Breakdown of אני פוגשת אותו מחר בבנק, כי הוא רוצה לתת לי את המסמך.
Questions & Answers about אני פוגשת אותו מחר בבנק, כי הוא רוצה לתת לי את המסמך.
Why is it פוגשת and not פוגש?
Because פוגשת is the feminine singular present-tense form of the verb לפגוש (to meet).
So this sentence is being said by a female speaker:
- אני פוגשת = I am meeting / I meet said by a woman
If a man were saying it, it would be:
- אני פוגש אותו מחר בבנק...
Hebrew present tense usually agrees with the subject in gender and number.
Why is Hebrew using a present-tense form if the sentence is about tomorrow?
This is very common in Hebrew. The present tense is often used for a planned future action, especially when there is a time word like מחר (tomorrow).
So:
- אני פוגשת אותו מחר literally looks like I am meeting him tomorrow
- In natural English, that works too: I’m meeting him tomorrow
Hebrew does this a lot for arrangements, plans, and scheduled events.
What does אותו mean here, and why isn’t it just הוא?
אותו means him, as a direct object.
Compare:
- הוא = he → subject
- אותו = him → direct object
In this sentence:
- אני פוגשת אותו = I am meeting him
You cannot use הוא here, because he is not doing the action; he is receiving the action of meeting.
Why is there an את before המסמך?
את is the Hebrew marker for a definite direct object. It does not get translated into English.
Here:
- המסמך = the document
- because it is definite (the document, not just a document), Hebrew uses את
So:
- לתת לי את המסמך = to give me the document
Important:
- את is used before definite direct objects
- it is not the same as the word את meaning you in some other contexts
For example:
- הוא קורא ספר = He is reading a book → no את
- הוא קורא את הספר = He is reading the book → את appears
Why is it לי in לתת לי, and what exactly does לי mean?
לי means to me.
It is made from the preposition ל־ (to / for) plus the pronoun ending for me.
So:
- לתת לי = to give to me
- in natural English, usually just to give me
This is an indirect object. The thing being given is את המסמך, and the person receiving it is לי.
Some related forms are:
- לי = to me
- לך = to you
- לו = to him
- לה = to her
- לנו = to us
Why is it בבנק and not ב הבנק?
Because Hebrew combines the preposition ב־ (in / at) with the definite article ה־ (the).
So:
- ב + הבנק becomes בבנק
This is a normal contraction in Hebrew.
So:
- בבנק = in the bank / at the bank
The same kind of thing happens with some other prepositions too, especially ב־, ל־, and כ־.
Why is it רוצה לתת? Why are there two verbs together?
Because רוצה means wants, and לתת is the infinitive to give.
So:
- הוא רוצה לתת = he wants to give
This works very much like English:
- wants to give
- likes to read
- needs to go
In Hebrew, after a verb like רוצה, you often use an infinitive:
- רוצה ללכת = wants to go
- רוצה לאכול = wants to eat
- רוצה לתת = wants to give
Why is רוצה masculine singular?
Because it agrees with הוא.
In the clause:
- כי הוא רוצה לתת לי את המסמך
the subject is הוא (he), so the verb must be masculine singular:
- הוא רוצה = he wants
If the subject were she, it would be:
- היא רוצה = she wants
In the present tense, רוצה happens to look the same for masculine and feminine singular in writing, but it still agrees with the subject.
Is the word order fixed, or could Hebrew move things around?
Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, although the version you have is very natural.
Your sentence:
- אני פוגשת אותו מחר בבנק, כי הוא רוצה לתת לי את המסמך.
Other possible orders could be:
- מחר אני פוגשת אותו בבנק...
- אני פוגשת אותו בבנק מחר...
These all can work, but they may sound slightly different in emphasis. The original sentence is a very normal, neutral way to say it.
Does בבנק mean in the bank or at the bank?
It can mean either, depending on context.
Hebrew ב־ often covers both English in and at:
- בבנק = in the bank or at the bank
In this sentence, English would probably most naturally say at the bank, but the Hebrew form itself is the same.
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