חברת החשמל בודקת את חיוב היתר.

חברת החשמל is a construct chain in Hebrew, called סמיכות.

• חברה = company
• חברת = company of ...
• החשמל = the electricity

So literally it is something like the company of the electricity, which is how Hebrew says the electric company / electricity company.

In Hebrew, this kind of noun+noun structure is very common, and it often replaces English of.

That change happens because the noun is put into the construct state.

The base form is:

• חברה = company

But when it means company of ..., it becomes:

• חברת ... = company of ...

This is a normal pattern for many feminine nouns ending in ־ה: in construct, they often change to ־ת.

So:

• חברה = a company
• חברת החשמל = the electricity company

In a construct chain, the first noun usually does not take ה־ directly. The definiteness is determined by the last noun.

So:

• חברת חשמל = an electricity company
• חברת החשמל = the electricity company

Because החשמל is definite, the whole phrase becomes definite.

This is very different from English, so it is a very common question for learners.

Because the subject, חברת החשמל, is grammatically feminine singular.

The head noun is חברה / חברת, and חברה is a feminine noun. Therefore the verb must agree with it:

• בודק = masculine singular
• בודקת = feminine singular

So חברת החשמל בודקת means The electric company is checking / checks.

Even though a company is not a female person, Hebrew still treats the noun חברה as grammatically feminine.

את marks a definite direct object.

In this sentence:

• חברת החשמל = subject
• בודקת = verb
• את חיוב היתר = definite direct object

Hebrew uses את before a direct object when that object is definite.

It does not mean with here. It is just a grammatical marker.

Compare:

• היא בודקת חיוב = She checks a charge / billing
• היא בודקת את החיוב = She checks the charge / the billing

So in your sentence, את tells you that חיוב היתר is the object being checked.

This is again a construct chain.

• חיוב = charge, billing
• היתר = the excess / the overage

Together:

• חיוב היתר = the charge of the excess, or more naturally the overcharge / excess charge

As with חברת החשמל, the first noun in the construct chain usually does not get ה־. The definiteness comes from the second noun, היתר.

So:

• חיוב יתר = an excess charge / overcharge
• חיוב היתר = the excess charge / the overcharge

Usually, no—that is exactly the kind of thing learners might wonder about.

Hebrew היתר can mean permit/authorization in some contexts, but in this sentence it is understood as coming from יתר in the sense of excess / surplus / extra amount.

So here חיוב היתר is about overcharging or an excess charge, not about a permit.

Hebrew often has words that look identical in writing but mean different things depending on context.

In standard Hebrew, it normally should not be omitted here, because the object is definite.

Since חיוב היתר is definite, standard Hebrew expects:

• בודקת את חיוב היתר

without את, the sentence would sound nonstandard or incomplete to most learners of formal Hebrew grammar.

In casual speech, people sometimes bend rules, but in correct standard usage, את belongs here.

The basic order here is:

• Subject: חברת החשמל
• Verb: בודקת
• Object: את חיוב היתר

So the structure is basically SVO:

The electric company checks the overcharge.

Hebrew can sometimes use other word orders, but this is a very normal, neutral sentence pattern.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Modern Hebrew present tense often covers both:

• checks
• is checking

So חברת החשמל בודקת את חיוב היתר could mean:

• The electric company checks the overcharge
• The electric company is checking the overcharge

The surrounding context would tell you which English translation fits best.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

khevrat ha-khashmal bodeket et khiyuv ha-yeter

A few notes:

• ח is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach
• ת at the end of חברת is pronounced clearly
• בודקת has stress on the last syllable: bo-de-KET
• החשמל has stress on the last syllable: ha-khash-MAL

Learners often find the construct forms easier once they hear them aloud a few times.