מאז שבעלת הבית תיקנה את הגג, אין מים בחצר כשיש גשם.

מאז ש־ means since or ever since.

More literally, it is from the time that.... It introduces a clause about the event that started the situation:

• מאז שבעלת הבית תיקנה את הגג = since the landlady fixed the roof

A very common pattern is:

• מאז ש־ + past event, then a description of what has been true מאז then until now.

So this sentence is describing a present situation that has been true ever since that repair happened.

בעלת הבית is a construct phrase meaning the female owner of the house.

Breakdown:

• בעל = owner / master / husband, depending on context
• בעלת = the feminine form in construct
• הבית = the house

So:

• בעל הבית = the male owner / landlord / homeowner
• בעלת הבית = the female owner / landlady / homeowner

In this sentence, בעלת הבית is the subject: she is the one who fixed the roof.

Because this is a construct state phrase.

In Hebrew construct phrases, the first noun usually does not take ה־, even when the whole phrase is definite. Definiteness is shown on the second noun:

• בעלת הבית = the landlady / owner of the house

This is similar to:

• ספר התלמיד = the student's book
• דלת הבית = the door of the house

So בעלת הבית is already definite because הבית is definite.

Because the subject, בעלת הבית, is feminine singular.

תיקנה is the 3rd person feminine singular past form of לתקן (to fix / repair):

• הוא תיקן = he fixed
• היא תיקנה = she fixed

Since בעלת הבית is she, the verb has to match:

• בעלת הבית תיקנה = the landlady fixed

את marks a definite direct object.

Here:

• תיקנה = fixed
• הגג = the roof
• את הגג = the roof, as the direct object of fixed

So:

• תיקנה את הגג = fixed the roof

Important points:

• את usually appears before a definite direct object
• It usually does not get translated into English
• If the object were indefinite, את would usually be omitted

Compare:

• תיקנה גג = fixed a roof
• תיקנה את הגג = fixed the roof

Because אין is the normal Hebrew way to say there is no / there are no.

Here:

• יש מים = there is water / there are water puddles
• אין מים = there is no water

So:

• אין מים בחצר = there is no water in the yard

לא is not used this way. לא usually negates verbs or whole clauses, but אין is the standard negative for existence/availability.

Think of it like this:

• יש = there is / there are
• אין = there is not / there are not

Because Hebrew does not need a dummy subject like English it in weather expressions.

English says:

• when it rains

But Hebrew often says either:

• כשיש גשם = when there is rain
• כשיורד גשם = when rain falls / when it rains

So there is no separate word corresponding to English weather it.

That is very normal in Hebrew.

Both are natural, but they are slightly different in feel.

• כשיש גשם = when there is rain / when it’s rainy
• כשיורד גשם = when rain is falling / when it rains

In many everyday contexts, both can work.

In this sentence, כשיש גשם sounds like under rainy conditions or when there’s rain.
If you changed it to כשיורד גשם, the meaning would stay very close:

• אין מים בחצר כשיורד גשם = there is no water in the yard when it rains

So yes, כשיש גשם is fine and natural.

In unvocalized Hebrew, both can be spelled בחצר.

With vowels, they are different:

• בְּחָצֵר = in a yard / in a courtyard
• בַּחָצֵר = in the yard / in the courtyard

But without vowel marks, they look the same in writing.

So how do you know? Usually from context.

In this sentence, בחצר is most naturally understood as in the yard / in the courtyard, probably the yard of that house.

Because both nouns are being used in a general, not specific, way.

• מים here means water in general, not some specific water
• גשם means rain in general, as a weather condition

So:

• אין מים = there is no water
• כשיש גשם = when there is rain / when it rains

If you used הגשם, it would usually mean the rain, a specific rain already known from context. That would sound different.

Because the sentence describes:

1. a past event
2. a result that is still true now

So:

• בעלת הבית תיקנה את הגג = the landlady fixed the roof — past event
• אין מים בחצר כשיש גשם = there is no water in the yard when it rains — present ongoing result

That is exactly how מאז ש־ often works:

• something happened in the past,
• and since then, a situation has continued up to the present.

So the tense combination is very natural.

Yes. Hebrew often allows some flexibility.

The sentence as written begins with the מאז clause:

• מאז שבעלת הבית תיקנה את הגג, אין מים בחצר כשיש גשם.

That puts emphasis on since the landlady fixed the roof.

You could also say:

• אין מים בחצר כשיש גשם מאז שבעלת הבית תיקנה את הגג.

This is understandable, but the original version sounds smoother and more natural because the since... clause sets up the time frame first.

So the original word order is a very good, natural choice.