Questions & Answers about הסכין הזאת חדה מאוד.
Why is it הסכין and not just סכין?
ה־ is the definite article, like the in English.
So:
- סכין = a knife / knife
- הסכין = the knife
In this sentence, the noun is definite because it means this knife, not just a knife.
Why does הזאת come after the noun? In English we say this knife, not knife this.
In Hebrew, demonstratives like this often come after the noun.
So Hebrew says:
- הסכין הזאת = literally the knife this
but it means:
- this knife
This is the normal word order in everyday Hebrew.
A useful pattern is:
- הספר הזה = this book
- הילדה הזאת = this girl
- הסכין הזאת = this knife
Why are there two words that seem definite: הסכין and הזאת?