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Dialogue

Question-answer | question = Transliterate the dialogue. | answer = David: Shalom, Sarah! Me’eifoh at ba’ah?
Sarah: Ani ba’ah mibritanyah. Hamishpaħah sheli ‘adayin sham.
David: Yesh lakh aħim o aħayot?
Sarah: Yesh li aħot aħat. Me’eifoh atah ba ve’eifoh hamishpaħah shelkha?
David: Ani ba mitsorfat aval hamishpaħah sheli beyisra’el.
Sarah: Yafeh. Bai!
David: Lehitra’ot!

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Grammar: the Directional Mem

In English, when you are saying you are going from somewhere, you are using the preposition “from”. This remains the same in Hebrew, only that the preposition “from” appears as a single letter attached to the beginning of any noun, namely Mem.

The Mem and ħiriq Hebrew|מִ at the beginning of any noun dictates direction to a place. For instance, “Hebrew|צָרְפַת” means “France” whereas “Hebrew|מִצָרְפַת” (mitsorfat) means “from France”.

The Mem always remains when you want to use the preposition “from”, but the vowel (and therefore the prefix itself) changes in any of the following cases:

• Before a word beginning with a guttural letter (Hebrew|א, ה, ח, ע or Hebrew|ר) it becomes Hebrew|מֵ me.
• In accordance with the above, if a word is definite (and therefore begins with a definite He), it becomes Hebrew|מֵהַ meha.
• Very important note: Most Israelis ignore these rules and always pronounce the Mem with a tsere Hebrew|מֵ. You can use these rules if you want to but they may become a burden, so if you choose to skip them, you would be fully understood and considered to speak like "the everyday person in the street” (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

Alter these nouns to indicate direction to them. Question-answer | question = בית | answer = Hebrew|מִבית Question-answer | question = אוסטרליה | answer = Hebrew|מֵאוסטרליה Question-answer | question = נְיוּ-יוֹרְק | answer = Hebrew|מִנְיוּ-יוֹרְק Question-answer | question = הבית | answer = Hebrew|מֵהבית Question-answer | question = ירושלים | answer = Hebrew|מִירושלים

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Introduction to Verbs

In Hebrew the verbs are conjugating, meaning that they change depending on tense, gender and person. This is true for most languages, however, English is one exception in that it has only five conjugations: “do”, “does”, “doing”, “did” and “done” (regular verbs have only four: “act”, “acts”, “acting” and “acted”). A regular Hebrew verb has 27 different conjugations. Don't be afraid! You will learn them eventually, and 6 of these aren't used by most Israelis.

It is important to note a major factor of most Semitic languages. All nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs in the Hebrew are made up of three root consonants (which can be also Aleph, Yod and Vav), which, depending on the vowels between them and around them as well as the additional letters surrounding them, can make different words and parts of speech related to the root meaning of the triconsonantal (three consonant) root. For instance, the root Hebrew|כ.ת.ב K-T-V has the general meaning of “writing”, so Hebrew|כְּתַב means “handwriting”, Hebrew|כַּתָּבָה means “news article” and Hebrew|מִכְתָּב means “postal letter”.

Note that some roots have as little as two consonants and as many as 5, but the overwhelming majority includes 3 consonants.

All Hebrew verbs fall into seven “moulds”, known as binyanim (“structures”). A triconsonantal root usually falls into more than one binyan. For instance, if we take the root K-T-V from earlier, Hebrew|כָּתַב means “he wrote”, Hebrew|נִכְתַּב means “he (it) was written”, Hebrew|הִכְתִּיב means “he dictated” and Hebrew|הִתְכַּתֵּב means “he exchanged letters”. The root, tense and person remains the same, but because the binyan is different so does the meaning change. In the names of the binyanim the place where the consonantal roots should be is marked by the root P-‘-L, which means “acting”. Note that the order of the consonants is crucial, because it can completely change the meaning (G-D-L means “growing”, D-L-G means “skipping”, G-L-D means “healing wounds” and D-G-L means “supporting an idea/raising a banner”).

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Binyan pa‘al

In this lessons we're going to continue to learn the present tense. As you've learned in the previous lesson, the present tense is the simplest of all tenses, because it has only four conjugations. You have also learned your first triconsonantal root, G-R which has the meaning of “residing”. Note that it is unusual in that it has only 2 letters.

The verb Hebrew|גָּר belongs to the primary and simplest binyan, pa‘al. Many researchers consider it to be the most ancient and elementary. Because it has no additional letters to the root consonants, it is known as Hebrew|בִּנְיָן קַל, meaning “easy structure” or “light weight structure”.

Now you are going to learn your second verb, which also has two letters: B-’, which has the meaning of “coming”. It conjugates as follows:

Hebrew table|Verb|?מֵאֵיפֹה אַתָּה בָּא|To come|לָבוֹא|4>

Masculine		Feminine
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
Hebrew|בָּא	Hebrew|בָּאָה	Hebrew|בָּאִים	Hebrew|בָּאוֹת

Based on this you can guess how the following binyan pa‘al biconsontal roots would conjugate:

Question-answer | question = שׁב | answer = Hebrew|שָׁב, שָׁבָה, שָׁבִים, שָׁבוֹת Question-answer | question = חשׁ | answer = Hebrew|חָשׁ, חָשָׁה, חָשִׁים, חָשׁוֹת Question-answer | question = סר | answer = Hebrew|סָר, סָרָה, סָרִים, סָרוֹת Question-answer | question = דג | answer = Hebrew|דָּג, דָּגָה, דָּגִים, דָּגוֹת Question-answer | question = בז | answer = Hebrew|בָּז, בָּזָה, בָּזִים, בָּזוֹת

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Triconsonantal conjugation

Regular triconsonantal binyan pa‘al present tense conjugation:

Hebrew table|Verb|?מֵאֵיפֹה אַתָּה בָּא|Binyan pa‘al|בִּנְיָן קַל|4>

Singular		Plural
Masculine	Feminine	Masculine	Feminine
Hebrew|פּוֹעֵל	Hebrew|פּוֹעֶלֶת	Hebrew|פּוֹעֲלִים	Hebrew|פּוֹעֲלוֹת
Hebrew|פָּעֵל	Hebrew|פְעֵלָה	Hebrew|פְּעֵלִים	Hebrew|פְּעֵלוֹת
Hebrew|פָּעוֹל	Hebrew|פְּעוֹלָה	Hebrew|פְּעוֹלִים	Hebrew|פְּעוֹלוֹת

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Notes

• Replace the letters of the root with the P, ‘ and L.
• The name of the binyan is by its past-tense form, which is why its conjugations are different from its name.
• The middle and last conjugation patterns (Hebrew|פָּעֵל/פָּעוֹל) are variations of the regular pattern. A root can fit into only one of these patterns. Fortunately, the middle and bottom patterns are extremely rare and you're not likely to bump into them.
• In the plural, because ‘Ayin is a guttural letter it can't have a shva. Therefore it is replaced by a ħataf-pataħ. If you have a root where the middle letter isn't guttural, replace the ħataf-pataħ by a shva.
• If the root ends with He, the conjugations are as follows: Hebrew|פּוֹעֶה, פּוֹעָה, פּוֹעִים, פּוֹעוֹת.
• If the root ends with ‘Ayin or Ħet, the masculine singular form is Hebrew|פּוֹעֵחַ and is pronounced po‘eaħ — the feminine singular form is Hebrew|פּוֹעַחַת.

Conjugate the following roots in pa‘al in the present tense: {|width=100% style="background:#FFFFFF;" border="0" | colspan=2| |- | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = ח.שׁ.ב (thinking) | answer = Hebrew|חוֹשֵׁב, חוֹשֶׁבֶת, חוֹשְׁבִים, חוֹשְׁבוֹת Question-answer | question = כ.ת.ב (writing) | answer = Hebrew|כּוֹתֵב, כּוֹתֶבֶת, כּוֹתְבִים, כּוֹתְבוֹת Question-answer | question = צ.ב.ע (painting) | answer = Hebrew|צוֹבֵעַ, צוֹבַעַת, צוֹבְעִים, צוֹבְעוֹת Question-answer | question = ל.ח.ם (fighting) | answer = Hebrew|לוֹחֵם, לוֹחֶמֶת, לוֹחֲמִים, לוֹחֲמוֹת Question-answer | question = ר.א.ה (seeing) | answer = Hebrew|רוֹאֶה, רוֹאָה, רוֹאִים, רוֹאוֹת | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = ט.ע.ם (tasting) | answer = Hebrew|טוֹעֵם, טוֹעֶמֶת, טוֹעֲמִים, טוֹעֲמוֹת Question-answer | question = ל.מ.ד (learning) | answer = Hebrew|לוֹמֵד, לוֹמֶדֶת, לוֹמְדִים, לוֹמְדוֹת Question-answer | question = ע.שׂ.ה (doing) | answer = Hebrew|עוֹשֶׂה, עוֹשָׂה, עוֹשִׂים, עוֹשׂוֹת Question-answer | question = ס.פ.ר (counting) | answer = Hebrew|סוֹפֵר, סוֹפֶרֶת, סוֹפְרִים, סוֹפְרוֹת Question-answer | question = שׁ.מ.ע (hearing) | answer = Hebrew|שׁוֹמֵעַ, שׁוֹמַעַת, שׁוֹמְעִים, שׁוֹמְעוֹת |}

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Asking for Place of Origin

Asking someone “where do you come from?” is different than asking someone “where do you live?”. You might have noticed that while David lives in Jerusalem, Israel and Sarah lives in New York City, David is in origin from France and Sarah comes from the UK.

In Israel, being a country where there are lots of immigrants, this question could be very useful and would probably be more effective than asking where he/she lives. Moreover, you might be asked yourself for your origin so it would be useful to know. To ask someone for his/her place of origin, use the directional Mem Hebrew|מֵ plus the word for “where” Hebrew|איפֹה — “from where”. We learned that in Hebrew the word order doesn't change in questions, so instead of asking “where is he?” you'd say “where he is?”. With these in mind, you'd know now how to ask “where do you (m sing.) come from”: Question-answer | question = | answer = Hebrew|מֵאיפה אתה בָּא? “From where you come?”
Coincidentally also the name of this lesson!

Examples:

• Where does Mary come from?

• George and Peter come from South Africa.

It can also be used to indicate a place you are now coming (going) from, not just your origin:

• I'm coming (m) from my house.

Translate the following English expressions to Hebrew and vice versa: {|width=100% style="background:#FFFFFF;" border="0" | colspan=2| |- | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = Where does Sophie and Nancy come from? | answer = Hebrew|מֵאיפה בָּאוֹת סוֹפִי וָנֵנְסִי? Question-answer | question = You (m sing.) come from Ireland. | answer = Hebrew|אתה בָּא מֵאירלנד. Question-answer | question = .אנחנו בָּאִים מֵהדירה שלו | answer = We are coming from his apartment. Question-answer | question = Where does Kelly come from? | answer = Hebrew|מֵאיפה בָּאָה קֶלִי? Question-answer | question = ?מֵאיפה אתן בָּאוֹת | answer = Where do you (f pl.) come from? | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = They (m) come from our bungalow. | answer = Hebrew|הם בָּאִים מֵהבונגלו שלנו. Question-answer | question = There are three rooms there. | answer = Hebrew|יש שם שלושה חֲדָּרִים. Question-answer | question = Where do they (f) come from? | answer = Hebrew|מֵאיפה הן בָּאוֹת? Question-answer | question = He is coming from her room. | answer = Hebrew|הוא בָּא מֵהחדר שלה. Question-answer | question = ?אתה בָּא מארצות הברית | answer = Do you (m sing.) come from the United States? |}

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The Family

Hebrew table|Vocabulary|?מֵאֵיפֹה אַתָּה בָּא|The Family|הַמִּשְׁפָחָה|2>

אַנְגְּלִית	עִבְרִית
Family	Hebrew|מִּשְׁפָחָה
Father	Hebrew|אָב
Dad	Hebrew|אַבָּא
Mother	Hebrew|אֵם
Mom	Hebrew|אִמָּא
Parents	Hebrew|הוֹרִים
Son	Hebrew|בֵּן (pl. Hebrew|בָּנִים)
Daughter	Hebrew|בַּת (pl. Hebrew|בָּנוֹת)
Brother	Hebrew|אָח (pl. Hebrew|אָחִים)
Sister	Hebrew|אֲחוֹת (pl. Hebrew|אֲחָיוֹת)
Grandfather	Hebrew|סַבָּא
Grandmother	Hebrew|סַבְתָּא
Grandson	Hebrew|נֶכֶד (pl. Hebrew|נְכָדִים)
Granddaughter	Hebrew|נֶכְדָּה (pl. Hebrew|נְכָדוֹת)

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Other words

Hebrew table|Vocabulary|?מֵאֵיפֹה אַתָּה בָּא|Other words|מִילִּים אֲחֵרוֹת|2>

אַנְגְּלִית	עִבְרִית
Still	Hebrew|עֲדַיִן
Yet
Or	Hebrew|אוֹ

Translate the following English expressions to Hebrew and vice versa: {|width=100% style="background:#FFFFFF;" border="0" | colspan=2| |- | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = I have a brother and a sister. | answer = Hebrew|יש לי אָח ואֲחוֹת. Question-answer | question = .אין להן בָּנִים עֲדַיִן | answer = They don't have sons yet. Question-answer | question = Does he have a grandfather? | answer = Hebrew|יש לו סַבָּא? Question-answer | question = Our parents still live there. | answer = Hebrew|ההוֹרִים שלנו עֲדַיִן גרים שם. Question-answer | question = ?מֵאיפה סַבְתָּא שלה | answer = Where does her grandmother come from? | width=50% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = My daughters' house. | answer = Hebrew|הבית של הבָּנוֹת שלי. Question-answer | question = Their sister is 16 years old. | answer = Hebrew|האֲחוֹת שלהם בת שש-עשרה. Question-answer | question = ?איך קוראים למִּשְׁפָחָה שלכם | answer = What's your (m) family's name? Question-answer | question = My mother lives in a duplex. | answer = Hebrew|אִמָּא שלי גרה בבית דו-מפלסי. Question-answer | question = .הנֶכֶד שלָךְ מספרד | answer = Your (f sing.) grandson is from Spain. |}

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Vocabulary

Transliterate and translate the following Hebrew expressions to English: {|width=100% style="background:#FFFFFF;" border="0" | colspan=3| |- | width=33% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = שומעים | answer = shome‘im
Hear (m pl.) Question-answer | question = נכדה | answer = nekhdah
Granddaughter Question-answer | question = עדיין | answer = ‘adayin
Still, yet Question-answer | question = לומדת | answer = lomedet
Learn (f sing.) Question-answer | question = אם | answer = em
Mother | width=33% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = טועם | answer = to‘em
Taste (m sing.) Question-answer | question = או | answer = o
Or Question-answer | question = חושבות | answer = ħoshvot
Think (f pl.) Question-answer | question = משפחה | answer = mishpaħah
Family Question-answer | question = אחיות | answer = aħayot
Sisters | width=33% valign="top"| Question-answer | question = שומע | answer = shomea‘
Hear (m sing.) Question-answer | question = הורים | answer = horim
Parents Question-answer | question = עושָה | answer = ‘osah
Do (f sing.) Question-answer | question = סבא | answer = saba
Grandfather Question-answer | question = באים | answer = ba’im
Come (m pl.) |}

Translate the dialogue from the beginning of this lesson. Question-answer | question = ?דוד: שלום, שרה! מֵאיפה את בָּאָה | answer = David: Hello, Sarah! Where do you come from? Question-answer | question = .שרה: אני בָּאָה מִבריטניה. הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה שלי עֲדַיִן שם | answer = Sarah: I come from the UK. My family is still there. Question-answer | question = ?דוד: יש לך אַחִים אוֹ אֲחָיוֹת | answer = David: Do you have brothers or sisters? Question-answer | question = ?שרה: יש לי אֲחוֹת אחת. מֵאיפה אתה בָּא וְאיפה הַמִּשְׁפָחָה שלך | answer = Sarah: I have one sister. Where do you come from and where is your family? Question-answer | question = .דוד: אני בָּא מִצרפת אבל הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה שלי בישראל | answer = David: I come from France but my family is in Israel. Question-answer | question = !שרה: יָפֶה. ביי | answer = Sarah: Pretty (literally: nice), bye (can also be used in Hebrew)! Question-answer | question = !דוד: להתראות | answer = David: See you later!

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Summary

In this lesson, you have learned:

• The directional Mem.
• About the binyanim and binyan pa‘al.
• Triconsonantal binyan qal present tense verb conjugation (Hebrew|עוֹשֶׂה, כּוֹתֶבֶת, טוֹעֲמִים, סוֹפְרוֹת).
• Asking for place of origin (Hebrew|מֵאיפה אתה בָּא?) and stating your place of origin (Hebrew|אני בָּא מ...).
• The core family.