אלה ילדים קטנים, והם בבית עכשיו.

These are small children, and they are at home now.

Breakdown of אלה ילדים קטנים, והם בבית עכשיו.

• קטן: small
• עכשיו: now
• ו: and
• בית: home
• ב: at
• אלה: these
• ילד: child
• הם: they

Questions & Answers about אלה ילדים קטנים, והם בבית עכשיו.

What does אלה mean here?

אלה means these.

It is the plural demonstrative in Hebrew. In the singular, Hebrew distinguishes gender:

• זה = this for masculine
• זאת or זו = this for feminine

But אלה is used for plural nouns of either gender.

In modern speech, you will often hear it pronounced roughly as EH-le.

Why is there no word for are in אלה ילדים קטנים?

Because Hebrew normally does not use a present-tense form of to be in sentences like this.

So Hebrew often says, literally:

• אלה ילדים קטנים = These small children

but it means:

• These are small children

This is very normal in Hebrew. In the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be, but in the present it is usually omitted.

Why is אלה before ילדים? I thought Hebrew often puts this/these after the noun.

That is a great question.

When this/these directly modifies a noun, Hebrew usually puts it after the noun:

• הילדים האלה = these children

But in your sentence, אלה is not directly modifying ילדים. It stands alone as these, and the sentence means:

• אלה ילדים קטנים = These are small children

So here the structure is not these children, but rather these are small children.

If you wanted to say these small children, you would normally say:

• הילדים הקטנים האלה

Why does קטנים come after ילדים?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• ילדים קטנים = small children
• literally: children small

That is the normal word order in Hebrew.

Why is it קטנים specifically?

Because Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Here, ילדים is:

• masculine
• plural
• indefinite

So the adjective must also be masculine plural and indefinite:

• קטנים = masculine plural form of small

Compare:

• ילד קטן = a small boy
• ילדה קטנה = a small girl
• ילדים קטנים = small children
• ילדות קטנות = small girls / little girls

Also, there is no ה here because the phrase is indefinite. If it were the small children, it would be:

• הילדים הקטנים

What does והם mean, and why is it הם?

והם means and they.

It is made of two parts:

• ו = and
• הם = they for masculine plural

So:

• והם = and they

It is הם because ילדים is masculine plural. In standard Hebrew:

• הם = they, masculine plural
• הן = they, feminine plural

Since ילדים is masculine, הם is the matching pronoun.

What does בבית mean here, and why is the ב attached to the word?

Here בבית means at home or in the house.

The letter ב is a very common Hebrew preposition meaning in, at, or sometimes inside. In Hebrew, short prepositions like this are usually attached directly to the following word.

So:

• ב = in / at
• בית = house / home
• בבית = in the house / at home

Hebrew does the same thing with other short prepositions too, such as ל (to/for) and כ (like/as).

If בבית means in the house or at home, where is the word for the?

In Hebrew, when a one-letter preposition like ב combines with the definite article ה (the), the forms merge.

So the idea of in the house is built into בבית, even though you do not see a separate ה in normal unpointed spelling.

That means Hebrew readers rely on context. In this sentence, בבית is naturally understood as at home or in the house.

This is one reason Hebrew can look very compact.

Why is עכשיו at the end? Could it go somewhere else?

Yes, it could go somewhere else.

עכשיו means now, and Hebrew word order is more flexible than English word order. Putting עכשיו at the end is very natural:

• והם בבית עכשיו = and they are at home now

But Hebrew could also say things like:

• ועכשיו הם בבית
• והם עכשיו בבית

These versions are also possible, but the emphasis may feel slightly different. The version in your sentence is a very normal, neutral way to say it.

How would I pronounce the whole sentence?

A common modern Israeli pronunciation would be:

EH-le yela-DIM k'ta-NIM, ve-HEM ba-BA-yit akh-SHAV.

A few notes:

• אלה = EH-le
• ילדים = yela-DIM
• קטנים = k'ta-NIM
• והם = ve-HEM
• בבית = ba-BA-yit
• עכשיו = akh-SHAV

The kh sound in עכשיו is like the sound in Bach or loch.

Is קטנים just small, or can it also mean young/little here?

It literally means small, but with children it often sounds very natural as little.

So ילדים קטנים can feel like:

• small children
• little children

In context, English might translate it either way. Hebrew קטן can describe physical smallness, but with people—especially children—it often overlaps with the idea of being little or young.