היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

She likes coffee, but he does not like milk.

Breakdown of היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

• הוא: he
• קפה: coffee
• היא: she
• אבל: but

Questions & Answers about היא אוהבת קפה, אבל הוא לא אוהב חלב.

Why is it אוהבת with היא, but אוהב with הוא?

Because in Hebrew, the present-tense form of the verb changes to match the subject’s gender and number.

• היא אוהבת = she likes
• הוא אוהב = he likes

So:

• אוהב = masculine singular
• אוהבת = feminine singular

This is very normal in Hebrew. English does not usually mark gender on verbs, but Hebrew often does in the present tense.

Do I have to say היא and הוא, or could I leave them out?

You can sometimes leave them out, because אוהבת already tells you the subject is feminine singular, and אוהב tells you it is masculine singular.

So these are possible in context:

• אוהבת קפה = [She] likes coffee
• לא אוהב חלב = [He] doesn’t like milk

However, in your sentence, keeping היא and הוא is very natural because it makes the contrast clearer:

• She likes coffee, but he doesn’t like milk.

So the pronouns are not just grammatical; they also help with emphasis and clarity.

Why is there no word for does in does not like?