Infinitive Forms in Hebrew

In Brief

The usual Hebrew infinitive, שם הפועל (shem ha-po'al), is a fixed verb form that normally begins with ל־: לכתוב “to write,” לדבר “to speak,” and להבין “to understand.” It does not change for person, gender, or number, but its shape depends on the verb’s binyan (the pattern into which a root is fitted). It commonly follows words such as רוצה “want,” יכול “can,” צריך “need/must,” and אפשר “can/is possible.”

Overview

An infinitive is a verb form that does not identify who performs the action or when it happens. English often marks it with “to,” as in “to write.” Hebrew usually marks it with the attached prefix ל־, but the rest of the word is not simply copied from the present or past tense. Compare כותב “writes/is writing” with לכתוב “to write,” and מדבר “speaks/is speaking” with לדבר “to speak.”

Hebrew verbs are organized into binyanim—recurring templates that shape a verb’s stem and often contribute to its meaning. Each active binyan has a characteristic infinitive pattern. Recognizing the binyan therefore helps you retrieve the right form, although weak roots and very common irregular verbs must still be learned individually.

This topic is introduced here at B1 because infinitives are essential for combining ideas: wanting to act, being able to act, beginning or stopping an action, stating what is permitted, and explaining a purpose. The form itself is pleasantly economical: ללמוד remains unchanged in אני רוצה ללמוד, היא רוצה ללמוד, and אנחנו רוצים ללמוד. Only רוצה/רוצים changes to agree with the subject.

How It Works

The basic structure

The practical learner’s pattern is:

ל־ + infinitive stem

The prefix is written as part of the word, with no space: לכתוב, not ל כתוב. In unpointed Modern Hebrew—the normal spelling in messages, newspapers, and most books—the vowels are not shown. You therefore need to learn the pronunciation together with the written form.

The traditional grammatical term behind many of these forms is מקור נטוי, the “inflected” or “construct” infinitive. In everyday teaching, however, שם הפועל normally means the familiar ל־ form used like “to write.” It should not be confused with מקור מוחלט, the absolute infinitive, a mostly biblical or elevated construction discussed separately.

Main patterns by binyan

The following table gives reliable model verbs, not a machine for generating every possible infinitive. The three consonants shown with hyphens are the root, the core consonants around which the verb is built.

Binyan	Present example	Infinitive	Meaning	Typical shape
Pa'al (פעל)	כותב	לכתוב	to write	לִקְטוֹל-type, with many variations
Nif'al (נפעל)	נכנס	להיכנס	to enter	להי־ + root pattern
Pi'el (פיעל)	מדבר	לדבר	to speak	לְ + intensified stem
Hif'il (הפעיל)	מבין	להבין	to understand	לה־ + causative stem
Hitpa'el (התפעל)	מתלבש	להתלבש	to get dressed	להת־ + stem

Pa'al has the greatest variety. Useful forms include לכתוב “to write,” ללמוד “to study,” לשמור “to keep,” לקרוא “to read/call,” לשמוע “to hear,” ללכת “to go,” and לקחת “to take.” Do not infer a new Pa'al infinitive from spelling alone; learn it with each verb.

The other active patterns are often easier to recognize:

• Pi'el: לדבר “to speak,” ללמד “to teach,” לבקש “to request.”
• Hif'il: להתחיל “to begin,” להזמין “to invite/order,” להסביר “to explain.”
• Hitpa'el: להתלבש “to get dressed,” להתרגש “to become excited,” להתכתב “to correspond.”
• Nif'al: להיכנס “to enter,” להישאר “to remain,” להיפגש “to meet.”

The passive binyanim Pu'al and Huf'al generally do not supply ordinary, productive infinitives in present-day usage. Hebrew normally rephrases the idea with an active infinitive, a finite passive verb (one marked for tense/person), or a noun. This is one reason a seven-row “one infinitive for every binyan” chart can be misleading.

The infinitive does not agree

An infinitive has no masculine, feminine, singular, or plural ending. Agreement appears on the preceding word when that word is capable of agreement:

Subject	Hebrew	English
masculine singular	הוא רוצה לקרוא.	He wants to read.
feminine singular	היא רוצה לקרוא.	She wants to read.
masculine/mixed plural	הם רוצים לקרוא.	They want to read.
feminine plural	הן רוצות לקרוא.	They want to read.

English “want” barely changes, so English-speaking learners may overlook this distinction. In Hebrew, רוצה, רוצים, and רוצות belong to the agreeing expression; לקרוא stays fixed.

After modal and aspectual expressions

A modal expression states ability, desire, necessity, permission, or possibility. Hebrew commonly places an infinitive after one:

• רוצה ללכת — wants to go
• יכול לעזור — can help
• צריך ללמוד — needs/has to study
• מותר להיכנס — it is permitted to enter
• אסור לעשן — it is forbidden to smoke
• אפשר לשלם בכרטיס — one can pay by card

Infinitives also follow verbs that describe the stage of an action, sometimes called aspectual verbs: להתחיל לעבוד “to start working,” להמשיך לקרוא “to continue reading,” and להפסיק לדבר “to stop talking.” Hebrew may chain infinitives: אני רוצה להתחיל ללמוד means “I want to start studying.”

Purpose and intention

An infinitive can explain why someone performs an action:

• באתי לעזור. — I came to help.
• יצאנו לקנות אוכל. — We went out to buy food.
• אני לומד כדי לעבור את המבחן. — I am studying in order to pass the exam.

Use כדי ל־ when you want to mark purpose explicitly. A bare infinitive after a motion verb is often natural when the purpose is obvious. When the person who performs the purpose action differs from the subject of the main clause, Hebrew normally uses כדי ש־ plus a conjugated verb: אני מסביר שוב כדי שהם יבינו “I am explaining again so that they will understand.”

Objects and prepositions belong to the infinitive

An infinitive can govern an object (the person or thing affected by the action) just like a conjugated verb. A definite direct object takes את:

• אני רוצה לקרוא ספר. — I want to read a book.
• אני רוצה לקרוא את הספר. — I want to read the book.
• היא התחילה לדבר עם המנהל. — She began to speak with the manager.

The verb’s required preposition remains the same: לעזור ל־ “to help,” להקשיב ל־ “to listen to,” לדבר עם “to speak with,” and לחשוב על “to think about.”

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
אני רוצה לכתוב.	I want to write.	Desire + infinitive
צריך ללמוד.	One needs to study.	Impersonal necessity
אסור לדבר כאן.	It is forbidden to talk here.	Prohibition
קשה להבין את השאלה.	It is hard to understand the question.	Adjective + infinitive
היא יכולה לעזור לנו.	She can help us.	יכולה agrees; לעזור does not
אפשר לשלם בכרטיס?	Can one pay by card?	A natural way to ask about possibility
התחלנו ללמוד עברית בשנה שעברה.	We started learning Hebrew last year.	Aspectual verb + infinitive
בבקשה תפסיקו לדבר.	Please stop talking.	להפסיק takes another infinitive
באתי לקחת את המפתחות.	I came to get the keys.	Purpose after a motion verb
אני לומדת כדי לעבור את המבחן.	I am studying in order to pass the exam.	Explicit purpose with כדי ל־
הוא מנסה להיכנס לחשבון.	He is trying to log in to the account.	Nif'al infinitive
אנחנו מקווים להיפגש בקרוב.	We hope to meet soon.	Nif'al infinitive after מקווים
הם אוהבים לטייל בסוף השבוע.	They like hiking on the weekend.	Hebrew infinitive, natural English “-ing” translation
החלטתי לא להזמין קינוח.	I decided not to order dessert.	לא before the infinitive

Common Mistakes

Copying the present-tense stem

• Wrong: אני רוצה כותב.
• Right: אני רוצה לכתוב.
• Why: After רוצה, Hebrew needs the infinitive, not the present form כותב.

Separating the ל־ prefix

• Wrong: ל כתוב
• Right: לכתוב
• Why: The prefix is attached to the infinitive as one written word.

Making the infinitive agree with the subject

• Wrong: הן רוצות לכותבות.
• Right: הן רוצות לכתוב.
• Why: רוצות agrees with הן, but an infinitive never takes a feminine-plural ending.

Guessing every Pa'al form from one model

• Wrong: לילוך for “to go”
• Right: ללכת
• Why: Weak and irregular roots produce important forms such as ללכת, לקחת, לתת, and לבוא. Memorize the infinitive with the verb.

Dropping את before a definite object

• Wrong: אני רוצה לקרוא הספר.
• Right: אני רוצה לקרוא את הספר.
• Why: A definite direct object still requires את, even when its verb is an infinitive.

Using כדי ל־ when the actors differ

• Wrong: אני מדבר לאט כדי להבין. when the intended meaning is “I speak slowly so that you will understand.”
• Right: אני מדבר לאט כדי שתבין / כדי שתביני.
• Why: כדי ל־ normally implies that the subject of both actions is the same. Use כדי ש־ plus a conjugated verb for a different subject.

Usage Notes

In English, the same idea may use either an infinitive or an “-ing” form: “I like to read” and “I like reading.” Hebrew commonly uses the infinitive in both cases: אני אוהב לקרוא. Do not force a one-to-one match between English form and Hebrew form; translate the function of the phrase.

Impersonal expressions are extremely common. אפשר, אי אפשר, מותר, אסור, כדאי, צריך, קל, and קשה can be followed directly by an infinitive: כדאי להזמין מקום מראש “It is advisable to reserve a place in advance.” Because no particular person is named, English translations often need “one,” “you,” “it is,” or a passive construction.

To negate an infinitive phrase, place לא before it: החלטתי לא ללכת “I decided not to go,” כדי לא לאחר “in order not to be late.” For a direct negative command, however, use אל with a future form: אל תלך! “Don’t go!”—not אל ללכת. Signs and terse instructions may use לא + infinitive, such as לא לעשן “No smoking.”

Pronunciation is not always predictable from unpointed spelling. The initial letters of להבין, להיכנס, and להתלבש look similar, but their stems and stress must be learned with the verb. Listening and repeating full phrases is more effective than relying on transliteration.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Infinitive clauses as topics or subjects

Modern Hebrew can place an infinitive phrase at the beginning of a statement: ללמוד שפה חדשה זה קשה “Learning a new language is hard.” The word זה helps frame the action as a topic. More formal prose may prefer a verbal noun—a noun naming an action—such as לימוד שפה חדשה דורש זמן “Learning a new language requires time.” The infinitive and verbal noun overlap, but they are not interchangeable in every phrase.

Formal purpose expressions

Alongside everyday כדי ל־, formal writing often uses על מנת ל־: יש למלא את הטופס על מנת להירשם “The form must be completed in order to register.” It is grammatical but heavier than כדי להירשם in ordinary conversation. Formal instructions also use יש ל־ and אין ל־: יש לשמור את הקבלה “The receipt must be kept”; אין להיכנס “Entry is forbidden.”

Infinitives with suffixes in elevated language

Biblical, literary, and highly formal Hebrew can attach possessive-style suffixes to an infinitive construct, often after a preposition: בבואו “when he came/on his coming,” בלכתה “when she went,” בראותי “when I saw.” These compact forms identify the performer through the suffix. They are useful for reading but are not the ordinary B1 way to say “when he came”; everyday Hebrew normally uses a clause such as כשהוא בא.

The absolute infinitive is a different form

The מקור מוחלט (absolute infinitive) is chiefly associated with Biblical Hebrew and elevated echoes in later language. It may reinforce a conjugated verb, as in the biblical pattern שמור תשמור with an emphatic sense such as “you shall surely keep.” Despite the similar English label, it is not the everyday לכתוב form and should be learned as a separate concept.

Meaning is not perfectly predictable from the binyan

A binyan is a morphological pattern, not a guaranteed translation rule. Hitpa'el is often reflexive or reciprocal, and Hif'il is often causative, but common verbs have lexical meanings that must be learned: להתרגש means “to become excited,” while להרגיש means “to feel.” Use the binyan to organize forms, not to invent meanings.

Practice Tips

1. Learn verbs in a three-part set. Record the present form, past first-person form, and infinitive together: כותב – כתבתי – לכתוב. This exposes stem changes early.
2. Sort new infinitives by binyan. Make small lists for לדבר/ללמד, להבין/להתחיל, and להתלבש/להתרגש. Say each inside a useful frame such as אני רוצה… rather than in isolation.
3. Transform one sentence several ways. Start with אני קורא “I read,” then build אני רוצה לקרוא, קשה לקרוא, באתי לקרוא, and החלטתי לא לקרוא. This trains both form and function.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Pa'al) — compare present forms such as כותב with infinitives such as לכתוב.
• Advanced contrast: Absolute Infinitive (Infinitive Construct) — distinguishes the everyday שם הפועל from older and elevated infinitive constructions.