1. Know that the nouns which come with a he as an essential root letter are few, such as gaʾeh (“proud”) and ram (“exalted”), as in “the proud and exalted” (Isaiah 2:12), and goh, as in “it went out from his body” (Job 20:25). They also occur with a segol, as in gaʾeh meʾod (“very proud,” Jeremiah 48:29), and reʿeh David (“David’s companion,” 2 Samuel 15:37). In the plural one says geʾim (“the proud”) and reʿim. From gaʾeh with a qamats comes geʾe yonim (“the pride of the oppressors,” Psalms 123:4), with a mobile yod. Likewise, from goh the waw is transformed into a mobile yod in construct forms, as in begviyyat ha-aryeh (“in the carcass of the lion,” Judges 14:8), and the plural is gviyyot (“corpses,” Psalms 110:6).

2. Know that many nouns of this class are found in which the final he changes into a quiescent yod at the end, with a ḥiriq before it. These are of four kinds. The first kind has the first vowel qamats, such as tseli and qeli; in the construct state they change to sheva, as in tsli and qli, and similarly naqi; in the plural one says ʿaniyyim and neqiyyim. The second kind has the first vowel sheva, such as shevi, peri, meri, and keli. Sometimes in pause they return to segol, as in meri, keli, leḥi; and sometimes to tsere, as in vaḥatsi (“and half,” Exod. 25:10). With suffixes one says shivkha, merikha, telikha, or with ḥiriq, shivyo, neshikha; and in the plural shivhem, shivkhem, perim, or perehem. (See Radak on the pattern paʿi.) The third kind has the first vowel ḥolam, such as ḥoli, ḥori, ʿoni, and tsori. In the construct state and with suffixes they change to ḥatef qamats, as in ḥolyo, even though the final vowel is not segol, as I explained in the Third Treatise, Fourth Principle, Second Section. Sometimes this occurs even without the construct state, as in kol ḥoli (“every sickness,” Deut. 28:61), mah ḥori (Deut. 29:23), and ʾel dami lakh. The fourth kind has the first vowel segol, such as meshi, peti, and qeri, as in ʾal tehi meri (“do not be rebellious,” Ezek. 2:8). With suffixes the yod becomes vocalized, as in qarim. Likewise Rabbi Solomon ibn Gabirol said in one of his poems: levush meshi, meaning “their garments of silk.”

3. The patterns I mentioned sometimes also appear with an added tav at the end, such as ʿamit and tsafit, as in tsafeh ha-tsafit (“prepare the watch,” Isa. 21:5). Some occur with ḥolam at the end, such as aḥot and ḥamot. In the construct state and with suffixes they change to sheva, as in ʿamitkha, aḥotkha, ḥamotkha, and the like. There are also forms with sheva even without the construct state, such as ḥanit and shevit. Sometimes they occur with shuruk at the end, such as galut and ḥazut; and sometimes with the first radical having sheva, as in shevut and pedut. I have already written about their plural forms in the Third Treatise, Thirteenth Principle, Fifth Section. Some also appear with an added nun at the end, such as ratson and qalon; the quiescent vav stands in place of the final root he, and the nun is an addition. Others occur with an added nun and a vocalized yod in place of the final root he, such as binyan, ʿinyan, and qinyan.