A preposition with an infinitive, ḥr sḏm "on hearing" (Using the Infinitive), can follow a subject just as a place phrase does in the adverbial sentence. The result works like a verb tense, and Gardiner named it the pseudo-verbal construction.
Key idea
Subject + ḥr + infinitive means "is doing": jw=f ḥr sḏm "he is hearing". Subject + r + infinitive means "is going to do, will do": jw=f r sḏm "he will hear". With verbs of motion, subject + m + infinitive means "is going, is coming": jw nsw m jjt "the king is coming".
Why it works
The sentence is built like z m pr "the man is in the house": a subject and a prepositional phrase. Only the phrase is now an action. "He is on hearing" means he is in the middle of it; "he is toward hearing" means it lies ahead; "he is in coming" means he is on his way. English uses "is …ing" and "will" for the same ideas; old English even said "he is a-coming", with a preposition.
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| subject + ḥr + infinitive | jw=s ḥr ḏd mꜣꜥt | she is speaking the truth |
| subject + ḥr + infinitive | jw=j ḥr rdjt t | I am giving bread |
| subject + r + infinitive | jw=sn r ḏd mdt | they will say the words |
| subject + m + infinitive | jw nsw m jjt | the king is coming |
| after mk | mk wj ḥr sḏm | look, I am listening |
Worked example: Write it
Write "he is hearing" with jw.
- The subject: jw=f.
- "Is doing" is ḥr + infinitive: ḥr sḏm.
Answer: jw=f ḥr sḏm
Worked example: The future
Translate jw=sn r ḏd mdt.
- jw=sn "they"; r + infinitive looks ahead.
Answer: "They will say the words."
Like the stative, this construction needs a subject in front, so it appears after jw or mk, after a noun, and in circumstantial clauses: sḏm.n=j ḫrw=f jw=f ḥr mdt "I heard his voice as he was speaking" (Circumstantial Clauses). In later Egyptian it grew into the main present tense of the language.
Common mistake
Reading ḥr here as "on" or "upon". "He is on the hearing" is the literal meaning, but the sense is "he is hearing". Check: if ḥr, r or m is followed by an infinitive, and a subject stands before them, translate as a verb: "is doing", "will do", "is going".