Download Hebrew Numbers - Module 10

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.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 1
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules
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-verbobject, 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 sentence
2. the verbal sentence
3. the interrogative sentence
4. the verbal infinitive sentence
5. the conditional sentence
A simple example of each is shown in the next slide.
* The predicate is the part of a sentence that shows what is being said about the subject.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 2
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
The following table contains simple examples that correspond the five
common Hebrew sentence structures listed in the previous slide:
#
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫ַתעְ ִתיק‬
‫עִ בְ ִרית‬
.‫אֲ נִי בַ כִ ָּתה‬
aNI ba’kiTAH
1. I am in the class.
4. I want to learn.
aNI roTSAH lilMOD
.‫אֲ נִי לֹומֵ ד בַ כִ ָּתה‬
?‫ִמי נ ְִרשָּ ם לַכִ ָּתה‬
.‫אֲ נִי רֹוצָּ ה ִל ְלמֹד‬
5. If we’ll study then we’ll know.
IM nilMAD AZ neiDA
.‫ִאם ִנלְמַ ד ָּאז נֵדַ ע‬
2. I am learning in the class.
aNI loMED ba’kiTAH
3. Who is registered for the class? MI nirSHAM la’kiTAH
The most significant differences between the respective syntax of
Hebrew and English sentences will be noted in the next several slides.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 3
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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 ‫ לֹומֵ ד‬means “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.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 4
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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:
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫ַתעְ ִתיק‬
The door is closed.
haDElet sguRAH
The door was closed.
haDElet hayiTAH sguRAH
The door will be closed.
haDElet tihiYEH sguRAH
‫עִ בְ ִרית‬
.‫גּורה‬
ָּ ‫הַ דֶּ לֶּת ְס‬
.‫גּורה‬
ָּ ‫הַ דֶּ לֶּת הָּ י ְָּתה ְס‬
hahoRIM haYU baBAyit
.‫גּורה‬
ָּ ‫הַ דֶּ לֶּת ִת ְהיֶּה ְס‬
.‫הֹורים בַ בַ יִת‬
ִ ַ‫ה‬
.‫הֹורים הָּ יּו בַ בַ יִת‬
ִ ַ‫ה‬
The parents will be at home. hahoRIM yihiYU baBAyit
.‫הֹורים ִי ְהיּו בַ בַ יִת‬
ִ ַ‫ה‬
The parents are at home.
The parents were at home.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
hahoRIM baBAyit
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Module 11/Page 5
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 6
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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.
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫ַתעְ ִתיק‬
A big boy ate in the
kitchen.
YEled gaDOL aCHAL
ba’mitBAH
The big girl is eating in
the kitchen.
ha’yalDAH ha’gdoLAH
oCHElet ba’mitBAH
Big boys ate in the
kitchen.
yelaDIM gdoLIM achLU
ba’mitBAH
The big girls are eating in
the kitchen.
ha’yilaDOT ha’gdoLOT
ochLOT ba’mitBAH
The big boy ate fast.
The big girls are eating
fast.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
ha’YEled ha’gaDOL aCHAL
maHER
ha’yilaDOT ha’gdoLOT
ochLOT maHER
‫עִ בְ ִרית‬
.‫ֶּילֶּד גָּדֹול ָּאכַ ל בַ ִמ ְטבָּ ח‬
.‫הַ ַילְדָּ ה הַ גְ דֹו ָּלה אֹו ֶּכלֶּת בַ ִמ ְטבָּ ח‬
.‫ְיל ִָּדים גְ דֹו ִלים ָּאכְ לּו בַ ִמ ְטבָּ ח‬
.‫הַ ְילָּדֹות הַ גְ דֹולֹות אֹוכְ לֹות בַ ִמ ְטבָּ ח‬
.‫הַ ֶּילֶּד הַ גָּדֹול ָּא ַכל מַ הֵ ר‬
.‫הַ ְי ָּלדֹות הַ גְ דֹולֹות אֹוכְ לֹות מַ הֵ ר‬
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Module 11/Page 7
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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 ‫( כֵן‬yes) or ‫( ל ֹא‬no).
• 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, ‫( הַ ִאם‬loosely translated as “Is it …?”,
but this changes depending on what follows ‫)הַ ִאם‬, which introduces a
question, the answer to which is, quite often, either ‫ כֵן‬or ‫ל ֹא‬.
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.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Interrogative words – (miLOT sheeiLAH) ‫ִמּלֹות ְש ֵאלָּה‬
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫עִ בְ ִרית ַתעְ ִתיק ַאנְגְ לִית עִ בְ ִרית ַתעְ ִתיק ַאנְגְ לִית עִ בְ ִרית ַתעְ ִתיק‬
Interrogative
ha-, ha-, he- ‫־‬
prefix of 1st word
ֶּ‫ ה‬,‫ הַ ־‬,‫הֲ ־‬
How…?
EiCH
‫ֵאיְך‬
kaMAH
(KAmah)*
‫כַמָּ ה‬
Why…?
laMAH
(LAmah)*
‫לָּמָּ ה‬
How many
(much)…?
Why…?
maDU’a
ַ‫מַ דּוע‬
To how many lechaMAH
(much)…?
(leCHAmah)*
Who…?
MI
‫ְלכַמָּ ה‬
Which…?
What…?
To which…?
To what…?
Which…?
What…?
eiZEH
(EIzeh)*
‫ֵאיזֶּה‬
leeiZEH
(leEIzeh)*
‫ל ְֵאיזֶּה‬
eiZO
(EIzo)*
‫ִמי‬
How old
is…?
BEN kaMAH
(KAmah)*
‫בֶּ ן כַמָּ ה‬
At which…?
At what…?
beeiZO
(beEIzo)*
To where…?
leAN
‫ֵאיזֹו‬
‫בְ ֵאיזֹו‬
In whom…?
beMI
‫בְ ִמי‬
How old
is…?
BAT kaMAH
(KAmah)*
‫בַ ת כַמָּ ה‬
To/for whom…?
leMI
‫ל ְִמי‬
What…?
MAH
‫מַ ה\מָּ ה‬
From
where…?
meiAyin
‫מֵ ַאיִן‬
maTAI
‫מָּ ַתי‬
To what…?
leMAH
‫לְמַ ה‬
Where…?
eiFOH
(EIfoh)*
‫ֵאיפֹה‬
From
what…?
miMAH
‫ִממַ ה‬
From
where…?
me’eiFOH
(me’EIfoh)*
When…?
From when…?
mimaTAI
‫ִממָּ ַתי‬
‫ל ְָּאן‬
‫מֵ ֵאיפֹה‬
* 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.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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All rights reserved.
Module 11/Page 9
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Sentence structure and syntax rules (cont’d)
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 ‫ הֶּ ־‬,‫ הַ ־‬,‫ הֲ ־‬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 ‫עַ ד‬, (AD; “to, till”), which turns the combination into an
interrogative phrase of its own, e.g., ‫( עַ ד מָּ ַתי‬AD 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 ‫ לָּמָּ ה‬and ַ‫ – מַ דּוע‬these two
words are used in both ways by many Hebrew speakers. However, in formal
Hebrew, ‫ לָּמָּ ה‬is restricted to questions about the purpose of an action, the
answers to which usually uses the word ‫( כְ דֵ י‬keDEI; “in order to”). Similarly, ַ‫מַ דּוע‬
is restricted to inquiries about reason, the answers to which usually uses the
word ‫( כִ י‬KI; “because”).
Selected examples of questions & answers are shown on the next two slides.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
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Module 11/Page 10
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
Questions & Answers – (sheeiLOT u’tshuVOT) ‫ּותשּובֹות‬
ְ ‫ְש ֵאלֹות‬
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫ַתעְ ִתיק‬
‫עִ בְ ִרית‬
?‫אֹוכֵל‬
‫מָּ ה ַא ָּתה‬
What are you eating? (to a m.)
MAH aTAH oCHEL
(I am eating) cake.
(aNI oCHEL) uGAH
.‫(אֲ נִי אֹוכֵל) עּוגָּה‬
To where are you going? (to a f.)
leAN AT hoLEchet
?‫הֹו ֶּלכֶּת‬
(I am going) to the shopping mall.
(aNI hoLEchet) la’qenYON
How much does this cost?
(It costs) a dollar twenty.
How old is your wife?
She is thirty eight.
How old is your husband?
He is forty four.
BAT KAmah ha’iSHAH shelCHA (ishteCHA)
HI BAT shloSHIM u’shmoNEH
BEN KAmah ha’baAL sheLACH (ba’aLECH)
HU BEN arba’IM vearBA
When is her birthday?
maTAI YOM ha’huLEdet sheLAH
In (another) two days.
beOD yoMAyim
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
.‫(אֲ נִי הֹו ֶּלכֶּת) ל ֶַּקנְיֹון‬
?‫עֹולֶּה‬
KAmah ZEH oLEH
(ZEH oLEH) DOlar (ve)esRIM
‫ל ְָּאן ַא ְת‬
‫כַמָּ ה זֶּה‬
.‫(זֶּה עֹולֶּה) דֹולָּר (וְ )עֶּ ְש ִרים‬
?)‫ש ְתָך‬
ְ ‫( ִא‬
‫בַ ת כַמָּ ה הָּ ִאשָּ ה שֶּ ּלְָך‬
.‫ּושמֹונֶּה‬
ְ ‫לֹושים‬
ִ ‫ִהיא בַ ת ְש‬
?)‫עלְֵך‬
ֲ ַ‫שֶּ ּלְָּך (ב‬
‫בֶּ ן כַמָּ ה הַ בַ עַ ל‬
.‫הּוא בֶּ ן ַא ְרבָּ עִ ים וְ ַא ְרבַ ע‬
?‫שֶּ ּלָּּה‬
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‫מָּ ַתי יֹום הַ הּולֶּדֶּ ת‬
.‫בְ עֹוד יֹומַ יִם‬
Module 11/Page 11
Hebrew Communications (cont’d)
More questions & answers – (OD sheeiLOT u’tshuVOT) ‫ּותשּובֹות‬
ְ ‫עֹוד ְש ֵאלֹות‬
‫ַאנְגְ לִית‬
‫ַתעְ ִתיק‬
? ַ‫בַ גָּבִ יע‬
ha’IM HEM zaCU ba’gaVI’a
Did they win the (victory) cup?
Yes.
‫הַ ִאם הֵ ם זָּכּו‬
.‫כֵן‬
KEN
How is it possible to get there from here?
EICH efSHAR lehaGI’a leSHAM miPOH
?‫לְשָּ ם ִמפֹה‬
ַ‫ֵאיְך ֶּאפְ שָּ ר לְהַ גִ יע‬
.‫בְ ַרכֶּבֶּ ת‬
beraKEvet
By train.
EIfoh hish’ARtem ET ha’yilaDIM
Where did you leave the children?
?‫הַ ְיל ִָּדים‬
At what time will the party start?
beEIzo sha’AH tat’HIL ha’mesiBAH
(The party will start) at 7:00 p.m.
(ha’mesiBAH tat’HIL) beSHEva ba’Erev
Why are you shouting? (to a m.)
LAmah aTAH tso’EK
(I am yelling) so that you will hear me.
Why aren’t you working? (to a f.)
(aNI tso’EK) keDEI shetishmeU oTI
?‫הַ ְמ ִסבָּ ה‬
(aNI LO oVEdet) KI aNI ayeFAH
‫בְ ֵאיזֹו שָּ עָּ ה ַת ְת ִחיל‬
.‫(הַ ְמ ִסבָּ ה ַת ְת ִחיל) בְ שֶּ בַ ע בַ עֶּ ֶּרב‬
?‫צֹועֵ ק‬
‫לָּמָּ ה ַא ָּתה‬
.‫אֹותי‬
ִ ‫(אֲ נִי צֹועֵ ק) כְ דֵ י שֶּ ִת ְש ְמעּו‬
?‫עֹובֶּ דֶּ ת‬
maDU’a AT LO oVEdet
(I am not working) because I am tired.
‫ֵאיפֹה ִה ְש ַא ְר ֶּתם ֶּאת‬
.‫אֹותם) בַ בַ יִת‬
ָּ ‫( ִה ְש ַא ְרנּו‬
(hish’ARnu oTAM) baBAyit
(We left them) at home.
Modern Hebrew for Beginners
‫עִ בְ ִרית‬
‫מַ דּועַ ַא ְת ל ֹא‬
.‫(אֲ נִי ל ֹא עֹובֶּ דֶּ ת) כִ י אֲ נִי ֲע ֵיפָּה‬
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Module 11/Page 12