החייט בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת.

Breakdown of החייט בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת.

את
direct object marker
לבדוק
to check
חייט
tailor
תפרtefer
seam
מכפלתmakhpelet
hem

Questions & Answers about החייט בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת.

How do you pronounce החייט בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת?

A natural pronunciation is:

ha-khayat bodek et ha-tefer ve-et ha-mikhpelet

A rough stress guide:

ha-kha-YAT bo-DEK et ha-TE-fer ve-et ha-mikh-PE-let

If you want to sound more natural, keep את short and unstressed.

How do I pronounce the letter ח in החייט?

ח is usually pronounced like a throaty kh sound, similar to the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

So החייט begins with something like ha-kh..., not with an English h alone.

If you cannot make that sound yet, using a simple h is understandable, but learners usually aim for kh.

What does the ה at the beginning of החייט mean?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

  • חייט = a tailor / tailor
  • החייט = the tailor

The same thing happens later in the sentence with התפר and המכפלת.

Why is the verb בודק?

בודק is the present-tense masculine singular form of the verb לבדוק, meaning to check / inspect.

It matches the subject:

  • החייט is masculine singular
  • so the verb is בודק

If the subject were feminine, you would normally use בודקת.

Why isn’t there a separate word for is in is checking?

In modern Hebrew present tense, you usually do not use a separate word for am / is / are.

So בודק can mean:

  • checks
  • is checking

The context tells you which English translation sounds best.

Why is there no pronoun like הוא for he?

Because the subject noun החייט is already stated, Hebrew does not need an extra pronoun.

So:

  • החייט בודק = the tailor checks / is checking

Adding הוא would usually be unnecessary here.

What does את mean in this sentence?

Here, את does not have a direct English translation. It marks a definite direct object.

So in:

בודק את התפר

את tells you that התפר is the thing being checked.

A very important point: this is not the same as English with. In this sentence, את is just a grammar marker.

Why is את used before התפר and המכפלת?

Because both nouns are definite:

  • התפר = the seam
  • המכפלת = the hem

In Hebrew, definite direct objects are commonly marked with את.

So:

  • בודק את התפר
  • בודק את המכפלת

When both appear together, you get:

בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת

What is ואת? Is it one word?

Yes, ואת is simply:

  • ו־ = and
  • את = the definite direct object marker

So ואת המכפלת literally works like and [object marker] the hem.

This is very common in Hebrew spelling: short prefixes like ו־ attach directly to the next word.

Why is את repeated before the second noun instead of just saying את התפר והמכפלת?

Repeating את makes it clear that both nouns are definite direct objects:

  • את התפר ואת המכפלת

This is a very normal and clear way to say it.

You may also encounter sentences where את is not repeated before every item in a list, especially in less careful speech, but repeating it is very common and helpful for learners.

Why do התפר and המכפלת also begin with ה?

For the same reason as החייט: ה־ means the.

So:

  • תפר = seam
  • התפר = the seam

and

  • מכפלת = hem
  • המכפלת = the hem

Because these are definite objects, they also take את.

Do the nouns התפר and המכפלת affect the form of the verb?

No. In Hebrew, the verb agrees with the subject, not with the direct objects.

So the verb בודק agrees with החייט, not with התפר or המכפלת.

For reference:

  • תפר is masculine
  • מכפלת is feminine

But that does not change בודק here.

Is the word order in this sentence normal Hebrew word order?

Yes. This is a very standard subject–verb–object order:

  • החייט = subject
  • בודק = verb
  • את התפר ואת המכפלת = object(s)

So this sentence has a very neutral, natural structure.

What would change if the objects were indefinite instead of definite?

If the objects were indefinite, you would usually remove both ה־ and את.

Compare:

  • החייט בודק את התפר ואת המכפלת = The tailor checks the seam and the hem
  • חייט בודק תפר ומכפלת = A tailor checks a seam and a hem (grammatically possible, though context matters)

So a useful rule is:

  • definite object → usually use את
  • indefinite object → usually no את
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