עמד — to stand | Hebrew Grammar

עמד amád, “stand,” is pa'al, root ע־מ־ד. Initial ע no longer has a consonantal sound for most Israeli speakers, but it still affects the vowel pattern: compare future יעמוד ya'amód, imperative עמוד amód, and infinitive לעמוד la'amód. Beyond posture, עמד describes being stationary, waiting in line, meeting a requirement, insisting on something, and being about to act.

Complete paradigm

Person	Past	Future
אני	עָמַדְתִּי amádti	אֶעֱמוֹד e'emód
אתה	עָמַדְתָּ amádta	תַּעֲמוֹד ta'amód
את	עָמַדְתְּ amádt	תַּעַמְדִי ta'amdí
הוא	עָמַד amád	יַעֲמוֹד ya'amód
היא	עָמְדָה amdá	תַּעֲמוֹד ta'amód
אנחנו	עָמַדְנוּ amádnu	נַעֲמוֹד na'amód
אתם / אתן	עָמַדְתֶּם / עָמַדְתֶּן amádtem / amádten	תַּעַמְדוּ ta'amdú
הם / הן	עָמְדוּ amdú	יַעַמְדוּ ya'amdú

Form type	Forms	Use
present	עוֹמֵד oméd · עוֹמֶדֶת omédet · עוֹמְדִים omdím · עוֹמְדוֹת omdót	neutral
imperative	עֲמוֹד amód · עִמְדִי imdí · עִמְדוּ imdú	neutral; future commands are also common
infinitive	לַעֲמוֹד la'amód	neutral
action noun	עֲמִידָה amidá	standing; compliance or durability in compounds

The initial guttural explains the changing short vowels. The future singulars have a reduced vowel under ע—אעמוד, תעמוד, יעמוד—while the suffixed future forms have full a: תעמדי, תעמדו, יעמדו. The ו of the cholam-bearing unsuffixed future stem remains in נעמוד, so the standard spelling is not נעמד. Careful second-person plural past is עֲמַדְתֶּם / עֲמַדְתֶּן, amadtém / amadtén; the table gives the ordinary retracted stress. Dedicated feminine plural future תעמודנה is (formal or literary).

עמדתי בתור חצי שעה ובסוף הקופה נסגרה.

amádti batór khatsí sha'á uvasóf hakupá nisgerá.

I stood in line for half an hour, and in the end the checkout closed.

תעמוד כאן רגע עד שאביא כיסא.

ta'amód kan réga ad she'aví kisé.

Stand here for a moment until I bring a chair. (to a man)

💡

Learn the four anchors עָמַד – עוֹמֵד – יַעֲמוֹד – לַעֲמוֹד. The word begins with a vowel in modern pronunciation, but the written ע is a real root consonant and governs the guttural pattern.

Standing, staying and being parked

With a human subject, עמד normally describes a standing posture or remaining on one's feet. With a vehicle or object, it often means “stand, sit stationary, be parked.” A location follows directly with a place phrase such as בחוץ, ליד הדלת, or מול הבית.

האוטו עומד בחוץ, אז אפשר לצאת עכשיו.

ha'óto oméd bakhúts, az efshár latsét akhsháv.

The car is parked outside, so we can leave now.

היא עמדה ליד הדלת ולא ידעה אם להיכנס.

hi amdá leyád hadélet velo yad'á im lehikanés.

She stood by the door and didn't know whether to go in.

English uses stand up both for the movement into a standing position and for the resulting posture. Hebrew separates them. קם describes getting up; עמד describes standing or staying stationary. A natural sequence is קמתי ועמדתי: first I rose, then I stood. See the קם reference card.

קמתי מהכיסא ועמדתי ליד החלון.

kámti mehakisé ve'amádti leyád hakhalón.

I got up from the chair and stood by the window.

עומד + infinitive: an imminent event

Present עומד plus an infinitive often means “be about to” or “be on the point of.” It is not about physical posture. The form agrees with the subject—אני עומדת לצאת, הם עומדים להתחיל—while the infinitive names the imminent event. This pattern is neutral in speech and writing; context, not a special tense, supplies the sense of immediacy.

אנחנו עומדים לסיים, אז תנו לנו עוד שתי דקות.

anákhnu omdím lesayém, az tnu lánu od shtei dakót.

We're about to finish, so give us two more minutes.

היא עומדת להודיע על ההחלטה במסיבת עיתונאים.

hi omédet lehodía al hahakhlatá bimsibát itona'ím.

She's about to announce the decision at a press conference.

Do not translate every English progressive be standing with this construction. הוא עומד ומדבר literally describes him standing and talking, whereas הוא עומד לדבר predicts that he is about to speak. The presence or absence of ו־ changes the structure.

Prepositional frames and idioms

The preposition is part of the lexical frame, and changing it changes the meaning. There is no single English preposition that predicts every choice.

Frame	Meaning	Typical combination
עמד ב־	meet, satisfy; withstand	עמד בדרישות, עמד בלחץ
עמד על	insist on; amount to	עמד על דעתו, המחיר עמד על…
עמד מול	stand opposite; confront	עמד מול קהל, עמד מול בעיה
עמד לצד	stand beside; support	עמד לצד חברו

עמד ב־ evaluates success against a standard or pressure. עמד על presents a position that the subject does not give up; with measurements or prices it gives a figure and is common in news and reports (formal).

המוצר עמד בכל דרישות הבטיחות ועבר את הבדיקה.

hamutsár amád bekhól drishót habetikhút ve'avár et habdiká.

The product met all the safety requirements and passed the inspection.

היא עמדה על דעתה וביקשה לראות את החוזה המקורי.

hi amdá al da'atá uvikshá lir'ót et hakhóze hamekorí.

She stood her ground and asked to see the original contract.

מספר המבקרים עמד על כעשרת אלפים.

mispár hamevakrím amád al ka'aséret alafím.

The number of visitors stood at about ten thousand. (formal)

Homographs and the root family

Bare עמוד is imperative עֲמוֹד amód, “stand!”, but it is also noun עַמּוּד amúd, “column, pillar, page.” The unpointed instruction עמוד 5 normally means “page 5,” not “stand, five.” Bare עמדה is past feminine עָמְדָה amdá, “she stood,” or noun עֶמְדָּה emdá, “position, stance, station/post.” Syntax and vowel pattern keep these apart.

הנתונים המלאים מופיעים בעמוד חמש בדוח.

hanetuním hamele'ím mofi'ím be'amúd khamésh badúakh.

The full data appear on page five of the report.

The root family preserves the idea of holding a position. עמידה is standing or compliance; העמידה / תפילת העמידה also names the central standing prayer in the Jewish liturgy. מעמד is status, standing, or an occasion; עמידות is durability or resistance; עמדה is a position or staffed station. The meanings are related, but the nouns must be learned as vocabulary: an English “stand” can be עמידה, דוכן, or עמדה depending on context.

Common Mistakes

1. Using the masculine present with a feminine subject.

❌ היא עומד מול הכניסה.

Incorrect—the present form must agree with היא.

✅ היא עומדת מול הכניסה ומחכה לנו.

hi omédet mul haknisá umkhaká lánu.

She's standing opposite the entrance and waiting for us.

2. Dropping ב־ in the ‘meet a requirement’ frame.

❌ ההצעה עמדה כל הדרישות.

Incorrect—‘meet the requirements’ is עמד בדרישות.

✅ ההצעה עמדה בכל הדרישות של המכרז.

hahatsa'á amdá bekhól hadrishót shel hamikhráz.

The proposal met all the tender requirements.

3. Reading noun עמוד as the imperative.

❌ עמוד חמש בדוח.

amód khamésh badúakh

Incorrect pronunciation for ‘page five’ under this reading; the noun is עַמּוּד, amúd.

✅ תבדקו את הטבלה בעמוד חמש.

tivdekú et hatavlá be'amúd khamésh.

Check the table on page five.

Key Takeaways

The anchor forms are עמד, עומד, יעמוד, לעמוד; initial ע produces the guttural vowel pattern.
קם is the movement of getting up; עמד is the resulting posture or stationary state.
עומד + infinitive means “be about to,” with agreement on עומד.
Learn עמד ב־ “meet/withstand” and עמד על “insist on/stand at” as separate frames.
Unpointed עמוד can be amód “stand!” or amúd “page/column.”

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