באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה היום?

At what time do you finish work today?

Breakdown of באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה היום?

• את: you
• היום: today
• את: direct object marker
• ב: at
• עבודה: work
• איזו: what
• שעה: time
• לסיים: to finish

Questions & Answers about באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה היום?

Why does the sentence start with באיזו שעה instead of just מתי?

באיזו שעה literally means at what hour / at what time, so it asks for a specific clock time.

מתי means when, which is broader.
So:

• מתי את מסיימת את העבודה היום? = When do you finish work today?
• באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה היום? = At what time do you finish work today?

The version with באיזו שעה is more precise.

What exactly is באיזו?

באיזו is made of two parts:

• ב־ = in / at
• איזו = which for a feminine singular noun

So באיזו שעה is literally at which hour.

Hebrew often attaches short prepositions like ב־ directly to the next word.

Why is it איזו and not איזה?

Because שעה is a feminine singular noun, and איזו has to agree with it.

So:

• איזו שעה = feminine singular
• איזה יום = masculine singular

This is a very common Hebrew pattern: question words and adjectives often match the gender and number of the noun.

Why are there two את words in the sentence?

They are two different words that just happen to be spelled the same.

1. The first את is the pronoun you for one female.
   It is pronounced at.

2. The second את is the definite direct object marker.
   It is pronounced et.

So in this sentence:

• את מסיימת = you finish / you are finishing
• את העבודה = marks the work as the direct object

Same spelling, different grammar, different pronunciation.

Why is מסיימת feminine singular?

Because the sentence is addressed to one woman.

In Hebrew present tense, the verb form agrees with gender and number:

• מסיים = masculine singular
• מסיימת = feminine singular
• מסיימים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• מסיימות = feminine plural

So את מסיימת means you to one female.

Why is the subject pronoun את included? Could the sentence just say באיזו שעה מסיימת את העבודה היום?

The pronoun is included because the present-tense form מסיימת does not clearly show person by itself.

מסיימת could mean:

• you finish, feminine singular
• she finishes

So את helps make it clear that the speaker means you.

In Hebrew, subject pronouns in the present tense are often used for clarity, especially because present-tense forms show gender and number, but not person as clearly as English learners might expect.

What does the second את do before העבודה?

It marks a definite direct object.

Hebrew uses את before a direct object that is definite, such as:

• a noun with ה־
• a proper name
• a noun with a possessive ending
• something already specific and known

Here, העבודה has ה־, so it is definite, and that is why Hebrew uses את:

• את העבודה = the definite object

English does not have a separate word for this, so it often feels strange at first.

Why is it העבודה with ה־? Why not just עבודה?

Because the noun is being treated as specific: the work / the job.

In natural English, this may still be translated simply as work, but Hebrew often uses the definite article where English would not.

So literally, את העבודה is the work, but depending on context, the most natural English translation may just be work.

Is מסיימת really present tense here?

Yes. מסיימת is present tense.

But Hebrew present tense often covers meanings that English expresses in different ways, such as:

• you finish
• you are finishing
• sometimes a scheduled or near-future meaning, depending on context

So with היום, the sentence can naturally mean something like What time do you finish today? or What time are you finishing today?

A more explicitly future form would be:

• באיזו שעה תסיימי את העבודה היום?

But the original sentence is still very natural.

Why is there no word for do or are in the sentence?

Because Hebrew does not use an auxiliary verb here the way English does.

English says things like:

• do you finish
• are you finishing

Hebrew simply uses the present-tense verb form:

• את מסיימת

So one Hebrew form can match more than one natural English pattern.

Can היום go in a different place in the sentence?

Yes. Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

The original sentence is completely natural:

• באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה היום?

But you could also hear:

• היום באיזו שעה את מסיימת את העבודה?
• באיזו שעה את מסיימת היום את העבודה?

The meaning stays very close, but the emphasis can shift slightly depending on placement.

How would a learner pronounce the whole sentence?

A simple transliteration is:

Be'eizo sha'a at mesayemet et ha'avoda hayom?

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• the first את is at
• the second את is et
• שעה is roughly sha-a
• העבודה is roughly ha-avoda

So the two את words are not said the same way.

How would the sentence change if I were speaking to a man instead of a woman?

You would change the pronoun and the verb form:

• באיזו שעה אתה מסיים את העבודה היום?

Changes:

• את becomes אתה
• מסיימת becomes מסיים

If speaking to more than one person:

• to men or a mixed group: באיזו שעה אתם מסיימים את העבודה היום?
• to a group of women: באיזו שעה אתן מסיימות את העבודה היום?