החימר דורש ייבוש לפני שריפת הביסק.

The clay requires drying before the bisque firing.

Breakdown of החימר דורש ייבוש לפני שריפת הביסק.

• לפני: before
• לדרוש: to require
• חימר: clay
• ייבוש: drying

Questions & Answers about החימר דורש ייבוש לפני שריפת הביסק.

How is this sentence built word by word?

Here is the basic breakdown:

• החימר = the clay
• דורש = requires / needs
• ייבוש = drying
• לפני = before
• שריפת הביסק = the bisque firing or literally the firing of the bisque

So the structure is:

[subject] + [verb] + [thing required] + [time phrase]

That is very normal Hebrew word order.

Why does החימר have ה־?

The prefix ה־ is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

• חימר = clay
• החימר = the clay

In context, Hebrew often uses the definite form when talking about a specific material being discussed, or even a material in a general technical sense. So החימר can sound natural even where English might simply say clay.

Why is the verb דורש and not דורשת or דורשים?

Because the subject חימר is masculine singular.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs agree with the subject:

• דורש = masculine singular
• דורשת = feminine singular
• דורשים = masculine plural
• דורשות = feminine plural

Since החימר is masculine singular, דורש is the correct form.