הרמקול במחשב לא עובד, ולכן אני משתמשת באוזניות.

הרמקול means the speaker. The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, equivalent to the in English.

• רמקול = a speaker / speaker
• הרמקול = the speaker

In this sentence, the speaker is a specific one: the one in the computer.

במחשב literally means in the computer or on the computer, depending on context.

It is made of:

• ב־ = in / at / on
• מחשב = computer

So:

• במחשב = in the computer / on the computer

In this sentence, it describes which speaker we mean: the speaker in the computer.

Hebrew does not use do/does the way English does for negatives.

English:

• does not work

Hebrew:

• לא עובד = not working / doesn’t work

So:

• לא = not
• עובד = works / working

Hebrew simply puts לא before the verb.

עובד is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb לעבוד, which usually means to work.

Here it agrees with הרמקול, which is a masculine singular noun.

So:

• הרמקול ... עובד = the speaker ... works / is working
• הרמקול ... לא עובד = the speaker doesn’t work

If the noun were feminine, the form would usually change.

That is a very common question. In modern Hebrew, present-tense verb forms often look like adjectives because historically they come from participles.

So עובד can function like:

• working
• works
• is working

In this sentence, it is functioning as the present-tense verb: doesn’t work.

In present tense, Hebrew usually does not use a separate word for am / is / are.

So instead of saying something like the speaker is not working, Hebrew simply says:

• הרמקול לא עובד

Literally: the speaker not working

This is normal Hebrew.

ולכן means and therefore, therefore, or more naturally in English, so.

It is made of:

• ו־ = and
• לכן = therefore / so

So:

• ולכן = and therefore / so

In this sentence, it connects cause and result:

• The speaker doesn’t work,
• so I use headphones.

The comma separates the two parts of the sentence:

1. הרמקול במחשב לא עובד
2. ולכן אני משתמשת באוזניות

This is similar to English punctuation in a sentence like:

• The speaker on the computer doesn’t work, so I use headphones.

The comma helps show the logical pause before the result.

משתמשת is the feminine singular form, so the speaker is female.

• אני משתמש = I use (said by a male)
• אני משתמשת = I use (said by a female)

Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the gender and number of the subject, even with אני.

The basic verb is להשתמש, meaning to use.

In the present tense:

• משתמש = using / uses (masculine singular)
• משתמשת = using / uses (feminine singular)
• משתמשים = using / use (masculine plural or mixed group)
• משתמשות = using / use (feminine plural)

So אני משתמשת means I use or I am using, said by a woman.

Because the verb להשתמש requires the preposition ב־.

So in Hebrew, you use something as:

• להשתמש ב...

Examples:

• אני משתמש בעט = I use a pen
• אני משתמשת בטלפון = I use a phone
• אני משתמשת באוזניות = I use headphones

This is just how the verb works in Hebrew. Literally it feels closer to make use of.

Because when ב־ is attached to a word beginning with א, it is written together as one word:

• ב + אוזניות = באוזניות

This is just the normal Hebrew spelling with prefixes.

It still means with / using / in, depending on the verb and context. Here, because of להשתמש ב־, it means use headphones.

Because אוזניות means headphones, which is plural in Hebrew just as it usually is in English.

Related words:

• אוזנייה = earphone / earpiece / earbud (singular)
• אוזניות = headphones / earphones (plural)

So the sentence says the speaker doesn’t work, and therefore the speaker uses headphones.

Yes. אוזניות can refer to headphones, earphones, or sometimes earbuds, depending on context.

If the meaning is already given to the learner, they should follow that meaning, but the Hebrew word itself can be somewhat broad.

Not necessarily. הרמקול במחשב means the speaker in the computer or the speaker on the computer.

Another phrasing might be:

• הרמקול של המחשב = the computer’s speaker / the speaker of the computer

The sentence you have is perfectly natural and focuses on the speaker located in the computer.

A man would say:

הרמקול במחשב לא עובד, ולכן אני משתמש באוזניות.

The only change is:

• משתמשת → משתמש

Everything else stays the same.

A common transliteration is:

Ha-ramkól ba-machshév lo ovéd, ve-lakhén ani mishtaméshet be-oznayím.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• הרמקול = ha-ram-KOL
• במחשב = ba-makh-SHEV
• לא עובד = lo o-VED
• ולכן = ve-la-KHEN
• אני משתמשת = a-NI mish-ta-ME-shet
• באוזניות = be-oz-na-YIM

Yes. Hebrew present tense often covers both the simple present and the present progressive.

So:

• אני משתמשת באוזניות can mean
  • I use headphones
  • I am using headphones

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, English usually translates it as I use headphones.

A useful breakdown is:

• רמקול = speaker
• מחשב = computer
• לא = not
• לעבוד / עובד = to work / works
• לכן / ולכן = therefore / so
• להשתמש / משתמשת = to use / uses
• אוזניות = headphones / earphones

This sentence is good practice for:

• the definite article ה־
• preposition prefixes like ב־
• negation with לא
• gender in the present tense
• the verb pattern להשתמש ב־