Recognize Hebrew Past Tense

Learn to identify past tense verb forms when reading Hebrew texts.

Past Tense Suffixes

Hebrew past tense is formed by adding specific suffixes to the verb stem:

Person Suffix Example (כתב - write)
I -תִּי כָּתַבְתִּי
You (m) -תָּ כָּתַבְתָּ
You (f) -תְּ כָּתַבְתְּ
He כָּתַב
She כָּתְבָה
We -נוּ כָּתַבְנוּ
You (pl) -תֶּם/-תֶּן כְּתַבְתֶּם
They -וּ כָּתְבוּ
Recognition Tip: Look for these characteristic suffixes (תי-, תָּ-, נוּ-, וּ-) to identify past tense!