English has 2 future tenses. For example:
I will study Hebrew.
I am going to study Hebrew.
Does Hebrew have the equivalent to both?
I will study Hebrew.
I am going to study Hebrew.
Does Hebrew have the equivalent to both?
am going to study
- Thread starter TalomedIvrit
- Start date
No.
The Future tense in hebrew is very simple and 'friendly'.
BUT!, in modern Hebrew there are more than one way to express the future tense.
For example, I would translate the first sentence this way: "אני אלמד עברית".
This sentence actually expresses your choice of studying Hebrew, your decisiveness.
Under the surface, from this sentence we can understand that somewhere in the future youll study the language.
The second sentence would be translated this way: "אני הולך ללמוד עברית", which actually tells us "Someehre in the near future I will study Hebrew, I mean to study Hebrew", but this tone is less decisive.
The Future tense in hebrew is very simple and 'friendly'.
BUT!, in modern Hebrew there are more than one way to express the future tense.
For example, I would translate the first sentence this way: "אני אלמד עברית".
This sentence actually expresses your choice of studying Hebrew, your decisiveness.
Under the surface, from this sentence we can understand that somewhere in the future youll study the language.
The second sentence would be translated this way: "אני הולך ללמוד עברית", which actually tells us "Someehre in the near future I will study Hebrew, I mean to study Hebrew", but this tone is less decisive.
אני אלמד עברית
אני עומד ללמוד עברית
אני עומד ללמוד עברית
Welcome to the Forum TalomedIvrit (great pseudo !).
As BBman explained :
In fact, literally as English : ani olekh (I go/ I am going) lilmod (to learn) 'ivrit.
As for אני עומד ללמוד עברית I would think it is more like : I stand to learn Hebrew (I have never heard this way of saying, but that may be because of ignorance).
Not exactly. One is "plain future" (will ...), the other one is "near future" (going to + inf.).
As BBman explained :
.
In fact, literally as English : ani olekh (I go/ I am going) lilmod (to learn) 'ivrit.
As for אני עומד ללמוד עברית I would think it is more like : I stand to learn Hebrew (I have never heard this way of saying, but that may be because of ignorance).
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I think you would translate אני עומד ללמוד עברית as "I am about to study Hebrew."
But in English, this expression would usually be used regarding an activity that is to begin immediately and has a limited time frame, e.g. I am about to go to the store.
So "I am about to study Hebrew" would mean, "I am going to sit down and study Hebrew," not "I am beginning the study of the Hebrew language."
Wouldn't this distinction be true in Hebrew also?
Rosemarino, that's my understanding of עומד as well, and I was going to ask the same question. In English, you could say "I'm going to learn Hebrew one day" but I don't think you could use עומד in that context.
"To stand to do something" does exist, but it means something else.
No, it's not because of ignorance; it's because it's not correct.
"To stand to do something" does exist, but it means something else.אני אלמד עברית .1
אני הולך ללמוד עברית .2
for me the 1st option sounds like a very decisive way to say I will learn hebrew and I will use it in a sentence like for example: אני אלמד עברית וארכוש לי שפה נוספת
while the 2nd option sounds more like the intention to learn hebrew, and it would be used in a sentence like: אני הולך ללמוד עברית בקיץ הקרוב
אני הולך ללמוד עברית .2
for me the 1st option sounds like a very decisive way to say I will learn hebrew and I will use it in a sentence like for example: אני אלמד עברית וארכוש לי שפה נוספת
while the 2nd option sounds more like the intention to learn hebrew, and it would be used in a sentence like: אני הולך ללמוד עברית בקיץ הקרוב
What I meant by "I stand to learn Hebrew" (stand in italic, a literal rendering of עומד ) is, of course, in plain English " I am about to ..." .
I don't know if any of אני עומד ללמוד, אני הולך ללמוד, אני מתכנן ללמוד, אני מתכוון ללמוד, אני רוצה ללמוד and alike are really future tense, or just a way of speak.
The pro - like English "I am going to" nobody "stands" or "walks" in אני עומד ללמוד, אני הולך ללמוד. The con - The same structure is used for all those verbs, including מתכוון, מתכנן, רוצה, מתאווה etc., so there's nothing future about it in the lingual level.
The pro - like English "I am going to" nobody "stands" or "walks" in אני עומד ללמוד, אני הולך ללמוד. The con - The same structure is used for all those verbs, including מתכוון, מתכנן, רוצה, מתאווה etc., so there's nothing future about it in the lingual level.
these are "volitive", not future (I want to, I have the desire to).
Then how would you say, using the near future : "he is not going to want to go the hospital ..." (a bit strange in English, but possible in French "il ne va pas vouloir aller à l'hôpital").
My point is that distinction between "volitive" and "near future" in Hebrew is anything but obvious. I suspect that it may not exist (yet) at all. Imposing non-Hebrew constructs (IE near future in this case) on the Hebrew language may be misleading.
I am not too confident about it, just want to avoid trivial conclusions in a non-trivial situation. An authoritative source (book, article) about this issue would be appreciated if anyone can provide.
אין מצב שהוא ירצה ללכת לבית חולים :d
d should have been a smile)The Pimsleur Hebrew lesson tapes have the following construct:
אני נוסע ללמוד
How does that compare to the use of other phrases discussed in this thread such as אני הולך ללמוד עברית ?
אני נוסע ללמוד
How does that compare to the use of other phrases discussed in this thread such as אני הולך ללמוד עברית ?
right, but this would mean " there is no way that he [will] want(s) to go ..." (which is the meaning, but the construction is different).
that one I have never heard ...
Strange that English, French AND Hebrew do use the same "to go + infinitive" construction to convey the near future sens. Is it native to Hebrew ? Borrowed from other languages ? To my knowledge, it doesn't exist in German "*ich gehe lernen...", and a fortiori not in Yiddish either, which could have been a good track...
It feels like something is missing. It would sound better if you said: אני נוסע ללמוד [עברית] בישראל
But wouldn't this mean : I'm taking a trip/traveling to learn in Israel ?
Yes, that's what it means
If I am not mistaken, you don't normally use the pronouns with the future tense. The unmarked form of the future tense does not contain a pronoun. You include the pronoun when you want to emphasize the subject of the verb. So, elmad ivrit would be the unmarked form while ani elmad ivrit would be the marked form. The latter means "As for me, I will study Hebrew."
Am I correct?