The Second Principle. On the elucidation and vocalization of the conjugation Piʿel ha-dagush and of Piʿel from the complete roots.

The Piʿel conjugation is identified by a dagesh in the ʿayin of the root throughout the entire conjugation.

1. The entire past tense has the first radical (peʾ) with a ḥiriq, and the second radical (ʿayin) open with a pataḥ, except for the third-person masculine singular, in which the ʿayin is for the most part with a tsere, as in ʾizzen, ḥiqer, tiqqen. It is also found with a pataḥ, as in va-ʾibbed ve-shibber beriḥeha (Lamentations 2:9), and similar cases are few. The third-person masculine plural and the feminine singular have a sheva naʿ, as is its rule under a letter with a dagesh, as in piqqedu, piqqedah.

(First edition: 2) The Participle and the Passive They always appear with an added prefixed mem with a sheva at the beginning. In the participle there is a pataḥ after it, as in mefaqed. In the passive there are three vowels after it, as in mefuqqad. Your mnemonic for this is MPMʾP. The second radical (ʿayin) of the root, in the singular participle, takes a tsere, and in the other forms it takes a sheva naʿ, as in mefaqed, mefaqedim, and so forth. In the passive, in all forms, the ʿayin takes a qamats, as in mefuqqad, mefuqqadim, and so forth.

2 (First edition: 3). The Infinitive The first radical (peʾ) has a pataḥ, and the second radical (ʿayin) has a tsere, as in paqed [as in gaddel peraʿ (Numbers 6:25)]. The prefix letters b-k-l-m take a sheva, except for mem, which always takes a ḥiriq, as in be-feqed, ke-feqed, li-feqed, mi-feqed.

The imperative (command form) for the singular is like the infinitive, for example: peqod. But the plural and the feminine forms have a mobile shva, as in peqdu, peqdi. In the feminine plural, the shva changes to tsere, as in peqadnah. And in the future tense, the letters e-i-t-n are added to the imperative form, as in ’efqod, yifqod, and so on; their vowelization is always with a shva, like the mem of the participle (beinoni).

3. And take this rule firmly in hand for every verbal pattern in which the participle appears with the addition of a mem: the letters e-i-t-n are vocalized as in Hif‘il, with a reduced vowel under the middle root letter; and there I will reveal to you the reason.

4. And if the middle root letter is one of the letters RaʿA, then in most cases the dagesh is removed, and the vowel is transferred to the letter before it. If that vowel is a hiriq, it is changed to a tsere; and if it is a pataḥ, it is changed to a qamats, as I will explain in the chapter on poetry, in the ninth poem.

But the letters he and ḥet, although they generally do not receive a dagesh, do not have the power to cause the dagesh to drop into the preceding letter, as in shaher, kḥer, maher. Instead, they appear with tsere, as in nahalta ve‘ozekha (Exodus 15:13), and similar cases are few. Likewise, in the pattern Hitpa‘el, as in mityahadim, mitlaḥashim, they appear with a pataḥ.

The Pattern Paʿal Its identifying sign is a dagesh in the middle root letter throughout the entire pattern, like its prototype.

The Past Throughout, the first root letter has three dots, as in pakad, pakadta, and so on; in all other vowels it follows the pattern of its prototype.

The Participle For the singular, it is like the past tense, except that the middle root letter takes a qamats, as in pakad. The plural is pekadim, and so on, as I explained in the First Treatise, in the Tenth Principle.

The Passive and the imperative do not exist in this pattern. The infinitive, which is found only rarely in it, likewise has three dots under the first root letter, as in ganav, ganavti. And in forms where the final root letter is quiescent, it bears all its affliction, as in et kol ‘anvato; and there is no more. Moreover, forms with the prefixed letters b-k-l-m are not found in it.

The Future In this pattern, the e-i-t-n letters appear with a sheva, like its prototype, and the first root letter has three dots, as in the past tense, as in efkod, yifkod, and so on. But when the middle root letter is a guttural or a resh, the kubuts changes to a ḥolam throughout the entire pattern, as in ki lo forash (Numbers 15:34), and umarak ve-shataf (Leviticus 6:21), as will be explained in the chapter on poetry, in the ninth poem.