Egyptian Hieroglyphs – Lesson 9
Nouns
The Basics
Verbs are words that describe actions.
There are two kinds of verbs:
1. Transitive – These types of verbs can take a direct object.
- ex. Sally dropped the box. In this case, the direct object of the transitive verb dropped is the box. Without the direct object, the meaning is lost–what did Sally drop?
2. Intransitive – These types of verbs cannot take a direct object.
- ex. The sun shines in the sky. If we were to place a direct object into this sentence it would not make much sense–the sun shines the clouds in the sky.
Four Features of Verbs
1. Tense
Tense expresses the time at which the action of a verb occurs.
Past
The past tense indicates that the action has occurred previously, before the present moment.
ex. The dog barked at the mailman yesterday.
Present
The present tense indicates that the action is occurring at the present time.
ex. Randy spots a cat.
Future
The future tense indicates that the action will occur in the future, after the present moment.
ex. The dog will bark at the mailman.
2. Voice
Voice describes the relationship between a verb and its subject.
Active
Active voice is used when the subject performs the action, while the direct object receives the action.
ex. Charlie drew the boat. (The subject “Charlie” performs the action “drew,” while the direct object “the boat” receives the action.)
Passive
Active voices is used when that the subject receives the action. The performer of the action, if it is present, is introduced by the preposition “by” and is referred to as the agent.
ex. The boat was drawn by Charlie. (The subject boat receives the action of “was drawn,” while the performer of the action “Charlie” is introduced by the preposition “by.”
3. Mood
Mood reflects the attitude of the speaker toward what he or she is doing/saying.
Indicative
The indicative mood is used when the action of the verb is a statement of fact–the most common mood.
ex. I walked in the rain.
Imperative
The imperative mood is used when the action of the verb is a command.
ex. Come to me.
Subjunctive
This mood expresses that the action of the verb is not actually occurring, but may occur–a wish of sorts.
ex. I would walk the dog, if it wasn’t raining.
4. Aspect
Aspect refers to the type of action the verb indicates.
Complete or Incomplete Action
I walked the dog – Completed action.
I am walking the dog – Incomplete action.
Repeated Action
I used to ride my bike to school – Reference to a repeated action.
Verb Root Classes
Egyptian verbs are divided into groups, depending on the number of consonants in the root. The root is the foundation of the verb. This is the form that you will find in dictionaries. For example, the root of finding and finder is “find.” The number of consonants that can be found in a root ranges from 2-6. The weak consonants are i and w.
Below is a chart of the root classes which show their basic format and an example.
| Root Class | Description | Example |
| 2-lit | 2 consonants. | |
| 2ae-inf. (Second weak) |
2 consonants, the final weak.
|
|
| 2ae-gem. (Second geminating) |
3 consonants, the second and third are the same.
|
|
| 3-lit. | 3 consonants. | |
| 3ae-inf. (Third weak) |
3 consonants, the final weak.
|
|
| 3ae-gem. (Third geminating) |
4 consonants, the second and third are the same.
|
|
| 4-lit. | 4 consonants. | |
| 4ae-inf. (Fourth weak) |
4 consonants, the final weak.
|
|
| 5-lit. | 5 consonants. |
Causatives and Anomalous Verbs
Memorization
Vocabulary
| 𓇍𓇋𓏭𓂻 | ii | Come, return |
| 𓂻𓅱 | iw | Come, return |
| 𓁹 | iri | Do, make |
| 𓃹𓈖𓈖 | wnn | Exist |
| 𓎗𓅱𓏜 | wḏ | Command |
| 𓌴𓁹𓄿𓄿 | m33 | See |
| 𓄟𓋴𓁒 | msi | Give birth, bear |
| 𓂋𓂞 | rdi | Give, put, cause |
| 𓉔𓄿𓃀𓂻 | h3b | Send |
| 𓆣𓂋 | ḫpr | Evolve, happen, occur |
| 𓄔𓅓 | sḏm | Hear |
| 𓆓𓂧 | ḏd | Speak, say |
Biliterals
𓎿 | 𓆞 | 𓄚 𓂙 |
| ḥs | ẖ3 | ẖn |
𓌨 | 𓐖 | 𓎝 |
| ẖr | qn | sk |
𓊨 𓄝 | 𓋫 | 𓍢 𓍱 |
| st | sṯ | šn |
Exercises
Exercise 1.
Identify the root class.
𓄟𓋴𓁒
3ae-inf.
𓆓𓂧
2-lit.
𓆣𓂋
3-lit.
𓃹𓈖𓈖
2ae-gem.
5.
𓂻𓅱
Anom.
6.
𓋴𓆣𓂋
caus. 3-lit.
7.
𓁹
3ae-inf.
8.
𓋴𓊢𓂝𓂻
caus. 3-lit.