12.9 Verbal Vowels

Identifying a verbal vowel’s position is necessary to determine the Verbal Root and the Stem

• We use \(V_P\) (a vowel with preformative immediately before \(R_1\)), \(V_1\) and \(V_2\) - the vowels with \(R_1\) and \(R_2\), and \(V_S\), which is what is called the stem vowel
  • The \(V_S\) vowel is usually the same as the \(V_2\) vowel, but can be the \(V_1\) vowel in certain situations
  • The vowel associated with \(R_3\) turns out to be less important, so we do not need to identify this
• For the verb יִקְטְל֫וּהָ
  • \(V_P = I\) (remember I is shorthand for Hireq)
  • \(V_1 = \ :\) (Silent Sheva)
  • \(V_2\)/\(V_S = ə\) (Vocal Sheva)
  • Note: while we have said Silent Sheva is technically not a vowel, it is occupying the \(R_1\) vowel position. For this purpose, it is acceptable to say \(V_1 = \ :\).

• While \(V_P\) is the prefix or preformative vowel, \(V_S\) is NOT the suffix or sufformative vowel
• \(V_S\) is the STEM vowel, which is usually but not always \(V_2\)