Questions & Answers about הוא סוגר את החלון עכשיו.
Why is there no separate word for is in this sentence?
In Hebrew, ordinary present-tense sentences usually do not use a separate word for to be.
So הוא סוגר את החלון עכשיו can mean:
- He closes the window now
- He is closing the window now
Hebrew often expresses this idea with just the subject + a present-tense verb form, without adding a word equivalent to English is.
What form is סוגר?
סוגר is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb לסגור, meaning to close.
It agrees with the subject in gender and number:
- הוא סוגר = he closes / is closing
- היא סוגרת = she closes / is closing
- הם סוגרים = they close / are closing
- הן סוגרות = they close / are closing
So here, סוגר matches הוא because the subject is masculine singular.
Does הוא סוגר mean he closes or he is closing?