Common irregular verbs
Go, come, give, take, sit, see and do: verbs whose roots lose a letter.
The commonest verbs mostly have weak roots (Roots and binyanim), so their forms look irregular. They fall into a few groups, and the endings and prefixes are the usual ones.
| Verb | Past (he) | Present (m.) | Future (he) | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| go | הָלַךְ halakh | הוֹלֵךְ holekh | יֵלֵךְ yelekh | לָלֶכֶת lalekhet |
| come | בָּא ba | בָּא ba | יָבוֹא yavo | לָבוֹא lavo |
| give | נָתַן natan | נוֹתֵן noten | יִתֵּן yiten | לָתֵת latet |
| take | לָקַח lakakh | לוֹקֵחַ loke'akh | יִקַּח yikakh | לָקַחַת lakakhat |
| sit | יָשַׁב yashav | יוֹשֵׁב yoshev | יֵשֵׁב yeshev | לָשֶׁבֶת lashevet |
| go out | יָצָא yatsa | יוֹצֵא yotse | יֵצֵא yetse | לָצֵאת latset |
| know | יָדַע yada | יוֹדֵעַ yode'a | יֵדַע yeda | לָדַעַת lada'at |
| see | רָאָה ra'a | רוֹאֶה ro'e | יִרְאֶה yir'e | לִרְאוֹת lir'ot |
| do | עָשָׂה asa | עוֹשֶׂה ose | יַעֲשֶׂה ya'ase | לַעֲשׂוֹת la'asot |
| get up | קָם kam | קָם kam | יָקוּם yakum | לָקוּם lakum |
Come, get up, live: a middle ו or י
In verbs like בָּא "come", קָם "get up", גָּר "live" and שָׂם "put", the past and the present look alike: בָּאָה is bá'a "she came" and ba'á "she's coming", told apart only by stress. Past endings go on a short stem: בָּאתִי bati "I came", קַמְתִּי kamti "I got up", גַּרְנוּ garnu "we lived".
- kamti mukdam habokerI got up early this morning.
See, do, buy: a final ה
In verbs like רָאָה "see", עָשָׂה "do", קָנָה "buy" and שָׁתָה "drink", the ה drops. In the past, the endings for "I", "you" and "we" follow -i-: רָאִיתִי ra'iti "I saw", עָשִׂינוּ asinu "we did". "She" ends in -ta: רָאֲתָה ra'ata "she saw". The present ends in -e and -a, רוֹאֶה, רוֹאָה, and the infinitive in -ot: לִרְאוֹת, לִקְנוֹת, לִשְׁתּוֹת.
- ma asitem beshabat?What did you do on Saturday?to a group
- hi kanta mekhonit khadashaShe bought a new car.
Sit, go out, give: a first י or נ
In the future and the infinitive, a first י or נ drops. Verbs with י take e in the future: אֵשֵׁב eshev "I'll sit", יֵצֵא yetse "he'll go out". Verbs with נ double the next letter instead: אֶתֵּן eten "I'll give", נִסַּע nisa "we'll travel". הָלַךְ goes like the י verbs, אֵלֵךְ elekh "I'll go", and לָקַח like the נ verbs, אֶקַּח ekakh "I'll take".
- makhar elekh labankI'll go to the bank tomorrow.
- titen li et ze?Will you give me that?to a man
- nisa le'eilat bakayitsWe'll go to Eilat in the summer.
The short commands come from these future forms: לֵךְ lekh "go", שֵׁב shev "sit", תֵּן ten "give", קַח kakh "take", צֵא tse "go out" (Infinitives and commands).
Cards from this guide
9 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Verbs cards.
What's the future of הָלַךְ (go) for 'I'?
אֵלֵךְ (elekh).
How do you say 'I came', from בָּא (come)?
בָּאתִי (bati).
How do you tell בָּאָה 'she came' from בָּאָה 'she's coming'?
By the stress: bá'a is 'she came', ba'á 'she's coming'.
How do you say 'I saw', from רָאָה (see)?
רָאִיתִי (ra'iti).
How do you say 'she bought', from קָנָה (buy)?
קָנְתָה (kanta).
What's the infinitive of עָשָׂה (do)?
לַעֲשׂוֹת (la'asot).
What's the future of נָתַן (give) for 'I'?
אֶתֵּן (eten).
How do you say 'I'll sit', from יָשַׁב?
אֵשֵׁב (eshev).
What's the infinitive of לָקַח (take)?
לָקַחַת (lakakhat).