"The pasta is short."
Translation:הפסטה קצרה.
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1258
Not quite. הפסטה היא קצרה is indeed correct and has the same meaning as the sentence above, without the היא. When the noun is definite, copula is optional, if the second part of the sentence is an adjective.
Your example, about pasta in general would be written פסטה היא קצרה and then copula would indeed be required.
(Note: I'm learning too, but I'm ahead of you). The reason is because both words have the hey ה attached. So it's "the short pasta." If it was only attached to pasta, then it's "the pasta is short." This is in the tips and notes. Do you need them?
THE SHORT PASTA: הפסטה הקצרה
THE PASTA IS SHORT: הפסטה קצרה
how to get tips and notes:
organized by skill in one pdf for the whole course: https://www.docdroid.net/JnfmyEV/tipsnotesbackup.pdf
( my favorite way ) Replace your username where USERNAME is for information on your progress & the tips & notes: https://duome.eu/USERNAME/progress
The whole course tips and notes are here (and the site has one for each Duolingo language), organized by skill: http://duolingo.wikia.com/wiki/Hebrew
You can also get them on the duolingo.com site [make sure your browser is in desktop view mode so you can see the other duolingo features like discussions & timed practice (the language clubs are only on the app though)]. From discussions you can search for all the discussions in this course (like this one you're reading, as well as see general duolingo discussions). If you can't see discussions on the main screen once logged into duolingo you're not in desktop view.
1258
No, they don't mean the same thing. קצרה (ktsara, not katsara) means short when we talk about the length and קטנה (ktana, not katana) means small, when talking about the size. Both are feminine adjectives.
I'm having trouble knowing when to put ה in front of an adjective and when to leave it out. I understand it has to do with a direct object but I'm still not clear on what that means in practice. I put הקצרה and they accepted it without even giving a typo but when i came here it is written without the ה. תעזור לי!!
1258
No, it doesn't have to it being a direct object or not, but it depends on the function of the adjective it goes like this:
x פסטה קצרה - short pasta
x הפסטה קצרה - the pasta is short
x הפסטה הקצרה - the short pasta
This principle can be applied to any other combination noun + adjective.
Just a side not. הקצרה here is not correct. There is a bug in the system that occasionally does not acknowledge typos, that is why your answer was not rejected.
303
So, I believe there is another word which translates "little" (קטן), and I am wondering how that relates to קצר and נמוך. Are they ever interchangable?