Word
יש לנו מספיק תפוזים, אבל אין לנו מספיק עגבניות וירקות לסלט.
Meaning
We have enough oranges, but we do not have enough tomatoes and vegetables for the salad.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of יש לנו מספיק תפוזים, אבל אין לנו מספיק עגבניות וירקות לסלט.
יש
there is
אין
there is no
ו
and
אבל
but
Questions & Answers about יש לנו מספיק תפוזים, אבל אין לנו מספיק עגבניות וירקות לסלט.
How does יש לנו mean we have?
Hebrew often expresses possession with an existential structure rather than a verb meaning to have.
- יש = there is / there are
- לנו = to us / for us
So יש לנו מספיק תפוזים literally means something like:
- There are to us enough oranges
In natural English, that becomes we have enough oranges.
Why is it יש even though תפוזים is plural?
Because יש does not change for singular or plural in this kind of sentence. It is an existential particle, not a normal verb that agrees with the noun.
So Hebrew says:
- יש תפוז = there is an orange
- יש תפוזים = there are oranges
The same is true here:
- יש לנו מספיק תפוזים = we have enough oranges
Even though תפוזים is plural, יש stays the same.
Why does the negative use אין לנו instead of something like לא יש לנו?