המשטרה מתחילה פעולה.

The police begin an operation.

Breakdown of המשטרה מתחילה פעולה.

• להתחיל: to start
• משטרה: police
• פעולה: action; operation

Questions & Answers about המשטרה מתחילה פעולה.

Why does המשטרה begin with ה־?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, the equivalent of the. It is attached directly to the noun.

• משטרה = police / a police force
• המשטרה = the police

So Hebrew uses a prefix here instead of a separate word like English the.

Is המשטרה singular or plural? Why doesn't the verb look plural?

In Hebrew, משטרה is grammatically singular feminine. It refers to the police as one institution, not as a group of individual officers.

That is why the verb is also singular:

• המשטרה מתחילה = the police is starting / the police starts

If you meant individual police officers, you would use a plural noun such as שוטרים or שוטרות.

Why is the verb מתחילה and not מתחיל?

Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

Since המשטרה is feminine singular, the verb must also be feminine singular:

• מתחיל = masculine singular
• מתחילה = feminine singular

So מתחילה matches המשטרה correctly.