פורסם pursám, “was published, advertised, publicized,” is the second and last pu'al card in this reference. Its root is quadriliteral פ־ר־ס־ם, and its active pi'el partner is פרסם pirsém. Like every pu'al verb, it has no infinitive and no imperative. Its most familiar participle, מפורסם, has developed an everyday lexical meaning that is no longer simply passive: “famous.”
The complete pu'al paradigm
| Person | Past | Future |
|---|---|---|
| אני | פּוּרְסַמְתִּי pursámti | אֲפוּרְסַם afursám |
| אתה | פּוּרְסַמְתָּ pursámta | תְּפוּרְסַם tefursám |
| את | פּוּרְסַמְתְּ pursámt | תְּפוּרְסְמִי tefursemí |
| הוא | פּוּרְסַם pursám | יְפוּרְסַם yefursám |
| היא | פּוּרְסְמָה pursemá | תְּפוּרְסַם tefursám |
| אנחנו | פּוּרְסַמְנוּ pursámnu | נְפוּרְסַם nefursám |
| אתם / אתן | פּוּרְסַמְתֶּם / פּוּרְסַמְתֶּן pursámtem / pursámten | תְּפוּרְסְמוּ tefursemú |
| הם / הן | פּוּרְסְמוּ pursemú | יְפוּרְסְמוּ yefursemú |
| Form type | Forms | Status |
|---|---|---|
| present / participle | מְפוּרְסָם mefursám · מְפוּרְסֶמֶת mefursémet · מְפוּרְסָמִים mefursamím · מְפוּרְסָמוֹת mefursamót | passive “published”; lexical adjective “famous” |
| infinitive | — does not exist — | |
| imperative | — does not exist — | |
| active infinitive | לְפַרְסֵם lefarsém | pi'el, “to publish / advertise” |
| action noun | פִּרְסוּם pirsúm | publication, publicity, advertising |
Personal forms such as פורסמתי “I was publicized/published” and פורסמנו “we were publicized/published” are grammatical but semantically specialized, so third-person forms dominate real texts. Careful פורסמתם / פורסמתן can carry final stress, pursamtém / pursamtén; conversation commonly retracts it, as in the table. The specifically feminine plural future תפורסמנה is (formal or literary); contemporary Hebrew uses תפורסמו.
מפרסם, מפורסם, and the visible vav
Active מפרסם mefarsém means “publishes/advertises” and can be a noun for an advertiser or publisher. Passive מפורסם mefursám contains one vav and originally means “published/publicized.” The same spelling is now overwhelmingly familiar as the adjective “famous, well known.”
| Written form | Reading | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| מפרסם | mefarsém | publishes, advertises; advertiser |
| מפורסם | mefursám | published; famous |
| פרסם | pirsém | published something |
| פורסם | pursám | was published |
הוא מפרסם מסעדות ברשת, אבל הוא לא שף מפורסם.
hu mefarsém mis'adót baréshet, avál hu lo shef mefursám.
He promotes restaurants online, but he isn't a famous chef.
זמר מפורסם הגיע בלי הודעה מוקדמת והפתיע את כולם.
zamár mefursám higía blí hoda'á mukdémet vehifti'a et kulám.
A famous singer arrived without warning and surprised everyone.
In זמר מפורסם, nobody is imagining an act of publishing the singer. The participle has lexicalized as an adjective and freely takes degree expressions: מפורסם מאוד, יותר מפורסמת, הכי מפורסמים. A live publishing passive instead combines naturally with time, venue, or source: המאמר מפורסם באתר “the article is published on the site.”
הספר מפורסם בעולם, אבל הסופר כמעט לא מתראיין.
haséfer mefursám ba'olám, avál hasofér kim'át lo mitra'yén.
The book is famous worldwide, but the author hardly ever gives interviews.
Finite passive in journalism and institutions
Past פורסם and future יפורסם are normal in journalism, academic prose, tenders, court reporting, and official notices. They keep the item made public as the subject and suppress the publisher. Everyday conversation frequently restores an unspecified human agent with third-person plural פרסמו.
המחקר פורסם בכתב עת יוקרתי אחרי בדיקה ממושכת.
hamekhkár pursám bikhtáv et yukratí akharéi bdiká memushékhet.
The study was published in a prestigious journal after a lengthy review. (academic/written)
פרסמו את המחקר בכתב עת יוקרתי אחרי בדיקה ממושכת.
pirsemú et hamekhkár bikhtáv et yukratí akharéi bdiká memushékhet.
They published the study in a prestigious journal after a lengthy review. (conversational active)
ההודעה תפורסם מחר בבוקר באתר העירייה.
hahoda'á tefursám makhár babóker ba'atár ha'iriyá.
The announcement will be published tomorrow morning on the municipality's website. (official)
יפרסמו את ההודעה מחר בבוקר באתר העירייה.
yefarsemú et hahoda'á makhár babóker ba'atár ha'iriyá.
They'll publish the announcement tomorrow morning on the municipality's website. (conversational)
המכרז יפורסם בעיתונות ובאתר המשרד.
hamikhráz yefursám ba'itonút uva'atár hamisrád.
The tender will be published in the press and on the ministry website. (formal)
יפרסמו את המכרז בעיתונות ובאתר המשרד.
yefarsemú et hamikhráz ba'itonút uva'atár hamisrád.
They'll publish the tender in the press and on the ministry website. (less documentary)
The passive and active alternatives do not assert different facts. They package information differently. המחקר פורסם makes the research the discourse topic; פרסמו את המחקר presents an event performed by unnamed people. Hebrew's impersonal plural is therefore often the natural spoken counterpart of written pu'al.
What headlines actually do
Hebrew headlines favor compression: they may use a noun phrase, omit an understood copula, or lead with the result rather than spell out a complete clause. That does not mean פורסם is barred from headlines. It can appear when the act of disclosure is itself newsworthy, especially in a formula such as פורסם: ... “Published/revealed: ...” or in a complete result clause. In article bodies and formal notices, finite פורסם / יפורסם is especially routine.
פורסם דוח חדש על מצב התחבורה הציבורית.
pursám dúakh khadásh al matsáv hatakhburá hatsiburít.
A new report on the state of public transportation was published. (news style; verb-first passive)
פרסמו דוח חדש על מצב התחבורה הציבורית.
pirsemú dúakh khadásh al matsáv hatakhburá hatsiburít.
They published a new report on the state of public transportation. (conversational active)
פרסום and related publicity vocabulary
The standard noun is פרסום pirsúm, without a yod. It covers publication, publicity, and advertising depending on context. פרסום ראשוני is an initial publication; איסור פרסום is a publication ban. פרסומת pirsómet is an advertisement as a countable item, while יחסי ציבור means public relations.
בית המשפט הטיל איסור פרסום על פרטי החקירה.
beit hamishpát hetíl isúr pirsúm al pratéi hakhakirá.
The court imposed a publication ban on the details of the investigation. (legal/news register)
Key Takeaways
- פורסם is the pu'al passive of active פרסם; pu'al has no infinitive or imperative.
- One vav separates מפרסם “publishes/advertises” from מפורסם “published; famous.”
- The adjective מפורסם overwhelmingly means famous in everyday language; finite פורסם / יפורסם keeps the publishing sense alive.
- Written and institutional Hebrew readily uses the passive; conversation often uses impersonal plural פרסמו.
- Headlines are compressed, but פורסם can occur there; it is not confined to article bodies.
- Standard noun spelling is פרסום; related terms include פרסומת, יחסי ציבור, and איסור פרסום.
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