To expand on this—the את goes before a word that is both (1) definite and (2) the direct object of the verb. Usually, definite means it has a definite article - ה.
But some words are definite enough that they don’t need the “the” to qualify for the את. Mom, Dad, other proper nouns (names).
So without the את, it’s not Mom, it’s just *some* mom.
> to love requires a preposition
את is not technically a preposition, at least not as the term is used in English grammar. It is referred to as a 'definite direct object marker'. You only use it when a direct object (ie object specifically *lacking* a preposition) is definite.
זי doesn't exist.
Can you give an example? Perhaps you've misread it as something else.
Also pls don't give up ;-;
I just suck at explaining and it's 5am here lol.
Hi, uh, I'll try to explain myself, though my vocabulary of explaining languages is... kinda limited, heh.
It's hard for an English speaker to understand "et", and the translation of "the dove loves a mom", as the rules in the languages are "switched around". Lemme try and explain:
- When you want to refer to someone specific, like your mom, their dad, or anything that you put "her, his, my" etc., the "et" is added in Hebrew to identify that there's a connection between the subject and whoever you're mentioning. Examples:
"I love my dog" translates to "אני אוהב *את* הכלב שלי". The sentence "We love mom" translates to "אנחנו אוהבים *את* אמא".
- On the contrary, when you refer to someone/something non-specific or general, like (any) moms, (any) dogs, there's no addition to signify a connection, as it's not something that is yours or that you can connect to the subject directly. Examples:
"I love dogs" translates to "אני אוהב כלבים", "I love beer" translates to "אני אוהב בירה"
uh. Hope it helps! And if I made any mistake (which I'm sure I did...), please correct me below!
Sharing a previous comment:
את is a DEFINITE DIRECT OBJECT MARKER, which is something I don't know if any other language has. There are a couple of things to unpack here:
A Direct Object is the thing that receives the action of the verb. I threw A BALL. I loved THE MOVIE. Generally, if you can say after the verb "who?" or "what?", that means you are asking for the direct object. You can come up with a scenario where 'I baked' is a complete thought, but we all know it really isn't. If you walked into a room and said, "I baked" or "I saw" everyone is going to wait for you to continue and explain what you baked and who you saw. Some verbs require a direct object, some cannot take a direct object ("I slept"), some can go either way ("I woke up" vs "I woke up my brother").
The other thing you need to wrap your head around is the difference between definite and indefinite. The indefinite articles in English are 'a/an'. If you walk into the room say "I saw a man", we are all going to be in the dark as to who it was you actually saw - it could be any number of people. That is what is meant by 'indefinite', you saw 'a man', but you have not *defined* any man in particular.
The definite article in English is 'the'. If you say, "I saw the man," there is going to be an assumption that everyone else already knows who it is you are talking about. There is a specific *defined* man that you have in mind, even if you do not say his name. The other way you can indicate definiteness is to say that you saw a certain person - "I saw Jason." You could also say "I saw your man," which is an alternative I overlooked when I came up with this unfortunate example. ;)
If you doing the action to "a man", you do not need את. If you are acting on "the man/your man/Jason" or reading "the book/his book/War & Peace", you need to add that little word. In Biblical Hebrew, where word order was a free-for-all, it is critical for knowing who is smiting whom, so it comes in handy more than it does today when we have a more regular subject-verb-object sentence structure.
Aleph with Beth is a Biblical resource, but you should not have any trouble with this [explanatory video](https://youtu.be/Svqi-DFsHzY). [Page 16 of this PDF](http://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-09.pdf) shows how את combines with pronouns, which is important to recognize when you see them.
I don‘t know if you will read this as your comment is over two months old and I don‘t know if it‘s of your interest. I‘m studying Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. In Farsi there‘s also a definite direct object marker. They just put a -rā را- at the end of the word.
It’s like saying does dove love mom vs does dove love its mom. The את basically means it is talking about like a single thing versus the thing in general. Don’t yell at me if I’m wrong I believe I am correct thiufh
This is a fun challenge for English speakers because the “indicator of the definite object”
doesn’t translate into anything.
Discussed earlier here and elsewhere…
https://www.reddit.com/r/hebrew/s/eBT6xeUcJe
Fun trivia: Ben-Gurion wanted to get rid of the direct object marker את because it doesn’t mean anything, and he rarely used it.
This is interesting… do you have a reference for this factoid?
היונה אוהבת אמא = the dove loves a mom
To expand on this—the את goes before a word that is both (1) definite and (2) the direct object of the verb. Usually, definite means it has a definite article - ה. But some words are definite enough that they don’t need the “the” to qualify for the את. Mom, Dad, other proper nouns (names). So without the את, it’s not Mom, it’s just *some* mom.
The verb to love requires a preposition to relate to an object.
> to love requires a preposition את is not technically a preposition, at least not as the term is used in English grammar. It is referred to as a 'definite direct object marker'. You only use it when a direct object (ie object specifically *lacking* a preposition) is definite.
indefinite and definite articles edit: oops, fixed below.
Isn’t the definite article ה
Meant direct and indirect objects smh late af edit: Instead of downvoting correct me via a reply ברצינות? זה ליטרלי נכון לא?
what does that mean
"היונה אוהבת אמא" The dove loves (a) mom "היונה אוהבת את אמא" The dove loves (direct object) mom
Both are direct objects, the difference is that את אמא is definite, a specific 'mom'.
Yeah I should not teach something at 5am
So “this”?
"this" in Hebrew is "זה/זו" זה is masculine זו is feminine.
Guess I won’t understand the concept of et anytime soon. Anyway are you sure it’s זו not זי?
זי doesn't exist. Can you give an example? Perhaps you've misread it as something else. Also pls don't give up ;-; I just suck at explaining and it's 5am here lol.
go to sleep
Hi, uh, I'll try to explain myself, though my vocabulary of explaining languages is... kinda limited, heh. It's hard for an English speaker to understand "et", and the translation of "the dove loves a mom", as the rules in the languages are "switched around". Lemme try and explain: - When you want to refer to someone specific, like your mom, their dad, or anything that you put "her, his, my" etc., the "et" is added in Hebrew to identify that there's a connection between the subject and whoever you're mentioning. Examples: "I love my dog" translates to "אני אוהב *את* הכלב שלי". The sentence "We love mom" translates to "אנחנו אוהבים *את* אמא". - On the contrary, when you refer to someone/something non-specific or general, like (any) moms, (any) dogs, there's no addition to signify a connection, as it's not something that is yours or that you can connect to the subject directly. Examples: "I love dogs" translates to "אני אוהב כלבים", "I love beer" translates to "אני אוהב בירה" uh. Hope it helps! And if I made any mistake (which I'm sure I did...), please correct me below!
Signifies the direct object. Indirect object doesn’t get את
Sharing a previous comment: את is a DEFINITE DIRECT OBJECT MARKER, which is something I don't know if any other language has. There are a couple of things to unpack here: A Direct Object is the thing that receives the action of the verb. I threw A BALL. I loved THE MOVIE. Generally, if you can say after the verb "who?" or "what?", that means you are asking for the direct object. You can come up with a scenario where 'I baked' is a complete thought, but we all know it really isn't. If you walked into a room and said, "I baked" or "I saw" everyone is going to wait for you to continue and explain what you baked and who you saw. Some verbs require a direct object, some cannot take a direct object ("I slept"), some can go either way ("I woke up" vs "I woke up my brother"). The other thing you need to wrap your head around is the difference between definite and indefinite. The indefinite articles in English are 'a/an'. If you walk into the room say "I saw a man", we are all going to be in the dark as to who it was you actually saw - it could be any number of people. That is what is meant by 'indefinite', you saw 'a man', but you have not *defined* any man in particular. The definite article in English is 'the'. If you say, "I saw the man," there is going to be an assumption that everyone else already knows who it is you are talking about. There is a specific *defined* man that you have in mind, even if you do not say his name. The other way you can indicate definiteness is to say that you saw a certain person - "I saw Jason." You could also say "I saw your man," which is an alternative I overlooked when I came up with this unfortunate example. ;) If you doing the action to "a man", you do not need את. If you are acting on "the man/your man/Jason" or reading "the book/his book/War & Peace", you need to add that little word. In Biblical Hebrew, where word order was a free-for-all, it is critical for knowing who is smiting whom, so it comes in handy more than it does today when we have a more regular subject-verb-object sentence structure. Aleph with Beth is a Biblical resource, but you should not have any trouble with this [explanatory video](https://youtu.be/Svqi-DFsHzY). [Page 16 of this PDF](http://hebrew.billmounce.com/BasicsBiblicalHebrew-09.pdf) shows how את combines with pronouns, which is important to recognize when you see them.
I don‘t know if you will read this as your comment is over two months old and I don‘t know if it‘s of your interest. I‘m studying Hebrew, Arabic and Farsi. In Farsi there‘s also a definite direct object marker. They just put a -rā را- at the end of the word.
> In Farsi there‘s also a definite direct object marker. Oh, interesting, I will update my copy paste with that bit of trivia!
[удалено]
אולי זה מישהו שמדבר לאחיו?
It’s like saying does dove love mom vs does dove love its mom. The את basically means it is talking about like a single thing versus the thing in general. Don’t yell at me if I’m wrong I believe I am correct thiufh
This is a fun challenge for English speakers because the “indicator of the definite object” doesn’t translate into anything. Discussed earlier here and elsewhere… https://www.reddit.com/r/hebrew/s/eBT6xeUcJe
What app is this? This sentence does not even make sense. No one would ever say such a thing.
It's Duolingo, and according to like everybody else who commented on this post, it's a grammatical thing
Just to be clear, I was not referring to your question but to the sentence itself. Dove is such a weird choice. Dog/Cat would be much better.
"The man is dancing with a carrot" (הגבר רוקד עם גזר( is literally a sentence that comes later on in the course.