הנחש בגינה.

A natural pronunciation is:

• ha-na-KHASH ba-gi-NA = if the meaning is The snake is in the garden
• ha-na-KHASH be-gi-NA = if the meaning is The snake is in a garden

A few notes:

• The stress is usually on the last syllable of both words: naKHASH, giNA.
• The letter ח in נחש is a throaty kh sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So Hebrew often says literally:

• הנחש בגינה = The snake in the garden

but it means:

• The snake is in the garden

This is very normal in Hebrew. In past or future, you would use forms of to be, but not usually in simple present-tense sentences like this.

The ה at the beginning is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

• נחש = snake
• הנחש = the snake

This ה is very common in Hebrew and gets attached directly to the noun.

Because the preposition ב meaning in attaches directly to the noun.

So:

• ב = in
• גינה = garden
• בגינה = in a garden / in the garden

Hebrew often writes short prepositions like ב directly onto the following word.

Good question. In Hebrew, when ב (in) comes before a definite noun, it combines with the definite article ה.

So:

• הגינה = the garden
• ב + הגינה becomes בגינה

With vowel marks, you can actually see the difference:

• בְּגִינָה = in a garden
• בַּגִּינָה = in the garden

But in normal modern writing, Hebrew usually leaves out vowel marks, so both are written the same way: בגינה. Context tells you which one is meant.

Yes, in ordinary unpointed Hebrew writing, בגינה can be ambiguous.

It can mean:

• in a garden
• in the garden

Usually the surrounding context makes it clear. If the meaning has already been given to you as the garden, then that is the intended reading here.

The order here is:

• הנחש = the subject
• בגינה = a location phrase

So the structure is basically:

• The snake
  • in the garden

This is a very normal Hebrew sentence pattern.

Hebrew could change the order for emphasis, but הנחש בגינה is a straightforward, neutral way to say it.

נחש is normally masculine.

• נחש = a snake / snake
• הנחש = the snake

It does matter in Hebrew overall, because adjectives, verbs, and pronouns often agree with gender. But in this very short sentence, you do not see any gender agreement clearly, because there is no adjective and no present-tense verb form.

For example:

• הנחש גדול = The snake is big
  (גדול is masculine)

גינה is feminine.

You can often guess that a noun ending in -ה is feminine, though not always. Here:

• גינה = garden and it is feminine

That would matter if you described it with an adjective:

• הגינה גדולה = The garden is big

Because את is used before a definite direct object, and this sentence does not have a direct object.

Here you have:

• a subject: הנחש
• a location phrase: בגינה

There is no action being done to an object, so no את is needed.

If the meaning is The snake is in the garden, it would typically be:

• הַנָּחָשׁ בַּגִּינָה

If the meaning is The snake is in a garden, it would be:

• הַנָּחָשׁ בְּגִינָה

In everyday Hebrew, these vowel marks are usually omitted, so you normally just see:

• הנחש בגינה