The Infinitive

Level 2

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

How It Works

One Form for the Action

An infinitive names an action without saying who performs it or when. Learn it with the verb: כותב–לכתוב, מדבר–לדבר, מסביר–להסביר, מתלבש–להתלבש and נכנס–להיכנס.

The Stem Is Real Vocabulary

Do not obtain every infinitive by placing ל before a present form. ללכת, to go, and להיות, to be, need their own learned forms. Weak roots can change letters or vowels.

Useful Environments

Infinitives occur after want, can and need, and in instructions such as נא להיכנס. A ל-prefix alone does not prove an infinitive: לבית is a preposition plus a noun. Passive Pu’al and Huf’al do not generally have ordinary infinitives in the way these five common families do.

Examples (4)

  1. אני רוצה לקרוא.

    I want to read.

    לקרוא names the action.

  2. היא רוצה לקרוא.

    She wants to read.

    The infinitive does not change for her.

  3. הם יכולים להיכנס.

    They can enter.

    להיכנס is the learned Nif’al infinitive.

  4. נא להמתין כאן.

    Please wait here.

    An infinitive can appear in a written instruction.

Common Mistakes

  • Creating an infinitive by putting ל before a present form.

    אני רוצה לכותב.
    אני רוצה לכתוב.

    The infinitive of כותב is לכתוב.

How It Connects

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The InfinitiveLevel 2

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Patterns that build on this one.

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