הוא בודק את הרשימה לפני שהוא יוצא לסופרמרקט.

את marks a definite direct object in Hebrew.

Here, הרשימה means the list, which is definite because of ה־ (the). So Hebrew uses את before it:

• הוא בודק את הרשימה
• literally: He checks the list

A few quick comparisons:

• הוא בודק רשימה = He checks a list / He is checking a list
  
  • no את, because רשימה is not definite
• הוא בודק את הרשימה = He checks the list
  
  • את appears because the list is definite

So את does not mean with here. It is just a grammatical marker.

In Hebrew, the present tense usually does not need a separate word for is/am/are the way English does.

So:

• הוא בודק can mean:
  • he checks
  • he is checking

The exact English translation depends on context.

This is very normal in Hebrew. The verb form itself carries the present-tense meaning, so there is no extra word equivalent to English is in this sentence.

In the Hebrew present tense, verbs usually show gender and number, but not person as clearly as English learners may expect.

בודק means checking in the masculine singular form. That form can be used with:

• הוא בודק = he checks / is checking
• sometimes with a masculine singular noun as the subject as well

So the pronoun הוא helps make it clear that the subject is he.

Compare:

• הוא בודק = he checks
• היא בודקת = she checks
• הם בודקים = they check (masculine / mixed)
• הן בודקות = they check (feminine)

Hebrew normally needs a proper clause after לפני ש־ (before that... / before...). So שהוא יוצא means that he goes out / that he leaves.

Because the verb is in the present form יוצא, which only shows masculine singular and not full person information, the pronoun הוא helps identify the subject clearly.

So:

• לפני שהוא יוצא = before he goes out
• לפני יוצא is not correct standard Hebrew here

You can think of לפני ש־ as introducing a full subordinate clause, and that clause needs its subject.

לפני means before.

When it is followed by a full clause, Hebrew commonly uses ש־ after it:

• לפני שהוא יוצא = before he goes out
• literally: before that he goes out

This ש־ is a very common Hebrew connector, often meaning that, which, or introducing a subordinate clause depending on the context.

So in this sentence:

• לפני = before
• ש־ = introduces the clause
• הוא יוצא לסופרמרקט = he goes out to the supermarket

Yes — יוצא literally comes from the verb לצאת, meaning to go out, to leave, or to head out.

In this sentence, Hebrew uses יוצא לסופרמרקט in a very natural way to mean something like:

• he goes out to the supermarket
• he leaves for the supermarket
• sometimes just naturally translated as he goes to the supermarket

So the Hebrew wording focuses on the idea of heading out / leaving, while English may translate it more simply as goes.

Because in Hebrew, certain prepositions combine with ה־ (the).

Here:

• ל־ = to
• הסופרמרקט = the supermarket

When ל־ joins ה־, they combine into one form:

• ל + ה = לַ (written without vowels simply as ל attached to the word)

So:

• לסופרמרקט = to the supermarket

This is the same pattern you also see with other prepositions:

• ב + ה → בבית = in the house
• כ + ה → similar contraction patterns

So even though you do not see a separate ה, the meaning is still the supermarket.

Because the definiteness shows up differently in the two parts of the sentence.

1. הרשימה

This has the visible definite article:

• רשימה = a list
• הרשימה = the list

2. לסופרמרקט

Here the preposition ל־ (to) has merged with the definite article ה־:

• סופרמרקט = supermarket
• הסופרמרקט = the supermarket
• לסופרמרקט = to the supermarket

So both nouns are definite in this sentence, but only one shows the ה־ separately.

It is a borrowed word, ultimately from supermarket.

Modern Hebrew uses many loanwords, especially for modern items, technology, food, and everyday urban life. סופרמרקט is completely normal and common Hebrew, even though it comes from a foreign source.

A learner should treat it as an ordinary Hebrew noun in grammar:

• סופרמרקט = supermarket
• הסופרמרקט = the supermarket
• לסופרמרקט = to the supermarket

The sentence is:

• הוא בודק את הרשימה לפני שהוא יוצא לסופרמרקט.

Its structure is:

• הוא = subject
• בודק = verb
• את הרשימה = direct object
• לפני שהוא יוצא לסופרמרקט = time clause (before he goes out to the supermarket)

So the basic order is:

Subject + Verb + Object + Time/Subordinate clause

That is a very common and natural Hebrew word order.

Usually, in a simple sentence like this, הוא can sometimes be omitted if the context already makes the subject clear:

• בודק את הרשימה לפני שהוא יוצא לסופרמרקט

This can sound like [He] checks the list before he goes out to the supermarket, especially in context.

However, using הוא is clearer and very natural, especially for learners and in standalone sentences.

At the start of the subordinate clause, though, שהוא יוצא is much harder to omit in standard Hebrew, because יוצא in the present tense does not clearly identify person by itself.

You would change the masculine singular verb forms to feminine singular:

• היא בודקת את הרשימה לפני שהיא יוצאת לסופרמרקט.

Changes:

• הוא → היא
• בודק → בודקת
• שהוא → שהיא
• יוצא → יוצאת

This is a very important feature of Hebrew: present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

The dictionary forms are:

• בודק ← לבדוק = to check
• יוצא ← לצאת = to go out / to leave

So the sentence uses two present-tense forms:

• בודק = checking / checks
• יוצא = going out / goes out

Knowing the infinitives helps you recognize patterns and look words up in a dictionary.

A common pronunciation is approximately:

Hu bodek et ha-reshima lifnei she-hu yotze la-supermarket.

A rough breakdown:

• הוא = hu
• בודק = bo-DEK
• את = et
• הרשימה = ha-re-shi-MA
• לפני = lif-NEI
• שהוא = she-HU
• יוצא = yo-TZE
• לסופרמרקט = la-supermarket

A few notes:

• את is pronounced et
• יוצא has a consonant sound like ts in cats
• לסופרמרקט is often pronounced la-supermarket because it means to the supermarket