האיש עובד באוניברסיטה, אבל האישה לומדת שם.

The man works at the university, but the woman studies there.

Breakdown of האיש עובד באוניברסיטה, אבל האישה לומדת שם.

• אישה: woman
• שם: there
• אבל: but
• לעבוד: to work
• ב: at
• ללמוד: to study
• אוניברסיטה: university
• איש: person

Questions & Answers about האיש עובד באוניברסיטה, אבל האישה לומדת שם.

Why do האיש and האישה both begin with ה?

The ה at the beginning is the definite article, meaning the.

• איש = a man / man
• האיש = the man
• אישה = a woman / woman
• האישה = the woman

So in this sentence:

• האיש = the man
• האישה = the woman

Hebrew attaches the directly to the front of the noun instead of writing it as a separate word.

Why is it עובד with the man, but לומדת with the woman?

Because Hebrew verbs in the present tense agree with the gender and number of the subject.

Here:

• האיש עובד = the man works
  
  • עובד is masculine singular
• האישה לומדת = the woman studies
  
  • לומדת is feminine singular

This is very common in Hebrew. Present-tense forms often look a lot like adjectives and must match the subject.

For example:

• הוא עובד = he works
• היא עובדת = she works
• הוא לומד = he studies
• היא לומדת = she studies

Is there a word for is in this sentence?

No. In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So Hebrew says:

• האיש עובד literally: the man working
• האישה לומדת שם literally: the woman studying there

But in natural English, we translate them as:

• The man works
• The woman studies there

If the sentence were something like The man is tall, Hebrew would also usually leave out is in the present:

• האיש גבוה = the man is tall

Why is באוניברסיטה written as one word?

Because ב means in / at, and in Hebrew prepositions like this are often attached directly to the noun.

So:

• ב = in / at
• אוניברסיטה = university
• באוניברסיטה = in the university / at the university

There is also a definite article built in here. Historically, this form is:

• ב + ה + אוניברסיטה = באוניברסיטה

So באוניברסיטה means in the university / at the university, not just in a university.

This kind of combination is very common in Hebrew:

• בבית = in a house / at home
• בבית הספר = in the school / at school

Does באוניברסיטה mean in the university or at the university?

It can mean either, depending on context. In English, we often say at the university, while Hebrew uses ב for both in and at in many situations.

So:

• עובד באוניברסיטה can naturally mean works at the university

Even though the literal sense is closer to in the university, the natural English translation is often at the university.

Why does לומדת start with ל? Is that the preposition to?

No. In לומדת, the ל is not the separate preposition to. It is just part of the verb form.

The verb here comes from the root ל-מ-ד, related to learning/studying.

So:

• לומד = studying / studies (masculine singular)
• לומדת = studying / studies (feminine singular)

This is different from the infinitive:

• ללמוד = to study

So in האישה לומדת, the ל is part of the present-tense verb itself, not a separate word meaning to.

What does אבל do in the sentence?

אבל means but.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• האיש עובד באוניברסיטה = the man works at the university
• אבל = but
• האישה לומדת שם = the woman studies there

So the whole sentence contrasts the two ideas:

• The man works at the university, but the woman studies there.

What does שם mean here?

Here, שם means there.

So:

• לומדת שם = studies there

A thing that often confuses learners is that שם can also mean name in other contexts.

Examples:

• הוא עובד שם = he works there
• מה השם שלך? = what is your name?

The meaning is determined by context.

Why does Hebrew use שם for there instead of a word that looks more like here/there in English?

That is simply how Hebrew works. Every language divides space and location in its own way.

In basic Hebrew:

• פה / כאן = here
• שם = there

So שם is the normal everyday word for there.

Is the word order normal Hebrew word order?

Yes. This is a very natural and basic word order in Hebrew:

• subject + verb + other information

So:

• האיש עובד באוניברסיטה
• האישה לומדת שם

This is similar to English and is very common in simple statements.

Hebrew can sometimes change word order for emphasis or style, but this sentence is straightforward and standard.

Why is there a comma before אבל?

Because אבל joins two full clauses, much like but in English.

The sentence has two complete parts:

• האיש עובד באוניברסיטה
• האישה לומדת שם

Since each part could stand on its own, using a comma before אבל is natural and standard.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-ISH o-VED ba-u-ni-ver-si-TA, a-VAL ha-i-SHA lo-ME-det SHAM

A few notes:

• האיש = ha-ISH
• עובד = o-VED
• באוניברסיטה = ba-u-ni-ver-si-TA
• אבל = a-VAL
• האישה = ha-i-SHA
• לומדת = lo-ME-det
• שם = sham

The stress is usually near the end in several of these words, especially:

• עובד
• אוניברסיטה
• לומדת

What are the base dictionary forms of the important words here?

A learner might want to know the basic forms behind the sentence. They are:

• איש = man
• אישה = woman
• עבד = he worked / root related to work
  
  • present form here: עובד
• למד = he learned / studied
  
  • present form here: לומדת
• אוניברסיטה = university
• שם = there / name, depending on context
• אבל = but

This is useful because Hebrew dictionaries often list verbs under a past-tense masculine singular form or by root.

Could האיש עובד באוניברסיטה also mean The man is working at the university?

Yes. Hebrew present tense often covers both the English simple present and present progressive, depending on context.

So עובד can mean:

• works
• is working

And לומדת can mean:

• studies
• is studying

In this sentence, the most natural translation is probably:

• The man works at the university, but the woman studies there.

But in the right context, is working and is studying could also be correct.

Is האיש the usual word for man? What is the difference between איש and אישה?

Yes, איש means man, and אישה means woman.

They look similar because they are historically related words:

• איש = man
• אישה = woman

This pair is very common in basic Hebrew. A learner will see them often.

Just remember that even though they look related, they are separate words with different meanings, and אישה is not just איש plus a regular feminine ending in the modern grammatical sense. It is its own word: woman.

Can I say the sentence without שם?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• האישה לומדת שם = the woman studies there
• האישה לומדת = the woman studies / is studying

So שם adds the idea of location and links the second clause back to באוניברסיטה. It helps show that there means at the university.