Learn Hardcore Hebrew: היא נשארה בבית במקום ללכת לקניון, כי הייתה לה עוד משימה אחת. - She stayed home instead of going to the mall, because she had one more task.

היא נשארה בבית במקום ללכת לקניון, כי הייתה לה עוד משימה אחת.

She stayed home instead of going to the mall, because she had one more task.

Breakdown of היא נשארה בבית במקום ללכת לקניון, כי הייתה לה עוד משימה אחת.

Questions & Answers about היא נשארה בבית במקום ללכת לקניון, כי הייתה לה עוד משימה אחת.

Why is the verb נשארה in the feminine form?

Because the subject is היא = she.

In the past tense, Hebrew verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

הוא נשאר = he stayed
היא נשארה = she stayed

So נשארה is the correct past-tense feminine singular form of להישאר (to stay / to remain).

What does בבית mean here? Is it in the house or at home?

Here it most naturally means at home.

Literally, בבית is in the house / at home, and context decides which English translation sounds best. In this sentence, since the contrast is with going to the mall, at home is the most natural choice.

Also, בבית is made of:

ב־ = in / at
הבית = the house / the home

After certain prepositions, the ה of the is absorbed, so:

ב + הבית → בבית

How does במקום mean instead of? Doesn’t it usually mean in a place or place?

Yes—by itself, מקום means place. But the expression can also mean .