אני רוצה לתת את הספר לילדים, כי הם רוצים ספר חדש.

I want to give the book to the children, because they want a new book.

Breakdown of אני רוצה לתת את הספר לילדים, כי הם רוצים ספר חדש.

• ספר: book
• אני: I
• חדש: new
• לרצות: to want
• ל: to
• את: direct object marker
• כי: because
• ילד: child
• הם: they
• לתת: to give

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לתת את הספר לילדים, כי הם רוצים ספר חדש.

What does את do in את הספר?

את is a marker of a definite direct object. It does not have a direct English translation.

In this sentence:

• הספר = the book
• because it is a direct object and it is definite, Hebrew adds את
• so: לתת את הספר = to give the book

A very important contrast:

• את הספר = the book
• ספר = a book / book
  No את here, because it is not definite.

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Why is it רוצה לתת and not some other verb form?

After רוצה (want/wants), Hebrew normally uses an infinitive to express want to do something.

So:

• רוצה = want / wants
• לתת = to give

Together:

• אני רוצה לתת = I want to give

This works much like English want + to + verb.

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Why is the infinitive לתת? It looks irregular.

Yes — לתת is irregular.

It comes from the root נ-ת-נ (נתן, connected with giving). This root behaves unusually in some forms, and the infinitive is לתת, not a regular-looking form.

So this is one of those verbs you mostly just learn as a whole form:

• לתת = to give

Because it is very common, learners usually get used to it quickly.

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Why is לילדים one word?

Because Hebrew often attaches short prepositions directly to the noun.

Here, ל- means to (sometimes for, depending on context).

So:

• ל- = to
• ילדים = children
• לילדים = to children / to the children

Unlike English, Hebrew does not need a separate word before the noun here.

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Does לילדים mean to children or to the children?

In normal unpointed Hebrew spelling, it can be ambiguous.

Hebrew attaches ל- directly to the noun, and when ל- combines with the definite article ה-, the spelling often does not clearly show the difference in unpointed text.

So לילדים can be understood from context as either:

• to children
• to the children

In your sentence, the meaning shown to the learner tells you which one is intended.

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Why is there no separate word for a in ספר חדש?

Because Hebrew normally has no indefinite article. English has a/an, but Hebrew usually does not.

So:

• ספר can mean a book or just book
• ספר חדש = a new book

Hebrew does have a definite article:

• הספר = the book

So the contrast is:

• הספר = the book
• ספר חדש = a new book

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Why does חדש come after ספר?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• ספר חדש = literally book new
• natural English translation: a new book

This is the normal order in Hebrew:

• ילד קטן = a small boy
• בית גדול = a big house

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Why is it חדש and not another form of the adjective?

Because Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and definiteness.

Here:

• ספר is masculine singular
• so the adjective is also masculine singular
• therefore: חדש

Some related forms are:

• masculine singular: חדש
• feminine singular: חדשה
• masculine plural: חדשים
• feminine plural: חדשות

Also, if the noun is definite, the adjective must be definite too:

• הספר החדש = the new book

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Does אני רוצה tell us whether the speaker is male or female?

Not clearly in this spelling.

In unpointed Hebrew, רוצה can be written the same way for:

• I want said by a man
• I want said by a woman

The pronunciation differs, but the regular spelling does not show that difference.

So the sentence as written does not necessarily tell you the speaker’s gender. You usually know it from context.

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Why is it הם רוצים and not הן רוצות?

Because הם רוצים is the masculine plural form.

Hebrew present-tense forms agree with the subject in gender and number.

So:

• הם רוצים = they want for a masculine or mixed group
• הן רוצות = they want for an all-female group

If the children are boys, or a mixed group of boys and girls, הם רוצים is the normal choice.

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What does כי mean here, and does it change the word order?

Here כי means because.

So:

• כי הם רוצים ספר חדש = because they want a new book

Word order stays fairly normal here:

• כי
  • subject
    • verb
      • object

Unlike in some languages, Hebrew does not require a dramatic word-order change after כי in a sentence like this.

Also, כי can mean that in other contexts, so learners often need to rely on context.

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Could the pronouns be left out here?

Sometimes yes, but not always naturally.

Hebrew can omit subject pronouns when the meaning is already clear from context. But in the present tense, the verb form often does not show person clearly enough by itself, so pronouns are commonly kept.

That is why:

• אני רוצה sounds clear and natural
• הם רוצים also clearly identifies the subject

So in this sentence, keeping אני and הם is very normal.