Questions & Answers about למרק הזה יש ריח טוב, אבל הטעם שלו חזק מדי.
Why does the sentence begin with למרק הזה instead of just המרק הזה?
Because Hebrew often uses the pattern ל־... יש ... to express have.
So למרק הזה יש ריח טוב literally means something like:
to this soup there is a good smell
That is the normal Hebrew way to say:
this soup has a good smell / this soup smells good
The ל־ here does not mean to in the English sense; it is part of the possession structure.
Why is יש used here?
יש means there is / there are.
In Hebrew, possession is often expressed with:
ל + possessor + יש + thing
Examples:
- לי יש ספר = I have a book
- לילד יש כלב = The boy has a dog
- למרק הזה יש ריח טוב = This soup has a good smell
So יש is doing the job that have does in English.
What does למרק break down into?