Lesson 31: Complement clauses with ש- (she-) and כי (ki). Reported speech and thought. Sequence of tenses

Part 1: "That" in Hebrew — two ways to say one thing

In English "that" in a complement clause is a separate word: "I think that he will come". In Hebrew there are two markers:

Marker	How it's written	Register	Note
ש-	prefix to the next word	neutral, conversational, universal	The same letter that was the relative "which" in L29. Context tells them apart.
כי	separate word	a bit more formal, more common in writing	Also means "because" — a homonym.

Both translate as "that" in a complement clause. More often in live speech — she-, while כי is more common in written text, in the news, in books.

The main point: she- is the universal subordinating morpheme of Hebrew. The same ש- that was "which" in L29, in L31 is "that", and in L35 will be part of "when" (ksheh-), "because" (mipnei she-), "in order that" (kdei she-). It's the workhorse of Hebrew subordination. One little sound — half of the syntax.

Basic schema

[main clause] + ש-/כי + [subordinate clause]
   ani choshev      she-      hu ba
   I think          that      he is coming

Comma: in Hebrew no comma is placed before she-/ki (unlike Russian). This jars a Russian eye but get used to it: "Ani choshev she-hu ba" — no comma.

Examples

Hebrew	Translit	English
אני חושב שהוא בא	ani choshev she-hu ba	I think that he is coming
אני חושב כי הוא בא	ani choshev ki hu ba	I think that he is coming (a bit more formal)
היא אמרה שהיא עייפה	hi amra she-hi ayefa	She said that she was tired
ידעתי שזה קשה	yadati she-ze kashe	I knew that it was hard
הוא הסביר כי אין זמן	hu hisbir ki ein zman	He explained that there's no time

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Part 2: "That" vs. "so that" — Hebrew doesn't distinguish

In English you have two different conjunctions:

• that — for a fact: "I know that he came" (he definitely came).
• so that / for X to — for desire/purpose: "I want him to come" (not a fact yet, I want it to happen).

Hebrew uses ש- for both. There's no difference in the form of the subordinator; the difference sits in the main-clause verb and in the grammatical form of the subordinate verb.

Comparison

English	Hebrew	What's in the subordinate clause
I think that he will come	ani choshev she-hu yavo	future (fact-prediction)
I know that he came	ani yodea she-hu ba	past (fact-history)
I want him to come	ani rotse she-hu yavo	future (but translated "to"!)
I asked that he come	bikashti she-hu yavo	future
He told me to come	hu amar li she-avo	future (1st person — avo)

Rule: if the main verb is one of desire, request, demand, hope, fear (rotse, mevakesh, mekave, mefached…), then in English this is "to" / "so that", but in Hebrew it's still she- + future tense in the subordinate clause.

Tip: "so that" in the sense of purpose of action ("I came to help") is a different construction (kedei she- / kedei + infinitive); we'll cover it in L35. Here we only have complement clauses, not purpose.

Watch out: rotse she-…

"To want someone to…" — a construction you can't survive without in Hebrew. Memorize the template:

ROTSE / ROTSA / ROTSIM / ROTSOT + SHE- + FUTURE TENSE OF THE SECOND VERB

Hebrew	Translit	English
אני רוצה שתבוא	ani rotse she-tavo	I want you to come (m.)
אני רוצה שתבואי	ani rotse she-tavo'i	I want you to come (f.)
היא רוצה שנעזור	hi rotsa she-na'azor	She wants us to help
הם רוצים שאדבר	hem rotsim she-adaber	They want me to speak

If you want yourself to do something (same person in main and subordinate clauses), use the infinitive, without she-:

Hebrew	Translit	English
אני רוצה לבוא	ani rotse lavo	I want to come (myself)
אני רוצה שהוא יבוא	ani rotse she-hu yavo	I want him to come

Choice rule: same person in both clauses → infinitive. Different persons → she- + future.

This is the basic logic. The infinitive itself in detail — in L32.

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Part 3: Sequence of tenses — Hebrew is NOT like English

This is the trickiest point. Take the sentence:

I thought that he was working.

In English "was working" in the subordinate clause is past, because English shifts the subordinate clause back when the main verb is past — that's sequence of tenses. But in many other languages (Russian, for instance) the subordinate clause stays in the present.

Hebrew has NO backward sequence of tenses. If the action in the subordinate clause is simultaneous with the action in the main clause, the subordinate clause stays in the PRESENT — regardless of what tense the main clause is in.

Illustration

English	Hebrew	Note
I think that he is working	ani choshev she-hu oved	present in the subordinate
I thought that he was working	chashavti she-hu oved	main in past, subordinate still present
I will think that he is working	achshov she-hu oved	main in future, subordinate present

In three cases the form of the subordinate verb is the same: hu oved. The tense "anchors" to the time of the main clause, just as in Russian.

And if the subordinate action happened before the main action?

Then — past in the subordinate:

English	Hebrew
I thought that he had worked (earlier)	chashavti she-hu avad
I know that he came (earlier)	ani yodea she-hu ba (past)
She said that she had been there	hi amra she-hayta sham

And if the subordinate action will happen after the main action?

Then — future in the subordinate:

English	Hebrew
I thought that he would come	chashavti she-hu yavo
She said that she would call	hi amra she-titkasher
They knew that we would help	hem yad'u she-na'azor

Rule in one line: the tense in the subordinate clause is chosen relative to the time of the main clause, not relative to the moment of speech. Simultaneous — present. Earlier — past. Later — future.

Trap for English speakers: don't "shift back". Don't write chashavti she-hu avad if you mean "thought that he was working (at that moment)". Only chashavti she-hu oved. The English habit breaks Hebrew here.

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Part 4: Reported speech — turning direct into indirect

Direct speech — words quoted verbatim with a colon/quotation marks:

He said: "I'm tired." Hu amar: "Ani ayef."

Reported (indirect) speech — paraphrase through she- (or ki):

He said that he was tired. Hu amar **she-**hu ayef.

What changes in the transition

Aspect	In direct	In reported
Pronouns	"I", "you" — from the speaker's point of view	shift: "I" → "he/she", "you" → "I" (by context)
Tense	as in the original	stays (Hebrew doesn't shift back!)
Colon/quotes	yes	no
Conjunction	none	she- (or ki)

Conversion examples

Direct speech	Reported speech
He said: "I am tired"	Hu amar she-hu ayef (He said that he was tired)
She said: "I work at the bank"	Hi amra she-hi ovedet ba-bank
They said to me: "You are right"	Hem amru li she-ani tsodek
Dana asked: "Where is Yossi?"	Dana sha'ala eifo Yossi (in questions — no she-, see below)

Reported questions

In English we say "he asked what I was doing" — Hebrew here uses the question word (eifo, ma, mi, lama, eikh) without she-:

Direct question	Reported
Hu sha'al: "Ma ata ose?"	Hu sha'al ma ani ose (He asked what I'm doing)
Hi sha'ala: "Eifo Dana?"	Hi sha'ala eifo Dana (She asked where Dana is)
Sha'alti: "Lama hu lo ba?"	Sha'alti lama hu lo ba

If the original question is a yes/no question (no question word), the reported version uses im or ha-im (= "whether / if"):

Direct	Reported
Hu sha'al: "Ata ba?"	Hu sha'al im ani ba (He asked whether I was coming)
Sha'alti: "Yesh kesef?"	Sha'alti im yesh kesef

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Part 5: ki — homonymy "that" / "because"

The word כי works in two different functions. Context always tells them apart, but a beginner may get confused.

ki = "that" (complement clause)

Hebrew	Translit	English
הוא הסביר כי הוא לא יודע	hu hisbir ki hu lo yodea	He explained that he doesn't know
הם הודיעו כי המשרד סגור	hem hodi'u ki ha-misrad sagur	They announced that the office is closed
היא חושבת כי זה טעות	hi choshevet ki ze ta'ut	She thinks that it's a mistake

ki = "because" (cause clause)

Hebrew	Translit	English
לא באתי כי הייתי חולה	lo bati ki hayiti chole	I didn't come because I was sick
הוא שתק כי לא ידע מה לומר	hu shatak ki lo yada ma lomar	He was silent because he didn't know what to say
היא חזרה כי שכחה את הספר	hi chazra ki shakhcha et ha-sefer	She went back because she had forgotten the book

How to tell them apart?

Ask: "what exactly?" or "why?"

• If the subordinate clause answers "what exactly?" (object of thought/speech) → ki = "that".
• If it answers "why?" (cause of the action) → ki = "because".

Tip: the causal ki often comes after a verb that already has a direct object, or after a full self-contained clause. The complement ki sits right after a verb of speech/thought/knowledge.

Synonyms of cause (to disambiguate)

In conversational speech "because" is more often biglal she- or mipnei she-, leaving ki for the written register and for the "that" meaning:

Hebrew	Translit	English	Register
כי	ki	because / that	bookish/neutral
בגלל ש-	biglal she-	because of the fact that	conversational
מפני ש-	mipnei she-	because	neutral/written
כיוון ש-	keyvan she-	since	more formal
משום ש-	mishum she-	for the reason that	more formal

Working rule: in conversational speech "because" = biglal she-. In writing — ki or mipnei she-. It's like the English "because" (conversational) vs. "since" (more formal).

Notice: biglal without she- (just biglal) is the preposition "because of" before a noun: biglal ha-geshem — because of the rain. And biglal she- is the conjunction "because of the fact that" before a whole clause: biglal she-hayta gesem — because of the fact that there was rain.

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Part 6: Verbs of speaking, thinking, knowing

This is the lexical core of the lesson. All of them pull in a subordinate clause with she- (or ki).

Verbs of speaking

Hebrew	Translit	Binyan	English	Note
לדבר	ledaber	Pi'el	to speak	Without an object or with "about what" (al). Not used for "to say something".
לומר	lomar	Pa'al (irreg.)	to say	Past amarti, amarta… The main verb of direct speech.
להגיד	lehagid	Hif'il (irreg.)	to say	No past tense — replaced by amarti. In present/future — magid, agid. More conversational than lomar.
לספר	lesaper	Pi'el	to tell	sipur — a story. Big object, a narrative.
להסביר	lehasbir	Hif'il	to explain	hisbir, masbir, yasbir.
להודיע	lehodia	Hif'il	to announce	hodia, modia, yodia. Officially announce.
לשאול	lish'ol	Pa'al	to ask	sha'al, sho'el, yish'al. + indirect question.
לענות	la'anot	Pa'al (on ה)	to answer	ana, one, ya'ane.

Notice the pair lomar / lehagid: lomar has a full past (amarti, amarta, amar, amra…) and infinitive, but in present and future is often replaced by lehagid (magid, agid). Historically these are different roots (אמר vs. נגד) merged into a single speech paradigm. Memorize as one verb with two halves.

Verbs of thinking and knowing

Hebrew	Translit	Binyan	English	Note
לחשוב	lachshov	Pa'al	to think	chashav, choshev, yachshov. + al (about what) or + she- (that).
לדעת	lada'at	Pa'al (irreg.)	to know	yadati, yodea, eda. A state, not an action.
להבין	lehavin	Hif'il	to understand	hevin, mevin, yavin. + she-.
לזכור	lizkor	Pa'al	to remember	zachar, zocher, yizkor. + she- or + et + object.
לשכוח	lishkoach	Pa'al	to forget	shakhach, shokheach, yishkach. + she- or + et.
להאמין	leha'amin	Hif'il	to believe	he'emin, ma'amin, ya'amin. + she- or + le- (someone).
לקוות	lekavot	Pi'el (on ה)	to hope	kiviti, mekave, yekave. + she-.
להרגיש	leharagish	Hif'il	to feel	hirgish, margish, yargish. + she-.

Summary table — what follows which verb

Verb	What it takes	Example
amarti, hagadeti	she- + any tense	amarti she-hu ba
sipart, hisbart, hodi'u	she-/ki + any tense	hisbarti she-ze kashe
sha'alti	question word / im	sha'alti im ata ba
chashavti	she- + any tense	chashavti she-yavo
yadati, hevanti	she- + any tense	yadati she-hi tsodeket
ratsiti, bikashti, kiviti	she- + future (= "to / so that")	ratsiti she-tavo

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Part 7: Full paradigm — "I said that…"

Drilling one construction through all persons. These are the language scales of the lesson.

Lomar — past tense, + she- + subordinate clause

Person	Hebrew	Translit	English
1 sg.	אמרתי שאני עייף	amarti she-ani ayef	I said that I was tired
2 m. sg.	אמרת שאתה עייף	amarta she-ata ayef	You said that you were tired (m.)
2 f. sg.	אמרת שאת עייפה	amart she-at ayefa	You said that you were tired (f.)
3 m. sg.	הוא אמר שהוא עייף	hu amar she-hu ayef	He said that he was tired
3 f. sg.	היא אמרה שהיא עייפה	hi amra she-hi ayefa	She said that she was tired
1 pl.	אמרנו שאנחנו עייפים	amarnu she-anachnu ayefim	We said that we were tired
2 m. pl.	אמרתם שאתם עייפים	amartem she-atem ayefim	You (m.pl.) said that you were tired
2 f. pl.	אמרתן שאתן עייפות	amarten she-aten ayefot	You (f.pl.) said that you were tired
3 m. pl.	הם אמרו שהם עייפים	hem amru she-hem ayefim	They (m.) said that they were tired
3 f. pl.	הן אמרו שהן עייפות	hen amru she-hen ayefot	They (f.) said that they were tired

Notice: the past tense of the main verb (amarti) does not shift the subordinate clause backward. she-ani ayef is present. If we wanted "I said that I had been tired", it would be amarti she-hayiti ayef.

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