Hebrew Grammar List

Everyday Hebrew commonly uses subject–verb–object order. This is a useful starting pattern, while context can move information for focus or topic.

כ, מ, נ, פ and צ normally become ך, ם, ן, ף and ץ at the end of a word.

Hebrew nouns are masculine or feminine. Gender guides the adjective, pronoun and many number forms used with the noun.

A describing adjective normally follows the noun. It agrees with the noun in gender, number and, in an ordinary definite phrase, definiteness.

A present sentence can link a person or thing to a noun, adjective or place phrase without a verb corresponding to am, is or are.

Most modern Hebrew is written without vowel marks. Full spelling uses ו and י in many words to help the reader.

Many plurals end in ים or ות. Some nouns change their stem too, and the ending alone does not tell you the noun’s gender.

Hebrew has 22 main letters. Start at the right edge of a word and read leftward.

Niqqud adds small marks to Hebrew letters to guide pronunciation. Most ordinary modern text leaves these marks out.

איפה asks where something is, מאיפה asks where it comes from, and לאן asks where it is going.

Use אנחנו for we, אתם for a masculine or mixed group, and אתן for a feminine group in standard agreement.

Use אני for I, אתה for one male addressee and את for one female addressee.

ב often marks in or at, while ל often marks to or for. Learn the full phrase because a Hebrew preposition does not match one English word in every use.

The prefix ה often means the: ספר is a book and הספר is the book. An ordinary definite noun-adjective phrase also marks its adjective with ה.

הוא and היא mean he/she or it. הם and הן mean they for masculine or feminine groups in standard agreement.

ו means and and is written together with the next word. It can join words, phrases or whole clauses.

זה is masculine singular, זאת is feminine singular, and אלה is plural. They can stand alone or identify a noun.

יש says that something exists or is available. אין says that it is absent. The same form works with a singular or plural item.

יש לי means I have, and אין לי means I do not have. Other ל-forms name another possessor: יש לדנה ספר.

לא negates an ordinary statement: אני לא עובד means I am not working. It can also negate a noun or adjective predicate.

Attached מ and separate מן express from. They can name a source or starting point.

מי means who, and מה means what. Basic questions can put either word first without an extra English-style do or does.

מתי means when, איך means how, and למה means why. Put the question word before a basic statement without inserting English do.

של connects a thing to its owner. שלי means mine or my, and שלך, שלו, שלה and the other personal forms identify other owners.

Everyday clock hours use feminine number forms because שעה is feminine. Standard dates count days with masculine number forms.

בית ספר means a school; בית הספר means the school. In the standard construct pattern, the article goes on the second noun rather than independently on the first.

A present verb normally has four agreement forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural and feminine plural.

Many Hif’il present verbs use a מ-prefix form such as מסביר, מסבירה, מסבירים and מסבירות.

A common Hitpa’el present set is מתלבש, מתלבשת, מתלבשים and מתלבשות. Many verbs involve the subject, but the family has several meanings.

Nif’al present verbs commonly begin with נ, as in נכנס, נכנסת, נכנסים and נכנסות. The family includes entering and changes of state as well as passive verbs.

A construct phrase joins nouns directly, as in בית ספר. The first noun may change its vowels, ending or spelling.

Above ten, number words keep useful gender distinctions but follow new combinations. Learn teens, tens, hundreds and thousands without copying English word order.

Numbers one to ten have gender forms. One normally follows its noun; two changes before a noun; three to ten usually precede the counted noun.

ראשון, שני and related forms mean first, second and later positions. They behave like adjectives in gender and definiteness.

Many Pa’al verbs have a present pattern like כותב, כותבת, כותבים and כותבות. Other Pa’al verbs use different stems or shorter forms.

Common Pi’el present forms start with מ and use a pattern such as מדבר, מדברת, מדברים and מדברות.

Common infinitives start with ל, as in לקרוא, לדבר and להיכנס. The infinitive has no separate gender, number or person ending.

אוהב can mean likes or loves. It takes a noun for a thing or person and an infinitive for an activity.

אותי means me, אותו means him or it, and אותה means her or it. These forms replace a complete definite direct object phrase.

איזה is masculine singular, איזו is feminine singular, and אילו is plural. They ask which noun or what kind of noun is intended.

איתי means with me, איתך means with you, איתו means with him, and איתה means with her. These are common personal accompaniment forms corresponding to עם.

את marks a definite direct object. It commonly appears before a name, a noun with ה, or another definite object phrase.

יותר can mean more or more ... than. הכי commonly marks the highest degree within a group: הכי גדול, biggest.

יכול, יכולה, יכולים and יכולות express ability or possibility with an infinitive. The infinitive names what is possible.

לי, לך, לו and לה mean to or for me, you, him and her in suitable phrases. They also occur in possession and with verbs that select ל.

עליי, עליך, עליו and עליה are personal forms of על. Their meaning depends on the physical or verbal relationship in the sentence.

צריך, צריכה, צריכים and צריכות can say that a person needs or has to do something. Follow them with an infinitive.

רוצה plus an infinitive says what the subject wants to do. Use the correct gender and number for wants; the following infinitive stays unchanged.

Future הפעיל forms include אסביר, I will explain, and תסבירי, you will explain to one female listener. The past ה does not remain after a future prefix.

Past הפעיל forms include הסברתי, I explained, and הסבירה, she explained. The vowel pattern changes across the family.

Future התפעל forms include אתלבש, I will get dressed, and תתלבשי, you will get dressed to one female listener.

Past התפעל forms include התלבשתי, I got dressed, and התלבשה, she got dressed. The prefix is part of the pattern.

Future נפעל forms include איכנס, I will enter, and תיכנסי, you will enter to one female listener. They differ from present נכנס.

Past נפעל forms include נכנסתי, I entered, and נכנסה, she entered. The initial נ is part of this verb’s pattern.

Future קל forms use personal prefixes and some endings, as in אכתוב, I will write, and תכתבי, you will write to one female listener.

Regular קל past forms use personal endings, as in כתבתי, I wrote, and כתבתם, you wrote. The actual stem belongs to the verb.

Future פיעל forms include אדבר, I will speak, and תדברי, you will speak to one female listener. The opening marks future person.

Past פיעל forms include דיברתי, I spoke, and דיברה, she spoke. Ordinary full spelling keeps the י in this past family.

Positive imperative forms include כתוב, כתבי and כתבו. Ordinary conversation also uses future forms as requests or instructions.

היה and its personal forms put a noun, adjective or place description in the past. A regular present sentence with no is needs היה when its time changes.

יהיה and its related forms mean will be in a suitable sentence. The subject determines the form; in standard possession, the possessed thing controls agreement.

The ending ־יים occurs in words for pairs, two units and several ordinary plural objects. It is not a free ending for making any noun mean exactly two.

אל תלך means do not go. The form after אל matches the addressee, while לא תלך normally states that you will not go.

אם means if in an ordinary open condition. The condition and result are separate clauses with their own subjects and time meanings.

בוא addresses one man, בואי one woman, and בואו several people. They can mean come or introduce an invitation to do something together.

כבר commonly means already; עדיין means still; עוד can mean still or more. Their meanings change in common combinations with לא.

כדי ללמוד means in order to learn. It names the intended goal of another action, rather than guaranteeing that the goal was achieved.

כי introduces a reason clause, בגלל introduces a cause noun phrase, and לכן introduces a result. They express different directions in the explanation.

כל תלמיד means every student. כל התלמידים means all the students. כולם and כולן can refer back to a group without repeating the noun.

כש introduces a clause meaning when. לפני ש introduces a clause meaning before, and אחרי ש introduces one meaning after. Before a noun, use לפני or אחרי without ש.

מותר means it is allowed and אסור means it is forbidden in these constructions. A ל-form can identify the person concerned.

ש can introduce what someone says or thinks, or a clause that describes a noun. It attaches to the first word of that clause.

Action nouns such as החלטה, כתיבה and פרסום name actions or events as nouns. A של phrase can identify an associated participant, whose role comes from context.

פרסם and פורסם can express published something and was published. The affected item becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

הזמין and הוזמן can express invited someone and was invited. In the passive, the invited person controls subject agreement.

נפעל includes passive events, changes of state and other lexical meanings. נכתב can mean was written, while נכנס means entered.

Some התפעל verbs rearrange or change the prefix consonants beside the first root consonant. Common forms include השתמש, הסתכל, הצטלם and הזדקן.

Hebrew verbs and other predicates have learned preposition relationships, such as תלוי ב, שייך ל and השתמש ב. English wording does not determine the Hebrew preposition.

Common verbs such as קנה, רצה and עשה change their final written shape across forms. The pattern is often called ל״י or ל״ה.

Common ע״ו or ע״י families include קם and שר. Their short visible stems differ from a regular three-consonant stem such as כתב.

In some פ״נ verbs, the first root consonant נ is absent from particular written forms. It remains visible in other forms.

אף על פי ש means although or even though. It introduces a fact that contrasts with the other clause’s result or expectation.

בלי ש means without a situation happening or being true. The clause can have its own subject, distinct from the main actor.

ברגע ש means the moment that or as soon as in suitable contexts. It puts the following action at the relevant event’s occurrence.

הייתי צריך ללכת means I needed to go or I had to go in a suitable past context. Whether the action happened comes from the surrounding message.

הייתי הולכת can mean I used to go when the sentence describes a past habit. The same structure can express a hypothetical would meaning in another context.

הייתי יכול can express a past possibility or a conditional could. The participle agrees with the person, and the possible action stays an infinitive.

כדי ש means so that or in order that. Its clause can name a different person who should achieve the intended result.

כל עוד commonly means as long as or while a relevant situation continues. It can limit how long another action or permission applies.

למרות ש means although or despite the fact that before a clause. It contrasts an obstacle or expectation with what happened.

מאז ש means since or ever since before a clause. It can connect a continuing situation to the event when that situation began.

עד ש means until before a clause. The clause names the endpoint for an action, waiting period or state.

A definite direct object can appear before the subject or verb for focus or discourse organization. Its את marker can remain with it.

אילו and לו can mean if in hypothetical or contrary-to-fact conditions. The result commonly uses היה with a participle or another modal construction.

אין לי מה לומר means I have nothing to say. אין לי עם מי לדבר means I have nobody to speak with.

אינו, אינה, אינם and אינן commonly negate a present participle or a noun/adjective predicate in formal writing. They identify the person or subject being negated.

אלא אם כן means unless or except if. The clause describes the condition that could make the main statement change.

אמור presents an action as expected or supposed to happen. The infinitive names the expected action.

בין אם ... ובין אם means whether ... or in a suitable alternative construction. The main statement applies across the alternatives named.

בשל and עקב can mean because of or due to. בזכות commonly means thanks to and gives credit to a helpful cause.

גם אם means even if. It presents a possible condition and says that the main result or decision still applies.

ודאי can mean certainly or surely, כנראה probably or apparently, and אולי maybe or perhaps. Context determines their exact force.

A demonstrative followed by a noun or pronoun and a ש-clause can identify who did something or what item is intended. Context determines the focus.

יש מי שיכול לעזור means there is someone who can help. יש מה לעשות means there is something to do.

לא רק ... אלא גם means not only ... but also. It affirms both parts while emphasizing that the first is not the whole story.

לולא and אלמלא can mean if not, were it not for or had it not been for. Their ordinary negative condition is already built into the connector.

לעומת זאת means in contrast or on the other hand before a new statement. בניגוד ל means unlike or contrary to before a noun phrase.

מי ש can mean whoever or the person who, while מה ש can mean what or the thing that. The complete clause can fill a noun-like job.

משום ש and מאחר ש can mean because or since in a causal sense. They introduce the situation that explains another statement.

נדמה לי ש and נראה לי ש can mean it seems to me that or I think that. They present a claim as an impression or judgment.

עשוי can mean may or might, while עלול commonly presents a risk or unwanted possibility. Both use a learned infinitive for the possible action.

A relative clause often retains a personal form after a preposition, as in הספר שדיברתי עליו. That reference points back to the described noun.

ראיתיו combines I saw with him. ביקשתיה combines I asked for with her or a feminine object. The verb identifies the subject, while the attached ending identifies the object.

A possessive suffix identifies the owner: ספרי means my book and ספרה means her book. These suffixes are common in careful writing. Everyday language often uses a noun followed by a form of של.

Hebrew offers informal and formal wordings for the same message. The situation and audience guide the choice of register.

ספרו של דני means Dani’s book in a double possessive construction. The suffix and the של phrase identify the same possessor.

לא can deny a whole claim or contrast one part with an alternative. Read the negative word together with the clause and the contrasted phrase.

A construct chain can contain more than two nouns, as in מנהל בית הספר. The first noun is the head of the whole phrase.

הנושא ייבדק means the matter will be examined. The sentence focuses on what receives the examination and may leave the examiner unnamed.

אין ... אלא can exclude alternatives while retaining the item after אלא. It does not deny that this remaining item exists.

אפילו means even and marks focus. דווקא highlights a specific or counterexpected choice. אף can add a point or form part of a negative expression.

אשר often introduces a clause describing a noun in written Hebrew. It can correspond to everyday attached ש.

בטרם means before and לאחר ש־ means after. Both introduce an event in careful writing.

הואיל ו and היות ש can mean since or because in a causal explanation. Their following clauses state the reason for another claim or decision.

ככל ש can mean the more or as a degree increases in proportional comparisons. It can also express to the extent that in other contexts.

כשם ש ... כך can mean just as ... so. It connects two situations through the parallel relationship the speaker intends.

לא ... כי אם means not ... but rather. It replaces the denied alternative with the one stated afterward.

לכאורה can mean apparently or on the face of it. כביכול can mean supposedly or as if and qualifies the stated claim.

מבלי לדבר means without speaking. It can express an action absent while another event takes place.

על מנת ללמוד means in order to learn. על מנת שדנה תבין means so that Dana will understand, naming the purpose’s own subject.

עם זאת introduces a qualification of the previous statement. לפיכך introduces a consequence or conclusion. יתר על כן adds an emphatic point.

שבו, שבה, שבהם and שבהן combine the relative ש with personal forms of ב. They agree with the noun that the clause describes.