Modern Hebrew Grammar - Adjectives

Adjectives

In Hebrew, an adjective (שם תואר /ʃem toaʁ/) comes after the noun and agrees in gender, number, and definiteness with the noun which it modifies:

• ספר קטן /ˈsefeʁ kaˈtan/ (a small book)
• ספרים קטנים /sfaˈʁim ktaˈnim/ ( small books)
• בובה קטנה /buˈba ktaˈna/ (a small doll)
• בובות קטנות /buˈbot ktaˈnot/ (small dolls)

Adjectives ending in -i have slightly different forms:

• איש מקומי /iʃ mkoˈmi/ (a local man)
• אישה מקומית /iˈʃa mkoˈmit/ (a local woman)
• אנשים מקומיים /anaˈʃim mkomiˈjim/ (local people)
• נשים מקומיות /naˈʃim mkomiˈjot/ (local women)

Masculine nouns that take the feminine plural ending /-ot/ still take masculine plural adjectives, e.g. מקומות יפים /mkoˈmot jaˈfim/ (beautiful places). The reverse goes for feminine plural nouns ending in /-im/, e.g. מילים ארוכות /miˈlim aruˈkot/ (long words).

Note also that many adjectives, like segolate nouns, change their vowel structure in the feminine and plural.