Article
The Sequential Imperfect conjugation of a verb looks similar to the normal Imperfect verb, but it is a separate verbal form and must be treated as such. A Sequential Imperfect verb does not function like a normal Imperfect verb, but it functions similar to a Perfect verb. The difference is an added sense of being connected to an earlier verb to form a sequence of time or a sequence of thought. In Hebrew narratives, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation also serves the function of controlling the flow of a story and often occurs at the beginning of a sentence.
The endings of the Sequential Imperfect conjugation are the same as the normal Imperfect conjugation but the sequential form also has an extra prefix, which is a specialized form of the conjunction. The difference between the Sequential Imperfect and the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction is in the vowel pattern. The normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction looks exactly like what one would expect: a normal conjunction (וְ) is added to the beginning of a normal Imperfect verb (יִקְטֹל) to make a single word (וְיִקְטֹל). However, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation looks different (וַיִּקְטֹל). In contrast to the normal Imperfect conjugation with the conjunction, the Sequential Imperfect conjugation usually contains (1) a vowel (usually pathach) under the conjunction instead of the shewa, and (2) a daghesh in the prefix consonant of the verbal form (see table below).
| Verbal root | Imperfect conjugation + conjunction (וְ) | Sequential Imperfect conjugation |
| כתב | וְיִכְתֹּב | וַיִּכְתֹּב |
| פעל | וְיִפְעַל | וַיִּפְעַל |
| קרא | וְיִקְרָא | וַיִּקְרָא |
