אנחנו מנסים למצוא תשובה נכונה באינטרנט.

We are trying to find a correct answer on the internet.

Breakdown of אנחנו מנסים למצוא תשובה נכונה באינטרנט.

• ב: on
• אנחנו: we
• תשובה: answer
• לנסות: to try
• למצוא: to find
• נכון: correct
• אינטרנט: internet

Questions & Answers about אנחנו מנסים למצוא תשובה נכונה באינטרנט.

Is מנסים really a present-tense verb?

Yes. In modern Hebrew, the present tense is usually built from a participle-like form. So מנסים functions as are trying here.

A useful thing to remember is that Hebrew present-tense forms show gender and number, but not full person the way past and future forms do.

Why is אנחנו written here? Could the sentence just start with מנסים?

It could, but אנחנו helps clarify the subject.

The form מנסים only tells you masculine plural. By itself, it could mean:

• we are trying
• you all are trying
• they are trying

So adding אנחנו makes it clear that the subject is we.

What does מנסים tell me about the people doing the action?

מנסים is masculine plural.

That means it is used for:

• a group of males
• a mixed-gender group

If the group were entirely female, Hebrew would normally use מנסות instead.

How would the sentence change if the speakers were all female?

It would be:

אנחנו מנסות למצוא תשובה נכונה באינטרנט.

Only מנסים changes to מנסות. The rest of the sentence stays the same.

Why is the next verb למצוא?

Because after a verb like מנסים meaning trying, Hebrew normally uses an infinitive for the next action.

So:

• מנסים למצוא = trying to find

This is very similar to English try to find.

Why is the infinitive למצוא and not something simpler-looking like למצא?

The verb is מצא meaning to find, and its standard infinitive is למצוא.

This is just the normal dictionary infinitive form for that verb, even if it looks a little irregular at first. It is commonly pronounced roughly limtzo.

Why is there no את before תשובה נכונה?

Because את is normally used before a definite direct object.

Here, תשובה נכונה means a correct answer, not the correct answer, so it is indefinite. That is why there is no את.

Compare:

• למצוא תשובה נכונה = to find a correct answer
• למצוא את התשובה הנכונה = to find the correct answer

Why does נכונה come after תשובה?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• תשובה נכונה = a correct answer

This is the normal Hebrew word order:

• noun + adjective

Why is it נכונה and not נכון?

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun in gender and number.

תשובה is feminine singular, so the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• תשובה נכונה

If the noun were masculine singular, you would use נכון instead.

Why does Hebrew use ב in באינטרנט if English says on the internet?

Hebrew ב covers several meanings that English splits into different prepositions, such as:

• in
• on
• at

So באינטרנט is the normal way to say on the internet or in the internet in Hebrew usage.

What is happening inside באינטרנט?

It is commonly understood as ב + האינטרנט.

So:

• ה אינטרנט = the internet
• ב + ה contracts to בַ in pointed Hebrew

That gives באינטרנט, usually pronounced roughly ba-internet.

In everyday unpointed writing, the spelling does not show the vowel clearly, so learners often just have to learn this as the standard form.

Is the word order fixed, or can Hebrew move things around?

The sentence as written is very natural and neutral:

אנחנו מנסים למצוא תשובה נכונה באינטרנט.

But Hebrew does allow some flexibility for emphasis. For example, you could move באינטרנט earlier if you want to emphasize where the search is happening.

Still, for a learner, the given order is a very good default:

• subject
• verb
• infinitive
• object
• prepositional phrase