:github_url: https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_uhg/src/branch/master/content/gender_masculine.rst

.. _gender_masculine:

Gender Masculine
================

Nouns, adjectives, finite verbs, participles, pronouns, pronominal suffixes, and some particles change their form according to
grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine.  The masculine gender is usually indicated by the absence of any prefix or suffix.
However, various prefixes and suffixes can indicate masculine gender.

Article
-------

In Biblical Hebrew, :ref:`nouns<noun>` are classified according to gender, either masculine, :ref:`feminine<gender_feminine>`, or
sometimes :ref:`both<gender_both>`. Grammatical modifiers (such as :ref:`adjectives<adjective>`, :ref:`active<participle_active>`
and :ref:`passive<participle_passive>` participles, :ref:`pronouns<pronoun>`, :ref:`pronominal suffixes<suffix_pronominal>`)
change their endings in order to agree with the gender of the term they refer to. A :ref:`finite verb<verb-finite>`
with masculine gender indicates a masculine subject. All references to male persons in Biblical Hebrew are masculine.
However, other entities apart from people can also be classified as maculine. For example, the :ref:`proper names <noun_proper_name>`
of nations and tribes are often masculine in Biblical Hebrew. Some :ref:`particles<particle>` are also marked for gender
in Biblical Hebrew.

.. note:: Some nouns appear to be masculine but are actually feminine, even some common
          nouns such as אֵם (mother) and אֶרֶץ (earth). These nouns are feminine even though they do NOT take feminine
          endings. A dictionary orlexicon will indicate the proper gender for each word.

Form
----

Masculine :ref:`singular<number_singular>` :ref:`nouns<noun>` and :ref:`adjectives<adjective>` have no unique ending;
they are the standard dictionary form. Masculine :ref:`dual<number_dual>` terms end in ־ַיִם (pataq-yod-hireq-final mem),
as in אַפַּיִם (nostrils). Masculine :ref:`plural<number_plural>` terms usually end in ־ִים (hireq-yod-final mem),
as in אֲנָשִׁים (men). There is a whole family of :ref:`verbal<verb>` prefixes and suffixes that indicate feminine gender for
:ref:`finite<verb-finite>` verbs.

.. csv-table:: Masculine Noun Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  masculine singular absolute,סוּס,sus,stallion
  masculine singular construct,סוּס,sus,stallion of
  masculine plural absolute,סוּסִים,susim,stallions
  masculine plural construct,סוּסֵי,suse,stallions of

.. csv-table:: Qal Suffix Conjugation Masculine Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  second person masculine singular,קָטַלְתָּ,qatalta,you killed
  second person masculine plural,קְטַלְתֶּם,qetaltem,you killed
  third person masculine singular,קָטַל,qatal,he killed

.. csv-table:: Qal Prefix Conjugation Masculine Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  second person masculine singular,תִּקְטֹל,tiqtol,you will kill
  second person masculine plural,תִּקְטְל,tiqtelu,you will kill
  third person masculine singular,יִקְטֹל,yiqtol,he will kill
  third person masculine plural,יִקְטְלוּ,yiqtelu,they will kill

.. csv-table:: Independent Personal Pronoun Masculine Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  second person masculine singular,אַתָּה,'attah,you
  second person masculine plural,אַתֶּם,'attem,you
  third person masculine singular,הוּא,hu,he / it
  third person masculine plural,הֵם / הֵמָּה,hem / hemmah,they

.. csv-table:: Object Pronoun Masculine Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  second person masculine singular,אֹתְךָ,'othekha,you
  second person masculine plural,אֹתְכֶֶם,'othekhem,you
  third person masculine singular,אֹתוֹ,'otho,him / it
  third person masculine plural,אֶתְהֶם / אֹתָם,'ethhem / 'otham,them

.. csv-table:: Pronominal Suffix Masculine Forms

  Parsing,Hebrew,Transliteration,Gloss
  second person masculine singular,לְךָ / - ְךָ,lekha / -ekha,(to) you
  second person masculine plural,לָכֶם / -כֶם,lakhem / -khem,(to) you
  third person masculine singular,לוֹ / -וֹ,lo / -o,(to) him
  third person masculine plural,לָהֶם / -הֶם / - ָם,lahem / -hem / -am,(to) them