15. Adverbs and Conjunctions
Adverbs (תֹּאַר הַפֹּעַל – to’ar ha-po’al) and conjunctions (מִלּוֹת קִשּׁוּר – milot kishur) do not change for gender, number or tense. This is the easiest part of the grammar, but without these words there is no living sentence: “already”, “still”, “only”, “because”, “when”.
Adverbs of time
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| עַכְשָׁו | achshav | now | אֲנִי עָסוּק עַכְשָׁו – I am busy now |
| הַיּוֹם / אֶתְמוֹל / מָחָר | ha-yom / etmol / machar | today / yesterday / tomorrow | מָחָר נִסַּע לַיָּם – Tomorrow we will go to the beach |
| מֻקְדָּם / מְאֻחָר | mukdam / me’uchar | early / late | הִיא קָמָה מֻקְדָּם – She got up early |
| כְּבָר | kvar | already | כְּבָר אָכַלְתִּי – I have already eaten |
| עוֹד | od | more, another | עוֹד קָפֶה? – More coffee? |
| עֲדַיִן | adayin | still | הוּא עֲדַיִן יָשֵׁן – He is still asleep |
| עוֹד לֹא / כְּבָר לֹא | od lo / kvar lo | not yet / no longer | עוֹד לֹא הִתְחַלְנוּ – We haven’t started yet |
| אַחַר כָּךְ | achar kach | afterwards, then | קֹדֶם נֹאכַל, אַחַר כָּךְ נֵלֵךְ – First we’ll eat, then we’ll go |
| קֹדֶם | kodem | first, before | |
| מִיָּד / תֵּכֶף | miyad / techef | immediately / in a moment | תֵּכֶף אֲנִי בָּא – I’ll be right there |
| בְּקָרוֹב | bekarov | soon | |
| תָּמִיד | tamid | always | הֵם תָּמִיד מְאַחֲרִים – They are always late |
| בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל | bederech klal | usually | |
| לִפְעָמִים | lif’amim | sometimes | לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ לַיָּם – Sometimes I go to the beach |
| לְעִתִּים רְחוֹקוֹת | le’itim rechokot | rarely | |
| אַף פַּעַם לֹא | af pa’am lo | never | אֲנִי אַף פַּעַם לֹא מְאַחֵר – I am never late |
Adverbs of place
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| פֹּה / כָּאן | po / kan | here | אֲנִי גָּר פֹּה – I live here |
| שָׁם | sham | there | הַסֵּפֶר שָׁם – The book is there |
| לְכָאן / לְשָׁם | lekan / lesham | (to) here / (to) there | בּוֹא לְכָאן – Come here |
| מִכָּאן / מִשָּׁם | mikan / misham | from here / from there | זֶה רָחוֹק מִכָּאן – It is far from here |
| קָרוֹב / רָחוֹק | karov / rachok | near / far | הוּא גָּר רָחוֹק – He lives far away |
| לְמַעְלָה / לְמַטָּה | lemala / lemata | upstairs, up / downstairs, down | הַמִּשְׂרָד לְמַעְלָה – The office is upstairs |
| בִּפְנִים / בַּחוּץ | bifnim / bachuts | inside / outside | הַיְּלָדִים בַּחוּץ – The children are outside |
| יָמִינָה / שְׂמֹאלָה / יָשָׁר | yamina / smola / yashar | to the right / to the left / straight | תִּפְנֶה יָמִינָה – Turn right |
| בְּכָל מָקוֹם / בְּשׁוּם מָקוֹם | bechol makom / beshum makom | everywhere / nowhere |
Adverbs of degree and manner
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| מְאוֹד | me’od | very (after the word) | טוֹב מְאוֹד – very good |
| קְצָת | ktsat | a little | אֲנִי מְדַבֵּר קְצָת עִבְרִית – I speak a little Hebrew |
| הַרְבֵּה | harbe | a lot, much | הַרְבֵּה תּוֹדָה – Thanks a lot |
| יוֹתֵר / פָּחוֹת | yoter / pachot | more / less | יוֹתֵר טוֹב – better |
| מַסְפִּיק | maspik | enough | מַסְפִּיק! – Enough! |
| רַק | rak | only | רַק רֶגַע – Just a moment |
| גַּם | gam | also, too | גַּם אֲנִי – Me too |
| אֲפִלּוּ | afilu | even | אֲפִלּוּ אֲנִי הֵבַנְתִּי – Even I understood |
| מַהֵר / לְאַט | maher / le’at | quickly / slowly | תְּדַבֵּר לְאַט, בְּבַקָּשָׁה – Speak slowly, please |
| בְּיַחַד / לְבַד | beyachad / levad | together / alone | אֲנִי גָּר לְבַד – I live alone |
| בְּדִיּוּק | bediyuk | exactly | בְּדִיּוּק! – Exactly! |
| בְּעֶרֶךְ | be’erech | approximately | בְּעֶרֶךְ עֶשֶׂר דַּקּוֹת – about ten minutes |
| מַמָּשׁ | mamash | really, truly | מַמָּשׁ יָפֶה – Really beautiful |
| בִּכְלָל | bichlal | in general; with negation – at all | לֹא הֵבַנְתִּי בִּכְלָל – I didn’t understand at all |
| אוּלַי | ulay | maybe | אוּלַי מָחָר – Maybe tomorrow |
| בֶּטַח | betach | of course, surely | בֶּטַח שֶׁכֵּן – Of course |
| בֶּאֱמֶת | be’emet | really, indeed | בֶּאֱמֶת? – Really? |
An adverb is often made from an adjective with the preposition בְּ + a noun: בְּקַלּוּת – easily, בִּזְהִירוּת – carefully, בְּשִׂמְחָה – gladly, or simply by the masculine form: הוּא מְדַבֵּר יָפֶה – He speaks beautifully, טוֹב – well.
Coordinating conjunctions
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ | ve- (u-) | and | לֶחֶם וְחֶמְאָה – bread and butter |
| אוֹ | o | or | תֵּה אוֹ קָפֶה? – Tea or coffee? |
| אֲבָל | aval | but | רָצִיתִי לָבוֹא, אֲבָל לֹא הָיָה זְמַן – I wanted to come, but there was no time |
| אֶלָּא | ela | but rather (after a negation) | לֹא הַיּוֹם אֶלָּא מָחָר – Not today but tomorrow |
| גַּם … וְגַם … | gam … vegam … | both … and … | גַּם חַם וְגַם לַח – Both hot and humid |
| אוֹ … אוֹ … | o … o … | either … or … | |
| לָכֵן | lachen | therefore | הָיָה קַר, לָכֵן לָבַשְׁתִּי מְעִיל – It was cold, so I put on a coat |
| אָז | az | then, so | אָז מָה עוֹשִׂים? – So what do we do? |
The conjunction וְ is written together with the next word. By the rules it is read “u-” before the letters ב ו מ פ and before a shva (אֲנִי וּמִיכָאֵל – ani u-Micha’el), but in conversation it usually sounds simply “ve-”.
Subordinating conjunctions
Almost all of them are built on the particle שֶׁ (that, which), which attaches to the next word.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| שֶׁ | she- | that; which, who | אֲנִי חוֹשֵׁב שֶׁזֶּה נָכוֹן – I think that this is right |
| כִּי | ki | because | נִשְׁאַרְתִּי בַּבַּיִת כִּי יָרַד גֶּשֶׁם – I stayed at home because it was raining |
| בִּגְלַל שֶׁ | biglal she- | because of the fact that | אִחַרְתִּי בִּגְלַל שֶׁהָיָה פְּקָק – I was late because there was a traffic jam |
| כְּשֶׁ | kshe- | when | כְּשֶׁאֲנִי עָיֵף, אֲנִי שׁוֹתֶה קָפֶה – When I am tired, I drink coffee |
| אִם | im | if | אִם יִהְיֶה לִי זְמַן, אָבוֹא – If I have time, I will come |
| כְּדֵי | kdey | in order to (+ infinitive) | אֲנִי לוֹמֵד כְּדֵי לְדַבֵּר – I study in order to speak |
| כְּדֵי שֶׁ | kdey she- | so that (+ future tense) | כְּדֵי שֶׁתָּבִין – so that you understand |
| לִפְנֵי שֶׁ / אַחֲרֵי שֶׁ | lifney she- / acharey she- | before / after | אַחֲרֵי שֶׁאָכַלְנוּ, יָצָאנוּ – After we ate, we went out |
| עַד שֶׁ | ad she- | until | חַכֵּה עַד שֶׁאֶחֱזֹר – Wait until I come back |
| לַמְרוֹת שֶׁ | lamrot she- | although, even though | לַמְרוֹת שֶׁהָיָה קַר, הָלַכְנוּ לַיָּם – Although it was cold, we went to the beach |
An important rule: after אִם and כְּשֶׁ the future is expressed by the future tense, unlike English: כְּשֶׁאַגִּיעַ, אֶתְקַשֵּׁר – When I arrive, I will call. The difference between כִּי and בִּגְלַל: כִּי introduces a clause, בִּגְלַל a noun (בִּגְלַל הַגֶּשֶׁם – because of the rain), and בִּגְלַל שֶׁ a clause again.
Linking words for telling a story
קֹדֶם כֹּל (kodem kol) – first of all, לְמָשָׁל (lemashal) – for example, כְּלוֹמַר (klomar) – that is, בְּנוֹסָף (benosaf) – in addition, חוּץ מִ (chuts mi) – apart from, בִּמְקוֹם (bimkom) – instead of, בְּכָל זֹאת (bechol zot) – nevertheless, בְּכָל מִקְרֶה (bechol mikre) – in any case, בְּסוֹף (besof) – in the end, כַּמּוּבָן (kamuvan) – of course.
What to remember
- Adverbs and conjunctions never change; מְאוֹד follows the word, the other adverbs of degree precede it.
- כְּבָר – already, עוֹד – more, עוֹד לֹא – not yet, כְּבָר לֹא – no longer.
- וְ and שֶׁ are written together with the next word.
- After אִם and כְּשֶׁ the future tense; after כְּדֵי the infinitive.
- Full lists of time words, place words, conjunctions and colloquial expressions are in the Tables section.
Practise this in the app. In Shoresh every textbook topic comes with trainers: verb conjugation, tenses, binyanim, the imperative and choosing the right word in a sentence.
