אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

Breakdown of אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

קטן
small
יש
there is
לרצות
to want
לא
not
כי
because
אנחנו
we
על
on
עוד
still
זמן
time
הרבה
a lot
לנו
to us
לעשות
to do
ויכוח
argument
לבזבז
to waste

Questions & Answers about אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

Why is אנחנו included? Can Hebrew leave it out?

Yes, it often can be left out.

Hebrew verb forms usually already show who the subject is, so רוצים by itself can mean we want in the right context. That means this sentence could also be:

לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

Adding אנחנו makes the subject more explicit. It can sound a bit clearer, more natural in some contexts, or slightly more emphatic: we don’t want to waste time.

Why is it רוצים and not רוצות?

Because רוצים is the masculine plural form of want in the present tense.

In Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with gender and number:

  • רוצה = masculine singular
  • רוצה = feminine singular in pronunciation it differs by context? Actually the same spelling here
  • רוצים = masculine plural
  • רוצות = feminine plural

A mixed-gender group, or a group of unspecified gender, normally takes the masculine plural: רוצים.

If the speakers were all female, you would usually say:

אנחנו לא רוצות לבזבז זמן...

Why do we use לא here?

לא is the normal Hebrew word for negating verbs: not.

So:

  • אנחנו רוצים = we want
  • אנחנו לא רוצים = we do not want

This is different from אין, which is used for there is not / there are not or for possession:

  • אין זמן = there is no time
  • אין לנו זמן = we don’t have time

Here we are negating the verb want, so לא is the correct choice.

What exactly is לבזבז?

לבזבז is the infinitive to waste.

The ל־ at the beginning often marks the infinitive in Hebrew, so:

  • בזבז = wasted
  • לבזבז = to waste

After a verb like רוצים = want, Hebrew commonly uses an infinitive, just like English:

  • want to waste
  • רוצים לבזבז

So the structure is very straightforward here: אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז = we do not want to waste

Why is there no word for to before זמן?

Because זמן is the direct object of לבזבז.

In English, to belongs with want to waste, not with time. The Hebrew works the same way:

  • רוצים = want
  • לבזבז = to waste
  • זמן = time

So: רוצים לבזבז זמן = want to waste time

There is no extra preposition needed before זמן.

Why is it זמן without ה־?

Because it means time in a general sense, not the time.

Compare:

  • לבזבז זמן = to waste time
  • לבזבז את הזמן = to waste the time / waste time in a more definite sense

In this sentence, time is being used as a general uncountable noun, so זמן without ה־ is natural.

Why does the sentence say על ויכוח קטן? Why על?

Because Hebrew commonly uses על after expressions like לבזבז זמן when talking about what the time is being wasted on.

So:

  • לבזבז זמן על משהו = to waste time on something

Examples:

  • לבזבז זמן על משחקים = to waste time on games
  • לבזבז זמן על שטויות = to waste time on nonsense

So על ויכוח קטן means on a small argument.

What does ויכוח mean exactly? Is it always an argument?

ויכוח means argument, dispute, debate.

It does not usually mean a physical fight. It refers to a verbal disagreement.

Depending on context, it could be:

  • an argument
  • a dispute
  • a debate

In this sentence, ויכוח קטן suggests something minor, like a small argument or a petty disagreement.

Why is קטן after ויכוח?

Because adjectives usually come after the noun in Hebrew.

So:

  • ויכוח קטן = a small argument
  • בית גדול = a big house
  • ספר מעניין = an interesting book

Also, adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and definiteness.

Since ויכוח is masculine singular, the adjective is also masculine singular:

  • ויכוח קטן

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would change:

  • בעיה קטנה = a small problem
What is the role of כי here?

כי means because here.

It introduces the reason:

  • אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן = we don’t want to waste time on a small argument
  • כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות = because we still have a lot to do

So כי connects the two parts exactly like English because.

How does יש לנו mean we have?

This is a very important Hebrew structure.

Hebrew often expresses possession with יש + ל־:

  • יש = there is / there are
  • לנו = to us

So יש לנו literally means there is to us, but in normal English that becomes we have.

Examples:

  • יש לי ספר = I have a book
  • יש להם זמן = they have time
  • יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות = we have much more to do

So this is the standard Hebrew way to say have in the present tense.

What does לנו break down into?

לנו = ל־ + נו

  • ל־ = to
  • נו = us

So לנו literally means to us.

This kind of attached pronoun is very common in Hebrew:

  • לי = to me
  • לך = to you
  • לו = to him
  • לה = to her
  • לנו = to us
  • להם / להן = to them

In יש לנו, that gives the sense of possession: we have.

What does עוד הרבה לעשות mean exactly?

It means a lot more to do or still a lot to do.

The parts are:

  • עוד = more / still / additional
  • הרבה = much / a lot
  • לעשות = to do

Together, עוד הרבה לעשות means something like:

  • still a lot to do
  • a lot more to do
  • plenty left to do

This is a very natural Hebrew expression.

Why is it לעשות without an object? Shouldn’t it say what we have to do?

It does not need to.

In both Hebrew and English, you can say we have a lot to do without naming the specific tasks. The object is understood from context.

So:

  • יש לנו הרבה לעשות = we have a lot to do

Hebrew often leaves the details unstated when they are obvious or unimportant.

Does עוד mean more or still here?

A bit of both.

עוד is a flexible word. Depending on context, it can mean:

  • more
  • additional
  • still
  • another

In יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות, it suggests that there remains more work ahead, so English might translate it as:

  • we still have a lot to do
  • we have a lot more to do

Both capture the idea well.

Is the comma before כי necessary?

In normal writing, a comma before כי is common and natural, especially when it introduces a full clause.

So: אנחנו לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

You may sometimes see punctuation used more loosely in informal writing, but the comma here is standard and helpful.

Could the sentence be said without אנחנו and still sound natural?

Yes, very natural.

A speaker could say: לא רוצים לבזבז זמן על ויכוח קטן, כי יש לנו עוד הרבה לעשות.

That is common in Hebrew, especially in conversation. The full version with אנחנו simply makes the subject explicit.

Both are correct. The version with אנחנו is a little clearer and slightly more emphatic.

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