כשאני חולה, אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

When I am sick, I take the elevator, not the stairs.

Breakdown of כשאני חולה, אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

• אני: I
• לא: not
• את: direct object marker
• לקחת: to take
• כש: when
• חולה: sick
• מעלית: elevator
• מדרגות: stairs

Questions & Answers about כשאני חולה, אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

Why is there no word for am in כשאני חולה?

Hebrew normally leaves out the present-tense verb to be in sentences like this.

So אני חולה is literally I sick, but it means I am sick.

You only use to be in the past or future:

• הייתי חולה = I was sick
• אהיה חולה = I will be sick

So כשאני חולה is the normal way to say when I am sick.

What does כש mean here?

כש means when here. It introduces a time clause:

• כשאני חולה = when I’m sick

It is a shorter, very common form related to כאשר, which is more formal.

In speech and everyday writing, כש is extremely common.

Why is it כש and not אם?

Because כש means when, while אם means if.

So:

• כשאני חולה = when I’m sick / whenever I’m sick
• אם אני חולה = if I’m sick

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about what they do in that situation as a regular pattern, so כש fits better.

Why is the word חולה used, and does it change for a female speaker?

חולה means sick/ill.

It agrees with the speaker, but in the singular it is written the same for masculine and feminine:

• masculine: חוֹלֶה = cholé
• feminine: חוֹלָה = cholá

So the spelling stays חולה, but the pronunciation changes.

In this sentence, the speaker is clearly masculine overall because of לוקח.
A female speaker would usually say:

כשאני חולה, אני לוקחת את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

Why is it לוקח?

לוקח is the present-tense masculine singular form of לקחת = to take.

Hebrew present-tense forms agree with gender and number:

• לוקח = masculine singular
• לוקחת = feminine singular
• לוקחים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• לוקחות = feminine plural

So אני לוקח tells you the speaker is male.

Why does the sentence repeat אני twice?

Hebrew often repeats the subject pronoun for clarity, especially in the present tense.

That is useful because לוקח tells you gender and number, but not person by itself. Repeating אני makes the sentence very clear and natural:

• כשאני חולה, אני לוקח...

In some contexts, Hebrew can leave pronouns out, but here the repetition sounds normal and clear.

What is את doing before המעלית and המדרגות?

את is the marker of a definite direct object.

It usually has no English translation. It appears before a direct object that is definite, such as a noun with ה־ (the) or a name.

So:

• אני לוקח את המעלית = I take the elevator
• אני לוקח מעלית = I take an elevator / I take elevator in a less definite sense

Here both objects are definite:

• המעלית = the elevator
• המדרגות = the stairs

So both need את.

Why is את repeated after לא?

Because את belongs with each definite direct object.

The sentence contrasts two objects:

• את המעלית
• את המדרגות

So Hebrew repeats the whole pattern:

אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

That is the natural way to say I take the elevator, not the stairs.

Why are המעלית and המדרגות definite with ה־?

The prefix ה־ means the.

So:

• מעלית = elevator
• המעלית = the elevator
• מדרגות = stairs
• המדרגות = the stairs

In a sentence like this, Hebrew naturally uses the definite form because it usually means the elevator and the stairs available in that building or situation.

Also, once the nouns are definite, they require את as direct objects.

Is מדרגות plural? Why not singular?

Yes. מדרגות is plural, and it means stairs.

The singular is:

• מדרגה = step

So:

• מדרגה = one step
• מדרגות = stairs / steps

Hebrew, like English, usually uses the plural when talking about a staircase:

• אני לוקח את המדרגות = I take the stairs

Is לוקח את המעלית the normal way to say take the elevator?

Yes, it is natural and correct.

Hebrew often uses לקחת for choosing a form of transport or route:

• לקחת אוטובוס = take a bus
• לקחת מונית = take a taxi
• לקחת את המעלית = take the elevator

You may also hear other expressions depending on context, such as:

• עולה במעלית = goes up by elevator
• משתמש במעלית = uses the elevator

But in this sentence, לוקח את המעלית is a normal choice.

Why is there a comma after כשאני חולה?

Because כשאני חולה is an introductory clause: when I’m sick.

In English, you also often put a comma after an opening clause:

• When I’m sick, I take the elevator...

Hebrew punctuation is not always identical to English punctuation, but this comma is very natural in writing.

Could the sentence order be changed?

Yes, but the given order is the most natural for this meaning.

Current order:

• כשאני חולה, אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות.

This starts with the condition first: when I’m sick.

A different order is possible, but it usually sounds less neutral or less smooth:

• אני לוקח את המעלית, לא את המדרגות, כשאני חולה.

So the original sentence is a very good standard pattern to learn.