Detailed Classification of Hebrew Nouns

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

Hebrew nouns are either masculine or feminine. This gender distinction plays a key role in grammar and sentence construction.
Masculine nouns generally do not have a specific ending, although occasionally they can end in -ה, -י, or -ון.
Feminine nouns often end in -ה (he) or -ת (tav). This isn’t always the case, so don’t rely solely on endings to determine a noun’s gender.

Singular and Plural Nouns

In addition to gender, Hebrew nouns are also classified as singular or plural.
The general rule for making a noun plural is to add -ים for masculine and -ות for feminine.
Bear in mind that there are exceptions and irregular plurals. For instance, ילד (child) becomes ילדים (children) in the masculine and “child” remains ילדה in the feminine.

Dual Nouns

Hebrew has a special category of nouns called dual nouns. These refer specifically to two of something.
Dual nouns typically relate to pairs of objects or concepts, such as hands (ידיים, yadayim), ears (אזניים, ozenayim), or days (יֹמַיִם, yomayim), etc.
Dual nouns are marked by the suffix -יים (-ayim).

Construct State (Smikhut)

Some Hebrew nouns appear in construct state, also known as Smikhut. This refers to a grammatical relationship between two nouns where the first noun modifies the second, similar to the English genitive or possessive cases.
This state often occurs in noun pairs, like ‘King of Egypt’ (מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם, melech mizrayim).
The vowel patterns often change in the construct state.

Remember, the subtleties of Hebrew noun forms require ample practice to master. Understanding the basic classification of Hebrew nouns is essential in correctly interpreting and translating Biblical Hebrew texts. Don’t neglect the significance of gender, number, and construct state which altogether shape noun behaviour in Hebrew grammar.