Free Hebrew lessons – May 2010 – Training – Day 22:

Shalom,

In our previous lesson we celebrated Mother’s Day and learned how to talk about members of our family, such as: ima (mother/mom), aba (father/daddy), a^ (brother), a^ot (sister), savta (grandmother) and saba (grandfather). 

Today let’s continue with Conny’s story, which we started in Lesson 20. You will remember that we read the beginning of Conny’s story, corrected her Heblish and also learned many new Hebrew words such as: yom (day), hayom (today), ^adash (new), kniyot (shopping), kesef (money), etc… If you need a refresher, please go back to the end of lesson 20 and look at the table of new words we learned in that lesson.

Reminder for part I of Conny’s story: 
English:
A new day!
This is a new day. First, I had breakfast at the Hilton Hotel at nine. So, the beginning of the day was good.  At ten I wanted to go to the bank for money. Why? For shopping, of course! There was no bus, so I took a taxi. I asked the receptionist to call the taxi for me. 

Heblish:
Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. Be’eser ratsiti lale^et la’bank bishvil lehotsi kesef. Lama? Le’kniyot bevadai! Lo haya otobus, az laka^ti monit. Bikashti mi’pkid hakabala lehitkasher la’monit bishvili.

Now we will continue with Conny’s story.

Today’s menu: Conny’s story – Part II

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

As we did in our previous lesson, let’s look at Conny’s paragraph as is and afterwards we will analyze it.

Let’s start:
“A New Day” by Conny – Part II:

The taxi driver drives smola, yamina ve yashar for 5 miles to ha’bank. After shopping ani go to ha’misada. Ze thohoraim, ha’zman for lunch. Ani ratsiti dag ve chips aval lo ketjup. Ze ha’misada tova. Amarti toda raba ve ani asked ha’meltzar:”ma ha’shaa”? Amarta(?) ha’shaa arba. Ha’zman to go home. Lakachti ha’otobus to ha’malon. It was ha’yom tov!

Now let’s translate it into English and fix Conny’s Heblish.

The taxi driver drove left, right, then straight ahead for 5 miles to the bank. After shopping I went to a restaurant. It was noon, time for lunch. I wanted fish and French fries, but no ketchup. The restaurant was good. I said “thanks a lot” and asked the waiter “what is the time?” He said “the time is four o’clock.” It was time to go home. I took a bus to the hotel. It was a good day.
Note: We have not yet learned all of the Heblish words presented in this story, but this will be a good opportunity for you to learn more words.

Conny’s story: The taxidriver drives smola, yamina ve yashar
English: The taxi driver drove left, right, then straight ahead…
Heblish: Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar. (“taxi driver” is nahag monit, but “the taxi driver” is nehag ha’monit, “drove” is nasa)

Conny’s story: …for 5 miles to ha’bank.
English: …for 5 miles to the bank.
Heblish: lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank (we will learn the word “for” another time,  ”to the bank” is la’bank)

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank.

Conny’s story: After shopping ani go to ha’misada.
English: After shopping I went to a restaurant.
Heblish: A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada. (“After” is a^arey, ”I went” is hala^ti)

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank. A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada.

Conny’s story: Ze thohoraim,
English: It was noon,
Heblish: Ze haya ba’tsohoraim, (“it” is ze, “was” is haya)

Conny’s story: …ha’zman for lunch.
English: … time for lunch.
Heblish: zman le’aru^at tsohoraim.

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank. A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada. Ze haya ba’tsohoraim, zman le’aru^at tsohoraim.

Conny’s story: Ani ratsiti dag ve chips aval lo ketjup.
English: I wanted fish and French fries, but no ketchup.
Heblish: Ratsiti dag ve’chips aval lo ketchup. (“but” is aval)

Conny’s story: Ze ha’misada tova.
English: The restaurant was good.
Heblish: Ha’misada haita tova.

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank. A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada. Ze haya ba’tsohoraim, zman le’aru^at tsohoraim. Ratsiti dag ve’chips aval lo ketchup. Ha’misada haita tova.

Conny’s story: Amarti toda raba ve ani asked ha’meltzar ”ma ha’shaa?” 
English: I said thanks a lot and asked the waiter “what is the time?”
Heblish: Amarti toda raba ve’shaalti et ha’meltsar “ma ha’shaa?” (“I asked” is shaalti [sha-al-ti])

Conny’s story: Amarta(?) ha’shaa arba.
English: He said “the time is four o’clock.”
Heblish: Hu amar “ha’shaa arba.” (“he” is hu, “said” (for masculine) is amar)

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank. A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada. Ze haya ba’tsohoraim, zman le’aru^at tsohoraim. Ratsiti dag ve’chips aval lo ketchup. Ha’misada haita tova. Amarti toda raba ve’shaalti et ha’meltsar ma ha’shaa? Hu amar: ha’shaa arba.

Conny’s story: Ha’zman to go home.
English: It was time to go home.
Heblish: Ze haya ha’zman lale^et habaita. (“to go” is lale^et, “home” is bait, but when going in the direction of home I say habaita) 

Conny’s story: Lakachti ha’otobus to ha’malon.
English: I took a bus to the hotel.
Heblish: Laka^ti otobus la’malon. (“I took” is laka^ti, “to the hotel” is la’malon)

Conny’s story: It was ha’yom tov!
English: It was a good day!
Heblish: Ze haya yom tov!

Nehag ha’monit nasa smola, yamina ve’az yashar lemeshe^ ^amisha miles la’bank. A^arey ha’kniyot hala^ti le’misada. Ze haya ba’tsohoraim, zman le’aru^at tsohoraim. Ratsiti dag ve’chips aval lo ketchup. Ha’misada haita tova. Amarti toda raba ve’shaalti et ha’meltsar ma ha’shaa? Hu amar: ha’shaa arba. Ze haya ha’zman lale^et habaita. Laka^ti otobus la’malon. Ze haya yom tov!

End of  Conny’s story.

Hey, I really enjoyed “Conny’s Story” of her day and we learned a lot!  Please feel free to send me your own “story,” because I think it’s a great way to teach and to learn. 

Lehitraot in lesson 23…

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

Free Hebrew lessons – April 2010 – Training – Day 20:

Shalom le’kulam (to everybody),

As I promised you in lesson 19, I added a table showing the first shloshim dakot (30 minutes) to the Numbers tab. This is a great opportunity to learn all the numbers from 1 to 30 and all the answers for “ma ha’shaa?” between HH:01 and HH:30.

In our previous lesson we learned how to say shaon (clock & watch), daka (minute), zman (time) and shaa (hour), and some possible responses for the question “ma hashaa?” – what is the time?

Today we will read a paragraph I received from one of our good students (thanks, Conny).

Today’s menu: Conny’s story

Attention: The underlined letters represent the accent.

First, let’s look at Conny’s paragraph as is and afterwards we will analyze it. We will need two lessons (shney shiurim) for this, as the story is too long for only one lesson.

Note:  The “story” lesson below is another way to teach you Hebrew and I would be glad to get more comments about this method, and of course more stories written by you.

OK, let’s start:
“A New Day” by Conny – Part I:

Ha’yom chadasha!
Ze ha’yom chadasha! First yesh li aruchat boker at ha’malon Hilton be tesha. Az ha’beginning tov for ha’yom. Be’eser ani rotsa to go to ha’bank for money. Lama? For shopping bevaday! Ein otobus, az ani took ha’monit. Ani asked the receptionist to call ha’monit bishvili.

This is “part I” of the story.
Now let’s translate it into English and fix Conny’s Heblish.

A new day!
This is a new day. First, I had breakfast at the Hilton Hotel at nine. So, the beginning of the day was good. At ten I wanted to go to the bank for money. Why? For shopping, of course! There was no bus, so I took a taxi. I asked the receptionist to call the taxi for me.
Note: We have not yet learned all of the Heblish words presented in this story, but this will be a good opportunity for you to learn more words.

Conny’s title: Ha’yom chadasha.
English title: A new day.
Heblish title: Yom ^adash. (“day” is yom and “new” is ^adash).

Conny’s story: Ze ha’yom chadasha!
English: This is a new day.
Heblish: Ze yom ^adash. (“This is” is ze)

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash.

Conny’s story: First,
English: First,
Heblish: Reshit, (“First” is reshit or rishon, but in this case it is reshit).

Conny’s story: … yesh li aruchat boker
English: I had breakfast.
Note: Conny said “yesh li aru^at boker…” she tried to translate the sentence “I had breakfast…” but in Hebrew we say “I ate” – a^alti.
Heblish: A^alti aru^at boker (“breakfast” is aru^at boker).

Conny’s story: …at ha’malon Hilton be tesha.
English: at the Hilton Hotel at nine.
Heblish: be’malon Hilton be’tesha. (“at” is be. Pay attention to the Heblish “e” sound).

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha.

Conny’s story: Az ha’beginning tov for ha’yom.
English: So, the beginning of the day was good..
Heblish: Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. (“So” is az, “the beginning” is ha’hat^ala, “of” is shel, “was” in the feminine form is haita (the word hat^ala is feminine) and finally we say tova for “good” for the same reason – “hat^ala” is feminine).

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova.

Conny’s story: Be’eser ani rotsa…
English: At ten I wanted…
Heblish: Be’eser ratsiti…

Conny’s story: … to go to ha’bank for money.
English: … to go to the bank for money.
Heblish: … lale^et la’bank bishvil (lehotsi) kesef. (“to go” is lale^et, “to the bank” is la’bank, “for” is bishvil and money is kesef, but in Israel we say: “to go to the bank to withdraw (lehotsi) money”.

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. Be’eser ratsiti lale^et la’bank bishvil lehotsi kesef.

Conny’s story: Lama? For shopping bevaday!
English: Why? For shopping, of course!
Heblish: Lama? Le’kniyot, bevadai! (“Why” is lama, “for shopping” is le’kniyot and “of course” is bevadai).

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. Be’eser ratsiti lale^et la’bank bishvil lehotsi kesef. Lama? Le’kniyot bevadai!

Conny’s story: Ein otobus,
English: There was no bus,
Heblish: Lo haya otobus, (“There was no” is lo haya).

Conny’s story: … az ani took ha’monit.
English: … so I took a taxi.
Heblish: … az laka^ti monit. (“so” is az, “I took” is laka^ti and “taxi” is monit).

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. Be’eser ratsiti lale^et la’bank bishvil lehotsi kesef. Lama? Le’kniyot bevadai! Lo haya otobus, az laka^ti monit.

Conny’s story: Ani asked the receptionist…
English: I asked the receptionist…
Heblish: Bikashti mi’pkid hakabala… (“I asked” is bikashti. “Receptionist” is not an important word to remember – but when you say “I asked the receptionist” you mean to say: “I asked from the… receptionist.” In Hebrew “from” is mi.

Conny’s story: …to call ha’monit bishvili.
English: …to call the taxi for me.
Heblish: …lehitkasher la’monit bishvili. (“to call” is lehitkasher).

Yom ^adash!
Ze yom ^adash. Reshit, a^alti aru^at boker be’malon Hilton be’tesha. Az, ha’hat^ala shel ha’yom haita tova. Be’eser ratsiti lale^et la’bank bishvil lehotsi kesef. Lama? Le’kniyot bevadai! Lo haya otobus, az laka^ti monit. Bikashti mi’pkid hakabala lehitkasher la’monit bishvili.

End of Part I.

Some new words we learned from Conny’s Story:

Well, that’s it for this lesson, but I think it was a lot!  We will finish Conny’s story next week.  I am very proud of all of our Heblish students.

Lehitraot in lesson 21…

You are welcome to join our group on Facebook:
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Shalom!

Day 3… can you believe it?

It is rainy outside but you are sitting inside a warm place, ready for a real Hebrew lesson.

In our previous lesson we talked about “morning” and “good morning,” so when you get to your office you can say “boker tov everybody” and they might think that you had a bad dream… speaking of dreams, when it’s time to say “goodnight,” it is also a good idea to say “laila tov” to your family…

We have also learned how to thank someone by saying “toda,” and how to say “everything is beseder“, right?

Reminder: Upcoming Lessons 4, 5, and 6 are a “must,” foundational information. Please do not try to go on to future lessons without mastering these three important lessons (4, 5, 6).

Today we have a cool lesson, because we’re starting a conversation…

Today’s menu: Where, Hotel, Please, Toilet and Telephone

Where
The word “where” is important, especially if you are a tourist.
In Hebrew we say “eifo“.
The “ei” in the beginning of the “eifo” sounds like the name of the letter “A”.

Hotel
The most important word after “where” is “hotel”, because your hotel is your safe place at the moment…
Instead of “hotel” we say: malon (ma-lon).

Ok, we have “where” (eifo) and “hotel” (malon), so we can ask:
Where is the Hilton Hotel? And in Hebrew: Eifo malon Hilton?
Hooray, we just made our first sentence!

Please
For “please” we have a long word, which is: bevakasha (be-va-ka-sha).
The “e” sounds like the “e” in the word “egg”.

Where is the Hilton Hotel, please?
Eifo malon Hilton, bevakasha?

More examples:
Can you give me a glass of water, bevakasha?
Will you bevakasha give me the newspaper?

Toilet
For toilet you say “toilet,” “restroom,” or “bathroom” (or “W.C.” if you are in England).
In Hebrew we say: sherutim (she-ru-tim).
The “she” sounds like the “she” of “shell” or the “she” of “Sheldon”.

Where is the toilet, please?
Eifo THE sherutim, bevakasha?
We will discuss the definite article “The” later in January.

Telephone
There is a Hebrew word for “telephone”, but most Israelis do not even know that word. The common word for “telephone” in Hebrew is… telephone.

I know that you usually say “phone” instead of telephone, but in Israel you should say telephone.
I don’t think you need examples for this word…

So far so good!

I hope you enjoyed the lesson.
The next lesson will be VERY important! I say very, because we are going to watch some short videos and learn something that will influence all of our future lessons!
Bevakasha don’t even think about missing our next lesson, beseder?

Lehitraot on Monday!