יש לנו מה לעשות בבית הערב: לשים את השמיכה על המיטה, לסדר את הכרית ולבדוק את המנעול.

In Hebrew, possession is often expressed with יש ל... literally there is to....

So:

• יש לנו = literally there is to us
• natural English = we have

That is a very common Hebrew pattern. Instead of using a separate verb to have, Hebrew usually says that something exists for someone.

So יש לנו מה לעשות is literally something like there is for us what to do, meaning we have things to do.

Yes. מה לעשות literally means what to do.

In this sentence:

• יש לנו מה לעשות = we have what to do
• natural English = we have things to do / we have stuff to do

This is a common Hebrew structure:

• יש לי מה לאכול = I have something to eat
• אין להם מה לומר = they have nothing to say

So מה + infinitive often means something / anything to... depending on context.

Because after מה in this kind of structure, Hebrew uses the infinitive:

• מה לעשות = what to do
• מה לאכול = what to eat
• מה לראות = what to see

The infinitive in Hebrew often works like the English to + verb form.

So לעשות is the infinitive to do.

They are infinitives because they are listing tasks, like English to put, to arrange, to check.

After the colon, the sentence gives examples of what there is to do:

• לשים את השמיכה על המיטה
• לסדר את הכרית
• ולבדוק את המנעול

This is like saying:

• our tasks are: to put..., to arrange..., and to check...

Hebrew often uses infinitives in lists of duties, instructions, or plans.

Here ל־ marks the infinitive, like English to in to do, to put, to arrange, to check.

So:

• לעשות = to do
• לשים = to put
• לסדר = to arrange / tidy / organize
• לבדוק = to check / inspect

Important note: ל־ can also mean to/for as a preposition, but in these verb forms it is part of the infinitive.

את is the marker of a definite direct object.

It appears before a direct object that is definite, usually one with ה־ (the).

So:

• את השמיכה = the blanket as a direct object
• את הכרית = the pillow as a direct object
• את המנעול = the lock as a direct object

It is not translated into English, but it is an important part of Hebrew grammar.

Compare:

• אני רואה שמיכה = I see a blanket
• אני רואה את השמיכה = I see the blanket

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

So:

• שמיכה = a blanket

• השמיכה = the blanket

• מיטה = a bed

• המיטה = the bed

• כרית = a pillow

• הכרית = the pillow

• מנעול = a lock

• המנעול = the lock

• ערב = evening
• הערב = the evening / this evening / tonight, depending on context

In this sentence, the objects are specific: the blanket, the bed, the pillow, the lock.

Because בבית means in the house / at home, which expresses location.

• ב־ = in / at
• בית = house / home
• בבית = at home / in the house

By contrast:

• לבית = to the house
• הביתה = homeward / home

Since the sentence is talking about where the tasks are to be done, Hebrew uses בבית.

Yes. In this context, הערב usually means this evening or tonight.

So:

• בבית הערב = at home this evening / at home tonight

Hebrew often uses הבוקר, הצהריים, הערב, הלילה with a meaning like this morning, this afternoon, this evening, tonight, depending on context.

Examples:

• נדבר הערב = we’ll talk tonight
• ראיתי אותו הבוקר = I saw him this morning

Yes, Hebrew word order is flexible.

This sentence says:

• יש לנו מה לעשות בבית הערב

But Hebrew could also say:

• יש לנו מה לעשות הערב בבית

Both are understandable. The difference is mostly one of emphasis or style.

• בבית הערב puts at home first inside that phrase
• הערב בבית puts this evening first

Hebrew often allows this kind of variation more freely than English.

Because על means on, while ב־ means in.

So:

• על המיטה = on the bed
• במיטה = in the bed

A blanket is being placed on the bed, not in the bed, so על is the natural choice here.

לסדר has a range of meanings depending on context, including:

• to arrange
• to organize
• to tidy
• to put in order

In this sentence, לסדר את הכרית probably means something like:

• to straighten the pillow
• to arrange the pillow
• to put the pillow in place

So it is less about creating order in an abstract sense and more about physically fixing or positioning the pillow neatly.

The prefix ו־ means and.

So:

• לבדוק = to check
• ולבדוק = and to check

Hebrew usually attaches conjunctions like ו־ directly to the following word instead of writing them as separate words.

The colon introduces the list of tasks that follows.

So the sentence structure is:

• We have things to do at home this evening:
  • to put the blanket on the bed
  • to arrange the pillow
  • and to check the lock

It works much like a colon in English.

Not exactly.

• יש לנו מה לעשות = we have things to do
• אנחנו צריכים לעשות = we need to do

The first emphasizes that there are tasks waiting for us.
The second emphasizes necessity or obligation.

So יש לנו מה לעשות is often more neutral and idiomatic in this kind of context.

Here are the nouns:

• שמיכה — feminine
• מיטה — feminine
• כרית — feminine
• מנעול — masculine
• בית — masculine
• ערב — masculine

Some common patterns help:

• Nouns ending in ־ה are often feminine, like שמיכה and מיטה
• Nouns ending in ־ית are often feminine, like כרית
• But gender is not always fully predictable, so it is best learned with each noun

This matters because adjectives and verbs may agree with these nouns in other sentences.

It is natural and understandable everyday Hebrew.

The structure יש לנו מה לעשות is very common in spoken and written Hebrew.
The list of infinitives after the colon also sounds natural.

Depending on context, a speaker might also say something a little more conversational, but the sentence as given is perfectly normal Hebrew.