אל תשימי את התיקים על הכיסא; תשימי אותם על המתלה ליד הדלת.

Breakdown of אל תשימי את התיקים על הכיסא; תשימי אותם על המתלה ליד הדלת.

את
direct object marker
דלת
door
כיסא
chair
על
on
ליד
by
תיק
bag
אל
not
אותם
them
לשים
to put
מתלהmitleh
rack

Questions & Answers about אל תשימי את התיקים על הכיסא; תשימי אותם על המתלה ליד הדלת.

Why is the verb תשימי? Who is the speaker talking to?

תשימי is the second-person singular feminine form, so the speaker is talking to one female.

Hebrew verbs usually show:

  • person: I / you / he / she / etc.
  • number: singular or plural
  • gender: masculine or feminine

So here:

  • אל תשימי = don’t put (said to one female)
  • תשימי = put (said to one female)

Some other versions:

  • to one male: אל תשים ... שים ...
  • to several people: אל תשימו ... שימו ...

Why does Hebrew say אל תשימי for don’t put instead of לא תשימי?

Because אל is the normal word used for a negative command in Hebrew.

So:

  • אל תשימי = don’t put
  • לא תשימי usually means you will not put or you won’t put, which is a statement about the future, not a command

A very common pattern in Hebrew is:

  • אל + future-form verb = negative command

So even though תשימי looks like a future form, after אל it means don’t put.


Why is the second verb תשימי and not שימי?

Good question. The more traditional or textbook imperative here is שימי.

So a very standard version would be:

אל תשימי את התיקים על הכיסא; שימי אותם על המתלה ליד הדלת.

But in everyday Israeli Hebrew, people often use the future form as a command too:

  • שימי = put
  • תשימי = put

In speech, תשימי can sound a bit more conversational or natural in some contexts. So the sentence you were given is understandable and common in spoken Hebrew, even though many learners first learn שימי as the imperative.


Is את here the word you?

No. Here את is not the pronoun you.

In unpointed Hebrew, את can represent two different things:

  • אַתְּ = you (singular feminine)
  • אֶת = the direct object marker

In this sentence, it is the direct object marker:

  • את התיקים = marks the bags as the direct object of the verb

So:

  • אל תשימי את התיקים = don’t put the bags

This is a very common source of confusion because both words are written the same way without vowels.


What does the direct object marker את do here?

It marks a definite direct object.

In Hebrew, when the object is specific or definite, you usually put את before it.

Here:

  • התיקים = the bags
  • because it is definite, Hebrew uses את
  • so: את התיקים = the bags as the object

Compare:

  • שימי את התיקים על הכיסא = put the bags on the chair
  • שימי תיקים על הכיסא = put bags on the chair

In the second example, תיקים is indefinite, so את is not used.


Why is it אותם and not אותן?

Because תיקים is a masculine noun in Hebrew.

  • singular: תיק = bag
  • plural: תיקים = bags

Since the noun is masculine plural, the pronoun must also be masculine plural:

  • אותם = them (masculine plural)
  • אותן = them (feminine plural)

So:

  • תשימי אותם = put them (the bags)

Even though bags do not have natural gender in English, every Hebrew noun has grammatical gender, and that affects pronouns.


Why use אותם instead of repeating התיקים?

Hebrew, like English, often uses a pronoun to avoid repetition.

So instead of saying:

  • תשימי את התיקים על המתלה

the sentence says:

  • תשימי אותם על המתלה

That is exactly like English:

  • Don’t put the bags on the chair; put them on the rack.

Using אותם sounds natural and avoids repeating התיקים.

You could repeat the noun, but it would sound a bit less smooth.


Why do התיקים, הכיסא, המתלה, and הדלת all begin with ה־?

Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

  • תיקים = bags
  • התיקים = the bags

  • כיסא = chair
  • הכיסא = the chair

  • מתלה = rack / hanger / stand
  • המתלה = the rack / hanger / stand

  • דלת = door
  • הדלת = the door

Hebrew attaches the directly to the beginning of the noun instead of writing it as a separate word.


What do על and ליד mean here?

These are prepositions:

  • על = on / onto
  • ליד = next to / beside

So:

  • על הכיסא = on the chair
  • ליד הדלת = next to the door

In this sentence:

  • אל תשימי את התיקים על הכיסא = don’t put the bags on the chair
  • תשימי אותם על המתלה ליד הדלת = put them on the rack next to the door

Notice that Hebrew prepositions usually come before the noun, just like in English.


Can you break the whole sentence down word by word?

Yes:

  • אל = don’t
  • תשימי = you will put / put (to one female); after אל, it means don’t put
  • את = direct object marker
  • התיקים = the bags
  • על = on
  • הכיסא = the chair

  • תשימי = put
  • אותם = them
  • על = on
  • המתלה = the rack / hanger / stand
  • ליד = next to / beside
  • הדלת = the door

So the structure is:

  • Don’t put the bags on the chair;
  • put them on the rack next to the door.
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