מבלי + Infinitive

Without an Action

Level 6

מבלי לדבר means without speaking. It can express an action absent while another event takes place.

How It Works

The Action That Is Absent

מבלי names what does not accompany the main event. In יצאתי מבלי לומר דבר, the speaker leaves and does not say anything. In חתמנו מבלי לדעת את הפרטים, the group signs without knowing the details.

An Infinitive After מבלי

לומר, לחשוב, לעצור and לדעת are infinitives. They name the action without a personal tense ending. The main clause identifies the performer in these examples: הוא ענה מבלי לחשוב describes his answer without his thinking.

Read the Whole Phrase

היא קראה מבלי לעצור describes reading without a stop. The word מבלי introduces the absent action; the infinitive identifies which action is absent.

Examples (4)

  1. יצאתי מבלי לומר דבר.

    I left without saying anything.

    The infinitive names the absent speech action.

  2. הוא ענה מבלי לחשוב.

    He answered without thinking.

    The same person answers and fails to think first.

  3. היא קראה מבלי לעצור.

    She read without stopping.

    The infinitive describes an absent interruption.

  4. חתמנו מבלי לדעת את הפרטים.

    We signed without knowing the details.

    The missing knowledge belongs to the signing group.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a finite personal verb directly after מבלי.

    יצאתי מבלי אמרתי דבר.
    יצאתי מבלי לומר דבר.

    Use the infinitive לומר in this construction.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

מבלי + InfinitiveLevel 6Without an Action

Learn This First

Express an activity omitted from another event with a formal infinitive construction.