הבנק מזכה את בעל הכרטיס היום.

את marks a definite direct object in Hebrew. It usually does not get translated into English.

In this sentence:

• הבנק = the bank
• מזכה = credits / is crediting
• את בעל הכרטיס = the cardholder, as the direct object

So את tells you that בעל הכרטיס is the thing/person receiving the action of the verb.

A useful rule:

• use את before a definite direct object
• do not use it before an indefinite direct object

Compare:

• הבנק מזכה את בעל הכרטיס = The bank credits the cardholder
• הבנק מזכה בעל כרטיס = The bank credits a cardholder (less likely in this context, but grammatically shows the contrast)

This is because בעל הכרטיס is a construct phrase in Hebrew.

A construct phrase is when two nouns are linked, roughly like:

• owner of the card
• holder of the card

Here:

• בעל = owner / holder
• הכרטיס = the card

Together:

• בעל הכרטיס = owner/holder of the card = the cardholder

In Hebrew construct chains, the definiteness of the whole phrase is usually determined by the last noun. So because הכרטיס is definite, the whole phrase בעל הכרטיס is definite.

That is why Hebrew says:

• בעל הכרטיס = the cardholder

and not:

• הבעל של הכרטיס in this kind of standard phrasing

Because בעל הכרטיס is a construct chain, and in a construct chain the first noun normally does not take ה־.

So Hebrew says:

• בעל הכרטיס

not:

• הבעל הכרטיס

This is a very common pattern:

• בית הספר = the school (literally: house of the school/study)
• ראש הממשלה = the prime minister (literally: head of the government)
• בעל הכרטיס = the cardholder (literally: owner/holder of the card)

So the missing ה־ on בעל is completely normal.

מזכה is the present tense / participle form of the verb לזכות in the causative/active sense used in Modern Hebrew banking and legal language.

Here it is:

• masculine singular
• agreeing with הבנק, which is a masculine singular noun

So:

• הבנק מזכה = the bank credits

If the subject changed, the form would change too:

• החברה מזכה = the company credits (feminine singular subject, but present-tense verb forms in some patterns can look the same in speech/writing depending on the verb)
• הבנקים מזכים = the banks credit

In this sentence, מזכה is best understood as credits / is crediting.

Yes. In Modern Hebrew, this form is traditionally called the present tense, though structurally it comes from a participle.

Depending on context, Hebrew present forms can match several English possibilities:

• credits
• is crediting
• sometimes a habitual present like does credit

So:

• הבנק מזכה את בעל הכרטיס היום

could be understood as:

• The bank credits the cardholder today
• The bank is crediting the cardholder today

The exact English choice depends on context, but the Hebrew form itself is normal present-tense usage.

היום means today, and Hebrew often places time expressions toward the end of the sentence.

So this word order is very natural:

• הבנק מזכה את בעל הכרטיס היום

It follows a common pattern:

• subject + verb + object + time expression

But Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, so you could also see:

• היום הבנק מזכה את בעל הכרטיס = Today, the bank credits the cardholder
• את בעל הכרטיס הבנק מזכה היום = The bank credits the cardholder today (more marked/emphatic)

So the final position of היום is normal and neutral.

In this sentence, היום means today.

Even though it literally looks like the day, Hebrew uses היום as the regular word for today.

Context tells you which meaning is intended:

• היום הבנק סגור = Today the bank is closed
• היום היה ארוך = The day was long

In your sentence, because it functions as a time adverb, it clearly means today.

Hebrew often uses the definite article ה־ when talking about a specific known thing, just like English the.

So:

• בנק = a bank
• הבנק = the bank

In this sentence, it is clearly a specific bank, not just any bank, so הבנק is natural.

Yes, literally it is owner/holder of the card.

Word by word:

• בעל = owner, possessor, holder
• הכרטיס = the card

But in natural English, the standard term in this context is usually cardholder.

So this is a good example of the difference between:

• literal structure: owner/holder of the card
• natural translation: cardholder

Hebrew often uses בעל in this broad sense of someone who possesses or holds something, not only a legal owner.

Potentially yes, depending on context, because לזכות can have a few related meanings in Modern Hebrew, such as:

• to credit an account/person
• to grant credit
• in some contexts, to acquit or rule in favor of someone
• to ascribe something to someone’s credit

However, with:

• הבנק = the bank
• בעל הכרטיס = the cardholder

the most natural meaning is financial:
the bank credits the cardholder.

So while the verb has a broader range, this sentence strongly points to a banking meaning.

There are two big clues:

1. את marks בעל הכרטיס as the direct object.
2. מזכה agrees with הבנק as the subject.

So the structure is:

• הבנק = subject
• מזכה = verb
• את בעל הכרטיס = direct object
• היום = time expression

Without את, a learner might need to rely more on word order and context, but here Hebrew makes it very clear.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

ha-bank mezaké et bá'al ha-kartís ha-yom

A few notes:

• הבנק = ha-bank
• מזכה = mezaké (stress on the last syllable)
• את = et
• בעל = ba'al (two vowel sounds; many speakers pronounce it smoothly)
• הכרטיס = ha-kartís
• היום = ha-yom

The main stresses are usually on:

• mezakÉ
• kartÍS