ראינו את הספינה אתמול.

ראינו means we saw.

It is a past-tense verb form from לראות (to see). In this sentence, the verb already includes the subject we, so one Hebrew word covers what English says with two words: we saw.

Because Hebrew often puts the subject information inside the verb itself.

So ראינו already tells you we saw, and Hebrew does not need אנחנו (we) unless the speaker wants extra emphasis or clarity.

You could say אנחנו ראינו את הספינה אתמול, but it is not necessary.

Here את is the direct object marker. It comes before a definite direct object.

So in ראינו את הספינה, the thing that was seen is the ship, and because the ship is definite, Hebrew uses את before it.

It usually does not get translated into English. It is a grammatical marker, not a word with a meaning like to or with.

They do different jobs:

• את marks the definite direct object.
• הספינה means the ship.

So:

• ספינה = ship / a ship
• הספינה = the ship

Because the object is definite, Hebrew normally says את הספינה.

Then Hebrew would usually drop את and also drop the ה־ on the noun:

ראינו ספינה אתמול = We saw a ship yesterday

Hebrew has no separate word for a/an, so an indefinite noun is usually just the plain noun without ה־.

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, the equivalent of English the.

So:

• ספינה = ship / a ship
• הספינה = the ship

It is attached directly to the beginning of the noun.

Yes, Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

ראינו את הספינה אתמול is a natural way to say We saw the ship yesterday.

But you could also say:

אתמול ראינו את הספינה

That still means the same thing, but putting אתמול first gives a little more emphasis to yesterday.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ra-EE-nu et ha-sfi-NA et-MOL

More carefully: ראינו את הספינה אתמול = ra'ínu et hasfiná etmól

The main stresses are usually on:

• ראינו → -i-
• הספינה → final -na
• אתמול → final -mol

It is spelled the same as אַתְּ, the feminine singular word for you, but here it is not that word.

In this sentence, את is the direct object marker because it comes before the noun הספינה.

So context tells you which את it is.

No. In the past tense, first person plural does not show gender.

So ראינו can mean we saw whether the speakers are:

• all male,
• all female,
• or a mixed group.

Because modern Hebrew is usually written without niqqud (vowel marks).

Native speakers and learners read the words from experience, pattern recognition, and context. With vowel marks, the sentence would be easier for beginners to read, but everyday Hebrew normally leaves them out.

So learners are expected to recognize forms like:

• ראינו
• הספינה
• אתמול

even without written vowels.

Yes.

ראינו את הספינה means We saw the ship.

Adding אתמול simply adds time information: yesterday.

So אתמול is optional in terms of grammar; it just tells you when the action happened.