Complex Sentences in Hebrew

In Brief

Hebrew builds complex sentences by joining a main clause to a subordinate clause (a clause that depends on another clause). Common connectors include ש־ “that/who/which,” כש־ “when,” אם “if/whether,” למרות ש־ “although,” and בגלל ש־ “because.” The prefixes ש־ and כש־ attach directly to the following word: שאתה, כשאגיע.

Overview

A clause is a group of words built around a predicate—usually a verb, or in present-tense Hebrew sometimes a noun or adjective. A simple sentence may contain one clause: דנה עובדת היום “Dana is working today.” A complex sentence contains a main clause plus at least one dependent idea: אני יודע שדנה עובדת היום “I know that Dana is working today.” Here, אני יודע can stand as the main statement, while שדנה עובדת היום gives the content of what I know.

At B1, complex sentences let you move beyond separate statements and show how ideas relate: what someone knows, which person you mean, when something happens, under what condition it happens, why it happens, or what purpose it serves. Modern Hebrew often keeps the basic word order of each clause intact. Unlike English, it does not normally require a comma before a short clause introduced by “that.”

The key connectors in this article do several different jobs. ש־ can introduce reported content or identify a noun; כש־ marks time; אם marks a condition or an indirect yes/no question; למרות ש־ expresses an unexpected contrast; בגלל ש־ gives a reason; and כדי expresses purpose. Learning the meaning of each connector is important, but so is learning whether it is written as a prefix or as a separate word.

How It Works

The basic clause pattern

A subordinate clause can follow or precede the main clause:

Hebrew pattern	English meaning	Note
משפט עיקרי + מילת קישור + פסוקית	main clause + connector + subordinate clause	The usual order for content and relative clauses
מילת קישור + פסוקית, + משפט עיקרי	connector + subordinate clause, + main clause	Common with time, condition, concession, and reason

When a longer subordinate clause comes first, a comma usually helps the reader see where it ends: כשאסיים את העבודה, אשלח לך הודעה. When a short subordinate clause follows the main clause, no comma is normally needed: אני חושב שהוא בבית. Punctuation is a matter of sentence structure and readability, not a mechanical requirement before every connector.

ש־: “that,” “who,” or “which”

The letter ש־ is attached to the next word. In one common use, it introduces a content clause—a dependent clause that says what someone knows, thinks, says, hopes, or notices:

• אני יודע שאתה צודק. — “I know that you’re right.”
• היא אמרה שהפגישה בוטלה. — “She said that the meeting was canceled.”

English can sometimes omit “that”: “I think he is right.” Hebrew normally keeps ש־: אני חושב שהוא צודק. Do not simply place two complete statements next to each other.

ש־ also introduces a relative clause, which identifies or describes a noun:

• האיש שגר פה — “the man who lives here”
• הספר שקניתי — “the book that I bought”

Hebrew does not change the connector according to whether English uses “who,” “that,” or “which.” The same ש־ works for people and things, singular and plural. The noun being described is called the antecedent (the noun that the relative clause points back to).

כש־: “when”

כש־ combines כ־ with ש־ and attaches to the following word. It introduces a time clause:

• כשאני עייף, אני הולך לישון מוקדם. — “When I’m tired, I go to bed early.”
• כשאגיע, אתקשר. — “When I arrive, I’ll call.”

For a future event, Hebrew commonly uses the future tense in both clauses: כשאגיע, אתקשר. This differs from English, which normally says “when I arrive,” not “when I will arrive.” Avoid importing the English tense pattern into Hebrew.

Do not confuse כש־ with interrogative מתי “when?” Use מתי in a direct question—מתי תגיע? “When will you arrive?”—but כש־ to connect an event to another event.

אם: “if” and “whether”

Unlike ש־ and כש־, אם is written as a separate word. It has two central uses.

First, it introduces a real or possible condition:

• אם יהיה זמן, נלך לים. — “If there is time, we’ll go to the beach.”
• אם אתה צריך עזרה, תגיד לי. — “If you need help, tell me.”

Second, it means “whether” in an indirect yes/no question:

• אני לא יודע אם הוא בבית. — “I don’t know whether he is at home.”
• היא שאלה אם נבוא. — “She asked whether we would come.”

The contrast with ש־ is useful: אני יודע שהוא בבית means “I know that he is home,” while אני לא יודע אם הוא בבית means “I don’t know whether he is home.” The first presents information as a fact or belief; the second leaves two possibilities open.

למרות ש־: “although”

למרות ש־ introduces a clause that makes the result seem surprising:

• למרות שירד גשם, יצאנו לטייל. — “Although it rained, we went for a walk.”

The spelling reflects two parts: למרות is separate, but ש־ attaches to the next word. Compare the clause pattern with a noun phrase (a noun and the words around it):

Hebrew	English	Structure
למרות הגשם, יצאנו.	Despite the rain, we went out.	למרות + noun phrase
למרות שירד גשם, יצאנו.	Although it rained, we went out.	למרות ש־ + clause

Do not add ש־ before a plain noun. Conversely, a full clause needs a connector such as למרות ש־.

בגלל ש־: “because”

בגלל ש־ introduces a reason clause in everyday Modern Hebrew:

• נשארנו בבית בגלל שהיה קר. — “We stayed home because it was cold.”

As with למרות, the form changes according to what follows:

Hebrew	English	Structure
הטיסה בוטלה בגלל מזג האוויר.	The flight was canceled because of the weather.	בגלל + noun phrase
הטיסה בוטלה בגלל שמזג האוויר היה גרוע.	The flight was canceled because the weather was bad.	בגלל ש־ + clause

Other common reason connectors include כי, מפני ש־, and משום ש־. Their register and emphasis vary, but at this level כי and בגלל ש־ are both useful in ordinary speech and writing.

כדי and כדי ש־: purpose

כדי explains the goal of an action. It is not a reason already known; it says what someone aims to achieve.

Use כדי + ל־infinitive when the understood doer of both actions is the same. An infinitive is the dictionary-like “to do” form, such as ללמוד “to study” or לעבור “to pass”:

• למדתי כדי לעבור את המבחן. — “I studied in order to pass the exam.”

The same person studied and hoped to pass. Use כדי ש־ + finite verb (a verb marked for person or tense) when you need an explicit subject, especially a different one:

• דיברתי לאט כדי שכולם יבינו. — “I spoke slowly so that everyone would understand.”

In affirmative purpose clauses, the verb after כדי ש־ commonly appears in the future form even when the main clause is past. In negative purpose, כדי שלא + future means “so that … not”: יצאתי מוקדם כדי שלא אאחר “I left early so that I wouldn’t be late.”

Connector summary

Connector	Core meaning	Writing pattern
ש־	that; who; which	Prefix attached to the next word
כש־	when	Prefix attached to the next word
אם	if; whether	Separate word
למרות ש־	although	למרות separate; ש־ attached
בגלל ש־	because	בגלל separate; ש־ attached
כדי + infinitive	in order to	Usually same subject
כדי ש־ + verb	so that	Allows an explicit or different subject

Examples in Context

Hebrew	English	Note
אני יודע שאתה צודק.	I know that you’re right.	Content clause with ש־
היא מקווה שהכול יהיה בסדר.	She hopes that everything will be all right.	Future inside a content clause
האיש שגר פה עובד בבית החולים.	The man who lives here works at the hospital.	Relative clause describing a person
מצאתי את המפתח שאיבדתי.	I found the key that I lost.	Relative clause describing a thing
כשאגיע, אתקשר.	When I arrive, I’ll call.	Future in both Hebrew clauses
כשגרנו בחיפה, הלכנו הרבה לים.	When we lived in Haifa, we went to the beach often.	Past time frame
אם יהיה זמן, נשתה קפה אחרי העבודה.	If there is time, we’ll have coffee after work.	Possible condition
אני לא בטוח אם החנות פתוחה.	I’m not sure whether the store is open.	Indirect yes/no question
למרות שהייתי עייף, סיימתי את העבודה.	Although I was tired, I finished the work.	Unexpected contrast; masculine speaker
היא באה למרות שלא הרגישה טוב.	She came although she didn’t feel well.	Negative concessive clause
נשארנו בבית בגלל שירד גשם.	We stayed home because it rained.	Reason clause
למדתי כדי לעבור את המבחן.	I studied to pass the test.	Same subject for both actions
סגרתי את החלון כדי שהתינוק יישן.	I closed the window so that the baby would sleep.	Different subject in the purpose clause
כתבתי הכול כדי שלא אשכח.	I wrote everything down so that I wouldn’t forget.	Negative purpose

Common Mistakes

Leaving out ש־ because English can omit “that”

• Wrong: אני חושב הוא בבית.
• Right: אני חושב שהוא בבית.
• Why: English permits “I think he is home,” but standard Hebrew needs ש־ to introduce the content clause.

Writing prefixes as separate words

• Wrong: כ ש אני מגיע / ש אתה צודק
• Right: כשאני מגיע / שאתה צודק
• Why: ש־, כ־, and their combination כש־ are written onto the following word. In teaching materials, a hyphen marks a prefix as an abstract form; it is not inserted into normal spelling.

Using מתי instead of כש־

• Wrong: מתי אגיע, אתקשר.
• Right: כשאגיע, אתקשר.
• Why: מתי asks “when?”; כש־ means “when” as a connector between events.

Confusing ש־ with אם

• Wrong: אני לא יודע שהוא יבוא. when you mean that his coming is uncertain
• Right: אני לא יודע אם הוא יבוא.
• Why: ש־ introduces content presented as known, stated, or believed. אם introduces an open yes/no question: whether he will come.

Mixing noun and clause patterns

• Wrong: למרות ש הגשם / בגלל שמזג האוויר when only a noun phrase follows
• Right: למרות הגשם / בגלל מזג האוויר
• Why: Use plain למרות or בגלל before a noun phrase. Add ש־ only before a clause with its own predicate: למרות שירד גשם.

Using כדי + infinitive with the wrong understood subject

• Wrong: פתחתי את הדלת כדי הילדים ייכנסו.
• Right: פתחתי את הדלת כדי שהילדים ייכנסו.
• Why: A clause with an explicit subject needs כדי ש־. כדי + infinitive normally shares its subject with the main action: פתחתי את הדלת כדי להיכנס “I opened the door in order to enter.”

Usage Notes

In everyday Hebrew, ש־ is extremely frequent. It covers several English words, so translating it one word at a time is less helpful than identifying its job. After verbs such as לחשוב “to think,” לדעת “to know,” לומר “to say,” and לקוות “to hope,” it usually introduces content. After a noun, it often starts a relative clause.

English speakers should pay special attention to future time clauses. English says “When I arrive, I’ll call,” using a present form after “when.” Hebrew naturally says כשאגיע, אתקשר, with two future forms. The same tendency appears in realistic future conditions: אם תבוא, נדבר “If you come, we’ll talk.”

Connector choice also reflects register. בגלל ש־ is widespread in spoken and ordinary written Hebrew. מפני ש־ and משום ש־ can sound more careful or formal in some contexts. אשר can replace relative ש־ in formal, administrative, or literary writing, but ש־ is the normal default in conversation.

Hebrew does not capitalize the first word of a clause, and its commas do not exactly mirror English punctuation. A comma is particularly useful after an opening condition or time clause, but avoid placing one automatically before every ש־ clause.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

Relative clauses become more complex when the missing element would follow a preposition. English can say “the person I spoke with.” Hebrew commonly keeps a resumptive pronoun (a pronoun inside the relative clause that points back to the noun): האדם שדיברתי איתו, literally “the person that I spoke with him.” Similarly, העיר שגרתי בה means “the city I lived in,” literally “the city that I lived in it.” This system receives fuller treatment in advanced relative clauses.

The connector ש־ can be preceded by prepositions and conjunctions to form many useful combinations: אחרי ש־ “after,” לפני ש־ “before,” עד ש־ “until,” כיוון ש־ “since/because,” and בלי ש־ “without.” The attachment rule remains the same: the ש־ joins the next word, as in אחרי שסיימתי “after I finished.”

Conditional sentences also extend well beyond the real possibilities introduced here. אם can appear with present, past, or future forms depending on meaning, while hypothetical and impossible conditions use additional patterns such as אילו and constructions with היה. Do not treat every English “if” sentence as having one fixed Hebrew tense formula.

Purpose and result must also be distinguished. כדי looks forward to an intended goal: חסכתי כסף כדי לנסוע “I saved money in order to travel.” A result connector such as לכן “therefore” describes what followed from a cause: חסכתי כסף, לכן יכולתי לנסוע “I saved money, so I was able to travel.” Intention and outcome are not always the same.

Finally, a sentence may contain more than one level of subordination: אני חושב שאם נצא עכשיו, נגיע בזמן “I think that if we leave now, we’ll arrive on time.” Read such sentences from the outside inward: first identify אני חושב, then the content introduced by ש־, and finally the condition introduced by אם.

Practice Tips

1. Combine pairs of short sentences. Turn ירד גשם. נשארנו בבית. into נשארנו בבית בגלל שירד גשם, then change the relationship: למרות שירד גשם, יצאנו. This trains meaning, not just connector memorization.
2. Build connector families. Make one card for a noun phrase and one for a clause: בגלל הגשם / בגלל שירד גשם and למרות העייפות / למרות שהייתי עייף. Say each pair aloud and notice where ש־ attaches.
3. Mark clause boundaries while reading. Underline ש־, כש־, אם, למרות ש־, בגלל ש־, and כדי in a short Hebrew text. Then circle the main verb of each clause. This makes long sentences easier to decode.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Past Tense (Pa’al) — helps you build complete past-time clauses.
• At the same level: Expressing Cause and Result — contrasts reasons with their consequences.
• Next step: Conditional Sentences — develops real, hypothetical, and counterfactual uses of “if.”
• Next step: Indirect Speech — expands content clauses after verbs of saying and asking.
• Next step: Cause and Purpose Clauses — adds more formal and nuanced connectors for reason and purpose.
• Next step: Concessive and Adversative Clauses — develops “although,” “whereas,” and contrasting statements.
• Next step: Relative Clauses (Advanced) — covers resumptive pronouns, אשר, מי ש־, and מה ש־.
• Later: Sequence of Tenses — examines tense relationships across linked clauses in greater depth.