13.18 Weak Verbs are Deviations from the Strong Verb Paradigm

What makes a verb “weak” versus “strong” is when one or more letters cause a deviation from the strong verb paradigm; in most cases, you already know the behaviors of “weak” letters!

• While the bulk of the discussion on weak verbs will be in Lesson 14, there are three weak forms we will introduce in this lesson:
  • Words where \(R_3\) = נ, which we abbreviate as or sometimes “3נ” (pronounced as, “third nun”)
  • Words where \(R_3\) = ת, are “3ת”
• Additionally, there is a class called “Stative verbs” that describe a state of being as opposed to an action
  • In Hebrew, stative verbs are not necessarily considers “weak” unless they have a weak letter
  • Nonetheless, in the Qal stem, since stative verbs have \(V_2 \not = A\), they do represent deviations from the strong verb paradigm; as such, they warrant additional discussion
  • While “stative” verbs may be a new concept, we have already discussed the tendency of ת and נ to assimilate under certain circumstances. This is what happens when we encounter 3ת and 3נ verbs.