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Breakdown of לפני שחזרנו הביתה, בחרנו גם פירות לסבא ולסבתא.
ו
and
לפני
before
גם
also
ל
for
ש
that
הביתה
home
לחזור
to return
סבא
grandpa
סבתא
grandma
פרי
fruit
לבחור
to choose
Questions & Answers about לפני שחזרנו הביתה, בחרנו גם פירות לסבא ולסבתא.
Why does the sentence start with לפני?
לפני means before. In this sentence it introduces a time clause: לפני שחזרנו הביתה = before we returned home.
What does the ש־ in שחזרנו do?
The ש־ links לפני to a full clause. Hebrew often uses לפני ש־... for before ... when a verb follows. So שחזרנו is basically that we returned / when we returned as part of the larger expression before we returned.
What form is חזרנו?
חזרנו is the past tense of the verb לחזור, meaning to return or to come back. The ending ־נו means we, so חזרנו means we returned or we came back.
Why does Hebrew say הביתה instead of something like לבית here?
הביתה is a very common way to say home or homeward after verbs of motion. It uses a special directional ־ה ending, which gives the sense of movement toward a place. So חזרנו הביתה is the natural way to say we returned home.
What form is בחרנו?
בחרנו is the past tense of לבחור, meaning to choose or to pick. Again, the ending ־נו means we, so בחרנו means we chose.
Why is גם placed before פירות?
גם means also, too, or as well. Its position often shows what is being added. In בחרנו גם פירות, the idea is that fruit was also one of the things we chose, in addition to something else mentioned earlier or understood from context.
Why is there no את before פירות?
Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object. Here פירות is indefinite, more like fruit or some fruit, so את is not used. If it were the fruit, you would expect את, as in בחרנו גם את הפירות.
Is פירות singular or plural? What is the singular form?
פירות is plural. The singular is פרי, meaning fruit. In this sentence, פירות means fruits or pieces/types of fruit.
Why does the sentence say לסבא ולסבתא?
The prefix ל־ means to or for. Here it means for Grandpa and Grandma. Hebrew very naturally repeats the preposition before each noun, so לסבא ולסבתא literally means for Grandpa and for Grandma.
Do חזרנו and בחרנו show whether the speakers are male or female?
No. In Hebrew, first-person plural past-tense forms do not show gender. Both חזרנו and בחרנו can be used by a group of males, females, or a mixed group.
Could the word order be different?
Yes. Hebrew often puts the time clause first, as in לפני שחזרנו הביתה, בחרנו גם פירות... This is very natural and helps set the scene first. But Hebrew could also place the main clause first, depending on style and emphasis.
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