Infinitives שם הפועל
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.
Build the infinitive with ל־ plus the infinitive stem (לכתוב, לדבר, להדליק) and park it after a modal, a helper verb, or a public instruction.
Pa'al infinitives often look like לכתוב, לשמור, ללמוד. Pi'el infinitives look like לדבר, לבשל, לשלם. Hif'il infinitives look like להדליק, להבין, להכניס. The ל is the same preposition ל you already know, fused to a verb stem. Unvowelled writing is the normal way you will see them.
| Infinitive | Transliteration | Binyan | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| לכתוב | likhtov | pa'al | to write |
| לשמור | lishmor | pa'al | to keep / to guard |
| לדבר | ledaber | pi'el | to speak |
| לשלם | leshalem | pi'el | to pay |
| להדליק | lehadlik | hif'il | to turn on |
| להבין | lehavin | hif'il | to understand |
אני רוצה לאכול, היא יכולה לבוא, צריך ללכת, הם אוהבים לקרוא. The first verb carries tense, gender, and person; the infinitive stays still. This is the main spoken way to stack verbs. Do not conjugate the second verb to match the first.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אני רוצה לאכול | ani rotze le'ekhol | I want to eat. | |
| היא יכולה לבוא | hi yekhola lavo | She can come. | |
| צריך ללכת | tzarikh lalekhet | One needs to go. / We have to go. |
A handful of everyday verbs have infinitives you cannot guess from the past: לתת (latet, to give), ללכת (lalekhet, to go), להיות (lihyot, to be), לעשות (la'asot, to do), לראות (lir'ot, to see), לישון (lishon, to sleep), לקום (lakum, to get up). Put them on a list. They are not rare literary forms; they are the verbs you use before noon.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אני צריך לתת לך את זה | ani tzarikh latet lekha et ze | I need to give you this. | |
| הוא רוצה לישון | hu rotze lishon | He wants to sleep. |
After אפשר, כדאי, אסור, and מותר the infinitive is the whole predicate: אפשר לשבת, אסור לעשן. Signs use the same frame. There is also a more literary infinitive absolute (כתוב תכתוב) that you can ignore at A1. Stay with ל־.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אפשר לשבת? | efshar lashevet? | May one sit? / Can I sit? | |
| אסור לעשן | asur le'ashen | Smoking is forbidden. |
Exceptions
Missing ל in a few frozen phrases
You may meet כתוב after some verbs in higher register, without ל. Spoken Israeli Hebrew wants לכתוב. If a textbook shows an infinitive construct without ל after a preposition (לפני כתבו), that is a different, more advanced construction.
להיות is the infinitive of be
Hebrew has no present am / is / are, but it does have להיות for the infinitive: אני רוצה להיות מורה. Do not skip it after רוצה. Past היה and future יהיה are the finite partners of the same root.
| אני רוצה להיות מורה | ani rotze lihyot more | I want to be a teacher. |
Common mistakes
אני רוצה אוכל (when you mean to eat) → אני רוצה לאכול
רוצה takes an infinitive לאכול; אוכל as a noun means food.
היא יכולה באה → היא יכולה לבוא
The second verb stays an infinitive after יכולה.
אני רוצה אני כותב → אני רוצה לכתוב
Stacking two finite presents is English transfer; Hebrew wants לכתוב.
Go on to
Modal verbs
Ability, need, want, and permission in Israeli Hebrew are a small set: יָכוֹל, צָרִיךְ, רוֹצֶה, חַיָּב, plus the impersonals אֶפְשָׁר, אָסוּר, מֻתָּר, כְּדַאי. Personal modals conjugate and then take an infinitive.
A2 · 12 minPresent tense
The Hebrew present is a four-form participle: one each for masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. It covers I am writing and I write, and it does not mark person.
A1 · 12 minImperative
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 min