Word
המכבסה ניקתה את המשי מבלי שהוא דהה.
Meaning
The laundry shop cleaned the silk without it fading.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of המכבסה ניקתה את המשי מבלי שהוא דהה.
הוא
he
את
direct object marker
לנקות
to clean
מכבסהmichbasâ
laundry shop
Questions & Answers about המכבסה ניקתה את המשי מבלי שהוא דהה.
Why is the verb ניקתה feminine?
Because the subject is המכבסה, and מכבסה is a feminine singular noun in Hebrew.
So the verb has to agree with it:
- המכבסה ניקתה = the laundry / laundromat cleaned
- If the subject were masculine singular, you would expect ניקה
- If it were plural, the verb form would change again
In other words, Hebrew verbs in the past tense agree with the subject in gender and number.
What exactly does המכבסה mean here?
מכבסה usually means laundry, laundromat, or laundry service / cleaners, depending on context.
With the ה־ prefix, המכבסה means the laundry or the cleaners.
Even though English might use a business name or an institution without worrying much about grammatical gender, Hebrew treats מכבסה as a regular feminine singular noun, so it takes feminine singular agreement.
Why is there an את before המשי?