Learn Hardcore Hebrew: מתי אתה רוצה ללכת, לפני זה או אחרי זה? - When do you want to go, before that or after that?

Yes, Hebrew often can leave out subject pronouns, because the verb form already gives some information. But in the present tense, the verb form is often not enough by itself to make the subject fully clear, so pronouns are commonly included.

Here, אתה רוצה means you want when speaking to one male.

You could hear:

מתי רוצה ללכת...?

but that sounds incomplete or unnatural in most normal conversation.
So אתה is the standard, natural choice here.

Why is it רוצה and not some form that means want more directly?

רוצה is the Hebrew present-tense form meaning want / wants / am wanting / are wanting, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense works differently from English. It does not use a separate word like do in questions.

So:

אתה רוצה = you want
literally, more like you are wanting

In this sentence, רוצה agrees with אתה:

אתה רוצה = you want (masculine singular)
את רוצה = you want (feminine singular)

Why is the verb ללכת and what does the ל־ mean?

ללכת is the infinitive to go.

The prefix ל־ often marks the infinitive in Hebrew, similar to English to:

ללכת = to go
לאכול = to eat
לראות = to see

So:

אתה רוצה ללכת
literally: you want to go

That is a very common Hebrew pattern:

[subject] + רוצה/רוצה + infinitive

Examples:

אני רוצה לאכול = I want to eat
היא רוצה לדבר = she wants to speak

Why does Hebrew say לפני זה and אחרי זה? What exactly is זה doing here?

זה means this / that / it, depending on context.

In this sentence:

לפני זה = before that
אחרי זה = after that

So זה refers to some previously mentioned event, time, or situation.

English uses that here, and Hebrew uses זה.

You can think of it as:

לפני = before
אחרי = after
זה = that / it / this thing

Together:

לפני זה = before that
אחרי זה = after that

Why is it לפני זה and not קודם? Aren’t both related to before?

Yes, both can relate to earlier time, but they are used differently.

לפני זה = before that
קודם = earlier / before / previously

In this sentence, the speaker is comparing two options relative to a specific reference point: that thing. So לפני זה או אחרי זה is the most direct way to say before that or after that.

If you used קודם instead, the wording and nuance would change.
For example:

קודם או אחר כך? = earlier or later?
לפני זה או אחרי זה? = before that or after that?

Both are possible in some contexts, but לפני זה / אחרי זה matches the English idea very closely.

Why is there no word for do as in When do you want to go?

Hebrew does not use a helping verb like English do in ordinary present-tense questions.

English says:

When do you want to go?

Hebrew simply says:

מתי אתה רוצה ללכת?

There is no separate equivalent of do here. Hebrew forms the question mainly through:

word order
intonation
the question word (מתי)

This is very normal in Hebrew.

Is the word order fixed, or could it be arranged differently?

The basic order here is very natural:

מתי אתה רוצה ללכת, לפני זה או אחרי זה?

But Hebrew word order can be somewhat flexible, especially in speech. Still, not every rearrangement sounds equally natural.

The standard flow is:

מתי + subject + verb + infinitive

This is the clearest and most neutral version.

You might also hear slightly different spoken patterns depending on emphasis, but for a learner, this sentence is the best model to follow.

How would this sentence change if I were speaking to a woman?

You would change אתה רוצה to את רוצה.

So the sentence becomes:

מתי את רוצה ללכת, לפני זה או אחרי זה?

Changes:

אתה → את
רוצה stays the same in spelling here, but it is understood as the feminine singular form based on the pronoun

This is one of those places where Hebrew depends on agreement with gender.

How would I say it to more than one person?

You would use the plural forms.

To a group of males or a mixed group:

מתי אתם רוצים ללכת, לפני זה או אחרי זה?

To a group of females:

מתי אתן רוצות ללכת, לפני זה או אחרי זה?

So the changes are:

אתה רוצה → אתם רוצים for masculine/mixed plural
אתה רוצה → אתן רוצות for feminine plural

How is this sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ma-TAI a-TA RO-tse la-LE-khet, lif-NEI ze o a-kha-REI ze?

A few notes:

מתי = ma-TAI
אתה = a-TA
רוצה = RO-tse
ללכת = la-LE-khet
לפני = lif-NEI
אחרי = a-kha-REI

The כ in אחרי and ללכת is the throaty Hebrew sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.

What is the function of או in the sentence?

או means or.

So:

לפני זה או אחרי זה = before that or after that

It connects the two choices being offered.

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

תה או קפה? = tea or coffee?
היום או מחר? = today or tomorrow?
לפני זה או אחרי זה? = before that or after that?

Why is there a comma before לפני זה או אחרי זה?

The comma marks a pause before the two options being offered.

The sentence has two parts:

מתי אתה רוצה ללכת = When do you want to go
לפני זה או אחרי זה = before that or after that

In writing, the comma helps show that the second part is narrowing down the time choice. In speech, you would usually hear a pause there.

Even if punctuation can vary a bit in informal writing, the comma is very natural here.

Could זה mean this instead of that here?

Grammatically, זה can mean this, that, or sometimes it, depending on context. But in this sentence, English will usually translate it as that:

לפני זה = before that
אחרי זה = after that

The exact meaning depends on what event or time point the speakers already know about. Hebrew uses זה more broadly than English sometimes uses this or that.

Is this sentence formal or informal?

It is neutral and natural, but because it uses אתה, it is a direct second-person form, so it is the normal way to speak to someone informally or neutrally.

Hebrew does not have a special polite you like French vous or German Sie. So this same basic structure can be used in many everyday situations.

The main thing that changes is gender and number:

אתה רוצה = to one male
את רוצה = to one female
אתם רוצים = to several males/mixed group
אתן רוצות = to several females

So the sentence is not especially slangy or especially formal; it is just standard everyday Hebrew.