Breakdown of הבניין שלנו גדול, ואנחנו גרים בקומה 3.
Questions & Answers about הבניין שלנו גדול, ואנחנו גרים בקומה 3.
ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, the equivalent of the in English.
So:
- בניין = building
- הבניין = the building
In this sentence, הבניין שלנו means our building or literally the building of ours.
שלנו means our / ours.
In modern Hebrew, possession is very often expressed with של + a pronoun:
- שלי = my/mine
- שלך = your/yours
- שלו = his
- שלה = her
- שלנו = our/ours
So:
- הבניין שלנו = our building
Literally, it is something like the building that is ours.
This is different from English, where possessives usually come before the noun (our building). In Hebrew, it is very normal for the noun to come first and the possessive word to come after it.
גדול means big or large.
Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.
- בניין is masculine singular
- so the adjective must also be masculine singular
- therefore: גדול
Other forms would be:
- גדולה = feminine singular
- גדולים = masculine plural
- גדולות = feminine plural
So הבניין שלנו גדול means our building is big.
There is no separate word for is in this kind of present-tense sentence.
In Hebrew, when you say something like:
- הבניין גדול = the building is big
- אני עייף = I am tired
- היא בבית = she is at home
the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.
So הבניין שלנו גדול literally looks like:
- the-building our big
but it means:
- our building is big
In past and future, Hebrew does use forms of to be when needed.
ו־ means and in Hebrew, and it is usually attached directly to the next word.
So:
- אנחנו = we
- ואנחנו = and we
This attached ו־ is extremely common in Hebrew. You will see it on many kinds of words:
- וילד = and a boy
- והבית = and the house
- וגרים = and live
Its pronunciation can vary a little depending on the next sound, but here ואנחנו is normally pronounced something like ve-anákhnu.
גרים is the present tense form of the verb לגור, meaning to live or to reside.
Here it means live:
- אנחנו גרים = we live
This specific form, גרים, is used for masculine plural.
That includes:
- a group of men
- a mixed-gender group
- sometimes a group when gender is not being specified
If the group were entirely female, you would say:
- אנחנו גרות
So the sentence uses the standard plural form that many learners will often see first.
In Hebrew present tense, the same form often covers both:
- we live
- we are living
So אנחנו גרים can mean:
- we live
- we are living
The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, the natural English translation is we live.
Hebrew does not usually make the same sharp distinction here that English does between simple present and present continuous.
The preposition ב־ usually means in, at, or sometimes on, depending on context.
- קומה = floor / story
- בקומה = on the floor / on a floor
So:
- בקומה 3 = on floor 3 / on the 3rd floor
In English, we usually say on the third floor. Hebrew often uses a simpler structure in everyday contexts, especially with building signs, addresses, elevator labels, and practical descriptions.
Both are possible, but they feel a little different.
- בקומה השלישית = on the third floor
- בקומה 3 = on floor 3
The version with the number 3 is common in practical, everyday usage, especially when talking about actual numbered floors in a building.
The version with the ordinal number, השלישית (the third), is fuller and more explicitly grammatical in the traditional sense.
So:
- אנחנו גרים בקומה 3 sounds natural
- אנחנו גרים בקומה השלישית is also correct
Because the sentence is using קומה 3 almost like a label: floor 3.
If you said:
- בקומה השלישית = on the third floor
then the definiteness is built into השלישית (the third).
But in בקומה 3, Hebrew commonly treats the number as enough to identify the floor in a practical way, especially in modern usage.
So it sounds natural even without הקומה.
הבניין is pronounced roughly ha-binyán.
The noun בניין means building, and its spelling reflects the Hebrew root-and-pattern system. The middle part can look unusual to English speakers because Hebrew spelling often shows vowel structure and consonant history differently from English.
A good practical pronunciation is:
- בניין = binyán
- הבניין = ha-binyán
You do not need to pronounce it like two separate English y sounds. Just say something close to bin-YAN.
אנחנו is usually pronounced anákhnu.
A rough English-friendly guide:
- a as in father
- nakh with a throaty kh sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
- nu = noo
So:
- אנחנו ≈ a-NAKH-noo
If you cannot produce the throaty kh sound yet, that is normal for beginners. Many learners start with a softer substitute and improve over time.
Yes. The word order is very natural.
The sentence is:
- הבניין שלנו גדול, ואנחנו גרים בקומה 3.
Literally:
- the building our big, and we live on floor 3
This reflects normal Hebrew patterns:
noun + possessive
- הבניין שלנו = our building
no present-tense "is"
- גדול = is big
subject + present-tense verb
- אנחנו גרים = we live
preposition + location
- בקומה 3 = on floor 3
So even though it does not match English word-for-word, it is standard Hebrew structure.
It depends on who we refers to.
The form גרים is masculine plural, which is used for:
- a group of men
- a mixed group
- sometimes a general we
If the speakers were all female, Hebrew would normally use:
- ואנחנו גרות בקומה 3
So yes, a woman could absolutely say the original sentence if we includes at least one male or if masculine plural is being used as the default. But if the group is entirely female, many speakers would prefer גרות.