Free lessonLevel A211 min read10 practice words

Past Tense

One past tense for everything that already happened. The verb carries the person in its ending, so eight endings unlock every verb in the language.

The endings are the same in every binyan. Learn them once on לִכְתֹּב and they work on דִּבֵּר, הִתְחִיל and הִתְלַבֵּשׁ.

One past for everything

Wrote, was writing, have written

Hebrew has a single past tense. It covers “I wrote”, “I was writing” and “I have written”: the context and time words do the rest, exactly as in the present tense.

Unlike the present, the past tense marks the person. The ending tells you whether it was I, you, she or we, which is why the pronoun is often left out.

The third-person masculine singular (הוּא כָּתַב) is the shortest form and the one dictionaries list. Everything else is built on it.

Three sentences in the past

כָּתַבְתִּי מִכְתָּב.

katavti mikhtav

I wrote a letter.

אֶתְמוֹל לָמַדְנוּ עִבְרִית.

etmol lamadnu ivrit

Yesterday we studied Hebrew.

הִיא אָכְלָה וְהָלְכָה לִישׁוֹן.

hi akhla ve-halkha lishon

She ate and went to sleep.

The person endingsthe core table

Base form + ending

Start from the base form כָּתַב (he wrote). Add ־תִּי for I, ־תָּ for you (m.), ־תְּ for you (f.), ־ָה for she, ־נוּ for we, ־תֶּם / ־תֶּן for you (pl.), ־וּ for they.

Most endings echo the pronouns: ־תָּ / ־תְּ mirror אַתָּה / אַתְּ, ־נוּ mirrors אֲנַחְנוּ, and ־תֶּם / ־תֶּן mirror אַתֶּם / אַתֶּן. Use that to remember them.

Watch the small vowel shifts: הִיא כָּתְבָה and הֵם כָּתְבוּ lose the vowel under the second letter; אַתֶּם כְּתַבְתֶּם shifts the first one.

Two regular verbs across all persons

Two regular verbs across all persons
Person	Ending	לִכְתֹּב	לִלְמֹד
אֲנִי	־תִּי	כָּתַבְתִּי	לָמַדְתִּי
אַתָּה	־תָּ	כָּתַבְתָּ	לָמַדְתָּ
אַתְּ	־תְּ	כָּתַבְתְּ	לָמַדְתְּ
הוּא	base form	כָּתַב	לָמַד
הִיא	־ָה	כָּתְבָה	לָמְדָה
אֲנַחְנוּ	־נוּ	כָּתַבְנוּ	לָמַדְנוּ
אַתֶּם / אַתֶּן	־תֶּם / ־תֶּן	כְּתַבְתֶּם / כְּתַבְתֶּן	לְמַדְתֶּם / לְמַדְתֶּן
הֵם / הֵן	־וּ	כָּתְבוּ	לָמְדוּ

הֵם and הֵן share one form. In everyday speech אַתֶּם is used for women too, but אַתֶּן is the standard.

A rhythm to memorise

Say it as a chant: katavti, katavta, katavt, katav, katva, katavnu, ktavtem, katvu. Ten repetitions out loud beat an hour of reading.

Quick check

1 of 3

We studied Hebrew.

אֲנַחְנוּ ___ עִבְרִית.

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The verb says who: drop the pronoun

First and second person stand alone

Because the ending already marks the person, אֲנִי, אַתָּה, אַתְּ, אֲנַחְנוּ and אַתֶּם are often dropped in the past tense. כָּתַבְתִּי on its own is a complete sentence: I wrote.

The third person is different. כָּתַב alone does not say who wrote: a name, a noun or הוּא has to tell you. Keep the subject in the third person.

You can keep the pronoun for emphasis or contrast: אֲנִי כָּתַבְתִּי, לֹא אַתָּה (I wrote it, not you).

With and without the pronoun

אֲנִי כָּתַבְתִּיכָּתַבְתִּיI wrote (both are correct; the short one is more natural)

אֲנַחְנוּ לָמַדְנוּלָמַדְנוּwe studied

דָּנָה כָּתְבָה מִכְתָּב.

Dana katva mikhtav

Dana wrote a letter (the name is the subject).

הוּא כָּתַב מִכְתָּב.

hu katav mikhtav

He wrote a letter (הוּא is needed here).

The past in the other binyanimsame endings

Different stems, identical endings

Every binyan has its own past-tense stem: דִּבֵּר, הִתְחִיל, הִתְלַבֵּשׁ, נִכְנַס. The endings you add to that stem are exactly the ones from the table above. Learn the “he” form of a new verb and you can build every other person from it.

Before an ending that starts with a consonant (־תִּי, ־נוּ…) the stem vowel of פִּעֵל and הִפְעִיל becomes “a”: דִּבֵּר ← דִּבַּרְתִּי, הִתְחִיל ← הִתְחַלְתִּי. Before ־ָה and ־וּ, הִפְעִיל keeps its long “i” (הִיא הִתְחִילָה), while פִּעֵל drops its vowel (הִיא דִּבְּרָה).

One verb per binyan

One verb per binyan
Binyan	אֲנִי	הוּא	הִיא	הֵם
פָּעַל	כָּתַבְתִּי	כָּתַב	כָּתְבָה	כָּתְבוּ
פִּעֵל	דִּבַּרְתִּי	דִּבֵּר	דִּבְּרָה	דִּבְּרוּ
הִפְעִיל	הִתְחַלְתִּי	הִתְחִיל	הִתְחִילָה	הִתְחִילוּ
הִתְפַּעֵל	הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי	הִתְלַבֵּשׁ	הִתְלַבְּשָׁה	הִתְלַבְּשׁוּ
נִפְעַל	נִכְנַסְתִּי	נִכְנַס	נִכְנְסָה	נִכְנְסוּ

Look at the אֲנִי column: the ending ־תִּי is identical in every row. Note that הִתְחִיל is הִפְעִיל of the root ת־ח־ל: its ת belongs to the root, it is not the הִתְ of הִתְפַּעֵל.

The irregular verbs you use every day

Two small families

Verbs whose root ends in ה (לִקְנוֹת, לִרְצוֹת, לִרְאוֹת) take an ־ִי־ before the first- and second-person endings: קָנִיתִי, רָצִיתִי, רָאִיתִי. The “she” form ends in ־תָה: קָנְתָה.

Two-letter verbs (לָקוּם, לָבוֹא, לָגוּר) have a short stem: קַמְתִּי, בָּאתִי, גַּרְתִּי; and “he” is just קָם, בָּא, גָּר. The verb “to be” follows the first family: הָיִיתִי, הָיָה, הָיְתָה, הָיוּ.

The present tense has no verb “to be”, so הָיָה is how the past of every nominal sentence is formed: הָיִיתִי מוֹרֶה (I was a teacher).

Seven verbs to learn by heart

Seven verbs to learn by heart
Verb	Meaning	אֲנִי	הוּא	הִיא	הֵם
לִהְיוֹת	to be	הָיִיתִי	הָיָה	הָיְתָה	הָיוּ
לִקְנוֹת	to buy	קָנִיתִי	קָנָה	קָנְתָה	קָנוּ
לִרְצוֹת	to want	רָצִיתִי	רָצָה	רָצְתָה	רָצוּ
לִרְאוֹת	to see	רָאִיתִי	רָאָה	רָאֲתָה	רָאוּ
לָקוּם	to get up	קַמְתִּי	קָם	קָמָה	קָמוּ
לָבוֹא	to come	בָּאתִי	בָּא	בָּאָה	בָּאוּ
לָגוּר	to live	גַּרְתִּי	גָּר	גָּרָה	גָּרוּ

“I had”: the past of יֵשׁ לִי

הָיָה לִי זְמַן

haya li zman

I had time

הָיְתָה לִי שְׁאֵלָה

hayta li she’ela

I had a question

הָיוּ לָנוּ אוֹרְחִים

hayu lanu orkhim

we had guests

לֹא הָיָה לִי כֶּסֶף

lo haya li kesef

I had no money

הָיָה agrees with the thing you had, not with you: הָיְתָה לִי שְׁאֵלָה because שְׁאֵלָה is feminine.

Quick check

1 of 2

I was at home all day.

___ בַּבַּיִת כָּל הַיּוֹם.

Time words and real sentences

Anchor the past with a time word

Negate the past with לֹא before the verb: לֹא כָּתַבְתִּי. Ask with a question word in front: מָתַי בָּאתָ? Add כְּבָר (already) or עוֹד לֹא (not yet) to say whether it is done.

There is no “did” in questions or negatives: לֹא הָלַכְתִּי is “I did not go”, and הָלַכְתָּ? is “did you go?”.

Time words that go with the past

אֶתְמוֹלyesterdayשִׁלְשׁוֹםthe day before yesterdayלִפְנֵי שָׁבוּעַa week agoבַּשָּׁנָה שֶׁעָבְרָהlast yearפַּעַםonceכְּבָרalreadyעוֹד לֹאnot yet

Sentences to read aloud

אֶתְמוֹל הָלַכְתִּי לַיָּם.

etmol halakhti la-yam

Yesterday I went to the beach.

לֹא לָמַדְנוּ אֶתְמוֹל.

lo lamadnu etmol

We did not study yesterday.

מָה עָשִׂיתָ בְּסוֹף הַשָּׁבוּעַ?

ma asita be-sof ha-shavua

What did you do at the weekend?

כְּבָר אָכַלְתִּי, תּוֹדָה.

kvar akhalti, toda

I have already eaten, thanks.

עוֹד לֹא קָרָאתִי אֶת הַסֵּפֶר.

od lo karati et ha-sefer

I have not read the book yet.

Common mistakes

אֲנִי הָיָה בַּבַּיִתהָיִיתִי בַּבַּיִת
“I was” has its own form, הָיִיתִי. הָיָה is only “he was”.
הִיא כָּתַב מִכְתָּבהִיא כָּתְבָה מִכְתָּב
הִיא needs the feminine ending ־ָה: כָּתְבָה.
אֲנִי לֹא הָיָה לִי זְמַןלֹא הָיָה לִי זְמַן
“I had” is הָיָה לִי with no אֲנִי in front: the owner comes after לְ.
הֵם קָנִיתִי לֶחֶםהֵם קָנוּ לֶחֶם
The ending must match the subject: הֵם takes ־וּ.

What to remember

One past tense; time words and context give the nuance.
Base form + person ending; the endings are the same in every binyan.
First and second person can drop the pronoun; third person keeps a subject.
Learn הָיָה, ה-verbs (קָנִיתִי) and two-letter verbs (קַמְתִּי) as families.

Lesson test

Test yourself: Past Tense

5 questions from the whole lesson, about 2 min. Score 70% or more and the lesson counts as done.

Tip: answer with the number keys 1–4.

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Frequently asked questions

Is there a difference between “I wrote” and “I was writing”?: Not in the verb. Hebrew uses one past form for both; if you need the ongoing sense, add a time phrase such as כָּל הַיּוֹם (all day) or כְּשֶׁ (when): כְּשֶׁהִיא בָּאָה, כָּתַבְתִּי.
Do I have to say אֲנִי before כָּתַבְתִּי?: No. The ending already means “I”, so כָּתַבְתִּי alone is correct and more natural. Keep the pronoun only for emphasis. In the third person, though, you need a subject: הוּא כָּתַב, דָּנָה כָּתְבָה.
Why does דִּבֵּר become דִּבַּרְתִּי?: When an ending that starts with a consonant (־תִּי, ־תָּ, ־נוּ, ־תֶּם) is added in פִּעֵל, the stem vowel “e” becomes “a”: דִּבַּרְתִּי. Before an ending that starts with a vowel (־ָה, ־וּ) it drops out altogether: דִּבְּרָה, דִּבְּרוּ.
How do I say “I had”?: With the past of יֵשׁ לִי: הָיָה לִי (masculine thing), הָיְתָה לִי (feminine thing), הָיוּ לִי (plural). The verb agrees with what you had, never with you.

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Past Tense

One past tense for everything that already happened. The verb carries the person in its ending, so eight endings unlock every verb in the language.

The endings are the same in every binyan. Learn them once on לִכְתֹּב and they work on דִּבֵּר, הִתְחִיל and הִתְלַבֵּשׁ.

Person

Ending

לִכְתֹּב

לִלְמֹד

אֲנִי

־תִּי

כָּתַבְתִּי

לָמַדְתִּי

אַתָּה

־תָּ

כָּתַבְתָּ

לָמַדְתָּ

אַתְּ

־תְּ

כָּתַבְתְּ

לָמַדְתְּ

הוּא

base form

כָּתַב

לָמַד

הִיא

־ָה

כָּתְבָה

לָמְדָה

אֲנַחְנוּ

־נוּ

כָּתַבְנוּ

לָמַדְנוּ

אַתֶּם / אַתֶּן

־תֶּם / ־תֶּן

כְּתַבְתֶּם / כְּתַבְתֶּן

לְמַדְתֶּם / לְמַדְתֶּן

הֵם / הֵן

־וּ

כָּתְבוּ

לָמְדוּ

Binyan

אֲנִי

הוּא

הִיא

הֵם

פָּעַל

כָּתַבְתִּי

כָּתַב

כָּתְבָה

כָּתְבוּ

פִּעֵל

דִּבַּרְתִּי

דִּבֵּר

דִּבְּרָה

דִּבְּרוּ

הִפְעִיל

הִתְחַלְתִּי

הִתְחִיל

הִתְחִילָה

הִתְחִילוּ

הִתְפַּעֵל

הִתְלַבַּשְׁתִּי

הִתְלַבֵּשׁ

הִתְלַבְּשָׁה

הִתְלַבְּשׁוּ

נִפְעַל

נִכְנַסְתִּי

נִכְנַס

נִכְנְסָה

נִכְנְסוּ

Verb

Meaning

אֲנִי

הוּא

הִיא

הֵם

לִהְיוֹת

to be

הָיִיתִי

הָיָה

הָיְתָה

הָיוּ

לִקְנוֹת

to buy

קָנִיתִי

קָנָה

קָנְתָה

קָנוּ

לִרְצוֹת

to want

רָצִיתִי

רָצָה

רָצְתָה

רָצוּ

לִרְאוֹת

to see

רָאִיתִי

רָאָה

רָאֲתָה

רָאוּ

לָקוּם

to get up

קַמְתִּי

קָם

קָמָה

קָמוּ

לָבוֹא

to come

בָּאתִי

בָּא

בָּאָה

בָּאוּ

לָגוּר

to live

גַּרְתִּי

גָּר

גָּרָה

גָּרוּ

Frequently asked questions

Is there a difference between “I wrote” and “I was writing”?

Not in the verb. Hebrew uses one past form for both; if you need the ongoing sense, add a time phrase such as כָּל הַיּוֹם (all day) or כְּשֶׁ (when): כְּשֶׁהִיא בָּאָה, כָּתַבְתִּי.

Do I have to say אֲנִי before כָּתַבְתִּי?

No. The ending already means “I”, so כָּתַבְתִּי alone is correct and more natural. Keep the pronoun only for emphasis. In the third person, though, you need a subject: הוּא כָּתַב, דָּנָה כָּתְבָה.

Why does דִּבֵּר become דִּבַּרְתִּי?

When an ending that starts with a consonant (־תִּי, ־תָּ, ־נוּ, ־תֶּם) is added in פִּעֵל, the stem vowel “e” becomes “a”: דִּבַּרְתִּי. Before an ending that starts with a vowel (־ָה, ־וּ) it drops out altogether: דִּבְּרָה, דִּבְּרוּ.

How do I say “I had”?

With the past of יֵשׁ לִי: הָיָה לִי (masculine thing), הָיְתָה לִי (feminine thing), הָיוּ לִי (plural). The verb agrees with what you had, never with you.