# הוא/היא as "is"



## Yoshkual

Sometimes--although not very frequently--I see the words הוא and היא (as well as הם והן) used as the verbs 'is' and 'are'.
It's my understanding that Hebrew very rarely uses "is" and "are" when describing things and simply drops them. However, I occasionally see the Hebrew "he" and "she" used in this very way:
חצוצרה *היא* כלי נגינה ממשפחת כלי הנשיפה ממתכת
The trumpet *is* a musical instrument in the brass family.

?"is/are" מישהו יכול להגיד לי מתי להשתמש הוא/היא כמו 

תודה


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## tFighterPilot

When the "is\are" is used as the verb and the subject isn't "הוא\היא"


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## ks20495

The pronouns are inserted in nominal sentences (i.e., a sentence where there is no verb like הילד גדול) to separate two nouns.

For example, in the sentence "חצוצרה היא כלי נגינה ממשפחת כלי הנשיפה ממתכת", it sounds incomplete to say "...חצוצרה כלי נגינה". Therefore, we add in the היא.

I'd say the pronouns are most often inserted when the nouns in question are of the same definiteness (either both indefinite or both definite).


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## Yoshkual

This was extremely helpful for me. I haven't logged in for a while, but I still cling to this rule.


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## arielipi

לא מדויק קיי...
חצוצרה *- *כלי נגינה ממשפחת כלי הנשיפה ממתכת
now it sounds complete


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## arbelyoni

Copulas (such as the verb "to be" in English) are called אוגד in Hebrew. They appear, as ks20495 said, in nominal sentences only.
There are several types of אוגדים, one of which is the 3rd person pronouns: הוא, היא, הם, הן. These אוגדים emphasize the predicate, but they are not necessary.


> I'd say the pronouns are most often inserted when the nouns in question are of the same definiteness (either both indefinite or both definite).



I'm not so sure about that. I've found several examples (thanks to this blog), most of them do not follow your rule:
הגביע הוא שלנו
המלך הוא עירום
הימין הוא מסריח
האם חוק החזיר הוא דמוקרטי?
הסיפור שלי הוא קצת מוזר
הכיוון החדש הוא טוב ורצוי
מתי סקס זמין הוא בעייתי
רמת ההכשרה שניתנת פה היא מצוינת
השפה האמהרית היא נחמדה מאוד ולא קשה ללמידה
השמלה שאת לובשת היא יפה מאוד

Note that you can omit the copula in each of these sentences and they still sound good (sometimes even better).​


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## scriptum

arbelyoni said:


> Copulas (such as the verb "to be" in English) are called אוגד in Hebrew. They appear, as ks20495 said, in nominal sentences only.
> There are several types of אוגדים, one of which is the 3rd person pronouns: הוא, היא, הם, הן. These אוגדים emphasize the predicate, but they are not necessary.
> 
> I'm not so sure about that. I've found several examples (thanks to this blog), most of them do not follow your rule:
> הגביע הוא שלנו
> המלך הוא עירום
> הימין הוא מסריח
> האם חוק החזיר הוא דמוקרטי?
> הסיפור שלי הוא קצת מוזר
> הכיוון החדש הוא טוב ורצוי
> מתי סקס זמין הוא בעייתי
> רמת ההכשרה שניתנת פה היא מצוינת
> השפה האמהרית היא נחמדה מאוד ולא קשה ללמידה
> השמלה שאת לובשת היא יפה מאוד
> 
> Note that you can omit the copula in each of these sentences and they still sound good (sometimes even better).​



Copula omission seems to change the sense of the sentence in the following cases.
הגביע הוא שלנו the cup is ours
הגביע שלנו the cup is ours, or: our cup
המלך עירום the king is naked (physically)
המלך הוא עירום the king is naked (metaphorically)
הימין מסריח the Right is stinking (here and now, in the given case)
הימין הוא מסריח the Right stinks (always)
כאשר הסקס זמין הוא בעייתי (omission impossible)
רמת ההכשרה etc. (omission, hmm, objectionable)

The other sentences are correct and have the same meaning with or without the copula.


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## arielipi

youd be correct, but in hebrew stress and emphasism of the word makes a big difference.

shelanu - thats a hard one,because the difference between cup is ours and our cup is just by the tone,and the 'speed' of words[how much space there is between them].
id say that our cup is more high tone and fast pace, while the cup is ours is low-tone and slower pace.

same goes with all ogdim...


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## arbelyoni

> כאשר הסקס זמין הוא בעייתי (omission impossible)


The original phrase is מתי סקס זמין הוא בעייתי. Omission is possible indeed: מתי סקס זמין בעייתי.
כאשר הסקס זמין הוא בעייתי is a משפט מורכב where הוא is a second subject, not a copula, therefore cannot be omitted.


> רמת ההכשרה etc. (omission, hmm, objectionable)


רמת ההכשרה שניתנת פה מצויינת sounds right to me.

Copula omission, by definition, does not change the meaning of a phrase. It does change subtle nuances, because one of the two forms is more colloquial:


> המלך עירום the king is naked (physically)
> המלך הוא עירום the king is naked (metaphorically)


The only reason why Hebrew speakers perceive the above phrases this way (literally and metaphorically) is because the latter is a fixed _colloquial _phrase and the former is not.


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## scriptum

מתי סקס זמין הוא בעייתי
Sorry, this phrase is simply incorrect, with or without copula...
מתי is only possible in a question.


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## arielipi

thats a phrase taken from a movie if im not wrong, and it is not correct, instead of matay should be kaasher


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## arbelyoni

> מתי is only possible in a question.


You're right, there should be a question mark. It is clear from the context that it's a question.


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