How do you say «I came» in Hebrew?

בָּאתִי (bati), for a man or a woman alike: in the past «I» has only one form. The א is written but not heard.

Why does «he lived» look like «he lives»?

In two-letter verbs, he in the past and he in the present are the same word, גָּר. The sentence tells you which: הוּא גָּר בְּחֵיפָה עַכְשָׁו, «now», or בְּ-2010, «then».

How do I tell «she lives» from «she lived»?

Both are spelled גָּרָה, but the stress moves: gaRA, on the last syllable, is the present; GAra, on the first, is the past. The same goes for קָמָה and בָּאָה.

Free grammar · Unit 13 of 20

The past of two-letter verbs: גַּרְתִּי, קַמְתִּי, בָּאתִי

In the past, Hebrew puts the person at the end of the verb: גַּרְתִּי «I lived», גַּרְתָּ and גַּרְתְּ «you lived», to a man and to a woman, גַּרְנוּ «we lived». The ending already says who, so the pronoun can be left out: גַּרְתִּי בְּחֵיפָה, «I lived in Haifa».

The two-letter verbs, also called hollow verbs, like גָּר, קָם, רָץ, בָּא, are the first group to take into the past, because their stem is the shortest: gar, then straight away -ti, -ta, -t, -nu, -tem. Three forms go their own way: he, גָּר, the same as the present; she, גָּרָה; they, גָּרוּ. בָּא keeps its silent א: בָּאתִי, «I came», is read bati.

This page has the explanation, a table of three verbs in every person and the first two exercises: «I lived in Haifa» and «she got up at seven». The other four, including typing a verb yourself, open with a free account.

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Step 13 of 20 · Explanation

Two-letter verbs: גַּרְתִּי, קַמְתִּי, בָּאתִי

In the past, Hebrew puts the person at the end of the verb.

is «I lived», «you lived» (to a man), «you lived» (to a woman), «we lived».

The ending does the work of the pronoun, so the pronoun can even be left out: , «I lived in Haifa».

4 more exercises in this unit

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Questions

How do you say «I came» in Hebrew?: בָּאתִי (bati), for a man or a woman alike: in the past «I» has only one form. The א is written but not heard.
Why does «he lived» look like «he lives»?: In two-letter verbs, he in the past and he in the present are the same word, גָּר. The sentence tells you which: הוּא גָּר בְּחֵיפָה עַכְשָׁו, «now», or בְּ-2010, «then».
How do I tell «she lives» from «she lived»?: Both are spelled גָּרָה, but the stress moves: gaRA, on the last syllable, is the present; GAra, on the first, is the past. The same goes for קָמָה and בָּאָה.

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The past of two-letter verbs: גַּרְתִּי, קַמְתִּי, בָּאתִי

4 more exercises in this unit

Questions

And then?

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