בלילה קר, והנעליים ליד המיטה.

At night it is cold, and the shoes are next to the bed.

Breakdown of בלילה קר, והנעליים ליד המיטה.

• ו: and
• ב: at
• לילה: night
• ליד: next to
• מיטה: bed
• קר: cold
• נעל: shoe

Questions & Answers about בלילה קר, והנעליים ליד המיטה.

Why is there no Hebrew word here for is in בלילה קר and הנעליים ליד המיטה?

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

So:

• בלילה קר = At night, (it) is cold
• הנעליים ליד המיטה = The shoes are ליד המיטה / next to the bed

This is very normal Hebrew.

But in the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be:

• בלילה היה קר = At night it was cold
• הנעליים היו ליד המיטה = The shoes were next to the bed

So the missing is/are is not an omission or mistake; it is standard Hebrew grammar.

What exactly does בלילה mean, and how is it built?

בלילה is built from:

• ב־ = in / at
• לילה = night

So בלילה means at night or during the night.

In pointed Hebrew, this is often understood as a form that includes the definite article in pronunciation, but in normal unpointed writing you simply see בלילה.

For a learner, the main thing to remember is:

• לילה = night
• בלילה = at night

Why does קר appear in the masculine singular form?

Because Hebrew often uses the masculine singular form as a kind of default in impersonal expressions, especially for weather, temperature, and general conditions.

So:

• קר = cold (masculine singular form)

In בלילה קר, there is no explicit subject like the weather or the air, so Hebrew uses the default-style adjective קר.

Compare:

• החדר קר = The room is cold
  Here קר agrees with חדר, which is masculine singular.
• המים קרים = The water is cold
  Here קרים is plural because מים is plural in form.

But in an impersonal sentence like בלילה קר, קר is perfectly normal.

Why is the second part הנעליים ליד המיטה also missing a verb?

For the same reason as in the first part: this is a present-tense nominal sentence.

Hebrew often says:

• X ליד Y = X is next to Y
• X בבית = X is in the house
• X על השולחן = X is on the table

So:

• הנעליים ליד המיטה literally looks like the shoes next to the bed
• but it means the shoes are next to the bed

This structure is extremely common.

What does ליד mean, and how is it used?

ליד means next to, beside, or by.

So:

• ליד המיטה = next to the bed

It is used before a noun:

• ליד הדלת = next to the door
• ליד הבית = by the house
• ליד אמא = next to Mom

It is a very common everyday word for physical closeness.

Why do we have הנעליים and המיטה with ה־?

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

So:

• נעליים = shoes
• הנעליים = the shoes

and

• מיטה = bed
• המיטה = the bed

Hebrew uses ה־ much like English uses the.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about specific shoes and a specific bed, not just shoes and a bed in general.

Why does נעליים end in ־יים? Does that mean exactly two?

Great question. The ending ־יים is historically a dual ending, which originally referred to things that come in pairs.

With some nouns, especially things that naturally come in pairs, Hebrew still commonly uses this ending:

• נעליים = shoes
• עיניים = eyes
• ידיים = hands
• אוזניים = ears

In modern Hebrew, נעליים is just the normal word for shoes, not necessarily a special grammatical signal you need to interpret each time as exactly two in a strict logical sense. It is simply the standard form of the noun.

So a learner should mostly memorize נעליים as the regular word for shoes.

Why does the sentence begin with בלילה instead of putting it later?

Because Hebrew often puts a time expression at the beginning for context.

So:

• בלילה קר = At night, it is cold
• קר בלילה would also be understandable, but the given order sounds natural when the speaker wants to set the scene first.

This is similar to English starting with:

• At night, it’s cold.

Beginning with the time phrase can feel descriptive or scene-setting.

What is the function of ו־ in והנעליים?

ו־ means and.

So:

• והנעליים = and the shoes

It connects the second clause to the first:

• בלילה קר, והנעליים ליד המיטה.
• At night it’s cold, and the shoes are next to the bed.

This prefix is attached directly to the next word in Hebrew, instead of being written as a separate word like English and.

Is the comma before ו־ normal here?

It can appear, but it is somewhat a matter of style.

In simple modern Hebrew prose, many writers would also write:

• בלילה קר והנעליים ליד המיטה

without the comma.

A comma before ו־ may be used to create a pause, separate clauses more clearly, or give the sentence a slightly more literary rhythm.

So if a learner notices the comma, the important point is:

• it does not change the grammar much here
• it mainly affects punctuation and rhythm rather than core meaning