את רואה את החולצה? כן, אני רואה אותה, אבל היא לא נקייה.

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Breakdown of את רואה את החולצה? כן, אני רואה אותה, אבל היא לא נקייה.

• את: you
• אבל: but
• לא: not

Questions & Answers about את רואה את החולצה? כן, אני רואה אותה, אבל היא לא נקייה.

Why does את appear twice in את רואה את החולצה? Are those the same word?

No. They are spelled the same in normal Hebrew writing, but they are different words.

• The first את = you (feminine singular). It is pronounced at.
• The second את is the direct object marker. It is pronounced et.

So:

• את רואה... = You (female) see...
• את החולצה = the shirt as the direct object of the verb

This is very common in Hebrew, and learners often find it confusing at first because both words are written את without vowel marks.

Why is רואה feminine here, and how can I tell if it is masculine or feminine?

In the first clause, you can tell it is feminine because the subject is את, which means you for one female person.

So:

• את רואה = you (female) see

A tricky point is that in unpointed Hebrew, רואה is spelled the same for:

• masculine singular: ro'eh
• feminine singular: ro'ah

So the spelling does not change, but the pronunciation does. You usually know which one it is from the subject or from context.

In this sentence, the first רואה must be feminine because of את. In אני רואה אותה, the spelling is still the same, and the context suggests the speaker is the same female person answering.