אני בודקת את השרשרת לפני שאני מדוושת.

Because the sentence has two clauses, and each clause has its own subject:

• אני בודקת את השרשרת = I check the chain
• לפני שאני מדוושת = before I pedal / before I’m pedaling

This is very similar to English: I check the chain before I pedal.

In Hebrew, repeating אני is especially useful in the present tense, because present-tense verb forms usually show gender and number, but not clearly person. So בודקת by itself could mean checking for a feminine subject, but not specifically I unless the context makes it clear.

That -ת marks the verbs as feminine singular in the present tense.

So this sentence is said by a female speaker.

Compare:

• אני בודקת... אני מדוושת... = said by a woman
• אני בודק... אני מדווש... = said by a man

So a male version would be:

אני בודק את השרשרת לפני שאני מדווש.

את here is the direct object marker. It does not mean you in this sentence.

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object—usually something with ה־ (the), a name, or a pronoun.

So:

• אני בודקת את השרשרת = I check the chain
• השרשרת is definite, so Hebrew adds את

English does not have an equivalent word, so you usually do not translate it.

השרשרת means the chain, while שרשרת means a chain / chain.

The sentence is talking about a specific chain—most likely the chain on the bicycle being used—so Hebrew uses the definite article ה־.

Also, because the object is definite, that is why את appears:

• את השרשרת = the chain
• not just שרשרת

If the noun were indefinite, you normally would not use את.

Literally, it is something like:

• לפני = before
• שאני = that I / that + I

Together, לפני שאני... means before I...

This is a very common Hebrew structure for before + clause:

• לפני שאני אוכלת = before I eat
• לפני שאני יוצאת = before I go out
• לפני שאני מדוושת = before I pedal

So even though English does not say before that I, Hebrew often builds it that way.

They are both in the present tense.

In Hebrew, the present tense is often used for:

• what someone is doing now
• habitual actions
• general routines

Here, the sentence sounds like a habitual action or routine:

I check the chain before I pedal.

So בודקת and מדוושת are functioning like English simple present in a routine statement.

Because after לפני ש־ you normally use a full clause, not just a bare infinitive.

So Hebrew says:

• לפני שאני מדוושת = before I pedal

rather than simply using לדווש after לפני.

English often allows structures like before pedaling, but Hebrew usually prefers a different structure, such as:

• לפני שאני מדוושת
• לפני שאני מתחילה לדווש = before I start pedaling
• לפני הדיווש = before the pedaling / before pedaling (more formal or noun-like)

Because the two verbs come from different verb patterns in Hebrew.

• בודקת comes from לבדוק = to check
• מדוושת comes from לדווש = to pedal

In Hebrew, present-tense forms depend on the verb’s binyan (verb pattern). Many present-tense forms in some binyanim begin with מ־, while others do not.

So this difference is normal and does not mean one is more “present” than the other. It is just part of how Hebrew verb patterns work.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense does not always make the same distinction English does between:

• I pedal
• I am pedaling

So אני מדוושת can express:

• an action happening now
• a repeated or habitual action

In this sentence, because the whole statement sounds like a routine, the natural English meaning is something like I check the chain before I pedal.

Yes, it is understandable and grammatical.

That said, if the speaker specifically means before I start pedaling, many native speakers might say something a little more explicit, such as:

אני בודקת את השרשרת לפני שאני מתחילה לדווש.

That version makes the sequence clearer: first checking, then starting to pedal.

So the original sentence works, but depending on context, a native speaker might choose a slightly different phrasing for style or clarity.