זאת המנה של החברה, וזאת המנה של החבר.

This is the female friend's dish, and this is the male friend's dish.

Breakdown of זאת המנה של החברה, וזאת המנה של החבר.

• זאת: this
• ו: and
• חברה: female friend
• חבר: male friend
• של: of
• מנה: dish

Questions & Answers about זאת המנה של החברה, וזאת המנה של החבר.

Why is there no separate word for is in this sentence?

In Hebrew, present-tense sentences like this often omit the verb to be. So זאת המנה של החברה literally looks like this the-portion of the ..., but it naturally means this is the portion of the .... In past or future sentences, Hebrew usually does use a form of to be, such as הייתה or תהיה.

Why does the sentence use זאת and not זה?

Because מנה is a feminine singular noun, and the demonstrative has to match it. זאת is feminine singular, while זה is masculine singular. So if the noun were masculine, you would expect זה instead.

Can I say זו instead of זאת?

Yes. In Modern Hebrew, זו and זאת are both used for feminine singular this. זאת is fully correct and very common, while זו is also extremely common, especially in everyday speech. So זו המנה של החברה would also sound natural.

Why is it זאת המנה and not המנה הזאת?

These mean slightly different things grammatically.

זאת המנה is a full clause meaning this is the portion.
המנה הזאת is a noun phrase meaning this portion.

So in this sentence, זאת המנה... works because the sentence is identifying something. If you used המנה הזאת, you would normally need the sentence to continue differently, for example המנה הזאת היא של החבר.

What does של mean here?

של is the usual Modern Hebrew way to show possession. It works a lot like English of or the apostrophe-s idea in the friend’s portion. So המנה של החבר means the portion of the friend or more naturally the friend’s portion.

Could Hebrew express this possession without של?

Yes. Hebrew also has the construct state, which is a more compact way to link nouns. So המנה של החבר could also be expressed as מנת החבר. In Modern spoken Hebrew, though, של is extremely common and often sounds more natural in everyday conversation.

Why is there a ה on המנה?

The ה is the definite article, meaning the. Here the sentence is talking about a specific portion, not just any portion, so Hebrew says המנה. This is different from English, where possession can often make something sound definite by itself; in Hebrew, it is very normal to keep the article and say המנה של... for the ...’s portion.

Why do החברה and החבר also have ה?

For the same reason: they are definite too. החבר means the male friend, and החברה means the female friend / the company, depending on context. Without ה, they would usually mean a male friend or a female friend / a company.

How do I know what החברה means here?

In ordinary Hebrew spelling, החברה can represent more than one word. It can mean the company, or it can mean the female friend / girlfriend, because Hebrew usually does not write vowels in everyday text. Context, pronunciation, or vowel marks tell you which meaning is intended.

Why is זאת המנה repeated in the second half of the sentence?

Hebrew often repeats the full pattern for clarity and contrast. The sentence is setting up a neat comparison between two different owners, so repeating וזאת המנה... sounds natural and balanced. A shorter version such as וזאת של החבר is also possible, but the full repetition is clearer and more explicit.

What does the ו in וזאת mean, and how is it pronounced?

The ו is the conjunction and. In this sentence, וזאת means and this is. It is pronounced ve-zot, with the ו sounding like ve- here.