Verbs in Present Tense

How Do Present Tense Verbs Work?

A verb is a word that conveys an action. Present tense means that the action is happening right now. A Hebrew verb in the present tense matches the gender and number of the noun that comes before it, just like an adjective. If a noun is masculine, the verb that follows it will also be masculine. If a noun is plural, the verb that follows it will also be plural. Some Hebrew sentences will not have a verb at all. The placement of letters and vowel markers in a verb determines how that verb will be conjugated.

The Nonbinary Hebrew project proposes that verbs which follow third-gender nouns should also be in third-gender form. This guide uses the third person singular English neopronoun Xe, pronounced “zee,” to illustrate this grammatical function.

Standard verbs

שלמים

shlmym

Form	NB	Feminine	Masculine	Translation
singular	לוֹמֶדֶה lomedeh	לוֹמֶדֶת lomedet	לוֹמֵד lomed	Xe learns
plural	לוֹמְדִימוֹת lom'dimot	לוֹמְדוֹת lom'dot	לוֹמְדִים lom'dim	They learn

Verbs that end in heh

ל’’ה

lh’’

Form	NB	Feminine	Masculine	Translation
singular	עוֹשֶׂת 'oset	עוֹשָׂה 'osah	עוֹשֶׂה 'oseh	Xe makes
plural	עוֹשִׂימוֹת 'osimot	עוֹשׂוֹת 'osot	עוֹשִׂים 'osim	They make

Verbs with a yud or vav as the second letter of the root

ע’’ו/ע’’י

'v'y’’/’’

Form	NB	Feminine	Masculine	Translation
singular	קָמֶה kameh	קָמָה kamah	קָם kam	Xe rises
plural	קָמִימוֹת kamimot	קָמוֹת kamot	קָמִים kamim	They rise