דָּבְקָה
Spotting prepositions
Prepositions are words that show relations among words (such as “in,” “by,” and “with,” to name a few common English prepositions). In Hebrew, prepositions sometimes stand alone; at other times, they’re attached to another word as a prefix. Table 2-10 breaks down prepositions for you.
TABLE 2-10 Hebrew Prepositions
| Hebrew Preposition | Pronunciation | Translation | Presentation |
|---|---|---|---|
| עַל | ahl | on | stands alone |
| בְּ | buh | with/in | prefix |
| אֵל | ehl | to | stands alone |
| עִם | eem | with | stands alone |
| לְ | luh | to | prefix |
| מִן | meen | from | stands alone |
| מ | mee | from | prefix |
In English, you combine prepositions with nouns to make prepositional phrases, such as “in the box,” “by the river,” or “with a friend.” In Hebrew, if you want to add the word “the” — to form a prepositional phrase — you have to change the vowel sound of the preposition. The uh vowel sound becomes an ah sound.
So, if a definite direct object is preceded by a preposition, the preposition will include the definite article. “He helped a girl” is הוּא עָזַר לְיַלְדָּה (hoo ah-zahr luh-yahl-dah; literally: He helped to girl.). The preposition in this case is לְ. But if you want to say “He gave assistance to the girl,” you say הוּא עָזַר לַיַּלְדָּה (hoo ah-zahr lah-yahl-dah; Literally: he helped to the girl.). The preposition אֵל is combined with the definite article in this case and becomes לַ (lah; to the).
Understanding Gender and Number
In Hebrew, all nouns, adjectives and verbs have gender; they’re classified as either masculine or feminine. Like many world languages, Hebrew has begun to grapple with nonbinary gender identities, and the Hebrew Nonbinary Project has created a third, nonbinary gender category. In addition, all nouns, adjectives, and verbs have number; they’re classified as either singular or plural.
Nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. Their classification as “masculine” or “feminine” doesn’t have anything to do with the masculine or feminine nature of the objects. The classification is somewhat random. Usually, you can spot a feminine noun by its ending. A feminine noun often has an ending of ה (ah) or ית (eet). But you can find exceptions to this rule. A good Hebrew–English dictionary classifies masculine nouns with a Hebrew letter ז (zah-yeen) for זָכָר (zah-ḥahr; masculine) and with a Hebrew letter נ (noon) for נְקֵבָה (nuh-keh-vah; feminine). Both the masculine and the feminine forms of the nouns have plural forms.
In Hebrew, adjectives come in four forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural. Look back to the section “Applying adjectives,” where I discuss adjectives in greater detail.
FUN&GAMES
Turn the following statements into questions:
| 1. | Statement: | הוּא רוֹצֶה אֶת הַמְּכוֹנִית |
| He wants the car. | ||
| Question: | _________________________________________ | |
| Does he want the car? | ||
| 2. | Statement: | יֵשׁ מַגֶּבֶת |
| There is a towel. | ||
| Question: | _________________________________________ | |
