אפשר לאלף כלב.

dog

Breakdown of אפשר לאלף כלב.

• אפשר: possible
• לאלף: to train; tame (an animal)

Questions & Answers about אפשר לאלף כלב.

What does אפשר mean here?

Here, אפשר means it is possible or more naturally in English, you can / one can.

Hebrew often uses אפשר in an impersonal way, without saying who the subject is. So:

• אפשר לאלף כלב = It is possible to train a dog
• In more natural English: You can train a dog

Depending on context, אפשר can sometimes also mean it is allowed, but in this sentence it is most naturally understood as it is possible.

Why is there no subject, like אני or אתה?

Because אפשר often creates an impersonal sentence.

English usually wants a subject, even a dummy one like it:

• It is possible to train a dog

Hebrew does not need that here. So instead of saying something like it is possible, Hebrew can simply say:

• אפשר = possible / it is possible

That makes the whole sentence feel general:

• אפשר לאלף כלב = One can train a dog / It’s possible to train a dog

Why is לאלף in the infinitive form?