Hebrew 101: Lesson 11

Understanding Hebrew verb tenses and forms.

The Three Main Tenses

Past Tense (עבר - Avar)

Hebrew past tense is formed by adding suffixes to the root:

• כָּתַבְתִּי (katavti) - I wrote
• כָּתַבְתָּ (katavta) - you (m) wrote
• כָּתַב (katav) - he wrote

Future Tense (עתיד - Atid)

Future tense uses both prefixes and suffixes:

• אֶכְתֹּב (echtov) - I will write
• תִּכְתֹּב (tichtov) - you (m) will write
• יִכְתֹּב (yichtov) - he will write

Present Tense (הווה - Hoveh)

Present tense has four forms (m/f, singular/plural):

• כּוֹתֵב (kotev) - writing (m)
• כּוֹתֶבֶת (kotevet) - writing (f)
• כּוֹתְבִים (kotvim) - writing (m pl)
• כּוֹתְבוֹת (kotvot) - writing (f pl)

Infinitive

The infinitive form typically starts with לְ (le-):

• לִכְתֹּב (lichtov) - to write
• לָלֶכֶת (lalechet) - to go
• לֶאֱכֹל (le'echol) - to eat