Questions & Answers about את יכולה להשאיל לי את הספר הזה לעוד שבוע?
Why does the sentence start with את?
את means you when speaking to one female.
Hebrew distinguishes gender in the second person singular:
- אתה = you (to one male)
- את = you (to one female)
So this sentence is addressed to a woman or girl.
Why is it יכולה and not יכול?
Because יכולה has to agree with את.
- את יכולה = you can / you are able to (female)
- אתה יכול = you can / you are able to (male)
Hebrew uses יכול / יכולה plus an infinitive to express can or be able to.
So:
- את יכולה להשאיל... = You can lend... / Can you lend...
Is יכולה literally the word for can?
Not exactly in the same way as English.
Hebrew does not have a separate modal verb exactly like English can. Instead, it often uses יכול / יכולה, which literally means able or capable, followed by another verb.
So this structure is:
- את = you
- יכולה = able/can
- להשאיל = to lend
Literally, it is something like Are you able to lend me this book for another week?
Can I leave out here?