How do you say «I spoke» in Hebrew?

דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibarti). Pi’el drops the מ of the present, the first letter takes i, and before ־תִּי the e becomes a.

How do you say «I paid» in Hebrew?

שִׁלַּמְתִּי (shilamti), the same tune as דִּבַּרְתִּי. «We paid» is שִׁלַּמְנוּ, «they paid» שִׁלְּמוּ.

What about pi’el verbs ending in ה, like מְנַסֶּה?

They keep the tune but swap the ה: נִסָּה «he tried», נִסְּתָה «she tried», נִסִּיתִי «I tried».

Free grammar · Unit 19 of 20

Pi’el in the past: דִּבֵּר, סִפֵּר, שִׁלֵּם

In the present every pi’el verb starts with מְ: מְדַבֵּר «speaks», מְסַפֵּר «tells», מְשַׁלֵּם «pays». In the past the מ is gone and the first root letter takes i: דִּבֵּר «he spoke», סִפֵּר «he told», שִׁלֵּם «he paid». Diber, siper, shilem: i, then e, and that is the «he» form.

The endings are the past endings you already know: ־תִּי, ־תָּ, ־תְּ, ־נוּ, ־תֶם, ־וּ. Two small bends. Before an ending with ת or נ the e becomes a: דִּבַּרְתִּי «I spoke», דִּבַּרְנוּ «we spoke». Before ־ָה and ־וּ the e drops out: דִּבְּרָה «she spoke», דִּבְּרוּ «they spoke».

The page has the explanation, the table of סִפֵּר and the first two exercises: «she told a story» and «I paid at the restaurant». The other four, including typing the verb yourself and building a sentence, open with a free account.

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Step 19 of 20 · Explanation

Pi'el in the past: דִּבֵּר, סִפֵּר, שִׁלֵּם

In the present every pi'el verb starts with : , , .

In the past the is gone and the first root letter takes i: «he spoke», «he told», «he paid».

That is the «he» form and the dictionary form of the past: i, e.

4 more exercises in this unit

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Questions

How do you say «I spoke» in Hebrew?: דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibarti). Pi’el drops the מ of the present, the first letter takes i, and before ־תִּי the e becomes a.
How do you say «I paid» in Hebrew?: שִׁלַּמְתִּי (shilamti), the same tune as דִּבַּרְתִּי. «We paid» is שִׁלַּמְנוּ, «they paid» שִׁלְּמוּ.
What about pi’el verbs ending in ה, like מְנַסֶּה?: They keep the tune but swap the ה: נִסָּה «he tried», נִסְּתָה «she tried», נִסִּיתִי «I tried».

And then?

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Pi’el in the past: דִּבֵּר, סִפֵּר, שִׁלֵּם

4 more exercises in this unit

Questions

And then?

The units