Breakdown of הם זוג חדש, אבל הם כבר מדברים על מתי להתחתן.
Questions & Answers about הם זוג חדש, אבל הם כבר מדברים על מתי להתחתן.
Is there a missing word for are in הם זוג חדש?
Yes. In the present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for "am / is / are".
So:
- הם זוג חדש literally looks like they a new couple but it means they are a new couple.
This is completely normal Hebrew. A form of להיות (to be) is usually omitted in the present tense.
Why does the sentence use זוג (couple) in the singular if it is talking about two people?
Because זוג is a singular noun meaning a pair / a couple.
So Hebrew is structured like:
- they [are] a new couple
Even though the couple contains two people, the noun זוג itself is grammatically singular, just like English a couple is singular in form.
Why is it חדש and not חדשים?
Because חדש describes זוג, not הם.
- זוג = masculine singular noun
- so the adjective must also be masculine singular
- therefore: זוג חדש
Even though the people are plural, the phrase is built around the noun זוג, and that noun is singular.
Why is הם repeated after אבל?
Hebrew often repeats the subject pronoun in a new clause, especially after words like אבל (but).
So:
- הם זוג חדש, אבל הם כבר מדברים...
is very natural Hebrew.
In English, we also usually repeat the subject:
- They are a new couple, but they are already talking...
So the repetition is normal and expected.
Why is it הם and not הן?
הם is the masculine plural pronoun, and הן is the feminine plural pronoun.
Hebrew uses הם for:
- an all-male group
- a mixed group
- sometimes a group of unspecified gender
So as written, the sentence is either:
- about a male/mixed couple, or
- just using the default masculine plural form.
If the couple were definitely two women, you would normally say:
- הן זוג חדש, אבל הן כבר מדברות על מתי להתחתן.
Notice that זוג חדש stays the same, because זוג is still a masculine singular noun.
Why is it מדברים?
מדברים is the masculine plural present-tense form of לדבר (to speak / talk).
It agrees with הם:
- הם מדברים = they are talking
Hebrew present tense is formed with what is historically a participle, so מדברים can mean:
- they talk
- they are talking
The exact meaning depends on context. Here, because of כבר and the situation, it clearly means they are already talking.
What does כבר mean here?
כבר means already.
So:
- הם כבר מדברים = they are already talking
It adds the idea that this is happening sooner than one might expect. In this sentence, it suggests:
- they are a new couple,
- but even so,
- they are already discussing marriage timing.
Why is there על after מדברים?
Because Hebrew commonly uses לדבר על to mean to talk about.
So:
- מדברים על = are talking about
Then the topic follows:
- מדברים על מתי להתחתן = talking about when to get married
This is very close to English talk about.
Why does Hebrew say על מתי להתחתן? Is that literally about when to get married?
Yes, that is basically the structure.
Hebrew often allows a question word like מתי (when) to introduce this kind of clause after a preposition:
- על מתי להתחתן literally: about when to get married
This is natural Hebrew and corresponds neatly to English:
- talking about when to get married
So even if it feels a little unusual word-for-word, the structure is standard.
What form is להתחתן?
להתחתן is the infinitive meaning to get married.
It comes from the verb:
- התחתן = got married
- מתחתן = is getting married / gets married
- להתחתן = to get married
This verb is in the Hitpael pattern, which often has a reflexive or intransitive feel. In practice, להתחתן means to marry / to get married in the sense of entering marriage oneself, not marrying someone else off.
So here:
- מתי להתחתן = when to get married
Does להתחתן mean to marry or to get married?
Usually the most accurate translation is to get married.
That is important because in English:
- to marry someone can be transitive
- to get married is intransitive
Hebrew להתחתן is used for the people entering marriage themselves:
- הם רוצים להתחתן = they want to get married
If you translate it simply as to marry, that is often fine in casual English, but to get married is usually the safer and clearer choice.
How would you pronounce the whole sentence?
A simple transliteration is:
hem zug chadash, aval hem kvar medabrim al matai lehitkhaten
A few pronunciation notes:
- הם = hem
- זוג = zug
- חדש = chadash
The ח is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach. - אבל = aval
- כבר = kvar
- מדברים = medabrim
- מתי = matai
- להתחתן = lehitkhaten
So the rhythm is roughly:
hem zug cha-DASH, a-VAL hem kvar meda-BRIM al ma-TAI le-hit-kha-TEN
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