Breakdown of עכשיו יש חושך במשרד, כי הם כבר כיבו את האור.
Questions & Answers about עכשיו יש חושך במשרד, כי הם כבר כיבו את האור.
A natural pronunciation is:
akhshav yesh khóshekh ba-misrad, ki hem kvar kibu et ha-or.
A few pronunciation notes:
- עכשיו = akhshav = now
- יש = yesh
- חושך = khoshekh
The ח is a throaty sound, not like English h. - במשרד = ba-misrad or be-misrad, depending on whether it means in the office or in an office. In everyday speech without vowel marks, the spelling is the same.
- כי = ki
- הם = hem
- כבר = kvar
- כיבו = kibu
- את האור = et ha-or
If you want, you can think of the rhythm like this:
akhshav | yesh khóshekh ba-misrad | ki hem kvar kibu et ha-or
Hebrew often expresses this idea as יש חושך, literally there is darkness.
So:
- יש = there is / there are
- חושך = darkness
Together, יש חושך means it is dark or more literally there is darkness.
This is very natural in Hebrew. English often uses an adjective:
- It is dark
But Hebrew frequently uses a noun:
- There is darkness
So this is not awkward Hebrew at all—it is a normal way to say the room or place is dark.
יש means there is or there are.
In this sentence:
- עכשיו יש חושך במשרד = Now there is darkness in the office = Now it is dark in the office
A key point for English speakers: Hebrew does not need a dummy subject like it in this kind of sentence.
English says:
- It is dark
Hebrew says more like:
- There is darkness
So יש is doing important work here.
Because ב is a prefix preposition meaning in / at, and in Hebrew it attaches directly to the noun.
So:
- ב = in
- משרד = office
Together:
- במשרד = in an office / in the office
Hebrew often attaches short prepositions like this:
- בבית = in a house / in the house
- בספר = in a book / in the book
- בשולחן = on a table / on the table depending on context and vowel pattern
So instead of writing two separate words, Hebrew usually combines them.
Without vowel marks, במשרד can represent either:
- be-misrad = in an office
- ba-misrad = in the office
They are spelled the same in normal modern Hebrew writing.
So how do you know which one is meant? Context.
In your sentence, the natural meaning is probably:
- in the office
because the sentence sounds like it is talking about a specific office already known in the context.
This is a very common issue in unpointed Hebrew: sometimes spelling alone does not tell you whether something is definite or indefinite.
כי means because in this sentence.
So the structure is:
- עכשיו יש חושך במשרד = Now it’s dark in the office
- כי הם כבר כיבו את האור = because they already turned off the light
So כי connects the reason to the first clause.
Important note: כי can have other meanings in Hebrew in some contexts, but because is the one you should understand here.
Yes, Hebrew often can drop subject pronouns, because the verb form already shows person, number, and sometimes gender.
For example:
- כיבו already tells you they turned off
So in many cases, Hebrew could simply say:
- כי כבר כיבו את האור
and it would still mean because they already turned off the light.
Why include הם then?
Usually for one of these reasons:
- clarity
- emphasis
- contrast
So הם כבר כיבו את האור can feel a bit more explicit: they already turned off the light.
כבר means already.
So:
- הם כיבו את האור = they turned off the light
- הם כבר כיבו את האור = they already turned off the light
It shows that the action happened before now and helps explain the current situation:
- Now it is dark
- because they already turned off the light
In Hebrew, כבר is very common and often appears before the verb, as it does here.
כיבו is past tense, third person plural.
It means:
- they turned off
- or they switched off
How do we know?
The verb form כיבו is the past plural form of the root related to extinguishing or turning off something, especially a light.
So:
- כיביתי = I turned off
- כיבית = you turned off
- כיבה = he turned off
- כיבתה = she turned off
- כיבו = they turned off
In this sentence, it matches הם = they.
Because את marks a definite direct object.
Here:
- כיבו = turned off
- האור = the light
Since the light is a direct object and it is definite, Hebrew uses את:
- כיבו את האור = they turned off the light
This is one of the most important grammar points in Hebrew.
Compare:
- כיבו אור = they turned off a light / lights or a less specific light expression
- כיבו את האור = they turned off the light
So את does not mean with here. It is a grammatical marker.
אור means light.
The ה at the beginning is the definite article, like English the.
So:
- אור = light
- האור = the light
In this sentence, the light probably means the room light or office light, not the abstract concept of light in general.
So:
- כיבו את האור = they turned off the light
That is a very common everyday expression in Hebrew.
Yes, this word order is normal.
The sentence is:
- עכשיו יש חושך במשרד, כי הם כבר כיבו את האור.
Literally:
- Now there is darkness in the office, because they already turned off the light.
This is a very natural order in Hebrew:
- time word: עכשיו
- existence phrase: יש חושך
- location: במשרד
- reason clause: כי...
Could it be rearranged? Yes, Hebrew has some flexibility. For example:
- יש עכשיו חושך במשרד...
- כי הם כבר כיבו את האור, עכשיו יש חושך במשרד.
But the original version is simple and natural.
Here חושך is a noun.
It means darkness, not exactly the adjective dark.
So the Hebrew structure is literally:
- Now there is darkness in the office
English usually prefers:
- Now it is dark in the office
That is why the translation may look less literal than the Hebrew wording.
This is a useful pattern to remember:
- יש שקט = it is quiet / literally there is quiet
- יש רעש = it is noisy / literally there is noise
- יש חושך = it is dark / literally there is darkness
Yes. The basic idea of the verb is to extinguish or to turn off.
With light or electricity-related things, English usually translates it as:
- turn off
- switch off
So here:
- כיבו את האור = they turned off the light
But in other contexts, the same verb can be used for extinguishing a flame or fire.
So it has a broader meaning than only pressing a switch.
Hebrew often prefers a different structure from English, even when the meaning is the same.
English might say:
- The office is dark now
Hebrew very naturally says:
- עכשיו יש חושך במשרד
- literally: Now there is darkness in the office
Both are normal in their own language. This is a good example of why word-for-word translation can be misleading. The Hebrew is not strange—it just organizes the idea differently.
A good breakdown is:
- עכשיו = time expression = now
- יש = existential word = there is
- חושך = noun = darkness
- במשרד = preposition + noun = in the office / in an office
- כי = conjunction = because
- הם = subject pronoun = they
- כבר = adverb = already
- כיבו = past-tense verb, 3rd person plural = turned off
- את = marker of a definite direct object
- האור = the light
So the sentence combines several very common Hebrew features:
- existential יש
- prefixed prepositions
- past tense verb forms
- את with a definite direct object
That makes it a very useful sentence for learners.