Breakdown of גם היא כבר בריאה, ולכן היא הולכת במדרגות ולא במעלית.
Questions & Answers about גם היא כבר בריאה, ולכן היא הולכת במדרגות ולא במעלית.
In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.
So where English says:
- She is healthy
Hebrew simply says:
- היא בריאה
This is completely normal. Hebrew does use forms of to be in the past and future, but not usually in simple present-tense descriptions.
So גם היא כבר בריאה literally looks like also she already healthy, but naturally it means she is also already healthy.
Because בריאה is the feminine singular form of the adjective healthy.
Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun or pronoun they describe in:
- gender
- number
Since היא means she, the adjective must be feminine singular:
- בריא = healthy, masculine singular
- בריאה = healthy, feminine singular
- בריאים = healthy, masculine plural
- בריאות = healthy, feminine plural
So with היא, בריאה is required.
גם means also, too, or as well.
In this sentence, גם היא means she too or she also.
Putting גם before היא gives emphasis to the subject:
- גם היא = she too
- not just someone else; she as well
This is a very common structure in Hebrew. English speakers often expect היא גם, but גם היא is often the more natural choice when the focus is on she too.
כבר usually means already.
Here it shows that her healthy condition is now true, perhaps after a period when it was not true before.
So כבר בריאה means already healthy.
A useful point: כבר is very common in Hebrew and can sometimes sound slightly broader than English already, depending on context. But here already is the straightforward meaning.
The sentence has two clauses:
- גם היא כבר בריאה
- ולכן היא הולכת במדרגות ולא במעלית
In the second clause, היא appears again because Hebrew often repeats the subject clearly when starting a new clause, especially after a connector like ולכן.
So this is very natural:
- ..., ולכן היא הולכת...
Could Hebrew sometimes omit the second היא? In some contexts, yes, especially in more casual speech or if the meaning is very clear. But repeating it is standard, clear, and natural.
ולכן means and therefore, and so, or simply therefore.
It is made of:
- ו־ = and
- לכן = therefore / so
This word connects the two ideas logically: because she is healthy now, the next action follows.
So ולכן introduces a result or consequence.
Compare:
- ו = and
- אבל = but
- כי = because
- לכן / ולכן = therefore / so
הולכת is the feminine singular present-tense form of הלך / ללכת, which is the verb to go / to walk.
With היא, you need the feminine form:
- הולך = masculine singular
- הולכת = feminine singular
Hebrew present tense can often correspond to several English forms, depending on context:
- she goes
- she walks
- she is going
- she is walking
In this sentence, because of the context with stairs and elevator, English usually translates it more naturally as:
- she takes the stairs and not the elevator or
- she goes by the stairs and not by the elevator
So the Hebrew verb is literally goes/walks, but the natural meaning is about the method she uses.
Hebrew often expresses this idea with הלך / הולך ב..., literally go/goes by..., where English often prefers take.
So:
- הולכת במדרגות literally = goes by the stairs
- natural English = takes the stairs
This is a common difference between the languages. English uses take for transportation or route choices in many cases:
- take the stairs
- take the elevator
- take the bus
Hebrew often uses a different structure, not a direct equivalent of English take in these situations.
The prefix ב־ usually means in, on, at, or by, depending on context.
Here it indicates the means or route:
- במדרגות = by the stairs / via the stairs
- במעלית = by elevator / in the elevator
This is why the sentence uses ב־ with both nouns.
Also, when ב־ is attached to a noun with the, it combines with the definite article ה־:
- ב + המדרגות = במדרגות
- ב + המעלית = במעלית
So these forms mean:
- in/by the stairs
- in/by the elevator
Yes. מדרגות is the normal Hebrew word for stairs/staircase, and it is plural in form.
This is similar to English, where stairs is also usually plural.
So even when English learners think of one staircase, Hebrew still commonly uses מדרגות.
The singular מדרגה means step, not usually a staircase.
So:
- מדרגה = a step
- מדרגות = stairs / staircase
Because ולא means and not.
The sentence is contrasting two options:
- במדרגות
- ולא במעלית
That is: one method, and not the other.
If you said only לא, it would not connect as smoothly to the previous phrase. ולא is the natural way to say and not in this kind of contrast.
This pattern is very common:
- X ולא Y = X and not Y
Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but not every change sounds equally natural.
The given sentence is very natural:
- גם היא כבר בריאה, ולכן היא הולכת במדרגות ולא במעלית.
Some parts can move, but moving them changes emphasis.
For example:
- היא גם כבר בריאה is possible, but it may emphasize things a little differently.
- כבר היא בריאה would usually sound much less natural here.
- ולכן הולכת במדרגות is possible only in certain contexts, but leaving out היא makes the sentence less neutral and less standard.
So the original order is a good model for learners because it is clear and idiomatic.
It is mostly neutral standard Hebrew.
Nothing in it is especially slangy or especially literary. A native speaker could say this in normal conversation, and it would also look fine in written standard Hebrew.
A slightly more conversational speaker might choose a different connector than ולכן in some situations, but ולכן is perfectly normal and correct.
So this is a good sentence to learn from because it uses standard, everyday grammar.