4.2 The three patterns (binyanim)

4 · Verbs — how the system works · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar

Every verb belongs to a pattern — a shape the root is poured into. There are three main ones plus a four-consonant type. The pattern tells you both the shape and, often, the meaning flavor.

pattern	example root	"he ___s"	rough meaning
I (basic)	p-t-kh	patekh — he opens	plain action / "become X"
II (intensive)	z-r-z	zarez — he makes/prepares	doing something to an object
III (causative)	m-d-m-kh	madmekh — he puts (a child) to sleep	making something happen
Quadriliteral	t-khm-n	takhmen — he thinks	4-consonant roots (many loanwords)

What the patterns mean (Khan §4.25) — the useful intuition:

Pattern I is the neutral, default shape. Many Pattern I verbs are the "become / happen by itself" kind: barez "become dry," bashel "cook (on its own)," kapen "get hungry," kareb "get angry."
Pattern III is the causative — it makes the Pattern I thing happen. The tell is an m- on the front. Compare:
barez (I) — "it dries" → mabrez (III) — "he makes it dry."
Pattern II sits in between: it marks the subject as an active agent doing something to an object — zarez "he makes / prepares (something)," hake "he tells (a story)."
Quadriliteral verbs just have four root consonants instead of three. A lot are everyday and borrowed: takhmen "think," tammez "clean," barbez "scatter."
The m- on Pattern III (and on the causative quadriliterals) is your single most reliable clue that a verb means "cause to…".

There is more to say about what each pattern does — What the patterns actually mean comes back to it with a proper list of causative pairs.

You don't conjugate each pattern differently in spirit — they all take the same S- and L-endings. Only the stem shape changes:

	Pattern I	Pattern II	Pattern III	Quadriliteral
example	patekh open	zarez make	madmekh put to sleep	takhmen think
present stem	patekh-	zarez-	madmekh-	takhmen-
past stem	ptikh-	zurez-	mudmekh-	tukhmen-

---