הכלב הוא חיית מחמד.

The dog is a pet.

Breakdown of הכלב הוא חיית מחמד.

• הוא: he
• כלב: dog
• חיית מחמד: pet

Questions & Answers about הכלב הוא חיית מחמד.

Why does כלב have ה־ at the beginning?

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• כלב = dog
• הכלב = the dog

In this sentence, הכלב refers to the dog, not just a dog or dogs in general.

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What is הוא doing in the middle of the sentence?

Here הוא functions as the copula, meaning is.

Hebrew often leaves out is/am/are in the present tense, especially in simple sentences, but when both parts are nouns, Hebrew commonly uses הוא or היא to connect them clearly.

So:

• הכלב חיית מחמד can sound incomplete or less standard in this context
• הכלב הוא חיית מחמד = The dog is a pet

Important: here הוא does not literally mean he in the usual pronoun sense, even though the same word can also mean he.

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Why is it חיית מחמד and not just חיה מחמד?