כל עוד השרשרת עובדת, אפשר לדווש לאט.

כל עוד means as long as.

It introduces a condition that remains true for a period of time. In this sentence, it means:

• As long as the chain is working, ...
• or So long as the chain works, ...

It is a very common Hebrew expression for conditional situations.

Examples:

• כל עוד יש זמן, נמשיך. — As long as there is time, we’ll continue.
• כל עוד אתה כאן, הכול בסדר. — As long as you’re here, everything is fine.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

So:

• שרשרת = a chain
• השרשרת = the chain

In this sentence, we are talking about a specific chain, presumably the bicycle chain, so Hebrew uses השרשרת.

Because השרשרת is a feminine singular noun.

In Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. Since שרשרת is feminine singular, the verb must also be feminine singular:

• masculine singular: עובד
• feminine singular: עובדת
• masculine plural: עובדים
• feminine plural: עובדות

So:

• השרשרת עובדת = the chain works / is working

It can mean both, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense often covers both:

• works
• is working

So השרשרת עובדת can mean:

• the chain works
• the chain is working
• the chain is functioning

In everyday Hebrew, the present tense is often more flexible than in English.

Hebrew uses עובד / עובדת not only for people who work, but also for things that function properly.

So השרשרת עובדת means the chain is functioning.

This is very natural in Hebrew, just like English can say:

• The machine works
• The phone isn’t working

Other examples in Hebrew:

• המחשב עובד. — The computer works / is working.
• המנוע לא עובד. — The engine doesn’t work.

אפשר means something like:

• it is possible
• one can
• you can
• it’s possible to

In this sentence:

• אפשר לדווש לאט = it’s possible to pedal slowly / one can pedal slowly

This is an impersonal construction. It does not name a specific subject like I, you, or they.

So the sentence is not directly saying you can pedal slowly, but that is often the natural English translation.

Because אפשר in this kind of sentence is usually an impersonal expression.

It behaves like a fixed form meaning it is possible. It does not agree with a person doing the action.

So Hebrew says:

• אפשר לדווש — it is possible to pedal
• אפשר ללכת — it is possible to go
• אפשר לראות — it is possible to see

This is different from using יכול / יכולה / יכולים / יכולות, which do agree with the subject:

• אתה יכול לדווש — you can pedal
• היא יכולה לדווש — she can pedal

Because לדווש is the infinitive form, meaning to pedal.

The prefix ל־ often marks the infinitive in Hebrew, similar to to in English.

So:

• לדווש = to pedal

After אפשר, Hebrew commonly uses an infinitive:

• אפשר + infinitive

Examples:

• אפשר לשבת. — It’s possible / okay to sit.
• אפשר להתחיל. — It’s possible / okay to begin.
• אפשר לדווש. — One can pedal.

לאט means slowly.

Here it functions as an adverb, describing how the pedaling is done:

• לדווש לאט = to pedal slowly

Hebrew often uses words like this without changing their form. Unlike adjectives, adverbs in Hebrew usually do not agree in gender or number.

Compare:

• איטי / איטית = slow, as an adjective
• לאט = slowly, as an adverb

So:

• אופניים איטיים = slow bicycles
• לדווש לאט = to pedal slowly

The comma separates the conditional clause from the main clause.

Structure:

• כל עוד השרשרת עובדת = as long as the chain works
• אפשר לדווש לאט = one can pedal slowly

So the comma helps show:

• condition first
• main statement second

This is similar to English:

• As long as the chain works, you can pedal slowly.

Yes. Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

For example, you could also say:

• אפשר לדווש לאט כל עוד השרשרת עובדת.

This means essentially the same thing:

• You can pedal slowly as long as the chain works.

The original version puts the condition first, which gives it a slightly more structured or explanatory feel.

It sounds natural grammatically.

A Hebrew speaker would understand it as:

• As long as the chain is functioning, it’s possible to pedal slowly.

Depending on context, a speaker might also choose slightly different wording, but the sentence itself is normal and correct.

The most notable natural features are:

• כל עוד for as long as
• עובדת for is functioning
• אפשר + infinitive for a general can / it is possible to

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

kol od ha-sharsheret ovedet, efshar lidvosh leat

A few notes:

• כל עוד = kol od
• השרשרת = ha-shar-she-ret
• עובדת = o-ve-det
• אפשר = ef-shar
• לדווש = lid-vosh
• לאט = le-at

The stress is roughly:

• sharSHEret
• oVEdet
• efSHAR
• lidVOSH
• leAT