יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה.

table

Breakdown of יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה.

• יש: there is
• לי: to me
• מיטה: bed
• ליד: by
• קטן: little

Questions & Answers about יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה.

Why does Hebrew use יש לי instead of a verb meaning I have?

In Hebrew, possession is very often expressed with יש + ל־ rather than with a separate verb meaning to have.

So יש לי literally means something like there is to me or there exists for me.
That is how Hebrew normally says I have in the present tense.

• יש לי = I have
• יש לך = you have
• יש לו = he has
• יש לה = she has

So in this sentence, יש לי שולחן קטן is the natural Hebrew way to say I have a small table.

What exactly does לי mean?

לי is made from:

• ל־ = to / for
• י = me

So לי means to me or for me.

In possession sentences with יש, this combination gives the meaning of I have.

A few similar forms:

• לי = to me
• לך = to you
• לו = to him
• לה = to her
• לנו = to us

So יש לי is literally there is to me, but in normal English it corresponds to I have.

Why is the word order different from English?

Hebrew often builds this kind of sentence differently from English.

English says:

• I have a small table

Hebrew says:

• יש לי שולחן קטן
• literally: there is to me table small

This is normal Hebrew structure. The sentence begins with יש because the idea is existence/possession, not an action verb like have.

So the order is not random—it follows a common Hebrew pattern: יש + possessor + thing possessed

Why does קטן come after שולחן instead of before it?

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• שולחן קטן = small table
• literally: table small

This is one of the first big word-order differences English speakers notice.

More examples:

• בית גדול = big house
• ילד טוב = good boy
• מיטה נוחה = comfortable bed

So שולחן קטן is exactly what you should expect in Hebrew.

Why is it קטן and not קטנה?

Because שולחן is a masculine singular noun, and adjectives in Hebrew must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Since שולחן is masculine singular, the adjective also has to be masculine singular:

• שולחן קטן = a small table

If the noun were feminine singular, the adjective would change:

• מיטה קטנה = a small bed

So קטן matches שולחן grammatically.

How do I know that שולחן is masculine?

Unfortunately, in Hebrew you often just have to learn a noun’s gender as part of the vocabulary.

There are some patterns, but they are not perfect. For example, many feminine nouns end in ־ה or ־ת, but not all nouns follow simple rules.

שולחן is simply a masculine noun, so it takes masculine agreement:

• שולחן קטן
• שולחן גדול
• השולחן קטן

When learning new nouns, it helps to memorize them together with an adjective or number so the gender becomes clearer.

Why is there no word for a before שולחן?

Hebrew has a word for the—the prefix ה־—but it does not have a separate word for a/an.

So:

• שולחן can mean a table or just table, depending on context
• השולחן means the table

That is why שולחן קטן naturally means a small table here, even though there is no separate word for a.

Why does המיטה have ה־ on it?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מיטה = a bed / bed
• המיטה = the bed

In ליד המיטה, the noun is definite, so the meaning is next to the bed.

This makes sense in many everyday situations, because speakers often refer to a specific bed that is already known from context.

Why doesn’t קטן also get ה־?

Because the noun שולחן is not definite here.

In Hebrew, if a noun is definite, its adjective must also be definite.

Compare:

• שולחן קטן = a small table
• השולחן הקטן = the small table

In your sentence, the phrase is indefinite:

• שולחן קטן = a small table

So neither the noun nor the adjective gets ה־.

What does ליד mean exactly?

ליד means next to, beside, or by.

It is a very common preposition for physical location.

Examples:

• ליד הבית = next to the house
• ליד הדלת = by the door
• ליד המיטה = next to the bed

Depending on context, English might translate it as near, beside, or next to, but next to / beside is the most straightforward meaning.

Is ליד one word, or is it made of smaller parts?

Historically it is related to the word יד meaning hand, but for learners it is best to treat ליד as a fixed preposition meaning next to / beside.

So in a sentence like this, you do not need to analyze it as separate pieces. Just learn:

• ליד = next to / beside

Then combine it with nouns:

• ליד המיטה
• ליד השולחן
• ליד החלון

How would I say the small table instead of a small table?

You would make both the noun and the adjective definite:

• השולחן הקטן = the small table

So the full sentence would become:

• יש לי השולחן הקטן ליד המיטה

However, that exact sentence is usually not the most natural Hebrew if you mean simple possession. More naturally, Hebrew would often say:

• יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה = I have a small table next to the bed

If you specifically need the small table, the phrase itself is:

• השולחן הקטן

The key rule is: if the noun has ה־, the adjective also gets ה־.

How would this sentence look in the negative?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually negates יש with אין.

So:

• יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה = I have a small table next to the bed
• אין לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה = I do not have a small table next to the bed

This is another very common pattern:

• יש לי = I have
• אין לי = I do not have

How is this sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

yesh li shulkhan katan leyad hamita

A few notes:

• יש sounds like yesh
• לי sounds like lee
• שולחן is roughly shool-KHAN
  
  • the last sound is a throaty kh sound, like German Bach or Hebrew ח
• קטן is roughly ka-TAN
• ליד is le-YAD
• המיטה is ha-mee-TA

Stress is usually near the end in several of these words:

• שולחן
• קטן
• ליד
• המיטה

Could I also say this sentence without יש?

For simple possession in the present tense, יש לי is the standard and most natural form.

So:

• יש לי שולחן קטן ליד המיטה is the normal way

If you remove יש, the sentence would not work as a normal present-tense possession sentence.

Hebrew does have a verb related to possession in some contexts, but for everyday I have / you have / he has in the present, learners should strongly prefer the יש ל־ pattern.

What are the main grammar points I should notice in this one sentence?

This sentence is a great example of several core Hebrew patterns:

• יש לי = Hebrew way to say I have
• adjectives come after the noun
  
  • שולחן קטן
• adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number
  • שולחן is masculine, so קטן is masculine
• Hebrew has the (ה־) but no separate word for a/an
  • שולחן = a table
  • המיטה = the bed
• ליד is a common preposition meaning next to / beside

So even though the sentence is short, it teaches several very important features of basic Hebrew.