Sentences Without “To Be” + yesh / ein

Here is the best news in Hebrew grammar: in the present tense there is no verb "to be." None. To say "I am a student," you simply say "I — student." This article shows you how those sentences work, plus the two magic words יֵשׁ yesh (there is) and אֵין ein (there isn't) that let you talk about existence and possession.

"To be" just disappears

In the present tense, Hebrew puts the subject and the description side by side:

💡 Tip: Think of an invisible equals sign between the words: אֲנִי = סְטוּדֶנְט. If it feels like you're saying "Me student," you're doing it right.

To make it negative, put לֹא lo before the description:

• אֲנִי לֹא סְטוּדֶנְט. ani lo student. — I am not a student.
• הַסֵּפֶר לֹא טוֹב. ha-sefer lo tov. — The book is not good.

יֵשׁ and אֵין — there is / there isn't

These two little words never change form — no gender, no number, no tense (in the present). יֵשׁ works for one item or a hundred.

Possession: "I have" = "there is to me"

Hebrew has no verb "to have." Instead you say "there is to me" — יֵשׁ or אֵין plus לְ le- (to) attached to a pronoun:

And with אֵין the same endings give "don't have":

• יֵשׁ לִי אָח. yesh li akh. — I have a brother.
• אֵין לָנוּ זְמַן. ein lanu zman. — We don't have time.
• יֵשׁ לָהּ כֶּלֶב. yesh la kelev. — She has a dog.

💡 Tip: לִי li "to me," לָנוּ lanu "to us" — the little ל -l- means "to." Learn יֵשׁ לִי and אֵין לִי first; they cover most of daily life.

Yes/no questions: two easy ways

Way 1 — just raise your voice. Any statement becomes a question with rising intonation:

• יֵשׁ לְךָ עֵט. → יֵשׁ לְךָ עֵט? yesh lekha et? — Do you have a pen?
• אַתָּה סְטוּדֶנְט. → אַתָּה סְטוּדֶנְט? ata student? — Are you a student?

Way 2 — add הֲאִם ha'im. This little question-word sits at the front and signals "question coming." It is neutral-to-formal; in casual speech, intonation alone is more common.

⚠️ Teacher check: הֲאִם is traditionally pointed with hataf patah (הֲאִם). In everyday writing you'll usually see it unpointed as האם; beginners mainly need to recognize it and may simply use intonation instead.

✅ Key takeaways

• Present-tense Hebrew has no "am/is/are": אֲנִי סְטוּדֶנְט ani student = "I am a student."
• Negate with לֹא lo: אֲנִי לֹא סְטוּדֶנְט.
• יֵשׁ yesh = there is; אֵין ein = there isn't. They never change form.
• "To have" = יֵשׁ/אֵין + לְ-to-pronoun: יֵשׁ לִי yesh li "I have," אֵין לָנוּ ein lanu "we don't have."
• Yes/no questions: rising intonation, or add הֲאִם ha'im at the start.

✏️ Practice

1. Say "She is a teacher" and then "She is not a teacher."
2. Translate: "We have a dog." (כֶּלֶב kelev = dog)
3. Translate: "There is no water here."
4. Turn into a question two ways: יֵשׁ לוֹ סֵפֶר yesh lo sefer "He has a book."
5. What is the literal, word-for-word logic of יֵשׁ לִי yesh li?

Answers

1. הִיא מוֹרָה. hi mora. → הִיא לֹא מוֹרָה. hi lo mora.
2. יֵשׁ לָנוּ כֶּלֶב. yesh lanu kelev.
3. אֵין כָּאן מַיִם. ein kan mayim.
4. יֵשׁ לוֹ סֵפֶר? yesh lo sefer? (intonation) / הֲאִם יֵשׁ לוֹ סֵפֶר? ha'im yesh lo sefer?
5. "There-is to-me" — existence (יֵשׁ) plus "to me" (לִי) = possession.