modern hebrew on memrise

1. Construct Chains
In this lesson we are going to talk about what
happens when two nouns combine into one phrase.

2. Construct Chains
In Hebrew, nouns that follow each other directly are
called construct chains. A construct chain has two
nouns: the first is modified by the second.
The two nouns may or may not agree in number and
gender. It depends on the context of the sentence.
Because of the special nature of construct chains, some
changes occur with the first noun in the sequence.
The Hebrew name for a construct chain is ‫סמיכות‬
smichoot.

3. ‫סמיכות‬
Normally nouns are in absolute state meaning they are
normal nouns not in construct state. We have learned
that feminine nouns typically end in ‫ה‬ in this absolute
state. In ‫,סמיכות‬ the first noun is in construct state and
the second noun is in absolute state.
When a singular feminine noun is in construct state, the
‫ה‬ ending changes to ‫.ת‬ One instance you have already
seen is ‫גזרת‬‫השלמים‬ gizrat hashlemim. Notice that the
absolute form of the 1st noun is ‫גזרה‬ gizrah but the
construct form is ‫.גזרת‬ This change happens often in
Hebrew.

4. ‫סמיכות‬
The plural forms also cause changes in construct
states.
Masculine plural nouns change from ‫ים‬ in absolute
state to ‫י‬ in construct state. This change makes an
‘ee’ sound on the end of a noun instead of ‘im’.
Feminine plural and masculine singular nouns do
not change spelling or pronunciation.

5. definitiveness of ‫סמיכות‬
Only the absolute noun (second noun) can take the
definite article.
If the absolute noun is definite, the entire ‫סמיכות‬ is
definite.
If the absolute noun is indefinite, the entire ‫סמיכות‬ is
indefinite.
The word ‘of’ can be inserted between the two
nouns if putting them together in English would be
grammatically incorrect without a connecting word.

6. ‫סמיכות‬
Be careful: Know the difference between a ‫סמיכות‬
and a noun modified by an adjective. Nouns
modified by adjectives are NOT ‫סמיכות‬ and do not
follow this rule. For example:
‫ספר‬‫י‬‫ה‬‫ילדים‬ the books of the children – ‫סמיכות‬
‫קפה‬ ‫עוגת‬ a cake of a coffee or coffee cake – ‫סמיכות‬
‫חדש‬ ‫ספר‬ a new book – noun + adjective
A ‫סמיכות‬ contains nouns ONLY.

7. ‫סמיכות‬
Remember: ‫סמיכות‬ modify the feminine singular
and masculine plural endings. They also do not
have to follow gender and number for both nouns.
‫ספר‬‫ילדים‬ book is singular, children is plural.
An adjective MUST follow gender and number for
the noun and the adjective. They can also both
have the definite article.
‫חדש‬ ‫ספר‬ both book and new are masculine singular.

8. ‫סמיכות‬
‫סמיכות‬ can also change the meaning of the two
nouns. Pronunciation also changes in some words.
‫בית‬ bayit (house)
‫ספר‬ sefer (book)
‫בית‬‫ספר‬ bet sefer (school) – literally a house of
book
‫עוגה‬ uga (cake)
‫גבינה‬ gvinah (cheese)
‫עוגת‬‫גבינה‬ ugat gvinah (cheesecake)

9. ‫סמיכות‬
Fun fact:
One of the more well known towns in Israel,
Bethlehem, is actually one of these construct
chains.
In Hebrew, Bethlehem is written ‫בית‬‫לחם‬ which
literally means “a house of bread.”
There are others, this is just an example.

10. Borrowed words
Most Hebrew words come from the ancient biblical
texts. However, there are many words that Hebrew
must express today that didn’t exist in biblical times.
Some of these words are new words like computer,
technology, etc. and some are borrowed foreign
words.
Since the foreign words sometimes have sounds
that don’t exist in Hebrew, three new sounds where
invented to accommodate.

11. Borrowed words
These new sounds are written with normal Hebrew letters but
an apostrophe is added after them.
‫ג‬' gimal apostrophe has the dj sound like
○ jeans ‫ג‬'‫ינס‬
○ giraffe ‫ג‬'‫ירפה‬
‫צ‬' tsadi apostrophe has the ch sound like
○ chips ‫צ‬'‫יפס‬
○ Sandwich ‫סנדויץ‬'
‫ז‬' zayin apostrophe has the j sound like
○ jacket ‫ז‬'‫קת‬
○ Make sure not confuse this apostrophe with the letter yod ‫י‬