Questions & Answers about הרופאה נתנה לי מרשם, ועכשיו אני הולכת לבית המרקחת.
Why is הרופאה feminine, and what would the masculine form be?
הרופאה means the (female) doctor. The ending -ה here marks the noun as feminine.
- רופא = a male doctor
- רופאה = a female doctor
The ה־ at the beginning is the, so:
- הרופא = the male doctor
- הרופאה = the female doctor
So this sentence specifically says that the doctor is female.
Why isn’t there a separate word for she before נתנה?
Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.
נתנה already tells you:
- past tense
- she gave
- singular
- feminine
So Hebrew does not need היא here.
The sentence could say היא נתנה לי מרשם, but that would usually sound more emphatic, like she gave me a prescription.
What exactly does נתנה mean grammatically?