המעשה הזה היה אמיץ.

• המעשה = the act / the deed
  
  • Base noun: מעשה
  • ה־ makes it definite: the
• הזה = this
  
  • It describes המעשה
• היה = was
• אמיץ = brave

So the structure is:

[the act] [this] [was] [brave]

That is normal Hebrew word order for this/that with a noun.

In Hebrew, demonstratives like this and that usually come after the noun:

• הספר הזה = this book
• הילד הזה = this boy
• המעשה הזה = this act

This is different from English, where we say this act.

So a literal word-for-word order would feel more like:

the-act this was brave

Because in Hebrew, when you say this/that + noun, the noun is usually definite, and the demonstrative also appears in its definite form.

So:

• מעשה = an act / act
• המעשה = the act
• המעשה הזה = this act

This is the normal pattern:

• הבית הזה = this house
• המכונית הזאת = this car

For English speakers, it can feel like Hebrew is saying the act this, but that is just how the language builds the phrase.

היה is the past tense form of to be for he/it was.

Since מעשה is a masculine singular noun, Hebrew uses the matching past-tense form:

• היה = was for masculine singular
• הייתה = was for feminine singular
• היו = were for plural

Examples:

• המעשה הזה היה אמיץ = This act was brave
• ההחלטה הזאת הייתה אמיצה = This decision was brave
• המעשים האלה היו אמיצים = These acts were brave

Because Hebrew often does not need an explicit subject pronoun when the noun is already there.

In English, we might think:

• This act — it was brave

But in Hebrew, once המעשה הזה is stated, you do not need a separate it. The noun itself is the subject.

So:

• המעשה הזה היה אמיץ not
• המעשה הזה הוא היה אמיץ in normal usage

Because אמיץ must agree with the noun it describes.

מעשה is masculine singular, so the adjective is also masculine singular:

• masculine singular: אמיץ
• feminine singular: אמיצה
• masculine plural: אמיצים
• feminine plural: אמיצות

Examples:

• מעשה אמיץ = a brave act
• החלטה אמיצה = a brave decision
• אנשים אמיצים = brave people
• נשים אמיצות = brave women

Unfortunately, you often just have to learn the gender of nouns as part of the word.

מעשה is a masculine noun, even though it ends with ה, which can sometimes mislead learners. Not every noun ending in ־ה is feminine.

That is why the sentence uses:

• היה and not הייתה
• אמיץ and not אמיצה

So this sentence is a good reminder that word ending does not always guarantee gender.

It is pronounced roughly ha-ma'a-seh.

A few notes:

• ה־ = ha- here
• ע often does not have a strong sound in modern Israeli Hebrew, but it can create a slight break or separation
• the final ה in מעשה is pronounced as an eh sound here

So מעשה is not pronounced like English made or maze. It is more like:

ma-a-SEH

And with the article:

ha-ma-a-SEH

Not if you want the past tense meaning was brave.

In Hebrew:

• present tense usually has no word for is
• past tense does use forms of היה

So:

• המעשה הזה אמיץ = This act is brave (present; a bit formal/literary, but grammatically possible)
• המעשה הזה היה אמיץ = This act was brave (past)

So היה is necessary here because the sentence is in the past.

Yes, it is grammatical and understandable.

A native speaker might also choose other adjectives depending on the nuance:

• אמיץ = brave
• נועז = bold / daring

But המעשה הזה היה אמיץ is a perfectly good Hebrew sentence.

Here are some useful matching patterns:

• המעשה הזה היה אמיץ
  This act was brave

• ההחלטה הזאת הייתה אמיצה
  This decision was brave

• המעשים האלה היו אמיצים
  These acts were brave

• הפעולות האלה היו אמיצות
  These actions were brave

This helps show how Hebrew changes:

1. the noun
2. the demonstrative
3. the form of was/were
4. the adjective

all to match gender and number.