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

Hebrew puts the directly onto the noun as a prefix, instead of using a separate word like English does.

Why isn’t there a word for is in the sentence?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not stated in simple sentences.

But this sentence is specifically an existence sentence, so Hebrew uses יש instead of a present-tense is.

Compare:

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

So Hebrew often handles there is and is differently.

Why is the word order יש מכתב על השולחן?

This is the most common order for an existential sentence in Hebrew:

יש + noun + location

So:

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

You can sometimes change the order for emphasis, for example:

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

But the original order is the basic, neutral one.

Can יש be used with a definite noun, like יש המכתב על השולחן?

Usually, no. After יש, Hebrew normally introduces something indefinite or newly mentioned.

So:

• יש מכתב על השולחן is natural
• יש המכתב על השולחן is generally not the normal way to say it

If you mean the letter is on the table, the normal sentence is:

• המכתב על השולחן

That is one of the key differences between English and Hebrew.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

A common pronunciation is:

yesh mikhtáv al ha-shulkhán

Notes:

• יש = yesh
• מכתב = mikhtav or mikhtáv
• שולחן = shulkhan or shulkhán
• kh represents the throaty sound of ח, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch

Does יש change for gender or number?

No. יש stays the same.

Examples:

• יש מכתב = there is a letter
• יש ילדה = there is a girl
• יש מכתבים = there are letters
• יש ילדות = there are girls

So unlike many Hebrew words, יש does not agree with the noun in gender or number.

What does על mean here?

Here, על means on.

So:

• על השולחן = on the table

In other contexts, על can also mean things like about or regarding, but in this sentence it is simply a location preposition.

Why is על השולחן written as two words, not one?

Because על is a separate preposition, and השולחן is the noun with the definite article attached.

So it breaks down as:

• על = on
• ה + שולחן = the + table

Together:

• על השולחן = on the table

This is different from some shorter Hebrew prepositions like ב־, כ־, and ל־, which often combine more tightly with the article.

How would I make this sentence negative?

You replace יש with אין:

• אין מכתב על השולחן = there is no letter on the table / there isn’t a letter on the table

So:

• יש = there is / there are
• אין = there is not / there are not

This is a very common pair to learn together.