אנחנו מסכימים שהסרט הזה טוב יותר מהסרט שראינו אתמול.

We agree that this movie is better than the movie that we saw yesterday.

Breakdown of אנחנו מסכימים שהסרט הזה טוב יותר מהסרט שראינו אתמול.

• זה: this
• טוב: good
• לראות: to see
• אנחנו: we
• אתמול: yesterday
• ש: that
• יותר: more
• מ: than
• סרט: movie
• להסכים: to agree

Questions & Answers about אנחנו מסכימים שהסרט הזה טוב יותר מהסרט שראינו אתמול.

Why is אנחנו included? Doesn't Hebrew often leave subject pronouns out?

Often it does, but in the present tense Hebrew verbs do not clearly show person the way past and future verbs do.

• מסכימים tells you masculine plural
• but it could mean we agree, you (plural masculine) agree, or they agree

So אנחנו is helpful because it makes the subject explicitly we.

If the context were very clear, Hebrew might still drop it, but אנחנו מסכימים is perfectly natural.

What exactly is מסכימים?

מסכימים is the masculine plural present-tense form of the verb להסכים, to agree.

Here it matches אנחנו because the speakers are either:

• a mixed group, or
• an all-male group

If the speakers were all female, it would be:

• אנחנו מסכימות

In English we say we agree, but in Hebrew the present tense is built from forms like מסכים / מסכימה / מסכימים / מסכימות.

Can אנחנו מסכימים mean both we agree and we are agreeing?

Yes. Hebrew present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive, depending on context.

So אנחנו מסכימים can mean:

• we agree
• we are agreeing

In this sentence, the natural English translation is usually we agree.

Why is the word for that just the letter ש attached to the next word?

In Hebrew, ש־ is a very common short form meaning that, which, or who, depending on context. It is usually attached directly to the following word.

So:

• שהסרט הזה טוב יותר... = that this movie is better...

This attached ש־ is completely normal Hebrew spelling.

Why are there two ש־ forms in the sentence? Do they mean the same thing?

They are closely related, but they do slightly different jobs.

1. ש in שהסרט הזה טוב יותר...

   • introduces a full clause
   • means that
   • We agree that...

2. ש in שראינו אתמול

   • introduces a relative clause
   • means that / which
   • the movie that we saw yesterday

So they are the same little word, but in one place it introduces a content clause, and in the other it introduces a relative clause.

Why is it הסרט הזה and not זה הסרט for this movie?

When Hebrew uses a demonstrative like this directly with a noun, the usual order is:

• noun + this/that

So:

• הסרט הזה = this movie
• הילד הזה = this boy
• הספר הזה = this book

By contrast:

• זה הסרט usually means this is the movie or this is the film

So הסרט הזה is the normal form for this movie.

Why is there no word for is in הסרט הזה טוב יותר?

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So Hebrew says literally something like:

• this movie better than...

but the correct English translation is:

• this movie is better than...

In past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, for example:

• הסרט הזה היה טוב יותר = this movie was better
• הסרט הזה יהיה טוב יותר = this movie will be better

Why is better written as טוב יותר? I thought יותר means more.

That is exactly how Hebrew usually forms the comparative:

• adjective + יותר = more + adjective / -er

So:

• טוב יותר = better
  literally: more good
• מהיר יותר = faster
• יקר יותר = more expensive

A useful thing to know: in everyday spoken Hebrew, many people also say:

• יותר טוב

That is very common in speech. But טוב יותר is standard and especially common in careful or written Hebrew.

Why does מהסרט mean than the movie?

The prefix מ־ usually means from, but after a comparative it often means than.

So:

• טוב יותר מהסרט... = better than the movie...

Here מ־ is attached to הסרט.

Because Hebrew combines prefixes with the definite article, מ־ + ה + סרט becomes:

• מהסרט

So this is not a separate word for than; it is the preposition מ־ being used in a comparative structure.

What is going on in שראינו? How does that mean that we saw?

Break it down like this:

• ש־ = that / which
• ראינו = we saw

So:

• שראינו = that we saw

This is a very common Hebrew pattern in relative clauses.

How do we know ראינו means we saw?

Because ראינו is the past tense, first person plural form of לראות, to see.

The ending ־נו often marks we in the past tense:

• ראיתי = I saw
• ראית = you saw
• ראה = he saw
• ראינו = we saw

So שראינו אתמול means that we saw yesterday.

Why isn't there an extra word for the movie inside שראינו אתמול? In English we say the movie that we saw.

In Hebrew, relative clauses often leave a gap where English might seem to repeat the noun.

So:

• הסרט שראינו אתמול literally: the movie that we saw yesterday

The noun הסרט is understood as the object of ראינו.

In very colloquial Hebrew, you may sometimes hear something like:

• הסרט שראינו אותו אתמול

with an extra pronoun, but standard Hebrew usually prefers the shorter form:

• הסרט שראינו אתמול

Why is טוב masculine singular?

Because it describes הסרט, and סרט is a masculine singular noun.

Hebrew adjectives usually agree with the noun they describe in gender and number.

So here:

• הסרט = masculine singular
• טוב = masculine singular

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use:

• טובה יותר

For example:

• הסדרה הזאת טובה יותר = this series is better

Does אתמול have to be at the end?

No, but the end of the clause is the most neutral and natural place here.

So:

• הסרט שראינו אתמול = very natural

You can move אתמול for emphasis, but it may sound more marked:

• הסרט שאתמול ראינו = more emphatic or less neutral

For learners, the safest pattern is usually to keep time expressions like אתמול in the usual position near the end.

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

Only the present-tense verb would change:

• אנחנו מסכימות שהסרט הזה טוב יותר מהסרט שראינו אתמול.

Why?

• מסכימים = masculine plural
• מסכימות = feminine plural

The rest of the sentence stays the same, because הסרט is still masculine singular and ראינו is the same for we saw regardless of gender.