Lesson 99: Work and Ambitions

To talk about plans and ambitions you need the future tense. Unlike the past, which uses endings, the future is built mainly with prefixes — a letter on the front of the verb tells you who will do it.

Talking about the future

Grammar: the future tense (prefix conjugation)

Here is לִלְמֹד (lilmod, “to study”) in the future. Watch the prefix letters א / תּ / י / נ:

Who	Hebrew	Romanization	English
I	אֶלְמַד	elmad	I will study
you (m.)	תִּלְמַד	tilmad	you will study
you (f.)	תִּלְמְדִי	tilmedi	you will study
he	יִלְמַד	yilmad	he will study
she	תִּלְמַד	tilmad	she will study
we	נִלְמַד	nilmad	we will study
they	יִלְמְדוּ	yilmedu	they will study

To introduce a condition, use אִם (im, “if”), usually followed by another future verb: אִם תִּהְיֶה לִי הִזְדַּמְּנוּת (im tihye li hizdamnut, “if I have the opportunity”).

Tip: חוּץ לָאָרֶץ (chuts la’arets, literally “outside the Land”) is the everyday word for “abroad”, often shortened in writing to חו״ל (chul).

Vocabulary