How to say it in Hebrew
Tip #9

I am often asked...

...how do I say "I have been waiting for two hours"?
Which word should I use for "for"?

The answer is - no such word!
What I mean is this: whereas in English we talk about duration using the "for" preposition ("I've been waiting for 2 hours") in Hebrew in this case we use no preposition at all! Like - "I waited two hours" - it may sound weird in English, but that's how we say it in Hebrew! - חיכיתי שעתיים.

Examples:

  • סתם חיכיתי שעתיים במשרד - בדיוק ברגע שהתור שלי הגיע נגמר יום העבודה וכל הפקידם הלכו הביתה.
  • כתבתי לו מייל וחיכיתי כמה ימים, אבל לא קיבלתי תשובה.
But how do we say "let's wait for him," then?
This case is different! We are not talking about time here - then, we do need a preposition after "wait"!
But again, it will not be the preposition "for" - guess which one is the right to use here? Right, we "wait to" someone, not "for" someone. :). Examples:
  • חיכיתי לאוטובוס 20 דקות!
  • למי אתה מחכה?
So, to sum up:
א. חיכיתי _ יומיים.
ב. חיכיתי לתשובה.
ג. חיכיתי לתשובה שלו _ יומיים.
That's it for this week!
Hope you are enjoying the newsletter,
Happy Hebrew-learning!
Alisa
Tip #9
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