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Learn Hardcore Hebrew: הדובר עונה לשאלה. - The spokesperson answers the question.

Hardcore Hebrew
/Getting an eye exam and new glasses
/הדובר עונה לשאלה.

הדובר עונה לשאלה.

Word

הדובר עונה לשאלה.

Meaning

The spokesperson answers the question.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Hebrew

Lesson

Getting an eye exam and new glasses

Breakdown of הדובר עונה לשאלה.

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Questions & Answers about הדובר עונה לשאלה.

What does הדובר mean here, and why does it start with ה־?

הדובר means the speaker.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English. So:

דובר = speaker
הדובר = the speaker

In this sentence, it refers to a specific speaker, not just any speaker.

What form is עונה? Is it a present tense verb?

Yes. עונה is the present-tense form of the verb לענות, meaning to answer.

Here it means answers or is answering, depending on context. Hebrew present tense often covers both simple present and present progressive:

הדובר עונה = the speaker answers / the speaker is answering

In Hebrew, the present tense is built from forms that historically behave like participles, but for a learner it is usually best to think of עונה here simply as a present-tense verb.

Why is it לשאלה and not את השאלה?

Because the verb לענות normally takes the preposition ל־, meaning to.

So Hebrew says:

לענות לשאלה = to answer a question / to answer the question

Literally, this is closer to to answer to the question, although that is not how natural English says it.

So:

הדובר עונה לשאלה = the speaker answers the question

You do not use את here, because שאלה is not functioning as a direct object after this verb. It comes with the preposition ל־.

Why does לשאלה have just one ל if it seems to mean to the question?

Because Hebrew combines the preposition ל־ (to) with the definite article ה־ (the).

So:

ל + השאלה becomes לשאלה

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew.

Similar examples:

לבית = to the house
למורה = to the teacher
לספר = to the book

So לשאלה means to the question.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In Hebrew, present-tense sentences usually do not use a separate word for am / is / are.

So where English says:

The speaker is answering the question

Hebrew simply says:

הדובר עונה לשאלה

This is completely normal. Hebrew generally leaves out a present-tense equivalent of to be in ordinary sentences like this.

Does עונה match הדובר in gender and number?

Yes. עונה is masculine singular, and הדובר is also masculine singular.

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

הדובר עונה = masculine singular
הדוברת עונה = feminine singular
הדוברים עונים = masculine plural
הדוברות עונות = feminine plural

So the form עונה fits הדובר correctly.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence uses a very common Hebrew word order:

Subject + Verb + Complement
הדובר | עונה | לשאלה

That is:

the speaker | answers | the question

Hebrew word order can sometimes be more flexible than English, but this sentence is straightforward and neutral.

How would you pronounce this sentence?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-doVER oNE la-she'eLA

More carefully:

הדובר = ha-dover
עונה = oneh
לשאלה = la-she'elah

Approximate full pronunciation:

ha-doVER oNE la-she-e-LA

The main stress is usually near the end of each word:

doVER
oNE
she'eLA

Can דובר mean anything besides speaker?

Yes. דובר can mean speaker, especially in the sense of a person who speaks or a spokesperson, depending on context.

For example:

דובר עברית = a Hebrew speaker
דובר החברה = the company spokesperson

In הדובר עונה לשאלה, the most natural meaning is simply the speaker.

Is שאלה definite or indefinite here?

It is definite here, meaning the question, not a question.

You can tell because of the contraction:

לשאלה = ל + השאלה = to the question

If it were indefinite, you would normally have:

לשאלה? No, that would still be definite because of the hidden ה
לשאלה always means to the question
לשאלה is not the indefinite form

The indefinite form would be:

לשאלה is not possible as indefinite
לשאלה specifically includes the
לשאלה = to the question
לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה

If you wanted to a question, you would say:

לשאלה? No
לשאלה is definite
לשאלה = to the question
לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה
לשאלה cannot mean to a question

The indefinite form would be:

לשאלה is not right for indefinite
לשאלה is definite only
לשאלה = to the question
לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה
לשאלה cannot mean to a question

More simply: Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like a/an, so the bare noun after ל־ would be לשאלה only if definite article is fused. The truly indefinite form is לשאלה? No—the indefinite would actually be לשאלה only if there were no article, but since שאלה begins with ש, the written form can be confusing. The key point for this sentence is that standard לשאלה is understood as to the question because it represents ל + השאלה.

How would I say the same thing in the past or future?

You would change the verb form:

הדובר ענה לשאלה = the speaker answered the question
הדובר יענה לשאלה = the speaker will answer the question

So the pattern is:

עונה = present
ענה = past
יענה = future

The noun parts stay the same; only the verb changes.

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