את זוכרת איפה המתנה?

Do you remember where the gift is?

Breakdown of את זוכרת איפה המתנה?

• את: you
• איפה: where
• מתנה: gift
• לזכור: to remember

Questions & Answers about את זוכרת איפה המתנה?

What does את mean here?

את here means you — specifically you when speaking to one female.

Hebrew marks gender in the second person singular, so:

• את = you (to one female)
• אתה = you (to one male)

So this sentence is addressed to a woman or girl.

Why is it זוכרת and not זוכר?

Because זוכרת agrees with the person being spoken to, and the sentence is addressed to a female.

The verb לזכור means to remember. In the present tense, Hebrew uses forms that agree with gender and number:

• זוכר = remembering / remember (masculine singular)
• זוכרת = remembering / remember (feminine singular)
• זוכרים = masculine plural
• זוכרות = feminine plural

Since the sentence starts with את (you, feminine singular), the verb must also be feminine singular: זוכרת.

Why is there no separate word for do in the question?

Hebrew does not use a helping verb like English do in questions such as Do you remember...?

In English, we say:

• You remember
• Do you remember?

In Hebrew, the verb form itself stays the same, and a yes/no question is usually shown by:

• intonation in speech
• a question mark in writing
• sometimes context

So:

• את זוכרת איפה המתנה. = You remember where the gift is.
• את זוכרת איפה המתנה? = Do you remember where the gift is?

Same words, different punctuation/intonation.

Why is there no word for is in איפה המתנה?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So English:

• Where is the gift?

Hebrew:

• איפה המתנה? Literally: Where the gift?

This is completely normal Hebrew. The is is understood.

The same thing happens inside longer sentences too:

• אני בבית = I am at home
• הוא עייף = He is tired
• איפה המתנה = where the gift is

So in the full sentence, איפה המתנה means where the gift is even though no separate word for is appears.

What exactly does זוכרת mean here — remember, are remembering, or do remember?

In this sentence, זוכרת is best translated as remember:

• את זוכרת איפה המתנה? = Do you remember where the gift is?

Hebrew present-tense forms often cover meanings that English expresses in different ways, such as:

• remember
• are remembering
  depending on context

But with לזכור, English usually just says remember.

So although the Hebrew form is a present-tense form, the most natural English translation here is simply Do you remember...?

What does איפה mean, and is it the normal word for where?

Yes. איפה means where, and it is a very common everyday word.

So:

• איפה המתנה? = Where is the gift?

In this sentence, איפה introduces the embedded question:

• איפה המתנה = where the gift is

There is also a more formal/literary word:

• היכן = where

So you might also see:

• את זוכרת היכן המתנה?

But איפה is the most common choice in normal spoken Hebrew.

Why does המתנה start with ה־?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מתנה = a gift / gift
• המתנה = the gift

In this sentence:

• איפה המתנה = where the gift is

So ה־ works like English the, but in Hebrew it is attached directly to the noun.

How do you pronounce this sentence?

A common pronunciation is:

at zo-KHE-ret ei-FO ha-ma-ta-NA

More roughly:

• את = at
• זוכרת = zo-KHE-ret
• איפה = ei-FO
• המתנה = ha-ma-ta-NA

Notes:

• The kh sound in זוכרת is like the ch in the German Bach or Scottish loch, not like English chair.
• Stress is commonly on:
  • זוכרת → KHE
  • איפה → FO
  • המתנה → NA

How would the sentence change if I were speaking to a man instead of a woman?

You would change both the pronoun and the verb form to masculine singular:

• את זוכרת איפה המתנה? = to a female
• אתה זוכר איפה המתנה? = to a male

Changes:

• את → אתה
• זוכרת → זוכר

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

Could this sentence also be understood as a statement and not only as a question?

Yes. Without context, the words themselves can be either a statement or a question.

• את זוכרת איפה המתנה. = You remember where the gift is.
• את זוכרת איפה המתנה? = Do you remember where the gift is?

In speech, the difference usually comes from intonation. In writing, it comes from the question mark.

So Hebrew often relies on punctuation and context more than English does in this kind of sentence.

Is the word order normal Hebrew word order?

Yes, this is very natural Hebrew.

The structure is:

• את זוכרת = you remember
• איפה המתנה = where the gift is

So the full pattern is:

• [subject] + [verb] + [embedded question]

This is a normal and common way to say it in Hebrew.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• את = you
• זוכרת = remember
• איפה = where
• המתנה = the gift

Literal order:

• You remember where the gift

Natural English:

• Do you remember where the gift is?