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Personal Pronouns כינויי גוף

Hebrew personal pronouns mark person, gender, and number. You need them most in the present tense, where the verb does not tell you who the subject is.

The rule

Use אני, אתה, את, הוא, היא, אנחנו, אתם, אתן, הם, הן; drop the pronoun in past and future only when the verb already names the person.

The ten forms

Singular: אני, אתה, את, הוא, היא. Plural: אנחנו, אתם, אתן, הם, הן. את is feminine singular you and is not the object marker את; pointed text writes אַתְּ versus אֶת. אתן and הן are the feminine plurals. Mixed groups take אתם and הם in the standard language.

Subject pronouns
HebrewTransliterationEnglish
אֲנִיaniI
אַתָּהatayou (ms)
אַתְּatyou (fs)
הוּאhuhe
הִיאhishe
אֲנַחְנוּanakhnuwe
אַתֶּםatemyou (mp / mixed)
אַתֶּןatenyou (fp)
הֵםhemthey (mp / mixed)
הֵןhenthey (fp)
Present tense needs the pronoun

כותב only says a masculine singular person is writing. אני כותב, אתה כותב, and הוא כותב share a verb form, so the pronoun (or a name) carries the person. Feminine singular כותבת still needs אני, את, or היא. Do not drop אני in the present the way Spanish drops yo.

HebrewTransliterationEnglishListen
אני כותבani kotevI write / I am writing (male speaker).
את כותבתat kotevetYou write (female).
הם גרים בתל אביבhem garim be-tel avivThey live in Tel Aviv.
Past and future can drop it

כתבתי already means I wrote; אכתוב already means I will write. Speakers add אני for contrast or emphasis: אני כתבתי, לא הוא. Beginners can keep the pronoun everywhere until the conjugations are automatic. Names replace third-person pronouns whenever the referent is in the sentence.

HebrewTransliterationEnglishListen
כתבתי מכתבkatavti mikhtavI wrote a letter.
אני כתבתי, לא היאani katavti, lo hiI wrote it, not her.
Copula sentences

In the present, אני תלמיד needs no am. Third person often inserts הוא or היא as a copula between two nouns: דן הוא מורה. זה also works as a copula for identifying a thing. Past and future then use היה and יהיה, which are real verbs.

HebrewTransliterationEnglishListen
אני תלמידani talmidI am a student.
דן הוא מורהdan hu moreDan is a teacher.

Exceptions

אתן and הן in Speech

Many speakers use אתם and הם even when every person is female, especially in mixed or hurried talk. Feminine plural forms are still required in careful writing and are fully alive for other speakers. Understand both; produce אתן / הן when you know the group is female and the setting is standard.

אנו

אנו is a formal or written twin of אנחנו. You will see it in notices and news. Spoken Israeli Hebrew uses אנחנו.

Common Mistakes

אתה כותבת → אתה כותב

אתה is masculine; the present verb must be masculine singular.

כותב מכתב → אני כותב מכתב

Present tense does not mark person; keep אני (or another subject).

את כותב → את כותבת

את is feminine you; the verb is כותבת.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What level is "Personal Pronouns"?

Personal Pronouns is A1 in baba's grammar order, and takes about 10 minutes to work through.

What's the short rule for personal pronouns?

Use אני, אתה, את, הוא, היא, אנחנו, אתם, אתן, הם, הן; drop the pronoun in past and future only when the verb already names the person.

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