its own in the beginning of the word and not after a consonant when it is the conjunction ו־ and. Hebrew one-letter words are written together with the next word and their pronunciation may change according to the first letters of that word. The basic vocalization of this conjunction is shva na (וְ־ ), but before the labial consonants bet (ב), waw (ו), mem (מ) and pe (פ), and before any letter with shva (except yodh) it becomes a shuruk (וּ־ ). This is the consistent vocalization in the Bible and in normative modern Hebrew, but in spoken modern Hebrew it is not consistently productive and the conjunction may simply remain וְ־ in these cases. It is not reflected in writing without niqqud. Examples: וּמִכְתָּב ('and a letter') וּוֶרֶד ('and a rose') וּסְפָרִים ('and books') Kubutz in modern texts Kubutz is used only in native Hebrew words and in words with foreign roots that were adapted to Hebrew word structure (mishkal), for example מְפֻרְמָט ('formatted (disk)') (without niqqud מפורמט). It is written in closed syllables which do not appear at the end of the word. A closed syllable is one which ends in a consonant with shva nakh (zero vowel) or in a consonant with dagesh khazak (essentially two identical consonants, the first of which has shva nakh). Kubutz in base forms of nouns Common noun patterns in which kubutz appears in the base form are: /CuCCaC/ where the middle CC is a double consonant (with Dagesh): סֻלָּם ('scale') , אֻכָּף ('saddle') . Without niqqud: סולם‎, אוכף. /CuCCa/: חֻלְדָּה ('rat') , without niqqud: חולדה. To this pattern belong also the words whose roots' second and third letter are the same and merge into one consonant with dagesh: סֻכָּה ('hut', Sukka) , root ס־כ־כ, without niqqud: סוכה. /CəCuCCa/ where the last CC is a double consonant (with Dagesh): נְקֻדָּה ('point') . The Dagesh is not realized in modern Hebrew, but if the letter with the dagesh is bet (ב‎), kaph (כ‎) or pe (פ), then it is pronounced as a stop consonant: כְּתֻבָּה ('ketubba', 'prenuptial agreement') , חֲנֻכָּה ('housewarming', Hanukka) . Without niqqud: נקודה‎, חנוכה. /CuCCan/: שֻׁלְחָן ('desk') , without niqqud: שולחן. /CuCCoCet/ with Dagesh in the middle letter of the root: כֻּתֹּנֶת ('coat', 'garment') ; with a four letter root: גֻּלְגֹּלֶת ('skull') . Without niqqud: כותונת‏, גולגולת. /CuCCeCet/: כֻּסֶּמֶת ('spelt', 'buckwheat') , קֻבַּעַת ('goblet') . Without niqqud: כוסמת‏, קובעת. Kubutz