Lesson 15: The Dual
Vocabulary
| Dual | Singular | |
| hand | יָדַיִם | יָד |
| foot | רַגְלַיִם | רֶגֶל |
| eye | עֵינַיִם | עַיִן |
| ear | אָזְנַיִם | אֹזֶן |
| tooth | שִׁנַּיִם | שֵׁן |
| wing | כְּנָפַיִם | כָּנָף |
| lip | שְׂפָתַיִם | שָׂפָה |
| breast (m) | שָׁדַיִם | שַׁד |
| horn | קַרְנַיִם | קֶרֶן |
| sandal, shoe (f) | נַעֲלַיִם | נַעַל |
Up until now, we have seen masculine nouns formed by having ים added to them, while for feminine nouns, if they end in he ה, the plural is formed by dropping the he ה and adding ות. Thus סוּס becomes סוּסִים and סוּסָה becomes סוּסוֹת. The dual is another form of the plural for body parts that come in pairs, such as hands, feet, eyes, breasts, and so on. The dual form of the plural does not mean that there are only two items; it is just an alternate form of the plural. Adjectives will take a normal plural form when modifying a dual form plural noun, for instance "good teeth": שִׁנַּיִם טוֹבִים .
Reading
Please read pages 124-127 in Biblical Hebrew Step-by-Step.
Exercises
1. Memorize the vocabulary and paradigms.
2. Do the Exercises on pages 127-128.