Verb Sequential Imperfect¶
Summary¶
A Sequential Imperfect verb functions generally like a verb with Perfect conjugation, but it also connects to an earlier verb to form either a sequence of time or a sequence of thought.
Article¶
The Sequential Imperfect conjugation of a verb looks similar to the normal Imperfect verb, but it is a separate verbal form and must be treated as such. A Sequential Imperfect verb does not function like a normal Imperfect verb, but it functions similar to a Perfect verb. The difference is an added sense of being connected to an earlier verb to form a sequence of time or a sequence of thought. In Hebrew narratives, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation also serves the function of controlling the flow of a story and often occurs at the beginning of a sentence.
The endings of the Sequential Imperfect conjugation are the same as the normal Imperfect conjugation but the sequential form also has an extra prefix, which is a specialized form of the conjunction. The difference between the Sequential Imperfect and the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction is in the vowel pattern. The normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction looks exactly like what one would expect: a normal conjunction (וְ) is added to the beginning of a normal Imperfect verb (יִקְטֹל) to make a single word (וְיִקְטֹל). However, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation looks different (וַיִּקְטֹל). In contrast to the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation usually contains (1) a vowel (usually pathach) under the conjunction instead of the shewa, and (2) a daghesh in the prefix consonant of the verbal form (see table below).
| Verbal root | Imperfect conjugation + conjunction (וְ) | Sequential Imperfect conjugation |
| כתב | וְיִכְתֹּב | וַיִּכְתֹּב |
| פעל | וְיִפְעַל | וַיִּפְעַל |
| קרא | וְיִקְרָא | וַיִּקְרָא |
Form¶
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיִּקְטֹל | wayyiqtol | (and) he killed |
| feminine singular third person | וַתִּקְטֹל | wattiqtol | (and) she killed |
| masculine singular second person | וַתִּקְטֹל | wattiqtol | (and) you killed |
| feminine singular second person | וַתִּקְטְלִי | wattiqteli | (and) you killed |
| common singular first person | וָאֶקְטֹל | wa’eqtol | (and) I killed |
| masculine plural third person | וַיִקְטְלוּ | wayiqtelu | (and) they killed |
| feminine plural third person | וַתִּקְטֹלְנָה | wattiqtolenah | (and) they killed |
| masculine plural second person | וַתִּקְטְלוּ | wattiqtelu | (and) you killed |
| feminine plural second person | וַתִּקְטֹלְנָה | wattiqtolenah | (and) you killed |
| common plural first person | וַנִּקְטֹל | wanniqtol | (and) we killed |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיִּקָּטֵל | wayyiqqatel | (and) he was killed |
| feminine singular third person | וַתִּקָּטֵל | wattiqqatel | (and) she was killed |
| masculine singular second person | וַתִּקָּטֵל | wattiqqatel | (and) you were killed |
| feminine singular second person | וַתִּקָּטְלִי | wattiqqatli | (and) you were killed |
| common singular first person | וָאֶקָּטֵל | wa’eqqatel | (and) I was killed |
| masculine plural third person | וַיִּקָּטְלוּ | wayyiqqatlu | (and) they were killed |
| feminine plural third person | וַתִּקָּטַלְנָה | wattiqqatalnah | (and) they were killed |
| masculine plural second person | וַתִּקָּטְלוּ | wattiqqatlu | (and) you were killed |
| feminine plural second person | וַתִּקָּטַלְנָה | wattiqqatalnah | (and) you were killed |
| common plural first person | וַנִּקָּטֵל | wanniqqatel | (and) we were killed |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיַּקְטֵל | wayyaqtil | (and) he caused to kill |
| feminine singular third person | וַתַּקְטֵל | wattaqtil | (and) she caused to kill |
| masculine singular second person | וַתַּקְטֵל | wattaqtil | (and) you caused to kill |
| feminine singular second person | וַתַּקְטִילִי | wattaqtili | (and) you caused to kill |
| common singular first person | וָאַקְטֵל | wa’aqtil | (and) I caused to kill |
| masculine plural third person | וַיַּקְטִילוּ | wayyaqtilu | (and) they caused to kill |
| feminine plural third person | וַתַּקְטֵלְנָה | wattaqtelenah | (and) they caused to kill |
| masculine plural second person | וַתַּקְטִילוּ | wattaqtilu | (and) you caused to kill |
| feminine plural second person | וַתַּקְטֵלְנָה | wattaqtelenah | (and) you caused to kill |
| common plural first person | וַנַּקְטֵל | wannaqtil | (and) we caused to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיָּקְטַל | wayyoqtal | (and) he was caused to kill |
| feminine singular third person | וַתָּקְטַל | wattoqtal | (and) whe was caused to kill |
| masculine singular second person | וַתָּקְטַל | wattoqtal | (and) you were caused to kill |
| feminine singular second person | וַתָּקְטְלִי | wattoqteli | (and) you were caused to kill |
| common singular first person | וָאָקְטַל | wa’oqtal | (and) I was caused to kill |
| masculine plural third person | וַיָּקְטְלוּ | wayyoqtelu | (and) they were caused to kill |
| feminine plural third person | וַתָּקְטַלְנָה | wattoqtalnah | (and) they were caused to kill |
| masculine plural second person | וַתָּקְטְלוּ | wattoqtelu | (and) you were caused to kill |
| feminine plural second person | וַתָּקְטַלְנָה | wattoqtalnah | (and) you were caused to kill |
| common plural first person | וַנָּקְטַל | wannoqtal | (and) we were caused to kill |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיְּקַטֵּל | wayyeqattel | (and) he slaughtered |
| feminine singular third person | וַתְּקַטֵּל | watteqattel | (and) she slaughtered |
| masculine singular second person | וַתְּקַטֵּל | watteqattel | (and) you slaughtered |
| feminine singular second person | וַתְּקַטְּלִי | watteqatteli | (and) you slaughtered |
| common singular first person | וָאֲקַטֵּל | wa’eqattel | (and) I slaughtered |
| masculine plural third person | וַיְּקַטְּלוּ | wayyeqattelu | (and) they slaughtered |
| feminine plural third person | וַתְּקַטַּלְנָה | watteqattelnah | (and) they slaughtered |
| masculine plural second person | וַתְּקַטְּלוּ | watteqattelu | (and) you slaughtered |
| feminine plural second person | וַתְּקַטַּלְנָה | watteqattelnah | (and) you slaughtered |
| common plural first person | וַנְּקַטֵּל | wanneqattel | (and) we slaughtered |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיְּקֻטַּל | wayyequttal | (and) he was slaughtered |
| feminine singular third person | וַתְּקֻטַּל | wattequttal | (and) she was slaughtered |
| masculine singular second person | וַתְּקֻטַּל | wattequttal | (and) you were slaughtered |
| feminine singular second person | וַתְּקֻטְּלִי | wattequtteli | (and) you were slaughtered |
| common singular first person | וָאֲקֻטַּל | wa’aquttal | (and) I was slaughtered |
| masculine plural third person | וַיְּקֻטְּלוּ | wayyequttelu | (and) they were slaughtered |
| feminine plural third person | וַתְּקֻטַּלְנָה | wattequttalnah | (and) they were slaughtered |
| masculine plural second person | וַתְּקֻטְּלוּ | wattequttelu | (and) you were slaughtered |
| feminine plural second person | וַתְּקֻטַּלְנָה | wattequttalnah | (and) you were slaughtered |
| common plural first person | וַנְּקֻטַּל | wannequttal | (and) we were slaughtered |
| Parsing | Hebrew | Transliteration | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular third person | וַיְּתְקַטֵּל | wayyithqattel | (and) he killed himself |
| feminine singular third person | וַתִּתְקַטֵּל | wattithqattel | (and) she killed herself |
| masculine singular second person | וַתִּתְקַטֵּל | wattithqattel | (and) you killed yourself |
| feminine singular second person | וַתִּתְקַטְּלִי | wattithqatteli | (and) you killed yourself |
| common singular first person | וָאֶתְקַטֵּל | wa’ethqattel | (and) I killed myself |
| masculine plural third person | וַיְּתְקַטְּלוּ | wayyithqattelu | (and) they killed themselves |
| feminine plural third person | וַתִּתְקַטֵּלְנָה | wattithqattelnah | (and) they killed themselves |
| masculine plural second person | וַתִּתְקַטְּלוּ | wattithqattelu | (and) you killed yourselves |
| feminine plural second person | וַתִּתְקַטֵּלְנָה | wattithqattelnah | (and) you killed yourselves |
| common plural first person | וַנְּתְקַטֵּל | wannithqattel | (and) we killed ourselves |
Function¶
The Sequential Imperfect conjugation indicates any one of these kinds of verbal actions:
Completed actions, or actions in the past¶
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם |
| wayyomer yehwah ‘el-‘avram |
| and-he-said Yahweh to_Abram |
| Now Yahweh said to Abram |
| וַיַּעַל֩ אַבְרָ֨ם מִמִּצְרַ֜יִם |
| wayya’al ‘avram mimmitsrayim |
| and-he-went-up Abram from-Egypt |
| So Abram went up from Egypt |
Stative actions¶
This kind of action describes a state or condition, often (but not always) with a passive stem formation.
| וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אַבְרָהָ֖ם בִּבְאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע |
| wayyeshev ‘avraham biv’er shava’ |
| and-he-remained Abraham in-Beer Sheba |
| and Abraham lived at Beersheba. |
| וַיִּגְדַּ֥ל הַיֶּ֖לֶד וַיִּגָּמַ֑ל |
| wayyigdal hayyeled wayyiggamal |
| And-he-grew the-child and-he-was-weaned |
| The child grew and was weaned |
Actions that are paired together in a sentence (often with the verb היה)¶
| וַיְהִ֣י הַיּ֔וֹם וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים |
| wayhi hayyom wayyavo’u bene ha’elohim |
| and-it-came the-day and-they-went sons-of the-God |
| And then came the day when the sons of God came |
| וַיָּ֨קָם אֲדֹנֶ֜יהָ בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיִּפְתַּח֙ דַּלְת֣וֹת הַבַּ֔יִת |
| wayyaqom ‘adoneyha babboqer wayyiftah dalthoth habbayith |
|
|
| וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֹתָם֮ אֱלֹהִים֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר לָהֶ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים |
| wayvarekh ‘otham ‘elohim wayyomer lahem ‘elohim |
| And-he-blessed them God and-he-said to-them God |
| God blessed them and God said to them |