הקדר שם גוש חימר על האובניים.

In unpointed Hebrew, several different words are written the same way:

• שָׂם = put / placed
• שֵׁם = name
• שָׁם = there

So you have to use context. In this sentence, שם comes right after the subject הקדר, so it is functioning as the verb put / placed.

With the verb לשים (to put), the masculine singular past form and the masculine singular present form can both appear as שם.

So by itself, הקדר שם... can be understood as either:

• the potter put...
• the potter puts / is putting...

Usually the wider context, or the translation given in your lesson, tells you which meaning is intended.

Because את is normally used before a definite direct object.

Here, גוש חימר is indefinite: a lump of clay, not the lump of clay. So no את is used.

Compare:

• הקדר שם גוש חימר... = a lump of clay
• הקדר שם את גוש החימר... = the lump of clay

Hebrew often uses a noun + noun construction where English uses of.

So גוש חימר literally looks like lump clay, but it means lump of clay.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern, often called a construct chain (סמיכות). Using של is sometimes possible in Hebrew, but here גוש חימר is the more natural and compact phrasing.

Because אובניים is a word with a dual/plural-looking form. The ending ־ַיִם / -ayim is historically a dual ending.

Even though it looks plural, אובניים is the normal Hebrew word for a potter’s wheel. English usually translates it as singular because it refers to one device.

Historically, the tool may have been thought of as having two wheel parts, which helps explain the form.

Not all Hebrew prepositions combine with the definite article ה־.

The short prepositions ב, כ, and ל often combine with ה־:

• ב + ה → בַּ
• כ + ה → כַּ
• ל + ה → לַ

But על does not combine that way, so you simply say:

• על האובניים = on the wheel

Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• הקדר = the potter
• האובניים = the potter’s wheel

But:

• גוש חימר = a lump of clay

So the sentence mixes definite and indefinite nouns, just as English does.

Yes, this word order is completely normal in modern Hebrew.

This sentence is:

• הקדר = subject
• שם = verb
• גוש חימר = object
• על האובניים = prepositional phrase

Modern Hebrew very often uses subject–verb–object order, especially in everyday language. Verb-first word order also exists, but this sentence sounds natural and straightforward.

A rough pronunciation is:

ha-ka-DAR sam goosh khe-MAR al ha-ov-NA-yim

A few notes:

• ח in חימר is a throaty kh sound, like Scottish loch or German Bach.
• גוש sounds like goosh.
• אובניים is stressed near the end: ov-NA-yim.
• Different textbooks may use slightly different transliterations, but this is a good rough guide.