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A root by itself is a meaning with no grammar. To become a verb it is poured into one of seven moulds called binyanim ("buildings"). Each binyan does a job: simple action, passive, intensive, causative, reflexive. The same root in a different binyan shifts meaning in a predictable direction. This lesson is the first pair: Pa'al, the plain workhorse, and Nif'al, its passive / middle twin.
Pa'al (also called קַל, "light"), the simplest, most common binyan. Plain active verbs: wrote, ate, sat, broke, opened. Past mould _ָ_ַ_ (katav, shamar). Present mould _וֹ_ֵ_ (kotev, shomer, gomer). If a verb feels basic and everyday, bet on pa'al.
Nif'al, spot the נ, Nif'al is pa'al flipped to passive or "middle" (it happens to the subject). The tell is a נ stuck on the front in past and present: נִ_ְ_ַ_ (nishbar = got broken, nichtav = was written). In the infinitive the נ hides and you get לְהִ_ָּ_ֵ_ (lehishaver, lehikanes). Whenever a verb starts with נִ and is not the root's own letter, think "passive / something happened to it".
One root, two binyanim
Watch the meaning flip from "X did it" (pa'al) to "it got done / happened" (nif'al). Same three letters.
Pa'al, active
שָׁבַר
shavar, he broke (something)
Nif'al, middle / passive
נִשְׁבַּר
nishbar, it broke / got broken
Pa'al, active
פָּתַח
patach, he opened (it)
Nif'al, middle / passive
נִפְתַּח
niftach, it opened / was opened
Pa'al, active
רָאָה
ra'a, he saw
Nif'al, middle / passive
נִרְאָה
nir'a, was seen; also "seems / looks" (נראה לי = it seems to me)
נִכְנַס←נִ+כ נ ס
nikhnas = "entered". Pure nif'al shape (נִ_ְ_ַ_). Its infinitive לְהִכָּנֵס (lehikanes) shows the hidden הִ_ָּ_ֵ_ mould. There is no everyday pa'al here, the root just lives in nif'al.
Pa'al: core everyday verbs
Nif'al: the passive / middle twin
Decode drill: pa'al or nif'al?
A leading נ that is not part of the root, plus the נִ_ְ_ַ_ shape, means nif'al, "it happened / was done". Otherwise pa'al.