במשרד הזה אסור לאכול, ומותר לשתות רק מים.

In this office it is forbidden to eat, and it is allowed to drink only water.

Breakdown of במשרד הזה אסור לאכול, ומותר לשתות רק מים.

• זה: this
• מים: water
• ו: and
• ב: in
• לאכול: to eat
• לשתות: to drink
• רק: only
• משרד: office
• מותר: allowed
• אסור: forbidden

Questions & Answers about במשרד הזה אסור לאכול, ומותר לשתות רק מים.

Why does אסור mean forbidden here, and how is it being used in the sentence?

אסור is commonly used in Hebrew to mean forbidden or not allowed.

In this sentence, אסור לאכול literally means something like eating is forbidden or it is forbidden to eat.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• אסור + infinitive = it is forbidden to ...
• מותר + infinitive = it is allowed to ...

So:

• אסור לאכול = it is forbidden to eat
• מותר לשתות = it is allowed to drink

These are often used as general rules, without naming a specific person.

Why are לאכול and לשתות in this form?

They are in the infinitive form, similar to English to eat and to drink.

• לאכול = to eat
• לשתות = to drink

After words like אסור and מותר, Hebrew normally uses the infinitive:

• אסור לעשן = It is forbidden to smoke
• מותר להיכנס = It is allowed to enter

The ל־ at the beginning of the infinitive usually corresponds to English to.

Why is it במשרד הזה and not הזה במשרד?

In Hebrew, demonstratives like this and that usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• המשרד הזה = this office
• הספר הזה = this book
• הילדה הזאת = this girl

Here, because of the preposition ב־ (in), you get:

• במשרד הזה = in this office

This is a very normal Hebrew word order.

Why isn’t there a word for is in the sentence?

Because Hebrew usually does not use a present-tense form of to be in sentences like this.

So where English says:

• In this office it is forbidden to eat

Hebrew simply says:

• במשרד הזה אסור לאכול

There is no separate present-tense word for is here. This is completely standard Hebrew.

What exactly does ב־ mean in במשרד?

The prefix ב־ usually means in, at, or sometimes inside, depending on context.

So:

• משרד = office
• במשרד = in the office / at the office

In this sentence, במשרד הזה is best understood as in this office.

Also notice that ב־ combines with ה (the), so:

• ב + המשרד becomes במשרד

That is why you do not see a separate ה before משרד.

Why does הזה not have a separate the before משרד?

It actually does, but it is hidden inside the preposition form.

The full underlying phrase is:

• ב + ה + משרד + הזה

But Hebrew contracts ב + ה into בַ in pronunciation, and in normal spelling this appears as:

• במשרד הזה

So the phrase is definite: in this office.

A good way to think about it is:

• משרד = an office
• המשרד הזה = this office
• במשרד הזה = in this office

What does רק mean, and what is it modifying here?

רק means only.

In this sentence:

• ומותר לשתות רק מים

it means that the only thing allowed to be drunk is water.

So רק is limiting מים:

• רק מים = only water

The meaning is:

• drinking is allowed, but only if it is water

Why is מים used without any extra word like את?

Because לשתות can take a direct object directly, and את is only used before a definite direct object.

Here:

• מים = water
• it is being used in a general, indefinite sense: water, not the water

So Hebrew says:

• לשתות מים = to drink water

But if you meant a specific water, Hebrew could use את:

• לשתות את המים = to drink the water

In your sentence, the general meaning is intended, so no את is needed.

Is מים singular or plural?

Grammatically, מים looks plural, and historically it is a plural form, but in meaning it usually works like the mass noun water in English.

So even though it ends like a plural noun, you usually translate it simply as water, not waters.

This happens with a few common Hebrew words, especially natural substances.

Why does the sentence use ומותר with ו־ at the beginning?

The prefix ו־ means and.

So:

• מותר = allowed
• ומותר = and it is allowed

The sentence has two linked parts:

• במשרד הזה אסור לאכול
• ומותר לשתות רק מים

Together:

• In this office, eating is forbidden, and only water may be drunk

The ו־ simply connects the two clauses.

Could this sentence have been written with a person, like you may not eat?

Yes, but Hebrew often prefers this more general, impersonal style for rules and signs.

Instead of directly saying:

• You may not eat

Hebrew often says:

• אסור לאכול = It is forbidden to eat

This sounds natural for notices, regulations, public signs, and formal instructions.

It is similar to English signs that say:

• No smoking
• Eating prohibited

rather than directly saying You must not smoke.

What is the natural pronunciation of the whole sentence?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

be-mis-rad ha-ze a-sur le-e-khol, u-mu-tar lish-tot rak ma-yim

A few notes:

• במשרד = be-misrad
• הזה = ha-ze
• אסור = asur
• לאכול = le’ekhol or le-ekhol
• לשתות = lishtot
• מים = mayim

If you say it smoothly, it sounds something like:

beMISrad haZE aSUR le’ekHOL, umuTAR lishTOT rak MAyim

Is the comma necessary before ומותר?

Not always strictly necessary, but it is very natural here because the sentence has two coordinated parts:

• אסור לאכול
• ומותר לשתות רק מים

The comma helps separate the two ideas clearly:

1. eating is forbidden
2. drinking is allowed, but only water

In modern Hebrew punctuation, writers may include or omit such a comma depending on style, but here it makes the sentence easier to read.