תבדקי אם הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף.

Breakdown of תבדקי אם הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף.

אם
whether
שלך
your
לבדוק
to check
עדיין
still
רישיון
license
בתוקףbetokef
valid

Questions & Answers about תבדקי אם הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף.

What does תבדקי mean exactly?

תבדקי comes from the verb לבדוק, meaning to check or to examine.

In this sentence, תבדקי means check or you should check, addressed to one female.

So:

  • לבדוק = to check
  • תבדקי = you will check / check! (to one woman)

Context tells you it is being used as a request, instruction, or suggestion.

Is תבדקי future tense or a command?

Grammatically, תבדקי is the 2nd person feminine singular future form.

But in everyday Hebrew, future forms are very often used like commands, especially in spoken language. So here it functions like:

  • Check if...
  • Please check whether...
  • You should check if...

A more strictly imperative feminine singular form would be בדקי, but in modern everyday speech תבדקי is very common and natural.

Why is this sentence addressed to a woman?

Because תבדקי is the feminine singular form.

Hebrew verbs usually show:

  • person
  • number
  • gender

So the verb itself tells you who is being addressed.

If you were speaking to one man, you would say:

תבדוק אם הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף.

One useful detail: שלך is written the same way for masculine and feminine singular in unpointed Hebrew, so the verb תבדקי is what makes the feminine addressee clear here.

Why is there no separate word for you?

Because Hebrew verbs already include that information.

In English, you need you check or check.
In Hebrew, the form תבדקי already means you (feminine singular) check / will check.

So Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.

What does אם mean here?

Here אם means if in the sense of whether.

So:

  • תבדקי אם... = check if... / check whether...

This is very common in Hebrew. English often uses if and whether a little differently, but Hebrew אם works naturally here.

Why is it הרישיון שלך and not just רישיון שלך?

Because in Hebrew, when possession is expressed with של, the noun is usually made definite with ה־ if you mean a specific thing.

So:

  • הרישיון שלך = your license
  • literally, something like the license of yours

This is standard Hebrew structure:

  • הבית שלי = my house
  • הטלפון שלך = your phone
  • הרישיון שלך = your license

English does not use the here, but Hebrew usually does.

What does עדיין mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

עדיין means still.

In this sentence:

  • הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף = your license is still valid

It comes before the part it modifies, just like English still often does.

Other examples:

  • אני עדיין פה = I’m still here
  • הוא עדיין עובד = he still works / he is still working
What does בתוקף mean?

בתוקף literally means in force or in effect.

It is a very common expression for things like:

  • licenses
  • visas
  • laws
  • contracts
  • documents

So בתוקף is often best translated as:

  • valid
  • still in effect
  • still current

In this sentence:

  • הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף = your license is still valid
Why doesn’t the sentence use a word for is?

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So English says:

  • your license is still valid

But Hebrew says literally:

  • your license still valid / in force

That is completely normal.

If the sentence were in the past or future, Hebrew would use a form of to be:

  • היה = was
  • יהיה = will be

For example:

  • הרישיון שלך היה בתוקף = your license was valid
  • הרישיון שלך יהיה בתוקף = your license will be valid
Could Hebrew also say עדיין תקף instead of עדיין בתוקף?

Yes. Hebrew can also use תקף = valid.

So these are both natural:

  • הרישיון שלך עדיין בתוקף
  • הרישיון שלך עדיין תקף

The version with בתוקף is especially common for official validity of documents, permits, contracts, and similar things. It has a slightly more formal or administrative feel.

How is the whole sentence pronounced?

A simple transliteration is:

Tivdeki im ha-rishayon shelakh adayin be-tokef.

A more word-by-word guide:

  • תבדקי = tiv-DE-ki
  • אם = im
  • הרישיון = ha-rish-a-YON
  • שלך = she-LAKH
  • עדיין = a-DA-yin
  • בתוקף = be-TO-kef

Because the sentence is addressed to a woman, שלך here is pronounced shelakh.

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