המדינה הזאת חופשית.

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not written in the present tense.

So:

• המדינה הזאת חופשית = This country is free

Literally, it is closer to:

• The-country הזאת free

This is completely normal Hebrew. In the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, but in the present tense it is usually omitted.

For example:

• המדינה הזאת הייתה חופשית = This country was free
• המדינה הזאת תהיה חופשית = This country will be free

A common pronunciation is:

• ha-medee-NA ha-ZOT chof-SHEET

More carefully:

• המדינה = ha-medina
• הזאת = ha-zot
• חופשית = chofshit or chof-sheet in English-style transliteration

Notes:

• ח is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch, not like English ch in chair.
• The stress is usually on the last syllable in מדינה and חופשית, and on zot in הזאת.

In Hebrew, demonstratives like this often come after the noun.

So:

• המדינה הזאת = this country

This is the normal Hebrew pattern:

• noun + this/that

Examples:

• הספר הזה = this book
• הילדה הזאת = this girl
• הבית ההוא = that house

This is different from English, where this usually comes before the noun.

Because in Hebrew, when you say this country, the noun is usually definite, so it takes ה־.

So Hebrew says:

• המדינה הזאת = this country

Not usually:

• מדינה הזאת

This is because Hebrew treats this country as a definite noun phrase, similar to the country, this one.

You will often see this pattern:

• הספר הזה = this book
• העיר הזאת = this city
• האישה הזאת = this woman

Because מדינה is a feminine singular noun, and the demonstrative has to agree with it.

• מדינה = feminine singular
• so: הזאת = this for feminine singular

Compare:

• הספר הזה = this book
  (ספר is masculine singular)

• המדינה הזאת = this country
  (מדינה is feminine singular)

Hebrew adjectives and demonstratives usually agree in gender and number with the noun.

Because it describes המדינה, and adjectives in Hebrew must agree with the noun they describe.

Since מדינה is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• masculine singular: חופשי
• feminine singular: חופשית

So:

• המדינה הזאת חופשית = This country is free

Compare:

• העם הזה חופשי = This people/nation is free
  (if the noun is masculine)
• הארץ הזאת חופשית = This land is free
  (feminine)

Here, חופשית is an adjective meaning free.

It is describing the subject:

• המדינה הזאת = this country
• חופשית = free

So the structure is:

• subject + adjective

In other words:

• This country is free

Hebrew often uses adjectives directly as the predicate in present-tense sentences, without a separate word for is.

The basic structure is:

• המדינה הזאת = subject
• חופשית = predicate adjective

So the sentence pattern is:

• Subject + adjective

Literally:

• This country free

This is a very common Hebrew pattern in the present tense.

Yes, in many contexts you can also say:

• המדינה הזו חופשית

This means the same thing: This country is free.

Both הזאת and הזו are used in modern Hebrew.
Very roughly:

• הזאת can sound a bit more formal or fuller
• הזו is very common in everyday speech

A learner should recognize both.

You usually learn the gender of each noun along with the word itself. In this case, מדינה is feminine.

There are also clues:

• Many feminine nouns end in ־ה or ־ת
• מדינה ends in ־ה, which often suggests feminine gender

Because it is feminine, words connected to it must match:

• המדינה הזאת
• המדינה חופשית

But remember: endings are only clues, not absolute rules.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, like English the.

So:

• מדינה = country / a country
• המדינה = the country

In this phrase:

• המדינה הזאת literally looks like the country הזאת but the whole phrase means this country

The ה־ on זאת is part of the normal form used after a definite noun:

• הספר הזה
• הילד הזה
• הילדה הזאת

So even though English says this country, Hebrew expresses it with the definite article.

No, not with הזאת there.

• המדינה חופשית = The country is free
• המדינה הזאת חופשית = This country is free

The word הזאת specifically adds the meaning this.

In this sentence, חופשית most naturally means free in the sense of having freedom.

Because the subject is המדינה (the country / this country), the meaning is likely political or social freedom, not free of charge.

Hebrew, like English, depends a lot on context. With a country, חופשית strongly suggests:

• independent
• not oppressed
• having liberty

not:

• costing nothing
• available

Yes. Hebrew can sometimes change word order for style or emphasis, but the normal, straightforward order here is:

• המדינה הזאת חופשית

That is the most natural way to say This country is free.

If you move things around, it may sound marked, poetic, or less neutral. For a learner, the standard order is the safest one to use.