אני רוצה לתת את הספר לחבר טוב.

I want to give the book to a good friend.

Breakdown of אני רוצה לתת את הספר לחבר טוב.

• ספר: book
• אני: I
• טוב: good
• לרצות: to want
• חבר: friend
• את: direct object marker
• ל: for
• לתת: to give

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לתת את הספר לחבר טוב.

Why is רוצה followed by לתת?

Because after רוצה (want), Hebrew normally uses the infinitive of the next verb, just like English uses to give in I want to give.

So:

• אני רוצה = I want
• לתת = to give

Together:

• אני רוצה לתת = I want to give

You would not normally use a present-tense form like נותן here.

What does את do in את הספר?

את marks a definite direct object.

In this sentence, הספר means the book, which is definite, so Hebrew adds את before it:

• את הספר = the book (as the direct object)

This is one of the most important things for English speakers to get used to, because English does not have an equivalent word.

Compare:

• אני קורא ספר = I am reading a book
• אני קורא את הספר = I am reading the book

So in your sentence, את is there because the book is the thing being given, and it is definite.

Why is it הספר but just חבר טוב, without ה?

Because הספר is definite (the book), while חבר טוב is indefinite (a good friend).

• ספר = a book
• הספר = the book
• חבר טוב = a good friend
• החבר הטוב = the good friend

Hebrew marks definiteness with ה־ attached to the noun. If the noun is definite and has an adjective, the adjective also becomes definite.

So:

• לחבר טוב = to a good friend
• לחבר הטוב or לחבר טוב depending on context and pointing? In normal unpointed writing, לחבר הטוב clearly means to the good friend

In your sentence, the intended meaning is indefinite: to a good friend.

Why is לחבר used for to a friend?

The prefix ל־ means to.

So:

• חבר = friend
• לחבר = to a friend / to the friend

In this sentence, לתת often takes the person receiving the thing with ל־:

• לתת משהו למישהו = to give something to someone

So:

• לתת את הספר לחבר טוב = to give the book to a good friend

Why doesn’t חבר טוב have את before it too?

Because את is only used before a definite direct object.

In this sentence:

• את הספר is the direct object: it is the thing being given
• לחבר טוב is an indirect object: it is the person receiving the book

Hebrew marks the indirect object here with ל־, not with את.

So:

• את הספר = direct object marker + the book
• לחבר טוב = to a good friend

Why does טוב come after חבר?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• חבר טוב = literally friend good
• natural English translation: a good friend

This is normal Hebrew word order.

More examples:

• ספר מעניין = an interesting book
• ילד קטן = a small boy
• בית גדול = a big house

Does טוב have to agree with חבר?

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

Here:

• חבר is masculine singular
• so the adjective is also masculine singular: טוב

Compare:

• חברה טובה = a good female friend
• חברים טובים = good friends (masculine/mixed plural)
• חברות טובות = good female friends

So טוב is used because it matches חבר.

How do I know whether רוצה means want for a male speaker or a female speaker?

In unpointed Hebrew, רוצה can represent both:

• רוֹצֶה = want for a masculine singular speaker
• רוֹצָה = want for a feminine singular speaker

They are spelled the same without vowel marks: רוצה.

So:

• a man can say אני רוצה
• a woman can also say אני רוצה

You usually know which one is meant from context, pronunciation, or who is speaking.

Why is there no separate Hebrew word for a in a good friend?

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

So:

• חבר טוב can mean a good friend
• there is no extra word corresponding to a

Hebrew mainly distinguishes between:

• indefinite: no ה־
• definite: with ה־

So:

• חבר טוב = a good friend
• החבר הטוב = the good friend

Could the sentence order be changed?

Yes, but אני רוצה לתת את הספר לחבר טוב is the most straightforward and neutral order.

The structure is:

• אני = subject
• רוצה = main verb
• לתת = infinitive
• את הספר = direct object
• לחבר טוב = recipient

Hebrew is somewhat flexible with word order, but changing it can affect emphasis or sound less neutral. For a learner, this version is the best one to model.

Why is אני included? Can Hebrew drop it?

Hebrew can sometimes omit subject pronouns, especially in the past and future, because the verb form often already shows the subject.

But in the present tense, the verb usually does not clearly show the person, so pronouns are used much more often.

Here, רוצה by itself does not tell you I, you, he, or she clearly enough in normal unpointed writing. So אני is very natural and usually necessary:

• אני רוצה = I want

Could לחבר mean to the friend as well as to a friend?

Yes, in unpointed Hebrew writing, לחבר can be ambiguous.

It can represent:

• לְחָבֵר = to a friend
• לַחָבֵר = to the friend

Without vowel marks, both are written לחבר.

Usually context tells you which meaning is intended. In your sentence, since the meaning is already given as to a good friend, the intended reading is indefinite.

If Hebrew wants to make the good friend clear in writing, it would usually show definiteness on the adjective too:

• לחבר הטוב = to the good friend

That makes the meaning much clearer.

Is לתת an irregular verb?

Yes, לתת (to give) is somewhat irregular and very common, so it is worth memorizing early.

For example:

• infinitive: לתת
• present masculine singular: נותן
• present feminine singular: נותנת
• past he gave: נתן
• future I will give: אתן

So the forms do not all look as similar as they do in some regular verbs. That is normal for very common verbs in Hebrew.