Word
המילה הזאת ביחיד, אבל במשפט הבא היא באה ברבים.
Meaning
This word is in the singular, but in the next sentence it appears in the plural.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about המילה הזאת ביחיד, אבל במשפט הבא היא באה ברבים.
Why is it המילה הזאת and not המילה הזה?
Because מילה is a feminine noun in Hebrew.
- this with a masculine singular noun: הזה
- this with a feminine singular noun: הזאת (or sometimes זו in other styles)
So:
- הספר הזה = this book
- המילה הזאת = this word
The demonstrative must agree with the noun in gender and number.
Why does the sentence use היא for word?
Hebrew often uses pronouns according to the grammatical gender of the noun, not natural gender.
Since מילה is feminine, the sentence refers back to it with היא = she/it.
In English, we would say it, but in Hebrew:
- המילה ... היא ...
That is completely normal. Hebrew does not have a separate everyday pronoun that works exactly like English it.
Why is the verb באה feminine?