לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה.

Before I buy a shirt, I always try it on.

Breakdown of לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה.

• אני: I
• לקנות: to buy
• תמיד: always
• לפני: before
• חולצה: shirt
• ש: that
• אותה: it
• למדוד: to try on

Questions & Answers about לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה.

Why is there a ש in לפני שאני?

Because לפני ש־ is the normal way to say before when it is followed by a full clause with a subject and a verb.

So:

• לפני שאני קונה = before I buy
• literally, it is something like before that I buy

The ש attaches directly to אני, so you get שאני.

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What tense are קונה and מודדת?

Both are present-tense forms in Hebrew.

Hebrew often uses the present tense for:

• habitual actions
• general truths
• repeated situations

That is why לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה works well for whenever I buy a shirt, I always try it on first.

In other words, this is not about one specific future purchase. It is about a habit.

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Why does מודדת end with ־ת?

מודדת is the feminine singular present form, so it tells you the speaker is female.

Compare:

• masculine: אני מודד אותה
• feminine: אני מודדת אותה

A useful detail here is that קונה looks the same for both masculine and feminine singular, so the verb מודדת is the part that clearly shows the speaker’s gender.

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Why is אותה feminine?

Because it refers to חולצה, and חולצה is a feminine noun in Hebrew.

In Hebrew, object pronouns agree with the noun’s grammatical gender:

• אותו = him / it for a masculine noun
• אותה = her / it for a feminine noun

So here:

• חולצה is feminine
• therefore אותה is feminine too

Even though English just says it, Hebrew still has to choose masculine or feminine.

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Does מודדת really mean try on? I thought it meant measure.

Yes. The verb למדוד can mean both:

• to measure
• to try on clothing

The context tells you which meaning is intended.

With clothes, למדוד very often means to try on:

• למדוד חולצה
• למדוד נעליים
• למדוד שמלה

So in this sentence, the natural meaning is try it on, not measure it.

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Why is there no separate word for on, like in English try it on?

Because Hebrew does not use a phrasal verb here the way English does.

English needs:

• try on
  • object

Hebrew just uses one verb:

• למדוד
  • object

So:

• אני מודדת אותה = I try it on

There is no extra word corresponding to English on in this expression.

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Why is there no את before אותה?

Because אותה is already a direct object pronoun by itself.

So you say:

• אני מודדת אותה

not:

• אני מודדת את אותה in this meaning

Compare:

• with a noun: אני מודדת את החולצה
• with a pronoun: אני מודדת אותה

So את is used before a definite direct-object noun, but not before these object pronouns.

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Why is חולצה written without ה־?

Because it is indefinite here: a shirt, not the shirt.

Compare:

• חולצה = a shirt
• החולצה = the shirt

So the sentence is talking about shirts in general, not one specific shirt already known to the listener.

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Could I say לפני לקנות חולצה instead?

Sometimes yes, but it is not exactly the same.

• לפני שאני קונה חולצה sounds like before I buy a shirt
• לפני לקנות חולצה sounds more like before buying a shirt

The לפני ש־ structure is very natural when you want a full clause with a clear subject, especially I. The infinitive version can sound more general or less personal.

So in this sentence, לפני שאני קונה חולצה is a very natural choice.

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Why is תמיד placed before מודדת?

Because that is a very normal position for adverbs like always in Hebrew.

So:

• אני תמיד מודדת אותה = standard, natural word order

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this placement is the most neutral one. You may also hear other orders in speech, but this version is the one most learners should copy first.

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Is the comma necessary after חולצה?

In standard written Hebrew, yes, it is normal to put a comma after an opening subordinate clause.

So:

• לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה.

This works like English:

• Before I buy a shirt, I always try it on.

In very casual writing or texting, people may leave punctuation out, but the comma is correct here.

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How would the sentence change if the speaker were male?

Only the verb מודדת would need to change:

• feminine speaker: לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודדת אותה.
• masculine speaker: לפני שאני קונה חולצה, אני תמיד מודד אותה.

The rest can stay the same, because:

• קונה looks the same in masculine and feminine singular
• אותה still agrees with חולצה, which is feminine