מפקח הבנייה כתב רשימת ליקויים.

A reasonable pronunciation guide is:

me-fa-KE-aḥ hab-ni-YA ka-TAV re-shi-MAT li-ku-YIM

More carefully:

• מפקח = mefakéaḥ
• הבנייה = habniyá
• כתב = katáv
• רשימת = reshimát
• ליקויים = likuyím

The ḥ represents the throaty sound of ח.

Here it is functioning as a noun, meaning inspector or supervisor.

Grammatically, מפקח is also the masculine singular participle form of the verb לפקח = to supervise / inspect. Hebrew often uses participle forms as job titles or role nouns, so a form that looks verbal can also work as a noun.

So in this sentence, מפקח הבנייה means the construction inspector, not inspecting the construction.

Because this is a construct chain in Hebrew, called סמיכות.

In a construct chain:

• the first noun is linked to the second noun
• definiteness is usually marked on the second noun
• the whole phrase becomes definite

So:

• מפקח הבנייה = the inspector of the construction = the construction inspector
• מפקח בנייה = a construction inspector or construction inspector in a more indefinite/general sense

This is different from English, where we usually put the directly before the whole phrase.

For the same reason: this is also a construct chain.

The basic noun is רשימה = list.
When it becomes the first word in a construct chain, it changes to רשימת.

So:

• רשימה = a list
• רשימת ליקויים = a list of defects

This change is very common with feminine nouns ending in ־ה. In construct, that ending often becomes ־ת.

Because את usually marks a definite direct object.

Here, רשימת ליקויים is indefinite:

• כתב רשימת ליקויים = wrote a list of defects

If the object were definite, you would normally use את:

• כתב את רשימת הליקויים = wrote the list of defects

So the absence of את tells you the object is not definite.

ליקויים is the plural of ליקוי.

• ליקוי = defect, flaw, deficiency
• ליקויים = defects, flaws, deficiencies

This is a common word in formal Hebrew, especially in contexts like:

• inspections
• reports
• construction
• quality control
• legal or administrative writing

So רשימת ליקויים is a very natural phrase for a list of defects.

From both grammar and context.

As a verb, כתב is the 3rd person masculine singular past tense of לכתוב:

• הוא כתב = he wrote

That matches the subject מפקח, which is masculine singular.

Also, the sentence structure helps:

• subject: מפקח הבנייה
• verb: כתב
• object: רשימת ליקויים

In unvoweled Hebrew, כתב can sometimes be ambiguous in isolation, but in this sentence it is clearly the verb wrote.

Yes. This sentence uses a very common Modern Hebrew order:

subject + verb + object

• מפקח הבנייה = subject
• כתב = verb
• רשימת ליקויים = object

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, and you can also find verb-first order in some styles, but this sentence sounds normal and straightforward.

In principle, Hebrew can express possession or relationships with של, but here the construct chain is the natural choice.

Natural:

• מפקח הבנייה
• רשימת ליקויים

Much less natural here:

• מפקח של הבנייה
• רשימה של ליקויים

The של version is not impossible in every context, but in compact noun phrases like these, Hebrew strongly prefers the construct form.

They are related, but they do not mean the same thing.

• בנייה = construction, building activity, the process or field of building
• בניין = building as a structure

So:

• מפקח הבנייה is about construction
• מפקח הבניין would suggest the inspector of the building

That is why בנייה is the right word if the meaning is about construction work rather than a physical building.

The verb has to agree with the subject.

Female singular:

• מפקחת הבנייה כתבה רשימת ליקויים.
• The construction inspector wrote a list of defects.

Masculine plural:

• מפקחי הבנייה כתבו רשימת ליקויים.
• The construction inspectors wrote a list of defects.

Notice:

• מפקח becomes מפקחת for a female inspector
• כתב becomes כתבה for feminine singular
• כתב becomes כתבו for plural
• in the plural construct form, מפקח becomes מפקחי before the next noun

You would make the second noun definite, and then the whole construct chain becomes definite:

• רשימת ליקויים = a list of defects
• רשימת הליקויים = the list of defects

You do not normally put ה־ on the first noun in a simple construct chain.

So if the whole sentence had a definite object, it could be:

• מפקח הבנייה כתב את רשימת הליקויים.

That means The construction inspector wrote the list of defects.