Grammar, Syntax and Vocabulary
What you must know
You need accurate parsing: root, stem, conjugation, person, gender, number, and suffix for every verb; and root, gender, number, state for every noun. Know the weak verb classes (hollow, defective, guttural, geminate) and their diagnostic patterns. Know noun patterns and how construct state changes endings. Learn common vocabulary by frequency, and note homographs (same consonants, different roots) resolved by context.
Traps in questions
- Confusing stems. A dagesh forte in the second radical marks piel/pual; a prefixed ה marks hiphil; a prefixed נ marks niphal. Check the pattern, not the translation.
- Misreading weak roots. A hollow verb may show a long vowel where you expect a consonant. Identify the root before parsing.
- Gender and number agreement. Adjectives, participles and verbs must agree with their noun; a mismatched form often signals a different subject.
- Suffixes. A pronominal suffix on a verb is the object, not the subject.
- Prepositions with suffixes. Learn the paradigm; do not guess.
Rule of thumb
Parse before you translate. Write the root, stem, conjugation and person-gender-number in a fixed order. If two parsings are possible, list both and choose by context.
Worked example
A form with a prefixed ת and a dagesh in the second radical in a narrative is likely hithpael or piel depending on the presence of the ה/ת pattern. Check whether the prefix is part of the stem or a preformative of the conjugation. The presence of a reflexive sense in context supports hithpael.