Questions & Answers about אני שומע אותך, אבל אני לא רואה אותך.
Why does the sentence include אני twice?
Because in the Hebrew present tense, the verb usually shows gender and number, but not person. So שומע could mean I hear, you hear (masculine singular), or he hears, depending on context.
That means אני helps make it clear that the subject is I. The second אני before לא רואה can also add balance and emphasis: I hear you, but I don’t see you.
Hebrew speakers may sometimes drop the second אני if the meaning is already clear:
אני שומע אותך, אבל לא רואה אותך
This is also natural.
Why is it שומע and not the dictionary form of the verb?
Because שומע is the present-tense form, not the infinitive.
The dictionary form is לשמוע = to hear.
In this sentence, שומע means hearing / hear and agrees with the speaker:
- אני שומע = I hear said by a male speaker
- אני שומעת = I hear said by a female speaker
So Hebrew uses the appropriate present-tense form, not the infinitive.
Why is it רואה and not לראות?