Maltese and Hebrew
Maltese and Hebrew
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Maltese verbs
No infinitive. Stem is third person singular, masculine perfect tense.
Second verb infinitive does not exist, instead both verbs are conjugated. "I want to eat" = "I want I eat"
A verbal stem can consist of:
- Three consonants (radicals) with the medial radical between one of six vowel combinations. (Triliteral)
- kiteb
- Four consonants, some having two repeated biradical bases. (Quadriliteral)
- Two consonants, or a consonant and a semivowel
In verbs with 'għ' or a + 'j' as the third radical, only have the first two radicals in the stem word which ends in 'a' (open syllable).
- Verbs that have three non-semivocalic consonants are called sound or strong verbs.
- Verbs that have three radicals, with the last radical being 'għ' or 'j' are called defective or weak verbs.
- Triliteral verbs with long 'a' or 'ie' between 1st and 2nd radicals are called hollow verbs.
- Triliteral verbs with where the second and third radicals are the same are called doubled or geminated verbs.
Examples:
Type | Example | Cons | Vowel config | Translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sound (Tri) | ħareġ | ħ·r·ġ | 2. a·e | he went out |
Sound (Quad) | ħarbex | ħ·rb·x | 2. a·e | he scribbled |
Defective | qata' | q·t·għ | 1. a·a | he cut |
Weak | mexa | m·x·j | 4. e·a | he walked |
Hollow | qal | q·w·l | 1. a·a | he said |
Hollow | sab | s·j·b | 1. a·a | he found |
Doubled | habb | h·b·b | 1. a·a | he loved |
Tenses:
- Perfect: Action in the past
- seraq "he robbed"
- Imperfect: Action in the present/future
- jisraq "he steals" or "he will steal"
- Imperative: Order/command
- israq (sg), isirqu (pl) "steal!"
- Present participle: Only from intransitive verbs, and some verbs of motion. Has both verbal/adjectival function. Has m/f/pl
- nieżel (m.sg) "descending"
- nieżla (f.sg) "descending"
- neżlin (mf.pl) "descending"
- Past participle: Has both verbal/adjectival function. Has m/f/pl
- misruq (m.sg) "stolen"
- misruqa (f.sg) "stolen"
- misruqin (mf.pl) "stolen"
- Verbal noun
- serq "robbing", "theft"
Vowel patterns:
- KaTaB
- KaTeB
- KeTeB
- KiTeB
- KoToB