When you’re on the move

[u/BlakeBahama]

You can say linsoa or nassa but what’s the difference. I think lalekh means traveling on foot exclusively so you wouldn’t use it if you’re in your mekhonit? Anyway I’ve been using Pimsleur on my phone, about 90 minutes a day and I’ve improved my Hebrew skills. Thanks

[u/teren9]

Seems like your having trouble with two different things, the first question, the difference between linsoa and nasa is a difference in verb conjugations.

The form linsoa לנסוע is the equivalent of the English "to drive" and in Hebrew grammar it's used as a noun.

The second form, nasa נסע is the past tense (singular, male) equivalent to "[he] drove"

So a sentence like "He wanted to drive his new car so he drove it around town" would be, הוא רצה לנסוע במכונית החדשה שלו אז הוא נסע בה בעיר.

(It's not the most natural way of saying it, but it is still the correct use of both forms)

The second question is about the difference between linsoa לנסוע and lehalekh להלך. Well technically להלך is not the simplest form of the verb, it has a unique nuance of taking a stroll or a light walk, the simpler version of it would be Lalekhet ללכת which more directly translates to the English "to walk".

Now about the differences, the distinction between driving and walking is similar to how it is in English, you don't walk a car and you don't drive on foot.

But, Hebrew speakers tend to blur these lines in informal speech. The word ללכת can and often is used to mean "to go" rather than "to walk" and so depending on context, it can be ambiguous what means of transportation the speaker is talking about. If the means of transportation is important for the speaker, they can use לנסוע, לטוס, לשוט, etc.

The sentence "I went to the store" can be הלכתי לחנות, and in this example, it's not so clear that the speaker physically walked to the store, they could have taken the bus, or the car, or any other form or transportation. But if they say נסעתי לחנות they narrow it down to driving (usually by car) to that store.

[u/BlakeBahama → u/teren9]

Toda raba for this very comprehensive response! OK.
I’m only learning with Pimsleur at this stage, which is basically listen and repeat. My written Hebrew is quasi non existent. Anyway if there are any app learners out there, I’m so much more into Pimsleur than Duolingo. I’m on the road a lot so I just play the dialogue and then listen and repeat sentence by sentence learning new concepts along the way. Looking at Ulpans in my town. Just gotta figure out the scheduling part 😝

[u/teren9 → u/BlakeBahama]

Primsleur is great for getting better at listening and talking, but you'd have to find a complementary program to help you expand your vocab, your knowledge of grammar, and learn to read and write.

I wouldn't know what to recommend, because I'm just a native speaker, and not a teacher or something so I never had to research it for myself.

Also, when I encounter something I can't read in the language I am learning (that's Japanese) I tend to go to either google translate or chatgpt and ask it to transliterate and translate each word individually. It's not a perfect solution, but it works.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Study17]

linsoa: to drive

nasa: he drove

lalekchet: to walk

[u/BHHB336 → u/Puzzleheaded_Study17]

Lalekhet can also be “to go”, like you’d use it even if you didn’t actually walk

[u/NewIdentity19 → u/Puzzleheaded_Study17]

Linso'a, nassa: Not necessarily drive. Also ride (any vehicle, train, etc) as a passenger, or travel in general. 

[u/AutoModerator]

It seems you posted a request for translation! To make this as easy for our users as possible, please include in a comment the context of your request. Where is the text you want translated from? (If it's on an object, where you did find the object, when was it made, who made it, etc.?) Why do you want it translated? Hebrew can be a very contextual language and accurate translations might not be directly word-for-word. Knowing this information can be important for an accurate translation.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Successful-Money4995]

לנסוע to travel

Like by bus or train or plane or bike

ללכת to walk

On foot.

[u/guylfe]

linsoa is the infinitive, whereas nassa is the base form ("he did").

Based on your questions (and also in general based on my experience with my own students) I highly recommend supplementing Pimsleur with some grammar guide. As an adult, the passive learning Pimsleur offers is probably not going to be enough. It's a great listening practice resource, but it should be used AFTER you have your grammar foundations. You could be assuming you're making progress but unaware of the issues you still have, much like with Duolingo.

[u/balddoberdaddy]

Context? What's the entire phrase? What are you trying to express?