the = ה

in a, at a , with a = בְ             in the, at the, with the = בַ

to a = לְ                                     to the = לַ

These prefixes are always attached to the Hebrew word. They can never stand alone. The prefix ב when it is the first letter attached to a word is pronounced בּ /b/.
REMEMBER: In Hebrew the wordsand and the consist of single letters that are always attached as prefixes to the word that follows.

If you had a sentence that in English contains the wordsand the, there would then be two (2) prefixes attached to the word
והבּוקֶר - and the morning..

You must always write:    דוד וְרינה            

Never write דוד ו רינה (with a space after the vav)   

 Write     העיפּרון        NOT       ה עיפּרון

Don't put in a space after the ה

 

Find and circle the prefixes in the phrases below:

100.00 %

דוִד וְגילה	רינה וְדפְנה
התלְמיד וְהתלְמידה		העיפּרון וְהמחְבֶּרֶת
אני כּותֵב בְּעיפּרון			אני סטוּדֶנט בּאוּניבֶרסיטה

 

The prefix בּ has numerous meanings. Some of the frequent English equivalents are: "in a", "with a" "in the", "at", "at the", or "with the"   

 

Examples:       At the station                  בַתחנה

                       At two o'clock                 בְשתיים

                     with a pencil                      בְעיפּרון

 

Circle the letter(s) in these words that are prefixes. (Watch for "and the")

איפה  הבּיִת של  יוסף?

בוקר  טוב  בְּישראל.

הנה  הסטודנט  והסטודנטית

המפּה  הגדולה

43

 

For many people, knowing another language means being able to speak it — to express their feelings and needs. Since there is an obvious physical activity involved in speaking, people tend to think of speaking as an "active" skill and to consider the act of listening to someone else as a "passive" activity. But listening is not passive.

Listening is a highly active process that takes considerable concentration and effort. The ability to understand a spoken foreign language is a complex skill that is acquired in stages and through a great deal of practice. Just as you should not expect to be an instant golfer or tennis player, you can expect to achieve total comprehension of spoken Hebrew only after going through a number of stages. Yet at each stage on your way to becoming a "pro", you will experience satisfaction and enjoyment, even as you recognize that you still have more to learn. And, like many skills, there are some "tricks" and techniques that can improve your comprehension of spoken Hebrew. Here are a few examples:

Relax. Don't feel that you have to understand every single word in a sentence in order to figure out what's being said. Usually you will be able to piece together quite a bit of information by using the words you recognize, and by intelligent guessing.

Intelligent guessing is most effective when it is based on a general idea of what the subject is about. Knowing the context and using it to develop a hunch about the meaning of unfamiliar parts of the conversation is a good way to get clues about the meaning.

Watch the speaker's mouth. It will help you to hear more.

Watch the facial expressions and gestures. They contain clues to the mood and purpose of the message. They can signal a question, or an emphatic declaration of affirmation or denial.

Apply the Logic of Circumstantial Evidence... Use Hunches

What's being said? You overhear a telephone conversation. Although you can't understand all of it, you do catch a few words: For example:

window..... vegetarian..... ‘Avis’ is fine.

לתֵל-אביב .... מחר (("tomorrow"

NOTE: Although there may have been more than one hundred words in the telephone conversation, just a few words enable you to capture the gist of the transaction!

44

Or, in a question:

(The feminine and plural forms of the names of colors will be given in ¶4.15 .)

בְבקשה לִקְרוא

Using the sentences in ¶1.34.4 above, choose a caption for each of the four photos below.

47