Questions & Answers about פתאום המורה אמרה שיש מבחן קצר מחר.
Why does המורה mean the teacher, and how do I know the teacher is female?
המורה is made of:
- ה־ = the
- מורה = teacher
So המורה means the teacher.
By itself, מורה can refer to either a male teacher or a female teacher. You know the teacher is female here because the verb is אמרה, which is the feminine singular past form of to say.
So:
- המורה אמר = the teacher said (male teacher)
- המורה אמרה = the teacher said (female teacher)
Why is the verb אמרה and not אמר?
Hebrew past tense verbs change according to gender and number.
The verb here is from אמר = to say.
In the past tense:
- אמר = he said
- אמרה = she said
Since the sentence uses אמרה, the subject must be feminine singular. That matches a female teacher.
What does פתאום mean exactly, and why is it at the beginning?