Characteristics of the Hebrew language in AX Semantics
Fundamentals
In Hebrew, you need to know the gender and number of a noun to form the accompanying adjectives, determiners, numerals, and pronouns correctly.
Hebrew has two genders for nouns: masculine and feminine. There are three numbers: singular, dual, and plural. The dual is used mainly for nouns that naturally come in pairs (e.g. body parts) and for some time expressions. Modern Hebrew has no case system for nouns.
A key feature of Hebrew is the definite article ha- (ה), which is prefixed directly to the noun. When a noun is definite, all agreeing adjectives must also carry the ha- prefix.
| grammatical name | values | examples |
|---|---|---|
| number | singular | ספר גדול [séfer gadól] (a big book) |
| dual | ידיים גדולות [yadáyim gdolót] (big hands) | |
| plural | ספרים גדולים [sfarím gdolím] (big books) | |
| gender | masculine | ילד גדול [yéled gadól] (a big boy) |
| feminine | ילדה גדולה [yaldá gdolá] (a big girl) | |
| adjectives (noun) | after noun | ספר גדול [séfer gadól] (a big book) |
| verb tenses | present | הוא כותב [hu kotév] (he writes) |
| past | הוא כתב [hu katáv] (he wrote) |
The standard order (right-to-left) of a noun phrase in Hebrew is the following:
preposition + numeral + noun + adjective + determiner
See for example:
על שלושה ספרים גדולים שלי
[al shlosha sfarím gdolím shelí]
PREP NUM NOUN ADJ DET
"on my three big books"
Note
Hebrew has a right-to-left writing system. The AX NLG platform only supports left-to-right scripts for now. You have to copy-paste right-to-left written text if you want to use it.
Lexicon
Nouns
Hebrew nouns inflect for number. Nouns with irregular plural forms should always be listed in the lexicon.
Nouns should be added to the lexicon with their grammatical gender, as gender determines adjective agreement and numeral agreement. Nouns with irregular plural forms should always be listed in the lexicon. They are omitted if a lexicon entry is required but missing.
Examples
The basic lexicon entry for יום [yom] (day) contains:
- gender: masculine
- inflection table for number:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| יום [yom] | יומיים [yomáyim] | ימים [yamím] |
Adjectives
In Hebrew, adjectives follow the noun and inflect for gender, number, and definiteness. When the noun carries the definite article ha-, the adjective must also carry ha-. The default position is "after noun".
ספר גדול [séfer gadól] (a big book — indefinite, no article on adjective)
הספר הגדול [ha-séfer ha-gadól] (the big book — definite article on both noun and adjective)
Verbs
Hebrew verbs inflect for tense, person, number, and gender. Present-tense forms do not inflect for person but do inflect for gender and number. If a verb inflects incorrectly, you should add it to the lexicon.
Container settings
Determiner
Hebrew only has a definite article, but no indefinite article. The AX NLG platform supports the definite article, demonstratives, and possessives for Hebrew.
Demonstratives follow the noun and also carry the ha- prefix:
הילד הזה [ha-yéled ha-ze] (this boy — masculine singular)
הילדה הזאת [ha-yaldá ha-zot] (this girl — feminine singular)
הילדים האלה [ha-yeladím ha-ele] (these children — plural)
Prepositions and determiners: contractions
Several common Hebrew prepositions are prefixed directly to the noun. When followed by the definite article ha-, the ha- is absorbed into the preposition:
ב + הספר → בספר [ba-séfer] (in the book)
ל + הילד → לילד [la-yéled] (to the boy)
מ + הבית → מהבית [me-ha-báyit] (from the house)
Numerals
Four types of numerals are possible on the AX NLG platform: cardinal, cardinal as digit, ordinal, and ordinal as digit. Take יום [yom] (day) for example:
| cardinal | ordinal | |
|---|---|---|
| text | תשעה ימים [tishá yamím] (nine days) | היום התשיעי [ha-yom ha-teshií] (the ninth day) |
| digit | 9 ימים (9 days) | היום ה-9 (the 9th day) |
For Hebrew, cardinal and ordinal numerals are written out until 20; above 20 the output is in digit form.
Hebrew cardinal numerals 1–10 agree in gender with the noun they modify. Notably, numerals 3–10 show gender polarity: the form ending in -a or -et is used with masculine nouns, and the form without that ending is used with feminine nouns.
שלוש שנים [shalosh shaním] (three years)
vs.
30 שנים (30 years — digit form above 20)
Note that when ordinal numerals (or cardinal 1) accompany a noun, the order of the noun phrase will change to numeral after noun: noun + numeral.
Determiner switch
Determiners can be switched according to lexical information. If you set the determiner switch for a specific noun in the lexicon, it will automatically switch to another determiner when you add the determiner you intend to switch in the container. The container setting for ישראל [Yisrael] in the first example is: preposition="ב", determiner is unset (blank), and no article.
בישראל [be-Yisrael]
(in Israel)
In the second example, the container settings for ארצות הברית [Artsot ha-Brit] (United States) are still: preposition="ב", determiner is unset (blank). However, the determiner switches from none to definite, because it is configured in the lexicon entry. The preposition then contracts with the article:
בארצות הברית [ba-Artsot ha-Brit]
(in the United States)
Note
If the lexicon entry of a country includes a switch from none to definite, there is still a way to use the country without the article. The determiner will always remain none by setting determiner=none in the container. Only an unset determiner (blank) triggers the switch from none to another determiner.