We teach verbs with an "argument". In linguistics, an "argument" is an expression that completes the meaning of a verb. So, for example, in "hit the boy", "the boy" is the argument of "hit" because "hit" is not really a complete idea in and of itself (i.e. you can't just say "I hit.").
The reason we do this is because certain Greek and Hebrew verbs take particular types of arguments. This happens in English too. For example, "put" must always have a preposition in it's argument. You can't just say, "he put the cup." It must be, "he put the cup in, on, under, etc.".
Further, Greek verbs take arguments in particular noun cases. Generally, verbs will take objects in the accusative case. However, some verbs take arguments in other cases (dative or genitive), so it's helpful to learn that when you learn the verb itself.
In other words, we believe it's helpful to learn verbs with arguments so you better understand how the verb functions in context.
The conventions we use to show what kind of argument a particular verb takes are bit complex and develop through the lessons as you learn more, so it's important to watch the introductory videos for the lessons where we explain the conventions as they are introduced. Here's a brief overview:
For Hebrew:
For verbs that take a direct object as an argument, we start with the bare direct object marker (אֵת) simply because you haven't learned the other conventions we use yet. Once other conventions are introduced, we start using them according to this system:
Animate arguments: direct object marker with second person feminine suffix (אֹתָךְ)
Inanimate arguments: direct object marker with third person masculine suffix (אֹתוֹ)
Unmarked (could be animate or inanimate): direct object marker with third person feminine suffix (אֹתָהּ)
Animacy is a significant factor when it comes to how verbs function, so we wanted to include that as a factor in our system.
Additionally, some verbs will take a preposition or some other type of argument other than pronouns. For example:
הֵבִיא לָךְ אֹתָהּ - The verb (הֵבִיא) takes two arguments: (1) the ל preposition, and (2) a direct object (animate or inanimate).
For Greek:
We start with the definite article (την, τῃ, της) simply because you haven't learned the other words we use yet. Once other words are introduced, we start using them according to this system:
Animate arguments: second person pronoun (σε, σοι, σου)
Inanimate arguments: indefinite pronoun (τι, τινι, τινος)
Unmarked (could be animate or inanimate): third person pronoun (αυτον, αὐτῷ, αυτου)
Animacy is a significant factor when it comes to how verbs function, so we wanted to include that as a factor in our system. Besides that, the case of the argument simply reflects the case of the argument that the verb always or generally takes.
Additionally, some verbs will take a preposition or some other type of argument other than pronouns. Here are some examples:
καταβαίνω ἀπό - "come down from”
ἐπιτρέπω πράσσειν “allow to do”
Here's a quick fun fact on this: ancient students of Greek apparently learned verbs this way. The picture below (Brit. Lib. Add. MS 37533) is an ancient school tablet with verbs listed with:
