7. Prepositions and Their Pronoun Forms
Prepositions (מִלּוֹת יַחַס – milot yachas) link the words of a sentence: place, time, direction, cause. The special thing about Hebrew is that a preposition merges with a pronoun into a single word: not “with I” but אִתִּי (iti) – “with me”. This is what replaces case endings, so the tables in this chapter are worth learning by heart.
The main prepositions
| Preposition | Transliteration | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ | be- | in, at, by means of | אֲנִי בַּבַּיִת – I am at home |
| לְ | le- | to, for | אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ לַעֲבוֹדָה – I am going to work |
| מִ | mi- | from, out of, than | הוּא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל – He is from Israel |
| עַל | al | on, about | הַסֵּפֶר עַל הַשֻּׁלְחָן – The book is on the table |
| עִם | im | with | אֲנִי מְדַבֵּר עִם חָבֵר – I am talking with a friend |
| אֶל | el | to, towards (literary) | בּוֹא אֵלַי – Come to me |
| שֶׁל | shel | of (possession) | הַבַּיִת שֶׁל דָּוִד – David’s house |
| אֵצֶל | etsel | at somebody’s place | אֲנִי אֵצֶל רוֹפֵא – I am at the doctor’s |
| בִּשְׁבִיל | bishvil | for | זֶה בִּשְׁבִיל אִמָּא – This is for mum |
| בְּלִי | bli | without | קָפֶה בְּלִי סֻכָּר – coffee without sugar |
| בִּגְלַל | biglal | because of | בִּגְלַל הַגֶּשֶׁם – because of the rain |
| כְּמוֹ | kmo | like, as | כְּמוֹ אַבָּא – like dad |
Prepositions of place: לְיַד (leyad) – next to, מוּל (mul) – opposite, בֵּין (bein) – between, בְּתוֹךְ (betoch) – inside, מֵאֲחוֹרֵי (me’achorei) – behind, מִתַּחַת לְ (mitachat le) – under, מֵעַל (me’al) – above. Prepositions of time: לִפְנֵי (lifnei) – before, ago; אַחֲרֵי (acharei) – after; עַד (ad) – until; בְּעוֹד (be’od) – in (an hour); בְּמֶשֶׁךְ (bemeshech) – during. לִפְנֵי שָׁבוּעַ – a week ago, בְּעוֹד שָׁעָה – in an hour.
Preposition + pronoun = one word
“To me, to you, to him” is the preposition לְ with an ending. The same set of endings is used by שֶׁל, בְּ, אֵצֶל, בִּשְׁבִיל, בִּגְלַל, לְיַד, מוּל and most short prepositions.
| Person | לְ (to) | אֶת (object) | עִם (with) | בְּ (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | לִי (li) | אוֹתִי (oti) | אִתִּי (iti) | בִּי (bi) |
| you (m) | לְךָ (lecha) | אוֹתְךָ (otcha) | אִתְּךָ (itcha) | בְּךָ (becha) |
| you (f) | לָךְ (lach) | אוֹתָךְ (otach) | אִתָּךְ (itach) | בָּךְ (bach) |
| he | לוֹ (lo) | אוֹתוֹ (oto) | אִתּוֹ (ito) | בּוֹ (bo) |
| she | לָהּ (la) | אוֹתָהּ (ota) | אִתָּהּ (ita) | בָּהּ (ba) |
| we | לָנוּ (lanu) | אוֹתָנוּ (otanu) | אִתָּנוּ (itanu) | בָּנוּ (banu) |
| you (m pl) | לָכֶם (lachem) | אֶתְכֶם (etchem) | אִתְּכֶם (itchem) | בָּכֶם (bachem) |
| you (f pl) | לָכֶן (lachen) | אֶתְכֶן (etchen) | אִתְּכֶן (itchen) | בָּכֶן (bachen) |
| they (m) | לָהֶם (lahem) | אוֹתָם (otam) | אִתָּם (itam) | בָּהֶם (bahem) |
| they (f) | לָהֶן (lahen) | אוֹתָן (otan) | אִתָּן (itan) | בָּהֶן (bahen) |
- תֵּן לִי אֶת הַסֵּפֶר (ten li et ha-sefer) – Give me the book.
- אֲנִי אוֹהֵב אוֹתָךְ (ani ohev otach) – I love you (to a woman).
- בּוֹא אִתִּי (bo iti) – Come with me.
- רָאִיתִי אוֹתָם אֶתְמוֹל (ra’iti otam etmol) – I saw them yesterday.
- הֵם גָּרִים אִתָּנוּ (hem garim itanu) – They live with us.
Note that עִם changes its stem to אִתּ־ with pronouns (in unpointed writing often איתי, איתך), and אֶת becomes אוֹת־.
The second set of endings: with the letter י
The prepositions עַל, אֶל, לִפְנֵי, אַחֲרֵי and all prepositions ending in ־ֵי take endings with the letter י: ־ַי, ־ֶיךָ, ־ָיו. These are the same endings that plural nouns take (סְפָרַי – my books).
| Person | עַל (on, about) | אֶל (to) | לִפְנֵי (before) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | עָלַי (alai) | אֵלַי (elai) | לְפָנַי (lefanai) |
| you (m) | עָלֶיךָ (alecha) | אֵלֶיךָ (elecha) | לְפָנֶיךָ (lefanecha) |
| you (f) | עָלַיִךְ (alayich) | אֵלַיִךְ (elayich) | לְפָנַיִךְ (lefanayich) |
| he | עָלָיו (alav) | אֵלָיו (elav) | לְפָנָיו (lefanav) |
| she | עָלֶיהָ (aleha) | אֵלֶיהָ (eleha) | לְפָנֶיהָ (lefaneha) |
| we | עָלֵינוּ (aleinu) | אֵלֵינוּ (eleinu) | לְפָנֵינוּ (lefaneinu) |
| you (pl) | עֲלֵיכֶם (aleichem) | אֲלֵיכֶם (aleichem) | לִפְנֵיכֶם (lifneichem) |
| they | עֲלֵיהֶם (aleihem) | אֲלֵיהֶם (aleihem) | לִפְנֵיהֶם (lifneihem) |
- מָה אַתָּה חוֹשֵׁב עָלָיו? – What do you think of him?
- זֶה עָלַי (ze alai) – It’s on me (my treat).
- הִיא הִתְקַשְּׁרָה אֵלַי – She called me.
- הוּא עוֹמֵד לְפָנַי בַּתּוֹר – He is standing in front of me in the queue.
The ending ־ָיו is read “-av”; the י in it is silent: עָלָיו – alav.
Special forms
- מִ (from): מִמֶּנִּי (mimeni) – from me, מִמְּךָ (mimcha) – from you, מִמֶּנּוּ (mimenu) – from him, מִמֶּנָּה (mimena) – from her, מֵהֶם (mehem) – from them. The same in comparisons: הוּא גָּבוֹהַּ מִמֶּנִּי – he is taller than me.
- בְּלִי (without) changes its stem with pronouns: בִּלְעָדַי (bil’adai) – without me, בִּלְעָדֶיךָ – without you.
- כְּמוֹ (like): כָּמוֹנִי (kamoni) – like me, כָּמוֹךָ (kamocha) – like you. אֵין כָּמוֹךָ – there is no one like you.
- עַצְמִי (self): בְּעַצְמִי – by myself, אֶת עַצְמוֹ – himself, לְעַצְמָהּ – for herself.
Verb + preposition
The preposition after a verb often differs from English, so learn the verb together with it:
| Verb + preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| לַעֲזֹר לְ | to help somebody | הוּא עוֹזֵר לִי – He helps me |
| לְחַכּוֹת לְ | to wait for somebody | אֲנִי מְחַכָּה לְךָ – I am waiting for you |
| לְהִתְקַשֵּׁר לְ / אֶל | to call somebody | תִּתְקַשֵּׁר אֵלַי – Call me |
| לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּ | to use something | אֲנִי מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בַּמַּחְשֵׁב – I use the computer |
| לַחֲשֹׁב עַל | to think about | אֲנִי חוֹשֵׁב עָלַיִךְ – I am thinking about you |
| לְהִסְתַּכֵּל עַל | to look at | תִּסְתַּכֵּל עָלַי – Look at me |
| לְפַחֵד מִ | to be afraid of | הִיא מְפַחֶדֶת מִכְּלָבִים – She is afraid of dogs |
| לְבַקֵּשׁ מִ | to ask somebody for | בִּקַּשְׁתִּי מִמֶּנּוּ עֶזְרָה – I asked him for help |
| לְהִפָּגֵשׁ עִם | to meet with | נִפְגַּשְׁנוּ עִם חֲבֵרִים – We met with friends |
| לְהִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ לְ / אֶל | to miss somebody | אֲנִי מִתְגַּעְגֵּעַ אֵלַיִךְ – I miss you |
Direction: the ending ־ָה
Instead of a preposition, direction is sometimes shown by the stressed ending ־ָה: הַבַּיְתָה (habayta) – home(wards), יָמִינָה (yamina) – to the right, שְׂמֹאלָה (smola) – to the left, קָדִימָה (kadima) – forward, הַחוּצָה (hachutsa) – outside (motion), צָפוֹנָה (tsafona) – northwards. Location (“where”) takes בְּ: בַּבַּיִת – at home, בַּחוּץ – outside.
What to remember
- Preposition + pronoun = one word: לִי, אוֹתִי, אִתִּי, עָלַי.
- Two sets of endings: like לְ (-i, -cha, -o) and like עַל (-ai, -echa, -av).
- Learn every verb with its preposition: לַעֲזֹר לְ, לַחֲשֹׁב עַל, לְפַחֵד מִ.
- All 20 prepositions with 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.
