Lesson 7: My Day
David tells us about an ordinary day. Read it aloud and listen to each line.
The story
בַּבֹּקֶר אֲנִי קָם בְּשֶׁבַע.
baboker ani kam besheva.
In the morning I get up at seven.
אֲנִי שׁוֹתֶה קָפֶה וְאוֹכֵל לֶחֶם.
ani shote kafe ve’ochel lechem.
I drink coffee and eat bread.
אַחַר כָּךְ אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ לָעֲבוֹדָה.
achar kakh ani holekh la’avoda.
After that I go to work.
בָּעֶרֶב אֲנִי חוֹזֵר הַבַּיְתָה.
ba’erev ani chozer habayta.
In the evening I return home.
אֲנִי אוֹכֵל אֲרוּחַת עֶרֶב עִם הַמִּשְׁפָּחָה.
ani ochel aruchat erev im hamishpacha.
I eat dinner with the family.
בַּלַּיְלָה אֲנִי קוֹרֵא סֵפֶר וְיָשֵׁן.
balayla ani kore sefer ve’yashen.
At night I read a book and sleep.
Grammar: present-tense verbs & “in / at” with time
In the present tense, a man speaking about himself uses this verb shape (the masculine singular). Notice the common vowel pattern o–e:
| Hebrew | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| שׁוֹתֶה | shote | drink |
| אוֹכֵל | ochel | eat |
| הוֹלֵךְ | holekh | go |
| חוֹזֵר | chozer | return |
| קוֹרֵא | kore | read |
For time expressions, Hebrew attaches the prefix בְּ־ (be-, “in/at”) to the front of the word, and it usually merges with “the”:
- בֹּקֶר boker (morning) → בַּבֹּקֶר baboker (in the morning)
- עֶרֶב erev (evening) → בָּעֶרֶב ba’erev (in the evening)
Vocabulary
Nouns
| בֹּקֶר | boker | morning |
| עֶרֶב | erev | evening |
| לַיְלָה | layla | night |
| לֶחֶם | lechem | bread |
| עֲבוֹדָה | avoda | work |
| סֵפֶר | sefer | book |
| אֲרוּחַת עֶרֶב | aruchat erev | dinner |
Verbs
| קָם | kam | get up |
| שׁוֹתֶה | shote | drink |
| אוֹכֵל | ochel | eat |
| הוֹלֵךְ | holekh | go, walk |
| חוֹזֵר | chozer | return |
| קוֹרֵא | kore | read |
| יָשֵׁן | yashen | sleep |
Numbers
| שֶׁבַע | sheva | seven |
Time expressions
| אַחַר כָּךְ | achar kakh | afterwards, then |
| הַבַּיְתָה | habayta | (to) home, homeward |