היום השכנה מביאה חבילה מהדואר, כי אני עוד במשרד.

Today the female neighbor is bringing a package from the mail, because I am still in the office.

Breakdown of היום השכנה מביאה חבילה מהדואר, כי אני עוד במשרד.

• אני: I
• ב: in
• היום: today
• כי: because
• עוד: still
• משרד: office
• להביא: to bring
• שכנה: female neighbor
• חבילה: package
• מ: from
• דואר: mail

Questions & Answers about היום השכנה מביאה חבילה מהדואר, כי אני עוד במשרד.

Why does היום mean today?

In Hebrew, היום literally looks like the day (ה + יום), but as a fixed expression it very often means today.

So in this sentence:

היום השכנה מביאה חבילה...
= Today the neighbor is bringing a package...

This is extremely common Hebrew usage, and learners should get used to היום as a basic time word meaning today.

Why is it השכנה and not just שכנה?

The prefix ה־ is the definite article, equivalent to the in English.

• שכנה = a neighbor / neighbor (feminine)
• השכנה = the neighbor (feminine)

So השכנה means the female neighbor.

If the neighbor were male, it would be:

• השכן = the male neighbor

This also affects the verb form later in the sentence.

Why is the verb מביאה?

מביאה matches השכנה, which is feminine singular.

The verb comes from להביא = to bring.

Present-tense forms:

• מביא = masculine singular
• מביאה = feminine singular
• מביאים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• מביאות = feminine plural

Since השכנה is feminine singular, Hebrew uses מביאה.

Compare:

• השכנה מביאה = the female neighbor brings / is bringing
• השכן מביא = the male neighbor brings / is bringing

Why is there no word for is in השכנה מביאה or אני עוד במשרד?

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So Hebrew says:

• אני במשרד = literally I in the office
• natural English: I am in the office

And:

• השכנה מביאה חבילה = literally the neighbor bringing a package
• natural English: the neighbor is bringing a package / the neighbor brings a package

This is normal Hebrew grammar. In the past and future, Hebrew does use forms of to be when needed, but in the present it usually leaves them out.

Does מביאה mean brings or is bringing?

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense often covers both:

• simple present: brings
• present progressive: is bringing

In this sentence, because of the context and the time word היום, English would often translate it as:

• Today the neighbor is bringing a package...

But Hebrew does not make the same strict distinction English does here.

Also, in context, Hebrew present tense can sometimes describe a planned or very near-future action, especially with a time word like היום.

Why is there no את before חבילה?

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object, but not before an indefinite one.

Here:

• חבילה = a package
• it is indefinite
• so there is no את

That is why the sentence has:

מביאה חבילה
not מביאה את חבילה

Compare:

• היא מביאה חבילה = She is bringing a package
• היא מביאה את החבילה = She is bringing the package

So the presence of את depends on definiteness, not just on whether there is a direct object.

What exactly does מהדואר mean?

מהדואר means from the post office or sometimes from the mail/post depending on context.

It is made from:

• מ־ = from
• הדואר = the post / the post office / the mail

So:

• מן הדואר and מהדואר both mean from the post office / from the mail
• מהדואר is the normal contracted form

This kind of contraction is very common in Hebrew.

Why does מ־ become מה־ in מהדואר?

Because Hebrew often contracts a preposition with the definite article ה־.

Here the underlying idea is:

• מ + הדואר
• which becomes מהדואר

This is similar to other common combinations:

• ב + הבית → בבית / בבית in unpointed spelling, depending on whether it is definite or indefinite in pronunciation
• ל + העיר → לעיר

So מהדואר is just a normal fused form meaning from the post office.

What does כי mean here?

כי means because here.

So:

כי אני עוד במשרד
= because I’m still at the office

It is a very common word. Depending on context, כי can sometimes have other meanings, but for learners the main meaning to remember first is because.

What does עוד mean in this sentence?

Here עוד means still.

So:

• אני עוד במשרד = I’m still at the office

This is a very common use of עוד.

In other contexts, עוד can also mean things like:

• more
• another
• else / additional

But in this sentence, the correct sense is clearly still.

Does במשרד mean in the office or in an office?

In unpointed Hebrew spelling, במשרד can sometimes be ambiguous.

It may represent:

• במשרד = in an office
• or במשרד = in the office / at the office

Without vowel marks, both are written the same way.

In this sentence, the meaning is most naturally:

• at the office
• or in the office

That is, the speaker is still at their office, which is why the neighbor is bringing the package.

So context tells you how to understand it.

Why is the word order like this?

Hebrew word order is often flexible, but this sentence uses a very natural structure:

היום + subject + verb + object + source + reason clause

So:

• היום = today
• השכנה = the neighbor
• מביאה = is bringing
• חבילה = a package
• מהדואר = from the post office
• כי אני עוד במשרד = because I’m still at the office

A speaker could rearrange parts for emphasis, but this version sounds normal and clear.

For example, Hebrew could also say:

כי אני עוד במשרד, היום השכנה מביאה חבילה מהדואר.

That changes the emphasis a bit, but the meaning stays basically the same.

If the neighbor were male, how would the sentence change?

You would change both the noun and the verb to masculine singular:

היום השכן מביא חבילה מהדואר, כי אני עוד במשרד.

Changes:

• השכנה → השכן
• מביאה → מביא

Everything else can stay the same.

This is a good example of how Hebrew nouns and verbs agree in gender.