Lesson 40: My Weekend
Monday-morning small talk: what did you do at the weekend? This lesson stretches your past tense with a few new verbs and the time words to frame them.
Back at work on Monday
אֵיךְ הָיָה סוֹף הַשָּׁבוּעַ שֶׁלְּךָ?
eich haya sof hashavua shelcha?
How was your weekend?
הָיָה נֶהְדָּר! בְּשַׁבָּת הָלַכְתִּי לַיָּם.
haya nehedar! beshabbat halachti layam.
It was great! On Saturday I went to the beach.
וּבְיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן?
uveyom rishon?
And on Sunday?
נַחְתִּי בַּבַּיִת וְקָרָאתִי סֵפֶר.
nachti babayit vekarati sefer.
I rested at home and read a book.
נִשְׁמָע מֻשְׁלָם.
nishma mushlam.
Sounds perfect.
Grammar: “it was” and more past verbs
To say “it was”, use הָיָה (haya, the past of “to be” — which Hebrew otherwise skips):
- הָיָה נֶהְדָּר haya nehedar — “it was wonderful”
- אֵיךְ הָיָה? eich haya? — “how was it?”
Here are the new past verbs in the “I” form (from Lesson 13’s pattern):
| Hebrew | Romanization | English |
|---|---|---|
| הָלַכְתִּי | halachti | I went / walked |
| קָרָאתִי | karati | I read |
| נַחְתִּי | nachti | I rested |
Frame them with time words: בְּשַׁבָּת (beshabbat, “on Saturday”), בְּיוֹם רִאשׁוֹן (beyom rishon, “on Sunday”).
Tip: סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ (sof shavua) is “weekend” — in Israel that’s mostly Friday and Saturday.
Vocabulary
Past verbs (I form)
| הָיָה | haya | was / it was |
| הָלַכְתִּי | halachti | I went, walked |
| קָרָאתִי | karati | I read |
| נַחְתִּי | nachti | I rested |
Places & time
| יָם | yam | sea, beach |
| סוֹף שָׁבוּעַ | sof shavua | weekend |
Reacting
| נֶהְדָּר | nehedar | wonderful |
| מֻשְׁלָם | mushlam | perfect |