Breakdown of אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה התברר שהפגישה בכלל נדחתה למחר.
Questions & Answers about אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה התברר שהפגישה בכלל נדחתה למחר.
Why does the sentence start with אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה?
This is a time expression: אחרי means after, so אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה means after the conversation with the secretary.
Hebrew often puts time expressions at the beginning of a sentence, just like English can:
- After the conversation with the secretary, it became clear...
- אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה התברר...
So the sentence is setting the scene first, and then giving the main event.
Why is it השיחה and not just שיחה?
השיחה means the conversation, while שיחה means a conversation.
Here, the speaker is referring to a specific conversation, so Hebrew uses the definite article ה־:
- שיחה = a conversation
- השיחה = the conversation
Because אחרי is a preposition, the article stays attached to the noun:
- אחרי השיחה = after the conversation
Why is it המזכירה? Does that mean the secretary?
Yes. מזכירה means secretary (feminine), and המזכירה means the secretary.
So:
- עם מזכירה = with a secretary
- עם המזכירה = with the secretary
In context, this usually means a specific secretary already known from the situation.
Also note:
- מזכירה = female secretary
- מזכיר = male secretary
What does התברר mean here?
התברר means something like it became clear, it turned out, or it was выясned / clarified in meaning.
In this sentence, it works a lot like the English impersonal expression it turned out that...
So:
- התברר ש... = it became clear that... / it turned out that...
This is a very common Hebrew structure.
Why is there no separate word for it in התברר?
Because Hebrew often does not need a dummy subject like English it.
English says:
- It became clear that...
- It turned out that...
Hebrew usually just says:
- התברר ש...
So the verb stands on its own without an extra pronoun. This is normal and natural in Hebrew.
What is the function of ש־ in שהפגישה?
Here ש־ means that.
So:
- התברר שהפגישה... = it turned out that the meeting...
This ש־ is a very common connector in Hebrew. It introduces a clause.
A few examples:
- אני חושב ש... = I think that...
- ברור ש... = it’s clear that...
- התברר ש... = it turned out that...
In שהפגישה, the ש־ is attached directly to הפגישה:
- ש + הפגישה = שהפגישה
What does בכלל mean here?
In this sentence, בכלל adds a nuance like actually, in fact, as it turns out, or after all.
So it gives a sense of surprise or correction:
- the meeting wasn’t happening as expected;
- it had actually been postponed until tomorrow.
Depending on context, בכלל can mean different things in Hebrew, for example:
- at all
- generally
- actually / in fact
Here, the best sense is the surprise/correction meaning: actually.
Why is the verb נדחתה and not נדחה?
Because the subject is הפגישה (the meeting), and פגישה is a feminine singular noun.
Hebrew past-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.
So:
- נדחה = masculine singular
- נדחתה = feminine singular
- נדחו = plural
Since הפגישה is feminine singular, the verb must also be feminine singular:
- הפגישה נדחתה
What kind of verb is נדחתה?
נדחתה is the past tense, feminine singular form of the verb להידחות, which means to be postponed or more literally to be pushed off / deferred.
It is the passive-like counterpart related to לדחות (to postpone, to reject, to put off).
Compare:
- דחו את הפגישה = they postponed the meeting
- הפגישה נדחתה = the meeting was postponed
So in your sentence, נדחתה is essentially was postponed.
Why does Hebrew say נדחתה למחר instead of just נדחתה מחר?
Because ל־ here means to: the meeting was postponed to tomorrow.
So:
- מחר = tomorrow
- למחר = to tomorrow
This is natural after verbs like לדחות / להידחות when you want to say the new scheduled time.
Similar idea:
- האירוע נדחה לשבוע הבא = the event was postponed to next week
- הפגישה נדחתה למחר = the meeting was postponed to tomorrow
Is the word order special in this sentence?
Yes, but it is very normal Hebrew word order.
The sentence goes:
- אחרי השיחה עם המזכירה = after the conversation with the secretary
- התברר = it turned out / it became clear
- שהפגישה בכלל נדחתה למחר = that the meeting had actually been postponed until tomorrow
Hebrew often puts:
- a time phrase first,
- then the main verb,
- then the clause introduced by ש־.
So the structure is completely natural:
- After X, it turned out that Y.
Could בכלל be placed somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, Hebrew allows some flexibility, although the nuance can shift slightly.
Your sentence has:
- שהפגישה בכלל נדחתה למחר
This sounds natural and emphasizes the surprising fact that the meeting was, actually, postponed.
You may also hear things like:
- שהפגישה נדחתה בכלל למחר
- שבכלל הפגישה נדחתה למחר
But these can sound a little different in emphasis. The original placement is very idiomatic and probably the most natural for this meaning.
How would this sentence be pronounced?
A common pronunciation would be:
Akharei ha-sikha im ha-mazkira hitbarer sheha-pgisha bikhlal nidkhata lemakhar.
A few notes:
- אחרי = akharei
- השיחה = ha-sikha
- התברר = hitbarer
- שהפגישה = sheha-pgisha
- נדחתה = nidkhata
- למחר = lemakhar
If you want, I can also break the whole sentence down word by word with transliteration and root/binyan information.
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