Questions & Answers about אתה זוכר אם קנינו מספיק גבינה וביצים?
Why is it אתה זוכר and not just זוכר?
In Hebrew, the present-tense form זוכר only tells you gender and number: it means something like remembering / remembers, masculine singular.
It does not by itself clearly mark person the way English does. So זוכר could mean:
- I remember (if the speaker is male)
- you remember (to one male)
- he remembers
That is why Hebrew often adds the pronoun for clarity:
- אתה זוכר = you remember (to a male)
In casual speech, the pronoun can sometimes be omitted if the context is obvious, but אתה זוכר is very normal and clear.
Why is it זוכר? What form of the verb is that?
זוכר is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb לזכור = to remember.
Here are the present forms:
- זוכר — masculine singular
- זוכרת — feminine singular
- זוכרים — masculine plural / mixed plural
- זוכרות — feminine plural
So:
- אתה זוכר = you remember (to a man)
- את זוכרת = you remember (to a woman)