Breakdown of הדרכון שלי עדיין בתוקף, אבל הוא עומד לפוג בחודש הבא.
Questions & Answers about הדרכון שלי עדיין בתוקף, אבל הוא עומד לפוג בחודש הבא.
How do you pronounce this sentence?
A natural pronunciation is:
ha-darkón sheli adáyin be-tókef, avál hu oméd la-fóg ba-chódesh ha-bá.
A rough word-by-word guide:
- הדרכון — ha-darkón
- שלי — sheli
- עדיין — adáyin
- בתוקף — be-tókef
- אבל — avál
- הוא — hu
- עומד — oméd
- לפוג — la-fóg
- בחודש — ba-chódesh
- הבא — ha-bá
Why is it הדרכון שלי and not just דרכון שלי?
הדרכון שלי means my passport in the normal, specific sense.
In Modern Hebrew, when you say the + noun + שלי/שלך/שלו..., you usually mean a specific possessed item:
- הדרכון שלי — my passport
- הספר שלי — my book
If you say דרכון שלי without ה־, it can sound more like a passport of mine, which is less neutral and less common in a sentence like this.
So for a normal statement about your passport, הדרכון שלי is the expected form.
What does עדיין mean, and where does it go in the sentence?
עדיין means still.
So:
- הדרכון שלי עדיין בתוקף = My passport is still valid
Its placement here is very natural: it comes before the part it modifies, בתוקף.
You will often see עדיין in similar places:
- אני עדיין כאן — I am still here
- הוא עדיין עובד — He is still working
What does בתוקף mean exactly?
בתוקף is a fixed expression meaning valid, in force, or currently effective.
Literally, it is:
- ב־ = in
- תוקף = validity / force
So בתוקף is literally something like in effect or in force.
It is commonly used for:
- passports
- visas
- contracts
- laws
- licenses
For example:
- הוויזה עדיין בתוקף — The visa is still valid
- החוק בתוקף — The law is in force
A more direct adjective also exists:
- הדרכון שלי עדיין תקף — My passport is still valid
That is also correct. The sentence you were given uses the very common phrase בתוקף.
Why is there a separate הוא in אבל הוא עומד לפוג?
הוא means it/he, and here it refers back to הדרכון (the passport), which is masculine singular.
So:
- הדרכון — masculine singular noun
- הוא — the matching pronoun: it / he
Hebrew often uses an explicit subject pronoun in present-tense clauses, especially when starting a new clause after אבל (but):
- הדרכון שלי עדיין בתוקף, אבל הוא עומד לפוג...
This is very natural and clear.
In English, we also repeat the subject:
- My passport is still valid, but it is about to expire...
What does עומד לפוג mean? Does עומד literally mean standing here?
Yes, עומד literally means standing, but here it is part of an idiomatic pattern:
עומד ל־ + infinitive
This pattern means:
- is about to...
- is going to...
- is set to...
So:
- הוא עומד לפוג = it is about to expire
Other examples:
- הגשם עומד להתחיל — The rain is about to start
- הם עומדים לצאת — They are about to leave
So in this sentence, עומד should not be understood literally as physical standing.
Why is it לפוג after עומד?
After the pattern עומד ל־, Hebrew uses the infinitive form of the verb.
Here the verb is פג / לפוג, meaning to expire or to lapse.
So:
- עומד — is about to
- לפוג — to expire
Together:
- עומד לפוג — is about to expire
This is the same structure as:
- עומד ללכת — is about to go
- עומד להתחיל — is about to begin
Is לפוג specifically used for passports and documents?
Yes, לפוג is commonly used for things whose validity ends, such as:
- passports
- visas
- subscriptions
- permits
- medicines
- deadlines or periods
Examples:
- האשרה עומדת לפוג — The visa is about to expire
- המנוי פג בסוף החודש — The subscription expires at the end of the month
- פג תוקף הדרכון — The passport’s validity expired / The passport expired
So לפוג is a very appropriate verb here.
Why is it בחודש הבא and not some other order?
בחודש הבא means next month.
Breakdown:
- ב־ = in
- חודש = month
- הבא = the next / coming
So literally it is in the coming month.
Two important grammar points are happening here:
The adjective comes after the noun in Hebrew
- חודש הבא = next month
- not הבא חודש
The adjective matches the noun in gender and definiteness
- חודש is masculine singular
- so the adjective is הבא (masculine singular)
- both noun and adjective are definite here
Compare:
- השנה הבאה — next year
because שנה is feminine, so הבאה
Why does בחודש become one word?
Because ב־ (in) is a prefix in Hebrew and attaches directly to the following word.
So:
- ב + חודש → בחודש
Since החודש הבא is definite, the ב־ combines with the article in the usual Hebrew way:
- ב + החודש → בחודש
This kind of contraction is very common:
- בבית — in the house
- בשבוע הבא — next week
- בעיר — in the city
Could Hebrew also say this without בתוקף, using a simpler adjective?
Yes. A very common alternative is:
הדרכון שלי עדיין תקף, אבל הוא עומד לפוג בחודש הבא.
That means the same thing: My passport is still valid, but it is about to expire next month.
So you may hear both:
- עדיין בתוקף
- עדיין תקף
Both are correct.
בתוקף sounds slightly more formal or official, which fits documents like passports very well.
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