PAST TENSE

Here are a few things you should know as we begin.  There are different dialects of Hebrew that are spoken.  What it boils down to is this:  Some will stress the EE sound (as in knee) some will not stress the E sound (as in reward).  Some will stress the AY sound (as in pay) some will not stress the A (as in angle).  Some will stress the V some will stress the B.  The B {beyt} and V {veyt} are INTERCHANGEABLE in Hebrew.  You will learn when to use one or the other.   In other words, the differences are minor and you must try not be thrown off if you meet someone who speaks a different dialect.  The chances are great that you will meet someone who does not speak Hebrew exactly as you do.  Your ear will become trained in this as you listen to someone speak the language.

Let's begin here:

There are THREE [3] LETTERS of the Hebrew alphabet that construct VERBS. 

            Take the word CATAV [wrote]. The C= cahf, T= tahv, and V= veyt; Cahf  כ; Tahv ת; and Veyt ב of the Hebrew alphabet = CTV or as it is written from right to left in Hebrew:

ב ת  כ 

V  T  C

In Hebrew, letters pick up sounds from the vowels they carry. 

The Cahf  כ (C) in CATAV is carrying an "ah" vowel, the Tahv ת (T) is carrying an "ah" vowel also; The Vet ב or V is the final consonant sound in the word CATAV.  

 כַתַב

*Note: No vowels are used in the written ancient Hebrew so to know the meaning of the three letter construction is more important!

Now let's take a look at the past tense.

            As a general rule, the vowel pattern for ALL PAST TENSE VERBS IS     {AH-AH} as in the word CATAV [wrote], PATAK [opened],  ACAL [ate], ASAF [gathered], HAYAH [was], HALAK [went],  ZACAR [remembered].  Get it?!   By the way, vocabulary will constantly be given to you so you start a list of words in a separate notebook.

CATAV -          כָתַב

PATAK -          פָּטַח

ACAL -            אָכַל

ASAF  -            אָסַף

HAYAH -         הָיַה

HALAK -         הָלַך

ZACAR -          זָכַר

PRONOUNS

PRONOUNS LET US KNOW WHO IS DOING THE TALKING OR THE ACTION. 

            Let's say "I" am doing the talking in the conversation.  As the first person in the conversation, I will say: I WROTE. If I am talking about the action taken by others I will say: HE WROTE; or SHE WROTE; or YOU (m) WROTE; or YOU (f) WROTE; or WE WROTE; or THEY (masculine plural) WROTE; or THEY (feminine plural) WROTE.

Here are the 10 pronouns:

SINGULAR                            PLURAL

English-Hebrew                        English-Hebrew                                                                  

I = Ani אֲנִי                               We = Anachnu   אֲנַחְנוּ

You (m) = Atah אַתַה                 You all (m) = Atem  אַתֶם

You (f) = Aht   אַתְ                    You all (f) = Aten  אַתֶן

He =  Hoo   הוּא                      They (m) = Hem   הֵם

She = Hee    הִיא                     They (f) = Hen   הֵן

* Be careful.......  HOO = He   and, HEE = She.....in Hebrew

Review these things:

1.  How many Hebrew letters does it take to construct a verb?

2. What is the sound of the vowel pattern for verbs in the past tense?

3.  Name some verbs and their meanings in the past tense.

4. Name the 10 pronouns in Hebrew and translate them to English.

5.  Name the singular pronouns in Hebrew and English.

6.  Name the plural pronouns in Hebrew and English.

7.  Name two letters that are interchangeable in Hebrew.

Go over this lesson and you will be on your way to learning the Hebrew language.  I will try to keep it simple and yet be thorough.