11. The Past Tense
The past tense (עָבָר – avar) is the most regular of the three. Person, gender and number are shown by the ending, and the endings are the same for every binyan and every verb. That is why the pronoun can be dropped: כָּתַבְתִּי already means “I wrote”.
The past-tense endings
| Person | Ending | Example: לִכְתֹּב | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | ־תִּי (-ti) | כָּתַבְתִּי (katAvti) | I wrote |
| you (m) | ־תָּ (-ta) | כָּתַבְתָּ (katAvta) | you wrote |
| you (f) | ־תְּ (-t) | כָּתַבְתְּ (katAvt) | you wrote |
| he | – | כָּתַב (katAv) | he wrote |
| she | ־ָה (-a) | כָּתְבָה (katvA) | she wrote |
| we | ־נוּ (-nu) | כָּתַבְנוּ (katAvnu) | we wrote |
| you (m pl) | ־תֶּם (-tem) | כְּתַבְתֶּם (ktavtEm) | you wrote |
| you (f pl) | ־תֶּן (-ten) | כְּתַבְתֶּן (ktavtEn) | you wrote |
| they | ־וּ (-u) | כָּתְבוּ (katvU) | they wrote |
Things to notice:
- The “he” form is the bare stem from which the others are built. The binyan is named after it: פָּעַל, פִּעֵל, הִפְעִיל.
- “I” and “we” do not distinguish gender: כָּתַבְתִּי is said by a man and by a woman.
- “They” has one form for men and women.
- In the forms with ־תִּי, ־תָּ, ־נוּ the stress stays on the stem (katAvti), while in “she” and “they” it moves to the ending (katvA, katvU) and a stem vowel drops out.
- The “you (pl)” form is pronounced like the others in speech, katAvtem; the literary כְּתַבְתֶּם (ktavtem) appears in texts.
Pa’al
The model is כָּתַב. The same pattern: לָמַד (learned), גָּמַר (finished), סָגַר (closed), שָׁמַע (heard), אָכַל (ate), עָבַד (worked), זָכַר (remembered), פָּתַח (opened), שָׁאַל (asked).
- לָמַדְתִּי עִבְרִית בָּאוּלְפָּן (lamadti ivrit ba-ulpan) – I studied Hebrew at the ulpan.
- הִיא עָבְדָה אֶתְמוֹל (hi avda etmol) – She worked yesterday.
- אָכַלְנוּ בַּמִּסְעָדָה (achalnu ba-mis’ada) – We ate at the restaurant.
- הֵם סָגְרוּ אֶת הַחֲנוּת (hem sagru et ha-chanut) – They closed the shop.
Pi’el, hif’il and hitpa’el
| Person | pi’el: לְדַבֵּר (to speak) | hif’il: לְהַרְגִּישׁ (to feel) | hitpa’el: לְהִתְלַבֵּשׁ (to get dressed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibarti) | הִרְגַּשְׁתִּי (hirgashti) | הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי (hitlabashti) |
| you (m) | דִּבַּרְתָּ (dibarta) | הִרְגַּשְׁתָּ (hirgashta) | הִתְלַבַּשְׁתָּ (hitlabashta) |
| you (f) | דִּבַּרְתְּ (dibart) | הִרְגַּשְׁתְּ (hirgasht) | הִתְלַבַּשְׁתְּ (hitlabasht) |
| he | דִּבֵּר (diber) | הִרְגִּישׁ (hirgish) | הִתְלַבֵּשׁ (hitlabesh) |
| she | דִּבְּרָה (dibra) | הִרְגִּישָׁה (hirgisha) | הִתְלַבְּשָׁה (hitlabsha) |
| we | דִּבַּרְנוּ (dibarnu) | הִרְגַּשְׁנוּ (hirgashnu) | הִתְלַבַּשְׁנוּ (hitlabashnu) |
| you (pl) | דִּבַּרְתֶּם (dibartem) | הִרְגַּשְׁתֶּם (hirgashtem) | הִתְלַבַּשְׁתֶּם (hitlabashtem) |
| they | דִּבְּרוּ (dibru) | הִרְגִּישׁוּ (hirgishu) | הִתְלַבְּשׁוּ (hitlabshu) |
Marks: pi’el has the vowels “i-e” in the stem (diber), hif’il has the prefix הִ and an “i” in the stem (hirgish), hitpa’el has the prefix הִתְ. The same patterns: pi’el – סִפֵּר (told), בִּקֵּשׁ (asked for), שִׁלֵּם (paid), טִיֵּל (went for a walk), קִבֵּל (received); hif’il – הִתְחִיל (began), הִמְשִׁיךְ (continued), הִזְמִין (ordered, invited), הִסְבִּיר (explained), הֶחְלִיט (decided); hitpa’el – הִתְקַשֵּׁר (called), הִתְחַתֵּן (got married), הִתְרַגֵּל (got used to), הִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ (used).
- דִּבַּרְנוּ עִם הַמּוֹרָה – We talked with the teacher.
- הִזְמַנְתִּי פִּיצָה – I ordered pizza.
- הִיא הִתְקַשְּׁרָה אֵלַי אֶתְמוֹל – She called me yesterday.
- הֵם הִתְחִילוּ לִלְמֹד – They started studying.
Roots ending in ה: the biggest irregular group
Verbs whose infinitive ends in ־וֹת (לִקְנוֹת – to buy, לִרְאוֹת – to see, לִשְׁתּוֹת – to drink, לִרְצוֹת – to want, לַעֲשׂוֹת – to do, לִהְיוֹת – to be) lose the third root letter in the past tense, and a י appears before the endings:
| Person | לִקְנוֹת (to buy) | לִרְצוֹת (to want) | לִהְיוֹת (to be) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | קָנִיתִי (kaniti) | רָצִיתִי (ratsiti) | הָיִיתִי (hayiti) |
| you (m) | קָנִיתָ (kanita) | רָצִיתָ (ratsita) | הָיִיתָ (hayita) |
| you (f) | קָנִית (kanit) | רָצִית (ratsit) | הָיִית (hayit) |
| he | קָנָה (kana) | רָצָה (ratsa) | הָיָה (haya) |
| she | קָנְתָה (kanta) | רָצְתָה (ratsta) | הָיְתָה (hayta) |
| we | קָנִינוּ (kaninu) | רָצִינוּ (ratsinu) | הָיִינוּ (hayinu) |
| you (pl) | קְנִיתֶם (knitem) | רְצִיתֶם (rtsitem) | הֱיִיתֶם (heyitem) |
| they | קָנוּ (kanu) | רָצוּ (ratsu) | הָיוּ (hayu) |
Watch the “she” form: קָנְתָה, not קָנָה with an ending. And note that the “he” form קָנָה is spelled the same as the feminine present tense קוֹנָה without the vav in unpointed text; the context tells them apart.
“To be” in the past tense
In the present tense there is no copula, but in the past it is obligatory and agrees with the subject:
- הָיִיתִי בְּתֵל אָבִיב (hayiti be-Tel Aviv) – I was in Tel Aviv.
- הוּא הָיָה רוֹפֵא (hu haya rofe) – He was a doctor.
- הָיָה קַר (haya kar) – It was cold; הָיְתָה בְּעָיָה (hayta be’aya) – There was a problem.
- הָיָה לִי זְמַן (haya li zman) – I had time; הָיוּ לָנוּ אוֹרְחִים – We had guests.
- לֹא הָיִינוּ בַּבַּיִת – We were not at home.
Two-letter roots
Verbs like לָגוּר (to live), לָקוּם (to get up), לָבוֹא (to come), לָשִׁיר (to sing), לָטוּס (to fly), לָרוּץ (to run) are short in the past tense: a two-consonant stem plus the ending.
| Person | לָגוּר (to live) | לָקוּם (to get up) | לָבוֹא (to come) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | גַּרְתִּי (garti) | קַמְתִּי (kamti) | בָּאתִי (bati) |
| you (m) | גַּרְתָּ (garta) | קַמְתָּ (kamta) | בָּאתָ (bata) |
| he | גָּר (gar) | קָם (kam) | בָּא (ba) |
| she | גָּרָה (gara) | קָמָה (kama) | בָּאָה (ba’a) |
| we | גַּרְנוּ (garnu) | קַמְנוּ (kamnu) | בָּאנוּ (banu) |
| they | גָּרוּ (garu) | קָמוּ (kamu) | בָּאוּ (ba’u) |
The “he”, “she” and “they” forms coincide with the present tense: הוּא גָּר בְּחֵיפָה is both “he lives” and “he lived in Haifa”. Usually a time word settles it: גַּרְנוּ בְּחֵיפָה לִפְנֵי שָׁנָה – We lived in Haifa a year ago.
A few more special verbs
- לָלֶכֶת (to go): הָלַכְתִּי, הָלַךְ, הָלְכָה, הָלְכוּ – conjugates like pa’al; only the infinitive is unusual.
- לָתֵת (to give): נָתַתִּי, נָתַן, נָתְנָה, נָתַנּוּ, נָתְנוּ – נָתַתִּי לוֹ סֵפֶר – I gave him a book.
- לָקַחַת (to take): לָקַחְתִּי, לָקַח, לָקְחָה, לָקְחוּ.
- לָדַעַת (to know): יָדַעְתִּי, יָדַע, יָדְעָה, יָדְעוּ – לֹא יָדַעְתִּי – I didn’t know.
- לִקְרֹא (to read, to call): the final א is silent: קָרָאתִי (karati), קָרָא (kara), קָרְאָה (kar’a).
Negation and time words
Negation in the past is לֹא before the verb: לֹא הָלַכְתִּי לָעֲבוֹדָה – I didn’t go to work. Words that almost always go with the past tense: אֶתְמוֹל – yesterday, לִפְנֵי שָׁבוּעַ – a week ago, בַּשָּׁנָה שֶׁעָבְרָה – last year, פַּעַם – once, כְּבָר – already: כְּבָר אָכַלְתִּי – I have already eaten; עוֹד לֹא – not yet: עוֹד לֹא אָכַלְתִּי – I haven’t eaten yet.
What to remember
- The endings are the same for every verb: -ti, -ta, -t, –, -a, -nu, -tem, -u.
- The “he” form is the stem; in “she” and “they” the stress is on the ending and a vowel drops: katvA, katvU.
- Roots ending in ה: קָנִיתִי, קָנָה, קָנְתָה, קָנוּ. Two-letter roots: גַּרְתִּי, גָּר, גָּרָה, גָּרוּ.
- “Was” is obligatory: הָיִיתִי, הָיָה, הָיְתָה, הָיוּ; “I had” is הָיָה לִי.
- The “Past tense” trainer in the app drills all these forms; full tables 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.
