Now that you know the binyan system, let's put it to work. This lesson focuses on conjugating verbs in Pa'al (the most common binyan) in both present and past tense. We'll also look at Pi'el present tense.
Pa'al — Present Tense: לִכְתֹּב (to write)
| Subject | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי / אַתָּה / הוּא | כּוֹתֵב | kotev | writing (m.sg) |
| אֲנִי / אַת / הִיא | כּוֹתֶבֶת | kotevet | writing (f.sg) |
| אֲנַחְנוּ / אַתֶּם / הֵם | כּוֹתְבִים | kotvim | writing (m.pl) |
| אֲנַחְנוּ / אַתֶּן / הֵן | כּוֹתְבוֹת | kotvot | writing (f.pl) |
Pa'al — Present Tense: לֶאֱכֹל (to eat)
| Subject | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| m.sg | אוֹכֵל | ochel | eating |
| f.sg | אוֹכֶלֶת | ochelet | eating |
| m.pl | אוֹכְלִים | ochlim | eating |
| f.pl | אוֹכְלוֹת | ochlot | eating |
Pa'al — Past Tense: כָּתַב (wrote)
| Subject | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי | כָּתַבְתִּי | katavti | I wrote |
| אַתָּה | כָּתַבְתָּ | katavta | you wrote (m) |
| אַת | כָּתַבְתְּ | katavt | you wrote (f) |
| הוּא | כָּתַב | katav | he wrote |
| הִיא | כָּתְבָה | katva | she wrote |
| אֲנַחְנוּ | כָּתַבְנוּ | katavnu | we wrote |
| אַתֶּם | כְּתַבְתֶּם | ktavtem | you wrote (m.pl) |
| הֵם | כָּתְבוּ | katvu | they wrote (m) |
Pi'el — Present Tense: לְדַבֵּר (to speak)
| Subject | Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| m.sg | מְדַבֵּר | medaber | speaking |
| f.sg | מְדַבֶּרֶת | medaberet | speaking |
| m.pl | מְדַבְּרִים | medabrim | speaking |
| f.pl | מְדַבְּרוֹת | medabrot | speaking |
Pi'el pattern: In Pi'el present tense, the prefix מְ (me-) is added and the middle root letter is doubled (shown by dagesh in the letter).
Example Sentences
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי מְדַבֵּר עִבְרִית | Ani medaber Ivrit | I speak Hebrew (m) |
| הִיא מְלַמֶּדֶת עִבְרִית | Hi melamedет Ivrit | She teaches Hebrew (Pi'el of ל-מ-ד) |