Hebrew Definite Article In Hebrew In Possessives For Example, How To Say \'\'my X\'\' In Hebrew

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raychik Friday 25th of August 2006 03:13:25 PM
definite article in Hebrew in possessives - Hi everyone,

I was gone from this service for awhile as a result of studies, and then I forgot the name of the website! It was only by chance I stumbled on it once again. But special thanks to Eli to for the help in the past.

I have the following problem: I can\'t figure out when the definite article \'ha\' or \'ה\' used, and when it isn\'t. For example:

my house = (בית שלי (או הבית שלי
their daughter = (בת שלהם (או הבת שלהם
my cousin = (?בן הדוד שלי (לא בן דוד שלי? או הבן הדוד שלי
Eli\'s friend = (?חבר של אלי (או החבר של אלי

I understand the difference between בית and הבית by themselves, or חבר and החבר, but with other phrases, like the ones I mentioned above, I noticed that sometimes one or the other is used. Is this idiomatic, or is there some kind of logic to this?

Thanks in advance for any help.

שלום!
ריי

Eli Thursday 31st of August 2006 12:26:24 AM
- Hi Ray!
Good to see you back!
How are you?

Regarding your question, I can tell you that the correct way to use \"ה\" is when you use \"a\" or \"an\" in English.
For you it should be very simple!

Best,
Eli

raychik Thursday 31st of August 2006 08:07:30 AM
-
שלום אלי,
הכל בסדר, תודה! אני עוד בקורסי קיץ באוניברסיטה אבל אני חפשי ביום חמישי. ומה שלוםך? אתה בהולנד? טוב מאוד. אני בבית המזהם שלי בריברסיד ואני רוצה לחזור לביתה

[i]Hello Eli,
All is well, thanks! I am still in summer school at the university but I will be free on Friday. And how are you? You are in Holland? Very nice! I am at my filthy house in Riverside, and I want to come home.[/i]

I love that font! Anyway, with regard to the grammar topic, I think I did not phrase my question properly. This question is, of course, addressed to anyone who would like to help. I realized that my problem with ה is in possessive constructs. I have no problem differentiating between בית and הבית, for example, since this is equivalent to \"a house\" and \"the house\", respectively.

But when Hebrew expresses possession, like \"my house\", or \"my father\", or \"Eli\'s car\", I become confused, because we don\'t use the same construction as Hebrew. It seems Hebrew says, literally, \"a house of mine\" (בית שלי ) [b]or[/b] \"the house of mine\" (הבית שלי ). English wouldn\'t say \"the X of mine\" for anything, and so it becomes confusing for me to decide when I put the article or not. I believe someone corrected me once when I said \"האבא שלי\" for \"my father\". How would you explain to someone how to use possessives correctly in Hebrew?

Thanks for the help!

-Ray

Phrasebase Archive
	raychik	Friday 25th of August 2006 03:13:25 PM
	definite article in Hebrew in possessives - Hi everyone, I was gone from this service for awhile as a result of studies, and then I forgot the name of the website! It was only by chance I stumbled on it once again. But special thanks to Eli to for the help in the past. I have the following problem: I can\'t figure out when the definite article \'ha\' or \'ה\' used, and when it isn\'t. For example: my house = (בית שלי (או הבית שלי their daughter = (בת שלהם (או הבת שלהם my cousin = (?בן הדוד שלי (לא בן דוד שלי? או הבן הדוד שלי Eli\'s friend = (?חבר של אלי (או החבר של אלי I understand the difference between בית and הבית by themselves, or חבר and החבר, but with other phrases, like the ones I mentioned above, I noticed that sometimes one or the other is used. Is this idiomatic, or is there some kind of logic to this? Thanks in advance for any help. שלום! ריי
	Eli	Thursday 31st of August 2006 12:26:24 AM
	- Hi Ray! Good to see you back! How are you? Regarding your question, I can tell you that the correct way to use \"ה\" is when you use \"a\" or \"an\" in English. For you it should be very simple! Best, Eli
	raychik	Thursday 31st of August 2006 08:07:30 AM
	- שלום אלי, הכל בסדר, תודה! אני עוד בקורסי קיץ באוניברסיטה אבל אני חפשי ביום חמישי. ומה שלוםך? אתה בהולנד? טוב מאוד. אני בבית המזהם שלי בריברסיד ואני רוצה לחזור לביתה [i]Hello Eli, All is well, thanks! I am still in summer school at the university but I will be free on Friday. And how are you? You are in Holland? Very nice! I am at my filthy house in Riverside, and I want to come home.[/i] I love that font! Anyway, with regard to the grammar topic, I think I did not phrase my question properly. This question is, of course, addressed to anyone who would like to help. I realized that my problem with ה is in possessive constructs. I have no problem differentiating between בית and הבית, for example, since this is equivalent to \"a house\" and \"the house\", respectively. But when Hebrew expresses possession, like \"my house\", or \"my father\", or \"Eli\'s car\", I become confused, because we don\'t use the same construction as Hebrew. It seems Hebrew says, literally, \"a house of mine\" (בית שלי ) [b]or[/b] \"the house of mine\" (הבית שלי ). English wouldn\'t say \"the X of mine\" for anything, and so it becomes confusing for me to decide when I put the article or not. I believe someone corrected me once when I said \"האבא שלי\" for \"my father\". How would you explain to someone how to use possessives correctly in Hebrew? Thanks for the help! -Ray