הוא שואל אם אני מסכימה להשתמש בכרטיס שלו, ואני אומרת שכן.

I

Breakdown of הוא שואל אם אני מסכימה להשתמש בכרטיס שלו, ואני אומרת שכן.

• הוא: he
• ו: and
• לשאול: to ask

Questions & Answers about הוא שואל אם אני מסכימה להשתמש בכרטיס שלו, ואני אומרת שכן.

Why are some verb forms masculine and some feminine in this sentence?

Because Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

• הוא שואל = he asks → masculine singular
• אני מסכימה = I agree said by a female speaker
• ואני אומרת = and I say said by a female speaker

So the sentence shows a male person asking, and a female speaker answering.

Is שואל present tense? Does it mean asks or is asking?

Yes. שואל is present tense, from the verb לשאול.

In Hebrew, the present tense can often mean either:

• asks
• is asking

So this sentence could be understood as either He asks whether... or He is asking whether..., depending on context.

What does אם mean here?

Here אם means whether or if in the sense of introducing an indirect yes/no question.

So:

• הוא שואל אם... = He asks whether / if...

This is not a conditional if like If it rains, I’ll stay home. Here it means whether.

How do we know the speaker is female if אני just means I?