הבד התכווץ במכבסה.

The fabric shrank at the laundry shop.

Breakdown of הבד התכווץ במכבסה.

• מכבסה: laundry shop
• בד: fabric
• להתכווץ: to shrink

Questions & Answers about הבד התכווץ במכבסה.

Why is הבד written with ה־ at the beginning?

Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the.

• בד = fabric / cloth
• הבד = the fabric

So the noun is definite here.

Is בד masculine or feminine, and does that affect the verb?

בד is masculine singular, and yes, that affects the verb form.

The verb התכווץ is also masculine singular past tense, so it matches הבד.

If the subject were feminine singular, you would expect:

• החולצה התכווצה = the shirt shrank

So Hebrew verbs often agree with the subject in gender and number.

What grammatical form is התכווץ?

התכווץ is:

• past tense
• 3rd person masculine singular
• from the dictionary form להתכווץ

So this is the form used for he shrank / it shrank when the noun is masculine singular.

Related forms:

• להתכווץ = to shrink
• מתכווץ = shrinking / shrinks
• יתכווץ = will shrink