Hebrew verb conjugations - the Binyanim
From UniLang Wiki
Hebrew verbs are conjugated according to specific patterns called בניינים (binyanim - "constructions") where vowels and affixes are slotted into the (mostly) three-letter שורשים (shorashim - roots) from which the majority of Hebrew words are built.
There are seven basic binyanim. The traditional demonstration root is פ.ע.ל which has the basic meaning of "action" or "doing":
פעל pa'al - simple active
- pa'al changes due to specific consonants
נפעל nif'al - simple passive
פיעל pi'el - intensive active
פועל pu'al - intensive passive
הפעיל hif'il - causative active
הופעל huf'al - causative passive
התפעל hitpa'el - reflexive
Not coincidentally, the word for verb is פועל po'al.
There are also quadriliteral and irregular verbs
Unlike Indo-European languages such as Latin, Hebrew can and does conjugate the same root in several conjugations, giving it different but (usually) related meanings. However, not many verbs are used in all seven conjugations, and the roles described above for each conjugation are generalizations at best (though the active/passive distinction is kept well).
There is much similarity between the seven conjugation in both the forms and their usage. The pages describing conjugation pa'al will detail these, and other conjugations will rely on them.
