The Infinitive
The “to write, to go, to eat” form. It always starts with ל, never changes, and follows verbs like want, need and can.
In Hebrew it is called שֵׁם הַפֹּעַל, “the name of the verb”: the form you look up in a dictionary.
What the infinitive is
An action with no time and no person
The infinitive names an action in general: to write, to go, to eat. It does not say who does it or when.
In Hebrew it always begins with the letter ל, which here means “to”. If you see ל attached to a verb root, you are almost certainly looking at an infinitive.
Dictionaries and word lists show verbs in the infinitive, so this is the form you will learn new verbs in.
Four infinitives
likhtov
to write
lalekhet
to go
le’ekhol
to eat
lishmoa
to hear
Why it matters
- It carries the basic meaning of the verb, before any tense or person.
- It is how verbs are listed, so it is the form you memorise.
- It follows the most common verbs in the language: want, need, can, love, start, stop.
It never changes
One form for everyone, in every tense
Whoever is acting and whenever it happens, the infinitive stays the same. Only the first verb in the sentence agrees with the subject and carries the tense.
This makes the infinitive the easiest verb form in Hebrew: learn it once, use it everywhere.
לִקְרֹא stays the same
אֲנִי אוֹהֶבֶת לִקְרֹא.
ani ohevet likro
I love to read (a woman speaking).
הֵם רוֹצִים לִקְרֹא.
hem rotsim likro
They want to read.
אַתְּ צְרִיכָה לִקְרֹא.
at tsrikha likro
You (a woman) need to read.
רָצִיתִי לִקְרֹא אֶתְמוֹל.
ratsiti likro etmol
I wanted to read yesterday.
After want, need, canverb chains
First verb agrees, second verb is the infinitive
When one verb follows another, the first one is conjugated (it agrees with the subject and shows the tense) and the second one is the infinitive: הִיא רוֹצָה לָשִׁיר, she wants to sing.
The verbs that pull an infinitive after them express wanting, needing, being able, liking, starting and stopping. Learn them as a set.
Some of these words are adjectives rather than verbs (צָרִיךְ, יָכוֹל), but they behave the same way and agree in gender and number.
Verbs that take an infinitive
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| רוֹצֶה / רוֹצָה | wants (to) | הִיא רוֹצָה לָשִׁיר |
| צָרִיךְ / צְרִיכָה | needs (to) | אֲנַחְנוּ צְרִיכִים לִלְמֹד |
| יָכוֹל / יְכוֹלָה | can | אַתָּה יָכוֹל לְשַׂחֵק |
| אוֹהֵב / אוֹהֶבֶת | loves (to) | הִיא אוֹהֶבֶת לִקְרֹא |
| מַתְחִיל / מַתְחִילָה | starts (to) | הוּא מַתְחִיל לַעֲבֹד |
| מַפְסִיק / מַפְסִיקָה | stops | הֵם מַפְסִיקִים לְדַבֵּר |
Impersonal words that take an infinitive
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| אֶפְשָׁר | it is possible / one can | אֶפְשָׁר לְהוֹסִיף הֶסְבֵּר |
| צָרִיךְ | one must / it is necessary | צָרִיךְ לְתַרְגֵּל כָּל יוֹם |
| אָסוּר | it is forbidden | אָסוּר לְעַשֵּׁן כָּאן |
| מֻתָּר | it is allowed | מֻתָּר לְהִכָּנֵס |
| כְּדַאי | it is worthwhile / you should | כְּדַאי לְנַסּוֹת |
These have one fixed form: no subject, no gender, no number. Very common in signs and instructions.
Quick check
I (a woman) want to study Hebrew.
אֲנִי רוֹצָה ___ עִבְרִית.
Purpose and manner: כְּדֵי, בִּשְׁבִיל, בְּלִי
Particle + infinitive
A few short words introduce an infinitive to say why or how something is done: כְּדֵי (in order to), בִּשְׁבִיל (in order to, colloquial), בְּלִי (without), כְּדַאי (it is worth).
לִפְנֵי (before) and אַחֲרֵי (after) do not take an infinitive. They take a clause with שֶׁ: לִפְנֵי שֶׁאוֹכְלִים, before we eat.
In sentences
כְּדֵי לְהַצְלִיחַ צָרִיךְ לְתַרְגֵּל.
kedei lehatsliakh tsarikh letargel
In order to succeed you have to practice.
בִּשְׁבִיל לְהָבִין אֲנַחְנוּ קוֹרְאִים שׁוּב.
bishvil lehavin anakhnu kor’im shuv
To understand, we read again.
בְּלִי לְהַפְסִיק הוּא מַמְשִׁיךְ לִקְרֹא.
bli lehafsik hu mamshikh likro
Without stopping, he keeps reading.
כְּדַאי לְנַסּוֹת לִשְׁמֹר עַל קֶצֶב.
kedai lenasot lishmor al ketsev
It is worth trying to keep a steady pace.
Recognising the pattern by binyanA2 preview
Each binyan has one infinitive shape
Hebrew verbs belong to patterns called binyanim, and each pattern builds its infinitive the same way. Once you know the shapes you can guess a new verb's binyan from its infinitive, even without nikud.
Some very common verbs are irregular and start with לָ instead of לִ: לָקוּם, לָשִׁיר, לָבוֹא, לָלֶכֶת. Learn these as words.
Infinitive shapes
| Binyan | Shape | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| פָּעַל | לִ־ ־ֹ | לִכְתֹּב, לִלְמֹד, לִשְׁמֹעַ |
| נִפְעַל | לְהִ־ ־ֵ | לְהִכָּנֵס, לְהִפָּגֵשׁ |
| פִּעֵל | לְ־ ־ֵ | לְדַבֵּר, לְשַׂחֵק, לְטַיֵּל |
| הִפְעִיל | לְהַ־ ־ִי | לְהַסְבִּיר, לְהַתְחִיל, לְהַפְסִיק |
| הִתְפַּעֵל | לְהִתְ־ ־ֵ | לְהִסְתַּכֵּל, לְהִתְרַגֵּשׁ |
| Irregular | לָ־ | לָקוּם, לָשִׁיר, לָבוֹא, לָלֶכֶת |
Reading tip
Stuck on a word? Look for ל + שֹׁרֶשׁ
Mistakes and summary
Common mistakes
- אֲנִי רוֹצֶה לוֹמֵדאֲנִי רוֹצֶה לִלְמֹד
After רוֹצֶה the second verb is an infinitive, not a present-tense form.
- הִיא צְרִיכָה הוֹלֶכֶתהִיא צְרִיכָה לָלֶכֶת
צְרִיכָה agrees with the subject; the verb after it does not.
- לִפְנֵי לֶאֱכֹללִפְנֵי שֶׁאוֹכְלִים
לִפְנֵי and אַחֲרֵי take שֶׁ + a conjugated verb, not an infinitive.
- אֲנִי יָכוֹל לְלָלֶכֶתאֲנִי יָכוֹל לָלֶכֶת
The infinitive already contains its ל: never add a second one.
What to remember
- The infinitive starts with ל and never changes.
- In a verb chain, the first verb agrees and carries the tense; the second is the infinitive.
- Want, need, can, love, start, stop and the impersonal words (אֶפְשָׁר, אָסוּר, מֻתָּר, כְּדַאי) take an infinitive.
- כְּדֵי and בְּלִי take an infinitive; לִפְנֵי and אַחֲרֵי take a clause with שֶׁ.
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Frequently asked questions
- Does the infinitive change for a woman or a group?
- No. It is the one verb form that never changes. The verb before it does: הִיא רוֹצָה לָלֶכֶת, הֵם רוֹצִים לָלֶכֶת.
- Why do some infinitives start with לִ and others with לְ or לָ?
- The vowel depends on the binyan: לִ for פָּעַל, לְ for פִּעֵל and the ה-binyanim, and לָ for a group of irregular but very common verbs like לָקוּם and לָלֶכֶת.
- Can I say לִפְנֵי לֶאֱכֹל for “before eating”?
- No. Before and after take a full clause: לִפְנֵי שֶׁאוֹכְלִים or לִפְנֵי הָאֹכֶל. The infinitive follows verbs and the purpose words כְּדֵי and בִּשְׁבִיל.
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