Breakdown of לפני ששמתי פלסטר חדש, חיטאתי שוב את הפצע כדי שהוא יישאר נקי.
חדש
new
את
direct object marker
לפני
before
ש
that
Questions & Answers about לפני ששמתי פלסטר חדש, חיטאתי שוב את הפצע כדי שהוא יישאר נקי.
Why are there two ש in ששמתי, and what does לפני ש mean?
לפני means before. When Hebrew follows it with a full clause, it usually adds ש־:
- לפני ששמתי... = before I put...
So ששמתי is just:
- ש־ = the connector
- שמתי = I put / I placed
The double ש is completely normal: one belongs to the connector, and one belongs to the verb.
Why is שמתי in the past tense?
שמתי is the past-tense I form of לשים or לשים/לשים? In standard modern usage here, it means I put / I placed.
Hebrew uses the past because the speaker is telling a past story: both actions already happened. So even though the disinfecting happened before the bandage was put on, the act of putting on the bandage is still a completed past event from the speaker’s point of view.
A more general statement would use present or another form, for example:
- לפני ששמים פלסטר חדש... = before putting on a new bandage... / before one puts on a new bandage...
What exactly is פלסטר?