הוא שלח לי הודעה עם הכתובת, אבל שכחתי לבדוק אותה בבוקר.

Breakdown of הוא שלח לי הודעה עם הכתובת, אבל שכחתי לבדוק אותה בבוקר.

הוא
he
לי
to me
אבל
but
ב
in
עם
with
בוקר
morning
לשכוח
to forget
לשלוח
to send
כתובת
address
לבדוק
to check
הודעה
message
אותה
it
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Questions & Answers about הוא שלח לי הודעה עם הכתובת, אבל שכחתי לבדוק אותה בבוקר.

Why is שלח translated as sent, and what form is it?

שלח is the past tense, 3rd person masculine singular form of the verb לשלוח (to send).

So:

  • הוא שלח = he sent
  • היא שלחה = she sent
  • אני שלחתי = I sent

Hebrew past-tense verbs change according to person, number, and sometimes gender, so the form שלח already tells you the subject is he.

What does לי mean here, and why does it come after the verb?

לי means to me.

It is made from:

  • ל־ = to
  • ־י = me

So:

  • שלח לי = sent to me

This word order is very normal in Hebrew. Hebrew often puts the verb first and then short prepositional pronouns like לי, לו, לה, etc.

Examples:

  • הוא אמר לי = he told me
  • היא כתבה לו = she wrote to him
What does הודעה mean here? Is it specifically a text message?

הודעה usually means message, notice, or notification.

In everyday modern Hebrew, it can very often mean a message on a phone or app, so in many contexts it could naturally mean:

  • message
  • text message
  • notification

The exact English choice depends on context. In this sentence, message is the safest general translation.

Also note that הודעה is a feminine singular noun.

Why is it עם הכתובת and not just עם כתובת?

הכתובת means the address. The ה־ is the definite article, like the in English.

So:

  • כתובת = an address / address
  • הכתובת = the address

In this sentence, the speaker means a specific address, not just any address, so הכתובת is natural.

עם הכתובת literally means with the address. In context, that means the message included the address.

Does עם הכתובת sound natural in Hebrew if the meaning is a message containing the address?

Yes, it sounds natural.

Hebrew often uses עם (with) in this kind of practical everyday sentence:

  • הוא שלח לי הודעה עם הכתובת = He sent me a message with the address

This does not necessarily mean the address was physically attached in some special way. It just means the message included that information.

If you wanted to be more explicit, you could also say something like:

  • הוא שלח לי הודעה שבה הייתה הכתובת = He sent me a message that had the address in it

But the original sentence is simpler and very natural.

Why is שכחתי followed by לבדוק?

Because in Hebrew, the verb לשכוח (to forget) is commonly followed by an infinitive when you mean forget to do something.

So:

  • שכחתי לבדוק = I forgot to check
  • שכחתי להתקשר = I forgot to call
  • שכחתי להביא = I forgot to bring

Here:

  • שכחתי = I forgot
  • לבדוק = to check

This structure is very similar to English forgot to check.

What form is שכחתי?

שכחתי is the past tense, 1st person singular form of לשכוח (to forget).

So:

  • שכחתי = I forgot

The ending ־תי is a very common marker for I in the Hebrew past tense.

Examples:

  • אמרתי = I said
  • כתבתי = I wrote
  • בדקתי = I checked

Because the verb already shows I, Hebrew does not need the pronoun אני here.

Why isn’t אני written before שכחתי?

Because Hebrew often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

So:

  • שכחתי already means I forgot
  • אני שכחתי is possible, but usually adds emphasis or contrast

In this sentence, the contrast is already clear because of the verbs:

  • הוא שלח = he sent
  • שכחתי = I forgot

So there is no need to say אני.

What does לבדוק mean exactly? Is it more like check, inspect, or look at?

לבדוק usually means to check, to examine, or to verify.

In this sentence, check is the best choice, because the idea is probably that the speaker forgot to look at the address carefully or verify it.

It is a little more purposeful than just to see.

For comparison:

  • לראות = to see
  • להסתכל = to look
  • לבדוק = to check / examine

So שכחתי לבדוק אותה means not just I forgot to see it, but more like I forgot to check it.

What does אותה refer to, and why is it feminine?

אותה means her or it for a feminine singular noun.

In this sentence, it could grammatically refer to either:

  • הודעה (message) — feminine singular
  • הכתובת (address) — also feminine singular

So the sentence is a little ambiguous on grammar alone.

In context, many learners will understand אותה as referring to הכתובת (the address), because check the address is very natural. But the message is also grammatically possible.

It is feminine because both possible nouns are feminine in Hebrew.

Useful contrast:

  • אותו = him / it for masculine singular
  • אותה = her / it for feminine singular
Why is there no separate את before אותה?

Because אותה is already the direct-object pronoun.

Compare:

  • בדקתי את הכתובת = I checked the address
  • בדקתי אותה = I checked it

When the object is a full definite noun, Hebrew uses את:

  • את הכתובת
  • את ההודעה

But when you replace that noun with a pronoun like אותו or אותה, you do not add another את.

So:

  • correct: בדקתי אותה
  • not standard here: בדקתי את אותה
What does בבוקר mean exactly?

בבוקר means in the morning.

It is made from:

  • ב־ = in
  • הבוקר = the morning

When ב־ joins ה־, they combine into בבוקר.

So literally it is in the morning.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

  • in the morning
  • this morning
  • during the morning
Is the sentence structure natural in Hebrew, especially with two different subjects?

Yes, it is completely natural.

The sentence is:

  • הוא שלח לי הודעה עם הכתובת = He sent me a message with the address
  • אבל שכחתי לבדוק אותה בבוקר = but I forgot to check it in the morning

Hebrew does not need to repeat all the subject pronouns as often as English does, because the verb forms already tell you who did what.

So even though the first clause has he and the second clause has I, the sentence is still clear:

  • שלח = he sent
  • שכחתי = I forgot

That kind of subject shift is very common and normal.

How would this sentence be pronounced?

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

Hu shalákh li hoda'á im ha-ketóvet, aval shakhákhti livdók otá ba-bóker.

A few notes:

  • הוא = hu
  • שלח = shalákh
  • הודעה = hoda'á
  • הכתובת = ha-ketóvet
  • שכחתי = shakhákhti
  • לבדוק = livdók
  • אותה = otá
  • בבוקר = ba-bóker

Different speakers may pronounce some sounds a little differently, especially ח and unstressed vowels, but this is a good learner-friendly version.