"Seven women and seven men."

Translation:שבע נשים ושבעה גברים.

July 12, 2016

11 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/danny912421

shéva nashím ve-shiv'á gvarím.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/a.feld_

Why does נשים take the feminine שבע and not שבעה even though it has a masculine word ending?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/radagastthebrown

Even though אישה is a feminine noun, its plural form is irregular and gets a masculine suffix. The number has to match the gender of the noun (not its suffix), so you must use שבע.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/David-720

This is the problem with learning Modern Hebrew. אנשים is "men" in classical Hebrew. There are many examples such as this. Yes, other languages have evolved, but over a longer period of time. Modern Hebrew is a recent development.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/crlife

Why for female , the number is masculine and for men is feminine???


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/radagastthebrown

The feminine number is without ה at the end, and the masculine is with it. That's just the way it is.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/nebuxadnezzar

It considered אנשים incorrect. Barrows hebrew doesn't even use גברים it uses אנשים only. I think my answer should be accepted.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/radagastthebrown

The problem with using אנשים is that its default meaning is "people" rather than "men", even though the singular form איש can mean 'man'. So Hebrew speakers would understand it as "seven women and seven people".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/JanetCaterina

Okay, I don't remember why there is a feminine ending on a numeric modifier for a masculine noun. Or is there a reason?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/emc752906

"Feminine ending on a numeric modifier for a masculine noun". Wow, that's a mouthful.

Anyway, it's not a "feminine ending". That's how the Hebrew numbers are. Masculine numbers from three to ten get a ה while feminine (except for 8) don't.

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