Heblish – Hebrew Lessons

Refresher

Free Hebrew lessons – August 2010 – Training – Day 35:

Hi,

It’s still hot outside, and I hope that most of you are sitting beside an air conditioner. (mazgan, in Hebrew).

In our previous lesson we learned that verbs in the present tense singular form remain the same, like:
I sit, you sit, he sits -
Ani yoshev,
ata yoshev,
hu yoshev or, in the feminine form:

I sit, you sit, she sits:  
Ani yoshevet,
at yoshevet,
hi yoshevet.

It’s almost the middle of August and some of you will be taking a short vacation… and I will, too.  Soooo, this lesson will be the last lesson for August, and it will be a refresher from our first lessons. I think it will be great to look backward and see how far we’ve come…

Today’s menu: some antique (old AND valuable) words…

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

First, let’s watch the video for the “e” sound: The sound of the vowel E (13 seconds).
Wherever I use an “e,” this is the sound I want you to remember.

And now we’ll do the same for the “i” sound: The sound of the vowel I (18 seconds).

You can find a more detailed explanation for the above sounds in lesson 4.

Now, let’s see if you remember the following words from our first lessons:

Test yourself  (the answers are below):

1. Boker tov

2. Shalom

3. Lehitraot

4. Laila tov

5. Toda

6. Beseder

7. Eifo

8. Bevakasha

9. Sherutim (I’m sure you forgot the meaning of this word…)

10. Telephone

Answers:

1. Good morning – Boker tov.

2. Hello / hi – Shalom / hi (slang).

3. See you – lehitraot.

4. Goodnight – laila tov.

5. Thanks – toda.

6. Alright / OK – beseder.

7. Where – eifo.

8. Please – bevakasha.

9. Toilet – sherutim.

10. Telephone – telephone.

Not bad at all…

Now, let’s see how to pronounce the “a” sound in Heblish?
Watch this video: The sound of the vowel A (16 seconds)

And the “o” sound: The sound of the vowel O (14 seconds)

Hey, what about the “u” sound?
Watch this short video on YouTube: The sound of the vowel U (20 seconds)

Vocabulary:
   Meat – basar
   Side dishes – tosafot
   Fish – dag

   French fries – chips
   Pasta – pasta
   Vegetable salad – salat (or salat yerakot)
  
   Egg – beitsa
   Juice – mits
   Bracelet – tsamid

Now listen to the most important sound: The “het” and “haf” sounds:
In this video you will hear the ^ (het/haf) pronounced with each of the vowels. ^, ^a, ^e, ^I, ^o, ^u (12 seconds on Youtube)

Toda raba (thanks a lot)…

Personally, I think our little “refresher” today has been refreshing!  It’s good to go back and read over things you have already learned. 

While I’m gone, I would like for you to think about things you want to learn on free-Hebrew.  For instance, would you like to learn some simple Israeli songs?  Would you like to learn how to negotiate a price (bargain/haggle), in Hebrew?  That could come in handy when you visit Israel. Let me know your thoughts – because this website is all about YOU! 

Although I will be gone for two weeks, you might want to check our website during my vacation. You just might find I’ve left a little surprise for you… So don’t forget to look for it, next Thursday…  

Lehitraot in lesson 36…

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509.

Preposition

Free Hebrew lessons – May 2010 – Training – Day 24:

Hi,

Today we’re going to learn something new, so make sure you pay attention because it’s something very important.

In our previous lesson we learned the first person words in Conny’s story, such as bikashti (I asked – I requested), shaalti (I asked (a question)) and a^alti (I ate).
We also mentioned the words amarti (I said), laka^ti (I took) and ratsiti (I wanted), which we already learned in Hebrew lesson 14.

One of the most useful prepositions in Hebrew is “et.” I used the word “et” in our previous lessons, but I didn’t explain it. There is no English translation for “et,” so you really have to sharpen your mind…

Today’s menu: Preposition “et“

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

“Et” is a preposition used before a direct object, but the rules are complicated. I prefer to teach you how to use “et” by simply showing you examples.   

Let’s use the first person words from our last lesson as examples:
   – I want a book – ani rotse sefer.
   – I want this book – ani rotse et ha’sefer ha’ze.
   – I wanted to buy the book – ratsiti liknot et ha’sefer.

On the above blackboard you can see that there is no matching word in English for the Hebrew word et.

More examples:
   – I asked my mom “what is the time?” – shaalti et ima sheli “ma ha’shaa?”

   – I need a telephone – ani tsari^ telephone (when speaking to a man, “need” is – tsari^).
   – I need the telephone – ani tsari^ et ha’telephone.
   – Question: What do you need?
       Answer:  The telephone – et ha’telephone…

   – I want to buy meat – ani rotse liknot basar.
   – I want to buy this meat – ani rotse liknot et ha’ basar ha’ze.
   – Question: Which piece of meat do you want to buy?
      Answer:   This one – et ze.   

   – I took a ring – laka^ti tabaat.
   – I took a ring and also a dress – laka^ti tabaat ve’gam simla.
   – I took my ring – laka^ti et ha’tabaat sheli.
   – I took my ring and also the dress – laka^ti et ha’tabaat sheli ve’gam et ha’simla.

   – Did you eat a steak? – a^alta stek? (“did you eat?” when speaking to a man is a^alta).
   – Yes, I ate a steak – ken a^alti stek.
   – You ate my steak! – a^alta et ha’stek sheli!
   – Question: Which steak did I eat?
      Answer:   My steak – et ha’stek sheli!
      Mmmm… it was good! – Mmmm… ze haya tov…  

One of my students lives in France.
Recently she sent me some sentences and asked me about that strange word “et.”
Reading her sentences shows us that she really caught the point on the usage of the word “et.”

Here are the sentences:
   – When do you want the coffee? – Matai at rotsa et ha’café?
   – I love the spring – ani ohevet et ha’aviv. (She loves – hi ohevet / Spring – Aviv)

I will try to use the word “et” in our lessons for awhile so you’ll catch onto the proper usage, too… 

Lehitraot in lesson 25…

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509. 

Numbers – Part II
Free Heblish Challenge – March 2010 – Training – Day 13:

Hi,

Day 13 – unlucky for some, but not for us!

In our previous lesson we went shopping and bought a few smalot (dresses), tabaot (rings), ugot (cakes) and other things we like.  We also learned how to use the Hebrew numbers one through twelve, except for the number two and some exceptions, which we are going to talk about today in our Hebrew lesson.

We will also do a short refresher by watching some videos from our past lessons. It’s going to be short and easy, but if you would like to work harder, go back and read lesson 11 and lesson 12 again.

Today’s menu: Number 2, some exceptions & a short refresher

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

In our previous lesson I showed you that when counting nouns in Hebrew, except for the number one (e^ad  / a^at), the numbers come before the noun, just as they do in English.

Here is a short table of the numbers one, two and three:

Comparing the tables above, you will see that the number two is the only number which changes.

   – Shtaim is the feminine number two, but when we are counting objects we say “shtey tabaot” for two rings.
  – Shnaim is the masculine number two, but when we are counting objects we say “shney sfarim” for two books.

In lesson 11 I placed asterisks by the numbers 4, 8 and 12.

In formal Hebrew we read the following numbers as shown below – Pay attention to the accent!

   * The correct accent for the feminine number “four” is arba, but most Israelis say arba.
   * The correct accent for the feminine number “eight” is shmone, but most Israelis say shmone.

Arba and shmone are the common pronunciations f
or these numbers, so don’t try to be different – remember, when in Rome behave like a Roman…

   ** As a point of information, another name for twelve (both feminine and masculine) is treisar, but it is not commonly used.

In lieu of repeating tables from Lesson 12, please listen again and review the videos from our previous lessons. You can click the “Videos” tab on the menu bar, or click here on “Videos” and go through the previous videos one by one. They are very short and will help you sharpen your accent as well as remind you of some rules before we go on to lesson 14.

Lehitraot then, in Lesson 14.

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230884728509.