בדקו האם לוח המקשים פותח את המנגנון.

Yes — בדקו is ambiguous in unpointed Hebrew.

It can be:

• badkú = they checked (past, 3rd person plural)
• bidkú = check! (imperative, plural)

In this sentence, the context makes it clear that it is an instruction, so it means check.

This is very common in Hebrew: without vowel marks, you often rely on context to tell whether a form is past or imperative.

בדקו is a plural command. It is addressed to:

• more than one person
• usually masculine plural, but in modern Hebrew it is also often used for mixed groups

If you were speaking to:

• one man: בדוק
• one woman: בדקי
• more than one woman: בדוקנה in very formal/old-style language, though modern Hebrew often avoids this and uses the common plural form in many contexts

So here the sentence is telling you all to check something.

האם means whether or if when introducing an indirect yes/no question.

So:

• בדקו האם... = Check whether...

It does not mean the mother here. That word is also spelled האם, but context distinguishes them.

In this sentence, האם introduces the clause:

• האם לוח המקשים פותח את המנגנון
• whether the keypad/keyboard opens the mechanism

Both can relate to if/whether, but האם is especially common in formal, written, or instructional Hebrew when introducing an indirect yes/no question.

So in a sentence like this — which sounds like an instruction manual or technical direction — האם sounds very natural.

Very roughly:

• האם = more explicit/formal whether
• אם = can also mean if, but has other uses too

לוח המקשים is a noun phrase built like X of Y:

• לוח = board/panel
• המקשים = the keys/buttons

So literally it is something like the board/panel of the keys.

In actual usage, this can refer to a:

• keyboard
• keypad
• button panel

The exact best translation depends on context.

Hebrew often uses this kind of structure where English might prefer a single compound noun.

Because this is a construct chain (סמיכות).

In a construct chain:

• the first noun is in a special linked form
• the definiteness of the whole phrase is usually shown on the second noun

So:

• לוח מקשים = a keypad / a keyboard
• לוח המקשים = the keypad / the keyboard

Even though לוח itself does not have ה, the whole phrase is definite because המקשים is definite.

This is a very important Hebrew pattern.

Because the subject is לוח המקשים, and the head noun is לוח, which is masculine singular.

The verb in the present tense agrees with the subject:

• masculine singular: פותח
• feminine singular: פותחת
• masculine plural: פותחים
• feminine plural: פותחות

So:

• לוח המקשים פותח = the keypad opens
• if the subject were המקלדת (keyboard, feminine), you would say פותחת

It is the present-tense form of לפתוח (to open), masculine singular.

Hebrew present-tense forms are historically participles, so they often behave a bit differently from English verbs, but in normal learning terms you can treat פותח here as:

• opens
• is opening

In this sentence, the natural meaning is:

• opens

את marks a definite direct object.

Here:

• המנגנון = the mechanism
• because it is definite, Hebrew uses את

So:

• פותח את המנגנון = opens the mechanism

Compare:

• פותח מנגנון = opens a mechanism
• פותח את המנגנון = opens the mechanism

את usually is not translated into English, but it is grammatically important in Hebrew.

מנגנון means mechanism, device, or sometimes system, depending on context.

In this sentence, it probably means some physical internal mechanism — for example, a lock, release system, or opening device.

It is a fairly common word, especially in:

• technical language
• mechanical contexts
• abstract contexts like government machinery or organizational mechanisms

Here it sounds technical and concrete.

The structure is:

• בדקו = Check
• האם = whether
• לוח המקשים = the keypad/keyboard
• פותח = opens
• את המנגנון = the mechanism

So literally:

• Check whether the keypad opens the mechanism.

The inner clause after האם follows a normal Hebrew order:

• subject + verb + object

That is:

• לוח המקשים = subject
• פותח = verb
• את המנגנון = object

Grammatically, פותח can sometimes correspond to either:

• opens
• is opening

But in this kind of technical instruction, the normal interpretation is:

• Check whether the keypad/keyboard opens the mechanism

In other words, the sentence is probably asking about function or capability, not an action happening right now.

So English usually prefers opens here, not is opening.

Yes, it is natural, especially in a:

• manual
• troubleshooting guide
• technical instruction
• repair or testing context

It sounds like an instruction telling someone to test whether pressing or using the keypad causes the mechanism to open.

So the overall tone is fairly formal and practical, not casual everyday conversation.