# יש/אין + verb



## hadronic

Hello,

What the exact meaning of the contruction יש/אין + verb ?

It seems to me that (1) יש + verb can mean :
1a. possibility : one can do, יש לקרוא לרופא
1b. obligation : one must do, יש לומר

And that (2) אין + verb can mean :
2a. inability : one can't do, לעולם אין לדעת
2b. interdiction : one mustn't do, אין לעשן
2c. absence of obligation : one doesn't have to do (?)


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## scriptum

hadronic said:


> Hello,
> 
> What the exact meaning of the contruction יש/אין + verb ?
> 
> It seems to me that (1) יש + verb can mean :
> 1a. possibility : one can do, יש לקרוא לרופא
> 1b. obligation : one must do, יש לומר
> 
> And that (2) אין + verb can mean :
> 2a. inability : one can't do, לעולם אין לדעת
> 2b. interdiction : one mustn't do, אין לעשן
> 2c. absence of obligation : one doesn't have to do (?)


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## hadronic

sorry, I interverted the 2 examples for the יש case.
It should read :
1a. possibility : one can do, יש לומר
1b. obligation : one must do, יש לקרוא לרופא

FYI, the two examples are taken from real life, so they are likely to be most accepted.

So, how do you distinguish between obligation and possibility for one, and inability and interdiction for the other ?


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## amikama

I agree with scriptum. 

יש לומר doesn't express possibility ("one can say") but obligation ("one has to/should say").

אין לעשן doesn't express absence of obligation. It means "one should not smoke" (or "one must not smoke"), but not "one doesn't have to smoke".


(The verbs לומר, לעשן are only examples here. The above is true for all verbs, I think.)


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## hadronic

So, ok for אין , it cannot express absence of obligation (note that I didn't remention it after scriptum's post), but still, it can express both interdiction and inability ?

For יש : my dictionary translates יש לומר by "one can say". What should I think ?


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## amikama

hadronic said:


> So, ok for אין , it cannot express absence of obligation (note that I didn't remention it after scriptum's post), but still, it can express both interdiction and inability ?


No, אין+שם פועל doesn't express inability, only interdiction.
אין לכתוב = "one should not write", not "one can't write".



> For יש : my dictionary translates יש לומר by "one can say". What should I think ?


In this specific case, יש לומר is an idiom meaning "it should be noted that...".

In non-idiomatic cases, יש+שם פועל expresses obligation, not ability.
יש לכתוב = "one should/has to write", not "one can write".


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## hadronic

amikama said:


> No, אין+שם פועל doesn't express inability, only interdiction.


 
So what do you think of my example : לעולם אין לדעת ?


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## scriptum

hadronic said:


> So what do you think of my example : לעולם אין לדעת ?


Good evening.
Amikama, I think Hadronic has made his point. לעולם אין לדעת means inability, not interdiction. On the other hand, this strange expression (which sounds like a literal translation from English or from French) seems to be the only one of its kind. I cannot think of another example. Oh, I beg your pardon: here is another one (but the meaning is the same):
לעולם אין להיות בטוח


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## kishmish

I agree with Scriptum. לעולם אין לדעת is an exception and is not the regular use of אין +פועל.
as for לעולם אין להיות בטוח, the common way to say it is:
אף פעם אי אפשר להיות בטוח
או
אף פעם אתה לא יכול להיות בטוח


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## Ali Smith

So, does יש להקיש כדי לנסות שוב mean "You/one must knock in order to try again."? It was on my cell phone screen.


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## shalom00

There should have been something between להקיש and כדי.

It means that in order to try again, you have to press some button or on some symbol.


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