Past Tense
Theory
Like we said in the general verbs section, we always start with the 3 letter root to conjugate verbs.
To conjugate in the past tense, depending on the number and gender, there are certain letters that we add to the 3 letter root. In the past tense, the extra letters are only added AFTER the root. Therefore, if you see that there are only extra letters after the root then you know that it is being conjugated in the past tense (Marcuson).
Below is a table which has the suffixes that are added in the past tense depending on the pronoun. In the example section, we will see this being applied (Marcuson).
|
Pronoun English |
Pronoun Hebrew |
Suffix added |
|---|---|---|
| I | אני | תי |
| You (M, S) | אתה | ת |
| You (F, S) | את | ת |
| He | הוא | NA |
| She | היא | ה |
| We | אנחנו | נו |
| You (M, P) | אתם | תם |
| You (F, P) | אתן | תן |
| They (M, P) | הם | ו |
| They (M, P) | הן | ו |
Examples/Pictures
In this case the 3-letter root is שמר
| I guarded | אני שמרתי |
| You (M, S) guarded | אתה שמרת |
| You (F, S) guarded | את שמרת |
| He guarded | הוא שמר |
| She guarded | היא שמרה |
| We guarded | אנחנו שמרנו |
| You (M, P) guarded | אתם שמרתם |
| You (F, P) guarded | אתן שמרתן |
| They (M, P) guarded | הם שמרו |
| They (M, P) guarded | הן שמרו |
Questions and Answers
Q: Considering that they are spelled the same way, how do we distinguish between you (M.S) and you (F.S)?
A: Though they are spelled the same way, they can be distinguished based on their vowels which in turn causes a difference in their pronunciation. This, however, is beyond the scope of this website.
Q: Considering that they are spelled the same way, how do we distinguish between they (M.P) and they (F.P)?
A: They are actually spelled and pronounced the same way. Therefore, the only way to differentiate between them is based on the context.
Interesting Points
Since there is nothing added when conjugating You (M.S) in the past tense, the conjugation is the same as the root. For those who are familiar with the language, the way for them to figure out what the root is for a given verb is by conjugating the verb in the past tense for You (M.S). Since this website is for beginners, this trick is not of much use but it is neverthless good to note that the only conjugation with no extra additions is the past tense You (M.S).