Balearic Hebrew

Balearic Hebrew verbs, like other verbs in Semitic languages, are based on sets of two to four (most commonly three) consonants called a root. The root conveys the basic meaning of each verb, for example k-t-b 'eat.' Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with a series of prefixes and suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as valency, mood, tense, person, gender, and number.

Such categories marked on verbs:


 * Two tenses (present, past; future tense is indicated primarily with the present tense and various contextual markers)
 * Four voices (active, passive, causative, reflexive)
 * Two genders (masculine, feminine)
 * Three persons (first, second, third)
 * Two numbers (singular, plural)
 * Three moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative)

Unlike English (but similar to other languages such as Spanish), verbs in Balearic Hebrew do not require a separate personal pronoun if the subject is not identified; this is because the form of the verb itself includes the subject.

Hebrew grammarians typically use the root פ-ע-ל f-g-l (do, make) to demonstrate the particular shape of any specific category of a verbal paradigm. As such, the four constructions inherited from Biblical Hebrew are named after the positions those three consonants are in. For example, the general simple active construction is called fugal, after the position the consonants and vowels take in the singular 3rd person masculine singular past conjugation.

Inflectional categories
Each particular verb is specified by four stems, called binyanim, a term borrowed from modern Hebrew meaning construction. Each binyan is the pattern of a specific verb as it is inflected for tense, mood, and most generally voice. These binyanim showcase typical Semitic nonconcatenative morphology, in which a series of vowel templates and affixes are inserted in each triliteral (or sometimes biliteral or more rarely, quadriliteral) root. Of the Biblical Hebrew seven templates, only four survive in Balearic Hebrew.

Tense
There are two tenses in Balearic Hebrew: the past preterite tense, and the present tense. The past tense is a direct descendant of the Biblical Perfect suffixing conjugation.

Mood
There are three moods in Balearic Hebrew. These are the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative. The indicative mood is the only mood with two tenses, as the subjunctive does not inflect for tense. The imperative is only productive for affirmative commands in the second person, and unlike the other moods, has no gender distinction in its conjugation. Negative commands are formed with a conjunction, negating particle, and the subjunctive.

The subjunctive is used in that-clauses, and generally as a conditional or precative. It is a descendant of the Biblical prefixing conjugation, which previously conveyed only aspect.

Voice
Balearic Hebrew uses the binyanim system to encode voice. The language employs a rich and varied system of voice, with a productive inflected passive binyan, and three active ones. The Biblical reflexive binyan, hitpa'el (התפעל) was lost in favor of a pronominal reflexive, similar to the novel Romance constructions developing in close contact

Participle
Every verb has a corresponding active participle, and the majority also have passive participles. Participles are very commonly employed in the language as a verb (either a main verb or a verbal complement), an adjective, or a noun. As a general rule, the active participle is more flexible in meaning than the passive.

Regular Verbs
The system of verb conjugations in Balearic Hebrew has many complications. In this table is outlined the conjugation of a regular verb, k-t-b in all four binyanim for the 3rd person masculine singular. Many verbs in Biblical Hebrew which were classified as "hollow" have been regularized in Balearic Hebrew, its direct descendant. However, many weak roots remain. Regular verbs in Balearic Hebrew constitute basic, triliteral roots with three non-"weak" consonants. Weak consonants are This table demonstrates the variability and malleability of the Balearic Hebrew root.

Here is a table outlining the indicative for one of the stems, qal for the verb k-t-b "to write." As is visible in the chart, verbs conjugate for person, gender, and number. The 3rd person plural has no gender distinction, an innovation from Biblical Hebrew.

The present and preterite stems appear identical, except the present has a prefix lū added. The present tense is a Balearic innovation, and is likely the result of the grammaticalization of the helping verb הלך onto the Sequential Perfect waw-consecutive construction, reduced to only a prefix now.

Binyan Qal
Binyan qal (a Biblical word meaning "light") is the most common construction for a verb. These verbs are in the active voice, and are only formed with three-letter roots.

This is the only construction in which a root can have both an active and a passive participle. For example

This construction is also very productive for loanwords, whose conjugations are based off this construction and the similar piel construction.

D-stem
This construction consists of typically transitive verbs in the active voice. It is very flexible in meaning. It is called the "D-stem" since the second letter of the root is doubled.

The D-stem is considered an intensifying construction. For example, while k-t-b in its qal paradigm means "write," in this paradigm it means "engrave" or "inscribe."

H-stem
This construction is an active causative construction. While English relies on helping verbs such as "cause" to express when the subject is causing the object to perform a verbal action, such a situation is expressed through a construction in Balearic Hebrew. For example, k-t-b in this construction means "dictate," as in causing someone to write something.

N-stem
This is the only passive verbal stem formation in Balearic Hebrew. It expresses passivity for the qal and D-stem constructions. Certain verbs are only functional in this construction, especially ones that express stative action or some sort of middle voice untranslateable in English.