# imperative from למחוק



## Ali Smith

שלום

Could someone tell me what rule the imperative from למחוק (to erase) follows? As far as I know, it's not מחוק mekhok but מחק mekhak. Could someone tell me why?

The feminine singular, of course, is מחקי mikhki, which is exactly what one would expect.

תודה


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## slus

It's mekhak and makhaki - not mikhki. No Shva when the second letter of the root is ח.


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## Ali Smith

Thank you! But why isn't the masculine singular form mekhok?


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## slus

This is the way Binyan PAAL works.
Future singular masculine תמחק timkhak
Imperative מחק mekhak

Other imperative forms for other roots work the same:
שמע sh(e)ma
צחק tzk(e)hak
קרא k(e)ra
פתח p(e)takh
Etc.


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## Ali Smith

Thanks. But why is the 2m.s. PC Qal from מחק not timkhok?

PC = prefix conjugation = future tense


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## slus

למחוק
לשמוע
לצחוק
לקרוא
לפתוח

That's the way Qal is conjugated.


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## Drink

There is a rule that when either of the two last root letter is guttural, the future/imperative vowel is "a".


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## utopia

Ali Smith said:


> Thank you! But why isn't the masculine singular form mekhok?


The Academy has a conjugation board:
לוחות נטיית הפועל - האקדמיה ללשון העברית

There, they put both ways: תמחק; תמחוק

מחק; מחוק


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