they are produced are
nearly the same: viz.
ov. Hes. br Heb,
la NB as vy
a2 » as y
ae “ ws ry
2 p : %
z J i :
is | { a)
16. VERBS J. ec. g. Wal he ate.
‘The anomalies which exist in this class are:
1. Since Alaph cannot stand at the beginning of a word
without a vowel, it takes, in the perf. of Peal, ,; e.g. 2 fem.
abXo}. pl. 3 m. aN}, etc.; but” in the imp. and part. pass.
thus Wao] eat thou, Nast eaten.
2. Where another, strong, letter is audible at the end of a
syllable, Alaph becomes quiescent; as Peal fat. Wa3}i, inf.
Sa}. VERBS 2. xix
3. Maph in the middle of a word, preceded by a vowelless
letter, remits its vowel to this letter, and remains quiescent.
Hence Pacl SS] makestheTmperf SSB forSPs, Ethpaal
WSTAS, fut. WSTAI, ote.
4. A yowelless Alaph beginning a syllable in the middle of
aword remits its helping vowel required by this position to
the preceding letter, when this happens to be without a
vowel. Thus Ethpe. WAY stands for WOIZ) = Saiz).
fat, “STA3, imp. SoTZT.
5, Alaph is dropped inthe Tmperf. 1 sing.of Peal and Pacl;
thus Wao}, WOT for Woot), Sati.
6. In Aphel and Shaphel, and their passives, Alaph is
changed into Vau, which coalesces with ” of the preceding pre-
formative, and thus the diphthong au is produced ; thus Aph.
So, fut. W503; Shaph. SSas, fut. WSams; pass.
QooLZ], Wooke}, ote.
Nore to1,—The Imperf, and imp. having ¥ in the final syllable (sec-
tion 15, note) take in the initial, the former *, and the latter *;
e.g fut. gS imp. gS} say hon
17. VERBS ac. g. Sa he begat.
1. The rules given above for }@ are applicable here, with
this difference, that where Alaph takes , for its helping
vowel, Yud takes ,. Hence, Peal perf. 2m. 2pSa, pl. 3 m. xx VERBS <2.
o-Sa; imp. »Sa (sect. 15, note), part. pass. paSs Ethpe,
eSadf, fut. Xad3, im. 6 Sad; Aph. Soi, fut ‘S03;
Shaph. Sas.
2. Yud is changed into Alaph in imperf. and inf. of Peal;
as Miko, Sha; but 1 com. SX (comp. sect. 15, 6).
3. Pael is, of course, regular.
Nore —Exceptions: Peal aou he gure, imp. soa: fat. Sofa
and imp. ~oZ from of, he sal, and the like forms from
i he knew.
18, VERBS <2. e.g, 223 he went out
Imp. 022, fut. 0623, wool, inf. Aas; Aph.
oa), fut. 223; Ethtaph. coil, ete. These examples
sufficiently show the perfect analogy there exists between the
Syr. and the Heb. in this class of verb, excepting Dagesh
forte, which the Syr. has not. Ethpe. Pa. and Ethpa. are
guite regular, and Shaph. and its pass. are not found in this
class.
Nore.—Sume verbs take ? in the fut. and imp, a cm am
from ccoday he ascended, ‘\hy he gave, makes the ful. \das
WZ.2, comp. Heb. 19. 7 VERBS as. xxi
19. VERBS }& c.g. Wye he inquired.
The anomaly produced by Alaph is the remitting of its
vowel to the preceding vowelless letter. Hence We for
Ws, fem. AS}s, 2m. AN\e, pl. m. le, fut. Sas, inf,
Was; Ethpe. Wide}; Aph. Wot Pael is, of course,
regular, e. g. Vs (Sha-yel).
Norg.—{1.) In Pacl Alaph is often changed into Yud, ¢ g ou
from 2], 10 be good
(2.) Alaph is sometimes placed before the first radical, as, for
wo]DZ] ate found the forms wo]Z| and .o}>]Z]-
20. VERBS GS. c.g. $0G0 to arise.
On account of the feeblencss of Vau, it is either quiescent
in 6, wholly rejected, or changed into another Ictter.
1. Vau is quiescent in *, and unchangeable in Peal perfect
$eG.23, Sodod, ote. (the preformative not requiring a
vowel), and imp. $060, a80do, ete.
2. Vau is rejected after the vowel * (answering to , in DR)
in Peal perf. $a, Asad, Aad, Asab, @80d; and in the
inf, Sado
8. In those forms where, analogous to the reg. verb, the
second radical is to have ,, Vau is changed (a) into }, viz.
in the part. act. of Peal, SOLO; (b) into w , viz. in the
e xxii VERBS a.
Ethpe. perf. Saao22), fut, SaxoAs; Aph. Saxo, fut
an aie eres :
4, Only apparent deviations from No. 3 are those instances
where the characteristic of the form or the conjugation pre-
vails, so that cannot take the place of ,; viz. in the inf.
of Bthpe, and Aph. QSaO2M0, GkaG%; and in Pacl and
its passive (the forma dayessanda of the Hebrew) where the
second radical must be audible: hence $0.00, fem. ASosd,
Asa24, ete.
5. The part. pass. of Peal is $4a0, analogous to Najo.
6. Remarkable are the forms of Ethpeel in which Tau of
the syllable 2] is doubled, comp. the examples given under
Nos. 3 and 4, Exceptionsare the five forms of the Imperf.
which have Z for their preformative, e.g. 8 £. sing. aSoaoZZ,
comp. sect. 15, 2.
7. The conj. Ethtaph. Shaph. and Eshtaph. are wanting in
this class of verbs. For the first Ethpeel és used; for the
last, the unfrequent conj. Palpel and its passive, as sore},
$0;805 7] from $003.
Nore.—There are some verbs in which Vau 1s moveable, e. g
exc he desired,
21. VERBS us. e.g. AaSo he died.
‘This is but a small class of verbs, distinguished by Yud as
the second radical ; and is preserved in some forms of the
Peal perf, AaSo, ZAaso, ZAaso, pl. oAaso, eto. Imperf VERBS W. xxii
however, which might be expected to be AaSas, like Saacns
from $aa.0, follows the analogy of Z@So, and is, 2a8a;
but imp. Bao.
22, VERBS WS. e. g. 119 he plundered.
1. The characteristic of these verbs is that the second and
third radicals are the same. The first of these, namely, the
second radical, is rejected throughout the forms of Peal
(except in the participles), Aph. and its passive, and Shaph
and its passive. ‘The vowels, however, employed here arc
the same as in the regular verb. The only change effected
is this, that the vowel of the absent second radical is remitted
to the first, whenever this has no vowel. Hence Peal perf.
13 (for i), 4a (for 2n5), As, ud, 45, plur. 0,
ete., fut. yeaa (for 16183) i imp. 109, inf. 128; Ah. I
(for N=), inf, O28, pass, imp. lll, Shaph. 1s, ete.
2, Peal part. act. is 1], exactly like that of QS.
8. All the rest, viz. Peal part, pass., Ethpe., Pael and its
passive, are regular.
Nows—There are sleo verbs of fot.‘and: Imp, with the charac-
teristic ¥ found in this class; he shall desire, from
we
7 5. An example of Palpel is yy zp pilfered, passive
194) xxiv VERBS h.
23. VERBS Y. e. why ie revealed,
The feebleness of Alaph as the third radical is the cause of
a great variety of anomalies in the conjugation of this class,
and a paradigm of, at least, Peal is almost indispensable.
PERFECT. IMPERF.
af.
1 com.
Plural.
reo
wae
2m, Ohad cd
af ita oh
L com. hy ie
2m.
Qf.
3m.
sf.
Act.
Pass.
IMPERATIVE,
h: ct ob fd
INFINITIVE,
PARTICIPLE.
\
My
1. Perfert.—The characteristic }, quiescent in *, is re-
tained only in the leading form, or the root; but is rejected
in the sing. 3 fem, which stands for
In the other vERBs }). xxv
forms, Alaph is changed cither into w *, namely, in the sing.
1 com. where the characteristic vowel is * in the reg. verb;
or into diphthong 4 ’, ai, where ’ is the characteristic vowel.
In the plural 8 m., Yud seems to have given place to the
diphthong ©” au,
In the derived conjugations, which have * for their charae-
teristic in the last syllable, Alaph is regularly changed into
wt; but so that this is extended even to the passives in
which elsewhere ’ is the distinguishing vowel. Yud is,
however, movable in the sing. 3 fem, from the nature of its
position before the union vowel. Hence Ethpe. 2), but
fem. ANU 2m. AAS fF phim aS fi tom. a.
2m. oui. etc. Pael 3m. Ay Ethpa. suis
Aph. Xi ete.
2. Imperf-—Tmpert. of Peal as given above isa sufficient
pattern for those of the derived conjugations, the termina
hat the second radical takes , even
tions being the same, v
in the passive conjugations. Compare No. 1.
8. Infinitive.—In the infinitives of the «lerived conjugations
Alaph is changed into movable Yud, and they present no
other anomaly: e.g. Ethpe. aks, Pael ado, ete.
Compare the regular verb.
4, Imperative.—The imp. of the derived conjugations are
formed precisely according to the model of the imp. Peal,
with this exception, that the 2 m. sing. xxvi VERBS WITH SUFFIXES,
in the Ethpeel, viz. As but the rest terminate here in
. , ors
15 as Pa. a Ethpa. we, etc.
5. Participles.—The participles, both in the active and pas-
sive and the derived conjugation, terminate in }, viz. Ethpe.
phen =
ASo, Pa. Te. ete. ‘The three passive participles of the
active conjugations (compare reg. verb) end in ’, viz. Pacl
See. Aph. aS, and Shaph. aSaco.
Norg.—In some verbs the perfect of Peal changes Alaph into
‘Yud, in the manner of the derived conjugations :—
Singular, = * Plaral.
3m. ayer oN
Bf Ayo He Ww
2m. dag Change
se ata ge
1 com. day ye we
Though we have sometimes used the term Future, it is
2 in Hebrew, to speak of the Perfect and Imperfect.
24, VERBS WITH SUFFIXES.
1. The following paradigm exhibits the forms of the conj-
Peal as they appear in connection with the suffixes. VERBS WITH SUFFIXES. xxvii
PERFECT. IMPERF. IMPERATIVE.
Singular,
am. 1 SQd 1 Ngai (Ws)
3f 3*ANo gol — ae
fm poste = = Jam 16Nago
te ASSO Wyo} (Ws) | 2% +3680
Piura.
3m. 2 aNpo 2 @Shai mi
36 8 adhd (Yd) * Spal am. 2€Xf60
am. * GASbo * Gol af § Sapo
28, § eabSbo 3 Mgoi .
le = Sho 1 Spas (Wo)
Just as the forms of the verb terminate cither with a
consonant or a vowel, so the verbal suffixes (sect. 12) begin
either with or without a vowel. The suffixes beginning with
‘a vowel are attached to the forms of the verb ending with a
consonant; suffixes beginning with a consonant to the forme
ending with a vowel.
The verbal suffixes alluded to above are marked 1, 2, 3.
No. 1 are attached to the verbal forms ending with any con-
sonant except Nun. No. 2 are those to be connected with
the verbal forms terminating in a vowel. In those persons
where No. 2 is wanting, they arc like No. 1. No. 3 are xxviii VERBS WITH SUFFIXES.
attached to 2 pers. mase. and 3 pers. fem. Perfect, and the
forms ending with Nun, Where No. 3 is wanting, they are
like No. 1.
‘The verbal forms being likewise numbered, a paradigin of
a verb with suffixes may easily be drawn up: e.g. Perf. 3 m.
sing. attached to the suff. No. 1 would give the forms a1SJo
he slew me, pShO he slew thee, mase., x2SB he slew thee,
fem., ete.
‘The following observations however are to be attended to:
1. The forms of the Imperf. ending with the third radical
retain their original form before the suff. G9 and rs
Ga8ahai he will slay you, ete. ‘They take the suff. No. 1,
hat so, that for suff. third person they take No. 1a; e.g.
aaron pai, ouSgai he will slay him, her ; but Soi
he will slay us.
2. The imp. 2 m, takes the suff. 1 a; but so, that for the
suff. 3 f. sing. it takes Ola ,, e.g, CLANAYO slay her; and for
the suff. 3 m, sing. it takes No. 3, c.g. a0laSAQO slay him.
8. The form of the imp. pl. 2 m. given here, is used also
with verbs which have ’ in the sing.; ¢. g. w010;800} fell it,
Matt. x. 27.
4, The imp. pl. 2 f. seldom drops Nun beforé the suffixes.
5. The derived conjugations follow the analogy of Peal.
This is the case also in the irregular verb, with the exception
of the verbs fl
6. The participles of all the conjugations and the inf. Peal
follow the analogy of nouns according to their various termi-
nations. The infinitives of the derived conjugations, all of
which end with 6, take 2 before the suffixes. VERBS WITH SUFFIXES. xxix
11. The verbs f are much more complicated. ‘The follow-
ing remarks, however, will be sufficient guide for the student
s0 as to enable him to form his own paradigm.
1. The forms of this verb ending in } reject Alaph andl
connect * with the suffix No. 2, except that wObe is used
as the suff, 3 m. sing. Such forms are, Peal perf, 8 m. sing.
and Pa. and Aph. imp. 2m, sing.: c.g. at ie mncovered
me, wa — him, Pa. imp.
2, In forms ending in w ,. (a) the vowel , is dropped, and
Yud, which becomes movable, connects itself with the suff.
No. 1, in Pael and Aph. perf. 3 m. sing. (seldom in Peal).
except before the suff. es ed: eg. Pael ay Aph
Y; but ead ete. (6) a, remains and is attached
to the suff, No. 2, in Peal imp. 2m, sing., and in the forms
mentioned under (a) before the suff. e& tdi eg. ay
uncover me.
3. Of all the Perfects, the 3 fem., 1 com., and 2m. sing.
vemain unchanged ; the two first are attached to sul. No. 1,
the last with those of No. 8. ath sfie — me, bay
thee ; but ata dow — me. .
4. Forms ending with Vau change © into o} and aw
into as, and take the suff. No. 2. Such are, 3 m. pl. of a
the Perfecte, and 2 mase. plur of all the imperatives: eg.
udtolly is either 3 pl. perf. or 2 pl. imp. of Peal (compare
Mat. ii. 10 and Heb. iii. 1); OES from at Pa, pert.
Forms, however, like wdahy from AN pert. and imp. are
the more common. xxx VERBS WITH SUFFIXES.
5. Forms in |, change this termination in a ,, and take
the suff. No. 2. They are, 8 m., 2m. and f., 1 com. sing. of
all the futures: e.g. Peal add he shall uncover me.
. ‘The fem. forms of the imp. change » into + or ot
which becomes attached to suff. No. 2; e.g. Peal aS with
suff. stor oily ‘The pl. cas? remains everywhere
unchangeable (though sometimes defective, compare Luke
xxiii. 80), and takes the suff. No. 3, except in Peal, where it
is changed into a’, as ALA uncover me, voy =
him, etc.
7. In the inf. of Peal 1 is changed into oa, but before
the suff. a, <5 Alaph is rejected, but * remains: e.g.
andy, dys saigo, ete. ; but Gadd yso.
Norg.—Complete paradigms of the weak verbs and of verbs with
suffixes will be found in Roediger’s Chrestomathia Syriaca, in Duval's
Traité de Grammaire Syriaque, and in Nildeke's Oompendious Syriac
Grammar (English translation, 1904), ‘These are large and rather
expensive works, ‘The most important of tho derived conjugations of
the Regular Verb will be found on pp. xxxvii.—xl. of the present work, NUMERALS. Xxxi
25. NUMERALS.
Numerals are either cardinal or ordinal.
1. The numerals from 1 to 10 are—
OARDINAT. ORDINAL
Magouline. Feminine. Masculine. Feminine.
Tes one Lo Thakod sires
wile lsh two. 132 Yaasz second.
SZ ASZ three. DAZ WodS2 third.
Bos} wo} fo, | Eos Mada’ jews
Taka, akan five. Taso Vrerton, JSifth.
What Ae aie) BAe Vedat sit
Kas We wwe. | Hane haan soem
Lstol So. eighe. Liatol Vhaiatol eighth.
Med aL nine, | BSael Wadead nine
Tans pion ten. Ufams Teams tenth,
|
2. The numerals from 10 to 20 are compounded of the
simple numbers and #098; e. g., m. ;S0Spos, f. Yyonspau, 11;
ord m. Yofadasy. Yaga’ clenonth; card. B85.
f. Yass), 12; yosASZ. VeosiX2, 18; pensos} or
© Constr. m. 526 252. + Or, Ihe xxxii NUMERALS.
peas), £. ;008A05] 14; the mase. forms of the numbers
15,16, 17,18, 19 are pOSMNON, pinshe, yards, jehaith/,
yaaseZ, from which the feminine forms and the ordinals of
both genders are derived, according to the analogy given
above; but the following forms are also in use: onshaSo.,
3. The numbers from 20 to 90 are—
ims 20, oth 30, soil 40, atan 50, ots 60,
sae 70, -ai%l 80, cased 90, an are of the common
gender
The ordinals are derived from these by adding Po for the
mase, and JAs “for the fem.; as m. Ling, £ Yates,
twentieth.
4, The remaming numerals are—
TW 100, a2} (Anal) 200,* TOANZ 300, ote.; adding,
as in the last form, the simple fem. form before YS. Thou.
sand is expressed by aS, fem. JAX, pl. a, la;
10,000 by as, pl. ans
5. Once, twice, ete.. are expressed by ee) Ves.
al ok; but sometimes also without it.
6. Multiples are expressed by o before the nameral with
as Baas po pe sevenfold, wil oa po double.
7. The numeral repeated is used distributively, as pis pou
each ; it tbl tivo and too, ete.
* The pl {Zo[S signifien centuries ADVERBS. xxxiii
26. ADVERBS.
The characteristic termination of the Adverb ix Aa] added
to the emphatic form of the adjective; e.g. Aalaay purely,
But most adverbs are without this termination. ‘They are
chiefly —
1. Adverbs of comparison and degree.
pol, bau} tow? 2} also, L901 40, thus, A rery,
2GaaS, 2G0N5 only, ASN especially, more,
2. Adverbs of time,
ee i ’ re
Vpao] together, abso} when ? SSL} yesterday, Ups in
the end, 23b2 afterwards, eet then, [aor now, YS00%
to-day, 729 already, 40,08 before, Vaso at once, imme-
diately, ;2a80 to-morrow, SOOMSO at any time, Saas Donor
yet, abS2P) WS¢s how long? Yoon OS until now.
3. Adverbs of pluce.
jai where? Le here 1x0 fence, Yall Woys whither »
war oys hitherto, ol there.
4. Adverbs of interrogation.
wok. ao or eso why ? wherefore? xxv PREPOSITIONS.
5. Adverbs of negation, and varus others.
DoS not, Tor Bh note caso} truly, $01.2 really, Loui,
oe in vain, as 5, wad entirely.
27. PREPOSITIONS.
The Prepositions are either prefixes, as <2 in, S to (the
only ones of this kind), or they are separate words. The
latter are—
LAS vo, with, $0 from, SX upon, against, on account of,
$08 with, Soro*, Indo Before, uta or Mad between,
pio a, without, shoo, 35 after, A502, ok Sor,
instead of, 37-0 oF pl. w3,-0» about, round about, SOON
against, opposite, WBSO* because of, 262 near, 2g, pag
against, by, near, LAs or Aas under. These are tote
commonly in use. Observe—
1. The prefix prepositions take ” before a vowelless conso-
nant; e.g. LSAa2 in heaven; except before The siz, cabo
sizty, with pref. thas, etc. .
2. Before } and a, which cannot begin a syllable without
a vowel, the vowel is remitted to the preposition. Compare
section 4, No. 4.
8. The prepositions take the nominal suffix of section 12,
e.g abe after me, GO5 after us, comp. sect. 11, 2, and 13, 3. CONJUNCTIONS. XXXV
The prefix prepositions follow the same analogy, only that
they must take the vowel * before the suff. of the 1c. sing. :
e.g. aS fo me.
4. Those marked with an asterisk take suffixes of the pl.:
’ . <
©. g. ALOp-O before me, wa SS upon thee; but Who takes
before suffixes always the fem. form ANASo.
5. The form Waa is used only before the suffixes u,
(22, 22, OO, and CAO: before the rest Nodal is
used: e.g -SOQOS agamst us.
28. CONJUNCTIONS.
They are—
OF or, eal, LOSH, LSAT as, HY but, VA sf not, ures,
a , a AN. if not «1, Jo, 2 att, eye therefore,
$0;D bud, yet, my. Sor, 2 as, because,
