HEBREW · STEP 29
You said: Hear the addressee
Separate the person speaking now from the person whose earlier words are being recalled.
In this lesson
Change ti to ta
You learned אָמַרְתִּי, a-MAR-ti, I said. Now read another whole form of the same saying verb.
a-MAR-ta
You said
- Alef with qamats gives a; mem with patah and the following resh give mar.
- Resh’s sheva is silent here, just as in amarti. Resh closes mar without an added e.
- Dotted tav with qamats gives ta. This form has no final yod.
Read three syllables, a-MAR-ta, with the middle one stronger. The selected biblical source’s chanting accent confirms that stress. Its simplified spelling keeps the vowel points but omits the accent; our aid preserves the source stress.
Amarta means you said, referring to one addressee with a masculine grammatical form. An addressee is the person being addressed. Amarti means I said, referring to the speaker. Compare both complete spellings and meanings.
1. Read אָמַרְתָּ and אָמַרְתִּי. What changes in spelling, last syllable and subject reference? What stays the same in the sheva and stress?
a-MAR-ta, you said; a-MAR-ti, I said. Amarta ends with tav and qamats; amarti has tav with hiriq and a helper yod.
Both have silent sheva under resh, three syllables and stronger mar. The final ta and ti belong to different whole forms: one points to the addressee, the other to the speaker.
One person being addressed
Amarta is second-person masculine singular. Second person concerns someone being addressed; singular means one; masculine identifies the grammatical form. You met this description with אַתָּה, a-TA, you.
English you by itself does not show number or gender. When addressing one man or boy, amarta is the you said form we are learning. Either a male or female speaker can use it. The form concerns the addressee, not the speaker’s gender. Other forms address a woman or several people.
In the prayer ahead, Yaakov uses this masculine grammatical form to address Hashem, God. That grammatical category does not describe God as a human man.
2. A woman says amarta to one man. Is the form chosen for the woman speaking or the man addressed? What does second-person masculine singular tell you that English you alone does not?
The form concerns the one male addressee, not the gender of the woman speaking. She can say amarta to him.
Second person identifies the addressed person, singular identifies one, and masculine identifies the grammatical form. The form does not supply his name; the scene does.
Follow the you in Yaakov’s prayer
In Genesis 32, Yaakov hears that his brother Esav (Esau) is approaching with many men. Afraid of harm, Yaakov prays to Hashem for rescue. He recalls God’s promise to do him good and to give him numerous descendants.
אָמַרְתָּ
You said
Read a-MAR-ta. The reference uses Hebrew verse numbering. We select only this verb; the verse’s separate you word before it and the words of the promise are outside our Hebrew decoding task.
- Who is speaking now?
- Yaakov is praying.
- Whom is he addressing?
- Hashem is the addressee.
- Whose earlier saying does the verb report?
- Hashem’s. Yaakov is recalling God’s promise, not claiming it as his own words.
Esav is the person Yaakov fears, not the you he addresses in this prayer. The verb supplies the grammatical relationship; the prayer’s context identifies the person. No divine name is written in the selected word.
3. Read the source word. Identify the current speaker, addressee and subject of the remembered saying. Why is Esav not the you? How much Hebrew does the card select?
a-MAR-ta, You said. Yaakov is speaking; Hashem is both the addressee and the subject of the earlier saying being recalled. Esav is the person Yaakov fears, not the one addressed in prayer.
The card contains one verb, not the full verse. It prints no divine name or separate pronoun. The verse is Genesis 32:13 in Hebrew numbering, 32:12 in many English Bibles.
The same speaker can point elsewhere
Compare the two sources without joining them into one sentence:
- אָמַרְתִּי · Genesis 31:31: Yaakov answers Lavan.
- אָמַרְתָּ · Genesis 32:13: Yaakov addresses Hashem.
In the first, Yaakov reports his own reasoning. In the second, he recalls the words of the One he is addressing. The current speaker remains Yaakov, but the subject of the reported saying changes.
4. Yaakov speaks in both passages. Why does that not make both verbs I said? Which verb points to the current speaker, and which to the addressee?
Amarti in Genesis 31:31 points to Yaakov himself. Amarta in Genesis 32:13 points to Hashem, whom Yaakov addresses.
Someone can report their own words or another’s. The selected form, not merely the name of the person currently speaking, identifies the relationship. These are two separate scenes.
Follow a quotation inside a report
Constructed practice, not a biblical quotation. First work through the explicit pronoun and verb:
אַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ
a-TA a-MAR-ta · “You said.”
Ata and amarta agree about the person addressed. No he or is needs to be inserted. Without the separate ata, amarta still carries second-person masculine singular subject information.
A quotation preserves the earlier speaker’s point of view. For example, Miriam tells a boy: You said, “I will come.” Miriam speaks now, but I inside the quoted earlier words refers to the boy. The colon in our Hebrew practice introduces such quoted words.
New constructed line. A woman is reporting a boy’s earlier words. Read the Hebrew before revealing its answer.
אַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ: אֲנִי הַבֵּן
5. Read and translate the new line. Who is you, who is I inside the quotation, and is either one the woman now reporting it? Which part has no written finite verb?
a-TA a-MAR-ta: a-NI ha-BEN. “You said: ‘I am the son.’”
Both you in her report and I in the quoted earlier words refer to the boy. The woman currently reports his words. Ata and amarta point to her addressee; ani inside the quotation preserves his original first-person wording.
אֲנִי הַבֵּן has no written finite verb; English supplies am. This is constructed practice, not a Genesis quotation.
Now choose a form yourself. In another constructed scene, a boy has just reported his own earlier words with amarti. His sister turns to him and reports that same earlier saying as you said.
6. Write the one-word Hebrew form the sister needs and read it. What changes, and what stays the same, when she reports that earlier saying? Is her being female a reason to keep I said?
אָמַרְתָּ, a-MAR-ta. The earlier saying still belongs to the boy, but he is now the addressee rather than the current speaker. His sister therefore uses you said.
Her gender does not make the boy’s saying her own. The change tracks his role in the conversation, not a change in the earlier event.
Ask three different questions
Who speaks now? Whom are they addressing? Whose earlier saying does the verb report? Sometimes two answers name the same person. Keep the questions separate so that you can notice when they do not.
Read the learned whole form, then use its passage. The meanings of these particular saying forms do not give an all-purpose formula for every Hebrew verb’s person or time.
7. Repair “Yaakov is speaking, so amarta means I said,” “ta marks the addressee, so ta must be stressed,” and “amarta is the Hebrew for every English you said.” Then explain how form and context answer the three questions.
- Amarta means You said. In the prayer, Yaakov is speaking but Hashem is addressed and is the subject of the remembered saying.
- The source gives a-MAR-ta, with stronger mar. An ending’s grammatical job does not determine which syllable receives stress.
- This is a second-person masculine singular form, not every gender or number covered by English you.
Identify the whole form, then use the scene to distinguish current speaker, addressee and subject of the reported saying. A grammatical category supplies a relationship, not a proper name.
Next session: retrieve both perspectives
Begin your next session with the models and answers closed. Reconstruct the two selected Hebrew words from these cues:
- Genesis 31:31: I said.
- Genesis 32:13: You said.
Write their points if possible and read each with its source stress. Identify the current speaker and addressee in each scene. Explain why the verbs’ subjects differ even though Yaakov speaks in both, and what their different last syllables contribute.
8. Check both forms, readings and source perspectives
- אָמַרְתִּי, a-MAR-ti: Yaakov speaks to Lavan and reports his own reasoning.
- אָמַרְתָּ, a-MAR-ta: Yaakov addresses Hashem and recalls God’s earlier promise.
Both forms have silent sheva under resh and stronger mar. In these learned forms, -ti belongs to first-person singular speaker-reference; -ta belongs to second-person masculine singular addressee-reference.
Keep the sources separate. The second is Genesis 32:13 in Hebrew numbering, often 32:12 in English.
If you try the cues today, return for a fresh attempt next session. After checking, revisit the part that needed support: the spelling, the sound or the people in the scene.
Explore the sources
Genesis 32 with surrounding English · The verse under English numbering · The saying verb’s forms
Read the surrounding English in verses 10–13 of the Hebrew-numbered chapter to follow the prayer. Locate the one selected Hebrew verb. The promise and the dictionary’s larger table remain outside this lesson’s decoding task.
Follow someone being discussed
A current speaker can recall I said or you said without confusing whose earlier words they mean. Next, keep those roles clear while reading a form that points to someone being discussed.