המילה הזאת ביחיד, אבל במשפט הבא היא באה ברבים.

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Breakdown of המילה הזאת ביחיד, אבל במשפט הבא היא באה ברבים.

• אבל: but
• ב: in
• היא: it

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?

Because it agrees with היא, which refers to המילה, a feminine singular noun.

The verb בא means came / comes, and in Hebrew it changes for gender and number:

• הוא בא = he comes / came
• היא באה = she comes / came

So in this sentence:

• היא באה ברבים = it appears in the plural

Even though English would not mark gender on the verb, Hebrew does.