Breakdown of הוא ביקש שהמוכרת תכתוב את המחיר על הקבלה.
Questions & Answers about הוא ביקש שהמוכרת תכתוב את המחיר על הקבלה.
ש־ means that and introduces a subordinate clause.
So שהמוכרת תכתוב is literally something like that the saleswoman write / that the saleswoman should write.
A few useful points:
- ש־ is usually pronounced she-
- It attaches directly to the next word
- After verbs like ביקש it often introduces the thing someone asked for
So the structure is:
- הוא ביקש = he asked
- שהמוכרת תכתוב... = that the saleswoman should write...
In Hebrew, after verbs of wanting, asking, telling, hoping, and similar ideas, the verb in the ש־ clause is often in the future form.
So תכתוב is formally a future-tense form, but here it does not simply mean plain future she will write. In this kind of sentence, it expresses the requested action:
- הוא ביקש שהיא תבוא = he asked that she come
- הוא ביקש שהמוכרת תכתוב = he asked that the saleswoman write
Modern Hebrew does not have a separate everyday subjunctive form like English sometimes does, so the future form often does that job.
Because the subject is המוכרת, which is third person feminine singular.
The future form for she will write is תכתוב.
Compare:
- היא תכתוב = she will write
- אתה תכתוב = you will write, said to one male
- את תכתבי = you will write, said to one female
- הוא יכתוב = he will write
So תכתוב can be a little confusing, because in unpointed Hebrew it can mean either:
- she will write
- you will write to one male
Here the subject המוכרת makes it clear that it means she will write.
Here את is the definite direct object marker. It does not have a direct English equivalent.
Hebrew usually puts את before a direct object that is definite, such as a noun with ה־.
So:
- את המחיר = the direct object the price
- המחיר is definite because it has ה־
A very important point for learners: this את is not the pronoun you feminine singular.
In writing, they look the same, but they are different words:
- את = direct object marker, pronounced et
- אַת = you, feminine singular, pronounced at
Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.
So:
- מוכרת = a saleswoman / salesclerk
המוכרת = the saleswoman / the salesclerk
- מחיר = a price
המחיר = the price
- קבלה = a receipt
- הקבלה = the receipt
In this sentence, all three are specific:
- a specific saleswoman
- a specific price
- a specific receipt
That is why they are definite.
על usually means on.
So על הקבלה means on the receipt in the physical sense: writing the price on the receipt.
That is the most natural choice here because the idea is that the price should be written onto the receipt itself.
A learner may wonder about בקבלה. That would literally be in the receipt or sometimes on the receipt depending on context, but על הקבלה is the clearer and more straightforward choice for physical writing.
Yes. A very natural alternative is:
הוא ביקש מהמוכרת לכתוב את המחיר על הקבלה.
That also means that he asked the saleswoman to write the price on the receipt.
The difference is mainly structural:
- ביקש שהמוכרת תכתוב... = he asked that the saleswoman write...
- ביקש מהמוכרת לכתוב... = he asked the saleswoman to write...
Both are good Hebrew.
A useful distinction:
- If the person doing the asking and the person doing the action are the same, Hebrew often uses just an infinitive:
- הוא ביקש לכתוב = he asked to write / he requested to write
- If a different person is supposed to do the action, Hebrew often uses either:
- ביקש ש...
- or ביקש מ... ל...
מוכרת is the feminine form of מוכר.
In this context it means something like:
- saleswoman
- female salesclerk
- female shop assistant
- female seller
In a store context, English speakers will often think of it as the salesclerk or the cashier/shop assistant, depending on the situation.
Also, מוכרת can sometimes be both:
- a noun: saleswoman
- a participle/adjective-like form: selling
But here it is clearly a noun, because it is the person being asked to do something.
Because subject + verb is very natural here, especially in everyday Hebrew.
So:
- שהמוכרת תכתוב = that the saleswoman write
This order is helpful because תכתוב by itself could also be understood as you will write to one male. By putting המוכרת first, the sentence makes the subject clear immediately.
Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural here.
The dictionary forms are:
- ביקש → לבקש = to ask / to request
- תכתוב → לכתוב = to write
More specifically:
- ביקש is past, 3rd person masculine singular
- he asked
- תכתוב is future, 3rd person feminine singular here
- she will write / should write depending on context
So the sentence combines:
- a past-tense main verb: he asked
- a future-form subordinate verb: that she write
A simple pronunciation guide is:
hu bikesh she-ha-mokheret tikhtov et ha-mekhir al ha-kabala
A few pronunciation notes:
- ביקש = bi-KESH
- המוכרת = ha-mo-KHE-ret
- תכתוב = tikh-TOV
- המחיר = ha-me-KHIR
- הקבלה = ha-ka-ba-LA
And the kh sound in mokheret and mekhir is the throaty Hebrew sound of כ / ח, not a normal English k.