בסוף השבוע נסענו לחוף, אבל הים היה קר.

On the weekend we went to the beach, but the sea was cold.

Breakdown of בסוף השבוע נסענו לחוף, אבל הים היה קר.

• אבל: but
• ב: on
• ל: to
• להיות: to be
• לנסוע: to go
• קר: cold
• סוף שבוע: weekend
• חוף: beach
• ים: sea

Questions & Answers about בסוף השבוע נסענו לחוף, אבל הים היה קר.

What does בסוף השבוע literally mean?

Literally, it is ב־ = in/at/on, סוף = end, and השבוע = the week. So word-for-word it means at the end of the week. In natural Modern Hebrew, this phrase is very commonly used to mean on the weekend or at the weekend.

Why is it סוף השבוע and not הסוף של השבוע?

סוף השבוע is a very common Hebrew structure called the construct state. It is the compact Hebrew way to say the end of the week or weekend.

In this structure:

• the first noun is סוף = end
• the second noun is השבוע = the week

So סוף השבוע literally means end of the week.

You can say הסוף של השבוע, but it sounds more explicit and less natural here. Hebrew usually prefers the shorter construct form.

Where is the word we in נסענו?

In Hebrew, the verb itself often already tells you who did the action. In נסענו, the ending ־נו means we.

So:

• נסעתי = I traveled / I went
• נסעת = you traveled
• נסענו = we traveled / we went

Because we is built into the verb, Hebrew does not need a separate word like אנחנו unless you want extra emphasis.

Why does Hebrew use נסענו here for went?

The verb נסע usually means to travel or to go by vehicle. So נסענו לחוף suggests we went/traveled to the beach, often with the feeling that you drove or rode there.

English uses go very broadly, but Hebrew often chooses a more specific verb:

• הלכנו = we walked / we went on foot
• נסענו = we traveled / drove / went by vehicle

So נסענו is very natural for a trip to the beach.

What does אבל mean, and is it used like English but?

Yes. אבל means but, and it works very much like English but to introduce a contrast.

Here the contrast is:

• נסענו לחוף = we went to the beach
• אבל הים היה קר = but the sea was cold

So it connects two ideas that do not fully match your expectation.

Why is לחוף written as one word?

Because Hebrew prepositions are often attached directly to the following word. Here, ל־ means to, so:

• ל + חוף → לחוף

This is normal Hebrew spelling. Very common short prepositions such as ב, ל, and כ usually attach to the next word.

How do you know whether לחוף means to a beach or to the beach?

In unpointed Hebrew, both can look the same.

With vowels, there is a difference:

• לְחוֹף = to a beach / to shore
• לַחוֹף = to the beach

But without vowel marks, both are written לחוף. So you usually know from context. In this sentence, the natural reading is to the beach.

Why is בסוף השבוע at the beginning of the sentence?

Hebrew often puts time expressions near the beginning of a sentence, especially when setting the scene. So בסוף השבוע at the front means something like as for the weekend...

A different order is also possible:

• נסענו לחוף בסוף השבוע, אבל הים היה קר.

That is also correct. Putting בסוף השבוע first just feels slightly more natural as an opening time frame.

Why does the sentence say הים היה קר instead of just הים קר?

Because this sentence is in the past. Hebrew usually uses a form of to be in the past, so:

• הים היה קר = the sea was cold

But in the present, Hebrew usually leaves out is:

• הים קר = the sea is cold

So היה is there because the sentence is talking about a past situation.

Why are היה and קר both masculine singular?

Because ים is a masculine singular noun in Hebrew. Both the past form היה and the adjective קר agree with it.

So:

• הים היה קר = masculine singular

Compare:

• הבריכה הייתה קרה = the pool was cold
  feminine singular
• המים היו קרים = the water was cold
  plural

Agreement like this is very important in Hebrew.

Why doesn’t קר have ה־ on it?

Because here קר is a predicate adjective: it tells you what the sea was like. Predicate adjectives normally do not take the definite article.

So:

• הים היה קר = the sea was cold

But:

• הים הקר = the cold sea

That second form is not a full sentence. It is just a noun phrase.

How is the whole sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

be-sof ha-sha-VU-a na-SA-nu la-KHOF, a-VAL ha-YAM ha-YA kar

A few helpful notes:

• ח in חוף is a throat sound, like ch in Scottish loch or German Bach
• אבל is stressed on the last syllable: a-VAL
• השבוע is stressed on VU
• היה sounds like ha-YA

So the rhythm is quite natural if you read it in two parts, with a pause at the comma.