יש מכתב על השולחן.

There is a letter on the table.

Breakdown of יש מכתב על השולחן.

• שולחן: table
• יש: there is
• על: on
• מכתב: letter

Questions & Answers about יש מכתב על השולחן.

What does יש mean here?

יש is the Hebrew word used for existence: there is or there are.

So the pattern is:

יש + thing + place

In this sentence:

• יש = there is / there are
• מכתב = a letter
• על השולחן = on the table

A useful note: יש does not change for singular/plural in the present tense.

• יש מכתב = there is a letter
• יש מכתבים = there are letters

Why is there no word for a before מכתב?

Hebrew has no indefinite article. In English, you say a letter; in Hebrew, you usually just use the noun by itself:

• מכתב = a letter / letter

So מכתב here is indefinite because it does not have the definite article ה־.

Why does השולחן have ה־ at the beginning?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• שולחן = table
• השולחן = the table