הכלב התרחק מהרעש.

The dog moved away from the noise.

Breakdown of הכלב התרחק מהרעש.

• כלב: dog
• רעש: noise
• להתרחק: to move away

Questions & Answers about הכלב התרחק מהרעש.

Why is הכלב one word instead of two words for the dog?

In Hebrew, the definite article ה־ means the and is attached directly to the noun.

• כלב = dog
• הכלב = the dog

So Hebrew does not write the as a separate word the way English does.

What tense is התרחק?

התרחק is past tense, 3rd person masculine singular.

That matches הכלב, which is a masculine singular noun. So the verb agrees with the subject.

In other words, the grammar is like:

• הכלב = the dog
• התרחק = moved away / distanced itself

Is the ה at the beginning of התרחק the same ה־ that means the?

No. In התרחק, the ה is not the definite article.

Here it is part of the verb’s pattern, called a binyan. The verb התרחק belongs to the התפעל (Hitpa'el) pattern.

So:

• הכלב: the ה־ means the
• התרחק: the ה is just part of the verb form

They look similar in writing, but they are doing completely different jobs.

What is the root of התרחק, and what does the verb pattern add?