אני רוצה ללבוש מחר את השמלה האדומה, לא את החולצה הלבנה.

Tomorrow I want to wear the red dress, not the white shirt.

Breakdown of אני רוצה ללבוש מחר את השמלה האדומה, לא את החולצה הלבנה.

• אני: I
• לרצות: to want
• לא: not
• מחר: tomorrow
• את: direct object marker
• חולצה: shirt
• לבן: white
• ללבוש: to wear
• שמלה: dress
• אדום: red

Questions & Answers about אני רוצה ללבוש מחר את השמלה האדומה, לא את החולצה הלבנה.

What does את mean here? Is it the word for you?

Here את is not the pronoun you. It is the direct object marker et.

Hebrew uses את before a specific/definite direct object, especially when the noun has ה־ (the).

So in:

את השמלה האדומה
and
את החולצה הלבנה

the word את marks the red dress and the white shirt as definite objects.

A common beginner confusion is that Hebrew also has אַתְ = you (feminine singular). Without vowel marks, both are written את, but they are different words.

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Why is את used twice?

Because there are two separate definite objects being contrasted:

• את השמלה האדומה
• לא את החולצה הלבנה

Hebrew repeats את with each definite object. English does not need anything similar, but in Hebrew this is normal and natural.

The second phrase is basically an ellipsis of a fuller idea, something like:

I want to wear the red dress, not the white shirt.

So the second object still keeps its own את.

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Why does Hebrew say רוצה ללבוש instead of using a future tense verb for wear?

Because the sentence is expressing wanting, not just a future action.

• אני רוצה ללבוש... = I want to wear...
• אני אלבש... = I will wear...

Those are different meanings.

So even though מחר (tomorrow) appears in the sentence, the main verb is still רוצה (want), and ללבוש is the infinitive to wear.

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Why is ללבוש in the infinitive form?

After רוצה (want), Hebrew normally uses an infinitive:

• רוצה לאכול = want to eat
• רוצה ללכת = want to go
• רוצה ללבוש = want to wear

The ל־ at the beginning is the normal infinitive marker, often corresponding to English to.

So:

• ללבוש = to wear / to put on

In everyday Hebrew, ללבוש can cover both wear and put on, depending on context.

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Why is מחר placed after ללבוש? Can it go somewhere else?

Yes, מחר can move around. Hebrew word order is fairly flexible.

This sentence has:

אני רוצה ללבוש מחר...

But you could also hear:

• מחר אני רוצה ללבוש...
• אני רוצה מחר ללבוש...

All of these are possible. The difference is mostly one of style, rhythm, or emphasis, not basic meaning.

The version in your sentence sounds natural and keeps מחר close to the action ללבוש.

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Why do the adjectives come after the nouns?

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun, unlike in English.

So:

• שמלה אדומה = red dress
• חולצה לבנה = white shirt

Literally, the order is more like:

• dress red
• shirt white

That is standard Hebrew adjective order.

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Why are the adjectives אדומה and לבנה feminine?

Because they must agree with the nouns they describe.

Both שמלה (dress) and חולצה (shirt/blouse) are feminine singular nouns, so their adjectives must also be feminine singular:

• שמלה אדומה
• חולצה לבנה

If the noun were masculine singular, the adjective would look different:

• בגד אדום = a red garment
• חול לבן = white sand

So Hebrew adjectives agree in gender and number.

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Why is there ה־ on both the noun and the adjective: השמלה האדומה and החולצה הלבנה?

Because in Hebrew, when a noun phrase is definite, the adjective also becomes definite.

So:

• שמלה אדומה = a red dress
• השמלה האדומה = the red dress

Hebrew marks definiteness on both parts:

• השמלה = the dress
• האדומה = the red

This is a very common Hebrew pattern. English uses the only once, but Hebrew usually shows definiteness on both the noun and its adjective.

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What is לא doing here?

Here לא means not and creates a contrast:

לא את החולצה הלבנה = not the white shirt

So the speaker is correcting or contrasting the choice:

• the red dress
• not the white shirt

This is a very natural way in Hebrew to say X, not Y.

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Is the second half a complete sentence?

Not by itself, but that is normal. It is an example of ellipsis, where Hebrew leaves out words that are understood from the first part.

Fuller version:

אני רוצה ללבוש מחר את השמלה האדומה, לא רוצה ללבוש את החולצה הלבנה.

But repeating everything would sound heavy. So Hebrew, like English, often shortens it:

...את השמלה האדומה, לא את החולצה הלבנה.

English does the same:

• I want the red dress, not the white shirt.

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Do we need אני here?

Usually, yes, or at least it is very natural to include it.

In the present tense, Hebrew verb forms like רוצה do not clearly show person the way many future or past forms do. רוצה tells you mostly gender/number, not automatically I / you / he by itself.

So אני רוצה clearly means I want.

In context, speakers sometimes omit אני, but for a learner, keeping it is a good habit.

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How do I know whether the speaker is male or female from רוצה?

In unpointed Hebrew spelling, רוצה can represent either:

• רוֹצֶה = masculine singular
• רוֹצָה = feminine singular

So the spelling is the same, but the pronunciation is different.

That means this written sentence could be said by either:

• a male speaker: ani rotze
• a female speaker: ani rotza

You usually know from:

• context
• the speaker
• vowel marks, if they are written
• audio, if you hear it spoken

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Why doesn’t Hebrew use a single word for the red dress the way English does?

Hebrew builds that phrase differently.

English:

• the red dress

Hebrew:

• השמלה האדומה

Literally, that is more like:

• the-dress the-red

So the main differences are:

1. the adjective comes after the noun
2. definiteness is shown on both the noun and adjective
3. את is added before the whole phrase when it is a definite direct object

That combination is one of the most important Hebrew noun-phrase patterns to learn.