The characteristic pattern of the pa’al perfect is one open syllable with kamatz, and one closed syllable with patakh: זָ-כַר. Some of the suffixes for person, gender, and number cause one of the vowels to reduce to a sh’va. When the final root letter is ה or the middle root letter is ו or י, those weak root letters will disappear or be transformed in some of the pa’al perfect conjugations. Otherwise, all three root letters are visible.

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When there are three strong root letters, the imperfect prefixes produce words with two closed syllables: יִזְ-כֹּר = he shall remember. Notice that since the first syllable is closed, the next letter gets a dagesh lene if it’s a בֶּגֶד כֶּפֶתletter. When suffixes are added, the second syllable reduces to a sh’va. When the first root letter is י or נ, that root letter will not be visible and a vowel change will compensate for the loss; final ה root letters will disappear when a suffix is added; when the middle root letter is ו or י, it may be represented by either a vowel letter or a simple vowel sign, and the vowel under the signal letter is kamatz. Otherwise, all three root letters are visible.

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The narrative form looks like the imperfect form, with an additional וַ prefix in front of the imperfect prefix, and with imperfect prefix doubled by a dagesh – וַיִּזְכֹּר. Since the א prefix for the first person singular can’t be doubled by a dagesh, the vowel under the ו changes from patakh to kamatz – וָאֶזְכֹּר. In many cases, especially when there is a weak root letter, there is a stress change in the singular narrative forms: the stress moves forward to the syllable of the imperfect prefix, and there is a shortening of the sounds at the end of the word. In פ"י roots, the final stressed tseirei becomes an unstressed segol: וַיֵּ֫שֶׁב. In ל"ה roots, the final ה drops off and the other two root letters form an unstressed syllable, using one of a few patterns, for example: וַיִּ֫בֶן. When the middle root letter is ו or י, the vowel of the final syllable reduces to a kamatz katan: וַיָּ֫שָׁב.

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The pattern of the masculine singular pa’al participle is kholem-tseirei (oh-ei): זוֹכֵר. The plural suffixes are identical to those of masculine and feminine plural adjectives. The feminine suffix is different in most cases; in strong roots it produces an ending that sounds like a segolate noun, with the final syllable unstressed: זוֹכֶ֫רֶת. There are two main exceptions to these patterns: When the middle root letter is ו or י, that middle letter is lost: שָׁב. When the final root letter is ה, the masculine singular pattern is kholem-segol (oh-eh): בּוֹנֶה.

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The pa’al infinitive construct for most roots has the pattern sh’va-kholem: זְכֹר. When the final root letter is ה, that ה strengthens to a ת: בְּנוֹת. When the middle root letter is ו or י, that letter becomes a vowel: שׁוּב. For many roots that begin with י, as well as some that begin with ל or נ, the first root letter is lost and a ת is added to the end. The resulting form sounds like a segolate noun: שֶׁבֶת.

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This is the base on which the other binyanim are modeled. Verbs in binyan pa'al פָּעַל can be active or stative, transitive or intransitive. 

Verbs in binyan nif’al נִפְעַל express the core meaning of the root, usually with a passive or reflexive sense. For example, the root ז.כ.ר means “remember” in pa’al; it means “be remembered” in nif’al. The strongest characteristic of the binyan is the nun נ prefix, but when an additional prefix is required, as in the imperfect and narrative forms, that נ is disguised as a dagesh.

Verbs in binyan hif’il הִפְעִיל express the core meaning of the root, usually with a causative sense. For example, the root ז.כ.ר means “remember” in pa’al; in hif’il it means he caused [someone] to remember, he reminded [someone], he mentioned [something]. The strongest characteristic of the binyan is the hei ה prefix, but when an additional prefix is required, as in the imperfect and narrative forms, that ה is disguised as a patakh. The yud י between the second and third root letters also a strong characteristic, but it changes or disappears in a number of situations.

Verbs in binyan pi’el פִּעֵל often express the core meaning of the root with a repetitive or intensive sense. For example, the root שׁ.ב.ר means “break [something]” in pa’al; in pi’el it means “smash it to bits.” Some roots commonly used in pi’el are rarely, if ever, found in pa’al, such as ד.ב.ר, meaning “speak.”  The major characteristic of this binyan is a dagesh forte in the second root letter, doubling it and intensifying it. (Unfortunately, in the model root פּ.ע.ל the dagesh is impossible in the ע.)

Binyan hif’il הִתְפַּעֵל produces reflexive or mutual verbs. For example, הִתְחַבֵּא means “he hid himself”; הִתְחַזֵּק means “he took courage.” The characteristic transformation is the prefix הִתְ and a dagesh forte in the second root letter (when possible). 

Binyan hof’al הָפְעַל is doubly derived: it transforms verbs from binyan hif’il into their passive sense. For example, in pa’al the root מ.ל.ך means “rule as king.” In hif’il, it has a causative sense, meaning “crown [someone] as king.” In hof’al, it means “become crowned [by someone].”

Binyan pu’al פֻּעַל is doubly derived: it is transforms verbs from binyan pi’el into their passive sense. For example, in pi’el the root שׁ.ל.ח means “set free/send away”; in pu’al it means “be set free/sent away.” The root ד.ב.ר in pi’el means “be spoken.”

The suffixes of the nif’al perfect are identical to those of the pa’al, and in most cases, so is the second syllable. In most cases, the first syllable opens with the נ prefix and closes with the first root letter: נִזְ-כַּר. When the first root letter is י, that י usually transforms into a וֹ vowel letter when the נ prefix is added: נוֹלַד. When the middle root letter is ו or י, the signal letter forms an open syllable with a kamatz: נָפוֹץ. (There are only a few such roots that attest in nif’al.) When the first root letter is ע, ח, ה, or א, that letter does not close the syllable; instead it has a composite sh’va: נַעֲשָׂה .

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Adding the prefix of the imperfect signal letter to the nif’al נ prefix causes that נ to assimilate with the first root letter, doubling it with a dagesh: יִזָּכֵר. The clearest way to recognize a nif’al imperfect is to notice the dagesh doubling the first root letter. The vowel under the א in the first person singular form is sometimes khirik and sometimes segol. When the first root letter is י, that י transforms into a ו consonant, which is then doubled with a dagesh when the נ prefix assimilates: יִוָּלֵד.  When the first root letter cannot be doubled (א ה ח ע ר), an extra dot is added under the signal letter, changing the khirik to a tseirei: יֵעָשֶׂה, יֵאָמֵר, יֵרָאֶה

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The nif’al narrative forms are identical to the imperfect forms but with the additional וַ prefix and the doubling of the signal letter with a dagesh. As in the other binyanim, the narrative prefix is וָ in the case of the first person singular, since the א signal letter cannot be doubled.

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The nif’al participle, like the perfect, begins with the נ prefix. Masculine singular perfects and participles are easily confused: the only difference is that with most roots the second syllable of the participle has a kamatz instead of a patakh: נִזְכָּר. In ל"ה roots, the masculine singular perfect and feminine singular participle are identical: נִבְנָה. In general, the final syllables of nif’al participles follow the same patterns as pa’al participles: נִזְכֶּ֫רֶת, נִזְכָּרִים, נִזְכָּרוֹת.

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The nif’al infinitive construct begins with a ה prefix. This is followed by the characteristic nif’al נ prefix, but that נ is never visible – it always assimilates with the first root letter which is doubled with a dagesh, or augmented with a vowel change.

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All of the הִפְעִיל perfect forms begin with a ה prefix. In most cases the masculine singular (which has no suffix) forms two closed syllables, with the י acting as a vowel letter: הִזְ-כִּיר (he has caused someone to remember).

The perfect suffixes in binyan hif’il are the same as those in pa’al and all the other binyanim. In the hif’il third person feminine and plural forms, however, the suffix is not stressed; the stress is on the next-to-last syllable – the one with the י vowel letter – not on the last syllable: הִזְ-כִּ֫י-רָה , הִזְ-כִּ֫י-רוּ (they/she have caused [someone] to remember).

In the first and second person, the י drops out; the vowels and the stress of the last two syllables are identical to pa’al. הִזְ-כַּ֫ר-תִּי (I have caused [someone] to remember).

The פ"נ and ל"ה paradigms produce modifications to the hif’il forms that are parallel to those in other binyanim. However, the פ"י paradigm has a different compensation; the י root letter changes to a וֹ vowel letter: הוֹצִיא (he has brought [something] out). In ע"ו verbs, the vowel under the ה prefix is tseirei rather than khirik, and there are additional changes in the first and second-person forms.

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When the imperfect signal letter (the י, תּ, נ, or א prefix) is added, the characteristic ה prefix of the hif’il is lost, but in most cases it leaves a trace in the form of a patakh as the vowel under the signal letter. In general, the patakh under the signal letter is the most reliable way to recognize a hif’il imperfect or narrative verb. The exceptions are the פ"י paradigm, where the root י becomes a וֹ vowel letter, and empty ע roots, where the vowel under the signal letter is a kamatz.

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The narrative form is like the imperfect, except that, in strong roots, the ִי  vowel letter of the final syllable changes to a tseirei: וַיַּזְכֵּר. There also changes in the narrative forms of some special roots. In ל"ה roots, the ה is lost, the stress moves forward, and in a few cases the result is indistinguishable from the פָּעַל narrative form: וַיַּ֫עַל. When there is also a suffix, there are no reductions, so the narrative is again like the imperfect.

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The hif’il participle is built with a מ prefix. In most cases, the מ prefix is vocalized in the same way as the signal letter for the imperfect. Exceptions are the empty ע verbs, and a few others. In general, the final syllables of hif’il participles follow the same patterns as pa’al participles, except that most feminine singular forms use the kamatz-hey suffix instead of the segolate ending.

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The hif’il infinitive construct has the ה prefix seen in the perfect, with the vowel pattern of the imperfect. Thus, in most roots the vowel under the prefixed ה is a patakh: הַזְכִּיר; in empty ע roots it is kamatz: הָקִים; in פ"י roots, the י root letter becomes a וֹ vowel letter, and the resulting infinitive construct is identical to the perfect: הוֹלִיד.

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A strong characteristic of all the pi’el forms is a dagesh doubling of the middle root letter. In the perfect, the masculine singular has two syllables. The first vowel is normally khirik and, with strong roots, the second is tseirei, but there are variations in both these vowels.

Because their middle root letter can’t be doubled, empty ע roots are not conjugated in pi’el. Instead, a variant binyan called polel takes the place of pi’el for those roots. In polel, the middle root letter becomes a vowel kholam, and the third root letter appears twice.

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The strongest characteristics of pi’el imperfects are the sh’va under the signal letter. As with other pi’el forms the middle root letter is doubled with a sh’va. When the middle root letter can’t be doubled, there are other compensations, but the sh’va under the signal letter is constant. The vowel on the first root letter is normally patakh.

Because their middle root letter can’t be doubled, empty ע roots are not conjugated in pi’el. Instead, a variant binyan called polel takes the place of pi’el for those roots. In polel, the middle root letter becomes a vowel kholam, and the third root letter appears twice.

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As in other binyanim, the narrative form looks like the imperfect, with a וַ prefix in front of the imperfect signal letter. The characteristic sh’va under the signal letter remains. Unlike the narrative forms of other binyanim, there is an exception to the rule that the signal letters are always doubled with a dagesh after the וַ: when the imperfect signal letter is יְ, for masculine or mixed plural, that yud does not get a dagesh, but the sh’va is voiced nonetheless. וַיְדַבֵּר is pronounced va-y’-da-ber. When the signal letter is ת or נ, it gets its usual dagesh, and when the signal letter is א, the וַ changes to וָ as usual.

As in binyan pa’al, the singular narrative forms of ל"ה verbs lose their final ה. In a number of roots, the stress moves forward and there is a vowel change in the final syllable.

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The pi’el participle is prefixed with מְ. The vowel pattern of the masculine singular matches that of the masculine singular imperfect, with a few exceptions. The suffixes for feminine and plural are like those of the other binyanim.

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The pi’el infinitive construct for most roots has the pattern patakh-tseirei: דַּבֵּר. As in other binyanim, when the final root letter is ה, that ה strengthens to a ת and the vowel is kholam: צַוּוֹת. When a prepositional prefix is added to a pi’el infinitive, its vowel is a sh’va: לְדַבֵּר.

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