State Absolute¶
Summary¶
The absolute state is the standard form of a word (noun, adjective, participle, or infinitive) in contrast to a modified form called the construct state. A word in the absolute state can take a prefix but not a suffix.
Article¶
Nouns, adjectives, and participles can appear in the absolute state, the construct state, or the determined state. The most fundamental difference between these forms is that the construct form can take an attached suffix, but neither the absolute form nor the determined form can. Nouns, adjectives and participles can appear in the absolute, construct, or determined state for both masculine and feminine terms in both singular and plural forms.
Note
Many masculine singular nouns appear exactly alike in both the absolute state and the construct state.
Form¶
Paradigm¶
Parsing |
Aramaic |
Transliteration |
Gloss |
Noun, masculine singular absolute |
סוּס |
sus |
stallion |
Noun, masculine plural absolute |
סוּסִים |
susim |
stallions |
Noun, feminine singular absolute |
סוּסָה |
susah |
mare |
Noun, feminine plural absolute |
סוּסוֹת |
susoth |
mares |
Examples¶
Standing alone¶
In Biblical Aramaic, when a term stands alone and is not grammatically connected to another word, it appears in the absolute state. This category includes terms such as a subject/object of a verb or relative phrase, adjectives, adverbial nouns, etc.
Appearing with a prefix¶
The absolute state cannot take a suffix but can take a prefix, including a conjunction, preposition, definite article, or even a relative particle. For example, a term functioning as the object of a preposition can appear in the absolute state with a prefixed preposition, provided that there is no pronominal suffix. A term with both a prefixed preposition and a pronominal suffix would necessarily appear in the construct state.
Concluding term of a construct chain¶
The final word in a construct chain always appears in either the absolute state or the determined state. This term is often called the “absolute noun.” If the absolute noun in a construct chain is definite, then the entire construct chain is definite. If the absolute noun is indefinite, then the entire construct chain is indefinite.