Breakdown of אחרי המשחק ישבנו על ספסל ודיברנו עוד כמה דקות.
Questions & Answers about אחרי המשחק ישבנו על ספסל ודיברנו עוד כמה דקות.
Why do ישבנו and דיברנו both end in -נו?
The ending -נו marks 1st person plural in the past tense — in other words, we.
So:
- ישבנו = we sat
- דיברנו = we spoke / we talked
In Hebrew past tense, the verb itself usually already tells you who did the action, so you often do not need to add אנחנו (we).
Why isn’t אנחנו written in the sentence?
Because Hebrew often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb already makes the subject clear.
Here:
- ישבנו already means we sat
- דיברנו already means we talked
So adding אנחנו would usually be unnecessary unless you want emphasis, like we sat, not someone else.
What does אחרי המשחק mean grammatically?
אחרי means after, and המשחק means the game.
So:
- אחרי = after
- המשחק = the game
Together: after the game
This is a very common Hebrew structure:
- אחרי השיעור = after the lesson
- אחרי העבודה = after work
- אחרי הסרט = after the movie
Why does משחק have ה- in המשחק?
The prefix ה- is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.
So:
- משחק = a game / game
- המשחק = the game
Hebrew attaches the directly to the noun instead of writing it as a separate word.
Why is it על ספסל and not על הספסל?
Because ספסל here is indefinite: a bench, not the bench.
So:
- על ספסל = on a bench
- על הספסל = on the bench
Hebrew often omits a/an completely. A noun without ה- is usually understood as indefinite.
Does ישבנו mean we sat or we sat down?
It can sometimes suggest either one, depending on context.
- ישבנו על ספסל most naturally means we sat on a bench
- In some contexts, ישבנו can also imply we sat down
Hebrew does not always separate sat and sat down as clearly as English does. The surrounding context usually tells you which nuance is intended.
What exactly does עוד כמה דקות mean?
It means a few more minutes.
Breakdown:
- עוד = more / additional / still
- כמה = how many / some / a few
- דקות = minutes
So דיברנו עוד כמה דקות means we talked for a few more minutes.
This is a very common phrase in Hebrew.
Examples:
- נחכה עוד כמה דקות = we’ll wait a few more minutes
- אני נשאר עוד כמה ימים = I’m staying a few more days
Why is כמה used here if it usually means how many?
Because כמה has more than one use.
It can mean:
- how many? in a question
- some / a few in statements
Here it is not a question. In עוד כמה דקות, it means a few.
So:
- כמה דקות? = how many minutes?
- עוד כמה דקות = a few more minutes
Why is ודיברנו attached with ו- at the beginning?
The prefix ו- means and.
So:
- דיברנו = we talked
- ודיברנו = and we talked
In Hebrew, ו- is attached directly to the next word, not written separately.
So the sentence literally goes:
- After the game, we sat on a bench and talked a few more minutes.
Is the word order special here? Why does the sentence start with אחרי המשחק?
The sentence starts with a time phrase: after the game.
Hebrew often puts time expressions at the beginning to set the scene:
- אחרי המשחק ישבנו... = After the game, we sat...
This is very natural. You could also reorder parts in other contexts, but this version sounds completely normal and smooth.
How do you pronounce the sentence?
A helpful transliteration is:
Akharei hamischak yashavnu al safsal vedibarnu od kama dakot.
A few pronunciation notes:
- אחרי = akharei
- המשחק = hamischak or ha-mis'chak
- ישבנו = yashavnu
- ספסל = safsal
- ודיברנו = vedibarnu
- דקות = dakot
The ח sound in אחרי and המשחק is the throaty sound English does not really have.
Why is דקות plural, and what is its singular form?
דקות is the plural form of דקה (minute).
So:
- דקה = minute
- דקות = minutes
Since the phrase means a few more minutes, the plural is required.
Examples:
- דקה אחת = one minute
- שתי דקות = two minutes
- עוד כמה דקות = a few more minutes
Could this sentence be translated as We were sitting and talking instead of We sat and talked?
Usually the simple past translation is best here: we sat and talked.
Hebrew past tense does not automatically mark the difference between:
- we sat
- we were sitting
or between:
- we talked
- we were talking
If the context strongly emphasizes an ongoing action, English might sometimes use a progressive translation, but without extra context, we sat on a bench and talked for a few more minutes is the most natural rendering.
More from this lesson
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning HebrewMaster Hebrew — from אחרי המשחק ישבנו על ספסל ודיברנו עוד כמה דקות to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions