זאת החנות שבה קניתי את השמלה הכחולה שלבשתי בפגישה.

This is the store where I bought the blue dress that I wore to the meeting.

Breakdown of זאת החנות שבה קניתי את השמלה הכחולה שלבשתי בפגישה.

• זאת: this
• חנות: store
• את: direct object marker
• לקנות: to buy

Questions & Answers about זאת החנות שבה קניתי את השמלה הכחולה שלבשתי בפגישה.

Why does the sentence start with זאת?

זאת means this and is the feminine singular form.

The noun חנות (store/shop) is feminine, so Hebrew uses the feminine demonstrative:

• זאת החנות... = This is the store...

A native English speaker may expect a separate word for is, but in the present tense Hebrew usually does not use a word for is/are in simple sentences like this.

So literally, the beginning is closer to:

• This the-store...

but naturally it means:

• This is the store...

Why is it זאת and not זה?

Because חנות is a feminine noun.

Hebrew demonstratives agree with the noun they refer to:

• זה = this (masculine)
• זאת / זו = this (feminine)

Since חנות is feminine, you say:

• זאת החנות

not:

• זה החנות

In everyday spoken Hebrew, you may hear some variation, but זאת החנות is the standard form here.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?