Verbs with Prepositions
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
אני חושב על הבעיה.
I am thinking about the problem.
היא מדברת עם החברה שלה.
She is talking with her friend.
אנחנו מחכים לאוטובוס.
We are waiting for the bus.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Many verbs require a fixed preposition: לחשוב על (lachshov al, to think about), לדבר עם (ledaber im, to talk with), לחכות ל- (lechakot le-, to wait for). The preposition is part of the verb and is not swapped out. English pairs verbs with prepositions too, but the pairings rarely line up one-to-one, so learn each Hebrew verb together with its preposition.
Common Error Patterns
Wrong preposition used with a fixed verb-preposition collocation.
Required preposition omitted after verb.
אני חושב על הבעיה.
I am thinking about the problem.
לחשוב על — 'to think about'; על is fixed with this verb.
היא מדברת עם החברה שלה.
She is talking with her friend.
לדבר עם — 'to talk with'; עם means 'with'.
אנחנו מחכים לאוטובוס.
We are waiting for the bus.
לחכות ל- — 'to wait for'; ל- attaches directly to the following noun.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises