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Helfn vi a toytn bankes

It isn’t the bankes that are dead; if they were, the phrase would be helfn vi a toyte banke or helfn vi toyte bankes. The e at the end of toyt in these phrases represents the Hebrew letter ayin, which constitutes the feminine singular ending for an adjective as well as the plural ending for adjectives of all genders (Yiddish has three). The n in helfn vi a toytn bankes represents the Hebrew nun, the ending for toytn can mean here is “dead guy, corpse.” It’s governed by the verb helfn and does not modify the noun bankes.

Imagine the sentence as dos helft vi bankes (helfn) a toytn (thanks to Dr Shlomo Karni for this explanation).


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