Present 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 present tense, depending on the number and gender, there are certain letters that we add to the 3 letter root. In the present tense, the extra letters are added IN BETWEEN LETTERS of the root. Though there are some letters added after the root, the present tense is the only tense that has extra letters in the middle. Therefore, if you see extra letters in between letters of the root then you know that it is being conjugated in the present tense (Marcuson).
Below is a table which has the suffixes that are added depending on the pronoun. In the example section, we will see this being applied (Marcuson).
|
Pronoun English |
Pronoun Hebrew |
Letter added in the middle |
Suffix added |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | אני | ו | NA |
| You (M, S) | אתה | ו | NA |
| You (F, S) | את | ו | ת |
| He | הוא | ו | NA |
| She | היא | ו | ת |
| We | אנחנו | ו | ים |
| You (M, P) | אתם | ו | ים |
| You (F, P) | אתן | ו | ות |
| They (M, P) | הם | ו | ים |
| They (M, P) | הן | ו | ות |
Examples/Pictures
In this case the 3-letter root is שמר
| I am guarding | אני שומר |
| You (M, S) are guarding | אתה שומר |
| You (F, S) are guarding | את שומרת |
| He is guarding | הוא שומר |
| She is guarding | היא שומרת |
| We are guarding | אנחנו שומרים |
| You (M, P) are guarding | אתם שומרים |
| You (F, P) are guarding | אתן שומרות |
| They (M, P) are guarding | הם שומרים |
| They (M, P) are guarding | הן שומרות |
Questions and Answers
Q: Considering that they are spelled the same way, how do we distinguish between [I, you (M,S) and he (M,S)], [you (F,S) and she (F,S)], [we (M,P), you (M,P) and they (M,P)] and [you (F,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
If you look carefully you will see that there are a total of 4 conjugations in the present tense. They are split up in the following way:
1. M, S → שומר
2. F, S → שומרת
3. M, P → שומרים
4. F, P → שומרות