Breakdown of הוא מעתיק את מה שהמורה כותבת מהלוח למחברת, כי אין לו זמן לכתוב לאט.
Questions & Answers about הוא מעתיק את מה שהמורה כותבת מהלוח למחברת, כי אין לו זמן לכתוב לאט.
In Hebrew, the present tense is usually expressed with a single word, not with a separate word like is.
So:
- הוא מעתיק = he copies / he is copying
- המורה כותבת = the teacher writes / is writing
Hebrew present tense can cover both the simple present and the present continuous, and the exact meaning comes from context.
It could sometimes omit הוא, but in the present tense Hebrew verbs do not clearly show person the way English does.
For example, מעתיק only tells you:
- masculine
- singular
- present
It does not by itself tell you whether the subject is he, you, or something like a man/student in context. So adding הוא makes the subject clear: he.
Because הוא and המורה are two different subjects.
- הוא מעתיק = he is copying