# Oh, I didn't know you knew his family.



## flockhat

Hi guys,

How would you say

"Oh, I didn't know you knew his family!"

Perhaps: לא הייתי יודע שהכרת את משפחתו

Thanks again


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## Drink

I think you'd say לא ידעתי שאתה מכיר. The first verb is past tense, just like in English, but the second verb should be present tense. In English, the second verb can shift to past tense because of the first verb. This doesn't happen in Hebrew.


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## Ali Smith

Would it be more idiomatic to say ha-mishpakha shelo than mishpakhto?


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## amikama

"אה, לא ידעתי שאתה מכיר את משפחתו / את המשפחה שלו!"

לא הייתי יודע means "I wouldn't know /  have known", not "I didn't know".

אם לא היית אומר לי לא הייתי יודע שאתה מכיר את המשפחה שלו.
If you hadn't told me I wouldn't have known you knew his family.

עד שאמרת לי לא ידעתי שאתה מכיר את המשפחה שלו.
Until you told me I didn't know you knew his family.


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## zaw

Isn't the word משפחתו pronounced mishpakhato rather than mishpakhto? Remember that a guttural letter can never get a vocal or silent שוא. Instead, it gets a compound shwa.


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## Drink

zaw said:


> Isn't the word משפחתו pronounced mishpakhato rather than mishpakhto?


No.



zaw said:


> Remember that a guttural letter can never get a vocal or silent שוא. Instead, it gets a compound shwa.


It can never get a vocal shva, but it _can_ get a silent shva. Silent shva becoming a compound shva is not entirely consistent and depends on the particular consonants involved and the particular grammatical constructs.


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## Abaye

zaw said:


> Isn't the word משפחתו pronounced mishpakhato rather than mishpakhto? Remember that a guttural letter can never get a vocal or silent שוא. Instead, it gets a compound shwa.


It's a biblical word, no need to guess.


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## zaw

Have you ever seen a guttural letter get a silent shwa?


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## Drink

It's extremely common. You can estimate that approximately half the time a guttural letter occurs in a position where it should have a silent shva, the shva is retained. I guarantee you have seen it yourself plenty of times. Pay more attention.


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