הי - To Be (Past & Future)

The Root of "To Be"
In Judean, the verb "to be" is built from two symbols that reveal what "being" actually means.

KEY DISCOVERY: To BE something is to have THE POSSESSION OF that state!

READING GOAL:
To recognize הי as the root for "to be" and understand how the verb forms are built.

To BE something is to have THE POSSESSION OF that state!

Remember from Lesson 11 (Nominal Sentences): In present tense, "to be" is IMPLIED - not written!

Key Insight:

• Present: Subject + Noun = "X is Y" (to be implied)
• Past/Future: The הי forms communicate tense - the pronoun clarifies WHO

Using David as subject:

Without the proper name (pronoun in verb):

See Lesson 10.7 (Subject Clarification Rule) - the pronoun is built into the verb!

Both are still SVSO - the subject is inside the verb as a pronoun!

The pronoun comes AFTER the root הי. The י connects as "of".

The pronoun comes BEFORE the root הי, and ה (descriptive marker) comes at the end.

Traditional grammar says the root is היה - but that creates problems!

With הי as the root - everything is clean:

• הי is the root for "to be" - not היה
• ה = the (descriptive marker)
• י = possession of / state of / value of
• To BE = to have THE POSSESSION OF a state
• Present tense: "to be" is IMPLIED - just Subject + Noun
• Past/Future: "to be" is WRITTEN - הי forms communicate tense
• The י in the pronoun suffix shows "of" - connecting the state to the person