אני הולכת למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם.

I am going to the grocery store to buy milk and bread.

Breakdown of אני הולכת למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם.

• אני: I
• לחם: bread
• ו: and
• חלב: milk
• ללכת: to go
• ל: to
• לקנות: to buy
• מכולת: grocery store

Questions & Answers about אני הולכת למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם.

Why is the verb הולכת feminine?

Because the speaker is female.

In Hebrew present tense, the verb form agrees with the speaker’s gender:

• אני הולכת = said by a woman
• אני הולך = said by a man

So even though אני means I for both genders, the verb tells you whether the speaker is male or female.

How would the sentence look if a man said it?

It would be:

אני הולך למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם.

Only הולכת changes to הולך. The rest stays the same.

Where is the word am in I am going?

Hebrew does not use a separate present-tense word like English am / is / are in sentences like this.

So:

• אני הולכת literally looks like I going
• but it naturally means I am going or I go, depending on context

This is completely normal in Hebrew.

Does הולכת mean go, am going, or walking?

It can mean more than one of these, depending on context.

הולכת is the present form of הלך, and in modern Hebrew the present tense often covers both:

• simple present: I go
• present progressive: I am going

Because the sentence says למכולת (to the grocery store), the most natural meaning is I’m going to the grocery store.

In some contexts, הולכת can also suggest actual walking, but here going is the best interpretation.

Can אני be omitted?

Yes, often it can.

Hebrew speakers often leave out subject pronouns when the meaning is clear from the verb form or from context. So you might hear:

הולכת למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם.

That still means I’m going to the grocery store to buy milk and bread, if the context makes it clear who is speaking.

Using אני is still perfectly correct. It can add clarity or emphasis.

What does למכולת literally break down into?

למכולת is made of:

• ל = to
• ה = the
• מכולת = grocery store / corner store

So:

ל + ה + מכולת = למכולת

It means to the grocery store.

In Hebrew, prepositions like ל often combine with ה (the) into one written word.

What exactly is מכולת?

מכולת usually means a small neighborhood grocery store or corner shop.

It is not always the same as a big supermarket. For a supermarket, Hebrew often uses:

• סופר
• סופרמרקט

But in many learner translations, grocery store is a good natural translation for מכולת.

Why is there another ל in לקנות?

This ל is doing a different job.

• In למכולת, ל means to in the sense of direction: to the grocery store
• In לקנות, ל marks the infinitive: to buy

So although both use ל, they are not the same kind of to.

Why do we use לקנות after הולכת?

Because Hebrew often uses a motion verb + infinitive to express purpose.

So:

אני הולכת למכולת לקנות חלב ולחם

means:

I’m going to the grocery store to buy milk and bread.

You can think of לקנות as answering the question why am I going?
Answer: to buy milk and bread.

Why is there no את before חלב ולחם?

Because את is usually used before a definite direct object.

For example:

• אני קונה את החלב = I am buying the milk
• אני קונה את הלחם = I am buying the bread

But here we have:

• חלב
• לחם

These are indefinite/general, so את is not used.

Why is there no word for some before milk and bread?

Hebrew often leaves that idea unstated.

So חלב ולחם literally means milk and bread, but in natural English we may understand it as:

• milk and bread
• or some milk and bread

Hebrew does not need a separate word here unless the speaker wants to be more specific.

Why is the grocery store definite, but milk and bread are not?

Because the sentence treats them differently.

• למכולת = to the grocery store
  This sounds like a specific place the speaker has in mind.

• חלב ולחם = milk and bread
  These are just the kinds of things the speaker wants to buy, not specific already-identified items.

So Hebrew makes the place definite, but the items indefinite.

What is the dictionary form of הולכת?

The dictionary form is הלך.

Some common present-tense forms are:

• הולך — masculine singular
• הולכת — feminine singular
• הולכים — masculine plural or mixed plural
• הולכות — feminine plural

This is a very common verb, so it is useful to memorize these forms early.