8.9 Interrogative Particle vs. Definite Article

Despite the similarity, we will not usually have trouble differentiating the Article from the Interrogative Particle

  • Below are potential sources of ambiguity:
    • 1st word of a clause before חָ֫,חָ, הָ, עָ = both are הֶ
    • 1st word of a clause before ה, ח without Qamets or SQiN eM LeVY with Sheva = all are הַ
    • In these situations we will need to let context determine whether a question is being asked
  • With lots of reading practice, this will get easier

ADDITIONAL DISTINCTIONS

  • Interrogative pronouns are more often on verbs, and verbs do not take the Article
  • The Article is about 300X more common