אני בודקת את הכפתור, אבל המסך עדיין שחור.

Because the speaker is feminine singular.

In Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. With אני (I), the pronoun itself does not show gender, so the verb form tells you whether the speaker is male or female.

• אני בודקת = I am checking / I check, said by a female
• אני בודק = I am checking / I check, said by a male

So בודקת shows that the speaker is female.

No. אני always means I, whether the speaker is male or female.

What changes is usually the verb or adjective connected to it, especially in the present tense.

For example:

• אני עייף = I am tired, said by a male
• אני עייפה = I am tired, said by a female

So in this sentence, אני is neutral, but בודקת tells you the speaker is female.

Here את is the direct object marker. It does not mean you in this sentence.

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object, usually one with ה־ (the), a name, or something otherwise specific.

So:

• אני בודקת כפתור = I am checking a button
• אני בודקת את הכפתור = I am checking the button

Important: this את is usually not translated into English. It is just a grammatical marker.

Because of its position and function in the sentence.

Hebrew has two different words spelled את:

1. את = direct object marker
2. אַתְּ = you (feminine singular)

In writing without vowels, they look the same. You tell them apart from context.

In אני בודקת את הכפתור:

• it comes right before a noun, הכפתור
• that noun is the thing being checked

So here it must be the direct object marker, not you.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• כפתור = button
• הכפתור = the button
• מסך = screen
• המסך = the screen

Hebrew usually adds the directly to the beginning of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

Because המסך (the screen) is a masculine singular noun, and adjectives in Hebrew must agree with the noun in gender and number.

• מסך שחור = a black screen
• המסך שחור = the screen is black

If the noun were feminine singular, you would use שחורה:

• הדלת שחורה = the door is black

So שחור matches the masculine noun מסך.

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

So:

• המסך שחור literally looks like the screen black
• but it means the screen is black

This is completely normal Hebrew.

In past or future, forms of to be can appear:

• המסך היה שחור = the screen was black
• המסך יהיה שחור = the screen will be black

But in the present tense, Hebrew usually leaves is/am/are out.

עדיין means still.

So המסך עדיין שחור means the screen is still black.

It often expresses that a situation has not changed yet.

Examples:

• אני עדיין כאן = I am still here
• היא עדיין לא מוכנה = she is still not ready
• המסך עדיין שחור = the screen is still black

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hebrew present tense does not usually distinguish between:

• I check
• I am checking

So אני בודקת את הכפתור can mean:

• I check the button
• I am checking the button

In this sentence, the natural English translation is probably I’m checking the button, because it sounds like something happening right now.

This is a very normal Hebrew word order.

The basic structure is:

• subject: אני
• verb: בודקת
• object: את הכפתור
• contrast word: אבל
• second clause: המסך עדיין שחור

Hebrew often uses a word order similar to English in simple sentences, especially in everyday speech.

So the sentence feels quite straightforward:

• I am checking the button, but the screen is still black.

Yes, אבל means but, and it works very much like English but to connect two contrasting ideas.

Here the contrast is:

• the speaker is checking the button
• however, the screen is still black

So אבל introduces that contrast naturally.

Example:

• אני רוצה ללכת, אבל אני עייפה = I want to go, but I’m tired

A male speaker would say:

אני בודק את הכפתור, אבל המסך עדיין שחור.

Only בודקת changes to בודק.

The rest of the sentence stays the same because:

• אני does not change
• הכפתור and המסך are the same nouns
• שחור agrees with המסך, not with the speaker

It is very close, but there is one important grammatical point hidden there: the missing present-tense is.

Word by word:

• המסך = the screen
• עדיין = still
• שחור = black

So literally it is something like the screen still black, but in natural English that becomes the screen is still black.

That missing is is one of the most common things English speakers need to get used to in Hebrew.