Chapter 10 of 10
Adverbs and Conjunctions
Adverbs (תּוֹאַר הַפֹּעַל – to’ar ha-po’al) and conjunctions (מִלּוֹת קִשּׁוּר – milot kishur) in Hebrew help clarify actions, express time and place, and connect parts of a sentence. They do not change according to gender or number, making them relatively simple to learn.
How to Express Time (Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow, etc)
Hebrew has several key adverbs of time that are used to indicate days, time periods, and frequency of actions.
| Adverb | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| היום | ha-yom | Today | אני עובד היום. (Ani oved ha-yom) – "I am working today" |
| אתמול | etmol | Yesterday | אתמול היה קר. (Etmol haya kar) – "Yesterday was cold" |
| מחר | machar | Tomorrow | מחר ניסע לים. (Machar nisa la-yam) – "Tomorrow we will go to the sea" |
| עכשיו | achshav | Now | אני עסוק עכשיו. (Ani asuk achshav) – "I am busy now" |
| מוקדם | mukdam | Early | היא קמה מוקדם. (Hi kama mukdam) – "She woke up early" |
| מאוחר | me’uchar | Late | הוא הגיע מאוחר. (Hu higia me’uchar) – "He arrived late" |
| תמיד | tamid | Always | הם תמיד שמחים. (Hem tamid smechim) – "They are always happy" |
| לפעמים | lifamim | Sometimes | אני הולך לים לפעמים. (Ani holech la-yam lifamim) – "I go to the sea sometimes" |
| לעיתים רחוקות | le-itim rechokot | Rarely | היא מבשלת לעיתים רחוקות. (Hi mevashelet le-itim rechokot) – "She cooks rarely" |
| אף פעם | af pa’am | Never | אני אף פעם לא מאחר. (Ani af pa’am lo me’acher) – "I never arrive late" |
How to Talk About Places (Here, There, Near, Far, etc)
Adverbs of place help describe location and direction.
| Adverb | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| כאן / פה | kan / po | Here | אני גר כאן. (Ani gar kan) – "I live here" |
| שם | sham | There | הספר שם. (Ha-sefer sham) – "The book is there" |
| ליד | leyad | Next to | המסעדה ליד התחנה. (Ha-mis’ada leyad ha-tachana) – "The restaurant is next to the station" |
| קרוב | karov | Close | הבית קרוב לבית הספר. (Ha-bayit karov le-beit ha-sefer) – "The house is close to the school" |
| רחוק | rachok | Far | הוא גר רחוק. (Hu gar rachok) – "He lives far away" |
| בפנים | bifnim | Inside | הספר בפנים. (Ha-sefer bifnim) – "The book is inside" |
| בחוץ | bachutz | Outside | הילדים משחקים בחוץ. (Ha-yeladim mesachakim bachutz) – "The children are playing outside" |
| למעלה | le-mala | Up, above | המפתחות למעלה. (Ha-mafte’achot le-mala) – "The keys are above" |
| למטה | le-mata | Down, below | הספר למטה. (Ha-sefer le-mata) – "The book is below" |
| באמצע | be-emtsa | In the middle | הכיכר באמצע העיר. (Ha-kikar be-emtsa ha-ir) – "The square is in the middle of the city" |
Main Conjunctions (And, But, Or, Because, Therefore, etc)
Conjunctions in Hebrew are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses.
Coordinating Conjunctions
| Conjunction | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ו | ve | And | אני אוהב קפה ועוגה. (Ani ohev kafe ve’uga) – "I love coffee and cake" |
| או | o | Or | אתה רוצה תה או קפה? (Ata rotze te o kafe?) – "Do you want tea or coffee?" |
| אבל | aval | But | אני רוצה ללכת, אבל אני עסוק. (Ani rotze lalechet, aval ani asuk) – "I want to go, but I am busy" |
| אלא | ela | But rather, instead | זה לא קפה, אלא תה. (Ze lo kafe, ela te) – "This is not coffee, but tea" |
| גם | gam | Also, too | היא לומדת צרפתית וגם אנגלית. (Hi lomedet tsarfatit gam anglit) – "She studies French and also English" |
Subordinating Conjunctions
| Conjunction | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| כי | ki | Because | אני נשאר כי אני עייף. (Ani nishar ki ani ayef) – "I am staying because I am tired" |
| בגלל ש | biglal she | Because of | ביטלתי את הפגישה בגלל שירד גשם. (Bitalti et ha-pgisha biglal she yarad geshem) – "I canceled the meeting because it was raining" |
| לכן | lachen | Therefore | הוא עייף, לכן הוא ישן. (Hu ayef, lachen hu yashen) – "He is tired, therefore he is sleeping" |
| כדי | k’dei | In order to | אני לומד כדי להצליח. (Ani lomed k’dei lehatsliach) – "I study in order to succeed" |
| אם | im | If | אם תרצה, נלך לים. (Im tirze, nelech la-yam) – "If you want, we will go to the sea" |
| למרות ש | lamrot she | Although, despite | למרות שירד גשם, יצאנו לטיול. (Lamrot she yarad geshem, yatzanu la-tiyul) – "Although it was raining, we went for a walk" |
Conclusion
Adverbs and conjunctions help clarify the meaning of statements, making speech more precise and connected. Learning their main forms and usage is essential for fluency in Hebrew.
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.
