Verbs and Binyanim

Almost every Hebrew word is a three-consonant root poured into a pattern of vowels and affixes. The root carries the general meaning; the pattern decides the role: who acts, on whom, and how intensely.

The root כ־ת־ב is about writing. The same root in different patterns gives a plain verb, a verb that makes someone else write, a reciprocal verb, and even a noun.

A binyan is the pattern the root enters. It does not change the subject of the verb, it changes the angle: a plain action, an action you cause, an action done to you, or an action that turns back on yourself.

Three binyanim are active (pa'al, pi'el, hif'il), three are their passive counterparts (nif'al, pu'al, huf'al), and hitpa'el expresses reflexive or reciprocal action.

When the focus moves from the doer to what was done, you switch to the matching passive binyan. The root stays the same; only the pattern changes.

In the past, the person is marked by a suffix at the end of the word (כָּתַבְתִּי, כָּתַבְנוּ). In the future, the person is marked at the beginning instead (אֶכְתּוֹב, תִּכְתּוֹב, יִכְתּוֹב, נִכְתּוֹב).

The present is the only tense that ignores person altogether: it marks gender and number only, which is why it has just four forms.

First sign, the present tense: in pi'el, pu'al, hif'il, huf'al and hitpa'el the present form opens with the letter מ (מְדַבֵּר, מַדְלִיק, מִתְלַבֵּשׁ). In pa'al and nif'al it does not (כּוֹתֵב, נִכְנָס).

Second sign, the infinitive: each binyan has its own shape, and one glance is enough to recognise it.