במשרד יש פח אחד לנייר ופח אחד לפלסטיק.

In the office there is one bin for paper and one bin for plastic.

Breakdown of במשרד יש פח אחד לנייר ופח אחד לפלסטיק.

• יש: there is
• ו: and
• ב: in
• משרד: office

Questions & Answers about במשרד יש פח אחד לנייר ופח אחד לפלסטיק.

What does יש do in this sentence?

יש means there is / there are. It is used to show that something exists or is present.

So:

• במשרד יש... = In the office, there is... / There are...

A useful thing to know is that יש does not change for singular vs. plural in normal modern Hebrew:

• יש פח = there is a bin
• יש פחים = there are bins

So even though English changes is/are, Hebrew usually just keeps יש.

Why does the sentence start with במשרד?

Hebrew often puts the place first to set the scene:

• במשרד יש... = In the office, there is...

This is very natural. It sounds like: As for the office / in the office, there is...

You could also hear:

• יש במשרד...

but במשרד יש... is a very common and natural order when introducing what exists in a certain place.

What does במשרד mean exactly, and is it in an office or in the office?