Present Tense
A verb in the present tense (הוֹוֶה, hove) agrees with its subject in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), such that each verb has four present-tense forms:
| Form | Root | Singular | Plural | Translation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | F | M | F | |||
| pa'al | שׁמר | שׁוֹמֵר | שׁוֹמֶ֫רֶת | שׁוֹמְרִים | שׁוֹמְרוֹת | Guards |
| sh-m-r | ʃoˈmeʁ | ʃoˈmeʁet | ʃomˈʁim | ʃomˈʁot | ||
| pi'el | גדל | מְגַדֵּל | מְגַדֶּלֶת | מְגַדְּלִים | מְגַדְּלוֹת | Raises, grows (something) |
| g-d-l | meɡaˈdel | meɡaˈdelet | meɡadˈlim | meɡadˈlot | ||
| hif'il | קטנ | מַקְטִין | מַקְטִינָה | מַקְטִינִים | מַקְטִינוֹת | Shrinks (something) |
| q-t-n | makˈtin | maktiˈna | maktiˈnim | maktiˈnot | ||
| hitpa'el | בטל | מִתְבַּטֵּל | מִתְבַּטֶּלֶת | מִתְבַּטְּלִים | מִתְבַּטְּלוֹת | Belittles oneself, loafs |
| b-t-l | mitbaˈtel | mitbaˈtelet | mitbatˈlim | mitbatˈlot | ||
| huf'al | קטנ | מֻקְטָן | מֻקְטֶנֶת | מֻקְטָנִים | מֻקְטָנוֹת | Is shrunken by |
| q-t-n | mukˈtan | mukˈtenet | muktaˈnim | muktaˈnot | ||
| pu'al | גדל | מְגֻדָּל | מְגֻדֶּלֶת | מְגֻדָּלִים | מְגֻדָּלוֹת | Is raised |
| g-d-l | meɡuˈdal | meɡuˈdelet | meɡudaˈlim | meɡudaˈlot | ||
| nif'al | שׁמר | נִשְׁמָר | נִשְׁמֶרֶת | נִשְׁמָרִים | נִשְמָרוֹת | Is guarded |
| sh-m-r | niʃˈmaʁ | niʃˈmeʁet | niʃmaˈʁim | niʃmaˈʁot | ||
The present tense doesn't inflect by first, second, or third person because its use as a present tense is a relatively recent trend, as this form was originally used as the participle. The ancient language didn't have strictly defined past, present, or future tenses, but merely perfective and imperfective aspects, with past, present, or future connotation depending on context. Later the perfective and imperfective aspects were explicitly refashioned as the past and future tenses respectively, with the participle standing in as the present tense. (This also happened to the Aramaic language around the same time.) The modern present tense verb is still used as the present participle; see further down.
Read more about this topic: Modern Hebrew Verb Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the words present and/or tense:
“An orange on the table,
Your dress on the rug,
And you in my bed,
Sweet present of the present,
Cool of night,
Warmth of my life.”
—Jacques Prévert (1900–1977)
“I don’t think Dr. King helped racial harmony, I think he helped racial justice. What I profess to do is help the oppressed and if I cause a load of discomfort in the white community and the black community, that in my opinion means I’m being effective, because I’m not trying to make them comfortable. The job of an activist is to make people tense and cause social change.”
—Al, Reverend Sharpton (b. 1954)