# Vav conversive in Modern Hebrew



## hadronic

In the Wikipedia article about vav conversive (or consecutive), they say :

Modern Hebrew makes little use of waw consecutive constructions, but they are still found in classical allusions and references, and are readily understood.

My question is about that latter statement : how much of it is really "readily understood" ? 
How much of it can really be used in literature to make a classical sounding effect (or humorous effect) without completely losing the audience?


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## ystab

Maybe I'm bias because I am familiar with it, but don't forget that children in Israel begin to read in the Bible in the last month of the first grade, and this construction is very common in Biblical Hebrew, already in Genesis 1. And speaking of Genesis (this time 2), a masoretic family that conducts Kiddush every Shabbat dinner hears it every week in the Kiddush. So I would say that you can use it as much as you like, and people will understand you.

There's even a slang construction - "עשה ויברח" - which is said on a person who pulled a trick and ran away.


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## Drink

This is a very interesting question. I would like to hear more opinions.


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## DieHigh

As ystab said, it should be understood by any educated person in Israel as they learn the Bible in school since they're 7, so they familiar with it without necessary being religious. But I wouldn't recommend you to actually use it; no one talks or writes that way.


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## fdb

It is the same in all languages. Half-way literate people in English-speaking countries "understand" the meaning of "thou", or "he hath", but they do not use them in speech.


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## Drink

Further question: Is the situation the same for both tenses (i.e. both וַיֹּאמֶר and וְאָמַר)?



fdb said:


> It is the same in all languages. Half-way literate people in English-speaking countries "understand" the meaning of "thou", or "he hath", but they do not use them in speech.



It's not "the same in all languages". In Russian, for example, people would be very unlikely to understand you if you tried to use the aorist tense.


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## arielipi

Wait, is the question asking about the use of ו החיבור?
if so, it is used, otherwise i didnt understand the question.


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## Drink

arielipi said:


> Wait, is the question asking about the use of ו החיבור?
> if so, it is used, otherwise i didnt understand the question.



It is asking about ו' ההיפוך


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## arielipi

Ah, very rare nowadays, though understandable.


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