The following question was recently posed in the Chinuch Chaburah Email:

Does anyone know where to find background information on the rules for Shva Na and Shva Nach? Are there simple formulas that Kriah teachers are using? 

(MODERATOR: The Chinuch Chaburah is a publication of the esteemed Rabbi T.M.S.)


Well, I am not a Kriah teacher per say, but would like to answer this question.

There are five main rules when a Shva is a Shva Nah (a 'moving’ Shva, meaning it is pronounced, and not ‘blended’ with the preceding letter). Most teach the  rules this way:

 א)First – if the Shva appears as the first letter of the word, it is always a Shva Nah.  ב)Two - If there are two Shvas in a row in the middle of a word, the second one is a Shva Nah. (If two Shvas appear at the end of a word, as in the word אַנְתְּ, they are both a Shva Nach.)  ג) Gedolah – A Shva appearing directly after a Tenuah Gedolah is a Shva Nah.  ד) Dagesh – A Shva under a letter with a Dagesh is a Shva Nah. ה) HaDomos – When two same letter appear next to each other, and the first one has a Shva, it is a Shva Nah, as in the word Hinine (הנני).