יש מים מתחת לכיור, ואולי יש שם נזילה.

there is

Breakdown of יש מים מתחת לכיור, ואולי יש שם נזילה.

• מים: water
• שם: there
• ו: and

Questions & Answers about יש מים מתחת לכיור, ואולי יש שם נזילה.

What does יש mean here?

יש is the Hebrew word used to express existence: there is or there are.
So יש מים means there is/there are water under the sink, and later יש שם נזילה means there is a leak there.

It does not change for singular vs. plural:

• יש ספר = there is a book
• יש ספרים = there are books

Why is יש used twice?

Because the sentence is making two separate existence statements:

1. יש מים מתחת לכיור = there is water under the sink
2. ואולי יש שם נזילה = and maybe there is a leak there

Hebrew normally repeats יש in each clause rather than relying on the first one to cover both ideas.

Why does מים look plural if it means water?

מים is one of those Hebrew nouns that is grammatically plural in form even though in English it is usually translated as the mass noun water.

So although the meaning is just water, the word itself looks plural. In other contexts, it often takes plural agreement:

• מים קרים = cold water

But with יש, you do not have to worry about agreement, because יש stays the same.