Questions & Answers about היא מדברת עברית, אבל הוא מדבר אנגלית.
How do you pronounce this sentence?
A common pronunciation is:
Hi medabéret ivrít, aval hu medabér anglít.
A word-by-word guide:
- היא = hi = she
- מדברת = medabéret = speaks / is speaking (feminine singular)
- עברית = ivrít = Hebrew
- אבל = aval = but
- הוא = hu = he
- מדבר = medabér = speaks / is speaking (masculine singular)
- אנגלית = anglít = English
The stress is usually near the end: medaBERet, ivRIT, medaBER, angLIT.
Why are there two different forms, מדברת and מדבר, if both mean speaks?
Because Hebrew verbs in the present tense agree with gender and number.
- היא מדברת = she speaks → feminine singular
- הוא מדבר = he speaks → masculine singular
So:
- מדברת is the feminine singular form
- מדבר is the masculine singular form
This is very normal in Hebrew and is one of the first things English speakers notice, because English verbs usually do not change for gender.
Does this mean she speaks / he speaks, or she is speaking / he is speaking?