Breakdown of אני רוצה לקרוא את המשפט הזה בקול.
Questions & Answers about אני רוצה לקרוא את המשפט הזה בקול.
Why is אני included here? Can Hebrew drop the subject pronoun?
Sometimes yes, but in the present tense, Hebrew often keeps the subject pronoun for clarity.
The form רוצה tells you gender and number, but not always clearly person. So without אני, רוצה could mean something like want / wants, depending on context.
So אני רוצה... is a very natural, clear way to say I want...
Does רוצה change depending on whether the speaker is male or female?
Yes.
In unpointed Hebrew, both are written רוצה, but they are pronounced differently:
- רוֹצֶה = ro-tseh = masculine singular
- רוֹצָה = ro-tsah = feminine singular
So:
- A male speaker says אני רוצה
- A female speaker also writes אני רוצה, but pronounces it differently
This is very common in Hebrew: the spelling can stay the same while the vowels change.
Why does לקרוא start with ל־?
Because ל־ is the normal marker for the infinitive in Hebrew, often corresponding to English to.
So:
- לקרוא = to read
- לכתוב = to write
- לדבר = to speak
After רוצה (want), Hebrew usually uses this infinitive form:
- אני רוצה לקרוא = I want to read
How do you pronounce לקרוא?
Usually: lee-KRO
A few helpful points:
- the stress is on the last syllable: kro
- the א at the end is usually not strongly pronounced in modern Israeli Hebrew
- the whole word sounds roughly like likro
So the sentence can be pronounced approximately as:
- ani ro-TSE li-KRO et ha-mish-PAT ha-ZE be-KOL
if the speaker is male
or
- ani ro-TSA li-KRO et ha-mish-PAT ha-ZE be-KOL
if the speaker is female
Why is את used before המשפט הזה?
את marks a definite direct object.
It does not mean you here. It is a grammar marker.
In this sentence, the thing being read is המשפט הזה (this sentence), and it is definite/specific, so Hebrew uses את:
- לקרוא את המשפט הזה = to read this sentence
Compare:
אני קורא ספר = I am reading a book
no את, because a book is indefiniteאני קורא את הספר = I am reading the book
את appears because the book is definite
Why is it המשפט הזה and not זה המשפט?
Because when Hebrew says this + noun in the sense of this sentence, the usual pattern is:
- noun + demonstrative
- and the noun is normally definite
So:
- המשפט הזה = this sentence
- literally: the sentence this
But זה המשפט usually means something more like:
- this is the sentence
- or that’s the sentence
So the word order changes the structure.
Why does משפט take ה־ in המשפט הזה?
Because Hebrew normally treats nouns with this/that as definite.
So Hebrew says:
- הספר הזה = this book
- הילד הזה = this boy
- המשפט הזה = this sentence
Literally, it is often like saying the sentence this.
This is different from English, where we just say this sentence without the.
What exactly does משפט mean here?
Here, משפט means sentence in the grammar/language sense.
But משפט can also mean things like:
- judgment
- trial
- legal proceeding
Hebrew often has words with multiple meanings, and context tells you which meaning is intended.
In this sentence, because we are talking about reading something, sentence is the natural meaning.
What does בקול mean literally, and why is it used here?
Literally:
- ב־ = in / with
- קול = voice
So בקול literally means something like in a voice or with voice, but in this context it means:
- out loud
- aloud
So:
- לקרוא את המשפט הזה בקול = to read this sentence aloud
Without בקול, לקרוא could simply mean to read, without saying whether it is silent or out loud.
Is בקול the same as בקול רם?
They are similar, but not exactly identical.
- בקול = aloud / out loud
- בקול רם = literally in a loud voice
In real usage, בקול רם is also commonly used for aloud, especially in teaching or classroom situations. But literally it adds the idea of a stronger or louder voice.
So:
- קרא בקול = read aloud
- קרא בקול רם = read out loud / in a loud voice
Can the word order be changed?
Sometimes yes, but this version is the most neutral and straightforward:
- אני רוצה לקרוא את המשפט הזה בקול
You may also hear other orders for emphasis, for example:
- אני רוצה לקרוא בקול את המשפט הזה
That is still understandable, but it may sound a bit more marked or emphasize out loud more.
For a learner, the original sentence is an excellent default pattern to use.
Could לקרוא mean something other than to read?
Yes. The verb לקרוא can also mean to call or to name, depending on context.
For example:
- לקרוא ספר = to read a book
- לקרוא למישהו = to call someone
- לקרוא לילד דן = to name the child Dan
In your sentence, because the object is המשפט הזה, the meaning is clearly to read.
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