Infinitives (Prospectives)
Infinitives (ˈʃmot ha-poˈʕal) in Hebrew are primarily formed by adding the letter lamed (ל) to the front of the base form (t͡suˈʁat ha-maˈkoʁ). The vowels change systematically according to the binyan.
- כתב /kaˈtav/ (wrote, pa'al) → לכתוב /liχˈtov/ (to write)
- מדבר /medaˈbeʁ/ (speak, pi'el) → לדבר /ledaˈbeʁ/ (to speak)
- התחיל /hitˈħil/ (started, hif'il) → להתחיל /lehatˈħil/ (to start)
- התפלל /hitpaˈlel/ (prayed, hitpa'el) → להתפלל /lehitpaˈlel/ (to pray)
- נפגש /nifˈɡaʃ/ (met with, nif'al) → להיפגש /lehipaˈɡeʃ/ (to meet with)
pu'al and huf'al verbs do not have prospectives.
Read more about this topic: Modern Hebrew Verb Conjugation