Questions & Answers about הסכין על הצלחת, והמזלג על השולחן.
Why is there no word for is in this sentence?
In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense in simple sentences like this.
So Hebrew says:
הסכין על הצלחת
literally: the knife on the plate
but it means:
the knife is on the plate
This is completely normal Hebrew. In the past or future, Hebrew would use forms of to be, but not usually here.
What does ה־ mean, and why is it attached to the nouns?
ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.
So:
- סכין = a knife / knife
- הסכין = the knife
- צלחת = a plate / plate
- הצלחת = the plate
Unlike English, Hebrew does not use a separate word for the. It adds ה־ to the beginning of the noun.
Why are all four nouns definite here?