Lesson 1

General Introduction to Part 3- Important to Read In this section we go forward in a dramatic fashion.  We learn several new verb patterns, and a lot of “smaller” things along the way.  I strongly recommend you do the exercises.  It’s a mistake to keep running ahead to just get exposure to another new pattern.  Be tough, do the work and the necessary review that you need to strengthen your foundation.  You’re only as strong as the weakest point in your personal chain of skills.  Included in the exercises are translations from Hebrew to English.  These exercises are one of the most important aspects of the course.  One of your ultimate goals must be fluid reading comprehension.  It’s fine to use a dictionary, but as we’ve learned together you must be able to identify what you’re looking at in order to be able to put the dictionary to use.  In this part of the course you’ll be seeing “real” Hebrew sentences which you’ll have the ability to translate accurately and confidently. (with the use of a dictionary- but that too will become superfluous at some time in the future!)Guidelines for doing exercise on identifying “where is it?” in the Master Plan

Follow these steps when you see a verb, and you will find that you are quickly
identifying where a verb appears in the Master Plan. This is a critical skill for you to start to develop. It will be a central tool at your disposal in the future when you are dealing with the full spectrum of Hebrew verbs. I encourage you to use the steps sequentially, and NOT to jump directly to the infinitive until you have gained the experience to do so. And then enjoy yourself as you read (and understand!) Hebrew.

Step 1. Tense. Ask yourself what tense am I looking at? (At this point) Only the Present and Past tenses are options. That means your focus should be at the end of the word exclusively. Am I seeing one of the present tense “endings” or a past tense “ending?” Make your choice!

Step 2. Person. In the Present tense you have only 4 choices. Masculine Singular, Feminine Singular, Masculine Plural, and Feminine Plural. Each of them is distinctive. So if it’s present….then make the choice! In the case of the Past tense each “person” is unique. (except for the two “they’s,” which as you know are identical in their form. (always) It makes great sense to memorize the past tense of the verb לשמור if you haven’t done so, so as to simplify your identifying the “person” in the past tense. Make a choice, and then proceed to Step 3.

Step 3. At this point you should be able to construct the infinitive, and get to the הוא form in the past tense. This gives you way to look up the word in the dictionary, and then reach the precise definition of the word that you are looking to identify.

Step 4. Ask yourself, “Which pattern is this? Where would I put this word in the
Master Plan?”

Compare your answers with those on the Answer Sheet. Practice makes perfect!

Download:  Exercise 1 and Exercise 2 and their respective answer sheets

Assignment: Exercise 1 is a great review, touching on almost everything we’ve learned to date.  Really work hard at it, including putting in the vowels on the infinitive, and using a dictionary to find the meanings of the words, before you compare your answers to those of the answer sheet.  Exercise 2 is putting to use your knowledge of The Master Plan, and identifying “the third person, past tense, masculine singular.”

Length:  10:19