Questions & Answers about אם את עייפה, אז לכי לישון מוקדם.
Why does the sentence use את and עייפה?
Because the sentence is addressed to a female singular person.
- את = you (to one female)
- עייפה = tired in the feminine singular
- לכי = go in the feminine singular imperative
Hebrew marks gender much more often than English does, so several words in the sentence change to match the person being spoken to.
If you were speaking to a man, you would say:
אם אתה עייף, אז לך לישון מוקדם.
Where is the word are in the part אם את עייפה?
Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense form of to be in simple sentences like this.
So:
- את עייפה literally looks like you tired
- but it means you are tired
This is completely normal in Hebrew. In the present tense, the verb to be is usually omitted.
What does אם mean, and how is it used here?