נאָך פּרטים

The Modal Verb מוזן

In unit 3 we learned three modal verbs: וועלן (וויל), קענען and דאַרפֿן‎‎‏‎‏ (see ‏3.2 נאָך פּרטים). This lesson contains the modal verb מוזן. It is similar to the other modal verbs:

• The third person singular form (ער/זי/עס) has no ending: ער/זי/עס מוז (see the entire conjugation below in the summary of irregular verbs).
• מוזן is generally accompanied by a second verb in the infinitive.

Note that whereas וועלן, קענען and דאַרפֿן can be accompanied by a noun only, מוזן cannot. For example:

The meaning of מוזן is similar to that of דאַרפֿן, but מוזן is often stronger, and emphasizes that there is no choice. For example:

In negative sentences נישט מוזן has the sense of not having to do something, it is not an obligation:

Unit 4 Review

Verbs with a Converb

A converb changes the meaning of a verb. It is sometimes known as an adverbial complement or a separable prefix. Here are the converbs that we have already learned and the lesson in which each first appears:

Present tense/imperative: The subject or an adverb may (but does not have to) be placed between the conjugated verb and the converb. The negative נישט must be placed between the conjugated verb and the converb and is usually right before the converb. An object pronoun is usually placed between the conjugated verb and the converb. For example:

See also Position of the Personal Pronouns (below) and the general description of word order in ‏5.3 נאָך פּרטים.

The particle צו in the construction ליב האָבן צו + infinitive (see lesson 3.4) comes between the converb and the rest of the infinitive, and all three are written as one word:

Cases

Three cases, nominative, accusative and dative, are used to describe the changes that occur in some nouns, and in most pronouns, adjectives and articles in Yiddish according to their role in the sentence. In this unit we have studied how pronouns and people’s names change according to case.

In the table below are several important roles that a noun can play in a sentence together with the corresponding case and the lesson where the case is explained and illustrated. A more detailed discussion of the concept of cases can be found in ‏4.2 נאָך פּרטים.

Personal Pronouns

The following table lists the personal pronouns in all cases:

Position of the Personal Pronouns

A personal pronoun in the accusative or dative usually comes right after the conjugated verb, for example:

If there is more than one pronoun the order is

For example:

Pronouns and Grammatical Gender

Each noun has a grammatical gender. You can tell the gender by looking at the article with which the noun appears in the vocabulary:

A pronoun that takes the place of a singular noun reflects its grammatical gender. The case of the pronoun is determined by its role in the sentence.

For example:

Declension of People’s Names

When a person’s name is in the accusative or dative, it is declined. That is, the suffix ‏–(ע)ן‏ is added.

When ן– and when ען–? See the table in ‏4.2 נאָך פּרטים‏.

For example:

The Possessive Pronouns

The following table includes all the possessive pronouns.

Note:

The possessive pronoun and definite article never appear together before a noun:

Verbs with Irregular Infinitives and Irregular Present Tense Forms

Below is a summary of the verbs we have learned so far in YiddishPOP that have an irregular infinitive or are irregular in the present tense. The irregular forms are highlighted in bold. The lesson in which the irregularities are explained is also given.