Verbless Clauses in Biblical Hebrew

Learn Hebrew

Audio Tanakh

Hebrew Training

Hebrew Verbless Clauses

Implied verbal predications....

A clause is usually defined as a syntactical unit that includes a subject and a verb. An independent clause is one that can stand alone as a semantical unit, whereas a dependent clause is one used in subordinating ways with another clause, often modifying the clause in some way. In this connection note that a clause is different than a phrase. A clause is a group of words with a verb and a subject, whereas a phrase cannot stand alone.

In Biblical Hebrew a clause can be formed simply by connecting two (or more) nouns together or by connecting a noun with one or more pronouns, adjectives, or other modifiers. When this occurs, the existential verb "to be" (and its temporal tense) is implied and must be inferred from the context of the passage. Whether a given noun or pronoun is the subject or a predicate in clause is often determined by context as well. For more information study the examples listed below:

1. Noun + Noun Verbless Clauses

Verbless Clause Examples

Note that the tense of the verb "to be" must be inferred from the context. In the first example "David is king" is also a possible inference, though if the context indicates that the statement was made after the death of David, for example, we would translate this implied verb "to be" in the past tense, i.e., "David was king."

2. Pronoun + Noun Verbless Clauses

Clauses with personal pronouns are often verbless.

3. Noun + Modifier Verbless Clauses

Clauses with adjectives and particples that modify nouns are often verbless.

4. Demonstrative Pronoun + noun Verbless Clauses

Clauses with demonstrative pronouns are often verbless.

5. Interrogative and Relative Pronoun Verbless Clauses

Clauses with interrogative or relative prounouns may also be verbless...

6. Combinatory Verbless Clauses

<< Return