Modern Hebrew verb conjugation

Main article: Hebrew grammar

In Modern Hebrew, verbs are conjugated to reflect their tense and mood, as well as to agree with their subjects in gender, number, and person. Each verb has an inherent voice, though a verb in one voice typically has counterparts in other voices. In transliterations below, vowels are transliterated with Latin equivalents and consonants are transliterated with English^{[clarification needed]} equivalents.

Classification of roots

A root is classified according to the letters that appear in it. Roots that contain certain letters are conjugated differently.

Roots that contain a ו vav or a י yod as the 2nd letters are called hollow roots. The ו vav or the י yod rarely appear in any conjugation though are usually written as part of the root. Examples of hollow roots: שר shar (sang), גר gar (lived), דן dan (discussed), דג dag (fished).

Roots that contain at least one of the weak letters, י yod, נ nun, ח ħet, ע ʻáyin, א álef, and ה hey, are called weak roots. Each weak letter/position pairing results in a slightly different conjugation pattern. The largest group of these are those that end with ה hey. Examples of weak roots: שתה shatá (drank), עלה ʻalá (went up), ירד yarád (went down), נפל nafál (fell).

Roots that do not fit into the other two categories are called strong or complete roots.

The Binyaním

Hebrew verbs are conjugated according to specific patterns called בניינים (binyaním - "constructions") where vowels and affixes are slotted into the (mostly) three-letter שורשים (shorashím - roots) from which the majority of Hebrew words are built.

There are seven basic binyaním. The traditional demonstration root is פ.ע.ל which has the basic meaning of "action" or "doing":

active			reflexive	passive
פעל paʻál	פיעל piʻél	הפעיל hifʻíl	התפעל hitpaʻél	הופעל hufʻál	פועל puʻál	נפעל nifʻál
			causative
		intensive
	simple

Present tense

A verb in the present tense (הוֹוֶה, hove) agrees with its subject in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), such that each verb has four present-tense forms:

Example conjugations in the present tense.

Form	Root	Singular		Plural		Translation
		M	F	M	F
Paʻál	שׁמר	שׁוֹמֵר	שׁוֹמֶ֫רֶת	שׁוֹמְרִים	שׁוֹמְרוֹת	Guards
	sh-m-r	shomér	shoméret	shomrím	shomrót
Piʻél	גדל	מְגַדֵּל	מְגַדֶּ֫לֶת	מְגַדְּלִים	מְגַדְּלוֹת	Raises, grows (something)
	g-d-l	megaddél	megaddélet	megaddlím	megaddlót
Hifʻíl	קטנ	מַקְטִין	מַקְטִינָה	מַקְטִינִים	מַקְטִינוֹת	Shrinks (something)
	q-t-n	maqtín	maqtiná	maqtiním	maqtinót
Hitpaʻél	בטל	מִתְבַּטֵּל	מִתְבַּטֶּ֫לֶת	מִתְבַּטְּלִים	מִתְבַּטְּלוֹת	Belittles oneself, loafs
	b-t-l	mitbattél	mitbattélet	mitbattlím	mitbattlót
Hufʻál	קטנ	מוּקְטָן	מוּקְטֶ֫נֶת	מוּקְטָנִים	מוּקְטָנוֹת	Is shrunken by
	q-t-n	muqtán	muqténet	muqtaním	muqtanót
Puʻál	גדל	מְגוּדָּל	מְגוּדֶּ֫לֶת	מְגוּדָּלִים	מְגוּדָּלוֹת	Is raised
	g-d-l	meguddál	meguddélet	meguddalím	meguddalót
Nifʻál	שׁמר	נִשְׁמָר	נִשְׁמֶ֫רֶת	נִשְׁמָרִים	נִשְמָרוֹת	Is guarded
	sh-m-r	nishmár	nishméret	nishmarím	nishmarót

The present tense doesn't inflect by first, second, or third person because its use as a present tense is a relatively recent trend, as this form was originally used as the participle. The ancient language didn't have strictly defined past, present, or future tenses, but merely perfective and imperfective aspects, with past, present, or future connotation depending on context. Later the perfective and imperfective aspects were explicitly refashioned as the past and future tenses respectively, with the participle standing in as the present tense. (This also happened to the Aramaic language around the same time.) The modern present tense verb is still used as the present participle; see further down.

Past tense

A verb in the past tense (עָבַר ʻavár) agrees with its subject in person (first, second, or third) and number, and in the second-person singular and plural and third-person singular, gender.

Note that the past/perfect and the present/participle inflections of the third-person singular nifʻál were historically pronounced with different vowels in the final syllable—the past/perfect with a patáħ gadól ( ַ  = /ɐː/), and the present/participle with a qamáts gadól ( ָ  = /ɔː/). In Modern Hebrew, both of these vowels have merged to /a/, and the two verb forms now are pronounced the same. For example, the past tense נִשְׁמַר nishmár means "he was guarded" (or in old-fashioned perfective "he is/was guarded"), whereas the present tense נִשְׁמָר nishmár means "he is being guarded".

Example conjugations in the past tense.

Form	Root	Singular					Plural
		He	She	Thou (or You in Modern English)		I	They	Ye (or You in Modern English)		We
				M	F			M	F
Paʻál	שׁמר	שָׁמַר	שָֽׁמְרָה	שָׁמַ֫רְתָּ	שָׁמַרְתְּ	שָׁמַ֫רְתִּי	שָֽׁמְרוּ	שְׁמַרְתֶּם	שְׁמַרְתֶּן	שָׁמַ֫רְנוּ
	sh-m-r	shamár	shamrá	shamárta	shamárt	shamárti	shamrú	shmartém	shmartén	shamárnu
Piʻél	גדל	גִּידֵּל	גִּידְּלָה	גִּידַּ֫לְתָּ	גִּידַּלְתְּ	גִּידַּ֫לְתִּי	גִּידְּלוּ	גִּידַּלְתֶּם	גִּידַּלְתֶּן	גִּידַּ֫לְנוּ
	g-d-l	giddél	giddlá	giddálta	giddált	giddálti	giddlú	giddaltém	giddaltén	giddálnu
Hifʻíl	קטנ	הִקְטִין	הִקְטִי֫נָה	הִקְטַ֫נְתָּ	הִקְטַנְתְּ	הִקְטַ֫נְתִּי	הִקְטִ֫ינוּ	הִקְטַנְתֶּם	הִקְטַנְתֶּן	הִקְטַ֫נּוּ
	q-t-n	hiqtín	hiqtína	hiqtánta	hiqtánt	hiqtánti	hiqtínu	hiqtantém	hiqtantén	hiqtánnu
Hitpaʻél	בטל	הִתְבַּטֵּל	הִתְבַּטְּלָה	הִתְבַּטַּ֫לְתָּ	הִתְבַּטַּלְתְּ	הִתְבַּטַּ֫לְתִּי	הִתְבַּטְּלוּ	הִתְבַּטַּלְתֶּם	הִתְבַּטַּלְתֶּן	הִתְבַּטַּ֫לְנוּ
	b-t-l	hitbattél	hitbattlá	hitbattálta	hitbattált	hitbattálti	hitbattlú	hitbattaltém	hitbattaltén	hitbattálnu
Hufʻál	קטנ	הוּקְטַן	הוּקְטְנָה	הוּקְטַ֫נְתָּ	הוּקְטַנְתְּ	הוּקְטַ֫נְתִּי	הוּקְטְנוּ	הוּקְטַנְתֶּם	הוּקְטַנְתֶּן	הוּקְטַ֫נּוּ
	q-t-n	huqtán	huqtná	huqtánta	huqtánt	huqtánti	huqtnú	huqtantém	huqtantén	huqtánnu
Puʻál	גדל	גּוּדַּל	גּוּדְּלָה	גּוּדַּ֫לְתָּ	גּוּדַּלְתְּ	גּוּדַּ֫לְתִּי	גּוּדְּלוּ	גּוּדַּלְתֶּם	גּוּדַּלְתֶּן	גּוּדַּ֫לְנוּ
	g-d-l	guddál	guddlá	guddálta	guddált	guddálti	guddlú	guddaltém	guddaltén	guddálnu
Nifʻál	שׁמר	נִשְׁמַר	נִשְׁמְרָה	נִשְׁמַ֫רְתָּ	נִשְׁמַרְתְּ	נִשְׁמַ֫רְתִּי	נִשְׁמְרוּ	נִשְׁמַרְתֶּם	נִשְׁמַרְתֶּן	נִשְׁמַ֫רְנוּ
	sh-m-r	nishmár	nishmrá	nishmárta	nishmárt	nishmárti	nishmrú	nishmartém	nishmartén	nishmárnu

Future tense

A verb in the future tense (עָתִיד ʻatíd) agrees with its subject in person and number, and in the second- and third-person singular, gender. The second-person singular masculine and third-person singular feminine forms are identical for all verbs in the future tense. Historically, there have been separate feminine forms for the second- and third-person plural (shown in parentheses on the table). These are still occasionally used today (most often in formal settings), and could be seen as the 'correct' forms; however in everyday speech, most Israelis use the historically male form for both genders.

Example conjugations in the future tense.

Form	Root	Singular					Plural
		He	She	You		I	They		You		We
				M	F		M	(F)	M	(F)
Paʻál	שׁמר	יִשְׁמוֹר	תִּשְׁמוֹר	תִּשְׁמוֹר	תִּשְׁמְרִי	אֶשְׁמוֹר	יִשְׁמְרוּ	תִּשְׁמ֫וֹרנָה	תִּשְׁמְרוּ	תִּשְׁמ֫וֹרנָה	נִשְׁמוֹר
	sh-m-r	yishmór	tishmór	tishmór	tishmrí	eshmór	yishmrú	tishmórna	tishmrú	tishmórna	nishmór
Piʻél	גדל	יְגַדֵּל	תְּגַדֵּל	תְּגַדֵּל	תְּגַדְּלִי	אֲגַדֵּל	יְגַדְּלוּ	תִּגְדַּ֫לְנָה	תְּגַדְּלוּ	תִּגְדַּ֫לְנָה	נְגַדֵּל
	g-d-l	yegaddél	tegaddél	tegaddél	tegaddlí	agaddél	yegaddlú	tigdálna	tegaddlú	tigdálna	negaddél
Hifʻíl	קטנ	יַקְטִין	תַּקְטִין	תַּקְטִין	תַּקְטִ֫ינִי	אַקְטִין	יַקְטִ֫ינוּ	תַּקְטֶ֫ינָה	תַּקְטִ֫ינוּ	תַּקְטֶ֫ינָה	נַקְטִין
	q-t-n	yaqtín	taqtín	taqtín	taqtíni	aqtín	yaqtínu	taqtéyna	taqtínu	taqtéyna	naqtín
Hitpaʻél	בטל	יִתְבַּטֵּל	תִּתְבַּטֵּל	תִּתְבַּטֵּל	תִּתְבַּטְּלִי	אֶתְבַּטֵּל	יִתְבַּטְּלוּ	תִּתְבַּטֵּ֫לְנָה	תִּתְבַּטְּלוּ	תִּתְבַּטֵּ֫לְנָה	נִתְבַּטֵּל
	b-t-l	yitbattél	titbattél	titbattél	titbattlí	etbattél	yitbattlú	titbattélna	titbattlú	titbattélna	nitbattél
Hufʻál	קטנ	יוּקְטַן	תּוּקְטַן	תּוּקְטַן	תּוּקְטְנִי	אוּקְטַן	יוּקְטְנוּ	תּוּקְטַ֫נָּה	תּוּקְטְנוּ	תּוּקְטַ֫נָּה	נוּקְטַן
	q-t-n	yuqtán	tuqtán	tuqtán	tuqtní	uqtán	yuqtnú	tuqtánna	tuqtnú	tuqtánna	nuqtán
Puʻál	גדל	יְגוּדַּל	תְּגוּדַּל	תְּגוּדַּל	תְּגוּדְּלִי	אֲגוּדַּל	יְגוּדְּלוּ	תְּגוּדַּ֫לְנָה	תְּגוּדְּלוּ	תְּגוּדַּ֫לְנָה	נְגוּדַּל
	g-d-l	yeguddál	teguddál	teguddál	teguddlí	aguddál	yeguddlú	teguddálna	teguddlú	teguddálna	neguddál
Nifʻál	שׁמר	יִשָּׁמֵר	תִּשָּׁמֵר	תִּשָּׁמֵר	תִּשָּׁמְרִי	אֶשָּׁמֵר	יִשָּׁמְרוּ	תִּשַּׁמֵּ֫רְנָה	תִּשָּׁמְרוּ	תִּשַּׁמֵּ֫רְנָה	נִשָּׁמֵר
	sh-m-r	yishamér	tishamér	tishamér	tishamrí	eshamér	yishamrú	tishammérna	tishamrú	tishammérna	nishamér

As in the past tense, personal pronouns are not strictly necessary in the future tense, as the verb forms are sufficient to identify the subject, but they are frequently used.

Imperative

Except for the strictly passive binyaním (puʻál and hufʻál), each binyán has distinct imperative forms in the second person. This imperative form is only used for affirmative commands. Paʻál, nifʻál, piʻél, and hifʻíl form their imperatives by dropping the initial ת of the future-tense form (e.g., תפתח tiftáħ (singular, masc.) → פתח ptaħ! "open!", תשמרי tishmrí (singular, fem.) → שמרי shimrí! "guard!"); the fifth, hitpaʻél, forms its imperative by replacing this initial ת with ה (titbattél → hitbattél "do nothing!"). (Note that the dropping of the initial ת often results in a change in vocalization, as can be seen in the instance of tishmrí/shimrí).

Negative commands use the particle אל al followed by the future-tense form. For example, אל תדאג al tidʼág means "don't worry" (masculine, singular).

In informal speech, the future tense is commonly used for affirmative commands when making requests. Thus for example, תפתח tiftáħ can mean either "you will open" or "would you open" (masculine, singular). (Similarly in English one might say "would you open" or "could you open" in lieu of simply "open".) In Hebrew, as in English, the more formal way to avoid the implication of commanding is to use the word "please" (בבקשה be-vaqasha) with the imperative.

The infinitive can be used as a "general imperative" when addressing nobody in particular (e.g. on signs, or when giving general instructions to children or large groups), so that for example, נא לא לפתוח na lo liftóaħ means "please do not open". This might be more literally be rendered as "it is requested that [this] not be opened": avoiding the question of address by using a passive voice.

Participles

Present participles are identical to present tense forms (the modern present tense actually having been derived from the ancient present participle): נרות בוערים nerót boʻarím (burning candles), הילדה מקסימה ha-yaldá maqsimá (the girl is charming).

Only the paʻál binyán has a true past participle: from כתב k-t-b we have כתוב katúv, (writ, written). This gives Hebrew a limited ability to distinguish between a completed action, e.g.:

• הספרים כתובים ha-sfarím ktuvím (the books have been written)

And, using the present tense of nifʻál, which is often the passive of paʻál, a continuing action:

• הספרים נכתבים ha-sfarím nikhtavím (the books are being written)

The passive participle is commonly used as an adjective, as in הפקודה הכתובה ha-pqudá ha-ktuvá (the written order).

The present tense of the puʻál and hufʻál are used as passive participles for the piʻél and hifʻíl respectively, e.g. from hifʻíl האיר heʼír (lit) we get חדר מואר ħéder muʼár (lit room).

Prospectives (Infinitives)

Prospectives (shmot ha-poʻál) in Hebrew are primarily formed by adding the letter lamed (ל) to the front of the base form (tsurát ha-maqór). The vowels change systematically according to the binyán.

• כתב katáv (wrote, paʻál) → לכתוב likhtóv (to write)
• מדבר medabbér (speak, piʻél) → לדבר ledabbér (to speak)
• התחיל hitħíl (started, hifʻíl) → להתחיל lehatħíl (to start)
• התפלל hitpallél (prayed, hitpaʻél) → להתפלל lehitpallél (to pray)
• נפגש nifgásh (met with, nifʻál) → להיפגש lehippagésh (to meet with)

Puʻál and hufʻál verbs do not have prospectives.

Gerunds

Gerunds (shmot peʻulá) are nouns expressing an action. Gerunds are created in Hebrew by putting the root of a verb in a "mishqál" (see Modern Hebrew grammar#Nouns). Five of the binyaním have gerunds: paʻál, piʻél, hifʻíl, hitpaʻél, and nifʻál. For example:

• שמר shamár (guarded — paʻál) → שמירה shmirá (guarding)
  • שב shav (returned — hollow paʻál) → שיבה shivá (returning, a return)
  • שתה shatá (drank — weak paʻál) → שתייה shtiyá (drinking, a drink)
• נכנס nikhnás (enter — nifʻál) → היכנסות hikkansút (entering)
• ביקר biqqér (visited — piʻél) → ביקור biqqúr (visiting, a visit)
• הפתיע hiftíaʻ (surprised — hifʻíl) → הפתעה hafteʻá (surprising, a surprise)
• התחמם hitħammém (warmed — hitpaʻél) → התחממות hitħammemút (warming)

Note that unlike in English (where gerunds and present participles share the same form), Hebrew gerunds cannot be used as adjectives.

Conditional

Modern Hebrew has an analytic conditional~past-habitual mood expressed with the auxiliary haya:

"אם היה לי זמן, הייתי הולך." im hayá li zman, hayiti holéx. if was me time, I-was go. If I had the time, I would go.

"אם מישהו היה טורח לספר לי, הייתי יודע." im míshehu hayá toréax lesapér li, hayíti yodéa. if someone was bother to-tell me, I-was know. If someone had bothered to tell me, I'd have known.

"פעם הייתי הולך המון לקולנוע." páam hayíti holéx hamón lakolnóa. once I-was go a-lot to-the-cinema. I used to go a lot to the cinema.

See also

• Hebrew grammar
• Prefixes and suffixes in Hebrew
• Waw-consecutive

Bibliography

• Academy Decisions: Grammar, chapter 3 - for The Academy of the Hebrew Language's decisions on the conjugations of less common verb patterns
•  Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar, §38 ff.
• Ornan, Uzzi (2003) (in Hebrew). The Final Word: Mechanism for Hebrew Word Generation. Haifa University. ISBN 001150001719. 

External links

• Hebrew Verbs Conjugation Tool - Online Hebrew Verb Learning Tool (Hebrew/English)
• hspell - המאיית העברי החופשי - טופס הטיית פעלים - Online Hebrew verb conjugator, based on hspell, the Free Hebrew spelling engine (in Ktiv male)