Free grammar · Unit 26 of 35

One word for the past: רַצְתִּי, not הָיִיתִי לָרוּץ

Many learners build the Hebrew past out of הָיִיתִי, «I was», plus a verb, the way «I was running» works in English. But the Hebrew past is carried by the verb alone: רַצְתִּי, «I ran». The ending ־תִּי already says «I», and the stem says «before». הָיִיתִי לָרוּץ is two words that together mean nothing: «I was to run».

הָיִיתִי is right when it is the verb itself, «I was» somewhere or something: הָיִיתִי בַּבַּיִת, «I was at home». The test is simple: if «where?» or «what?» comes after הָיִיתִי (at home, tired, a student), it is right. If another verb comes after it, put that verb itself into the past: קַמְתִּי, בָּאנוּ, שָׁרוּ.

The page has the explanation, the «not this, but this» table and the first two exercises: «I got up at seven» and «we came by bus». The other four, including building a sentence and typing the verb yourself, open with a free account.