הלקוחה שואלת מה המחיר ואם יש הנחה היום.

The customer asks what the price is and whether there is a discount today.

Breakdown of הלקוחה שואלת מה המחיר ואם יש הנחה היום.

• יש: there is
• ו: and
• היום: today
• מה: what
• לשאול: to ask
• אם: whether
• לקוחה: female customer
• מחיר: price
• הנחה: discount

Questions & Answers about הלקוחה שואלת מה המחיר ואם יש הנחה היום.

Why is it הלקוחה and not just לקוחה?

The prefix ה־ means the.

• לקוחה = a female customer / customer
• הלקוחה = the female customer

Hebrew usually attaches the directly to the noun, instead of writing it as a separate word.

Why is the verb שואלת feminine?

Because it agrees with הלקוחה, which is feminine singular.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs change for gender and number:

• שואל = masculine singular
• שואלת = feminine singular
• שואלים = masculine plural / mixed plural
• שואלות = feminine plural

So with הלקוחה you need שואלת.

Does שואלת mean asks or is asking?

It can mean both.

Hebrew present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive:

• הלקוחה שואלת = the customer asks
• הלקוחה שואלת = the customer is asking

Context tells you which one sounds more natural in English.

Why is there no word for is in מה המחיר?

In the present tense, Hebrew usually leaves out the verb to be.

So:

• מה המחיר literally looks like what the price
• but it means what is the price

This is completely normal in Hebrew.
If the sentence were in the past or future, forms of היה might appear, but in the present they are usually omitted.

Why does Hebrew say מה המחיר and not כמה המחיר?

Because מה המחיר? is the standard way to say what is the price?

A native English speaker may expect how much, but Hebrew often uses what here:

• מה המחיר? = What is the price?

If you want a more how much type of phrasing, Hebrew usually says:

• כמה זה עולה? = How much does it cost?

So מה המחיר and כמה זה עולה are both natural, but כמה המחיר is not the usual phrasing.

After שואלת, why does Hebrew still say מה המחיר? Why doesn’t it change the word order like English does?

Because Hebrew indirect questions usually keep the same basic question structure.

In English:

• direct: What is the price?
• indirect: She asks what the price is.

English changes the word order in the indirect question. Hebrew usually does not:

• direct: מה המחיר?
• indirect: הלקוחה שואלת מה המחיר.

So this is a place where Hebrew is actually simpler than English.

Why is it המחיר with ה־?

Here המחיר means the price.

In Hebrew, when asking for the price of something specific, מה המחיר? is the normal expression. It is similar to English what is the price?

So:

• מחיר = price
• המחיר = the price

What does ואם mean here?

ואם is made of two parts:

• ו־ = and
• אם = if / whether

In this sentence, אם means whether, not a condition.

So:

• ואם יש הנחה היום = and whether there is a discount today

After verbs like ask, אם often means whether.

Why is the ו־ attached to אם instead of being written as a separate word?

Because the Hebrew word for and is usually a prefix, not a separate standalone word.

So Hebrew writes:

• ואם = and if / and whether
• והלקוחה = and the customer
• והמחיר = and the price

This is very common in Hebrew spelling.

What does יש mean in אם יש הנחה היום?

יש means there is / there are / exists.

So:

• יש הנחה = there is a discount
• אם יש הנחה = whether there is a discount

Hebrew does not need a separate word for there in this structure.
יש by itself does the job.

Why is there no word for a before הנחה?

Because Hebrew has no indefinite article.

English distinguishes between:

• a discount
• the discount

Hebrew only marks definiteness:

• הנחה = a discount / discount
• ההנחה = the discount

So יש הנחה naturally means there is a discount.

Why is היום at the end? Could it go somewhere else?

Yes, it could go somewhere else. Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

In this sentence:

• ואם יש הנחה היום = and whether there is a discount today

This is a natural, neutral order. But you may also hear:

• ואם היום יש הנחה
• ואם יש היום הנחה

Those versions are also possible, but they can shift the emphasis slightly.
Putting היום at the end is very common and sounds natural here.