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Questions & Answers about נישואין דורשים סבלנות.
Why does נישואין look plural if the sentence means marriage requires patience?
Because נישואין is one of those Hebrew nouns that is usually treated as a plural form, even when English would use a singular abstract noun like marriage.
So:
- נישואין = marriage / married life / matrimony
- grammatically, it behaves like a plural noun
- that is why the verb is also plural: דורשים
This is similar to how some nouns in other languages are grammatically plural even when their meaning is more collective or abstract.
Why is the verb דורשים plural and not singular?
It is plural because it agrees with נישואין.
Hebrew verbs in the present tense agree with the subject in gender and number. Since נישואין is treated as masculine plural, the verb also appears in the masculine plural form:
- דורש = requiring / demands (masculine singular)
- דורשים = requiring / demand (masculine plural)
So נישואין דורשים is grammatically plural + plural, even though the natural English translation may be singular: marriage requires.
What does דורשים mean here exactly?