אנחנו מעצבים כלי חרס קטן.

מעצבים is the present-tense form of the verb לעצב (to design / shape).

In Hebrew, the present tense can cover both:

• we design
• we are designing

So this one form can match either the English simple present or present continuous, depending on context.

Because it agrees with אנחנו (we).

מעצבים is masculine plural present. Hebrew present-tense verb forms agree with the subject in gender and number.

So:

• אנחנו מעצבים = we (masculine or mixed group) design / are designing
• אנחנו מעצבות = we (all-female group) design / are designing

A native English speaker often notices that English we has only one form, but Hebrew still tracks gender in the present tense.

כלי חרס is a construct phrase (a noun + noun combination).

• כלי = vessel / utensil / tool / container
• חרס = clay / earthenware

Together, כלי חרס means something like:

• a clay vessel
• an earthenware vessel
• a pottery vessel

The exact English translation can vary a little depending on context, but the structure is very natural Hebrew.

Because Hebrew very often uses the construct state for combinations like this instead of של.

So:

• כלי חרס = a clay vessel / an earthenware vessel

This is more natural than כלי של חרס in this kind of phrase.

A good way to think of it is:

• English often uses noun + noun or adjective + noun
• Hebrew often uses a construct chain

Here, כלי is the main noun, and חרס tells you what kind/material it is.

It is singular here.

That can be confusing, because כלי may not look obviously singular to an English learner. But in this sentence it means a vessel / a utensil / a tool, singular.

You can also tell from the adjective:

• קטן = small (masculine singular)

If the noun were plural, the adjective would also be plural.

For reference:

• singular: כלי
• plural: כלים

Because in Hebrew, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

With a construct phrase like כלי חרס, the adjective usually comes after the whole phrase, not in the middle.

So:

• כלי חרס קטן = a small clay vessel

Not:

• קטן כלי חרס
• כלי קטן חרס

The adjective describes the whole noun phrase, so it goes at the end.

Because the adjective agrees with the head noun, which is כלי.

כלי is masculine singular, so the adjective must also be masculine singular:

• קטן

If the noun were feminine singular, you would expect:

• קטנה

If it were plural, the adjective would also be plural.

So the agreement is with כלי, not with חרס.

Because את is used before a definite direct object, not an indefinite one.

Here, כלי חרס קטן means a small clay vessel, which is indefinite, so there is no את.

Compare:

• אנחנו מעצבים כלי חרס קטן = We are designing a small clay vessel
• אנחנו מעצבים את כלי החרס הקטן = We are designing the small clay vessel

So the absence of את helps show that the object is indefinite.

Yes, it can, but there is an important detail.

You could say:

• מעצבים כלי חרס קטן

However, מעצבים by itself can mean:

• we are designing
• they are designing

because the masculine plural present form does not by itself distinguish we from they.

So:

• if the subject is already clear from context, leaving out אנחנו is possible
• if you want to make it clearly we, keeping אנחנו is helpful

A simple pronunciation guide is:

anachnu me'atzvim kli cheres katan

A slightly more careful transliteration is:

anaḥnu meʿatzvim kli ḥeres katan

Rough stress pattern:

• a-NAKH-nu
• me-atz-VIM
• kli
• KHE-res
• ka-TAN

A couple of sounds may feel unfamiliar:

• ח in חרס is a throaty sound, not exactly like English h
• ע in מעצבים is often very light in modern speech, and many learners barely pronounce it at first