Questions & Answers about זה תינוק קטן, והוא מחזיק צעצוע כחול.
Why is there no word for is in זה תינוק קטן?
Hebrew usually leaves out the present-tense verb to be.
So where English says This is a small baby, Hebrew naturally says זה תינוק קטן without a separate word for is.
This is very normal in simple present-tense sentences:
- הוא ילד = he is a boy
- היא עייפה = she is tired
What exactly does זה mean here?
Here זה is the masculine singular form of this.
In a sentence like זה תינוק קטן, it functions like this is when English would use a present-tense form of to be.
Because תינוק is masculine, זה is the natural form here. With a feminine noun, you would usually use זאת or זו:
- זאת תינוקת קטנה
Why do the adjectives come after the nouns: תינוק קטן and צעצוע כחול?