המפתחות אצלך, או שהם אצל השכנה?

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Breakdown of המפתחות אצלך, או שהם אצל השכנה?

• הם: they
• ש: that
• מפתח: key

Questions & Answers about המפתחות אצלך, או שהם אצל השכנה?

Why is there no word for are in המפתחות אצלך?

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.

What does אצל mean here?

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.