Week 5 · Lesson 5.4

Foundation · Modern (Israeli)

Modern · Israeli Hebrew

Conjugate the Pa'al (פָּעַל) binyan across past, present, future, imperative and infinitive — the template for every regular verb.

Lesson 10Verbs Part 1
Core concepts · 5
  • Hebrew is built on the verb: learn one binyan's pattern, then just swap in a new 3-letter root.
  • The Pa'al table (model verb סָגַר 'closed') gives every person/number/gender in past, present, future, imperative and infinitive.
  • Present tense agrees only in gender/number (4 forms) — it is really the participle.
  • There are seven binyanim (פָּעַל, נִפְעַל, פִּעֵל, פֻּעַל, הִתְפַּעֵל, הִפְעִיל, הֻפְעַל), named from the model root פעל, differing by voice and intensity.
  • A mixed-gender plural defaults to masculine; feminine-plural and most imperative forms are archaic in speech (use the future as the imperative).

Vocabulary & signs · tap a word to hear, expand for how to say it

he closed (Pa'al model)
say: sagar
closes / closing (present m.s.)
say: soger
he will close (future)
say: yisgor
to close (infinitive)
say: lisgor
'he acted' — the binyan namesake
say: paʿal

Exercises · answer in the app

Exercise 1 / 3

Pa'al present, f.sg of סָגַר ('close') =

Bridge to this week

Week 5 IS the Pa'al architecture; OHT gives the full conjugation grid (not just the present) and the map of all seven binyanim you'll expand in Week 6.

The Online Hebrew Tutorial v2.0 — Ben Stitz


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