רצינו לנצח, אך היה תיקו.

to want

Breakdown of רצינו לנצח, אך היה תיקו.

• להיות: to be
• לנצח: to win
• תיקו: draw; tie (sports)

Questions & Answers about רצינו לנצח, אך היה תיקו.

What does רצינו mean, exactly?

רצינו is the past tense form of לרצות (to want).

• root: ר-צ-ה
• person/number: first person plural
• so רצינו = we wanted

Hebrew verbs usually include the subject inside the verb form, so this one word already tells you we wanted.

Why is there no separate word for we in the sentence?

Because Hebrew often does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the verb already shows who is doing the action.

So:

• רצינו already means we wanted
• adding אנחנו would be possible, but usually only for emphasis or contrast

For example:

• רצינו לנצח = we wanted to win
• אנחנו רצינו לנצח = we wanted to win (with extra emphasis)

What does לנצח mean here, and why does it start with ל־?