How do you say «I am» in Hebrew?

In the present you don’t: the pronoun and the word are enough. אֲנִי מוֹרָה, I teacher, is «I am a teacher». The verb «to be» appears only in the past and the future.

Why does «you» have two forms?

Because Hebrew marks gender in the second person too: אַתָּה, a-ta, to a man; אַתְּ, at, to a woman. The same in the plural: אַתֶּם and אַתֶּן.

How do you say «I have» in Hebrew?

With יֵשׁ לִי, literally «there is to me»: יֵשׁ לִי סֵפֶר, I have a book. The opposite is אֵין לִי: אֵין לִי זְמַן, I have no time.

Free course · Step 14 of 15

Short sentences

Hebrew has no word for «am», «is» or «are» in the present: אֲנִי מוֹרָה is I teacher, I am a teacher. So a sentence is often just two or three words you can already read. הוּא תַּלְמִיד, he is a student. זֹאת גְּלִידָה טוֹבָה, this is good ice cream.

The pronouns are the words that change most by gender: אֲנִי I, אַתָּה you to a man, אַתְּ you to a woman, הוּא he, הִיא she, אֲנַחְנוּ we, אַתֶּם and אַתֶּן you plural, הֵם and הֵן they. Two useful phrases arrive here: יֵשׁ לִי, I have, and אֵין לִי, I have no. יֵשׁ לִי סֵפֶר, I have a book; אֵין לִי זְמַן, I have no time.

One detail: הוּא and הִיא both end in a silent Alef. The Vav with the dot inside is u, hu; the Yod with the chirik is i, hi.

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Step 14 of 15 · Explanation

Short sentences

Hebrew has no word for «am», «is» or «are» in the present: is I teacher, I am a teacher.

So a sentence is often just two or three words you can already read.

Questions

How do you say «I am» in Hebrew?: In the present you don’t: the pronoun and the word are enough. אֲנִי מוֹרָה, I teacher, is «I am a teacher». The verb «to be» appears only in the past and the future.
Why does «you» have two forms?: Because Hebrew marks gender in the second person too: אַתָּה, a-ta, to a man; אַתְּ, at, to a woman. The same in the plural: אַתֶּם and אַתֶּן.
How do you say «I have» in Hebrew?: With יֵשׁ לִי, literally «there is to me»: יֵשׁ לִי סֵפֶר, I have a book. The opposite is אֵין לִי: אֵין לִי זְמַן, I have no time.

And then?

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Short sentences

Questions

And then?

The steps of the course