Verbs: Future 1 is the fifty-first skill in the language tree for Hebrew (assuming read left to right). It has nine lessons that teach how to form the future tense in Hebrew.
Grammar Notes[]
The future tense in Hebrew takes the present tense verb and adds either a prefix (in front) or a circumfix (both in front and after) that stem:
| Pronoun | Prefix/Circumfix | Example from לסגור (to close) | Usage (with/without pronoun) |
|---|---|---|---|
| אני | -א | אסגור | אני אסגור |
| אתה | -ת | תסגור | תסגור |
| את | ת-י | תסגרי | תסגרי |
| הוא | -י | יסגור | הוא יסגור |
| היא | -ת | תסגור | היא תסגור |
| אנחנו | -נ | נסגור | נסגור |
| אתם | ת-ו | תסגרו | תסגרו |
| אתן | ת-ו | תסגרו | תסגרו |
| הם/הן | י-ו | יסגרו | הם/הן יסגרו |
Since the person referred to is inherent in the prefix and circumfix, the preceding pronouns are dropped except for:
- אני
- הוא/היא
- הם/הן
This allows one to disambiguate the 2nd person (male) form and the 3rd person (female) form whichare spelled the same. The former will be used without a pronoun and the latter will have a pronoun.
The verb "to be" also exists in the future tense, but it is irregular:
| Pronoun | Prefix/Circumfix |
|---|---|
| אני | אהיה |
| את | תהיי |
| אתה | תהיה |
| הוא | יהיה |
| היא | תהיה |
| אנחנו | נהיה |
| אתם | תהיו |
| אתן | *תהיו/תהיינה |
| הם/הן | יהיו |
Final note: you (plural feminine) technically has a separate ending from you (plural masculine), but it is very rarely used.
Future Tense in Use[]
The future tense is a little stricter than in English, in that if you ask some to do something for you in the future or when you place a condition on something that "when X, do Y." happens, you have to use the future tense, while in English you use the present tense or the conditional tense.
References[]
Duolingo Lesson: www.duolingo.com/skill/he/Verbs%3A-Future-Active