המגבת שלי על המיטה.

bed

Breakdown of המגבת שלי על המיטה.

• על: on
• שלי: my
• מגבת: towel

Questions & Answers about המגבת שלי על המיטה.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense.

So:

המגבת שלי על המיטה
literally: the towel my on the bed
natural English: My towel is on the bed

This is completely normal Hebrew. If you wanted past or future, you would use forms of to be:

• המגבת שלי הייתה על המיטה = My towel was on the bed
• המגבת שלי תהיה על המיטה = My towel will be on the bed

In the present tense, though, Hebrew usually just omits is/are/am.

What does the ה־ at the beginning of המגבת and המיטה mean?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מגבת = a towel / towel
• המגבת = the towel
• מיטה = a bed / bed
• המיטה = the bed

In this sentence:

• המגבת שלי = my towel
• על המיטה = on the bed

Hebrew adds the as a prefix, instead of using a separate word like English does.