הארנק שלי מלא כסף, אבל הספל שלי כמעט ריק.

but

Breakdown of הארנק שלי מלא כסף, אבל הספל שלי כמעט ריק.

• כסף: money
• שלי: my
• ארנק: wallet

Questions & Answers about הארנק שלי מלא כסף, אבל הספל שלי כמעט ריק.

Why isn’t there a Hebrew word for is in this sentence?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually leaves out the verb to be.

So:

• הארנק שלי מלא כסף = My wallet is full of money
• הספל שלי כמעט ריק = My cup is almost empty

This is very normal Hebrew. In the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, for example:

• הארנק שלי היה מלא כסף = My wallet was full of money
• הספל שלי יהיה ריק = My cup will be empty

Why does שלי come after the noun instead of before it?

That is the standard everyday Hebrew way to show possession:

• הארנק שלי = my wallet
• הספל שלי = my cup

Literally, it is something like the wallet of me.

Also, שלי does not change based on the gender of the thing owned. It still stays שלי whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.

There is also a shorter form like ארנקי for my wallet, but that sounds more formal, literary, or old-fashioned.

Why do we say הארנק שלי and הספל שלי with ה־? Why not just ארנק שלי?