אני יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית.

I know that the car is near the house.

Breakdown of אני יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית.

• בית: house
• אני: I
• ל: to
• אוטו: car
• לדעת: to know
• ש: that
• קרוב: near

Questions & Answers about אני יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית.

What does ש in שהאוטו mean, and why is it attached to the next word?

Here ש־ means that.

So:

• שהאוטו = ש + האוטו
• literally: that + the car

In modern Hebrew, ש־ is usually written attached to the following word. So instead of writing it as a separate word, Hebrew normally joins it on:

• שאני = that I
• שזה = that this/it is
• שהאוטו = that the car

In this sentence, it introduces the clause the car is close to the house after I know.

Do I have to use ש־ after אני יודע here?

Yes, if you want to say I know that... followed by a full clause, ש־ is the normal choice.

So:

• אני יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית. = I know that the car is close to the house.

Without ש־, the sentence would sound incomplete or ungrammatical in normal Hebrew.

In more formal Hebrew, you may also see כי meaning that, but ש־ is much more common in everyday speech.

Why is there no word for is in האוטו קרוב לבית?

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So Hebrew says:

• האוטו קרוב לבית
• literally: the car close to the house

but it means:

• the car is close to the house

This is very normal. Hebrew does not usually insert a present-tense is/am/are the way English does.

Why is it יודע and not יודעת?

Because יודע is the masculine singular form.

Hebrew present-tense forms agree with the subject’s gender and number. So:

• אני יודע = I know said by a male speaker
• אני יודעת = I know said by a female speaker

So the sentence as written assumes the speaker is male.

Is יודע really a present-tense verb?

Yes. In modern Hebrew, forms like יודע / יודעת / יודעים / יודעות function as present tense.

So:

• אני יודע = I know
• הוא יודע = he knows
• היא יודעת = she knows

Historically these forms are related to participles, but for a learner it is best to treat them as the normal present-tense forms.

Why is קרוב masculine singular?

Because it matches האוטו, which is masculine singular.

In Hebrew, adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

Here:

• האוטו = the car, masculine singular
• קרוב = close/near, masculine singular

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use קרובה. If it were plural, the adjective would also change.

Why isn’t it הקרוב?

Because קרוב here is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached inside the noun phrase.

Compare:

• האוטו הקרוב = the nearby car / the close car
  Here the adjective is part of the noun phrase, so it takes ה־ too.

• האוטו קרוב לבית = the car is close to the house
  Here קרוב is not the nearby car; it is the statement being made about the car. So it does not take ה־.

That difference is very important in Hebrew.

Why is there a ל before בית?

Because קרוב normally goes with ל־ to mean close to.

So:

• קרוב ל... = close to...

That means:

• קרוב לבית = close to the house

Even though English uses the separate word to, Hebrew expresses that with the prefix ל־ attached to the noun.

Where did the go in לבית?

It is hidden inside the form.

The noun בית means house.
The definite form is הבית = the house.

When a preposition like ל־ joins ה־, they contract:

• ל + הבית → לבית in normal spelling

So לבית can represent to/at the house.

In fully vowel-pointed Hebrew, the difference is clearer:

• לְבַיִת = to a house
• לַבַּיִת = to the house

But in everyday unpointed Hebrew, both are written לבית, and context tells you which one is meant.

Can אני יודע mean I know, but also something else?

Yes. Literally, יודע by itself can match more than one subject in context.

For example:

• אני יודע = I know (male speaker)
• הוא יודע = he knows

That is one reason why the pronoun אני is useful here: it makes the subject explicit.

So while Hebrew often omits subject pronouns, keeping אני helps avoid ambiguity.

Could I use מכיר instead of יודע?

Not in this sentence.

Use יודע for knowing a fact or knowing that something is true:

• אני יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית. = I know that the car is close to the house.

Use מכיר for being familiar with a person, place, or thing:

• אני מכיר את האוטו הזה. = I know/familiar with this car.
• אני מכיר את תל אביב. = I know Tel Aviv.

So with a that-clause like שהאוטו קרוב לבית, יודע is the correct verb.

Is אוטו a normal word for car, or should I learn מכונית instead?

אוטו is a very common everyday word for car in spoken Hebrew.

You should know both:

• אוטו = very common, everyday, conversational
• מכונית = also correct, a bit more neutral or formal

So this sentence sounds natural and normal with האוטו.

Can I leave out אני and just say יודע שהאוטו קרוב לבית?

Sometimes, yes, if the context is clear. Hebrew often drops subject pronouns.

However, here יודע alone could mean:

• I know (male speaker)
• he knows

So including אני makes the sentence clearer and more natural when the subject has not already been established.

How is the full sentence pronounced?

A natural pronunciation is:

ani yodea sheha-oto karov la-bayit

A few notes:

• אני = ani
• יודע = yodea
• שהאוטו = sheha-oto
• קרוב = karov
• לבית here is pronounced la-bayit in the meaning to the house / near the house

So the rhythm is roughly:

a-NI yo-DE-a she-ha-O-to ka-ROV la-BA-yit