אני כותב אימייל במחשב, והיא כותבת אימייל בטלפון.

I

Breakdown of אני כותב אימייל במחשב, והיא כותבת אימייל בטלפון.

• היא: she
• ו: and
• ב: on

Questions & Answers about אני כותב אימייל במחשב, והיא כותבת אימייל בטלפון.

Why is it כותב with אני, but כותבת with היא?

Because Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with gender and number.

• כותב = masculine singular
• כותבת = feminine singular

So:

• אני כותב = I write / am writing if the speaker is male
• אני כותבת = I write / am writing if the speaker is female
• היא כותבת = she writes / is writing

Since היא means she, the verb has to be the feminine form: כותבת.

If אני just means I, how do I know whether the speaker is male or female?

In Hebrew, the verb form often tells you that.

In this sentence:

• אני כותב tells you the speaker is male
• אני כותבת would tell you the speaker is female

So unlike English, Hebrew often shows gender in the verb or adjective, especially in the present tense.

Why doesn’t Hebrew use a different present-tense verb for I and she?