Log inSign up

אם את חולה, לכי לרופא ואל תלכי לעבודה היום.

אם את חולה, לכי לרופא ואל תלכי לעבודה היום.
If you are sick, go to the doctor and don't go to work today.

Breakdown of אם את חולה, לכי לרופא ואל תלכי לעבודה היום.

את
you
ו
and
היום
today
ללכת
to go
ל
to
עבודה
work
אם
if
רופא
doctor
אל
not
חולה
sick
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hebrew grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Hebrew now

Questions & Answers about אם את חולה, לכי לרופא ואל תלכי לעבודה היום.

Where is the word are in אם את חולה?

Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for am / is / are in the present tense.

So:

  • את חולה literally looks like you sick
  • but it means you are sick

That is completely normal Hebrew. In past and future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, but in the present it is usually left out.

Why is this sentence addressed to a woman?

Because several words are in the feminine singular form:

  • את = you (to one female)
  • לכי = go! (to one female)
  • תלכי = you will go / you should go (female singular form)

So the sentence is specifically talking to one woman or girl.

The masculine version would be:

  • אם אתה חולה, לך לרופא ואל תלך לעבודה היום.
Why is חולה used here? Does it show feminine gender?

חולה means sick, and in the singular it is often the same form for both masculine and feminine.

So:

  • את חולה = you are sick (to a woman)
  • אתה חולה = you are sick (to a man)

The gender in this sentence is shown more clearly by:

  • את
  • לכי
  • תלכי

not by חולה itself.

Why is the command go written as לכי and not תלכי?

Because לכי is the imperative form, meaning a direct positive command: Go!

For the verb ללכת (to go / to walk), the feminine singular imperative is:

  • לכי = go! (to one female)

So:

  • לכי לרופא = Go to the doctor

Hebrew often uses a special imperative form for positive commands, especially in standard written language.

Why does the negative command use אל תלכי instead of אל לכי?

This is a very common Hebrew pattern.

For negative commands, Hebrew usually does not use the imperative form. Instead, it uses:

  • אל
    • future-tense form

So:

  • לכי = go!
  • אל תלכי = don’t go!

That is why the sentence says:

  • ואל תלכי לעבודה היום = and don’t go to work today

Using אל לכי would sound wrong in standard Hebrew.

What exactly is לרופא?

לרופא is made of:

  • ל־ = to
  • ה־ = the
  • רופא = doctor

When ל־ and ה־ come together, they combine:

  • ל + הרופא → לרופא

So לרופא literally means to the doctor.

This kind of combination is very common in Hebrew.

Why does לעבודה mean to work? Doesn’t it literally mean to the work?

Yes, literally it is:

  • ל־ = to
  • ה־ = the
  • עבודה = work

So לעבודה literally looks like to the work.

But in natural English we usually translate it as to work.

Hebrew often uses the definite form in places where English does not. So:

  • ללכת לעבודה = to go to work

Even though the Hebrew form contains the, the natural English translation usually does not.

Why is ואל written together?

Because ו־ (and) is a prefix in Hebrew. It attaches directly to the next word.

So:

  • ו = and
  • אל = don’t / do not (used for negative commands)

Together:

  • ואל = and don’t

This is normal Hebrew spelling. Many short function words attach to the following word.

Why is there no word for you before לכי or תלכי?

Because in Hebrew, the verb form itself already shows the subject.

For example:

  • לכי already means you (female singular) go!
  • תלכי already means you (female singular) will go / should go

So Hebrew usually does not need to add את again before those verbs.

That is different from English, where we must say you go or don’t go.

Why is the sentence structured as If you are sick, go to the doctor and don’t go to work today? Is that a normal Hebrew word order?

Yes, it is very natural.

The sentence has three parts:

  • אם את חולה = if you are sick
  • לכי לרופא = go to the doctor
  • ואל תלכי לעבודה היום = and don’t go to work today

This order is straightforward and normal in Hebrew:

  1. condition
  2. first command
  3. second command

The comma after the if-clause works much like it does in English.

What is the dictionary form of לכי and תלכי?

Both come from the verb ללכת, which means to go or to walk.

This verb is a little irregular, so its forms do not all look very similar at first:

  • dictionary form: ללכת
  • imperative, feminine singular: לכי
  • future, feminine singular: תלכי

So even though לכי and תלכי look different, they belong to the same verb: ללכת.