Questions & Answers about אני לא רוצה להפחיד את הילדים.
Why is רוצה used here, and does it tell me whether the speaker is male or female?
Yes and no.
רוצה means want, but in Hebrew it agrees with the speaker’s gender in the present tense:
- masculine: רוֹצֶה = rotze
- feminine: רוֹצָה = rotzah
In normal unpointed writing, both are written the same: רוצה.
So this sentence could be said by either:
- a male speaker: אני לא רוצה... = ani lo rotze...
- a female speaker: אני לא רוצה... = ani lo rotzah...
The spelling stays the same; only the pronunciation changes.
Why is לא placed before רוצה?
Because לא is the standard Hebrew word for not, and it usually comes directly before the verb or predicate it negates.
So:
- אני רוצה = I want
- אני לא רוצה = I do not want / I don’t want
That word order is completely normal in Hebrew.
Why do we get להפחיד after רוצה instead of another verb form?