אתמול הוא היה חולה, אבל היום, אחרי התרופה והמים, הוא כבר בריא יותר.

Yesterday he was sick, but today, after the medicine and the water, he is already healthier.

Breakdown of אתמול הוא היה חולה, אבל היום, אחרי התרופה והמים, הוא כבר בריא יותר.

• הוא: he
• מים: water
• ו: and
• אבל: but
• היום: today
• אחרי: after
• אתמול: yesterday
• להיות: to be
• כבר: already
• יותר: more
• תרופה: medicine
• חולה: sick
• בריא: healthy

Questions & Answers about אתמול הוא היה חולה, אבל היום, אחרי התרופה והמים, הוא כבר בריא יותר.

Is אתמול related to the direct-object marker את?

No. אתמול is a single word meaning yesterday.

Even though it starts with the letters את, it is not the direct-object marker את plus another word. A beginner might notice the same letters, but here you should learn אתמול as its own vocabulary item.

Why is there היה in the first part, but no word for is in the second part?

Because Hebrew usually uses the verb to be in the past and future, but not in the present.

So:

• הוא היה חולה = he was sick
• הוא בריא יותר = he is healthier / better

In present-tense sentences like this, Hebrew normally leaves out is/am/are.

Why is הוא repeated twice? Could Hebrew leave it out?

Hebrew can sometimes omit subject pronouns, especially when the verb already makes the subject clear. So אתמול היה חולה can work in the right context.

But in this sentence, repeating הוא is very natural. It makes the sentence clearer and smoother, especially because the second clause has no present-tense verb like is. In הוא כבר בריא יותר, the pronoun helps carry the sentence.

Why is it היה and not some other form of the verb?

היה is the past tense, third-person masculine singular form of להיות (to be).

It matches הוא (he). Compare:

• הוא היה = he was
• היא הייתה = she was
• אני הייתי = I was

So היה is the correct form for a masculine singular subject.

Why is חולה used for sick, but בריא used for healthy? Do these adjectives agree differently?

Both are adjectives, and both agree with the subject, but they behave a little differently in form.

• חולה is used for both masculine and feminine singular:
  • הוא חולה
  • היא חולה
• בריא changes:
  • הוא בריא
  • היא בריאה

So Hebrew adjective agreement is still happening here, but חולה just happens to have the same singular form for both genders.

What does כבר mean here?

כבר usually means already.

In this sentence, it gives the idea that a change has happened by now: he was sick yesterday, but today he is already healthier. It often adds a sense of progress or development.

Why is the comparison written as בריא יותר? Can I also say יותר בריא?

Yes, both בריא יותר and יותר בריא are possible.

Here, בריא יותר means healthier or more healthy. Hebrew often forms comparisons with יותר (more). So:

• בריא יותר = healthier
• literally: healthy more

You may also hear יותר בריא in speech. The sentence’s version is perfectly natural.

What exactly does אחרי mean here?

Here אחרי means after in a time sense.

So אחרי התרופה והמים means after the medicine and the water. In other contexts, אחרי can also mean behind, but in this sentence it is clearly temporal, not spatial.

Why do both התרופה and המים have ה־?

Because both nouns are definite here:

• התרופה = the medicine
• המים = the water

In Hebrew, when two definite nouns are joined by ו־ (and), the definite article is normally shown on each noun. So התרופה והמים is the normal way to say the medicine and the water.

Why is מים plural-looking if English water is singular?

מים is one of those Hebrew nouns that has a plural form but refers to something English usually treats as a mass noun.

So even though English says water, Hebrew uses מים. Grammatically, it behaves as a plural noun in many cases. For example:

• המים קרים = the water is cold / literally the water are cold

This is just something learners have to get used to.

Why is the sentence ordered like אבל היום, אחרי התרופה והמים, הוא כבר בריא יותר? Could it be rearranged?

Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions and adverbs.

This version puts focus first on today, then adds the extra detail after the medicine and the water, and only then gives the main statement he is already healthier. The commas help mark that middle phrase as added information.

Other orders are also possible, for example:

• אבל הוא כבר בריא יותר היום
• אבל היום הוא כבר בריא יותר
• אבל הוא כבר בריא יותר אחרי התרופה והמים

The meaning stays similar, but the emphasis shifts a little.