שמנו את הארגזים על משטח עץ בשביל שלא יעמדו על הרצפה.

שמנו is the 1st person plural past form of לשים — to put / to place.

So שמנו means we put or we placed.

Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows who is doing the action. Since שמנו already means we put, there is no need to add אנחנו unless you want emphasis.

את is the marker of a definite direct object.

In this sentence, הארגזים means the boxes / the crates, so it is definite because of ה־.

That is why Hebrew says:

שמנו את הארגזים

and not just:

שמנו הארגזים

Important: את usually is not translated into English. It is a grammatical marker, not a separate meaning word here.

The singular is ארגז — box / crate.

It is a masculine noun, and the plural is ארגזים.

That matters because later the verb יעמדו agrees with it:

• ארגזים = masculine plural
• יעמדו = masculine plural future form

So the grammar matches: the boxes → they will stand / be standing

Yes, יעמדו is a future form of לעמוד — to stand.

But in Hebrew, after expressions like בשביל שלא or כדי שלא, the future form is commonly used to express:

• purpose
• something intended
• something to be prevented

So here שלא יעמדו על הרצפה means something like:

• so that they won’t stand on the floor
• so that they wouldn’t be on the floor
• to keep them off the floor

So even though it is formally a future form, in English it may sound more natural as wouldn’t or won’t, depending on context.

Here בשביל שלא means so that ... not or in order that ... not.

It introduces a purpose clause:

• שמנו את הארגזים על משטח עץ = we put the boxes on a wooden pallet/surface
• בשביל שלא יעמדו על הרצפה = so that they would not be standing on the floor

In everyday Hebrew, בשביל is very common in speech for for / in order to / so that.

A close alternative is כדי שלא, which is a bit more neutral or slightly more formal.

So these are very similar:

• בשביל שלא יעמדו על הרצפה
• כדי שלא יעמדו על הרצפה

Because it is really ש־ + לא together.

• ש־ = that
• לא = not

So שלא literally means something like that not.

After בשביל or כדי, Hebrew often uses this structure:

• בשביל שלא...
• כדי שלא...

So בשביל שלא יעמדו על הרצפה is literally something like for that they not stand on the floor, though that sounds unnatural in English. The real meaning is so that they won’t / wouldn’t stand on the floor.

משטח עץ is a noun phrase meaning a wooden surface / a wooden platform / a wooden pallet.

Literally, it is something like:

• משטח = surface / platform / pallet
• עץ = wood

Hebrew often uses a noun like עץ where English would use an adjective like wooden.

So:

• משטח עץ = a wooden pallet / wooden surface

Also, the phrase is indefinite here, which is why there is no ה־. It means a wooden pallet/surface, not the wooden pallet/surface.

Because the meaning is on the floor, referring to a specific floor in the situation.

In Hebrew, just like in English, this is normally definite:

• על הרצפה = on the floor
• not usually on a floor

This is very common with things in the immediate environment:

• על השולחן = on the table
• על הקיר = on the wall
• על הרצפה = on the floor

So the ה־ here is completely natural.

Yes, Hebrew can use לעמוד for objects, not only for people.

For objects, it can mean:

• to stand upright
• to be standing somewhere
• to be positioned on a surface

So שלא יעמדו על הרצפה is natural Hebrew, even though in English we might translate it more idiomatically as:

• so they wouldn’t be on the floor
• so they wouldn’t sit directly on the floor
• to keep them off the floor

If you wanted a slightly different wording, you could also say:

• כדי שלא יהיו על הרצפה = so that they won’t be on the floor
• כדי שלא יונחו על הרצפה = so that they won’t be placed on the floor

But the original sentence is perfectly normal.

Because its subject is הארגזים — the boxes / the crates.

Hebrew verbs agree with their subject in number and often gender. Since הארגזים is masculine plural, the verb must also be masculine plural:

• ארגז → יעמוד
• ארגזים → יעמדו

So שלא יעמדו means so that they won’t stand / be standing.

Yes. A native speaker might also say things like:

• שמנו את הארגזים על משטח עץ כדי שלא יהיו על הרצפה.
• שמנו את הארגזים על משטח עץ כדי שלא יונחו על הרצפה.

The original sentence sounds natural, but different versions change the nuance a little:

• יעמדו emphasizes their physical position, almost stand/rest on
• יהיו is more general: be on
• יונחו sounds a bit more formal or technical: be placed

Also:

• בשביל sounds more conversational
• כדי sounds a bit more neutral or formal

So the original sentence is good, and these are just alternative phrasings.