10.7 Construct state Noun Endings

A word-final Tsere+Yod is diagnostic of Plural and Dual construct forms

  • As we mentioned in the previous section, a construct word may be indistinguishable from its absolute counterpart
  • Other times, construct words will exhibit a loss of long vowels, as we discussed previously
  • Frequently, however, a word in a construct state will have a different ending, which is good news as it makes the construct chain easier to identify
  • The table below shows the absolute ending and then the difference in the construct form

  • Note again, the example Proverbs 1:1 which contains three construct chains:
    • Proverbs of Solomon: Tsere+Yod ending (compare מָשָׁל)
    • Son of David: No special ending, but loss of long vowels (compare to בֵּן), and joined by Maqqef
    • King of Israel: No change (compare to מֶלֶךְ)
Proverbs 1:1

Figure 10.8: Proverbs 1:1