Questions & Answers about המפתחות אצלך, או שהם אצל השכנה?
Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.
So:
- המפתחות אצלך literally looks like the keys with-you
- but it means the keys are with you
This is completely normal Hebrew. The same thing happens in many simple present-tense sentences:
- הוא בבית = He is at home
- אני עייף = I am tired
Hebrew usually only uses forms of to be in the past and future, not in ordinary present-tense sentences like this one.
אצל is a very common Hebrew preposition used with people. It often means:
- with
- at someone’s place
- in someone’s possession
In this sentence, אצלך means something like with you / in your possession, and אצל השכנה means with the neighbor / at the neighbor’s place.
A useful nuance:
- עם usually means with in the sense of together with
- אצל often means in the care/possession/location of a person
So for keys, אצל is very natural.