Questions & Answers about הארון גדול, אבל יש גם מדף קטן מעל השולחן.
Why is there no separate word for is in הארון גדול?
In Hebrew, simple present-tense sentences often leave out the verb to be. So הארון גדול is literally the cabinet/closet big, but it means the cabinet/closet is big.
This is completely normal Hebrew. English speakers often expect something like הארון הוא גדול, but that is not the neutral everyday way to say it here. The natural sentence is just הארון גדול.
What does יש mean, and why is it used in the second clause?
יש means there is / there are. It is used to say that something exists or is present.
So:
- יש מדף קטן = There is a small shelf
- יש גם מדף קטן = There is also a small shelf
This is different from הארון גדול, which is just describing something.
So:
- הארון גדול = description
- יש מדף קטן = existence/presence
A very useful related word is אין, which means there is no / there are no.
Why do the adjectives come after the nouns in ארון גדול and מדף קטן?