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# Particles and syntax of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic

The Bavli is a **dialogue**: questions, answers, objections, quotations, short narratives. Its syntax is shaped by that: very short clauses, many particles, pronoun copulas, topicalised quotations, and constant switching between quoting (often in Hebrew) and commenting (in Aramaic). This file covers the grammatical particles and clause types; the fixed technical phrases of the argument are in [The technical language of the sugya](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/discourse-terms/).

References: Margolis 1910; Epstein 1960; Bar-Asher Siegal 2013 (syntax chapters); Jastrow 1903 s.vv. Counts: Wikisource Bavli (CC BY-SA, measurement only), unpointed tokens, 2026-10-17.

## 1. ד־

The relative and genitive particle is only a prefix, ד־ *də-*. Its uses are those of BA דִּי ([Particles and syntax of Biblical Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/arc/particles-syntax/) §1), plus:

| use | example | meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| relative | גַּבְרָא דַּהֲוָה נָטַע | a man who was planting (Taanit 23a) |
| genitive | בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב | Rav's son |
| complementiser "that" | שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ דְּ־ | learn from it that … |
| causal "because" | דְּהָא, מִשּׁוּם דְּ־ | for, because |
| introducing a quotation | דִּכְתִיב "as it is written"; דְּתַנְיָא "as it was taught" |  |
| nominalising a clause | מַאן דְּאָמַר "the one who says" |  |
| with קָא | דְּקָאָמַר "who is saying" |  |

Because almost any word can carry ד־ (and ו־, ל־, ב־, כ־, מ־ in front of it), the first step of tokenisation is splitting these proclitics; ד־ is the most ambiguous of them (דְּבַר "matter" vs ד + בַּר) ([Jewish Babylonian Aramaic in Mova: what it would need](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/mova/) §3).

## 2. Objects: ל־, prolepsis and the lost יָת

- **ל־ marks definite and animate objects**: שְׁמַעִינְהוּ לְרַבָּנַן "he heard the rabbis".
- **Prolepsis**: a pronoun suffix on the verb anticipates the ל־ object: אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ … לְאֵלִיָּהוּ (BM 59b); חַזְיֵיהּ לְהַהוּא גַּבְרָא (Taanit 23a). See [The verb in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/verbs/) §7.
- **יָת** survives only in a few fixed expressions and with suffixes (יָתֵיהּ in archaic legal formulas); the Bavli does not use it as an object marker.
- Inanimate indefinite objects take no marker: נָטַע חָרוּבָא "he was planting a carob".

## 3. Prepositions

| preposition | meaning | note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| בְּ־, לְ־, כְּ־ | in, to, like |  |
| מִן, מִ־ | from | with suffixes: מִינֵּיהּ, מִינַּהּ |
| עַל, אַ־ | on | contracted אַ־ in אַמַּאי "why", אַגַּב "by the way" (Jastrow: "contr. of אל גב = על") |
| גַּבֵּי | at, with, concerning | גַּבֵּיהּ "with him"; גַּבֵּי שַׁבָּת "regarding the Sabbath" |
| לְגַבֵּי | to, toward; in relation to |  |
| קַמֵּי | before (in front of) | from קֳדָם; קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב "before Rav" |
| בָּתַר | after |  |
| מִקַּמֵּי | before (time) |  |
| אַבָּתְרֵיהּ | behind him |  |
| בַּהֲדֵי | with | בַּהֲדֵיהּ "with him" |
| מִשּׁוּם | because of | 5 360× (also Hebrew) |
| אַלִּיבָּא דְּ־ | according to (the view of) | אַלִּיבָּא דְּרַבִּי מֵאִיר |
| כְּוָותֵיהּ | like him; according to him | הִלְכְתָא כְּוָותֵיהּ "the law is like him" |
| לְבַר מִן | except, outside |  |

## 4. Conjunctions and connectors

| word | meaning | count | example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| וּ־ | and |  |  |
| **אִי** | if | 6 120 | אִי הָכִי "if so" (999×) |
| **אִי לָאו** | if not, were it not |  | counterfactual |
| **כִּי** | when; if; like; because | 5 736 | כִּי קָם "when he got up" (Taanit 23a) |
| **אֶלָּא** | but rather; only | 15 081 | the most frequent adversative |
| אֲבָל | but |  | mostly Hebrew contexts |
| **מִיהוּ** | however | 60 |  |
| **נַמִי** | also, indeed | 6 858 | הָכִי נַמִי "so too" |
| **אֲפִילּוּ** | even | 2 472 |  |
| **הִילְכָּךְ** | therefore | 24 |  |
| **כִּי הֵיכִי דְּ־** | so that, in order that | 360 | כִּי הֵיכִי דִּשְׁתַלוּ לִי אֲבָהָתִי "just as my fathers planted for me" (Taanit 23a, comparative use) |
| **דְּהָא** | for, since |  |  |
| אוֹ | or |  | אוֹ חַבְרוּתָא אוֹ מִיתוּתָא "either companionship or death" (Taanit 23a) |
| **אוֹ דִלְמָא** | or perhaps |  | the second half of a question (BM: או דלמא) |
| **אַדְּהָכִי** | meanwhile |  |  |
| **בְּתַר דְּ־** | after |  |  |
| **עַד דְּ־** | until |  |  |
| **אַף עַל גַּב דְּ־** (אע"ג) | even though |  | אע"ג דלא אתאי לידיה "even though it did not come into his hand" (BM 2a) |

## 5. Negation

| particle | use | count | example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **לָא** | verbs, clauses | (very frequent; also Hebrew) | לָא הֵימְנוּהוּ "they did not believe him" |
| **לָאו** | nominal predicate; "it is not that"; rhetorical "is it not?" | 3 734 | לָאו עֲלַי דִּידִי קָא סָמְכַתְּ "is it not on me that you rely?" (Shabbat 31a) |
| **לֵיכָּא** | there is not | 381 |  |
| **לֵיתָא** / לֵיתֵיהּ | it is not so; it (he) is not there | 63 | the reading "is not (accepted)" |
| **לָאו … הוּא** | it is not |  |  |
| **אַל** | (Hebrew negative command; in Hebrew passages) |  |  |

לָאו plays two roles: negation of a nominal clause ("it is not X"), and a question particle expecting yes ("isn't it …?"), as in the Shabbat 31a example; the context and the following word decide.

## 6. Existence

| form | meaning | count |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **אִיכָּא** | there is | 2 488 |
| **לֵיכָּא** | there is not | 381 |
| **אִיתָא** | it is (so); it exists | 288 |
| **לֵיתָא** | it is not (so) | 63 |
| אִיתֵיהּ / לֵיתֵיהּ | he/it is (present) / is not |  |
| אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרֵי | some say (lit. "there are who say") | 619 |
| מִי אִיכָּא | is there …? | מִי אִיכָּא דְּנָיֵים שַׁבְעִין שְׁנִין בְּחֶלְמָא "is there anyone who sleeps seventy years in a dream?" (Taanit 23a) |

## 7. The copula

Present nominal sentences have no verb, or a pronominal copula ([Pronouns in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/pronouns/) §1):

| construction | example | meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| X Y | פְּשִׁיטָא | (it is) obvious |
| X הוּא | זוֹ הִיא כָּל הַתּוֹרָה כּוּלָּהּ (Hebrew) / … הוּא | this is the whole Torah |
| X **נִיהוּ** | אֲנָא נִיהוּ | I am he |
| X **נִינְהוּ** | מַאן נִינְהוּ | who are they? |
| הוּא דְּ־ (cleft) | הוּא דְּאָמַר | it is he who said |
| X Y הוּא (with explanation) | וְאִידָךְ פֵּירוּשָׁהּ הוּא | and the rest is its commentary (Shabbat 31a) |

## 8. Questions

| type | form | example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| content question | interrogative first (מַאי, מַאן, הֵיכִי, הֵיכָא, אַמַּאי, אֵימַת) | מַאי עַכְנַאי "what is 'Akhnai'?" (BM 59b) |
| yes/no | intonation; **מִי** before the predicate | מִי קַיָּים "is he alive?" |
| yes/no expecting "yes" | לָאו, הָא לָאו, אַטּוּ (expecting "no": "is it so that …?") | אַטּוּ 352× |
| alternative | … אוֹ דִלְמָא … | "is it X, or perhaps Y?" |
| rhetorical "is it not obvious?" | **פְּשִׁיטָא** | 914× |
| "why do I need …?" | לְמָה לִי | לָמָּה לִי לְמִתְנָא … "why do I need it to teach …?" (BM 2a) |

## 9. Conditionals

| type | form | example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| real | אִי + participle/perfect, main clause | אִי הָכִי … "if so, …" |
| counterfactual | אִי + perfect …, הֲוָה + participle; אִי לָאו … | אִי תָּנָא … הֲוָה אָמֵינָא "had he taught …, I would have said" (BM 2a: אי תנא אני מצאתיה הוה אמינא) |
| concessive | אַף עַל גַּב דְּ־ |  |
| "granted … but" | **בִּשְׁלָמָא** X, אֶלָּא Y | 1 266× בשלמא |

```
Aramaic:   אִי תָּנָא "אֲנִי מְצָאתִיהָ" הֲוָה אָמֵינָא מַאי מְצָאתִיהָ רְאִיתִיהָ
Translit.: ʾī tānā "ʾănī məṣāṯīhā" hăwā ʾāmēnā māy məṣāṯīhā rəʾīṯīhā (reconstr.)
Gloss:     if teach.PEAL.PF.3MS "I found-it(Heb.)" be.PF.3MS say.PTCP-1SG what found-it saw-it(Heb.)
English:   Had (the Mishnah) taught (only) "I found it", I would have said: what does "found it" mean? "I saw it"
Source:    b. Bava Metzia 2a (Wikisource Bavli, CC BY-SA; written אי תנא אני מצאתיה הוה אמינא מאי מצאתיה ראיתיה)
```

Note the code-switching: the Aramaic frame (אִי תָּנָא … הֲוָה אָמֵינָא מַאי) quotes and paraphrases Hebrew words of the Mishnah (אֲנִי מְצָאתִיהָ, רְאִיתִיהָ).

## 10. Word order and information structure

- **Verb-first** in narrative: אֲזַל לְבֵיתֵיהּ "he went to his house"; אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ רַבִּי נָתָן לְאֵלִיָּהוּ (VSO).
- **Subject-first** for topics and contrasts: רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ עָמַד עַל רַגְלָיו (Hebrew narrative inside the Aramaic story).
- **Topic–comment**: a quoted text or a case is put first, then the comment: הַאי מַאי "this — what is it?"; חֲזָא לַחֲמָרֵיהּ דְּאִתְיְלִידָא לֵיהּ רַמְכֵי רַמְכֵי "he saw his she-ass, that herds upon herds had been born to her" (Taanit 23a).
- **Short coordinated clauses** without conjunctions in stories (asyndeton): יָתֵיב, קָא כָּרֵיךְ רִיפְתָּא, אֲתָא לֵיהּ שֵׁינְתָא, נִים "he sat, was eating bread, sleep came to him, he slept" (Taanit 23a).
- **Quotations** (Mishnah, baraita, verse) are embedded as noun phrases and referred to by the participle קָתָנֵי "it teaches", דִּכְתִיב "as it is written", and by demonstratives (הַאי, הָא).

## 11. Code-switching with Hebrew

The Bavli switches between Aramaic and Hebrew:

| unit | language | example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the Mishnah (מתני׳) | Hebrew | שְׁנַיִם אוֹחֲזִין בְּטַלִּית (BM 2a) |
| baraitot (תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן, תַּנְיָא) | Hebrew | the Hillel stories (Shabbat 31a) |
| statements of the amoraim | often Hebrew (Palestinian ones especially), often Aramaic |  |
| the anonymous discussion (stam) | Aramaic | לָמָּה לִי לְמִתְנָא … |
| stories (aggadah) | both; often Aramaic narration with Hebrew speech or the reverse | BM 59b; Taanit 23a |
| quoted words inside Aramaic | Hebrew words used as names of the quoted text | מַאי מְצָאתִיהָ רְאִיתִיהָ |

This is why language identification must be **per clause** and sometimes **per word** ([Jewish Babylonian Aramaic in Mova: what it would need](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/tmr/mova/) §2).

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