To “transfer” or “to pass” something, in Hebrew, is the הפעיל verb להעביר

.

For example:

תעביר את המלח.

Pass the salt.

Now, in תעביר את המלח

, we’re speaking to a male. How would we say the same thing to a female?

תעבירי את המלח.

Now, technically תעביר

and תעבירי

are future-tense forms of להעביר

, so we’re saying literally, “you will pass the salt,” which sounds a bit aggressive in English. In Hebrew, though, the imperative (command) form – העבר את המלח

/ העבירי את המלח

– is the one that sounds very formal and even a bit aggressive. When Israelis hear תעביר את המלח

they don’t think of it as a “you will” future-tense request (or demand), but rather simply as “pass the salt.”