Hebrew 2 - Lesson 23

(see translation of pg 67 text,- further down on this page)

Lesson 23 introduces new vocabulary that is used with numbers from 11 to 100.

As can be seen in the example of numbers over thirteen, are based (like in English), on the single digit numbers with addition of "Esreh" ("teen"). This rule applies to the number 11 too. The equivalent of 12 and 13 are Shteim Esreh and Shlosh Esreh.

Numbers over twenty are based on the decimal number, the word "and" and the single digit number. Twenty and one, twenty and two and so forth.

The decimal numbers are gender neutral. "Esrim Morim" / "Esrim Morot".

Using a single digit following the decimal number renders the number to be of the same gender of the one of the single digit.

"Esrim Veh Achat Morot". / "Esrim Veh Echad Morim".

Preceding a Shva Veh turns into an Oo. Esrim Oo Shtaim.

As with small numbers when counting, people use feminine gender. However to quantify nouns people use the number form that agrees with the nouns' gender.


In addition, lesson 23 introduces vocabulary that is used to convey information about people's age. This vocab (as in other cases sometime) cannot be translated literally between the Hebrew and English.

Look at the example and the drawings at the bottom of page 63.

"Ben CaMa Yosi" = How old is Yosi.
"Bat CaMa ChaNa" = How old is Hanna.
Note the change of Ben to Bat based on the gender.

The vocabulary to answer those questions should be: "Yosi Ben Eser" = Yosi is ten.
"ChaNa Bat Eser" = Hanna is ten.

Note the "Ben / Bat" is used in the answer. There is no real translation to these words in a the English translation. Following is translation of text in pg. 67.

All people think: Grandma is a elderly woman 50 or 60 years old; but this is not always true. Today there are more and more very young grand mothers 30 or 35 years old, since there are more and more un-wedded mothers 15 and 16 years old.

Linda Burton, PhD. in sociology from the university in Pennsylvania studies both young grandmothers and old grandmothers. Old g.m. already don't work. They have money, and they buy many gifts for the grandchildren. They have both time and patience for the grandchildren, and they love being g.m. Young g.m. don't always like the role of g.m. They work and they want a little bit of freedom. They don't want to sit the whole day with the kids. One young g.m. says to Dr. Burton: I don't want to be a g.m. I am only 28 years old. I have little kids at home and I don't have patience. My girl doesn't know what to do with the new baby, and I don't have time to be a babysitter the whole day.

Dr. Burton has interesting stories about g.m.s. She tells, for example, about a woman 91 years old a g.m. of a g.m. She has a "kid" 75 years old, he has a "kid" 58 years old and she has a grandson 10 years old.

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