Questions & Answers about אל תתעלמי מהמחמאה שלה; היא אמרה אותה בכנות.
Why is תתעלמי feminine? How do I know the sentence is addressed to a woman?
Because תתעלמי is the 2nd person feminine singular future form of להתעלם (to ignore / to disregard).
With אל + future, Hebrew makes a negative command, so:
- אל תתעלמי = don’t ignore (said to one woman)
- אל תתעלם = to one man
- אל תתעלמו = to more than one person
So the form תתעלמי tells you the speaker is talking to a female singular listener.
Why does Hebrew use אל + future tense here instead of a special imperative form?
In Hebrew, negative commands are normally made with אל plus a future-tense form.
So:
- תתעלמי by itself is formally a future form: you will ignore
- אל תתעלמי means don’t ignore
This is the standard way to say don’t do X in normal Hebrew.
Compare:
- התעלמי! = Ignore! (positive command, feminine singular)
- אל תתעלמי! = Don’t ignore!
Why is it מהמחמאה and not just המחמאה?