Modern Hebrew for Beginners Copyright ©2007-09 Uri Yosef for VirtualYeshiva.com All rights reserved. Module 11/Page 1 Hebrew Communications This module

Modern Hebrew for Beginners Copyright ©2007-09 Uri Yosef for VirtualYeshiva.comAll rights reserved.

Module 11/Page 1

Hebrew Communications

This module introduces the basic elements of communicating in Modern Hebrew, with emphasis on verbal communications. These elements will focus on sentence structure and syntax for the various types of sentences one normally encounters in the language.

After these elements are described, examples of various common conversational scenarios and situations one may encounter, and related dialogues, will be introduced to illustrate verbal Hebrew communications.


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Hebrew Communications (cont’d)

In general, the Hebrew sentence structures are similar to their English counterparts. However, there are also differences, some of which will be noted later.

Most Hebrew sentences contain a subject, a verb and other elements. So that the general syntax of the Hebrew sentence is subject-verb-object, i.e., the subject precedes the predicate*. It should be noted that there is some flexibility in the syntax of the Hebrew sentence in some cases.

Hebrew includes the following basic sentence structures:

1. the nominal sentence2. the verbal sentence3. the interrogative sentence4. the verbal infinitive sentence5. the conditional sentence

A simple example of each is shown in the next slide.

Sentence structure and syntax rules

* The predicate is the part of a sentence that shows what is being said about the subject.


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The following table contains simple examples that correspond the five common Hebrew sentence structures listed in the previous slide:

Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)

# ��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת� ע�ב�ר�ית1. I am in the class. aNI ba’kiTAH ��ת��ה. �י ב�כ נ א�

2. I am learning in the class. aNI loMED ba’kiTAH. �י נ לו�מ�דא�

��ת��ה ב�כ

3. Who is registered for the class? MI nirSHAM la’kiTAH? י �ר�ש��םמ� נ

�ה ��ת� לכ

4. I want to learn. aNI roTSAH lilMOD. �י נ רו�צ�הא�

ל�ל�מ�ד

5. If we’ll study then we’ll know. IM nilMAD AZ NEIda. �ל�מדא�ם א�ז נ

�דע נ

The most significant differences between the respective syntax of Hebrew and English sentences will be noted in the next several slides.


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It was pointed out in Slide 2 that differences exist between the Hebrew and English sentence syntax.

One difference is the usage of the Hebrew verb equivalent to the English verb “to be” in the present tense. Note that in the example for the nominal sentence (#1), the Hebrew contains no explicit verb corresponding to the “am” in the English (i.e., it is implicit).

In the example of the verbal sentence (#2), the simple present tense verb לו�מ�ד means “am learning” as shown combined with the singular masculine 1st-person pronoun (the English translation changes for the singular masculine 2nd-person and 3rd-person pronouns). Here too, the explicit present tense of the Hebrew verb equivalent to the English verb “to be” corresponding to the “am” (or to the “are” or “is” in the case of the singular masculine 2nd-person and 3rd-person pronoun cases) is absent (i.e., it is implicit).

This also applies to the other conjugations in the present tense, i.e., to the singular feminine and plural masculine & feminine conjugations.



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��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת� ע�ב�ר�יתThe door is closed. haDElet sguRAH �ר�ה. גו � ל ת ס� הד

The door was closed. haDElet hayiTAH sguRAH. � ל ת �ת�ההד ה�י

�ר�ה גו ס�

The door will be closed. haDElet tihiYEH sguRAH. � ל ת �ה�י ההד ת�

�ר�ה גו ס�The parents are at home. hahoRIM baBAyit ההו�ר�ים ב�ב�ית.

The parents were at home. hahoRIM haYU baBAyit. �ההו�ר�ים ה�יו

ב�ב�ית

The parents will be at home. hahoRIM yihiYU baBAyit. �ההו�ר�ים יה�יו

ב�ב�ית

As noted in the previous slide, one significant difference between the Hebrew and English sentence structures is that the Hebrew verb equivalent of the English verb “to be” is, in general, not explicitly used in the present tense. In other words, its use is limited to the past and future tenses, as shown in the examples below:



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Another significant difference between Hebrew and English sentence syntax is the position of an adjective”.

Unlike in the syntax of an English sentence, where the adjective precedes the noun (or pronoun) that it describes, in the Hebrew sentence the adjective generally follows the noun it describes. The adjective in Hebrew also takes on the gender and plurality of the noun it modifies. Also, whenever the noun is modified by the Hebrew equivalent of the definite article, the adjective also carries the definite article.

On the other hand, as is the case with the English sentence syntax, in Hebrew the adverb** generally follows the verb it describes. Unlike the situation with the Hebrew adjective relative to the noun, the Hebrew adverb does not assume the attributes of the conjugated verb (i.e., tense, gender, person, and singular/plural).

Examples are shown in the table on the next slide.


* An adjective is a part of speech that describes a noun or pronoun.** An adverb is a part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.


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��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת� ע�ב�ר�יתA big boy ate in the kitchen.

YEled gaDOL aCHAL ba’mitBAH . ��דו�לי ל ד א�כל ב�מ��ט�ב��חג

The big girl is eating in the kitchen.

ha’yalDAH ha’gdoLAH oCHElet ba’mitBAH

. ��ה �ל�ד ��דו�ל�ההי או�כ ל ת הגב�מ��ט�ב��ח

Big boys ate in the kitchen.

yelaDIM gdoLIM achLU ba’mitBAH . �ל�ד�ים ��דו�ל�יםי � ב�מ��ט�ב��חג א�כ�לו

The big girls are eating in the kitchen.

ha’yilaDOT ha’gdoLOT ochLOT ba’mitBAH

. ��ל�דו�ת ��דו�לו�תהי או�כ�לו�ת הגב�מ��ט�ב��ח

The big boy ate fast.ha’YEled ha’gaDOL aCHAL

maHER . ��דו�ל א�כל � ל ד הג מה�רהי

The big girls are eating fast.

ha’yilaDOT ha’gdoLOT ochLOT maHER

��דו�לו�ת או�כ�לו�ת . ��ל�דו�ת הג הימה�ר

In the following table, the first four entries demonstrate the syntax of the Hebrew adjectives and its properties in a simple sentence. The last two entries in the table demonstrate the syntax of the Hebrew adverb and its properties in a simple sentence.



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An interrogative sentence, i.e., a question, was previously listed as one of the five basic sentence structures in Hebrew. In Hebrew, questions are generally formed in two ways:

• Raising the intonation at the end of an ordinary sentence (we have already encountered this in several earlier modules). For this type of question the answer is, quite often, either ן�� .(no) ל�א or (yes) כ• Starting the sentence with an interrogative word or phrase, of which there are quite a few, depending on the nature of the question. One interrogative word in particular, א�םה (loosely translated as “Is it …?”, but this changes depending on what follows א�םה), which introduces a question, the answer to which is, quite often, either ן�� .ל�א or כ

Some commonly used interrogative words and phrases are listed on the next slide. It should be noted that, in general, these either start a question or are a question by themselves. Also, as is the case in the English language, most of these terms have non-interrogative meanings when they appear in the middle of any sentence.



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Interrogative words – (miLOT sheeiLAH) ו�ת� ל מ�ש��א�ל�ה

��ל�ית �ג נ א�י ע�ת� ת�

קע�ב�ר�י

ת��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת�

ע�ב�ר�ית

��ל�י �ג נ את

�י ע�ת� ת�ק

ע�ב�ר�ית

Interrogative prefix of 1st word

ha-, ha-, he- ,־ ה,־ה�־ה

How…? EiCH � יך א� Which…?What…?

eiZEH(EIzeh)* יז ה א�

Why…?laMAH

(LAmah)* ל�מ��ה How many (much)…?

kaMAH(KAmah)* �מ�ה כ To which…?

To what…?leeiZEH

(leEIzeh)* יז ה ל�א�

Why…? maDU’a �ע �ו ד מ To how many (much)…?

kaMAH(KAmah)* ל�כמ�ה Which…?

What…?eiZO

(EIzo)* יזו� א�

Who…? MI י מ� How old is…?

BEN kaMAH (KAmah)*

� ן ב�מ�ה כ

At which…?At what…?

beeiZO(beEIzo)* יזו� ב��א�

In whom…? beMI י ב��מ� How old is…?

BAT kaMAH (KAmah)*

ב�ת �מ�ה כ

To where…? leAN ל�א�ן

To/for whom…? leMI י ל�מ� What…? MAH מה From where…?

meiAyin ין מ�א

When…? maTAI מ�תי To what…? leMAH ל�מה Where…?eiFOH(EIfoh)* א�יפ�ה

From when…? mimaTAI מ�מ��תי From what…?

miMAH מ�מ�ה From where…?

me’eiFOH(me’EIfoh)* מ�א�יפ�ה

* The terms in parentheses show the (acceptable) pronunciations used by most speakers, whereas the terms above show the (proper) pronunciation in the formal language. More on this on the next slide.


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The examples in the table show that some interrogative words may be prefixed with common prepositions and, thereby, form related interrogative terms. When

the interrogative prefix ,־ה� ־ה ,־ה is applied to the first word in an ordinary sentence, it turns the sentence into a question after a minor modification of the syntax. Some interrogative words may be preceded by certain elements, such

as the preposition דע, (AD; “to, till”), which turns the combination into an

interrogative phrase of its own, e.g., יד מ�תע (AD maTAI; “Till when…?”).

The examples in the table also show that several different interrogative words have the same meanings. In colloquial (spoken) Hebrew, some of these terms are generally interchangeable. However, formal Hebrew makes a distinction between questions that inquire about a reason and questions that inquire about

a purpose. A notable example of this is the pair ל�מ��ה and ע� �ו ד these two – מwords are used in both ways by many Hebrew speakers. However, in formal

Hebrew, ל�מ��ה is restricted to questions about the purpose of an action, the

answers to which usually uses the word י ��ד� ,Similarly .(”keDEI; “in order to) כ

�ע �ו ד is restricted to inquiries about reason, the answers to which usually uses מ

the word י�� .(”KI; “because) כ

Selected examples of questions & answers are shown on the next two slides.




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��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת� ע�ב�ר�יתWhat are you eating? (to a m.) MAH aTAH oCHEL מה את��ה או�כ�ל?(I am eating) cake. (aNI oCHEL) uGAH �י או�כ�ל). נ �ג�ה (א� עוTo where are you going? (to a f.) leAN AT hoLEchet � הו�ל כ ת? ל�א�ן את�(I am going) to the shopping mall.

(aNI hoLEchet) la’qenYON �י הו�ל כ ת). נ �יו�ן (א� ל�ק� נHow much does this cost? KAmah ZEH oLEH �מ��ה ז ה עו�ל ה? כ

(It costs) a dollar twenty. (ZEH oLEH) DOlar (ve)esRIM�ו�ל�ר (ז ה עו�ל ה). ד

�(ע ש)�ר�ים )ו

How old is your wife? BAT KAmah ha’iSHAH shelCHA (ishteCHA)? � ��ך �מ��ה ה�א�ש��ה ש� ל ב�ת כ

)� �ך )א�ש��ת�She is thirty eight. HI BAT shloSHIM u’shmoNEH �ש��מו�נ ה. ה�יא ב�ת ש��לו�ש��ים ו

How old is your husband? BEN KAmah ha’baAL sheLACH (ba’aLECH)? � ��ך �מ��ה הב�על ש� ל � ן כ ב

)� )ב�ע�ל�ךHe is forty four. HU BEN arba’IM vearBA �אר�ב�ע. � ן אר�ב��ע�ים ו �א ב הוWhen is her birthday? maTAI YOM ha’huLEdet sheLAH ? ��ה� �ל ד ת ש� ל מ�תי יו�ם ההוIn (another) two days. beOD yoMAyim ב��עו�ד יו�מים.

Questions & Answers – (sheeiLOT u’tshuVOT) ש��א�לו�ת�בו�ת �ת�שו ו


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��ל�ית �ג נ א �יק ע�ת� ת� ע�ב�ר�יתDid they win the (victory) cup? ha’IM HEM zaCU ba’gaVI’a ? ��ב�יע �ג � ב �כו הא�ם ה�ם זYes. KEN ��ן. כ

How is it possible to get there from here? EICH efSHAR lehaGI’a leSHAM miPOH��יע ל�ש��ם ? � א פ�ש��ר ל�הג יך א�

�ה מ�פ�By train. beraKEvet � ב ת. ב��רכ

Where did you leave the children? EIfoh hish’ARtem ET ha’yilaDIMא�יפ�ה ה�ש��אר�ת� ם א ת ?

��ל�ד�ים הי(We left them) at home. (hish’ARnu oTAM) baBAyit � או�ת�ם). ב�ב�ית (ה�ש��אר�נו

At what time will the party start? beEIzo sha’AH tat’HIL ha’mesiBAHת�ח�יל ? יזו� ש��ע�ה ת� ב��א�

ב��ה המ��ס�

(The party will start) at 7:00 p.m. (ha’mesiBAH tat’HIL) beSHEva ba’Erevת�ח�יל). ב��ה ת� ב��ש� בע (המ��ס�

ב�ע ר בWhy are you shouting? (to a m.) LAmah aTAH tso’EK ל�מ��ה את��ה צו�ע�ק?

(I am yelling) so that you will hear me. (aNI tso’EK) keDEI shetishMA oTI�י צו�ע�ק). נ � (א� �ש��מ�עו י ש� ת� ��ד� כ

או�ת�יWhy aren’t you working? (to a f.) maDU’a AT LO oVEdet � ל�א עו�ב ד ת? �ע את� �ו ד מ

(I am not working) because I am tired. (aNI LO oVEdet) KI aNI ayeFAH�י ל�א עו�ב ד ת). נ �י (א� נ ��י א� כ

�פ�ה ע�י

More questions & answers – (OD sheeiLOT u’tshuVOT) עו�ד ש��א�לו�ת�בו�ת �ת�שו ו

Documents

Modern Hebrew for Beginners Copyright ©2007-09 Uri Yosef for VirtualYeshiva.com All rights reserved. Module 11/Page 1 Hebrew Communications This module