יש לו חיוך גדול כשהוא אוכל מהעוגה המתוקה.

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Breakdown of יש לו חיוך גדול כשהוא אוכל מהעוגה המתוקה.

• גדול: big
• יש: there is
• לאכול: to eat

Questions & Answers about יש לו חיוך גדול כשהוא אוכל מהעוגה המתוקה.

Why does Hebrew say יש לו for he has instead of using a verb like to have?

Hebrew usually does not use a normal verb for to have in the present tense.

Instead, it uses:

• יש = there is / there exists
• לו = to him / for him

So יש לו חיוך גדול literally means something like There is to him a big smile, but in natural English that becomes He has a big smile.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• יש לי ספר = I have a book
• יש לה זמן = She has time
• יש להם בית = They have a house

So in this sentence, יש לו is just the normal Hebrew way to say he has.

What exactly does לו mean here?

לו means to him or for him.

It is made from:

• ל־ = to / for
• ו = him

In the sentence יש לו חיוך גדול, it helps form the idea he has.

Related forms are:

• לי = to me / I have
• לך = to you
• לה = to her
• לנו = to us
• להם = to them

So if you changed the person, you could get:

• יש לי חיוך גדול = I have a big smile
• יש לה חיוך גדול = She has a big smile

Why is חיוך גדול ordered as smile big instead of big smile?