Future tense עתיד
The future puts a prefix on the verb: a- for I, t- for you and she, y- for he and they, n- for we. אכתוב is I will write, and the same conjugation also builds many commands and a lot of polite requests.
Prefix a- / t- / y- / n- to the future stem and add ־י or ־ו where the person needs it; in speech, masculine plural often covers feminine plural too.
אכתוב, תכתוב, תכתבי, יכתוב, תכתוב, נכתוב, תכתבו, יכתבו. She and you (ms) share תכתוב in writing; context or a pronoun separates them. You (fs) is תכתבי with a final i. They is יכתבו. This prefix system is the skeleton of every binyan in the future.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| אֶכְתּוֹב | ekhtov | I will write |
| תִּכְתּוֹב | tikhtov | you (ms) / she will write |
| תִּכְתְּבִי | tikhtevi | you (fs) will write |
| יִכְתּוֹב | yikhtov | he will write |
| נִכְתּוֹב | nikhtov | we will write |
| תִּכְתְּבוּ | tikhtevu | you (pl) will write |
| יִכְתְּבוּ | yikhtevu | they will write |
Textbooks still list תכתובנה and יכתובנה for feminine plural. Living Israeli speech almost always uses תכתבו and יכתבו for a group of women as well. Produce the masculine-plural future in conversation; recognize ־נה in print and in very careful speech.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אתן תכתבו מחר | aten tikhtevu makhar | You (fp) will write tomorrow. (usual speech) | |
| הן יכתבו מחר | hen yikhtevu makhar | They (fp) will write tomorrow. (usual speech) |
תשב כאן can be you will sit here or sit here, depending on tone. Negative commands already use אל plus future: אל תכתוב. Polite offers use future: תבוא? will you come? The form is future; the use is wider than English will.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אל תכתוב את זה | al tikhtov et ze | Do not write that. | |
| תבוא מחר? | tavo makhar? | Will you come tomorrow? / Come tomorrow? |
High-frequency verbs do not all look like אכתוב. אהיה / תהיה / יהיה is be, אלך / תלך / ילך is go, אוכל / תאכל / יאכל is eat, and אעשה / תעשה / יעשה is do. Learn those four charts as vocabulary; the prefixes stay the same even when the stem mutates.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אהיה בבית | eheye ba-bayit | I will be at home. | |
| נלך מחר | nelekh makhar | We will go tomorrow. | |
| היא תעשה שיעורי בית | hi ta'ase shi'urei bayit | She will do homework. |
Exceptions
אני יודע versus future אדע
Some verbs have a present that English speakers want to use for the future. אני יודע is I know, not I will know; future is אדע. אני בא מחר is a common present-for-future with בא and a time word. Both patterns exist; time words make the present-for-future reading possible.
Gutturals change the prefix vowel
Roots that start with א, ה, ח, or ע often take a different prefix vowel: אוכל, אעמוד, אעבוד. Do not force ekhtov’s e onto every first-person future. Copy the dictionary future, then reuse the prefixes you already know.
| אוכל אחר כך | okhal akhar kakh | I will eat later. |
| אעבוד מחר | e'evod makhar | I will work tomorrow. |
Common mistakes
אני יכתוב → אכתוב
First person future already has א־; do not add י־ as well.
אתה יכתוב → אתה תכתוב
Second person future takes ת־, not י־.
אל כותב → אל תכתוב
Negative commands use אל plus the future, not the present.
Go on to
Imperative
Hebrew has a dedicated command form (שב, שבי, שבו), and then in real life people often command with the future or with an infinitive instead. You need all three to hear what Israelis are actually telling you to do.
A2 · 10 minPast tense
The past tense is the first conjugation where the verb itself names the person, so כתבתי already means I wrote and you can drop אני. The dictionary form of many verbs is the third-person masculine singular past.
A2 · 14 minNegation
Israeli Hebrew splits negation by what you are denying: לֹא before verbs and adjectives, אֵין for “there isn’t” and “don’t have,” and אַל before an imperative. Extra words such as שׁוּם and אַף sit comfortably beside that first negator.
A1 · 10 min