יש ארבע אפשרויות.

יש is the Hebrew word used for there is or there are in an existential sentence. In יש ארבע אפשרויות, it means there are.

So the structure is basically:

יש + number + noun
= there is/are + number + noun

Because יש does not change for singular and plural. Hebrew uses the same word for both:

• יש אפשרות אחת = there is one option
• יש ארבע אפשרויות = there are four options

So even though English switches between is and are, Hebrew keeps יש.

Not exactly in the same way as English to be. In modern Hebrew, יש is the standard word for expressing existence: there is / there are.

Also, Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense verb for to be in simple sentences. So יש fills that existential role instead.

Because אפשרויות is a feminine noun, and the feminine form of 4 is ארבע.

Compare:

• ארבע אפשרויות = four options / possibilities
• ארבעה ספרים = four books

So the choice between ארבע and ארבעה depends on the gender of the noun being counted.

The singular form is אפשרות, and that noun is feminine. Its plural, אפשרויות, stays feminine.

A useful clue is that many nouns ending in ־ות are feminine, including אפשרות.

The singular is אפשרות.

So:

• אפשרות = option / possibility
• אפשרויות = options / possibilities

It can mean either one. אפשרות is a broad word that can refer to:

• an option
• a possibility

The exact English translation depends on context. In many situations, both are natural.

That is the normal Hebrew word order for an existential sentence:

יש + number + noun

So Hebrew starts with יש, then gives the quantity, then the thing that exists.

A common pronunciation is:

yesh arba efsharuyot

Roughly word by word:

• יש = yesh
• ארבע = arba
• אפשרויות = efsharuyot

The stress in אפשרויות is usually on the last syllable: efsharuYOT.

Yes, but then it is just a noun phrase meaning four options or four possibilities, not a full sentence meaning there are four options.

If you want the full idea there are..., you normally use יש.

It is indefinite. It means four options / possibilities, not the four options / possibilities.

That is because there is no ה־ definite article here.

Compare:

• יש ארבע אפשרויות = there are four options
• ארבע האפשרויות = the four options

You replace יש with אין:

אין ארבע אפשרויות = there are not four options

So יש / אין is the basic positive/negative pair for there is / there are in Hebrew.

Yes. A more formal or written alternative is:

קיימות ארבע אפשרויות

This also means there are four possibilities/options, but יש ארבע אפשרויות is more common in everyday speech.