Free grammar · Unit 3 of 10

The present of strong verbs: לוֹמֵד, לוֹמֶדֶת, לוֹמְדִים, לוֹמְדוֹת

In the present tense a Hebrew verb has only four forms, and they change not with the person but with who is doing it: a man, a woman, men, women. לוֹמֵד covers «I study» said by a man, «you study» said to a man, and «he studies». The pronoun says who.

In pa’al, the most common verb group, the strong verbs (three ordinary root letters) always have the same shape: o and e around the root. כּוֹתֵב «writes», סוֹגֵר «closes», גּוֹמֵר «finishes». Then come the endings, the same across the whole language: nothing for a man, -et for a woman, -im for men or a mixed group, -ot for women. Lomed, lomedet, lomdim, lomdot.

This page has the explanation, a table of three verbs in all four forms, and the first two exercises, where you choose the form for «he» and for «she». The other four exercises in the unit open with a free account.

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Step 3 of 10 · Explanation

Strong verbs: לוֹמֵד, לוֹמֶדֶת, לוֹמְדִים, לוֹמְדוֹת

A verb in the present has four forms, and they follow who is doing it: a man, a woman, men, women.

There is no «I / you / he» inside the verb; the pronoun says who, the verb says what kind.

: he learns, or I learn said by a man.

: she, or I said by a woman.

: they, we, you (men).

: the same for women.

4 more exercises in this unit

This page has the explanation and the first two exercises. The rest are in your free account, with every unit and the reading course, and the practice remembers your mistakes.

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Questions

How many forms does the Hebrew present tense have?
Four: masculine and feminine singular, masculine and feminine plural. לוֹמֵד, לוֹמֶדֶת, לוֹמְדִים, לוֹמְדוֹת. There is no separate form for I, you and he.
What are strong verbs in Hebrew?
Verbs with three «ordinary» root letters, none of which drops out or changes the vowels: ל־מ־ד, כ־ת־ב, ס־ג־ר. They follow the pattern with no surprises, which is why they come first.
How do you say «I study Hebrew» in Hebrew?
A man says אֲנִי לוֹמֵד עִבְרִית (ani lomed ivrit), a woman says אֲנִי לוֹמֶדֶת עִבְרִית (ani lomedet ivrit).

And then?

In a free trial lesson we talk on Google Meet and I set your goals. With a free account the steps you finish follow you to every device.

The units

  1. Unit 1 of 10The pronouns: אֲנִי, אַתָּה, אַתְּ, הוּא, הִיא
  2. Unit 2 of 10Nouns: masculine or feminine, one or many
  3. Unit 3 of 10Strong verbs: לוֹמֵד, לוֹמֶדֶת, לוֹמְדִים, לוֹמְדוֹת
  4. Unit 4 of 10The adjective follows the noun and copies it
  5. Unit 5 of 10«And» is a letter: וְ
  6. Unit 6 of 10ב for where you are, ל for where you go
  7. Unit 7 of 10Strong verbs: לִלְמֹד, לִכְתֹּב, לִסְגֹּר
  8. Unit 8 of 10Strong verbs: כָּתַבְתִּי, לָמַדְתִּי, סָגַרְתִּי
  9. Unit 9 of 10Pi’el: מְדַבֵּר, מְדַבֶּרֶת, מְדַבְּרִים, מְדַבְּרוֹת
  10. Unit 10 of 10Time words: הַיּוֹם, מָחָר, אֶתְמוֹל, בַּבֹּקֶר