Questions & Answers about אני מסרקת את פרוות הכלב.
Why does מסרקת end in -ת?
Because the speaker is feminine singular.
In Hebrew present tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number.
The subject here is אני (I), which does not itself show gender, so the verb tells you that the speaker is female.
From the verb לסרק (to comb), the present-tense forms are:
- מסרק — masculine singular
- מסרקת — feminine singular
- מסרקים — masculine plural
- מסרקות — feminine plural
So:
- אני מסרק = I comb / I am combing (said by a male speaker)
- אני מסרקת = I comb / I am combing (said by a female speaker)
Why is אני used if the verb already shows the person?
Hebrew often allows the subject pronoun, and here אני is completely natural.
Even though מסרקת already tells you something about the subject, אני makes the sentence explicit: I am combing...
In Hebrew, subject pronouns are often included in normal speech and writing, especially for clarity or emphasis. So this sentence is perfectly standard.
You could sometimes omit it in context, but אני מסרקת את פרוות הכלב is the straightforward full sentence.
What exactly does את do here?