Questions & Answers about הממשלה הודיעה על שינוי.
Why is הודיעה in the feminine singular form?
Because ממשלה (government) is a grammatically feminine singular noun in Hebrew. Hebrew verbs in the past tense must agree with their subject in gender and number, so:
- הממשלה הודיעה = the government announced
- not הודיע, which would be masculine singular
Even though a government is made up of many people, the noun itself is singular, so the verb is singular too.
What is the base form of הודיעה?
The dictionary form is הודיע, which means to announce / to inform.
In this sentence, הודיעה is the:
- past tense
- 3rd person feminine singular
So the pattern is:
- הוא הודיע = he announced
- היא הודיעה = she announced
Since הממשלה is feminine, Hebrew uses הודיעה.
Why is there an ה־ at the beginning of הממשלה?
The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.
So:
- ממשלה = a government / government
- הממשלה = the government
In this sentence, it refers to a specific government, so Hebrew uses ה־.
Why does the sentence use על after הודיעה?