הסמל מתחיל את הרצף.

direct object marker

Breakdown of הסמל מתחיל את הרצף.

• להתחיל: to start
• סמל: symbol
• רצף: sequence

Questions & Answers about הסמל מתחיל את הרצף.

What does each word in הסמל מתחיל את הרצף mean?

A word-for-word breakdown is:

• הסמל = the symbol
• מתחיל = begins / starts
• את = a marker that shows the next word is the direct object
• הרצף = the sequence

So the structure is basically:

• הסמל → subject
• מתחיל → verb
• את הרצף → direct object

Why is את in the sentence? It does not seem to translate into English.

את is a very common Hebrew grammar word. It usually does not get translated into English.

Its job is to mark a definite direct object. In this sentence, הרצף means the sequence, which is definite because of ה־.

So Hebrew says:

• מתחיל את הרצף

rather than just:

• מתחיל הרצף

A useful rule:

• Use את before a direct object that is definite
• Do not use it before an indefinite direct object

For example:

• הוא קורא את הספר = He is reading the book
• הוא קורא ספר = He is reading a book