הערובה היא ערבות בנקאית.

she

Breakdown of הערובה היא ערבות בנקאית.

• ערובה: rental security; guarantee
• ערבות בנקאית: bank guarantee

Questions & Answers about הערובה היא ערבות בנקאית.

What does the ה־ at the beginning of הערובה mean?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

So:

• ערובה = security / collateral / guarantee
• הערובה = the security / the collateral / the guarantee

In this sentence, הערובה is definite, so we are talking about a specific security.

What is the difference between ערובה and ערבות? They look very similar.

Yes, they are very similar in form, but they are not the same word.

• ערובה usually means security, collateral, something given as assurance
• ערבות usually means guarantee, surety, an obligation to cover someone else’s debt or commitment

So in this sentence:

• הערובה = the security/collateral
• ערבות בנקאית = a bank guarantee

A natural way to understand the sentence is that the specific form of security being used is a bank guarantee.

Why is היא used here if Hebrew often leaves out is in the present tense?