אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש.

I want to give her a new book.

Breakdown of אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש.

• ספר: book
• אני: I
• חדש: new
• לרצות: to want
• לתת: to give
• לה: to her

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש.

What does each word in אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש do?

Here is the breakdown:

• אני = I
• רוצה = want
• לתת = to give
• לה = to her
• ספר = book
• חדש = new

So the structure is:

I + want + to give + to her + book + new

Natural English says I want to give her a new book.

---

Why is לתת used here instead of a form like נותן?

Because after רוצה (want), Hebrew normally uses the infinitive, just like English uses to + verb.

• רוצה לתת = want to give
• not רוצה נותן

So:

• אני רוצה לתת = I want to give
• Compare:
  • אני נותן = I am giving / I give
  • אני רוצה לתת = I want to give

---

Why is it לה and not a separate word meaning her?

In Hebrew, לה literally means to her.

It is made from the preposition ל־ (to) plus a pronoun ending:

• לו = to him
• לה = to her
• לי = to me
• לך = to you

So Hebrew does not say something like give her with a bare object pronoun the way English does. It says give to her:

• לתת לה = to give to her

Even though English usually says give her, the Hebrew structure is completely normal.

---

Why is the adjective חדש after ספר?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• ספר חדש = a new book
• literally: book new

This is the normal Hebrew word order.

More examples:

• בית גדול = a big house
• ילד טוב = a good boy

---

Why is it חדש and not חדשה?

Because ספר is a masculine singular noun, and adjectives in Hebrew must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

So:

• ספר חדש = masculine singular
• מתנה חדשה = feminine singular

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would also be feminine.

Examples:

• ספר חדש = a new book
• מכונית חדשה = a new car

---

How do I know whether רוצה means want for a male speaker or a female speaker?

In unpointed Hebrew, רוצה can represent either:

• רוֹצֶה = wants / want for a male singular
• רוֹצָה = wants / want for a female singular

So אני רוצה can mean either:

• I want — said by a man
• I want — said by a woman

Usually you know from:

• context
• the speaker
• vowel marks, if they are written
• pronunciation in speech

In speech:

• male: ani rotze
• female: ani rotza

---

Is there no word for a in Hebrew here?

Correct. Hebrew has no separate indefinite article like English a/an.

So:

• ספר חדש can mean a new book

If you want to say the new book, Hebrew uses ה:

• הספר החדש = the new book

So:

• ספר חדש = a new book
• הספר החדש = the new book

---

Why does החדש need ה too in הספר החדש?

Because when a noun is definite in Hebrew, its adjective usually becomes definite too.

So:

• ספר חדש = a new book
• הספר החדש = the new book

Both the noun and the adjective show definiteness.

This is very common in Hebrew.

---

What is the normal word order in this sentence?

The sentence follows a very natural Hebrew order:

• אני = subject
• רוצה = finite verb
• לתת = infinitive
• לה = indirect object
• ספר חדש = direct object

So the pattern is roughly:

I want to give to her a new book

That sounds slightly unusual in English, but it is normal in Hebrew.

---

Can the order be changed?

Sometimes yes, but אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש is the most straightforward and neutral version.

Hebrew can move things around for emphasis, but that may sound more marked or less basic for a learner.

For example, a speaker might change word order in conversation for focus, but if you are learning the standard structure, this sentence is a good model.

---

How do you pronounce the sentence?

A common pronunciation is:

• ani rotze latet la sefer chadash — if the speaker is male
• ani rotza latet la sefer chadash — if the speaker is female

Stress usually falls like this:

• a-NI
• rot-ZE / rot-ZA
• la-TET
• LA
• SE-fer
• cha-DASH

---

Why does לתת look irregular?

Because לתת (to give) is an irregular infinitive.

Many Hebrew infinitives begin with ל־, but נתן is a special verb, so its infinitive is not as predictable as some other verbs.

For example:

• לכתוב = to write
• ללמוד = to study
• לתת = to give

So this is a verb you simply need to memorize.

---

Could לה ever mean something other than to her?

Yes. Without vowel marks, לה can also be read as lah meaning to her, and in other contexts similar spellings may appear as part of different structures. But in this sentence, לתת לה clearly means to give to her.

So for this sentence, the meaning is unambiguous.

---

How would I change to her to to him?

You would replace לה with לו.

• אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש = I want to give her a new book
• אני רוצה לתת לו ספר חדש = I want to give him a new book

This is a very useful pattern to practice.

---

How would I say I want to give them a new book?

You would change לה to the appropriate to them form:

• להם = to them masculine/mixed
• להן = to them feminine

So:

• אני רוצה לתת להם ספר חדש
• אני רוצה לתת להן ספר חדש

The rest of the sentence stays the same.

---

Why isn’t there a direct object marker את before ספר?

Because את is normally used before a definite direct object, not an indefinite one.

Here we have:

• ספר חדש = a new book → indefinite

So no את is used.

Compare:

• אני רוצה לתת לה ספר חדש = I want to give her a new book
• אני רוצה לתת לה את הספר החדש = I want to give her the new book

In the second sentence, את appears because הספר החדש is definite.

---

If Hebrew says to her, why is the English translation often just give her?

Because English allows two patterns:

• give her a book
• give a book to her

Hebrew normally uses the equivalent of to her:

• לתת לה ספר

But in natural English, give her a book is usually smoother. So the translation may not match the Hebrew structure word-for-word, even though the meaning is the same.