הם רוצים להתחתן בקיץ, ולכן היא הייתה צריכה לבחור טבעת כבר החודש.

Because the first clause talks about both of them:

הם רוצים להתחתן בקיץ = They want to get married in the summer

Then the second clause narrows in on the woman specifically:

ולכן היא הייתה צריכה לבחור טבעת כבר החודש = and therefore she had to choose a ring already this month

So the meaning is something like: both partners want to get married in summer, and because of that, she had to choose a ring this month.

להתחתן means to get married.

The prefix לה־ is the normal infinitive marker in Hebrew, similar to to in English:

• לבחור = to choose
• ללכת = to go
• להתחתן = to get married

So after רוצים (want), Hebrew uses an infinitive:

• הם רוצים להתחתן = they want to get married

In Hebrew, להתחתן usually means to get married or to marry in the sense of entering marriage.

It is different from a direct transitive pattern like English marry someone. Hebrew often expresses this idea with להתחתן:

• הם רוצים להתחתן = they want to get married

If you want to say marry someone, Hebrew often uses a different structure, depending on context. For learners, the safest thing to remember is that להתחתן is the common verb for get married.

ולכן means and therefore, and so, or and that's why.

It is made of:

• ו־ = and
• לכן = therefore / so

So:

• הם רוצים להתחתן בקיץ, ולכן... = They want to get married in the summer, and therefore...

It connects the first idea to the consequence in the second idea.

הייתה צריכה לבחור is a common Hebrew way to say had to choose in the past.

Literally, it is built like this:

• הייתה = was
• צריכה = needing / needed
• לבחור = to choose

Together, the phrase functions as had to choose.

Compare:

• היא צריכה לבחור = she needs to choose / has to choose
  present
• היא הייתה צריכה לבחור = she had to choose
  past

So the helping verb הייתה is what shifts the idea into the past.

Because they refer to היא (she).

Hebrew marks gender in many verbs and adjectives. Here:

• היא הייתה = she was
• היא צריכה = she needs
• היא הייתה צריכה = she had to

If the subject were masculine singular, it would be:

• הוא היה צריך לבחור = he had to choose

If it were plural, the forms would change again.

Historically and grammatically, צריך / צריכה / צריכים / צריכות behaves a lot like an adjective meaning needed / necessary, but in everyday Hebrew it is very commonly used like a modal expression meaning need to / have to.

So in practice, learners usually treat:

• אני צריך ללכת = I need to go
• היא צריכה לבחור = she needs to choose

And in the past:

• היא הייתה צריכה לבחור = she had to choose

So even if the grammar behind it is a little more complex, the easiest working translation is need to / have to.

בקיץ is ב־ + קיץ:

• ב־ = in
• קיץ = summer

In normal spelling, בקיץ can mean in summer or in the summer depending on context. Hebrew often does not make that distinction as sharply as English.

So here:

• הם רוצים להתחתן בקיץ = they want to get married in the summer / in summer

Both are natural translations.

Hebrew has no indefinite article. English uses a / an, but Hebrew simply uses the noun by itself.

So:

• טבעת = a ring or ring, depending on context
• הטבעת = the ring

In this sentence:

• לבחור טבעת = to choose a ring

because the ring is not specific or already known.

Excellent question. החודש literally is the month, but in many everyday contexts Hebrew uses it to mean this month.

So:

• כבר החודש often means already this month or as early as this month

This is very common with time expressions. Context tells you it refers to the current month, not just any month.

כבר usually means already, but depending on context it can also suggest by now, as early as, or at this point.

Here:

• כבר החודש

means something like:

• already this month
• as early as this month

The idea is that the deadline or timing is relatively early.

Hebrew word order is fairly flexible, but this order is very natural.

• לבחור טבעת = to choose a ring
• כבר החודש = already this month

Placing כבר החודש near the end gives emphasis to the timing:

• she had to choose a ring already this month

You could sometimes rearrange parts of a sentence in Hebrew, but this version sounds smooth and standard.

Sometimes in some contexts, הייתה צריכה can come close to was supposed to, but its most direct meaning is had to or needed to.

In this sentence, the idea is obligation or necessity because of the wedding timeline, so had to choose is the best translation.

If Hebrew wanted to emphasize expectation more strongly, it might use a different expression.

The sentence has two clauses:

1. הם רוצים להתחתן בקיץ = They want to get married in the summer

2. ולכן היא הייתה צריכה לבחור טבעת כבר החודש = and therefore she had to choose a ring already this month

So the overall structure is:

reason / situation + therefore / consequence

That makes it a very useful model for building your own Hebrew sentences. For example:

• אנחנו טסים בקרוב, ולכן אני צריך לארוז היום = We are flying soon, so I need to pack today