Questions & Answers about אני לא אוהבת את התבלין הזה, כי הטעם שלו חזק מדי.
Why is it אוהבת and not אוהב?
Because the speaker is female. In the present tense, Hebrew forms like אוהב / אוהבת agree with gender.
- אני לא אוהבת = I do not like... (said by a woman)
- אני לא אוהב = I do not like... (said by a man)
Why is אני included? Can’t Hebrew leave out subject pronouns?
Sometimes Hebrew does leave them out, but in the present tense the verb form does not clearly show person, only gender and number.
So אוהבת could mean:
- I like (female speaker)
- you like (to one female)
- she likes
That is why אני helps make the meaning clear. In context, native speakers may still omit it, but including it is very normal.
What does לא do here?
לא is the regular word for not. It comes before the verb or phrase it negates.
- אני אוהבת = I like
- אני לא אוהבת = I do not like
A common learner point: לא is used to negate verbs, adjectives, and whole statements. It is different from אין, which is mainly used for there is not / there are not / do not have.