Grammar
Pronouns
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Parts of Speech
To learn the parts of speech in Hebrew, you may benefit from a refresher on these in English.
The parts of speech emphasized on this page are pronouns and prepositions. You are invited to share web pages and videos that you find to be particularly helpful in teaching these. Thank you!
Personal Pronouns Multiple Choice Quiz
Personal Pronouns Flash Cards
Objective Personal Pronouns Multiple Choice Quiz
Objective Personal Pronouns Flash Cards
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Definite Articles
A Quick Comparison
|
English |
Hebrew | |
|---|---|---|
|
Indefinite Article |
English has an indefinite article (“a”). |
In Hebrew, the indefinite article is implied through context. |
|
Definite Article |
English has a definite article (“the”). |
Hebrew has a definite article (“ה הידיעה”), a term that roughly translates to “ה the knowledge.” |
A Deeper Dive: More Differences
In English, “the” is inserted before a noun or before the adjectives that describe a noun. Example:
|
.הקפה טעים |
The coffee is tasty. |
|
…הקפה הטעים |
The tasty coffee… |
In English, only one “the” is allotted per noun. So even if there are 30 adjectives before the noun, we only use one “the.”
Hebrew, however, may require more than one “the” before a word. These are the rules:
|
Rule |
Example |
|---|---|
|
Indefinite noun and adjective: When the noun is indefinite (e.g., “coffee”), the adjective stays indefinite (e.g., “tasty”). |
אני שותה קפה טעים. |
|
Definite noun and adjective: When the noun is definite (e.g., “the coffee”), the adjective must also be definite (e.g., “the tasty”). |
אני שותה את הקפה הטעים. |
|
Definite noun with an adjective describing it: In certain structures, such as subject-predicate, the adjective describing a definite noun may stay indefinite (e.g., “the coffee is tasty”). |
הקפה טעים. |
Verbs
Language Arts Refresher
A verb is a word used to express action or activity. Someone is doing something, or something is being done.
An infinitive is the form of the verb that begins with “to.” As an example, the infinitive of “swimming” or “swam” is to swim.
Hebrew Infinitives
Hebrew infinitives are identifiable as they all begin with ל which, as a prefix, can mean “to.” This is in alignment with English verbs that also begin with “to.” In Hebrew, “to swim” (an infinitive) is לשחות, and “to sit” (also an infinitive) is לשבת.
Not all words beginning with ל are infinitives. But if you know you’re looking at a verb form, and if it begins with ל, chances are pretty good it is an infinitive.