היא הלכה למורה בלי לדבר עם החברה שלה, כי היא רצתה להגיש את התרגיל בזמן.

Questions & Answers about היא הלכה למורה בלי לדבר עם החברה שלה, כי היא רצתה להגיש את התרגיל בזמן.

Why are the verbs הלכה and רצתה in that form?

Because the subject is היא (she), and in the Hebrew past tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

  • הלך = he went
  • הלכה = she went

and

  • רצה = he wanted
  • רצתה = she wanted

So היא הלכה and היא רצתה are both feminine singular.

Why is למורה written as one word?

Because ל־ is a prefix preposition in Hebrew. It usually means to or for, and it attaches directly to the noun.

Here:

  • ל־ = to
  • המורה = the teacher

When ל־ comes before ה־ (the), they combine:

  • ל + המורה = למורה

So למורה means to the teacher.

Does מורה mean a male teacher or a female teacher here?

It could be either. The singular noun מורה can mean teacher for both masculine and feminine.

So in למורה, the teacher’s gender is not clear from the noun alone. You would need more context, or an adjective/verb elsewhere, to know whether the teacher is male or female.

Why do we say בלי לדבר? Why not use a normal past-tense verb there?

After בלי (without), Hebrew normally uses the infinitive, not a finite verb.

So:

  • בלי לדבר = without speaking / without talking

This is similar to how English often uses without + -ing.

A useful pattern is:

  • בלי + infinitive

For example:

  • בלי לאכול = without eating
  • בלי לראות = without seeing
  • בלי לדבר = without speaking
Why is it לדבר עם החברה שלה? Doesn't עם literally mean with?

Yes. עם literally means with, and in Hebrew it is very common to say:

  • לדבר עם מישהו = to talk/speak with someone

In natural English, we often say talk to someone, but Hebrew commonly uses עם here.

So לדבר עם החברה שלה literally looks like to speak with her friend, but in normal English it may be translated as to talk to her friend.

What does החברה שלה mean exactly, and why is there a ה־ on חברה?

חברה can mean several things depending on context:

  • female friend
  • girlfriend
  • company

In this sentence, it most naturally means her female friend.

As for the structure:

  • החברה = the friend
  • שלה = hers / her

Together, החברה שלה means her friend.

In modern Hebrew, possession is very often expressed with:

  • noun + possessive word

For example:

  • הספר שלה = her book
  • הבית שלו = his house
  • החברה שלה = her friend

Even though English says her friend, Hebrew often uses a form that literally looks more like the friend of hers.

Why is there another היא after כי? Is it necessary?

The second היא is the subject of the second clause:

  • כי היא רצתה... = because she wanted...

Hebrew often states the subject pronoun clearly in a new clause, especially after words like כי (because).

Is it necessary? In many cases, Hebrew can be flexible, but here it is completely normal and natural to include it.

Also, it helps make the clause clear:

  • כי היא רצתה להגיש את התרגיל בזמן
Who does the second היא refer to? Is the sentence ambiguous?

It is slightly ambiguous in theory, because there is more than one female person in the sentence:

  • the main subject (she)
  • החברה שלה (her female friend)

So כי היא רצתה... could, grammatically, refer to either one if context allowed it.

However, the most natural reading is that it refers back to the main subject, the same woman who went to the teacher.

So most learners should understand it as:

  • She went to the teacher without talking to her friend, because she wanted to submit the assignment on time.
Why is it רצתה להגיש? How does that structure work?

After רצתה (wanted), Hebrew uses an infinitive to express what someone wanted to do.

So:

  • רצתה להגיש = wanted to submit / wanted to hand in

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

  • רצה ללכת = wanted to go
  • רצתה לדבר = wanted to speak
  • רצינו לאכול = we wanted to eat

So the structure is:

  • רצה/רצתה + infinitive
Why is there an את before התרגיל?

Because את marks a definite direct object in Hebrew.

Here:

  • התרגיל = the exercise / the assignment

Since it has ה־ (the), it is definite, so Hebrew normally uses את before it:

  • להגיש את התרגיל

The word את is usually not translated into English. It just tells you that התרגיל is the direct object of the verb.

Compare:

  • להגיש תרגיל = to submit an assignment
  • להגיש את התרגיל = to submit the assignment
What does בזמן mean here?

Here בזמן means on time.

It is made of:

  • ב־ = in / at
  • זמן = time

So literally it looks like in time, but in this context the natural meaning is on time.

So:

  • להגיש את התרגיל בזמן = to submit the assignment on time
Is תרגיל always exercise, or can it mean something else here?

תרגיל often means exercise, but in school or academic contexts it can also mean:

  • assignment
  • problem
  • practice exercise

So in this sentence, depending on context, התרגיל could be understood as:

  • the exercise
  • the assignment

Both are possible, and learners will often see תרגיל used for schoolwork.

What is the basic word order of this sentence?

The sentence is built like this:

  • היא הלכה למורה
    she went to the teacher

  • בלי לדבר עם החברה שלה
    without speaking to her friend

  • כי היא רצתה להגיש את התרגיל בזמן
    because she wanted to submit the assignment on time

So Hebrew here is using a very normal order:

  • main clause
  • additional phrase
  • reason clause

A native English speaker may notice that the structure is actually fairly close to English, even though some details—like את, attached prepositions, and verb agreement—work differently.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
What's the best way to learn Hebrew grammar?
Hebrew grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Hebrew

Master Hebrew — from היא הלכה למורה בלי לדבר עם החברה שלה, כי היא רצתה להגיש את התרגיל בזמן to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • AI tutor to answer your grammar questions