בספל הזה יש תה חם, אבל הספל שלך ריק.

There is hot tea in this mug, but your mug is empty.

Breakdown of בספל הזה יש תה חם, אבל הספל שלך ריק.

• זה: this
• יש: there is
• אבל: but
• ב: in

Questions & Answers about בספל הזה יש תה חם, אבל הספל שלך ריק.

What does ב־ mean in בספל, and why is it attached to the word?

ב־ is the preposition in.

So:

• ספל = cup / mug
• בספל = in a cup or in the cup, depending on context

In Hebrew, short prepositions like ב־ (in), ל־ (to/for), and כ־ (as/like) are usually attached directly to the following word.

In this sentence, בספל הזה means in this cup.

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Why is it בספל הזה and not something like הזה ספל?

In Hebrew, demonstratives like this usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• הספל הזה = this cup
• literally: the cup this

This is normal Hebrew word order.

Also notice that both parts are definite:

• הספל = the cup
• הזה = this

When Hebrew says this/that after a noun, the noun is normally definite.

In your sentence, because of the preposition ב־, הספל הזה becomes בספל הזה.

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Why is there no in ? Shouldn’t be ?