A nominal predicate is a noun phrase that occurs after a verb and modifies the subject. For example: The king is a great warrior. Subject: The king Verb: is Nominal predicate: a great warrior One simple Hebrew sentence form places the subject and the nominal predicate next to each other. For example: משֶׁה נָבִיא צַדִּיק Literal: Moses prophet righteous. Idiomatic: Moses is a righteous prophet.

Sometimes the pronouns הוּא (he) and הִיא (she) are used in this type of sentence. For example: The use of the pronouns הוּא (he) and הִיא (she) places emphasis on a part of the sentence and answers the questions “who is a righteous prophet?” Our earlier example (Moses is a righteous prophet) without the pronoun is a simple statement of fact. משֶׁה הוּא נָבִיא צַדִּיק Literal: Moses he prophet righteous. (or) משֶׁה נָבִיא צַדִּיק הוּא Literal: Moses prophet righteous he. Idiomatic: Moses, he is a righteous prophet.

To this point, we have focused on sentences without verbs. In each case we have added is or are to create the idiomatic English translation. We can convert these sentences into verbal sentences by adding the Hebrew verb הָיָה, which in the perfect form means was or were. For example: הָיָה משֶׁה נָבִיא צַדִּיק Literal: Was Moses prophet righteous. Idiomatic: Moses was a righteous prophet. Below are examples of nonverbal sentences we created in previous lessons, which now can be converted to verbal sentences with the addition of הָיָה. הָיָה הַזַקֵן בַּבַּיִת Literal: Was the old man in the house. Idiomatic: The old man was in the house. הָיָה נַעַר עַל־הַדֶּרֶךְ Literal: Was young man on the road. Idiomatic: A young man was on the road. הָיָה הַמֶּלֶך אֵצֶל הַנָהָר Literal: Was the king near the river. Idiomatic: The king was near the river.

We negate each of these examples with the addition of לֹא. For example: לׁא הָיָה הַזַקֵן בַּבַּיִת Literal: Not was the old man in the house. Idiomatic: The old man was not in the house. In lesson 7 we learned about יֵשׁ and אֵין as expressions of existence and nonexistence. Our example was the following: יֵש אִשָּׁה There is a woman. יֵשׁ נָשִׁים There are women. The tense for the above examples is usually taken from context. We could also translate the examples as “there was a woman” or “there were women.” הָיָה can be used to replace יֵש in the perfect tense.

The use of the preposition ל creates the meaning of “becoming” when added to a sentence that uses הָיָה. For example: משֶׁה לְנָבִיא צַדִּיק הָיָה Literal: Was Moses to prophet righteous. Idiomatic: Moses became a righteous prophet. The use of the preposition כ can create the meaning of “like” or “acting like.” For example: הַנַּעַר לַאִישׁ כְּבֵּן הָיָה Literal: Was the boy to the man like son. Idiomatic: The boy was like a son to the man. Past tense possession can be created with the use of ל and הָיָה instead of the present tense ל and יֵש. For example: שִׁפְחָה לַאִשָּׁה הָיָה Literal: There was maidservant to the woman. Idiomatic: The woman possessed (or had) a maidservant.

Finally, when a sentence has a participial predicate, such as הַאִשָׁה מׂדֶדֶת (The woman is measuring), it is not usually converted with הָיָה. The reason for this will be better understood as we study Hebrew narrative syntax in upcoming lessons.

Most feminine singular nouns end in ָה, ַת, ֶת, ִית, or וּת and plural nouns in וׁת. These feminine nouns show a variety of changes when made plural. Note the differences in the following selection of feminine nouns: SingularPlural מַלְכוּתמַלְכוּיוֹת kingdoms עֵתעִתִּים times בַּתבָּנוֹת daughters דֶּלֶתדְּלָתוׁת doors