1. this and that these and those

2. In English, we demonstrate the relative position of a noun by using words such as this, that, these, and those. For example: This man is good. That king is wicked. Those books are mine. These words (this, that, these, those) are called demonstratives and can serve as either adjectives or pronouns. For example: As a demonstrative adjective: This palace belongs to the king. As a demonstrative pronoun: This is my house. SingularPlural masculine זֶה this אֵלֶּה these feminine זׁאת this masculine הוּא that הֵם those feminine הִיא that הֵנָּה those Note that הוּא also means “he” and “it” and הִיא also means “she” and “it.”

3. Demonstrative adjectives match a noun’s number, gender, and definiteness and follow the noun they modify. If part of a series, demonstratives are listed last. For example: Literal TranslationIdiomatic Translation הָאִישׁ הַזֶּה The man the thisThis man הָנָּשִׁים הָאֵלֶּה The women the theseThese women הָמֶּלֵךְ הָטּוׂב הָזֶּה The king the good the thisThis good king Demonstrative pronouns match a noun’s number and gender and precede the noun they modify. They do not match the noun’s definiteness. For example: זֶה הָאִישׁ This is the man. אֵלֶּה הָנָּשִׁים These are the women. סוׂס טוׂב הוּא That is a good horse.

4. יְשָׁרִים הַשֹּׁפְטִים הָאֵלֶּה These judges are upright. (adjective) אֵלֶּה הַשֹּׁפְטִים הַיְשָׁרִים These are the upright judges. (pronoun) זֹאת הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה This is the good land. (pronoun) טוֹבָה הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת This land is good. (adjective) הוּא הַמֶּלֶךְ הַצַּדִּיק וְהַיָּשָׁר That is the righteous and upright king. (pronoun) צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הַמֶּלֶךְ הַהוּא That king is righteous and upright. (adjective) Practice…

6. Mater Lectionis - a Latin term meaning “mother of reading” and refers to the ancient practice of using letters to indicate vowels to aid in the pronunciation of words. The Hebrew letters ו,ה and י were sometimes used to indicate vowels. Some words still carry mater lectionis letters. A mater lectionis letter is not part of the three consonant root of a word. The ה in בֹּׂנֶה is an example of this principle and anciently was not a third root consonant. Consequently, sometimes the ה disappears. The participle forms of בּׂנֶה are as follows: singularplural masculine בּׂנֶהבּׂנִים feminine בּׂנָה or בּׂנִיָּה (rare) בּׂנוֹת בֹּׂנֶה (building)