Learn how to be polite by using אפשר
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sherah: Hi everyone, and welcome back to HebrewPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 24 - Are You Missing Something from your Israeli Hotel Room? Sherah here. |
| Amir: שלום I'm Amir. |
| Sherah: In this lesson, you’ll learn about politeness. The conversation takes place at a hotel. |
| Amir: It's between a female clerk and Daniel. |
| Sherah: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context, so they’ll use informal Hebrew. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| פקידה: מלון השקד, שלום. |
| דניאל: שלום, לפני רגע הגעתי לחדר שלי ואני רואה שאין לי מספיק מגבות. |
| פקידה: אנחנו שמים מגבות לפי מספר האנשים שנמצאים בחדר. |
| דניאל: אה. אפשר לבקש עוד מגבת? |
| פקידה: כן, אין בעיה. אשלח לך עוד מגבת. תרצה עוד משהו? |
| דניאל: אפשר להביא לי עוד קפה וסוכר? |
| פקידה: כן, אפשר. |
| דניאל: תודה, נראה לי שמה שיש פה לא יספיק לי. |
| פקידה: אני יכולה לשלוח עוד. אם אתה רוצה, יש גם תחנת קפה פה בלובי. |
| דניאל: תודה. כתוב שיש חדר כושר, איפה זה? |
| פקידה: חדר הכושר נמצא בקומה השלישית. |
| דניאל: תודה רבה. |
| Sherah: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Clerk: Almond Hotel, hello. |
| Daniel: Hello, a moment ago I got to my room and I see there aren’t enough towels. |
| Clerk: We put towels out according to the number of people in the room. |
| Daniel: Oh. Can I ask for another towel? |
| Clerk: Yes, no problem. I'll send you another towel. Would you like anything else? |
| Daniel: Can you bring me more coffee and sugar? |
| Clerk: Yes, it's possible. |
| Daniel: Thanks, it seems that what there is here will not be enough for me. |
| Clerk: I can send more. If you want, there is also a coffee station here in the lobby. |
| Daniel: Thank you. It's written that there is a gym, where is it? |
| Clerk: The gym is located on the third floor. |
| Daniel: Thank you very much. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sherah: Daniel seems to be a demanding hotel guest. |
| Amir: He’s just making sure his stay is comfortable! |
| Sherah: When people travel in, or visit Israel, do they usually stay in hotels? |
| Amir: There are many hotels in the major cities, but they can get pretty crowded. A lot of people prefer to stay in zimmers. |
| Sherah: Zimmers? That sounds German! |
| Amir: Actually, it does come from the German word “zimmer” and it means “room.” Zimmers are secluded cabins in rural areas that have private owners. |
| Sherah: Secluded cabins? I like the sound of that. I guess they can be found in some really picturesque locations. |
| Amir: Yeah, you could stay in a log cabin in the Galilee Hills, the Negev Desert or see the snow of Mount Hermon. |
| Sherah: Zimmers seem like a good way to find sights and experiences that aren’t as popular or crowded. |
| Amir: They are. Some Zimmer owners even offer activities and attractions like museums or horseback riding. |
| Sherah: Sounds far better than a hotel without enough towels! Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sherah: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Amir: שקד [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: almond |
| Amir: שקד[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: שקד [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: רגע [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: moment |
| Amir: רגע[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: רגע [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: מגבת [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: towel |
| Amir: מגבת[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: מגבת [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: לבקש [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: to ask |
| Amir: לבקש[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: לבקש [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: לשלוח [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: to send |
| Amir: לשלוח[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: לשלוח [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: להימצא [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: to be found |
| Amir: להימצא[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: להימצא [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have... |
| Amir: להביא [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: to bring |
| Amir: להביא[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: להביא [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have... |
| Amir: לובי [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: lobby |
| Amir: לובי[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: לובי [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: Next we have.. |
| Amir: חדר כושר [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: gym |
| Amir: חדר כושר[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: חדר כושר [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: And last.. |
| Amir: קומה [natural native speed] |
| Sherah: floor |
| Amir: קומה[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Amir: קומה [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Sherah: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Amir: להימצא |
| Sherah: meaning "to be found." What can you tell us about this? |
| Amir: The root letters are Mem Tzadi Alef - מ.צ.א, and the verb stem is Nif'al. |
| Sherah: How does it conjugate? |
| Amir: Like other Nif’al verbs, the past tense and the present tense is the same. |
| Sherah: Are the meanings the same as in English? |
| Amir: The past tense is similar, but the present tense has a few different meanings, and in some ways it’s similar to the English verb “is.” |
| Sherah: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Amir: Sure. For example, you can say.. אני מצטער, איה לא נמצאת היום. |
| Sherah: ..which means "I'm sorry, Aya is not in today." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Amir: רגע |
| Sherah: meaning "moment." What can you tell us about this? |
| Amir: This is a noun, and it means a short, undefined period of time. |
| Sherah: How is it used? |
| Amir: You see it in a lot of common expressions, such as רק רגע, בבקשה |
| Sherah: “Just a moment, please.” |
| Amir: There are other common expressions listed in the lesson notes. |
| Sherah: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Amir: Sure. For example, you can say.. זה היה רגע בלתי נשכח. |
| Sherah: .. which means "It was an unforgettable moment." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Amir: לבקש |
| Sherah: meaning "to ask." What can you tell us about this? |
| Amir: The root letters are Bet Kof Shin - ב.ק.ש, and the verb stem is Pi'el. |
| Sherah: And how is it used? |
| Amir: Although it means “to ask,” we don’t use this when asking a question. It’s for requests. |
| Sherah: So, in sentences like “I asked to receive a menu.” |
| Amir: Yes. That’s ביקשתי לקבל תפריט |
| Sherah: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Amir: Sure. For example, you can say.. אני אבקש ממנה סליחה כשאני אראה אותה. |
| Sherah: .. which means "I apologize to her when I'll see her." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
| Sherah: In this lesson, you'll learn about being polite. First, let’s hear the key word. |
| Amir: When we want to ask about possibility or permission, we use אפשר. It literally means “possible.” |
| Sherah: Think of it as “can I” or “may I” in English. |
| Amir: אפשר precedes an infinitive verb. |
| Sherah: Can we have an example? |
| Amir: אפשר לדבר עם is “May I speak to…” |
| Sherah: How about a sentence using that? |
| Amir: ?שלום, אפשר לדבר עם אורה |
| Sherah: “May I speak to Ora?” |
| Amir: One type of request that it’s frequently used for is to ask for nouns. |
| Sherah: For example, “Can I see a menu, please?” Here, “menu” is the noun. |
| Amir: Yes. In Hebrew we would say ? אפשר לראות תפריט, בבקשה |
| Sherah: Is that polite? |
| Amir: It’s fine to use in most situations. There is a more colloquial way of expressing this, by just saying אפשר and then the noun. |
| Sherah: Can we have an example of that, please? |
| Amir:? אפשר עוד מגבת, בבקשה |
| Sherah: “Can I get another towel, please?” |
| Amir: We can also use אפשר to ask someone to perform an action. |
| Sherah: This is like “can you…?” |
| Amir: Again, we need the infinitive verb. An example is אפשר להביא לי עוד קפה וסוכר? |
| Sherah: “Can you bring me more coffee and sugar?” |
| Amir:There is no “you” in that sentence. It literally translates to “Is it possible to bring me more coffee and sugar?” |
| Sherah: How do you answer these requests? |
| Amir: You can say כן, אפשר. |
| Sherah: “Yes, it’s possible.” |
| Amir: The phrase for “No,” is אי-אפשר |
| Sherah: Thank you! |
Outro |
| Sherah: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Amir: להתראות |
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