בולם הזעזועים מתחת לאוכף.

under

Breakdown of בולם הזעזועים מתחת לאוכף.

• אוכף: bicycle saddle
• בולם זעזועים: shock absorber

Questions & Answers about בולם הזעזועים מתחת לאוכף.

Why is there no Hebrew word here for is?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense in sentences like this.

So:

• בולם הזעזועים מתחת לאוכף.
  = The shock absorber is under the saddle.

There is no separate present-tense word for is here.

But in other tenses, Hebrew does use a form of היה:

• בולם הזעזועים היה מתחת לאוכף. = The shock absorber was under the saddle.
• בולם הזעזועים יהיה מתחת לאוכף. = The shock absorber will be under the saddle.

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Why does בולם הזעזועים mean the shock absorber when the ה־ is on הזעזועים and not on בולם?

This is a very common Hebrew structure called a construct chain (סמיכות).

• בולם = absorber / damper
• זעזועים = shocks / jolts

Together, בולם זעזועים literally means something like absorber of shocks, which is how Hebrew says shock absorber.

In a construct chain, definiteness is usually marked on the second noun, not the first. So:

• בולם זעזועים = a shock absorber
• בולם הזעזועים = the shock absorber

So even though the ה־ appears on הזעזועים, the whole phrase becomes definite.

That is why הבולם הזעזועים would normally be wrong in standard Hebrew for this meaning.

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What exactly is בולם here?