1. Know that all the roots of the Holy Tongue are divided into two kinds of verbs; and each verb into six root categories; and each root category into seven verb patterns; and each verb pattern into six tenses:

And each tense is divided into two genders, and each gender into two numbers, and each number into three persons, and each person has its own distinct form of expression. And now I shall explain each and every one:

2. There are two kinds of verbs: one is intransitive, and the other is transitive.

The intransitive: such as halakh, amad, yashav, and the like — for the action remains within the subject performing it and does not pass from it to another.

The transitive: such as shamar, paqad, harag, and the like — for the action passes from the subject to another. In many respects the intransitive verbs differ from the transitive ones, as will be explained briefly in this work.

3. And the six root categories are: complete, defective, and doubled.

And there are three kinds of weak verbs: those with a weak first letter, those with a weak second letter, and those with a weak third letter — making six root categories in all.

And there are also other root categories, such as those with weak extremities, those lacking extremities, quadriliteral forms, and the like; but all of them are compound and derive from these six, as will be explained.

4. And there are seven verb patterns: three active ones, called “fathers,” and three passive ones, called “derivatives.”

And one of the verb patterns is both a father and a derivative — that is, from one perspective it is active, and from another perspective it is passive, as will be explained.

The active patterns are: qal, Pi‘el, and Hif‘il.

The passive patterns are: Nif‘al, Pu‘al, and Hof‘al.

And the pattern that is both active and passive is called Hitpa‘el.

5. And as for one who claims that there exists another verb pattern called “quadriliteral,” such as shofet, shofateta, and so on — I will respond to this under the category of verbs with a weak middle letter in the Second Treatise, the Eighth Principle. There I will demonstrate with clear and correct proofs that this is not fitting to be called a verb pattern in its own right.

6. And there are six tenses, which are six actions: past, participle, passive, infinitive, imperative, and future.

And the two genders are the masculine and the feminine.

And the two numbers are the singular and the plural.

And there are three persons: the third person, the second person, and the first person speaking for himself.

And the distinct form of expression for each one is conveyed either by its vowel pattern or by the addition of one or two letters to the three root letters, such as the letters t-h-i-m-u-n at the end of the past forms, and the letters e-i-t-n at the beginning of the future forms: