Last month we learned about numbers and counting in Hebrew. let’s now put them to good use.
Nouns are a very useful thing in any language. They help us identify the object we are speaking about. But talking about more than one thing is sometimes necessary (if you want three apples, imagine asking May I have one apple?…May I have one apple?…May I have one apple?). More than one noun is referred to as a plural noun. So we can save time and trouble by asking “May I have three apples?”.
In Hebrew, nouns mark their plural by the endings ִים (eem) and וֹת (ot).
Masculine Plural Nouns
Most masculine nouns in Hebrew take the ending ִים. But, with nouns that end in ֶה, or ִי, you drop these endings and then you add on the plural ending.
תִיק (bag) – תִיקִים (bags)
מוֹרֶה (teacher) – מוֹרִים (teachers) – the ִי is dropped
עִתּוֹנַאי (journalist) – עִתּוֹנַאים (journalists)
Feminine Plural Nouns
Feminine nouns take the ending וֹת. And like the masculine nouns, feminine nouns drop the endings ָה and ת.
מְגֵרָה (drawer) – מגירות (drawers)
טִירָה (castle) – טירות (castles)
יָדִית (handle) – יָדִיוֹת (handles)
מַפִּית (napkin) – מפיות (napkins)
Exceptions to the Rule
Yes, with every set of rules there are exceptions. And languages have them too. In Hebrew, There are some exceptions, e.g. the masculine noun שׁוּלְחָן ‘table’ has the feminine plural form of שׁוּלְחָנוֹת. But that still means that the masculine noun שׁוּלְחָן keeps a masculine agreement when used with adjectives: שׁוּלְחָנוֹת מַקְסִימִים ‘gorgeous tables’
Also, some feminine nouns may take a masculine ending. The feminine noun שָׁנָה ‘year’ has the masculine plural ending שָׁנִים.
Look at the following words. Some are already in the plural and some are in the singular. Can you change the plural words to singular and the singular words to plural? Answers will be given in the next post:
תַלְמִיד (tahl-meed) – student
לִימוֹנִים (lee-mon-eem) – lemons
תַלְמִידוֹת (tahl-meed-oht) – students
יַלְדָה (yahl-dah) – girl
In Future Posts
Because of this mixing of rules and exceptions with nouns and their different forms, I’ll be listing their plural forms in the vocabulary lists so you will see and recognize when they decide to show up.