In most verbs of thepa'ál construction, the vowel iskhirík (as inלִסְגּוֹר), but in others it may bepatákh (as inלַעֲזוֹב orלַחְזוֹר),segól (as inלֶאֱכוֹל),kamáts (as inלָקוּם orלָרֶדֶת), or, very rarely,tseré (as inלֵאמוֹר) orkholám malé (as inלוֹמַר).
In verbs of thepi'él,hitpa'él andhif'íl constructions (including variations such aspolél,hitpolél, andnitpa'él), the vowel isshva ná.
Verbs of thepu'ál andhuf'ál constructions do not have infinitives, as they're the passive forms ofpi'él andhif'íl respectively.
The above list of uses is not exhaustive; many verbs and compound prepositions useל־ to construe their objects, and in general, this is an idiosyncratic property of the verb or preposition. Conversely, above-listed uses are not definitive; in many cases, there are other prepositions that may be used similarly (or even somewhat interchangeably). Finally, the above-listed uses are not mutually exclusive; a single instance ofל־ may serve more than one of them.
Like all one-letter words in Hebrew,ל־ functions as a clitic, attaching to the word that follows it. Since it is a preposition, this means it attaches to the first word of its object.
In traditional grammar,ל־ undergoes some vowel changes, depending on the word it attaches to:
The default form, used when none of the below rules applies, isלְ־(l'-). It is also the only form in ordinary use in colloquial Modern Hebrew, except for the forms that merge with the definite article (see below) and in various fixed expressions that always use the traditional pronunciation.
When the first syllable of the word has ashva ná, the formלִ־(li-) is used; hence, whenל־ is attached to the nounפְּעָמִים(p'amím,“times”), we obtain the adverbלִפְעָמִים(lif'amím,“sometimes”). Further, when the word starts with the syllableיְ־(y'-), it loses itsshva; hence, in traditional grammar, whenל־ is attached toיְרוּשָׁלַיִם(y'rushaláyim,“Jerusalem”), we obtainלִירוּשָׁלַיִם(lirushaláyim,“to Jerusalem”).
When the first syllable of the word has akhataf vowel,ל־ takes the corresponding non-khataf vowel.
When it is combined with the cliticהַ־(ha-,“the”), the two clitics fuse into one syllable, with the onset beingל and the vowel being that of theה־ (i.e., apataḥ, aqamats, or asegol, depending on the first syllable of the word); for example, whenל־ andה־ are attached toיֶלֶד(yéled,“boy”), we obtainלַיֶּלֶד(layéled,“to the boy”) (note thedagesh forte in theיּ), and when they're attached toאִמָּא(íma,“mother”), we obtainלָאִמָּא(la'íma,“to the mother”).
The same modifications occur withכְּ־(k'-) andבְּ־(b'-).
Since the attachment ofל־ means that the following letter now follows an open syllable orshva, that letter loses anydagesh lene; hence the above example, whereפְּעָמִים(p'amím) becomesלִפְעָמִים(lif'amím) rather than *לִפְּעָמִים(lip'amím).
(before the hour): As in English ("it's ten to"), the complement of this preposition is often omitted in informal registers.
In older forms of Hebrew, and still in formal Modern Hebrew,ל־(l'-) has been distinguished from the similar prepositionאל(el). In everyday Modern Hebrew, however, this distinction is preserved only in the inflected forms, with the effect thatל־(l'-) essentially has two different sets of inflected forms: its own original forms, which are used in most circumstances, and the forms originally belonging toאל(él), which are used with words of motion, words of connection, words of relation, and so on.
