Bit at a Time Bible Hebrew -- aspect review

I’ve covered a lot of complicated material so let me review it.

 

1.         Imperfect aspect has personal  and gender prefixes and is used as follows.

            a.         vav plus imperfect in VS order for narrative past.

            b.         vav plus subject plus imperfect for a relative or coordinate clause.

            c.         without vav in SV order for possibly a true future tense usage.

d.         vav plus imperfect in the 2^nd singular or plural in commands accepted to be part of Jewish law, but for which there is no visible evidence of practice.

e.         part of a parallel structure in poetry and prophecy following a perfect verb as a parallel.

f.          Preceded by ki or im is the “if” clause introducing a law.

 

2.         Perfect aspect has personal and gender suffixes and is used as follows.

a.         Normally in SV order, as a past tense.  Bounds the start and end of narratives, and used for the pluperfect.

b.         vav plus perfect in VS order when the subject is expressed is an oblique modality, a subordinate clause of condition, cause, effect, purpose or result.   The main clause states something familiar; the oblique modality is a possible future event which the listener is supposed to believe will happen because of the main clause.

c.         vav plus perfect in the 2^nd singular or plural in commands with a permansive effect on Jewish culture.

d.         part of a parallel structure, the following part of which is in imperfect, in poetry and prophecy.

e.         In a separate clause and following a ki/im plus imperfect clause, something that has to go to completion before the law applies.  This is a possible future event which is known to sometimes follow from the main clause.

 

3.         Progressive aspect has the following uses.

a.         present tense.

b.         action in progress.

c.         descriptive.

d.         immediate future, “about to X”.

e.         immediate past “has [just] X’d”.

f.          habitual.

g.         the sense in which an imperfect tense is used, that is, an action that was ongoing when something else happened.

h.         locative situations.

j.          X is “still” happening.

 

Next week I’ll get into the heart of Dr. Cook’s paper and you’ll see some real magic.

 

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