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:
“The instant field of the present is at all times what I call the ‘pure’ experience. It is only virtually or potentially either object or subject as yet.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“A pathological business, writing, don’t you think? Just look what a writer actually does: all that unnatural tense squatting and hunching, all those rituals: pathological!”
—Hans Magnus Enzensberger (b. 1929)