הדובר עונה לשאלה.

הדובר means the speaker.

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

• דובר = speaker
• הדובר = the speaker

In this sentence, it refers to a specific speaker, not just any speaker.

Yes. עונה is the present-tense form of the verb לענות, meaning to answer.

Here it means answers or is answering, depending on context. Hebrew present tense often covers both simple present and present progressive:

• הדובר עונה = the speaker answers / the speaker is answering

In Hebrew, the present tense is built from forms that historically behave like participles, but for a learner it is usually best to think of עונה here simply as a present-tense verb.

Because the verb לענות normally takes the preposition ל־, meaning to.

So Hebrew says:

• לענות לשאלה = to answer a question / to answer the question

Literally, this is closer to to answer to the question, although that is not how natural English says it.

So:

• הדובר עונה לשאלה = the speaker answers the question

You do not use את here, because שאלה is not functioning as a direct object after this verb. It comes with the preposition ל־.

Because Hebrew combines the preposition ל־ (to) with the definite article ה־ (the).

So:

• ל + השאלה becomes לשאלה

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew.

Similar examples:

• לבית = to the house
• למורה = to the teacher
• לספר = to the book

So לשאלה means to the question.

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

So where English says:

• The speaker is answering the question

Hebrew simply says:

• הדובר עונה לשאלה

This is completely normal. Hebrew generally leaves out a present-tense equivalent of to be in ordinary sentences like this.

Yes. עונה is masculine singular, and הדובר is also masculine singular.

Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. Compare:

• הדובר עונה = masculine singular
• הדוברת עונה = feminine singular
• הדוברים עונים = masculine plural
• הדוברות עונות = feminine plural

So the form עונה fits הדובר correctly.

The sentence uses a very common Hebrew word order:

• Subject + Verb + Complement
• הדובר | עונה | לשאלה

That is:

• the speaker | answers | the question

Hebrew word order can sometimes be more flexible than English, but this sentence is straightforward and neutral.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-doVER oNE la-she'eLA

More carefully:

• הדובר = ha-dover
• עונה = oneh
• לשאלה = la-she'elah

Approximate full pronunciation:

ha-doVER oNE la-she-e-LA

The main stress is usually near the end of each word:

• doVER
• oNE
• she'eLA

Yes. דובר can mean speaker, especially in the sense of a person who speaks or a spokesperson, depending on context.

For example:

• דובר עברית = a Hebrew speaker
• דובר החברה = the company spokesperson

In הדובר עונה לשאלה, the most natural meaning is simply the speaker.

It is definite here, meaning the question, not a question.

You can tell because of the contraction:

• לשאלה = ל + השאלה = to the question

If it were indefinite, you would normally have:

• לשאלה? No, that would still be definite because of the hidden ה
• לשאלה always means to the question
• לשאלה is not the indefinite form

The indefinite form would be:

• לשאלה is not possible as indefinite
• לשאלה specifically includes the
• לשאלה = to the question
• לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה

If you wanted to a question, you would say:

• לשאלה? No
• לשאלה is definite
• לשאלה = to the question
• לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה
• לשאלה cannot mean to a question

The indefinite form would be:

• לשאלה is not right for indefinite
• לשאלה is definite only
• לשאלה = to the question
• לשאלה comes from ל + השאלה
• לשאלה cannot mean to a question

More simply: Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like a/an, so the bare noun after ל־ would be לשאלה only if definite article is fused. The truly indefinite form is לשאלה? No—the indefinite would actually be לשאלה only if there were no article, but since שאלה begins with ש, the written form can be confusing. The key point for this sentence is that standard לשאלה is understood as to the question because it represents ל + השאלה.

You would change the verb form:

• הדובר ענה לשאלה = the speaker answered the question
• הדובר יענה לשאלה = the speaker will answer the question

So the pattern is:

• עונה = present
• ענה = past
• יענה = future

The noun parts stay the same; only the verb changes.