Chapter Two - Part One

2.1 דוּ-שיח DIALOGUE TWO

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The English words in italics represent David's inner thoughts as he sruggles to converse in Hebrew.

Hint: Knowing the context often helps you guess the meaning of unfamiliar words.   

רינה:	שלום דוִד! מה חדש?
דוִד:	Oh boy! Here comes that "Rina" character. Well, I guess I'll tell her I learned to read Hebrew. .שלום רינה, למדְתי לִקְרוא עִבְרית
רינה:	בֶּאֱמֶת? כְבר למדְת *אֶת האלֶף-בֵּית?
דוִד	כֵן. אני יודֵעַ לִקְרוא וְלִכְתוב.
רינה:	אתה כתבְת משֶהוּ?
דוִד:	Boy, she talks fast!
דוִד:	אֶה רינה, יותֵר לְאט בְּבקשה.
רינה:	או, סְליחה דוִד. שכחְתי לְרֶגע. אתה כתבְת משֶהוּ ?
דוִד:	.Mmm--I'll tell her I wrote my folks כתבְתי מיכְתב לְאבּא וְאִמא.
רינה:	אֵיפׂה ההורים שֶלְךָ ?
דוִד:	I'm pretty sure 'אֵיפׂה' means 'where'. Well here goes nothing . . . .הֵם באמֶריקה, בְּפילדֶלְפיה
רינה:	פילדֶלְפיה? יֵש לי דוד וְדודה בְּפילדֶלְפיה. אוּלַי אתה מכּיר אֶת הדוד שֶלי. הוּא אדם חשוּב, הוּא פרופֶסור
דוִד:	Hold it Rina, wait a sec, Not so fast!!רֶגע! רֶגע

* Although אֶת is not a "word" in our sense of the term, it has important significance in the Hebrew sentence. It indicates whether a noun is serving as a direct object in a sentence. For more information look at ¶2.26.2. For a more complete discussion see ¶3.24.

 

 

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2.1.1 אוצר מילים -   LISTENING FOR KEY WORDS IN THE DIALOG 

   Use with Software Chapter 2:3 "Listening Comprehension"  

As you progress in your reading skills, remember that the letters ב  כ  פ  are always pronounces as if they have a dot in them  /b/ ּבּ   /k/ כּ     /p/  פּּ even if the dot is not included. The only exception is in foreign words.

Listen to the audio for this exercise and place a check mark next to each word on the exercise page for this section when you hear it.       

כְּבר                                              already

בֶּאֱמֶת                                             really

למדְתי                              I learned

כּתבְת                              you wrote

משֶהוּ                              something

מיכְתב                                 a letter

הורים                                          parents

אוּלַי                        perhaps, maybe

1. What did דוד announce to רינה?

2. He claims to have used his new skill. What did he say?

3. She doesn't say "your mom and dad". What does she say instead?

4. What word does she use to express surprise?

2.1.2 שְמות עֶצֶם    - Nouns that refer to people

Many of the nouns we will learn have both masculine and feminine forms. For example, teacher is both (m)מורֶה and (f) מורה. Nouns that end in a consonant in the masculine form often add the ending /iht/ or /ah/ for the feminine form.

librarian  =  ספְרן, ספְרנית            ambassador  =  שגְריר, שגְרירה

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As you do this exercise look at the ending of the words in column one. Decide the gender of the person in each occupation. Now choose and circle a masculine or feminine name for each occupation. You should be able to guess the gender for most of the occupations and names.

Feminine Names                         Masculine                   Names Ocupations  

1.  פְּרוֹפֶסוֹרית *                א. עמוס                       ב. רינה

2.  בִיולוג                            א. יואֵל                        ב. דְבורה

3.  פְסיכולוג                      א. דוד                           ב. תמר

4.  אגְרונומית                    א. צְבי                          ב. צִבְיה

5.  פסיכולוגית                   א. מֹשֶה                       ב. מִרְיַם

6.  סוציולוג                       א. אורי                        ב. חנה

7.  ארְכֵיאולוג                    א. דניאל                      ב. רוּת

8.  פסיכיאטֶרית                א. מיכאֵל                    ב. לֵאה

9.  רבּ (rabbi)                        א. שלֹמֹה                     ב. שושנה

*Some Hebrew speakers regard פרופסורית as an error and use פרופסור for both men and women.

2.2 שְאֵלות בעברית -  ASKING QUESTIONS IN HEBREW 

Hebrew can indicate that a sentence is a question in two different ways:

1) With rising voice intonation at the end of the sentence.

אתה כּתבְת משֶהוּ ?

2) By beginning the question with the question-mark word. האִם

2.2.1  -  האִם

למדְת אֶת האלֶף־בֵית?

Did you learn the Alphabet?

האִם למדְת אֶת האלֶף־בֵית?

Did you learn the Alphabet?

2.2.2 שְאֵלות -  Posing Questions

Here is one side of a conversation between חיים and אורה. She is certain that he's not an Israeli and is curious about him. Using האִם, write on the blank line the questions  אורה  must have asked to produce the responses  חיים gave.

אורה: ?   _______________________________________________

אורה: ?    _______________________________________________

אורה: ?   _______________________________________________

אורה: ?    _______________________________________________

Listen to the audio to  check your answers.

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2.2.3 הבנת הנִשְמע -  Dialog Comprehension Check  

   Use with Software Chapter 2:4 "Complete the Sentence"

On the printed exercise sheet circle your answer - כֵּן or לֹא , basing your answers on the dialog in ¶2.1.

האם דוד כְּבר יודֵעַ אֶת האלֶף־בֵית? 

כֵּן      לא

ההורים שֶל דוִד בּיְרוּשליִם?

כֵּן      לא

הדוד שֶל רינה גר בְפילדֶלְפיה? 

כֵּן      לא

2.2.4  למלֵא אֶת החסֵר

Complete the missing part of the sentence. Your answer should be based on the dialogue in ¶ 2.1. Fill in the answers on your exercise sheet before listening to the audio.

דוִד כְּבר למד אֶת ה_________________ .

דוִד לא מכּיר אֶת ה_______________ שֶל רינה.

2.3 לֹא   - 'NO' OR 'NOT' IN HEBREW

אני לֹא יודֵעַ                                                       I do not know

היא לֹא גְבוהָה                                           She's not tall

לֹא, אני לֹא סְטוּדֶנטית                       No, I'm not a student

לֹא למדְתי לִקְרוא            I didn't (did not) learn how to read

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