Breakdown of יש לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה.
Questions & Answers about יש לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה.
Why does Hebrew use יש לי to mean I have?
In Modern Hebrew, possession in the present tense is usually expressed with יש + ל־.
- יש = there is / there are
- לי = to me
So יש לי עוד שאלה literally means There is to me another question, which is how Hebrew says I have another question.
This is very natural Hebrew. You normally would not use a verb meaning have the way English does.
What exactly does לי mean?
לי means to me.
It is made from:
- ל־ = to / for
- ־י = me
So:
- לי = to me
- לך = to you
- לו = to him
- לה = to her
- לנו = to us
In this sentence, לי marks the person who has the question.
What does עוד mean here?
Here, עוד means another or one more.
So:
- עוד שאלה = another question / one more question
Be careful: עוד can mean different things in other contexts, such as:
- more
- still
- yet
But in יש לי עוד שאלה, the meaning is clearly another / one more.
Why is עוד placed before שאלה?
Because in Hebrew, עוד usually comes before the noun when it means another / one more.
So the natural order is:
- עוד שאלה = another question
Not:
- שאלה עוד — this would sound wrong here
Hebrew word order is often different from English, and this is a very common pattern.
Why is שאלה feminine?
שאלה is a feminine noun. Many Hebrew nouns ending in ־ה are feminine, and שאלה is one of them.
So if you add an adjective to שאלה, the adjective would also usually be feminine singular.
For example:
- שאלה חשובה = an important question
In your sentence, there is no adjective describing שאלה, but it is still useful to know that the noun itself is feminine.
Why is החדשה feminine?
Because החדשה describes העבודה, and עבודה is feminine singular.
- עבודה = work / job
- חדשה = new (feminine singular)
Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:
- gender
- number
- definiteness
So:
- עבודה חדשה = a new job / new work
- העבודה החדשה = the new job / the new work
Why do both העבודה and החדשה have ה־?
Because in Hebrew, when a noun is definite, its adjective is also definite.
So:
- עבודה חדשה = a new job
- העבודה החדשה = the new job
This is a very important rule in Hebrew: adjectives agree with the noun in definiteness too.
That is why you do not say:
- העבודה חדשה for the new job
In standard Hebrew, it should be:
- העבודה החדשה
Does עבודה mean work or job?
It can mean both.
Common meanings of עבודה include:
- work
- job
- employment
- sometimes even assignment or task, depending on context
In this sentence, the new job is probably the best translation because that is the most natural meaning in context. But in another situation, the new work or the new assignment could be possible.
Why is על used for about?
Because שאלה על... is a normal Hebrew way to say a question about...
So:
- שאלה על העבודה החדשה = a question about the new job
על often means:
- on
- about
- concerning
You may also hear other expressions such as:
- לגבי = regarding
- בקשר ל־ = concerning / about
But על is very common and natural here.
Is the word order in the whole sentence normal?
Yes. The sentence is very natural:
- יש לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה.
A rough breakdown is:
- יש לי = I have
- עוד שאלה = another question
- על העבודה החדשה = about the new job
Hebrew often builds this kind of sentence by starting with the existence/possession phrase יש לי, and then adding the thing possessed.
How do you pronounce שאלה?
It is usually pronounced she'eLA.
A useful transliteration for the whole sentence is:
yesh li od she'ela al ha-avoda ha-chadasha
A few pronunciation notes:
- שאלה has an א in the middle, which creates a small break: she-e-la
- the stress is usually on the last syllable: she'eLA
- עבודה is usually avoDA
- חדשה is chadaSHA
How would I say I don’t have another question about the new job?
You would say:
אין לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה.
Hebrew uses אין to negate possession in the present tense.
So:
- יש לי = I have
- אין לי = I do not have
This is another very common pattern:
- יש לי זמן = I have time
- אין לי זמן = I don’t have time
How would this sentence change in the past or future?
In the past and future, Hebrew does not usually use יש in the same way. Instead, forms of היה are used, and they agree with the thing possessed.
Because שאלה is feminine singular:
- הייתה לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה. = I had another question about the new job.
- תהיה לי עוד שאלה על העבודה החדשה. = I will have another question about the new job.
This agreement surprises many English speakers, because the verb matches שאלה, not the person who has it.
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