Questions & Answers about אם יש לך עצה טובה, אני אשמח לשמוע אותה.
Why does Hebrew use יש לך here instead of a verb meaning to have?
Modern Hebrew usually expresses possession with יש plus a prepositional pronoun.
- יש לך = literally there is to you
- Natural English equivalent = you have
So:
- אם יש לך עצה טובה = if you have a good piece of advice / a good suggestion
This is very common in Hebrew:
- יש לי זמן = I have time
- אין לי זמן = I don’t have time
So Hebrew does not normally use a separate everyday verb for to have the way English does.
Does לך mean to you for a man or for a woman?
In normal unpointed writing, לך can be either masculine singular or feminine singular.
It can be pronounced:
- lecha when speaking to a man
- lach when speaking to a woman
So this sentence can address either:
- אם יש לך... said to a man
- אם יש לך... said to a woman
The spelling stays the same in everyday writing.
Why is עצה used here if English usually says advice, which is uncountable?