The infinitive in Hif’il expresses the basic idea of a causative action – like “to cause to stand,” “to inform,” or “to bring out” – without specifying tense or subject. It’s used in phrases like “I want to ___” or “He began to ___.”
Structure
- Prefix: לְ (le-) meaning “to”
- Form: Typically follows the pattern לְהַפְעִיל, with a הַ־ prefix and a long vowel (usually a) in the first syllable
Examples
- לְהַקִים – “to establish” or “to raise” (from ק־ו־ם)
- לְהוֹצִיא – “to bring out” or “to remove” (from י־צ־א)
- לְהַעֲמִיד – “to position” or “to cause to stand” (from ע־מ־ד)
- לְהַכְנִיס – “to insert” or “to bring in” (from כ־נ־ס)
These infinitives reflect the causative nature of Hif’il verbs – where the subject causes someone or something else to act.