Breakdown of המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום, כדי שנוכל לבדוק כל פרט.
Questions & Answers about המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום, כדי שנוכל לבדוק כל פרט.
What does each part of the sentence do grammatically?
A useful breakdown is:
- המטרה = the goal
- שלנו = our
- היא = is
- לסיים = to finish
- היום = today
- כדי ש־ = so that / in order that
- נוכל = we will be able / we can
- לבדוק = to check
- כל = every / each
- פרט = detail
So the structure is basically:
[The goal שלנו] [is] [to finish today], [so that] [we can] [check every detail].
Hebrew often builds sentences very directly like this.
Why does Hebrew say המטרה שלנו for our goal? Where is the word for of?
In Hebrew, possession is often expressed with של = of / belonging to.
So:
- המטרה שלנו literally = the goal of us
- natural English = our goal
Here, שלנו is actually של + אנחנו in a possessive form, meaning of us / our.
Other examples:
- הבית שלי = my house
- הספר שלך = your book
- החברים שלנו = our friends
So שלנו is the normal way to say our after a noun.
Why is היא included? Could you just say המטרה שלנו לסיים היום?
In this sentence, היא works like is in English:
- המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום
- Our goal is to finish today
Hebrew often uses a pronoun like הוא / היא as a kind of linking word in equational sentences, especially when one side is a full noun phrase and the other side is an infinitive or another phrase.
Without היא, the sentence would sound incomplete or unnatural in standard Hebrew.
Why היא and not הוא? Because מטרה is a feminine noun, so the linking pronoun agrees with it:
- המטרה ... היא
- היעד ... הוא if the noun were masculine
Why is לסיים used here instead of a form meaning we finish or we will finish?
Because after היא in this kind of sentence, Hebrew commonly uses the infinitive to express what the goal is.
- המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום
- literally: Our goal is to finish today
Here לסיים is the infinitive, like to finish.
Compare:
- אנחנו נסיים היום = we will finish today
- המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום = our goal is to finish today
So the sentence is not stating the action directly. It is describing the goal.
What exactly does כדי ש־ mean, and why is there a ש־ after כדי?
כדי ש־ means so that or in order that.
In Hebrew, there are two very common patterns:
כדי + infinitive
Example: באתי כדי לעזור = I came in order to helpכדי ש־ + finite verb
Example: באתי כדי שאוכל לעזור = I came so that I can help
In your sentence:
- כדי שנוכל לבדוק כל פרט
- so that we can check every detail
Why use ש־ here? Because the next word, נוכל, is a conjugated verb (we can / we will be able), not an infinitive.
So:
- כדי לבדוק = in order to check
- כדי שנוכל לבדוק = so that we can check
Both are possible in Hebrew, but they are not identical in structure.
Why is it שנוכל and not just נוכל?
The ש־ here is a conjunction meaning something like that, and after כדי, it creates the phrase כדי ש־ = so that.
So:
- כדי שנוכל = so that we can
- not simply כדי נוכל
In Hebrew, this ש־ often attaches directly to the next word:
- שנוכל = ש + נוכל
- שאבדוק = that I will check
- שתבוא = that you will come
This attachment is very common in everyday written and spoken Hebrew.
What tense is נוכל? Does it mean we can or we will be able to?
Grammatically, נוכל is a future-tense form of יכול (can / be able).
Literally, it is we will be able.
But after כדי ש־, English often translates it more naturally as can:
- כדי שנוכל לבדוק כל פרט
- literally: so that we will be able to check every detail
- natural English: so that we can check every detail
So both ideas are present:
- grammatically: future
- functionally: ability/purpose
That is very normal in Hebrew.
Why does Hebrew say כל פרט with פרט singular? Shouldn’t it be all details?
Hebrew כל + singular noun often means every / each.
So:
- כל פרט = every detail
- literally not all details, but the meaning is very close in context
Other examples:
- כל יום = every day
- כל תלמיד = every student
- כל דבר = everything / every thing
If you wanted all the details, Hebrew would more likely say:
- כל הפרטים
So there is a difference:
- כל פרט = every detail
- כל הפרטים = all the details
Why is היום placed after לסיים? Could it go somewhere else?
Yes, היום can sometimes move, but לסיים היום is the most natural neutral order here.
- לסיים היום = to finish today
Hebrew often places time words like היום after the verb or infinitive.
Possible alternatives exist, for example:
- המטרה שלנו היא היום לסיים...
But that can sound more marked or emphasize today differently.
So in your sentence, לסיים היום is the straightforward, natural choice.
What is the root and basic form of לבדוק?
לבדוק means to check / to examine.
Its dictionary form is the infinitive לבדוק, and its root is ב־ד־ק.
Common related forms:
- בודק = checking / checks (masculine singular present)
- בודקת = checking / checks (feminine singular present)
- בדקתי = I checked
- נבדוק = we will check
- בדיקה = inspection / check / examination
So in your sentence:
- נוכל לבדוק
- we can check / we will be able to check
Is this sentence formal, neutral, or conversational?
It sounds neutral to slightly formal, but completely natural.
Why?
- המטרה שלנו היא... sounds organized and clear, so it fits speech, writing, work discussions, study settings, and presentations.
- כדי שנוכל... is also standard and natural Hebrew.
In casual conversation, someone might say something a bit looser, such as:
- המטרה שלנו זה לסיים היום...
That is common in spoken Hebrew, but המטרה שלנו היא לסיים היום... is more standard and grammatically polished.
So the version you have is a very good model sentence for learners.
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