Questions & Answers about הכרטיס שלי בארנק, אבל הארנק לא בתיק.
Why is there no Hebrew word for is in this sentence?
In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not stated.
So:
- הכרטיס שלי בארנק = My card is in the wallet
- הארנק לא בתיק = The wallet is not in the bag
Hebrew often just puts the subject and the location together, without a separate word for is / are.
Why does שלי come after הכרטיס instead of before it?
Hebrew usually expresses possession with:
- the noun + של + pronoun
So:
- הכרטיס שלי = my card
- literally: the card of me
This is very normal in modern Hebrew. Unlike English, you do not usually put the equivalent of my before the noun in this structure.
Some common examples:
- הספר שלי = my book
- הבית שלי = my house
- החבר שלי = my friend
Why is it הכרטיס שלי and not just כרטיס שלי?
Because in Hebrew, when you say noun + שלי / שלך / שלו etc., the noun is often definite, so it usually takes ה־.
So:
- הכרטיס שלי = my card
- הארנק שלי = my wallet
- התיק שלי = my bag
This is different from English, where we do not say the my card. In Hebrew, the possession structure works differently.