Breakdown of במכולת ליד הבית יש לחם טרי, ירקות טריים וחלב טוב.
Questions & Answers about במכולת ליד הבית יש לחם טרי, ירקות טריים וחלב טוב.
What does במכולת mean exactly?
במכולת means in the grocery store or at the grocery store.
It is made from:
- ב־ = in / at
- מכולת = grocery store / small neighborhood shop
One useful thing to know: in normal unpointed Hebrew writing, במכולת can be read either as:
- bə-makolet = in a grocery store
- ba-makolet = in the grocery store
Context tells you which one is meant.
Why does the sentence use יש?
יש is the standard Hebrew word for there is / there are.
So:
- יש לחם טרי = there is fresh bread
- יש ירקות טריים = there are fresh vegetables
A very important point: יש does not change for singular or plural.
English says there is vs. there are, but Hebrew uses יש for both.
Why is the word order במכולת ליד הבית יש... instead of starting with יש?
Hebrew often puts the location first in this kind of sentence.
So:
- במכולת ליד הבית יש לחם טרי
literally feels like - In the grocery store near the house, there is fresh bread
This is a very natural Hebrew structure:
- [place] + יש + [thing]
It sounds normal and idiomatic.
What does ליד הבית mean, and how does it work?
ליד הבית means near the house or next to the house.
It breaks down like this:
- ליד = near / next to / beside
- הבית = the house
So together:
- ליד הבית = near the house
In Hebrew, ליד is used directly before the noun. You do not need an extra word like of.
Why is it הבית and not just בית?
ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.
So:
- בית = a house / house
- הבית = the house
In ליד הבית, the speaker means a specific house: the house.
Why are the adjectives after the nouns: לחם טרי, ירקות טריים, חלב טוב?
In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun, unlike in English.
So Hebrew says:
- לחם טרי = literally bread fresh
- ירקות טריים = literally vegetables fresh
- חלב טוב = literally milk good
This is the normal Hebrew pattern:
noun + adjective
Why is it טרי with לחם, but טריים with ירקות?
Because Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and number.
- לחם is masculine singular, so: טרי
- ירקות is plural, so the adjective must also be plural: טריים
So:
- לחם טרי = masculine singular
- ירקות טריים = masculine plural
This kind of agreement is a major feature of Hebrew grammar.
Why is it ירקות טריים and not ירקות טריות? Doesn't ־ות usually mean feminine plural?
Excellent question. Yes, ־ות often looks feminine plural, but not always.
ירקות is an important example of a noun with a plural ending that does not match its grammatical gender.
Even though it ends in ־ות, ירקות is treated as masculine plural.
That is why the adjective is:
- טריים = masculine plural
and not:
- טריות = feminine plural
So in Hebrew, you cannot rely only on the word ending; you also have to learn the noun’s actual grammatical gender.
Why is it חלב טוב and not חלב טובה?
Because חלב is a masculine singular noun.
So the adjective must also be masculine singular:
- חלב טוב = good milk
Compare:
- masculine singular: טוב
- feminine singular: טובה
Since חלב is masculine, טוב is correct.
Why is there no word for a or some before לחם, ירקות, and חלב?
Hebrew has no indefinite article.
That means there is no separate word for a or an.
So:
- לחם טרי can mean fresh bread
- ירקות טריים can mean fresh vegetables
- חלב טוב can mean good milk
English often needs a, an, or sometimes some, but Hebrew usually just uses the noun by itself.
Can יש be used for a whole list like this?
Yes. יש can introduce more than one thing.
In this sentence, one יש covers the whole list:
- לחם טרי
- ירקות טריים
- חלב טוב
So the sentence means that all of these are available or present at that place.
This is very natural Hebrew. You do not need to repeat יש before every item.
How would this sentence be negated?
To negate יש, Hebrew usually uses אין.
So:
- במכולת ליד הבית יש לחם טרי... = There is fresh bread...
- במכולת ליד הבית אין לחם טרי... = There is no fresh bread...
יש = there is / there are
אין = there is no / there are no
This is one of the most useful basic Hebrew patterns to learn.
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