Future Tense
The tense of plans, promises and requests. Instead of endings it uses four prefix letters, and once you hear them you can build the future of any verb.
In speech the future also does the job of the imperative: תַּעֲזֹר לִי? is “will you help me?” and “help me”, in one word.
Prefixes, not suffixes
Where the past ends, the future begins
The past tense marks the person with an ending. The future marks it with a letter in front: א for I, ת for you and she, י for he and they, נ for we. Israelis call them the אית״ן letters.
Two persons add a suffix as well: “you” (feminine) ends in ־ִי and the plurals end in ־וּ. That is the whole system: four prefixes and two suffixes.
Because ת serves both “you” (m.) and “she”, תִּכְתֹּב is ambiguous. The pronoun or the subject settles it: הִיא תִּכְתֹּב.
Three sentences in the future
מָחָר אֶכְתֹּב לָךְ.
makhar ekhtov lakh
Tomorrow I will write to you.
בַּשָּׁבוּעַ הַבָּא נִפָּגֵשׁ בְּתֵל אָבִיב.
ba-shavua ha-ba nipagesh be-Tel Aviv
Next week we will meet in Tel Aviv.
הֵם יִלְמְדוּ עִבְרִית בַּקַּיִץ.
hem yilmedu ivrit ba-kayits
They will study Hebrew in the summer.
The אית״ן prefixesthe core table
One prefix per person
Take the future stem, here ־כְתֹּב, and put the person letter in front: אֶכְתֹּב, תִּכְתֹּב, יִכְתֹּב, נִכְתֹּב. For “you” (f.) add ־ִי, for “you” (pl.) and “they” add ־וּ.
In a regular פָּעַל verb every prefix takes a chirik, except the א of “I”, which takes a segol: אֶכְתֹּב against תִּכְתֹּב, יִכְתֹּב, נִכְתֹּב. The stem vowel is where verbs really differ, and that is the next chapter.
When a suffix is added, the stem vowel drops out: יִכְתֹּב but יִכְתְּבוּ, תִּכְתֹּב but תִּכְתְּבִי.
Two regular verbs across all persons
| Person | Prefix / suffix | לִכְתֹּב | לִלְמֹד |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֲנִי | אֶ־ | אֶכְתֹּב | אֶלְמַד |
| אַתָּה | תִּ־ | תִּכְתֹּב | תִּלְמַד |
| אַתְּ | תִּ־ ־ִי | תִּכְתְּבִי | תִּלְמְדִי |
| הוּא | יִ־ | יִכְתֹּב | יִלְמַד |
| הִיא | תִּ־ | תִּכְתֹּב | תִּלְמַד |
| אֲנַחְנוּ | נִ־ | נִכְתֹּב | נִלְמַד |
| אַתֶּם / אַתֶּן | תִּ־ ־וּ | תִּכְתְּבוּ | תִּלְמְדוּ |
| הֵם / הֵן | יִ־ ־וּ | יִכְתְּבוּ | יִלְמְדוּ |
The formal feminine plural (תִּכְתֹּבְנָה) exists in writing; everyday Hebrew uses תִּכְתְּבוּ / יִכְתְּבוּ for everyone.
Hear the person in the first letter
When someone speaks fast, the first sound of the verb tells you who: “e-” is I, “ti-” is you or she, “yi-” is he or they, “ni-” is we. Train your ear on that before anything else.
Quick check
Tomorrow I will write to the teacher.
מָחָר אֲנִי ___ לַמּוֹרָה.
Two vowel patterns in פָּעַל
The “o” verbs and the “a” verbs
Most פָּעַל verbs keep an “o” in the future, like the infinitive: לִכְתֹּב → יִכְתֹּב, לִסְגֹּר → יִסְגֹּר.
Verbs whose second or third root letter is a guttural (ע, ח, א) switch to “a”: לִשְׁאֹל → יִשְׁאַל, לִשְׁמֹעַ → יִשְׁמַע, לִפְתֹּחַ → יִפְתַּח. The infinitive still shows “o”, so learn the future form together with the verb.
A handful of frequent verbs take “a” without a guttural, notably לִלְמֹד → יִלְמַד and לִלְבֹּשׁ → יִלְבַּשׁ. Treat them as vocabulary.
From the infinitive to “he will”
The future in the other binyanimsame prefixes
The prefix vowel is the binyan's signature
The person letters are identical in every binyan; what changes is the vowel under them. The easiest place to hear it is the הוּא form: a shva means פִּעֵל (יְדַבֵּר), an “a” means הִפְעִיל (יַתְחִיל), and a chirik means the other binyanim in the table (יִכְתֹּב, יִתְלַבֵּשׁ, יִכָּנֵס). Two sounds to remember, and the rest falls into place.
הִפְעִיל keeps the “i” of its stem in the future (יַתְחִיל), which is how you tell it from פָּעַל.
One verb per binyan
| Binyan | אֲנִי | הוּא | הֵם |
|---|---|---|---|
| פָּעַל | אֶכְתֹּב | יִכְתֹּב | יִכְתְּבוּ |
| פִּעֵל | אֲדַבֵּר | יְדַבֵּר | יְדַבְּרוּ |
| הִפְעִיל | אַתְחִיל | יַתְחִיל | יַתְחִילוּ |
| הִתְפַּעֵל | אֶתְלַבֵּשׁ | יִתְלַבֵּשׁ | יִתְלַבְּשׁוּ |
| נִפְעַל | אֶכָּנֵס | יִכָּנֵס | יִכָּנְסוּ |
The הוּא form is the binyan's signature. The אֲנִי form takes a different vowel (אֶכְתֹּב, אֲדַבֵּר, אַתְחִיל), so always compare binyanim down the הוּא column.
The verbs you use every day
Short verbs, short stems
The most common verbs have a short future stem. לָלֶכֶת drops its first root letter: אֵלֵךְ, יֵלֵךְ. Two-letter verbs keep their long vowel: אָבוֹא, יָבוֹא, אָקוּם, יָקוּם.
לָתֵת and לָקַחַת lose a letter and double the next one: אֶתֵּן, אֶקַּח. Verbs ending in ה end in ־ֶה in the future: אֶעֱשֶׂה, אֶרְאֶה, יִהְיֶה.
יִהְיֶה (will be) is the future of every nominal sentence and of יֵשׁ: יִהְיֶה לִי זְמַן (I will have time), יִהְיוּ לָנוּ אוֹרְחִים (we will have guests).
Ten verbs to learn by heart
| Verb | Meaning | אֲנִי | הוּא | הֵם |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לִהְיוֹת | to be | אֶהְיֶה | יִהְיֶה | יִהְיוּ |
| לָלֶכֶת | to go | אֵלֵךְ | יֵלֵךְ | יֵלְכוּ |
| לָבוֹא | to come | אָבוֹא | יָבוֹא | יָבוֹאוּ |
| לָקוּם | to get up | אָקוּם | יָקוּם | יָקוּמוּ |
| לָתֵת | to give | אֶתֵּן | יִתֵּן | יִתְּנוּ |
| לָקַחַת | to take | אֶקַּח | יִקַּח | יִקְחוּ |
| לַעֲשׂוֹת | to do | אֶעֱשֶׂה | יַעֲשֶׂה | יַעֲשׂוּ |
| לִרְאוֹת | to see | אֶרְאֶה | יִרְאֶה | יִרְאוּ |
| לָדַעַת | to know | אֵדַע | יֵדַע | יֵדְעוּ |
| לָשֶׁבֶת | to sit | אֵשֵׁב | יֵשֵׁב | יֵשְׁבוּ |
Plans, requests, conditionsusage
Four jobs of the future tense
Plans and predictions take a time word: מָחָר אֶכְתֹּב. After אִם (if) and כְּשֶׁ (when) Hebrew uses the future on both sides, where English uses the present: אִם יִהְיֶה זְמַן, נֵלֵךְ.
In speech the future is the polite imperative: תַּעֲזֹר לִי? (help me). A negative command uses אַל + future: אַל תִּדְאַג (don't worry). לֹא + future is a plain statement: לֹא אָבוֹא (I will not come).
Israelis also use the present for the near future: מָחָר אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ לַיָּם is fine in conversation. The future is the safer choice in writing.
Time words that go with the future
Sentences to read aloud
אִם יִהְיֶה זְמַן, נֵלֵךְ לַיָּם.
im yihye zman, nelekh la-yam
If there is time, we will go to the beach.
כְּשֶׁאֶגְמֹר, אֶתְקַשֵּׁר אֵלֶיךָ.
kshe-egmor, etkasher elekha
When I finish, I will call you.
תַּעֲזֹר לִי, בְּבַקָּשָׁה?
ta’azor li, bevakasha
Will you help me, please? (a request)
לֹא אָבוֹא מָחָר.
lo avo makhar
I will not come tomorrow.
אַל תִּדְאַג, הַכֹּל יִהְיֶה בְּסֵדֶר.
al tid’ag, ha-kol yihye beseder
Don't worry, everything will be fine.
Quick check
“Don't go!” (to a man)
Common mistakes
- אֲנִי יִכְתֹּב מָחָראֶכְתֹּב מָחָר
“I” takes א, not י: אֶכְתֹּב. The pronoun is optional.
- הִיא יִלְמַד עִבְרִיתהִיא תִּלְמַד עִבְרִית
“She” takes ת, the same prefix as “you” (m.).
- לֹא תָּבוֹא מָחָר! (as a command)אַל תָּבוֹא מָחָר!
A negative command needs אַל, not לֹא.
- מָחָר הָלַכְתִּי לַיָּםמָחָר אֵלֵךְ לַיָּם
A future time word takes a future verb: מָחָר אֵלֵךְ.
What to remember
- Four prefixes (א, ת, י, נ) and two suffixes (־ִי, ־וּ) build the whole future.
- Regular פָּעַל verbs keep “o”; verbs with a guttural switch to “a” (יִשְׁמַע, יִפְתַּח).
- The prefix vowel tells you the binyan: יְדַבֵּר, יַתְחִיל, יִתְלַבֵּשׁ.
- After אִם and כְּשֶׁ use the future; אַל + future is a negative command.
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Frequently asked questions
- Why is תִּכְתֹּב both “you will write” and “she will write”?
- Because the prefix ת covers both persons. In practice the subject is always clear: הִיא תִּכְתֹּב versus אַתָּה תִּכְתֹּב, or a name. For “you” (feminine) the suffix ־ִי removes the ambiguity: תִּכְתְּבִי.
- Do Israelis really use the future to give commands?
- Yes, all the time. The classic imperative (כְּתֹב, שֵׁב) sounds formal, so in conversation people say תִּכְתֹּב, תֵּשֵׁב. Negative commands, however, must use אַל + future: אַל תֵּשֵׁב.
- How do I know whether a verb is יִכְתֹּב-type or יִלְמַד-type?
- If the second or third root letter is ע, ח or א, expect “a”: יִשְׁמַע, יִפְתַּח, יִשְׁלַח. Otherwise expect “o”. A few verbs with no guttural, such as יִלְמַד and יִלְבַּשׁ, break the rule, so learn the future form with each new verb.
- How do I say “I will have”?
- With the future of יֵשׁ לִי: יִהְיֶה לִי for a masculine thing, תִּהְיֶה לִי for a feminine one, יִהְיוּ לִי for plural. As in the past, the verb agrees with the thing, not with you.
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