THE PIEL VERB

The Piel A Piel has four primary meanings: factive, intensive, denominative, and iterative. Additionally, some Piel verbs are uncategorized. Factive When a verb that normally is stative or intransitive becomes transitive, meaning it can take a direct object, it is considered factive. Consider the following examples. Stative (Qal) Factive (Piel) to be great to make great to be clean to cleanse to learn to teach Intensive The Piel form can intensify the action of an active Qal. It is important to remember that intensive meaning is just one of the possible Piel meanings. Not all Piel verbs should be translated with as intensified action. Consider the following examples. Active (Qal)Intensive (Piel) he brokehe shattered she killedshe slaughtered

The Piel Denominative A verb with a meaning similar to or derived from a noun or adjective usually appears in the Piel form. In this case, the action of the verb is not intensified. Usually a verbal root with similar meaning does not exist but must be derived from the noun or adjective. Consider the following examples. Noun or Adjective Denominative (Piel) word to speak blessing to bless song to sing Iterative Some Piel verbs express repeating action, mostly in verbs expressing movement or effort. Consider the following examples. Active (Qal)Iterative (Piel) he walkshe paces she lookedshe stared Unclassified Some Piel verbs cannot be classified since we do not fully understand their origins. Always consider the verb’s context within a sentence when making your choice.

The Piel Perfect The diagnostic features of the Piel perfect are: 1.Hireq beneath the first root consonant. 2.Dagesh in the second root consonant. 3.Tsere (3ms only) or patakh beneath the second root consonant, except when vowel reduction takes place (3fs, 3cp). PNGQalPiel 3ms קָטַלקִטֵּל 3fs קָטְלָהקִטְּלָה 2ms קָטַלְתָּקִטַּלְתָּ 2fs קָטַלְתְּקִטַּלְתְּ 1cs קָטַלְתִּיקִטַּלְתִּי 3cp קָטְלוּקִטְּלוּ 2mp קְטַלְתֶּםקִטַּלְתֶּם 2fp קְטַלְתֶּןקִטַּלְתֶּן 1cp קָטַלְנוּקִטַּלְנוּ

The Piel Imperfect The diagnostic features of the Piel imperfect are: 1.Shewa beneath the imperfect prefix. 2.Patakh beneath the first root consonant. 3.Dagesh in the second root consonant. PNGQalPiel 3ms יִקְטּׁליְקַטֵּל 3fs תִּקְטּׁלתְּקַטֵּל 2ms תִּקְטּׁלתְּקַטֵּל 2fs תִּקְטְּלִיתְּקַטְּלִי 1cs אֶקְטּׁלאֲקַטֵּל 3mp יִקְטְּלוּיְקַטְּלוּ 3fp תִּקְטּׁלְנָ ה תְּקַטֵּלְנָה 2mp תִּקְטְּלוּתְּקַטֵּלוּ 2fp תִּקְטּׁלְנָ ה תְּקַטֵּלְנָה 1cp נִקְטּׁלנְקַטֵּל

The Piel Imperative, etc. The diagnostic features of the Piel imperative, infinitive construct, and infinitive absolute are: 1.Patakh beneath the first root consonant. 2.Dagesh in the second root consonant. The Piel infinitive construct and one form of the Piel infinitive absolute are identical. Additionally, they both match the form of the 2ms imperative. Context! PNG QalPiel Imperative 2ms קּטׁל (you) kill! קַטֵּל (you) slaughter! 2fs קִּטְלִי (you) kill! קַטְּלִי (you) slaughter! 2mp קִּטְלוּ (you) kill! קַטְּלוּ (you) slaughter! 2fp קְּטׁלְנָ ה (you) kill! קַטֵּלְנָה (you) slaughter! Infinitive Construct קְּטׁל killing קַטֵּל slaughtering Infinitive Absolute קָטוֹל to kill קַטֵּל קַטּוֹל to kill

The Piel Participle PNGQalPiel Active Participle ms קֹטֵל killing מְקַטֵּל slaughtering fs קֹטֶלֶ ת killing מְקַטֶּלֶת slaughtering mp קֹטְלִי ם killing מְקַטְּלִים slaughtering fp קֹטְלוֹ ת killing מְקַטְּלוֹת slaughtering The diagnostic features of the Piel participle are: 1.Mem prefix. 2.Shewa vowel beneath the mem prefix. 3.Patakh beneath the first root consonant. 4.Dagesh in the second root consonant.

The Piel II and III Guttural Compare the II-guttural with virtual doubling ( בער ), II-guttural with compensatory lengthening ( מאן ), and III-guttural ( שׁלח ) Piel verb paradigms with the standard Piel paradigm. (handout) II-guttural Piel verbs do not have a dagesh in the second root consonant since guttural consonants do not take a dagesh. The first II-guttural example ( בער ) has an ayin as the second root consonant, causing virtual doubling; that is, the ayin refuses the dagesh but the previous consonant’s vowel does not lengthen. The second II-guttural example ( מאן ) has an aleph as the second root consonant, causing compensatory lengthening; that is, the aleph refuses the dagesh, causing the vowel of the first root consonant to lengthen to a tsere in the perfect and to a qamets in the other conjugations. The III-guttural example ( שׁלח ) displays all of the Piel strong diagnostic features. In this case, the vowel of the second root consonant is a patakh, not a tsere, except when reduced to a shewa consistent with the principles of vowel reduction.

The Piel Geminate In the geminate perfect, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of the 3fs and 3cp. For example: (3fs perfect) הִלְלָה In the geminate imperfect, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of the 2fs, 3mp and 2mp. For example: (2fs imperfect) תְּהַלְלִי In the geminate imperative, the dagesh is missing from the second root consonant of the 2fs and 2mp. For example: (2fs imperative) הַלְלִי

The Piel III-Aleph Notice that the III-aleph does not take a shewa when the third root consonant normally reduces to a shewa before a suffix. This difference does not affect the diagnostic characteristics of the Piel. For example: (1cs perfect) מִלֵּאתִי instead of (1cs perfect Qal) קִטַּלְתִּי In the III-aleph perfect, the vowel of the second root consonant is a tsere instead of a patakh. For example: (2fp perfect) מִלֵּאתֶן instead of (2fp perfect Qal) קִטַּלְתֶּן Otherwise, all diagnostic characteristics of the standard Piel are exhibited in the III- aleph Piel.

The Piel III-He In the III-he perfect, the second root consonant vowel is a qamets or hireq yod. For example: (2ms perfect) עִנִיתָּ or (3ms perfect) עִנָּה It is important to recognize the loss of the III-he in those conjugations with a suffix. Recall lessons 12, 31, and 38 of the Lambdin textbook, where we studied Qal III-he verbs and learned the effects of a suffix on the III-he. Otherwise, all diagnostic characteristics of the standard Piel are exhibited in the III-he Piel.