In short

To ask a content question in Modern Hebrew you put a question word — a מילת שאלה (milat she’ela) — at the front and follow it with an ordinary statement. מי את? (mi at?) “who are you?”, מה זה? (ma ze?) “what is it?”, איפה המורה? (eifo ha-more?) “where is the teacher?”. The words to learn are מי (mi, who), מה (ma, what), איפה (eifo, where), מתי (matai, when), למה (lama, why), איך (eich, how), כמה (kama, how much), and the “which”-word איזה / איזו / אילו (eizeh / eizo / eilu), which agrees in gender and number.

To ask a yes/no question, do the easiest thing imaginable: say the statement and let your voice rise at the end. את מדברת אנגלית? (at medaberet anglit?) is both “you speak English” and “do you speak English?” — the only difference is the tone. Crucially, Hebrew has no “do / does / did”: there is nothing to translate the English auxiliary with. A formal written option, האם (ha’im), exists and is covered below, but everyday speech leaves it out.

The rule

Content questions: question word first, then a statement. The interrogative opens the clause and the rest of the sentence keeps its normal shape. מתי השיעור? (matai ha-shiur?) “when is the lesson?” is just מילת שאלה + the nominal sentence השיעור. You already know how to build the part after the question word from lessons 5–7; you are only adding a word in front.

The core question words. Memorize these as a set: מי (mi) “who”, מה (ma) “what”, איפה (eifo) “where”, מתי (matai) “when”, למה (lama) “why”, איך (eich) “how”, כמה (kama) “how much / how many”. The everyday “why” is למה (lama); its literary twin מדוע (madua) means exactly the same but sounds bookish — recognize it, and say למה.

“Which” is איזה / איזו / אילו and it agrees. Unlike the others, the “which”-word changes shape to match the noun after it, exactly like an adjective (lesson 7): masculine איזה (eizeh), feminine איזו (eizo), plural אילו (eilu). איזה ספר? (eizeh sefer?) “which book?” (m.), איזו מסעדה? (eizo mis’ada?) “which restaurant?” (f.), אילו שפות? (eilu safot?) “which languages?” (pl.).

מה (what) ≠ איזה (which). This is the trap for English speakers, because English uses “what” for both. Use מה (ma) for an open, unrestricted question (“what is it?”), and איזה / איזו / אילו for a choice out of a set (“which restaurant [of the ones here]?”). מה מסעדה? is wrong; you want איזו מסעדה?.

Yes/no questions: statement + rising intonation, and no do-support. The plain colloquial way to ask a yes/no question is to keep the statement unchanged and raise your voice at the end (in writing, just add ”?”). את מדברת עברית? (at medaberet ivrit?) = “do you speak Hebrew?”. There is no auxiliary verb: Hebrew never inserts a word for English “do / does / did”, and it does not reorder the sentence. Answer with כן (ken) “yes” or לא (lo) “no”.

The formal particle האם (ha’im). In careful, literary, or written Hebrew a yes/no question may open with the particle האם (ha’im) placed before the statement: האם את מדברת עברית? (ha’im at medaberet ivrit?). It carries no extra meaning — it only marks the sentence as a yes/no question — and in everyday speech it sounds stiff, so overusing it is a mistake of register, not grammar. It always stands first in the clause.

Careful: האם (ha’im) is not אם (im). They look and sound almost alike but do opposite jobs. האם (ha’im) opens a yes/no question. אם (im) means “if” and introduces a condition (taught with conditionals later); it never turns a sentence into a question. Don’t swap one for the other.

Forms & patterns

The content question words:

The agreeing “which”-word — pick the form to match the noun:

Yes/no question — two registers, same meaning:

The frame is always “question word, then a normal statement”:

Examples

Common mistakes

• מה מסעדה טובה? -> איזו מסעדה טובה? (eizo mis’ada tova?) - “which one out of a set” is איזה / איזו / אילו, not מה; מה asks an open “what?”.
• איזה מסעדה טובה? -> איזו מסעדה טובה? (eizo mis’ada tova?) - מסעדה (mis’ada) is feminine, so the “which”-word must be the feminine איזו, not masculine איזה.
• את עושה מדברת אנגלית? -> את מדברת אנגלית? (at medaberet anglit?) - Hebrew has no do-support; never insert a verb for English “do / does”. The plain statement with a rising tone is the question.
• המורה איפה? -> איפה המורה? (eifo ha-more?) - the question word opens the clause; don’t strand it at the end.
• את לומדת עברית למה? -> למה את לומדת עברית? (lama at lomedet ivrit?) - keep מילת השאלה clause-initial, in front of the statement.
• את מדברת אנגלית האם? -> האם את מדברת אנגלית? (ha’im at medaberet anglit?) - the particle האם stands first, before the whole statement, never at the end.
• אם את מדברת עברית? (meant as “do you speak Hebrew?”) -> האם את מדברת עברית? (ha’im at medaberet ivrit?) - אם (im) means “if”, not the question particle; the yes/no particle is האם (ha’im).

Tips

• Everyday yes/no questions are effortless: say the statement, lift your voice at the end, done — no extra word, no reordering.
• Never translate English “do / does / did” in a question. There is nothing for it in Hebrew.
• Keep the question word at the very front of the clause; the rest of the sentence stays in its normal order.
• מה (ma) = open “what?”; איזה / איזו / אילו = “which one (from a set)?” and it must agree in gender and number with its noun.
• Learn מה זה? (ma ze?) “what is it?” as a fixed chunk — it’s one of the first things you’ll say.
• Answer a yes/no question with כן (ken) or לא (lo).
• האם (ha’im) is correct but formal — good in writing and exams, heavy in speech. In conversation, drop it and use intonation.
• Say למה (lama) for “why”. מדוע (madua) means the same but is literary; recognize it, don’t reach for it when speaking.