# Aramaic: difference between G and D stems



## zaw

Sometimes the D stem is not the causative version of the G stem. Like ܩܰܛܶܠ is not the causative of ܩܛܰܠ because both mean "to kill". So, what is the difference between the D and G stems when D is not the causative of the G?


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## 𒍝𒊑𒈾 𒂵𒉿𒀉

If the D is not the causative of the G then maybe the D is showing you the result of the G. Like this:

The G of כתב is כְּתַב and it means he wrote

But the D of כתב is כַּתֵּב and it means He made written

The t+ G stem of כתב is הִתְכְּתֵב and it means of course It was written

But the t + D stem of כתב is הִתְכַּתַּב and it means It was made written.

Do you get the difference?


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## Glasguensis

It might help in your explanation if you provided translations which were valid English. Your translations of the D stem versions are grammatically incorrect, which means we can’t possibly know what they’re supposed to mean.


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## Ali Smith

𒍝𒊑𒈾 𒂵𒉿𒀉 said:


> If the D is not the causative of the G then maybe the D is showing you the result of the G. Like this:
> 
> The G of כתב is כְּתַב and it means he wrote
> 
> But the D of כתב is כַּתֵּב and it means He made written
> 
> The t+ G stem of כתב is הִתְכְּתֵב and it means of course It was written
> 
> But the t + D stem of כתב is הִתְכַּתַּב and it means It was made written.
> 
> Do you get the difference?


Yes, that seems to be correct.

The basic idea is that if the verbal system were an ideally constructed system, then the G would represent a basic idea "to write" and the D bringing something into a state "to make written" and the H/A causation "to cause to write" . . . This is in essence the explanation offered for Biblical Hebrew D stem in the Intro. to BH Syntax by Waltke and O'Connor (pp. 356-57). They use the English verb "fly" and contrast "Sarah flies the airplane" (G stem) and "Sarah is flying the airplane in spite of the dust storm" (D-stem), where the latter sentence expresses the idea that Sarah is getting the airplane to be a flying-thing, not a crashing-to-the-ground-thing. In essence, then, the second sentence is expressing the idea of "Sarah gets the airplane flown." or "Sarah makes her airplane flown." --- despite the bad circumstances of the flying conditions. Does this make sense? 

This isn't the only way to construe the relationship between the stems, but I find the explanation helpful to orient beginners to the (possible) nuances of the different stems.


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## Glasguensis

I repeat, to make written has no meaning. Please find a way of expressing the idea which makes sense in English.


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## 𐎔𐎗𐎒 𐎛𐎓𐎂𐎇1

And sometimes the D stem is intensive.

קְטַל he killed
קַטֵּל he killed a lot of people
הַקְטֵל he made someone else kill


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## Ali Smith

Glasguensis said:


> It might help in your explanation if you provided translations which were valid English. Your translations of the D stem versions are grammatically incorrect, which means we can’t possibly know what they’re supposed to mean.


That's how Eric Reymond, who is American, translates the D binyan in his book (see attachment).


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## Glasguensis

The fact that something is used by a native speaker doesn’t automatically make it valid English. Without reading his book it looks to me as if he chose that as a representation of something which has no equivalent in English, but that makes comparing meanings somewhat complicated, because in many cases there would be no difference in the English translation.


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## zaw

So, one would presumably not use the D-binyan if one were narrating a series of actions carried out by someone, for then the focus would be on his actions, not on their results. For instance, "Sarah picked up the remote control and went outside and flew the airplane in spite of the dust storm and landed it safely and went back home and had dinner." Does what I'm saying make sense?


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## Ali Smith

Yes, I suppose, based on that example, though the D-binyan is, as you no doubt recognize, much more complicated than a single sense. You can check out the entire book devoted to the topic for Hebrew, _Das Hebräische Pi'el_ by Ernst Jenni.


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