אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית.

A common pronunciation is:

al tash'ir et ha-arnak ba-bayit

A rough breakdown:

• אל = al
• תשאיר = tash'ir
• את = et
• הארנק = ha-arnak
• בבית = ba-bayit

Hebrew is usually written without vowels, so pronunciation often has to be learned from context.

Here it is pronounced al, and it means don't.

That is easy to confuse with another word spelled the same way, אל, pronounced el, which means to / toward.

Context tells you which one it is:

• אל תשאיר... = Don't leave...
• אל הבית = to the house

So in this sentence, אל is the word used for a negative command.

Because Hebrew normally uses אל for negative commands.

• אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית = Don't leave the wallet at home
• לא is usually for plain negation in statements:
  • אני לא משאיר את הארנק בבית = I am not leaving the wallet at home
  • אתה לא משאיר את הארנק בבית = You are not leaving the wallet at home

So אל is the natural choice for Don't ...

In Hebrew, negative commands are usually formed with:

אל + future form

So:

• positive command: השאר את הארנק בבית = Leave the wallet at home
• negative command: אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית = Don't leave the wallet at home

So even though תשאיר is formally a future-tense form, after אל it functions as don't leave.

תשאיר comes from the verb להשאיר, which means to leave, to leave behind, or to keep behind.

In form, תשאיר is:

• 2nd person masculine singular
• future tense

By itself, it can mean:

• you will leave

But after אל, it means:

• don't leave

So:

• תשאיר = you will leave
• אל תשאיר = don't leave

Because Hebrew verbs already include that information.

תשאיר already tells you:

• you
• singular
• masculine

So Hebrew does not need a separate subject pronoun here.

You could add אתה for emphasis:

• אל תשאיר אתה את הארנק בבית is not the normal way
• אתה, אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית could be used for emphasis, but normally you just say אל תשאיר...

In ordinary speech, the pronoun is usually omitted because the verb is enough.

Yes — this is a very common beginner question.

The spelling את can be:

1. et = the direct object marker
2. at = you (feminine singular)

Here it is et, the direct object marker.

Why? Because it comes right before הארנק (the wallet), which is a definite direct object.

So:

• את הארנק = marks the wallet as the direct object
• it is not translated into English

In this sentence, את does not mean you.

Hebrew usually puts את before a definite direct object.

Here, הארנק means the wallet, which is definite because of ה־ (the).

So:

• אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית = Don’t leave the wallet at home

Compare:

• את הארנק = the wallet as a specific object
• ארנק = a wallet / wallet

A simple rule for learners:

• if the direct object is specific/definite, Hebrew often uses את
• if it is indefinite, את is usually not used

ארנק means wallet.

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

So:

• ארנק = wallet / a wallet
• הארנק = the wallet

This is why the sentence is talking about a specific wallet, not just any wallet.

Because in Hebrew, the preposition ב־ (in / at) combines with the definite article ה־ (the).

So instead of saying בהבית, Hebrew contracts it into בבית.

This word can mean:

• in the house
• at home

In this sentence, the most natural English meaning is at home:

• אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית = Don’t leave the wallet at home

It is addressed to one male.

You can tell from תשאיר, which is 2nd person masculine singular.

Other versions:

• to one woman: אל תשאירי את הארנק בבית
• to more than one person: אל תשאירו את הארנק בבית

So the original sentence is specifically Don’t leave the wallet at home said to one male.

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but this version is the most neutral and natural:

אל תשאיר את הארנק בבית

You may also hear:

• אל תשאיר בבית את הארנק

That version is possible, but it gives a little more focus to בבית.

For a learner, the safest pattern is:

• אל + verb + את + object + place

So the given sentence is an excellent standard model.