Questions & Answers about המפתח שלו בתוך התיק, לא בארנק.
Why is there no word for is in this sentence?
In Hebrew, the present tense often leaves out the verb to be.
So המפתח שלו בתוך התיק literally looks like his key inside the bag, but it means His key is inside the bag.
This is very normal in Hebrew. In past or future, Hebrew would use a verb, but in the present it usually does not.
What does שלו mean, and why doesn’t it attach directly to המפתח?
שלו means his.
Hebrew commonly shows possession with של + a pronoun:
- שלי = mine
- שלך = yours
- שלו = his
- שלה = hers
So:
- המפתח שלו = his key
This is a very common and natural way to express possession in modern Hebrew.
Hebrew also has possessive suffixes in some cases, but with a noun like מפתח, using שלו is the standard everyday form.
Why is it המפתח שלו and not שלו המפתח?