אני לא מייבשת את הנעליים במטבח; אני מייבשת אותן ליד החלון.

Because the speaker is female.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.
Here the subject is אני = I, but Hebrew still marks whether the speaker is male or female:

• אני מייבש = I dry / I am drying (male speaker)
• אני מייבשת = I dry / I am drying (female speaker)

So this sentence is spoken by a woman or girl.

It can mean both, depending on context.

In modern Hebrew, the present tense often covers both:

• I dry
• I am drying

So:

• אני מייבשת את הנעליים can mean I dry the shoes or I am drying the shoes

In this sentence, the context clearly suggests I am drying them.

There is no separate word for am here.

English uses be + verb-ing:

• I am drying

Hebrew usually just uses the present-tense verb form:

• אני מייבשת

So Hebrew does not need a separate word for am in this kind of sentence.

Because לא is the normal Hebrew word for not, and it usually comes before the verb it negates.

So:

• אני לא מייבשת = I am not drying
• literally: I not drying

This is the standard pattern in Hebrew.

את marks a definite direct object.

It does not mean you here.
In this sentence:

• אני מייבשת את הנעליים
• I am drying the shoes

The word את tells you that הנעליים is the direct object of the verb, and that it is definite: the shoes, not just shoes.

Compare:

• אני מייבשת נעליים = I am drying shoes
• אני מייבשת את הנעליים = I am drying the shoes

This is one of the most important uses of את in Hebrew.

Because אותן is the feminine plural form of them.

The noun נעליים (shoes) is grammatically feminine plural, so the object pronoun must match it.

• אותם = them (masculine plural)
• אותן = them (feminine plural)

So:

• אני מייבשת אותן = I am drying them
• where them refers to the shoes

Even though English just says them, Hebrew requires agreement in gender and number.

Because נעל (shoe) is a feminine noun, and נעליים is its plural form.

Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender, and pronouns and sometimes adjectives must agree with that gender.

So since:

• נעל = shoe (feminine)
• נעליים = shoes

the pronoun must be feminine plural:

• אותן = them (feminine plural)

Because some Hebrew nouns have irregular plural forms, and נעליים is one of them.

A learner might expect something like נעלות, but the normal word is:

• נעליים = shoes

The ending -יים often appears in words that historically relate to pairs or dual forms, and some common body-part or paired-item words use it. In everyday modern Hebrew, you should simply learn נעליים as the standard plural form.

So:

• נעל = shoe
• נעליים = shoes

Because the preposition ב־ (in / at) is usually attached directly to the next word as a prefix.

So:

• ב + מטבח = במטבח = in a kitchen
• ב + המטבח becomes במטבח = in the kitchen

When ב־ is attached to a noun with ה־ (the), the ה usually disappears in spelling, and the word still means in the ...

So:

• מטבח = kitchen
• במטבח = in the kitchen

This is very common with Hebrew prepositions like ב־, ל־, and כ־.

Because ליד is a separate word, while ב־ is a prefix.

• במטבח uses ב־ attached directly to the noun
• ליד החלון uses ליד as its own full word, followed by החלון

So:

• במטבח = in the kitchen
• ליד החלון = ליד + החלון = next to the window

Since ליד is not a one-letter prefix like ב־, the definite article ה־ stays visible on החלון.

ליד means next to, beside, or by.

In this sentence:

• ליד החלון = next to the window / by the window

So the speaker is saying she is drying the shoes near the window, not in the kitchen.

It is repeated for clarity and contrast.

The sentence says:

• אני לא מייבשת את הנעליים במטבח; אני מייבשת אותן ליד החלון.

Repeating אני makes the contrast very clear:

• I’m not drying the shoes in the kitchen; I’m drying them by the window.

Hebrew often repeats the subject in this kind of contrastive structure, especially when correcting or contrasting one location with another.

It would sound less balanced without the second אני.

Because once the object has already been mentioned, Hebrew can replace it with a pronoun, just like English.

So instead of saying:

• אני מייבשת את הנעליים ליד החלון

the sentence says:

• אני מייבשת אותן ליד החלון
• I am drying them by the window

This avoids repetition and sounds natural.

The dictionary form is לייבש, which means to dry or more literally to make dry.

The form מייבשת is a present-tense form of לייבש.

Useful related forms:

• לייבש = to dry something
• מייבש = drying / dries (masculine singular)
• מייבשת = drying / dries (feminine singular)

So in this sentence, the speaker is drying something else: the shoes.

Yes.

• לייבש = to dry something
• להתייבש = to dry up / to get dry / to become dry

So:

• אני מייבשת את הנעליים = I am drying the shoes
• הנעליים מתייבשות = the shoes are drying / becoming dry

This is a very useful distinction:

• לייבש = transitive
• להתייבש = intransitive / reflexive-like

The semicolon separates two closely connected clauses with a strong contrast:

• not in the kitchen
• but by the window

It works like a stronger pause than a comma. In everyday writing, many people might also write this with a comma or use אבל (but), for example:

• אני לא מייבשת את הנעליים במטבח, אני מייבשת אותן ליד החלון.
• אני לא מייבשת את הנעליים במטבח; אבל אני מייבשת אותן ליד החלון.

The semicolon is just a punctuation choice to show a clear contrast.

Not if you want the same meaning.

• ליד החלון = by / next to the window
• בחלון = in the window

So ליד החלון is the natural choice if the shoes are being dried near the window, probably for air or sunlight.

A male speaker would say:

• אני לא מייבש את הנעליים במטבח; אני מייבש אותן ליד החלון.

The only change is:

• מייבשת → מייבש

because the speaker is now masculine singular.

Everything else stays the same.