Imperative ציווי
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.
Use the short imperative for direct positive commands; use אל plus future for negative commands; expect future and infinitive commands in speech and on signs.
The classical imperative drops the future prefix: תכתוב → כתוב, תכתבי → כתבי, תכתבו → כתבו. שב, שבי, שבו from לשבת is the set you hear in every classroom. בוא, בואי, בואו from לבוא is the set you hear in every hallway. Gender and number of the person you are talking to pick the form.
| ms | fs | pl | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| שב | שבי | שבו | sit |
| בוא | בואי | בואו | come |
| לך | לכי | לכו | go |
| תן | תני | תנו | give |
| קח | קחי | קחו | take |
| כתוב | כתבי | כתבו | write |
There is no אל שב in standard Hebrew. The negative is אל תשב, אל תשבי, אל תשבו: אל plus the future. לא plus an infinitive on a sign (לא לעשן) is a general prohibition, not a command to one person. Keep אל ת־ for talking to someone and לא + infinitive for notices.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אל תשב כאן | al teshev kan | Do not sit here (ms). | |
| אל תשכחי | al tishkhekhi | Do not forget (fs). | |
| לא לעשן | lo le'ashen | No smoking. |
תשבי כבר, תבואו בשמונה, תפתח את הדלת are ordinary spoken commands. The future form plus tone does the work. This is not slang so much as the living imperative. You will still be understood, and often sound more natural, if you use it with peers.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| תפתח את הדלת | tiftakh et ha-delet | Open the door (ms). | |
| תבואו בשמונה | tavo'u bi-shmone | Come at eight (pl). |
נא לשבת, בבקשה לא לדבר, יש להגיע בזמן are how schools, buses, and offices tell everyone what to do. The infinitive does not pick gender. נא plus infinitive is a polite request on paper. Use it when you are not aiming the command at one addressee.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| נא לשבת | na lashevet | Please sit (general). | |
| בבקשה לא לדבר | bevakasha lo ledaber | Please do not talk. |
Exceptions
Irregular short forms
תן, קח, לך, בוא, קום, רוץ do not look like their futures once the prefix is gone. Some vowels return in the feminine and plural: קומי, בואי. Learn the high-frequency irregulars as a list. רוץ ends in a final tzadi, as it should.
| קום | kum | Get up (ms). |
| רוץ | rutz | Run (ms). |
| בואי | bo'i | Come (fs). |
Register
שב to a stranger can sound sharp. בבקשה לשבת or אפשר לשבת is softer. Friends and children get the short imperative all day. Match the form to how close you are, not only to the grammar chart.
Common mistakes
אל שב → אל תשב
Negation of a command uses אל plus future, not אל plus the short imperative.
שב (to a woman) → שבי
The addressee is feminine singular, so the imperative is שבי.
לא תשב on a sign aimed at the public → לא לשבת
General prohibitions on signs take לא plus an infinitive.
Go on to
Infinitives
The dictionary-style to write form in Hebrew is לכתוב. That ל־ infinitive follows רוצה, יכול, צריך, אוהב, and a long list of other verbs, and it is also how signs give instructions.
A1 · 10 minFuture tense
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.
A2 · 14 minFormal vs casual register
The same Israeli Hebrew grammar can sound like a text message or like a letter to a clerk. Casual speech drops הַאִם, prefers יֵשׁ לִי and אַתָּה רוֹצֶה, and uses short replies; formal style restores הַאִם, נָא, and fuller verbs of request.
B1 · 12 min