שאלתי את הקופאית אם אפשר לשלם מחר, והיא חייכה ואמרה שלא.

In the past tense, Hebrew often adds endings to show the subject.

• שאל = asked / the basic past stem
• שאלתי = I asked

So -תי is the regular 1st person singular past ending, meaning I.

The verb comes from the root ש־א־ל, connected with asking.
So:

• שאלתי = I asked
• שאלת = you asked (to one person, depending on gender)
• שאלה = she asked
• שאל = he asked

את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

Here, the thing/person being asked is the cashier, and that noun is definite because it has ה־:

• הקופאית = the cashier

So Hebrew says:

• שאלתי את הקופאית = I asked the cashier

Important: this את usually does not translate into English. It is a grammar marker, not a word with meaning like to or with.

Compare:

• שאלתי קופאית = would sound wrong here
• שאלתי את הקופאית = correct, because the cashier is definite

קופאית means cashier in the feminine form.

• קופאי = a male cashier
• קופאית = a female cashier

The prefix ה־ means the, so:

• הקופאית = the female cashier

The sentence later uses feminine verb forms too:

• חייכה = she smiled
• אמרה = she said

That matches הקופאית, which is feminine.

Here אם introduces an indirect yes/no question, so it means whether / if.

• שאלתי את הקופאית אם אפשר לשלם מחר
  = I asked the cashier if/whether it was possible to pay tomorrow

This is different from a conditional if in a sentence like If it rains, I’ll stay home, although English uses the same word.

So in this sentence, אם is not about a condition. It introduces the content of the question.

Hebrew often uses אפשר in an impersonal way to mean:

• it is possible
• can one
• is it possible to

So:

• אפשר לשלם = it’s possible to pay / can one pay

This is very natural in Hebrew. It is less personal than saying I can or you can.

In context:

• אם אפשר לשלם מחר = if it’s possible to pay tomorrow

A native English speaker may expect something like if I can pay tomorrow, but Hebrew often prefers this impersonal structure.

לשלם is the infinitive, meaning to pay.

The prefix ל־ often marks the infinitive in Hebrew:

• לשלם = to pay
• ללכת = to go
• לאכול = to eat

So in אפשר לשלם:

• אפשר = it is possible
• לשלם = to pay

Together: it is possible to pay

Yes, Hebrew could often leave it out, because the verb already shows the subject:

• חייכה already means she smiled
• אמרה already means she said

So וחייכה ואמרה could work if the context is clear.

But והיא is still very natural here because it:

• starts a new clause clearly
• makes the subject change or continuation explicit
• can add a slight sense of and she...

So:

• והיא חייכה ואמרה שלא = and she smiled and said no
• וחייכה ואמרה שלא = also possible, a bit more compact

In the past tense, -ה often marks 3rd person feminine singular.

So:

• חייך = he smiled
• חייכה = she smiled

and:

• אמר = he said
• אמרה = she said

That matches the subject היא and also הקופאית, which is feminine.

שלא is made of:

• ש־ = that
• לא = not / no

So literally, אמרה שלא is something like:

• she said that not...

But in natural English, it usually comes out as:

• she said no
• she said that it wasn’t possible

The full idea is understood from the previous clause:

• if it’s possible to pay tomorrow
• she said that it isn’t / no

So שלא refers back to that question.

Both can occur, but they are not exactly the same.

• אמרה לא = she said no
  This is more direct, like a short spoken reply.
• אמרה שלא = she said that not / she said no
  This connects the reply more tightly to the previous idea or question.

In this sentence, אמרה שלא sounds very natural because it means she answered negatively to the question about paying tomorrow.

So:

• אמרה לא = a direct refusal
• אמרה שלא = reported negative answer to what was asked

It is very normal Hebrew word order.

The sentence is built like this:

• שאלתי את הקופאית = I asked the cashier
• אם אפשר לשלם מחר = if it’s possible to pay tomorrow
• והיא חייכה ואמרה שלא = and she smiled and said no

A few things may feel different to an English speaker:

• Hebrew uses את before the definite direct object.
• Hebrew often uses impersonal אפשר instead of can I.
• Hebrew can use שלא to report a negative answer.

But overall, the structure is straightforward and natural.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

• שאלתי — sha-AL-ti
• את הקופאית — et ha-ko-pa-IT
• אם אפשר — im ef-SHAR
• לשלם מחר — le-sha-LEM ma-CHAR
• והיא חייכה — ve-HEE khi-ya-KHA
• ואמרה שלא — ve-am-ra she-LO

A few notes:

• ח is the throaty sound often heard in Hebrew, like the ch in German Bach.
• Stress is often near the end of the word:
  • קופאית
  • אפשר
  • לשלם
  • מחר

That stress pattern helps the sentence sound more natural.