אני מנסה למרכז את החימר על האובניים.

Yes. Hebrew present tense often covers both meanings that English separates into I try and I am trying.

So אני מנסה can mean:

• I try
• I am trying

The exact English translation depends on context. In this sentence, am trying sounds more natural because it describes an action happening right now.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb form usually does not show person clearly the way English does.

So מנסה by itself can mean something like trying / tries / am trying / is trying, depending on context. Because of that, Hebrew often includes the subject pronoun in the present tense for clarity.

So:

• אני מנסה = I am trying
• without אני, the subject would be less clear

In unpointed Hebrew spelling, מנסה can represent either a masculine or feminine singular speaker.

In careful pronunciation, there can be a difference:

• masculine: menasé
• feminine: menasá

But the spelling stays the same: מנסה.

So from the written sentence alone, you usually cannot tell whether the speaker is male or female.

Here ל־ marks the infinitive, so it works like English to.

So:

• למרכז = to center

This is very common after verbs like:

• מנסה = tries / is trying
• רוצה = wants
• יכול = can

So מנסה למרכז is structurally just like trying to center.

Yes. למרכז means to center, in the sense of bringing something to the center.

In pottery, it specifically means centering the clay on the potter’s wheel before shaping it. So this is a very natural verb in that context.

It is a more modern, practical verb formation based on מרכז (center).

No. Here את is not the pronoun you.

In this sentence, את is the direct object marker. It comes before a definite direct object.

So:

• את החימר = marks the clay as the direct object of the verb

This את is usually pronounced et.

That is different from אַתְּ, the pronoun you (feminine singular), which is pronounced at.

Because החימר is a definite direct object.

• ה־ means the
• חימר = clay
• החימר = the clay

In Hebrew, when the direct object is definite, you normally put את before it.

So:

• למרכז את החימר = to center the clay

If the object were indefinite, את would usually disappear:

• למרכז חימר = to center clay / to center some clay

Because על means on, and in this context the clay is physically being centered on the potter’s wheel.

So:

• על = on
• על האובניים = on the potter’s wheel

This is also the natural phrasing in pottery-related Hebrew. The idea is that the clay sits on top of the wheel as you work it.

That is a great question, because it really does look plural or dual.

אובניים is a fixed noun meaning potter’s wheel. Historically, it has an old dual/plural-looking form, but in modern use it can refer to a single wheel.

So even though it ends in ־יים, you should learn אובניים as the standard word for a potter’s wheel.

This is one of those words whose form does not match what an English speaker expects.