אם אני לא שומעת אותך בטלפון, תדבר לאט יותר.

If I do not hear you on the phone, speak more slowly.

Breakdown of אם אני לא שומעת אותך בטלפון, תדבר לאט יותר.

• אני: I
• לא: not
• ב: on
• לדבר: to speak

Questions & Answers about אם אני לא שומעת אותך בטלפון, תדבר לאט יותר.

Why is שומעת feminine?

Because the speaker is female.

In the present tense, Hebrew verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. So:

• אני שומעת = a woman saying I hear / I can hear
• אני שומע = a man saying I hear / I can hear

So this sentence is being said by a woman.

Why is תדבר masculine?

Because the person being addressed is male.

Hebrew often marks gender in the you forms of verbs. Here:

• תדבר = you should speak / speak to one male
• תדברי = the same thing to one female

So this sentence, as written, is from a female speaker to a male listener.

If the listener were female, it would be:

אם אני לא שומעת אותך בטלפון, תדברי לאט יותר.

What does אותך mean, and why isn’t it אתה?

אותך means you as a direct object.

In this sentence, the speaker is hearing you, so Hebrew uses the object form:

• שומעת אותך = hear you

But אתה means you as the subject of a sentence:

• אתה מדבר = you are speaking

So:

• אתה = subject you
• אותך = object you