Lesson 38 - At the Clothing Store

Learn Hebrew Pod - Lesson No. 38

לעשות קניות

Israel has an incredibly varied array of shopping possibilities.  Some prefer et ha-shuk ha-Aravi in Jerusalem’s Old City.  Some look for bargains at Yafo’s shuk ha-pishpeshim.  And some prefer big, modern shopping malls like Kanyon Ayalon in Ramat Gan.  (Check out the Hebrew word for mall--kanyon.  It’s actually a play on the Hebrew word kana--to buy--and the English word canyon.  Clever!)  

השוק בירושליים

But for a momentous occasion like Eran has tonight, he needs something truly special.  So maybe he should consider one of the exclusive boutiques on Kikar Ha-medina.

As we join Eran on his shopping excursion, we’ll get to learn some shopping- and clothing-related Hebrew words.  We’ll also take the next step on our preposition expedition.  And, of course, we’ll learn the reason why Eran must look yafe kmo nasich--as handsome as a prince--this evening.

Liat: hey Yonatan, ma shlomcha?

Jonathan: a-halan Liat, shlomi mezzu-yan, toda. mamash achla! Listen – tishme-i, it was so much fun – ha-ya kol-kach kef, last Wednesday - be-yom revi-i she-avar, at Eran's new apartment – ba-dira ha-chadasha shel Eran.

Liat: nachon? ha-ya mamash kef. The location of the apartment, in front of the sea is great. Just sitting there, le-habit ba-shki-a - watching the sunset… drinking the fine wine you brought… ha-ya kef.

Jonathan: ken! But it was not just the location and the wine that made the evening so much fun - kol kach kef… I must say, it was also the fine company:)  I was very happy to meet Ido, ha-chaver shelach - your boyfriend, and Ronit, ha-chavera shel Eran - Eran's girlfriend.

Liat: Ido was very happy to meet you too, Jonathan! And he sends his regards - hu shole-ach dash.  And speaking of Ronit, ha-chavera shel Eran - Eran's girlfriend... do you know why Eran is a little late today?

Jonathan: lo… but I understand you spoke with him and he's supposed to arrive any minute now - bechol rega, nachon?

Liat: Yes. Eran will be here soon, he had to go and buy a shirt for…

Jonathan: Buy a shirt… hmm… Eran is late because he went to buy a shirt?

Liat: ken Yonatan, aval ata cha-yav le-havin - you have to understand, Eran had to buy a new shirt ha-yom- today ... because machar- tomorrow,  he's invited to a dinner, hu muzman le-aruchat erev, where he will meet  for the first time – ba-pa-am ha-rishona et ha-horim shel Ronit…

Jonathan: Ronit's parents… hmm… that's quite an important occasion, and yes definitely, he should arrive to that event as handsome as a prince - yafe kmo nashich:)  It's very important to make a good impression on your girlfriend's parents.

Liat: And as Eran is handsome as a prince, he should dress accordingly… to make the best impression… oh, here he comes.

…

In our last lesson we explored more deeply the word class of prepositions. Prepositions are words that define the relationship between two elements in the simple sentence (a sentence that includes one verb).  

Prepositions connect and set the relationship between different nouns or between verbs and nouns. (The connection between verbs to nouns is actually the connection between the verbal predicate of the sentence and its complementary element, the direct or indirect object).

While in English, these prepositions do not apply to inflections, meaning they appear as they are and are not subject to declensions, in Hebrew, most prepositions are declined according to the pronoun they relate to.

Let's demonstrate that:

Please remember: a pronoun is a word which substitutes for a noun in the sentence, so in the sentence:

The teacher talked to the student

We can say, by using a pronoun:

The teacher talked to her.

We keep the preposition 'to' but replace the specific noun 'the student' with 'her'.

And in Hebrew:

The preposition 'to' is 'el'.

When translating the combination of 'to her' into Hebrew, we combine the preposition 'to' with the objective pronoun 'her' and we say: 'e-le-ha'.

We form the structure for this combination like this:

We keep the preposition 'el' while adding an 'e' sound under the letter 'L' or 'lamed', so it becomes 'e-le'. To that we add the suffix 'ha', which for this preposition, denotes the personal pronoun for 'her'.

We end up with the word:

e-le-ha.

Let's listen to the whole sentence in Hebrew and in English:

The teacher talked to the student -

ha-more diber el ha-studentit.

And when using a pronoun:

The teacher talked to her -

ha-more diber e-le-ha.